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sidbridgecomedy · 1 year

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Comedy and Free Speech

If there's a constant in the comedy world, it's people complaining about being censored. Since I'm a comic by night and a corporate communicator by day with a double-degree in Communications and English, I think I can shed some light on this one.

(DISCLAIMER: I'm not an attorney or a constitutional law scholar. If any of my readers are and find any of this information to be incorrect, please let me know and I will edit this article appropriately).

There are really two separate issues here: Your freedom of speech and a show runner's right to protect his or her business.

Let's start with the constitutional stuff.

Here's the First Amendment's exact wording: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

What does that mean? It means that the government cannot arrest you because you said something - even something about how crappy the government is. (By the way, remember this is from the Constitution of the United States of America. Every other country is different, so if you're traveling internationally, don't bust out your hilarious "Doesn't the Government of Saudi Arabia SUCK?!" jokes).

The First Amendment is a bit murky - you can still get arrested for some pretty specific language that would incite people to commit murder or cause a massive disturbance. You can also get in big trouble for compromising national security by leaking classified information.

Those things aside, comedians have enjoyed a lot of protection under free speech laws. You really have Lenny Bruce and George Carlin to thank for that. Bruce actually went to prison on obscenity charges for his stand-up and was posthumously pardoned.

George Carlin got arrested for his historic "Seven words you can't say on television" bit and the case was quickly dismissed by a sympathetic judge, setting a precedent that was so far reaching, it was actually part of the Communication Law curriculum I had to learn in college. Which is awesome.

Carlin and Bruce basically set a bar for profanity among comedians that has allowed us to say just about whatever the hell we want on stage for decades. If you've made a dick joke, you should, at some point, cup your hands together in prayer after you leave stage and thank them both profusely.

Some of you are probably thinking, "If that's the case, why do I keep getting censored?!"

The answer is you're not getting censored. You're getting fired. You're getting rejected. You're getting told when you suck. That leads us to the second side of this discussion:

You're free to say it, but the audience and the person who booked you don't have to like it or allow it on their stage.

The First Amendment only protects you from getting arrested. Comedy club owners are well-within their rights to pull your ass off the stage and deny stage time to people who use obscene material.

The comedy club isn't the government. It's a business and that business is allowed to make decisions on how to best serve its customers.

This doesn't just apply to bad words, by the way - if the club owner hates the word "moist", he can totally tell you not to use it and deny you stage time if you refuse.

On the flip side, if the club owner loves it raunchy, he has a right to allow the raunchiest, most foul garbage to spew from his stage and you can't call the cops because you were offended by "Aristocrats Night."

I didn't go digging for precedents, but I can't think of a case off the top of my head where a comedian said something offensive, got fired, then successfully sued.

Like any job, accepting stage time at a comedy club means accepting an implied contract. Even on an open mic show, comics are either briefed on the rules or the rules are posted on the wall. Going on stage means agreeing to those rules. The same way your job doesn't allow you to wear jeans, the club doesn't allow you to break those rules. And the same way an obstinate refusal to wear anything but jeans will get you FIRED, an obstinate refusal to avoid a word or topic in your material will cost you your stage time.

There's also the consideration of the audience.

A lot of audiences love clean shows. Some love dirty shows. The more risky your material, the more polarizing it can be. The opinions of the audience shouldn't dictate your material, but you do need to be aware and able to adapt to any situation you're in.

If there's one threat to the vast protections afforded to Americans by the First Amendment, it's over edgy comics pissing off audiences to the point of activism. I'm not saying it's fair, but the wrong joke in front of the wrong people while the wrong party controls the House, Senate, Supreme Court and the White House could lead to limits on free speech, and that's bad.

I'm not saying you can't take risks, but think before you rock the boat.

Additionally, with our current climate of social media warriors attacking any business who pisses them off, one upset audience member is all it takes to cause huge nightmares for a comedy club. If the club chooses to mitigate that risk by prohibiting a few words or topics, that's their choice. You can respect it or you can choose not to perform there.

In summary, you have a legal right to free speech that is potentially limited by inciting hate/murder talk. Everything else is fair game in the USA, including criticizing the people who uphold the First Amendment. The comedy club, however, has a right to protect its business and to deny stage time to anyone who doesn't meet their defined requirements.

So what's the best way to beat back the scourge of censorship by evil comedy club gatekeepers (like me)?

BE FUNNY.

If you can actually write funny jokes while still working within the restrictions of the house, you will get more time. Once you've paid your dues, show runners get a lot less restrictive. Headliners can say almost anything they want to on stage. Want the same freedom? Get good at comedy.

And if you think I'm being an unrealistic jerk when I say that, it's not just me talking. You know who else started out clean? George Carlin. Go on Youtube and look up his "Al Sleet the Hippy Dippy Weatherman" routine. He made it as a clean comic first before he started pushing the boundaries. Once he was already well known, it was a lot harder for the people in charge to deny him his pulpit.

Now get out there and enjoy your freedom.

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boxedforyourdemise · 2 years

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I've decided I will utilize my "definitely 18+" tag a lot more I'm this account considering how big a role sex and drugs (both medical and recreational) play in my life. If you're a minor following me please filter this tag specifically as these posts will be nsfw and involve explicit language or extremely adult topics. I am a grown half-woman (lol I don't think I've ever really explained my personal identity or anything like that since reviving this blog) and I honestly just want to be able to be honest and as open as I can be while still maintaining my privacy and safety. I have a thriving sex life and a unique perspective on a lot of things and I regularly use and discuss the use (and abuse) of substances and I believe wholeheartedly in minors being safe, but I also believe in letting teenagers who are in high school and already have exposure to sexual topics or are already having sex/exploring sexuality, themselves, judge for themselves whether or not something is safe to view or triggering for them. I believe teenagers are often mocked and dismissed as being ignorant and "thinking they know everything when they know nothing" and hormonal. Teenagers are often kept from knowledge because nobody really listens when they speak on mature topics. And generally I believe minors should hold off on exploring BDSM until they are adults, but I don't believe in keeping knowledge from people, even teens, no matter the context. I think if you're old enough to learn about sex or to feel arousal and understand it, you're old enough to learn about more extreme things you can explore once you reach maturity and gain an understanding of the laws, nuances, etiquette, and general rules or misconceptions around sex and sexuality and kink. There's a lack of supportive sex ed for teens (especially teens who aren't necessarily into vanilla things) and I have always believed in education and sharing of knowledge. If you ever have a question about anything I post about, feel free to pitch it no matter your age, but please keep things strictly to education on the topics. It's not appropriate for me to talk about my sex life with a minor as I would an adult. It's not appropriate to expose a minor to sex before they explore the topic themselves or experience it or have questions about it based on learning.

If you see something in porn and want to ask if that's real or accurate or whatever ill happily inform you but I will not be personal with you.

Anyway, that little tangent and offer for help out of the way... Onto instructions!

If you don't know how to filter tags so they don't show up or so that posts with the tag are censored/warn about said tag: the option can be found in your general blog settings for your main blog. It will be labeled as "filtering".

On mobile it looks like this:

And on desktop it looks like this:

To get to this page from the action bar you go into the tab labeled "Account" under "Settings". Then just type the tag you specifically want to filter and voila! You will now see less posts with the tag and all posts involving it will warn you that the post has a filtered tag attached. For ease, the tag to filter is

Definitely 18+

And if you're super worried or in middle school also filter the tag

Maybe 18+??

As those posts are for the YA audience from like 16 to 18+ and are generally just my stoner posts or innuendos tbh. Basically anything I'm not comfortable tagging as definitely 18+ but also that I'm no comfortable leaving untagged lol

I also do have an nsfw blog but I got really paranoid and insecure one day and kind of shut it down for a while lol

#uhh a guide #on filtering #also an opinion #and sharing knowledge/trying to keep things educational #cuz ik teens dont listen to age warnings but id at least like them to be safe and aware and informed #discussion of kink #again lol #tw sex mention

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libertarianblue · 3 years

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Full disclosure, I’m getting ready for bed so I didn’t listen to the 35 minute NPR interview. But I did hunt down the NYT article:

Genuinely didn’t expect to see a colder-than-space take on guns right off the bat so that was a treat. It also alerts me this probably isn’t going to be an op-ed written in good faith in general. I’m going to resist the urge to get into the gun grabber nonsense, though, since I started this post to focus on the efforts to censor everyone but themselves. Anyone that remembers the general quality of the reporting (and tweeting from media figures, more broadly) following the Boulder shooting can hopefully see the irony in a journalist complaining about lies being spread in the aftermath.

They then briefly go into the importance of newly introduced media literacy classes and how the youth have a responsibility to take those lessons and teach them to their family. The article doesn’t say what this training entails but it does link to “Disinfo Day” resources. I didn’t watch these because they’re all long youtube videos and I’m going to bed shortly, so I’ll not comment on their validity. I do see one of them is about finding fact checkers and I’m interested to hear if Snopes and co. are in their recommendations.

After that they celebrate Fox News being sued, remind everyone that the majority of Republicans don’t have confidence in our most recent elections, and then encourage election software companies to sue Donald Trump, I guess in an effort to change how Republicans feel about the election. They also seemingly imply the bar for libel should be lowered for Trump.

Then they close out with this:

The big thing I want to call attention to is that mask slip there, “Sure, removing social media’s immunity from the untruthful things said on their platforms could mean the end of the internet as we know it. True. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Note that these would be the same protections that Trump and co had been attacking during his term. The main difference is in the seeming end goal. The argument from conservatives over the past couple years has been that Twitter and co are unfairly enjoying the protections of a platform while behaving as a publisher by deleting or editorializing content. Their (stated) goal was to prevent these websites from being able to curate the messaging of their users. The (apparent) goal of the author of this op-ed is to remove these protections in order to force websites to delete even more content, allowing only approved messages to be published. I probably don’t have to explain the red flags that raises, or at least I hope not because I really need to get to sleep.

In closing, here’s a follow-up tweet/thought:

EDIT: Almost forgot to mention. Over the past few years I’ve noticed it seems like only people with zero credibility use the word “unfettered.”

#media #journalism #censorship #glenn greenwald #NYT #New York Times #NPR #media manipulation #4am thoughts

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ein-liebloser-wanderer · 2 years

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yandere hcs for [CENSORED]? Love your works!

You have my deepest gratitude, Anon~

But I'll be frank, this is possibly the most difficult Abnormality anyone could ask from me...oh my.

It's story, information, and even appearance is just a bunch of [CENSORED] and [CENSORED] doing [CENSORED].

...The only thing I found that wasn't redacted in any of its encyclopedia entry was breeding. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Think of that what you will, readers...think of that what you will...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

⸸ Yandere Lobotomy Corporation — [CENSORED]'s Redrafted Encyclopedia Entry⸸

(A Yandere humanoid AU of Lobotomy Corporation where I had to practically rewrite this Abnormality because it's just a bunch of [CENSORED] and cosmic horror galore. I like to be as canon compliant as possible...but how the bloody hell can I do that? I could just post a big [CENSORED] bar, and say use your imagination haha...)

(...Oh, wait.)

For personnel safety and sanity, nothing from [CENSORED] shall be quoted or recorded. If any information were to slip through the filter, serious precautions will be taken.

O-03-89, an ALEPH-Class Abnormality also known as [CENSORED], looks just like the facility's [CENSORED] from long ago, but it seems to be capable of donning a human form.

But unlike Nothing There, [CENSORED] can do this without the need of a 'human shell', nor does it have difficulty understanding human interactions. It seems to already understand the human psyche.

However, this was only discovered after Agent N was sent to do Instinct work on [CENSORED]. Despite their high fortitude level, they were unable to withstand the WHITE damage inflicted upon them by O-03-89's human form and words.

Initially, the Abnormality was thought to be incapable of communicating as it only ever seemed to care about doing [CENSORED] or [CENSORED] the moment it breaches containment.

But now, it is apparent that just like Nothing There, its intelligence shouldn't have been underestimated. Because of this newfound data, it can even be argued that O-03-89 is the most dangerous of all the ALEPH classes. Because unlike most, it is driven solely by three things.

Bloodlust.

Rage.

Its instinctive desire to make everything [CENSORED].

⸸ For Level 5 or higher employees only ⸸

It is crucial that Agent N must never work on O-03-89. It is a known fact that the only personnel that can see this Abnormality are high-level personnel, excluding the Manager.

As of now, it is clear that it is not just its appearance that can inflict WHITE damage. O-03-89 can manipulate words and information to benefit itself.

And due to its true appearance...it is very likely to divulge details about [CENSORED] from long ago.

Since these are sensitive info regarding the Manager and Agent N's personal life, particularly the incidents of [CENSORED] before L-Corp was founded, it is crucial that neither one of them goes near O-03-89.

Agent N should not to be considered a high-level employee.

They are not suited to work or even be anywhere near O-03-89.

Agent N may seem competent after surviving many Abnormalities in one record, but that is exactly why they must never hear or see that Abnormality ever again.

If Agent N were to interact with [CENSORED] in any shape or form, all high-level employees will have to consider disposing them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, this is still technically headcanon, but I just made it more formal by putting it in the format of an SCP article.

Ah, and, by writing it like this, as if a higher-up is announcing urgent instructions to its employees...I can hint that even the facility itself might have certain interests in the Agent.

#yandere censored #yandere lobotomy corporation #yandere lobotomy corp #yandere lobcorp #yandere abnormalities #yandere headcanons #yandere imagines #yandere scenario #yandere boy #yandere male #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x insert #yandere x y/n #yandere x you #yandere x darling #love-eldritch #yandere project moon

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chibimyumi · 3 years

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🍵Japanese Reactions☕ Kuromyu 2021

Dear everyone, I received overwhelmingly many questions about Japanese audience reactions, so here you go!

Methodology:

For this post I logged out from Twitter to avoid any bias because of my own user algorithm, and just simply searched the term “kuromyu” (生執事) , and selected “latest tweets”. As you can see, all posts have the word 生執事 in bold, meaning that was my search term. There are a LOT of reactions, I can’t possibly discuss them all. What I did was just search at any random point of time, and take every other comment. I censored the usernames of the commenter to protect some (ceremonial) level of privacy.

I watched the Kuromyu costume rehearsal and cried, this is not it，，I think it might be better to go to Osaka [performance] without expecting too much I shouldn’t expect the Kuromyu of until last time

Honestly no matter how often I watch [the musical] this time’s Kuromyu is fantastic... as someone who knows the energy of the original comics, I really enjoyed it...

In Kuromyu Violet and Chesslock were the real thing

Like Violet’s way of walking being so slothful it was like the real thing, and the rapping of Chesslock in the cricket scene was cool

The reception of this time’s Kuromyu is entirely polarised, and indeed [this production] has a very different taste than the ones until now so I also understand the people who criticise it, but I think that’s fine.

Click “keep reading” for (a LOT) more reactions. Don’t lie to yourself and not click it, I know you all want the tea. Here’s the tea (ÒvÓ)ノ☕

There’s so much thought going on now I have seen the PV of Kuromyu. Eh? Because he [probably Konishi (Ciel)] has roots in Tennis [Probably prince of Tennis] once he holds the cricket it just looks like he’s swinging a tennis racket.

Bocchan is just too big, I’m not sure about that.

I only watched until half way ー

Calling it the Prince of Cricket is too befitting😂 Such singing and dancing, the youthfulness is exploding. They sure have stamina. #Kuromyu

Ah ーSomehow a lot of memories just popped up tears really are welling up... even though my deep-seated grudge has now passed, my obsession for Kuromyu surfaced, and it felt like it got beaten to a pulp by its big brother...

My heart is recovering through the Kuromyu DVD but the big brother is still the big brother... sob...sob (the dirty wailing of an otaku)

TLN: Big brother here means something’s superiour or better.

It became this production that made me think: Never mind the actors but is it the problem of the makers? Erm. I think it’s a waste. Is it because it’s the footage of the first day performance?

I don’t have the feeling that it’s not that, but that it somehow became cheaper? Is a really strong thought I got from this performance. With this line-up [of cast/staff] it should have been able to create the high quality of Kuromyu, but the impression is that it was a mess.

I finished watching kuromyu. Erm... somehow... it was a theatre production that strongly reminded me of the first Lycoris (the cheapness of the set), felt like they tried to create the feeling of🎾but failed, and tried to do something trendy (🎤) but then the production lost the sense of unity.

Well Mr. Tate’s [Tateishi] Sebas was good, and Undertaker’s acting was good (make up...)

I’ve watched the stream of Kuromyu countless times and gotten used to the songs, and even though I miss the old Kuromyu, maybe it’s not so bad that somebody who can’t let go is rewatching something countless times. If next time they will do the Cult Arc or the Witch Arc I’d be pursuing it. Honestly I want them to stage Lycoris again ←

Kuromyu was this place where I got stimulated by Yuta’s TOHO quality, Ms. AKANE [Madam Red] and Ms. Son [Akisono, Frances]’s Takarazuka quality. The synergy of everything, the original manga’s story, actors, music, directing all were so perfectly done in the past three productions they sure have become a tremendous bar. Once again Yuta, thank you for playing Sebas for us for three times 🥺✨

Kuromyu really was too fun, I’m in trouble

Honestly ------------- Kuromyu was so fun !!!!!!!!! Yasue-kun, you also go watch soon!! Ah, you going tomorrow???

It might be quite unsatisfying for people who only watch Kuromyus that are like Imperial Theatre grand musicals, but I think it’s good that it’s a bit like the Kuromyus of the beginning of before when they adapted the manga arcs

I watched Kuromyu and had fun 😊

I cried, I laughed, it was amazing anyway!

It was the first time watching a musical for me but I think I’ve been sucked into it...

Shall I buy the DVD, I’m indecisive 🌀🤔💭

Now I’ve seen the PV of Kuromyu I don’t think it’s worth going at all... Even in the PV the vibe of 2.5D was ridiculously strong...

My friend went to watch Kuromyu and gave me the review: “I’ve seen all sorts of 2.5, why did they do this for Black Butler. It’s trivial.” I’ve only seen the PV so I won’t say anything, and I really get what I’m refraining from saying. But Mr. Kuma once tweeted the descriptions of Black Butler, I guess it’s fine that the Boarding School Arc feels like this 🤔

Click here for the translation of this tweet. The description of the Weston Arc is as such:

(To the people who will be going to see it I’m sorry)

They did say that the staff along [with the cast] would entirely be renewed, but I feel like they’re actively trying to shake off the fans of Kuromyu until now I’m a bit sad but I guess I won’t be watching [Kuromyus] anymore... I feel like But I am buying the stream I’ll think about it after I’ve bought it...

Anyway about Kuromyu, my mom said she wanted to watch it too so I watched it again with her yesterday, and she sure had a lot to say 😶 My father pulled this weird face of “what is this even” and I had to see him off halfway 😑 I thought about buying the stream of the final performance, but I guess I don’t need a second viewing. I don’t feel like watching the archive either. I really liked the Kuromyu of until now, my shock is too big.

At the beginning [of the musical] we looked back on Lycoris, Circus and Luxury Liner... kinda like some sort of recap, but I thought “huh?”... now I just want to watch that. I used to like Kuromyu, I really have trouble accepting it this time it’s painful.

But honestly when talking about Kuromyu it’s the Sebas with the superb voice who sung about the dynamic with the little lord full of emotion and built the world view, and for better or for worse the world view of Kuroshitsuji is maintained through Sebaciel, the songs, the directing of Sebaciel, but what happened there. Whether you should watch it or not. The past 3 productions were masterpieces、、、

But Sebas is not Mr. Furukawa, Ciel is not Reo-kun and even Mr. Izumi’s [role] of Undertaker was unfortunately changed, this is the new Kuromyu huh...

I watched the stream of the first performance.

I liked the songs so I checked, and I knew it.

This time has a lot of laughing factors, and I thought it was good it had a fresh cast.

I didn’t expect the cricket scene to be taken that far. I thought it was Tenimyu.

Kuromyu, this time be it the story, script, directing or casting, I thought: “it’s more enjoyable to take up this [musical] while temporarily erasing the memories of until now ～🎶”, and I watched the theatre piece without looking back to the past productions, and that was the right decision To the people who came to love Kuromyu of until now, it’s safer to watch it while temporarily erasing the memories.

Did Kuromyu turn into Tenimyu half way?! I thought,

and the Elite Musical → 2.5D Musical transformation I also felt

Konishibocchan being cutesy was cute, and the P4′s desperate faces resonated all went by in a flash

Above was the report from the theatre ☺️

I went to Kuromyu

I went into it knowing it’d surely be something different from the past productions so it indeed turned out to be so

There were parts that made me go “erm the script....” and also this part that made me go “was it really necessary to make Undertaker descend into that dream in Act 1 just because you wanted to give him stage time??”

I went into 2 shocks gradually

Sebas doesn’t sing He only sings properly at the very beginning of the beginning Even though he’s Sebas There’s no ending solo Even though he’s Sebas

You’re the ♪ah~a~a~ number-one main character though!! That’s why this one!!! Is the N・E・W production--!!!!

I am in shock

I A M I N S H O C K ANGER!!!

I watched the Kuromyu stream!

It was TOTALLY 2.5D~❕❕😁It was also a school setting and the Tenimyu vibes were strong (laughs)

It’s a bit of a shame that Ciel isn’t played by a child actor anymore, but because he has more stage time than Sebas has this time I caccept it.

Sebas and Ciel’s visuals are also good ~ ☺️

It’d be even cooler if they increased the fight scenes with Sebas though.

@ivvy_toshiki [Tateishi Toshiki (Sebastian)’s Twitter account]

Thanks for the hard work in the performance.

Today I saw the “first viewing of Kuromyu” of my dreams 🥀😆 Regardless of what I could say Sebastian’s beauty is from beginning to end spellbinding ☺️ My eyes were very happy. moreover, the songs and the killing were also AMAZING 😍 my eyes were nailed to Sebastian. I want to watch it again 💕☺️ I wish that the performances will go without a hitch until the final performance ❕

I was so happy to see the recap of the past productions

I really liked the Circus Arc (original comics), and even though it was comedy it really dived into the darkness! That was the story I also didn’t expect to see the Luxury Liner Arc So Undertaker, for real... for

Up to the last time there weren’t that many songs in total, but there were songs like I shall become your pawn and sword and the contract that made me go BATHUMP--- I have to rewatch this number!!! It’s a shame that this time there were no songs like that.

#Kuromyu

Calling it the Prince of Cricket is too accurate 😂 They sang and danced so much, the youthfulness was bouncing off it. What stamina they have. #Kuromyu

What’s different from the last time is the strong 2.5D vibe...... Until now the ages [of the characters] were fairly faithful [to canon] and in a good way there was no 2.5D-ness and I could just enjoy it as a proper theatre piece This time both the casting including the music had a strong 2.5D vibe for better or for worse #Kuromyu

Very personally! Matsushita’s Sebas was “heavy as the evil of evil and beautiful”, and Furukawa’s Sebas was “evil, strong and unapproachable and beautiful and gorgeous”, and Tateishi’s was “light hearted and beautiful and a florid kind of evil”!! (My vocabulary is failing me) All Sebastians have a different aura about them it’s fantastic!!! #Kuromyu

The new Sebas is good

Overall

It’s this arc so that it’d get a chit-chat idol? vibe was within the expectation The cricket of the second half had a bad vibe and I was sick of it It might have been different had I watched it live I don’t like the Boarding School and Green Witch arc that much to begin with I am looking forward to the appearance of the real Ciel That's it for now

I don’t know why I’m mentally dead but it must be that, I watched the Kuromyu stream and I am thoroughly dead, mentally dead, but as I managed to say this I’ve reached a level that I recovered a bit??? I am too tired but I don’t feel like sleeping, but if I doze a bit then I realise my fatigue and feel like sleeping unnecessarily

This time’s kuromyu... erm I guess I’ll quit 🤔

I’ll be rant-puking for a bit

I’ve seen a lot of Tenimyu and A-stage [Mankai A3] but it’s not like I wanted to see that in Kuromyu... What I wanted to see was Kuromyu...

I watched the video of the Kuromyu PV? but it’s impossible. Watching the PV [I thought] children should be played by children... and as I watched their interaction it’s not the character building I had in mind... and there’s no wound on the vice principal’s forehead. I planned to watch the stream of the final performance, but I’m hesitant about spending more money to watch that... If I can’t accept Ciel and Sebastian I can’t watch this, that’s just me...

Now I’ve read the reviews of Kuromyu all are saying it went back to 2.5D, and I think that it’s not worth going after all. It’s probably because the Kuromyus until now far surpassed the quality of 2.5D... I guess it’s fine if one were to go for the cast, but I really loved the Kuromyu of until now.

#Kuromyu #Kuromyu 2021 #Japanese Fandom #reaction #Secret of the Boarding School #My god that's a LOT and not even NEAR all of them #Maybe 5% at best?#I PROMISE you this was a random selection - I did NOT handpick them #I've never seen this level of outspoken negativity before in JP public spaces #Like it or not - ppl just hate it THAT much I guess!!!

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inevitably-johnlocked · 3 years

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can we adress how toxic some of these self/harm and suicide fics are?? as someone who has struggled with these issues, treating them as just a way for the two characters to get together, or one character to be the savior who cures someone of their problems? I'm so frickin over it. continuing to put your partner in limbo by threatening this behavior when they don't give you enough attention is a symptom of something major. This is not something i like seeing romanticized. at all.

[CONTENT WARNING FOR ENTIRE POST: heavy discussions of trauma, suicide, self harm, depression, political issue mentions, and eating disorders. Please proceed with care. I am not cutting the post because I think the message is important, so scroll past until my icon disappears <3 Stay safe, My Lovelies.]

Hey Nonny

Okay, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt here because you mention you DO have struggles with these issues, so I’m going to state right up front here and say I AM NOT DISREGARDING YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AT ALL. Your view of this topic is valid, and it’s not something I am ever going to say is wrong for you.

I would like to offer an olive branch, here, Nonny, and give you an alternative take on this, because I’m concerned that perhaps you are still coping with your own struggles and in return, you unwittingly and unintentionally are coming off as unsympathetic to other people’s coping mechanisms.

I KNOW how hard it is to see another view when yours is the only one that seems right, especially after a tragedy or after dealing with heavy things. But all I am asking is for you to temporarily extend some empathy as I discuss my thoughts in this post, and I apologize in advance if I come off as dickish, because, again, it’s hard to see past your own feelings, and I tend to give a “firm but understanding” approach to asks like this. It’s NOT meant to call you our personally. Just asking for an open mind.

I will tackle this ask in a similar fashion to this post here, which talks about shipping vs fetishization so CW for that, as well as like this post here, where we discuss pet peeves. My assumption here is that Nonny is unsure about what “romanticizing” actually entails, and how much this ask is basically Gatekeeping Fiction 101, a thing that’s been going on since the beginning of storytelling. The ask is perceived by me to be emotionally unaware of how unsympathetic it actually sounds, and in turn can unintentionally upset people who engage in these stories.

First thing’s first, Nonny, and I said it before, I GET IT. I understand what you’re going for here, why you feel it’s toxic, and why you think it shouldn’t exist. Here’s the thing, though: what you’re ACTUALLY calling for here is censorship and gatekeeping because YOU PERSONALLY take issue with something, want the fandom specially curated just for you, because it PERSONALLY OFFENDS YOU. And that, it itself, is what’s really toxic, here. Just because YOU are offended, does not mean that it’s not helpful to SOMEONE ELSE, and it’s selfish to make such a demand of people.

Let me explain.

As I mention in the link above re: shipping, many people read and write fics to cope with the reality of their own experiences. Nonny, your experience is NOT the same as someone else’s. Your pain is NOT universal, and you DON’T KNOW what that author has been through; for all you know, they spent 6 months in-hospital after attempting suicide, and they are now simply processing their trauma through storytelling.

Or, “continuing to put your partner in limbo by threatening this behavior when they don't give you enough attention” ? It’s a VERY REAL THING that ACTUALLY happens in real life, and perhaps it happened to that author, or they want to write an alternate ending to their pain.

Or, “one character to be the saviour who cures someone of their problems?” is something a suicide survivor WISHES someone did for them. Because they feel alone in the world and don’t want to be alone anymore.

These stories are simply escapism for people, either to learn about or share what these mental illnesses do to people, or are the “fantasies” of survivors, of their ideal outcome to their own tragedies. Coping with guilt over the loss of someone they feel they could have saved. The brutal truth about realty.

And sometimes, it is because some people need a good cry and a feel-good happy ending, because real life? Well, it rarely has those happy endings and so few opportunities to let us cry, and sometimes life is just easier when we view it through the eyes of fictional characters. Do you not want someone to save you sometimes Nonny? And I mean metaphorically here, too. Someone to just take all of your hellish burdens off those shoulders for one day. Someone who will come in to save you from yourself. I know I do.

And, well, sometimes, Nonny, it makes people feel less alone in this socially distanced world.

They’re not glorifying that issue Nonny. They’re telling their story.

Here are some thoughts:

Romanticization: Some trendy teen outlet selling a shirt with “mentally diseased” written across it.

NOT Romanticization: A character in a story coming to terms with a diagnosis of mental illness and learning ways to adapt. Their partner is involved 100% and they learn together.

Romanticization: Sherlock merchandise being sold with “I’m a high functioning sociopath” (not mention ableist as all heck)

NOT Romanticization: A character self-harms because of depression, and character B helps the character through their pain and together they get proper therapy and treatment.

Romanticization: Calling yourself “OMG I’m so bipolar!” because it’s trendy.

NOT Romanticization: A clinically depressed author, who survived a suicide attempt, wanting to tell their story through characters the world is already familiar with, and one that a touchy subject can be expressed and understood by other people, because they’re not ready to write the “real” book. Fandom is a safety net for them.

See what I mean Nonny? We don’t KNOW what kind of pain these authors have PERSONALLY been through, and to censor them from having their voices heard and their stories told is just not on for me.

And let me be clear: YES OF COURSE romanticization happens EVERYWHERE. I am not denying that. But your ask is coming off like EVERY STORY EVER WRITTEN is glorification of something. By your logic:

Disabled people shouldn’t write about their disabilities because they’re romanticising themselves.

The authors with medical degrees shouldn’t write realistic med-fics because some where in the world, ONE person MAY HAVE had a similar experience as Character A and B.

Someone broke their foot in ballet so they shouldn’t write a story about a ballet dancer who broke their hip because it may offend ONE ballerina SOMEWHERE in space and time who got sideline at the prime of their career?

Stories about LGBT+ people shouldn’t be written because homophobes think it’s icky.

We shouldn’t write about wizards because it offends high school catholic pastors (an actual thing that happened)?

How about cancer stories because kids die of cancer all the time?

Non-fiction autobiographies about holocaust survivors is not okay.

Science books offend flat earthers, so we shouldn’t write those.

Books about the Big Bang and a 4.5 billion-year-old earth offends creationists, so burn those.

A now-adult child rape victim writing their survival stories to help get their often-in-power abusers behind bars are taboo.

True crime stories from detectives on those cases shouldn’t be told because they weren’t the victim.

Non-fiction in general because someone somewhere may have had that one singular thing happen to them.

How about coping with grief over a parent’s sudden death because I personally might find offense in that since that was a horridly traumatic experience in my life?

Do you see how progressively out of touch this argument is? (the answer to all of these: authors should be allowed to write them, because stories make us human). Your argument leads down the very dangerous path to censorship of books, the internet, and history... to have people only read and learn what someone else dictates, leading to... well.

I’m not trying to be a dick here, Nonny, I’m really not. But I think you’re really missing the entire point of fiction and story telling. I feel you’re failing in the empathy game here, and failing to understand what romanticizing really actually is.

Whenever I get asks like this, I always feel like the Nonnies don’t really know much about pre-Ao3. I come from “early internet” fandom age, and I’m talking before tags existed. Back when I had to go buy a book at Coles and guess what was in it based on a cover description. No “amazon reviews”. No “harmful content warning” stickers. You just picked up that book, and sometimes you get a sweet story about a friends exploring an alien landscape, and other times WHOOOPS ACCIDENTAL ALIEN SEX I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR. And sometimes, it ended with a dark story about death, and the reality of coping with it.

Twenty years ago, books on the shelves at bookstores and libraries were the only place you could do your reading and they certainly do NOT have tags on them... Modern tagging of stories are a REALLY recent thing introduced probably no less than 15 years ago and was perfected by Ao3 (which was started in 2009).

These days, there is no excuse if you only consume fanfiction on Ao3. Fics are tagged with proper possible-trigger tags 90% of the time. They have a VERY METICULOUS filtering system. You aren’t being forced to read the fics, you don’t have to read the fics, so use those tag filters, they exist for a reason.

So, with that in mind, I genuinely DON’T GET this attitude about people wanting everything sugar coated and saccharine by default. Especially when you can LITERALLY CURATE YOUR OWN CONTENT. Life isn’t sugar coated. And fiction shouldn’t have to be either. People tag fics with triggers for a reason.

As they used to say back in my early internet days: Don’t like it? Don’t read it. Don’t comment, skip, next story.

And to put this ALL into perspective, so that you don’t think I’m talking out of my ass, I’m going to reveal something here: Do you know what fics I can’t read, Nonny, because they trigger me? Eating disorders. That’s self harm, Nonny, in a very different way. But you know what? I know that those fics DO help other ED people so I’m not going to sit her and tell people NOT to rec or write them. And some of those authors who write those stories are processing their own ED through those stories, healing in their own way. And you know what I do when I see one of those fics? I don’t read them, move on, next story.

I’m sorry if you perceive this as me being harsh with you here, Nonny, and you DON’T have to agree with me and you can block me and never talk to me again, and I’ll understand. As I stated at the beginning, I’m offering an alternative perspective, and helping you to see that some people take comfort in these types of stories.

I think what this all boils down to Nonny, after all of this, and rereading your question a final time to see if I missed covering anything, is that (and feel free to shit on me if I am wrong here) I’m getting the impression – as an unprofessional outsider looking in – that you’re still struggling with your inner demons, whether you realize it or not. The tone and brashness of your ask has me believing this... It feels like it was written after a trigger-moment and you needed to vent AT someone because you are alone, and that hurts my heart so much. I truly hope you find peace in your mind, soon, and I hope you have someone to talk to professionally, or at least a friend. (tw under link, suicidal ideation discussion and links to phone numbers that can help you). I only wish the best for you, my Nonny.

Anyway. I welcome other people to chime in here, respectfully, and let me know if I have the wrong take here. Because I genuinely don’t think I do, but I am not a professional, so my entire thing that took me 3 hours to write here is probably moot. I’m especially interested (on anon in my asks if you’re not comfy with revealing yourselves) on thoughts from other people who have survived the original topics here, as well as any therapists and authors as well.

Take care of yourself Nonny. And please curate your own content for your mental health. Ao3 has an “exclusionary tag system” as well, please use it. *hugs*

#steph replies #suicide cw #censorship #self harm cw #chatting with nonnies #Anonymous #eating disorders tw #depression cw #romanticization #my thoughts #i am not a professional #long post

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thewokewordsmith · 3 years

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Author's note: I posted this story before, but took down because I was worried it was too dark for some readers, but I'm a writer and I write all types of stories and censoring myself didn't make sense, so I decided to put the story back up.

Trigger warning: domestic/child abuse.

Blue Flashing Light

When his father came through the front door on Saturday Zuko could tell that it was going to be a violent weekend. The first sign was his father was drunk. He must have gone from his office straight to the bar. The second sign was the way his father looked at him. It were as if he were making a mental list of everything he hated about his son, all of which Zuko would be told about in great detail through the night.

He didn't know what age it was that he'd come to the realization that his father hated him, but he did, and having to be made aware of that fact had robbed him of an innocence kids his age took for granted. None of them had a father whose reason for hating them varied by the hour. Sometimes just his breathing would send his father flying off the handle. So he had learned long ago that the best way to get through the weekends without getting beaten was to stay out of his father's way.

"Ursa, I'm home. Come and greet your Lord."

His mother came down from the grand staircase seconds later to greet her husband. She was so perfectly made up she almost didn't seem real. She was dressed head to toe in clothing picked out by his father. She cut her hair in the style he liked, and wore the perfume and make up he chose.

She kissed him on the cheek. "How was you day darling?"

"Profitable." His father sank down onto the couch and stuck his legs out. Without missing a beat his mother knelt down to pull her husband's socks off, and place a fresh pair of socks and slippers back on to his feet. She stood up and unbuttoned the first three buttons on his shirt then took off his watch, cufflinks, signet ring, and headed upstairs.

It was part of his father's coming home ritual. They didn't have servants because his father didn't trust them. Besides that's what he had a wife and children for. Even Azula was relegated to nothing more than a servant, but she didn't know that.

His mother went back upstairs to put his father's socks in the hamper and his jewelry in his safe.

Zuko had long sense grown accustom to being invisible to his father and used it to his advantage. He waited until his father poured his second glass of awamori and was engrossed in the stock exchange report on television before he tried slipping out the front door. There were enough things to see and do in the city to keep him away from home until curfew, or he could skip going home all together and spend the night sleeping on the park bench as he done many times.

"Where do you think you're going?" His father asked.

Zuko closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. He should have known his father would see him. Normally his father couldn't be bothered about where he went, in fact the more time he spent out of the house the happier Ozai was, but since Azula was spending most of her weekend's at her friends his father seemed to have more time to focus on him. Zuko felt that it was rather ironic that his father ignored him but always knew what he was up to.

"I asked you a question and I demand that you answer me. Where do you think you are going?"

"Out." He answered through clinched teeth. Talking back would just make things worse.

If it hadn't been for his mother, Zuko would have runaway from home a long time ago. Azula would be fine in their father's eyes she could do no wrong, but if he ran away he'd be leaving their mother at the mercy of their father, and he didn't like to think what might happened if he left her to fend for herself.

Not that Zuko could take his father. Ozai was a big man 6'3 and he worked out everyday. Zuko was only thirteen and scrawny, but sinewy like an alley cat, no, he couldn't take his father, but he could fight him long enough to make it not worth it to go after his mother.

"You need to ask my permission first. You need my permission to do anything including drawing a breath."

"Please leave him be and come upstairs." His mother called from the doorway of their bedroom.

Ozai ignored his wife and stood like a statue guarding the front door. Slowly he crossed his arms over his chest. "You can go outside as long as you can get past me."

For a moment Zuko contemplated whether it'd be worth it to take an ass whipping to get past his father he hated backing down to the man. He knew that his pain and humiliation was part of the fuel that powered his father's fragile ego. That same fragile ego had mandated a rule that he keep his hands down to his sides fingers straight when ever being spoken to. He wasn't allowed to do anything with his hands that might be considered an act of bending, but the more he thought about the situation he was trapped in the more he could feel anger building up inside him. He bit his lip but it wasn't enough to assuage his defiance. His hands twitched to life and his fingers curled as if they had a will of their own. He thought about how satisfying it would feel to punch his father in his face over and over and over again.

His father chuckled as if his act of defiance was being done for his amusement. "What are you going to do?"

The alcohol from his father's breath billowed out towards Zuko and lingered in his face like a miasma forcing him to breathe through his nose. The fact that the man was still compos mentis defied logic, and never stopped him from fighting like a man Spirit possessed.

He stepped closer to his father not knowing what he was going to do, but knowing he wanted to do something. He wanted payback for every time he'd been punched, slapped, or kicked. He glared up at his father as his father smirked down at him.

Zuko bit down on his lip so hard he drew blood. His calves were taught and stretched out like rubber bands ready to dodge the moment fist started flying towards him or snap waiting for the blows to land on him. The moments before the beatings began were the worst. There was always the fear that one day his father would go too far.

"Come upstairs Ozai. I'll give you a shiatsu." His mom said still trying to coax him into a less violent frame of mind.

"Shut your whoring mouth Ursa! I'm making a man out of our precious little Zuzu." He looked past the living room and into the kitchen; this thoughts changing like mercury. "Instead of yapping at me like some common bitch why don't you go earn your keep and prepare me something to eat? I shouldn't even have to ask. When I get home you should have a hot meal waiting for me."

It took everything Zuko had not to voice his contempt. His mother would be able to earn a living if it weren't for his father's unreasonable jealousy. His father put a lock on his mom's cell phone and made her ask for permission to use it. He'd taken her driver's license, car keys, and passport. He'd even gone so far as and having her tracked whenever she left the house, and he never allowed her to leave the house for long. He knew, as did Zuko, that his mother would leave with him and Azula and never come back.

"In fact you should get down on your hands and knees and thank me for not putting you and that waste of sperm out in the street." He crossed the living room in three great strides forgetting all about his anger at his son and raced up the stairs to address his wife.

"Don't just stand there get down on your knees and thank me." He gripped his wife's upper arm and dragged her down the hallway. He stopped at the top of the staircase to give Zuko a bird's eye view.

"Thank me!"

"Thank you, Ozai."

"For what?"

"For not putting Zuko-."

"Who?" His father interrupted.

"For not putting That waste of sperm and myself out into the street." His mother said as she crumbled to her knees. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at Zuko.

He hated his father.

"Now go earn your keep." His father commanded as he released her.

Zuko could see his mother trembling as she walked into the kitchen. They never knew what was going to push him over the edge, but they could always feel it coming, and it was coming.

Soon.

"Hurry up!" His father barked at his mom and shoved her straight down to the ground.

"Leave her alone!" Zuko shouted. He could feel the tension in the house grow like a living thing. He felt as if he had breathed in all of the tension and now it was growing inside of him.

"What did you say to me, boy?"

Zuko raced over to his mother and stood protectively in front of her. "I said leave her alone!"

"Is your mind so addled that you think I'd listen to you? The only reason you were even born is because I did not have the foresight to pull out. I'd of been better gifted by fellatio."

Disgusting! His father was disgusting and had no respect for his mother. Once again he had humiliated her. He lived to humiliate her. No more Zuko thought. Never again would he let his father hit his mother or make her feel unworthy.

Zuko reacted on pure instinct. He drew back his fist as far as it would go and slammed it into his father's stomach with everything that he had in him. Thirteen years of pain and suffering when into that punch. He heard his father give a groan as his fist hit him in the stomach. Zuko felt victorious, but his victory was not to be a long lasting one, Ozai's large and solid fist made contact with his not so solid stomach.

Zuko fell down to his knees and retched right there on the living room floor. The punch had left him feeling as if all of his internal organs had been liquefied, and before he could recover from that feeling his father jerked him up from the floor by the collar of his shirt and shook him around violently. The scenery of the room blurred as if he were on a ride at an amusement park. His mother's screams rushed in and out of his ears as his limbs purposelessly flailed around. When his father tired of swinging him around he dropped him to the floor like a piece of garbage.

"Please, please, please stop." His mom begged and Zuko wondered why she even bothered all three of them knew he wasn't going to stop. In fact he was just getting warmed up.

"If you'd taught the lowly cockroach some manners I wouldn't have to."

"FUCK YOU!" Zuko screamed. He was past the point of caring what happened to him, after years of having to repress his anger he was fed up. He wanted a showdown. No matter the out come he wanted things to be finished with his father once and for all. "YOU'RE A PATHETIC PIECE OF SHIT!"

Ozai didn't hesitate to retaliate. His foot swung forward catching Zuko on the cheek with the heel of his imported ming snake boot. The hard heel of the boot shredded his skin as it went.

Zuko struggled to get to his feet. He didn't care if he got killed in the process he was going to make his father feel pain.

"Don't try to move." His mom called out to him. Stay there and I'll come to you."

"Dinner, Ursa."

"You don't expect me to make you dinner without taking care of our son first. Not even you can be that cruel."

Of course he could. Zuko thought. The cruel train had left the station a long time ago and his father was going full steam ahead on the psychopath express.

"Do not make me ask you again." Ozai ordered.

His mother stifled a sob as she walked into the kitchen. There was nothing either of them could do. If his mother tried to come to his aid they would both be punished.

"I'm a Pathetic piece of shit, am I? He asked his lip curling up in a well practiced sneer; well you're a cockroach and you know what people do to insects?" He lifted one of his massively booted feet.

Zuko scrambled backwards as fast as he could. A half second later his father's foot came down so hard it caused the windows to rattle. Ozai didn't give him a chance to get up. He let his fist fly.

There was a bright flash of light, a ringing noise, and then intense pain. Zuko was knocked flat on his back and the pain spread like fire. He screamed not understanding how a punch could hurt so badly. He'd been punched plenty of times in his life, but it had never resulted in this level of pain. Perhaps his eye socket had been broken.

His mother ran out of the kitchen and began to scream.

"Be quiet Ursa!"

"I'm calling the police!" His mom shouted.

"Not another word. Get up stairs before I drag you up by your hair."

Zuko lie on the floor spasming in pain as a sick smell filled the room. The smell was coming from him. The smell was him! It was his flesh burning. Now he understood why the pain was so intense. He hadn't just been punched he'd been burned. His father had used his fire bending to burn him. The pain was so awful so all consuming that he wanted to die to get away from it.

"No! I will spend the rest of my life to make sure you stay in jail for the rest of yours."

His father spun around and bent a huge fireball at his wife. The flames narrowly skirted past her. "Next time I will not miss."

Ursa ran past Zuko. She didn't even chance looking back at him. She raced up the stairs to her bedroom. A few seconds later the door slammed.

"You're not going to do anything you couldn't survive without me." Ozai climbed the stairs stomping louder and louder on each step. "You're nothing, you come from nothing, and without me you'd be absolutely nothing. Where would you live? Who would protect your precious little Zuzu, because I'd have you killed before I let you take my children away from me."

Zuko had managed to crawl over to a corner and sat huddled there. His entire face felt as if it were melting off. He couldn't see out of his left eye. He stared up at the ceiling with his right eye and he could feel blood trickling down his face. The blood that poured out of him felt cold in comparison to the hot bed of lava the was now the left side of his face, or what remained.

Upstairs his mom continued to scream her voice partially quieted against the backdrop of his father's heavy handed fist raining down on her flesh, and then she stopped screaming all together.

The house went silent.

His rage sated his father came back down stairs and sprawled out on the couch still somehow managing, with the exception of his knuckles, to look like he should be gracing the cover of a high fashion magazine.

At that moment Zuko forgot all about his hatred towards his father. He forgot about his pain. He forgot that he'd ever been burned. His heart seemed have arrived at the top of the stairs before he did even though he raced up them three at a time. His hand shook as he opened the door that may as well have been made of lead for how long it seemed to take to swing open.

The lump in his throat felt like it was strangling him, and he didn't even realize that he'd been walking around with his right eye closed until he whacked his shin on the vanity. He opened his eye.

"Mom?"

In the middle of the floor lie his mother looking like a broken porcelain doll. His heart felt close to stopping.

"Mom?"

She didn't move. He couldn't see her chest rising and falling.

"It's me, Zuko." A cell phone that he did not recognize as his mother's was smashed into pieces beside her.

Finding his mother lying bloody and broken in the middle of the floor had happened more times than Zuko cared to remember, yet every time he saw her this way he was scared to check on her, but also too scared not to. He didn't dare shake her. Carefully he knelt down beside her.

"Mom, mom, please be OK."

He gently turned her on her side and softly pushed her hair from her face some of it got stuck in the blood that poured from her. A sob caught in his throat almost choking the breath out of him. Never before had his father hit either of them in their faces, but tonight he had destroyed both of theirs. His mother's eyes were wide open, but didn't see. Her bruised face was like a mask. The last scream she'd been screaming hadn't left. "No, no, no." He kissed her forehead and hugged her close to his body and wept. "Please, mom I need you. I love you."

Downstairs his father was still on the couch sleeping with a careless look on his face. It would be so easy to set the couch on fire. His father probably wouldn't even wake up, and if he did set the couch on fire by the time his father woke up it would be too late.

He began to creep towards the couch.

His father half opened his eyes and laughed as he watched Zuko creeping across the living room. "Go ahead boy. Creep like the cockroach you are, but you better make sure whatever attack you have planned kills me instantly." He didn't even bother to ask about his wife.

Knowing his opportunity to take his father out was gone Zuko turned around and headed upstairs. He knew that his father would not go to jail. He never went to jail. He was far too important of a man. He owned Sozin electric, Sozin shipping, and Sozin refinery. He was one of the wealthiest men and landowners in the Four Nations. He owned Fire Nation prisons he didn't get thrown into them.

"Tell your mother I still don't have my dinner." His father ordered.

Blood and tears streamed from his eyes; the tears from his left eye burning like lava on their way down. The police weren't coming, and there was no one out there who could save him. He may have only been thirteen but he already knew money could buy anything or anyone. He was a rat, his home was a cage, and he was trapped.

None of his neighbors ever called the police despite seeing the numerous bruises on him throughout the years. They convinced themselves that he was a clumsy kid who had a lot of accidents.

Even if his neighbors called the police nothing would change.

The police would show up with their hands out waiting for his father to pay them off to not report the abuse. His teacher's would blame his bruises on the fights he got into despite the fact that he had far more bruises and broken bones than fights. The doctors would look at him with pity as they patched him up knowing full well the hell they were sending him back to.

His father's pet lawyer had convinced the judge that Ozai was merely disciplining his son. If his son hadn't of been incorrigible and insolent, or if his son did not talk back then he wouldn't get hit. Ozai's work was stressful and the last thing he needed to come home to at the end of the day was a surly son who didn't respect him, and if Zuko didn't respect his father could he be blamed for disciplining him? No. It wasn't his father's fault for losing his temper it was Zuko's fault for making him lose his temper in the first place.

The pain was starting to come back, but Zuko ignored it the best that he could. There was someone else he had to take care of before he could take care of himself. He always knew his father would go too far one day, but he figured that it would be his body that his mother would be sobbing over.

He didn't care if it was tampering with evidence, this was his mother, and he wouldn't let her be seen like this by anyone. He bent down and lifted his mother up into her bed. The crime scene photos would get out and they would be spread all over the world. His father had a lot of influence over the media between that, and his team of lawyers, his father would ruin his mother's reputation. The ultimate and final power move in a marriage where his mother had none. He refused to let his father ruin the only thing she had left.

Zuko went to the bathroom, got a washcloth, and ran it under the sink. He made sure the water wasn't too hot before using the washcloth to clean the blood from his mother's face. He worked as gently as he could taking care not to press down too hard wherever there was a bruise. He closed her eyes with his fingertips so that it looked as if she was sleeping. He brushed her hair and fanned it over her shoulders. Then he sat down beside her and held her hand. She didn't speak. Not even to tell him that everything would be all right as long as they had each other like she always did. She didn't move. Not even to give him one of her super special huggy hugs. He closed his eyes. He'd never been so tired in all of his life.

Something was stuck to his face and automatically Zuko reached up to remove whatever it was. As soon as his hands touched skin the whole left side of his face throbbed and burned. His right eye snapped opened as the events of the day flooded back into his brain. What did he have to live for now?

The house was still silent. Zuko realized that the pain had caused him to blackout and he had no idea of how much time he'd lost. He could feel dry sticky blood on his face. He tried rubbing some of the blood away but that only sent a rippling wave of pain over him and blood started running down his face again. He popped off of the bed not wanting to stain the sheets. They were his mother's favorite.

He needed something to wipe his face on but didn't want to use anything in his parent's room. Zuko thought of it more as his mother's room because it was the only room in the entire house that she'd been allowed to decorate. It was the only room in the entire house that had her personal style. Every time he came into his parent's room he was reminded of how much she loved him.

"I love you too mom. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you." He wanted to say more to his mother but he didn't have the right words.

The pain from the burn was getting worse it seemed to grow more intense every time he drew a breath. He dropped to his knees, but he refused to let the pain incapacitate him, teeth clenched and hands gripping deep into the carpet he pushed himself to his feet. He staggered to his room and fell back down lying half in and half out of the doorway curled up on his side like a shrimp. Blood and sweat ran into his face and eyes stinging like a snake bite. Some of the blood ran into his mouth and he turned on his side to spit it out. He needed to clean himself up.

He smiled when he spotted his curtains. Gathering his last reserve of strength he crawled until he lie beside his window. He had always hated the damn curtains. His father had paid a Fire Lord's ransom for them because they were genuine artifacts from the Fire Nation Royal family. Through his father he was a direct descendant of Fire Lord Sozin. Zuko couldn't have cared less, but his ancestry obsessed father made sure that everyone who knew never forgot.

Zuko used the curtains to wipe the blood off of his face. Despite everything that had just transpired he was still going to get the living shit kicked out of him because of the curtains. His father would absolutely lose it when he saw that they had been ruined. Only they weren't ruined, not beyond repair, not yet. He held out the bloodstained curtains and threw back his head in laughter. Of course!

Moments later car doors slamming and blue flashing lights indicated that help had arrived. He could barely see the billowing black smoke that poured from his room, but the smell choked him until tears streamed out of his right eye. The noise of the roaring flames sounded like music to his ears. Tonight it was all over. After thirteen years of mental and physical abuse the neighbors had finally gotten involved, and all it had taken was setting his curtains on fire. He wondered who would reach him first the fire department or his father?

#Zuko #Azula #Ozai #Ursa #avatar the last airbender #atla #fanfic #cw domestic abuse #cw child abuse

9 notes · View notes

profoundnet · 3 years

Photo

PROFOUND MEMBER MASTERPOST FOR NOVEMBER 2020!

Featuring Destiel/Gen works by jscribbles, Jeanne_de_Valois, tiamatv, LeafZelindor, prosopopeya, DragonSgotenks, sketching-fox, kittimau, castielslostwings, FriendofCarlotta, universalsatan, Idjit_01, Destielshipper4Cas, purple_charlie, Maleyah, noeizumispn, kitmistry, TheSongSmith, one_more_offbeat_anthem, interstitial, JusithAndronicus, ArielAquarial, queer-things-do-happen-dean, goldenraeofsun, andimeantittosting, and starprincecas.

Join us on Discord!

Masterpost below the cut.

jscribbles - jscribbles

I’ll Go With You (G, 4.7k)

A coda to 15x18 "Despair".

He hadn't said anything. He hadn't said anything when he'd been given the chance.

Tags: 15.20, reunion, grief, love confession

We Are Real (M, 2.4k)

Smutty sequel to I'll Go With You.

Dean hadn't kissed him yet.

But they were alone now, and free.

Tags: 15.18, smut

404 Error (G, 500 words)

How hablo espaniol?!!

I DON'T KNOW. Neither does Dean.

Tags: spoilers for 15.18, based on spanish dub, crack fic

The Weight of Silence (E, 26k)

The weight of silence is heavy on Dean's shoulders as he learns to live a new kind of life in Heaven. In classic Winchester-style, despite being in a place that isn't supposed to have pain and suffering, Dean rebels against it by being straight-up fucking miserable.

Tags: depression, mentions of john winchesters garbage parenting, canon compliant, 15.20 fix it coda, happy ending, smut, romance, love confessions

Jeanne_de_Valois - Jeanne_de_Valois

Free Bird (G, 1.7k)

Heaven is an open road and not having to pay for gas.

Heaven is a greasy sandwich and a novelty-sized candy bar.

Heaven is awkward, shuffling, confusing.

Heaven is getting to say what you wished you said, a lifetime ago.

(A Coda to Supernatural 15.20- Carry On)

Tags: Post-Episode: s15e20 Carry On, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Requited Love

tiamatv - tiamatv

Stone and Flesh (E, 6k)

Dean didn’t think, even in his filthiest imaginings, that Cas would sound like this in bed—loud, eager, easy with it. He doesn’t give a fuck who hears him enjoying himself. Though maybe Dean should have known. It’s not like Cas has ever once held back on anything he ever wanted to say or do—

Didn’t he?

(Not quite an episode coda for S15e18 per se, but more a "what comes after.")

Tags: AU - canon divergence; Post-Episode S15e18: Despair; Canonical Character Death; Selectively Mute Dean Winchester; Hopeful Ending

Domestic (T, 5.6k)

A little less than a year after the world doesn’t end, he and Cas get married.

Tags: AU - Canon Divergence; Future Fic; Tooth-Rotting Fluff; Domesticity in the Men of Letters Bunker; Kid Fic

Bight (E, 2.5k)

“Do you want more?” Cas asked, against Dean’s thigh. His thumb strummed gently at the soft, folded-up pocket behind Dean’s bound knee.

It tickled, but… didn’t.

Dean didn’t know what the answer to that was.

Tags: AU - Canon Divergence; Rope Bondage; Gentle Dom Castiel; Sub Dean Winchester; Praise Kink

LeafZealindor - @leafzelindor

Artwork for “break to let the light in” DCBB2020 (SFW)

Artwork draw for the DCBB2020 fic "break to let the light in"

Tags: fluff, touching, intimacy. Accompanied by fic by PeppermiintsPlease.

prosopopeya - prosopopeya

Like Real People Do (G, 4.9k)

Castiel experienced a moment of pure happiness, expecting it to be his last.

It wasn't.

Tags: Post-15x18, canon divergence, first kiss, angst with a happy ending, first kiss

Under the Same Sun (E, 14k)

In which time is infinite, and so is the list of people willing to help Dean figure out what to do about Cas.

A fix-it for a lot of things: Dean's repressed bisexuality, Dean's utterly inexplicable failure to realize what Cas meant, the Charlie & Dean brother/sister content I crave, among others.

Tags: Internalized biphobia, Charlie Bradbury & Dean Winchester, angst with a happy ending, post-series, Heaven fic

DragonSgotenks - DragonSgotenks

Say Cheese (E, 50k)

Dean Winchester is thirty, flirty, and thriving, or at least that's how his best friend Charlie describes him. Either way Dean feels pretty good about his life. He has a decent job, a nice house, and a great group of friends and family. Sure his brother's been living hundreds of miles away to attend law school and an internship, and yeah maybe he wasn't working his dream job, and so, okay, he spent most nights zoning out in front of the tv alone but that was fine. Dean was fine. Until he gets a call about a daughter he didn't know existed and suddenly Dean's quiet (boring) life is turned upside down.

Castiel Novak is a photographer whose passion lies in capturing the beauty of nature. However to pay the bills he works part time at the mall doing portrait photography. Sure it might not be as artistic as he'd like and his odd hours make for a dull social life but he's still doing what he loves. He especially enjoys doing the kids photos and over the last couple of years he's built a bit of a reputation for always getting the shot no matter how unruly or stubborn a child might be. So when a handsome father brings in his grumpy little girl for pictures Castiel thinks it will be just another photo shoot.

He's wrong.

Tags: Destiel, Single parent Dean, kidfic, bottom Dean/top Castiel, mentions of childhood trauma, eventual smut, past Lydia/Dean

sketching-fox - @sketching-fox

Dean Winchester Monster Fucker (NSFW)

Arts done for Dean Cas Big Bang in my partnership with LoversAntiquities.

Tags: alleyway, impala, mature content. Accompanied by fic by LoversAntiquities.

kittimau - @kmauspn - kittimau

Beg Pretty For Me (E, 5k)

“Cas…” His eyes flutter closed, mind slipping into the warm, pleasant haze of that special place, the one that allows him release, relief. Peace. Heart pounding in his chest, he fights the temptation to touch himself through the delicate material because Cas hasn’t told him to yet and he wants to be good.

“I want to hear you say it, Dean.”

“Fuck…” He swallows thickly. “Yeah. I- I feel beautiful.”

Tags: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Phone Sex, Light Dom/Sub, Dean Winchester Wears Panties, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Masturbation, Dom Castiel/Sub Dean Winchester

castielslostwings - @castielslostwings - Castielslostwings

Loud (G, 4.3k)

Minutes, hours, days, years might have already passed—time is different here, and Castiel has no way of tracking it, and still the Shadow doesn’t come.

Castiel sits, he stands, he walks and walks and walks and walks. All he ever discovers is more darkness, more nothing.

Tags: 15.19 coda, alternate 15.20, canon fix-it, carry on fix-it, canon-compliant, love confessions, the empty, coda fic, the profound bond

Carry On (E, 8k)

“I think I’ll go for a drive.”

This is what happened between that moment, and Dean meeting Sam on that bridge.

(A 15x20 missing scene/fix-it fic).

Tags: 15x20 fix-it, Carry On coda, love confessions, castiel and dean are in love, first kiss, first time, reunions, Heaven improved, dean gets the funeral he deserves, missing scene

FriendofCarlotta - @friendofcarlotta - FriendofCarlotta

The Novel (E, 4.5k)

Dean, Cas, Sam and Eileen are happily retired and living their best lives. There's just one problem: Sam has decided to commemorate the Winchester brothers' adventures by writing a novel, and it's not very good at all.

AKA the episode coda where 15x20 was nothing more than Dean reading a draft of his brother's first novel and becoming increasingly appalled.

Tags: Coda, Episode Fix-It: s15e20 Carry On, Technically Canon-Compliant, First Kiss, Top Cas/Bottom Dean

universalsatan - @universalsatan - UniversalSatan

Mortal One, With The Sun in His Hands (E, 135k)

Cowhand Dean Winchester is notorious for risky gambles, rightfully proud of his horse Impala (who has the prettiest speckle in the West), and is stubbornly certain that his life is in apple-pie order. His comfortable existence crumbles apart when he's saved from a fire-and-brimstone death by a mysterious wanderer he discovers to be the infamous White Bandit, mythical Angel of the Desert. While his savior is as fearsome as the legends say, Dean can't help but draw closer to the quiet and endearing man the real Bandit turns out to be... even if he doesn't yet realize they're the same person. This time, Dean may have to reach out to the flame instead of recoil.

Tags: Western, Historical Fantasy, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Cowboys, Plot-Heavy, Hurt/Comfort, Dean Winchester is Bad at Feelings Graphic Depictions of Violence, Explicit Sexual Content (Censored Version Available). Accompanied by art by Artmetica.

Idjit_01 - Idjit_01

I’m not gonna say that I’d change it cause you and I know that we can’t (T, 1.3k)

After Lisa's goodbye speech to Dean in 6x14, Dean gets drunk and calls Cas.

Tags: Episode: s06e14 Mannequin 3: The Reckoning, Alcohol abuse/Alcoholism, Canon Divergence, Lisa Braeden/Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, Hurt No comfort, yes both

game over (try again, please) (G, 887 words)

After Case and everyone else's departure in 15x18 Sam and Dean sit and talk. (And yes they discuss Cas's confession)

Tags: Post-Episode: s15e18 Despair, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Suicidal Thoughts, Canonical Character Death, Good Sibling Sam Winchester

There’s blood on your face. (Beer and Nightmares) (G, 1.4k)

Dean wakes up pretty badly shaken from a nightmare. He struggles with it. He goes to the kitchen for a beer, but Cas and Sam are there. In the end, thanks to Cas's shenanigans, he doesn't even remember the nightmare.

Tags: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, Teasing, Touch-Starved Dean Winchester, BAMF Castiel (Supernatural), Sam Winchester Is So Done

Help(less) (T, 1.9k)

Everyone Chuck took away is back and are doing normal life again. As there are no monsters and everyone around him has someone else, Dean's on his own and feels awful. So he drives away and makes several questionable choices. Featuring: Dean, a missing angel, a moose, Baby and a frankly abused forest

Tags: Post-Episode: s15e18 Despair, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Grief/Mourning, Vomiting, Eating Disorders, Suicidal Attempt, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death

Destielshipper4Cas - @destielshipper4cas - Destielshipper4Cas

The Alpha Next Door (E, 36k)

When Cas is placed in WitSec, he gets a fake secondary gender designation to go along with his new name, ‘Jimmy.’ All he has to do until the boss of the omega trafficking ring he escaped is behind bars is keep a low profile, always apply his alpha scent, and not fall in love with an alpha. Well—two out of three ain’t too bad…

Dean has never had a crush on an alpha before. Along comes his new neighbor, Jimmy, an alpha who is alphasexual. There’s just something about him, and to his utter confusion, he finds himself falling for an alpha for the first time in his life.

Tags: Past Rape/Non-con, Strangers to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Omega Verse

purple_charlie - purple_charlie

Walk Through Fire for You (T, 2.3k)

Boyfriend.

The word still feels foreign in Dean’s mouth, still brings back echoes of John Winchester’s thinly-veiled (if even that) homophobia. "Man up, don’t be a sissy, I didn’t raise a fairy". It’s a swollen blister in the back of Dean’s mind, throbbing with pain whenever a stranger’s eyes linger too long on Cas’ hand in his, whenever a waitress double-takes at how close they sit in diner booths.

But here, dirty dancing with Cas in a warehouse full of other queer folks, Dean wants to shout from the rooftops- I’m Dean Winchester, I drive the baddest car in town, I lift heavy things for a living, and this is my boyfriend.

Tags: Homophobic parents, homophobic siblings, bisexual Dean, Gay Cas, Pride, marijuana use

Maleyah - @maleyah-givemetomorrow - Katherine_Kat

Art for In A State of Perpetual Disrepair (SFW)

Art for my fic, In A State of Perpetual Disrepair, a hurt/comfort A/B/O Destiel fic.

Tags: fanart, A/B/O, hurt/comfort, Alpha!Cas, Omega!Dean

Start of Time (G, 754 words)

Except he never expected to be awake for the aftermath.

You see, he can hear Dean's prayers.

Tags: Castiel POV, Despair, Hope, Coda 15x18, post episode 15x18, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts

We’re Not Gonna Take It (T, 1.4k)

Amara gestures at Dean calmly. “Have you been praying lately by any chance?”

Dean flusters and stammers, hands at his hips to give himself an attitude, while his eyes flick from her to Sam and Jack insecurely. “N… No.”

Tags: Coda 15x19, Post episode 15x19, Fix It, Dean's dirty prayers, Dean Prays to Castiel, Angel Wings, Wings, First Kiss

Drive (M, 1.5k)

Dean's prayers take a turn for the sensual, which drives The Empty to the brink.

Tags: Coda 15x18; post episode 15x18,, Dean Prays to Castiel, Dean's dirty prayers, Angel Wings, Wings, First Kiss, Fix-It, Slight Crack

Now That We’re Dead (M, 2.5k)

“You got everything you could ever want or need or dream. So I guess the question is… What’re you gonna do now, Dean?”

Looking around, he doesn’t know how to answer that question. The obvious is suggested when she turns out to have made it to Heaven too. Dust dances in the air around Baby, shining in the sunlight, tempting him to go for a ride. The endless stretched out road and horizon.

He blinks a few times, slow and owlish.

And right there, his shadow falling long and dark, almost touching Dean’s feet, is Cas.

OR: the one where Cas gets the love he deserves

Tags: 15x20 coda, Fix It, First Kiss, human!Cas, Heaven, Heaven happy ending, Canon divergent from the moment Bobby says "Cas helped", Fix-It

I Wanna Live, Not Just Survive (M, 3.9k)

“Dean Winchester,” Cas drawls. “I did not go to The Empty, so you could get yourself impaled.”

Or: the other one, where Cas and Dean get to be what they deserve.

Tags: coda 15x20, Fix-It, Human Castiel (Supernatural), Earth happy ending, Because let's not bury our gays, First Kiss, Cuddles, Hurt/Comfort

noeizumispn - @noeizumispn

Colors (SFW)

Art inspired by Misha's words on Cas' wings

Tags: Rainbow, colors, destiel, wings

kitmistry - @kitmistry - Kitmistry

Don’t You Cry No More (T, 4.8k)

There has to be something, he told himself the first night he pulled an all nighter, only to wake up with his cheek smashed against a book, dark circles under his eyes, a throbbing headache, and nowhere closer to the answer than when he started. The light was still on above his head. He didn’t bother turning it off.

Or the one where Dean doesn't die, but he searches for Cas instead.

Tags: Fix-It, Coda, Episode: s15e20 Carry On, Post-Canon, Angst with a Happy Ending

TheSongSmith - TheSongSmith

Four Seasons (G, 754 words)

Cas is the owner of Four Seasons Total Landscaping, and he received a very curious call on a quiet Saturday morning. Dean owns the adult shop next door, and is very confused by what's going on. Good times are had by all, except Donald Trump because fuck that morally-bankrupt tangerine.

Tags: Four Seasons Total Landscaping, Destiel is Canon, 2020 is a dumpster fire so have this fic, twitter made me do it

one_more_offbeat_anthem - one_more_offbeat_anthem

So Comes Snow After Fire (G, 11k)

Cas was old, like old-old, like ancient, like here for the beginning of the goddamn cosmos old, like remembers rain being invented old, and he could be anywhere, but instead he was in Dean’s kitchen (well, the bunker’s, but no one else cooked--Jack and Cas were kind of clueless when it came to that stuff, and all Sam made was health food), reading The Hobbit aloud to Dean while Dean himself made them all spaghetti.

(or, they got their win--the biggest win of all--and now autumn is settling in. a nearly-human Cas plants a garden, and Dean helps him along.)

Tags: Post-Canon/Canon-Divergent, Domesticity, Getting together, Fluff and comfort, Gardening Castiel

interstitial - interstitial

Thirst Was Made For Water (T, 5.9k)

Cas is hit by a truth spell. The results are unexpected.

And maybe just a tiny bit funny. Unless you're Dean.

Tags: Dubiously Consensual Courting Behavior, Mildly NSFW Art Included, Profanity, Crack & Fluff, Truth Spells, Animal Transformations, Canon Divergent After s7e17 The Born-Again Identity, Light-Hearted and (Relatively) Wholesome For These Trying Times

JudithAndronicus - @judithandronicus - judithandronicus

Up We Go (E, 4.9k)

A coda fic series for 15.18.

Tags: Grieving, Canonical MCD (temporary), Alcoholic Dean, Angst with a Happy Ending

The Kindness of Ravens (E, 7.5k)

Crackfic wherein ravens pooping on Dean lead to feelings realization and eventual smut.

Tags: Fluff, Crack, Feelings Realization, Diners

The Ampersand Chronicles (G, 1.3k)

This is unrepentant canon-adjacent Bunker fluff, set in a universe where everything is kind of the same, except fluffier. Cas lives in the Bunker with Sam and Dean; things like Gadreel and Lucifer aren't a problem; and oh yeah, there's a cat.

Tags: Fluff, Bunker Fic, Kittens

ArielAquarial - ArielAquarial

Boyfriend Blues (G, 1k)

“I have a boyfriend!”

It came out of nowhere. One second Dean was shoveling a truly amazing pork roast into his mouth, already planning the meat to mashed potato ratio of his next bite, when Claire opened her mouth and his fork was clattering to the plate. Cas stopped mid-bite to stare at her while Jack, completely oblivious, continued making a Jackson Pollock out of his potatoes and gravy.

Tags: Parenthood, Domestic Fluff, Married Life, Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Kid Claire Novak, Kid Jack Kline

Extra Credit (E, 4.2k)

“Hey, babe. Who has the kids?”

“Mr. Winchester…” Cas rumbled, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest. “You’re cutting it close. My office hours are almost over.”

Dean frowned at him, confused. That didn’t even remotely answer his question. What did he—

Oh…

Oh!

Or, the moment Dean has been waiting for has finally arrived.

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Husbands, Professor Castiel (Supernatural), Mechanic Dean Winchester, Sexual Roleplay, Teacher/Student Roleplay, Anniversary

Never in a Million Years (G, 2.5k)

If someone had told Cas six years ago that he was going to be a happily married man with two kids, he would have laughed. Now, with Dean by his side, he couldn't imagine things being different, even if the path to get there had been a little rocky.

Tags: Domestic Fluff, Holiday Traditions, Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Backstory, Bickering, Married Life

queer-things-do-happen-dean - @queer-things-do-happen-dean - Latter_alice

Tangerine, tangerine (E, 1k)

“So it’s – It’s really nothin’, huh?” Dean swallows and tries to blink away the wetness in his eyes. His gaze don’t weaver from the road. “No, uh, key words ring a bell? Chuck? Angel tablet?” He pauses, flicks his eyes over to Castiel and back. “... Leviathans?"

When Dean pulls Cas out of the Empty, not everything comes back.

Tags: Canon divergent, post series, memory loss

goldenraeofsun - @goldenraeofsun - goldenraeofsun

Symmetria (T, 4k)

When all’s said and done with Chuck, Dean takes his time getting used to his new gig as capital D Death. Billie, of course, did not see fit to leave him a training manual. But with his brother-turned-God on his side, and Jack as the new Darkness, they all muddle through.

Finally, all that's left is to rescue Cas from the Empty.

Tags: 15x18 fix-it, alternate post-series AU, Death!Dean, God!Sam, Darkness!Jack, love confessions, first kiss, minor Sam/Eileen

andimeantittosting - @andimeantittosting - andimeantittosting

We Are (M, 699)

15x18 coda. When they get Cas back, because they do, because somehow, someway, sometimes good things do happen, Dean...

Tags: Reunion, Resurrected Castiel, Requited Love, Happy Ending

Carrying On (G, 794 words)

15x20 coda. Dean dies and goes to heaven. But then he wakes up.

Tags: Fix-it Fic, Djinn, Happy Ending on Earth

Two Inches to the Left (T, 2.5k)

15x20 coda. Something tells Dean to stop by that bridge, so he does. The last thing he's expecting is for a pair of Vespas to pull up and Becky Rosen to tell him that he's still in Chuck's story. Finally, it's time to write his own.

Tags: Fix-it Fic, Temporary Character Death, Happy Ending on Earth, Fangirls Save the Day

starprincecas - @starprincecas - cuddlesandcas

so it goes (T, 1.4k)

The Empty comes to collect.

Tags: Major Character Death, Episode Tag: s15e18 Despair, Angst

no more waiting on tomorrow (T, 739 words)

For all that they’ve finally won once and for all, the victory feels hollow.

Tags: Episode Tag: s15e19 Inherit the Earth, Fix-It Fic

#dean winchester #castiel #destiel #deancas #spn #profound monthly masterpost #profoundnet #november masterpost #member fic #member art

33 notes · View notes

xoxo-ren-xoxo · 4 years

Text

smptwt as of 04/07/2020

Right. You asked for it, so you shall recieve. Below the cut is probably one of the most thought-out, in-depth, hopefully unbiased (but probably not) and above all helpful accounts of what the fuck is happening in the smplive and lunch club fandoms right now. I will be covering everything I can- but in the case that I’ve forgotten something, please let me know so I can have a crack at making an update.

Before the cut, I’d just like to link my first three posts about this same topic, covering my thoughts and the events of the last couple of months of drama. It feels so strange that I’ve made so many of these, but as long as they help people, I’ll keep making them.

Part 1: https://crunchy-corvid.tumblr.com/post/619547090403622912/the-cscoopsmptwt-drama

Part 2: https://crunchy-corvid.tumblr.com/post/619746266158661633/more-on-smptwt-long-post

Part 3: https://crunchy-corvid.tumblr.com/post/619886809143476225/smptwt-part-3-030620

I’d like to preface this with a huge thank you to everyone who helped me collect and compile information for this post- and those who helped censor twitter handles and edit screenshots. Without you, this post would have never been made.

Thank you to everyone on the Cancelled Heaven discord server: https://discord.gg/emrh2u

Now, onto the thing.

So we’ll start at the beginning with the easiest ‘drama’ (I hate calling it that) to cover. Charlie (slimecicle) tweeted on his second account and it caused a little upset. It’s not much but it feeds into a greater conversation that I think is relevant here:

We’ll start with Charlie’s original point, then move on to the reply. Obviously, this post was poorly timed, because everyone thought it was about the Cooper (cscoop) drama, when in reality it was just a general comment. I saw a lot of replies along the lines of ‘it’s okay you can @ cscoop’ and similar things. If you’ve read my previous posts you’ll know how I feel about the Cooper situation, but regardless, there are a few reasons why this is a Bad Take/poor interpretation of what Charlie said.

Charlie and Cooper are friends. They haven’t fallen out as far as we know. Charlie is left-wing, and definately doesn’t seem like the kind of person to be friends with someone who is racist/transphobic/sexist etc. So why would he be talking about Cooper in this post?

Also, Charlie is clearly talking about people who still say slurs, not people who have said slurs in the past. This is how I read it, a jab at streamers and gamers who use ‘dark humour’ to justifty their actions. A lot of people seemed to relate this to Cooper, despite him never trying to justify his use of slurs. The people who did try to justify his actions this way were fans, not the man himself. So again, this post doesn’t relate to Cooper.

On to the reply, which sparks a different conversation all together. While I see where the commenter is coming from, and agree with them to an extent, Charlie is allowed to have his own opinion on the matter. And he is right. Using insulting language against heterosexual people does create a larger divide and doesn’t get anyone on our ‘side’. It just makes us look immature and causes a lot of straight cis people to assume that we hate them.

On the other hand, I do think that saying things like ‘disgusting hets’ can be a funny joke if you are saying it to your friends who don’t have any issue with it. You probably shouldn’t get into the habit of saying things like that though, just in case you actually hurt someone with your words. Both sides of the argument have pros and cons, so anyone angry at Charlie for his opinion really have no reason to be.

Charlie’s reponse to this comment was reasonable, responsible, and mature, and he is clearly showing that he understands the concerns of his audience. This is all I’ll say about Charlie in this post. Honestly, he’s generally unproblematic and ‘safe’ to keep watching, if you enjoy a very drama-free environment. Have fun!

Now I’ll move on to Ted. He’s made some great points recently about cancel culture which I strongly agree with. Here’s his first tweets:

I don’t have much to add here, this is perfectly valid in my opinion- though I feel like sometimes you can tell a lot about a person by the people they follow. For example, if someone follows Trump, Ben Shapiro, and a bunch of right-wing youtubers, they probably agree with a lot of the things they say. But I think the point Ted is trying to make is that he shouldn’t be harassed about drama his friends fall into. If he isn’t involved, leave him out of it.

Next we’ll take a look at his tweets on stans, probably sparked by the drama with Carson, which I will be talking about later.

Again, I have no issue with what Ted is saying here. His idea is a good one, and a fun way to distinguish casual fans from people who create art, content, and (appropriate) fanfiction for the ‘flandom’!

Basically, how I see it, is that a ‘fan’ is a casual viewer who doesn’t really get involved in the flandom, maybe posting about smplive and/or lunch club occasionally, but not being too involved. A ‘flan’ is someone who interracts a lot, creates art and fiction that respects boundaries, and posts more about the boys than a casual fan does. A ‘stan’ is a stalker-fan, creepy and obsessive, too invested, maybe creates art and fiction that crosses boundaries, and obsessively posts about the boys.

I think this new terminology is really cool and Ted is smart for coming up with it (also, probably hungry when coming up with it too). I think that the term ‘stan’ should be thrown out and used to describe the ‘bad’ side of fandoms. There is a risk that people will hide behind the term ‘flan’ to disguise the fact that they are a stan, but this is still a good step foward.

But you’re not here to listen to me ramble about Ted or Charlie. You’re here for Carson. So let’s get on with it.

Carson made a series of tweets talking about stans, much like Ted did later. He seemed tired of stans harassing him about his friends, a sentiment shared by Ted (who faced very minimal backlash over his tweets). Here’s what he said:

Which is something I fully agree with. For big content creators like Carson and his friends, stan culture is absolutely insane. Recently they’ve been trying to ‘catch out’ many people who are part of smplive and/or lunch club, most obviously with Cooper and Schlatt but I’ve seen the others getting ‘called out’ too. Carson’s anti-stan stance is well-known in the flandom (yes I am using that word get used to it) so these tweets didn’t surprise me.

For some reason stans seem to think that if one creator is okay with their behaviour, every other creator is too. This is not the case. Carson was within his full right to say these things about stans.

Obviously the replies got out of hand. People became horribly angry very quickly, and clearly Carson had already had enough because pretty soon he started blocking stan accounts- which only made them more mad.

Of course, there were supporters and anti-stan comments out there too, such as this fun exchange:

But a whole lot of people got angry. Carson was trending for a while, too, after he started blocking stans. Unfortunately some people did get wrongfully blocked, which sucks, sure, but use of an alt account or logging off of twitter can solve that problem (this can also be said for stan accounts. Carson didn’t stop any of them from viewing his content, just blocked them so that he didn’t have to see their tweets).

Carson did this for his own mental health. After a long conversation with older people who have been in fandoms for decades, I can tell you that being at the top is always hell. New threads created about you every day, friends you can’t trust, and people giving you shit for things other people said. I can’t imagine how someone as popular as Carson has dealt with this for so long.

People who were blocked started to claim that they were having panic attacks, that they hyperfixate so they can’t help being obsessive, and that Carson doesn’t care about mental health for these reasons. They said some pretty toxic and manipulative things and a lot of people clearly didn’t know what they were talking about:

First of all, these comments on the Katerino and Fitz situation are honestly disgusting. These people are only proving Carson’s point that stans will be super supportive one second and turn around to hate you the next. To bring up something like this, something completely unrelated and highly personal- knowing Carson will see- is disgraceful. To speculate about a relationship that Carson has explicitly stated he doesn’t want people to speculate about just to try and make a point? Horrible.

A lot of stans seem to have this ‘we made you famous so we dictate how you feel’ mentality, which I hate. Exactly as the reply says, they sound like toxic parents with these words. To think you deserve ‘respect’ from someone after accusing their friends of horrible things and harassing them to the point that they block you is so manipulative and quite frankly cruel.

Again, Carson has the right to block anyone he wants. Creators are not your friends, they are entertainment. If you are making them upset and harassing them, you shouldn’t get mad when they block you.

Listen. It can be tough, finding out that someone you look up to has blocked you. Yes, I’m sure people had a not-so-nice time with their mental health when it happened to them. But in most cases, they were blocked for a reason. Some people were even literally asking to get blocked and then got mad when they did. But again, no one has been barred from viewing Carson’s content. He simply blocked people who he didn’t want to see in his comments section.

You have freedom of speech, but you don’t have freedom from consequence. If you say something that hurts someone else, you’re not always going to be free from their judgement.

Carson has been very open about his own struggles with depression and imposter syndrome recently, and people are viewing his actions as... hypocritical? This is flawed logic. Carson blocked stans because they were bad for his mental health, the fact that some claim to have had ‘panic attacks’ as a result is not on him. He has the autonomy to block who he wants to block.

Wilbur Soot made some comments about the situation, which can be found in this video from 7 minutes 30 seconds in, and goes until 10 minutes and 11 seconds in:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/667971714

What Wilbur says here is completely understandable. He doesn’t have a problem with stans, but doesn’t speak for anyone but himself. Just because one person is okay with something doesn’t mean someone else is, too.

Also, a lot of people think that it’s okay to hate on someone like Carson or Schlatt, then turn around and stan Wilbur, which is kind of fucked up, because they’re friends in real life. How would you feel if someone was super nice to you, then turned around and harassed your friends?

A lot of people claimed to have ‘hyperfixations’ on Carson or lunch club, which they used as an excuse to be obsessive and creepy. This is bullshit, but someone else explained it a lot better than I could:

And I absolutely agree with this. You cannot use neurodivergence to explain away your creepiness. That’s just offensive to people who do hyperfixate, and leads to even more problems and misunderstandings.

Carson did a stream much later where he talked about all of these things, and boy did that go well (not). Here is a clip of him talking about hyperfixations:

https://m.twitch.tv/clip/SuaveBlushingDotterelBCWarrior

Now, here’s where my support for Carson falters. He should have done more research on what hyperfixations really are before he said things about them. He hurt some people with what he said, and just saying he’s uneducated on the topic isn’t really an excuse.

HOWEVER. Carson was given very little time to research (about 24 hours between his original tweets and his stream) and, more importantly, it is very obvious that the use of the term ‘hyperfixation’ has been warped and manipulated by stans who are misusing the term to excuse their behaviour. Carson probably saw stans using it and assumed it was something synonomous with ‘obsessions’.

What he said was poorly worded, but the point he was making is the same as the (much more researched and informative) tweet above. Anyone getting mad that he is somehow ‘invalidating mental health or autism’ with his comments clearly don’t understand the point he was trying to make in the first place.

And here’s a clip of Connor talking about it, too, as well as defending Carson’s right to block people as he wishes:

https://www.twitch.tv/connoreatspants/clip/YummySlickPlumageSpicyBoy

https://www.twitch.tv/connoreatspants/clip/JazzySpotlessMelonMoreCowbell

What he said here is completely valid, a little poorly worded in the same way as Carson’s statement, but overall something I stand behind.

Some people are claiming that Carson is being manipulative or ‘gaslighting’ fans and stans:

Carson is not against fans who create cool stuff for him and his friends. He is against the people who harass him, accuse his friends of horrible things, and try to look for every little thing they’ve said and done wrong. This is what he said, and people got mad at him for it, and so he blocked them. That is it. There is no gaslighting. There is no manipulation. I’ve seen much more manipulative things coming from the stans’ side of things.

Now we move on to Noah’s reply to Carson’s tweet. Which, yes, caused a whole new can of worms to be opened.

Now, for those like me who have trouble figuring out Noah’s way of speaking, let me translate: ‘stans are insecure people who start to feel entitled because they’ve started to view a streamer they like as a friend/someone who shares their pain.’

For those of you who don’t know, this is what ‘don’t negotiate with terrorists’ means:

However, almost predictably, stans saw the word ‘terrorist’ and lost their goddamn minds. That, coupled with the complicated phrasing of Noah’s words, caused a lot of stans to freak out.

This conversation is full of Bad Takes, but my main issue is that they are trying to diagnose Noah with an actual mental illness. That is not only offensive to people who have that illness (especially calling him ‘insane’ in the same sentence, as well as implying that having said illness makes you a bad person) but is also highly hypocritical since so many stans claimed to all be neurodivergent themselves.

Also, 90% of his fans aren’t stans. They’re mostly fans or flans. You are a loud minority. You aren’t as powerful as you think you are. Noah even started to retweet hate comments, that’s how few shits he gave. He also shows that he is concerned about people making things up about him, which is understandable.

Plus he outright said that stans are not fans of him, which in most cases, they’re not. Noah’s content isn’t as widely watched as some of his friends’ stuff, and a lot of stans don’t watch his streams.

But anyway, here’s one good take I saw floating around:

After this, before his stream, Carson deleted his original tweets and spent some time with his family, which was a sensible and mature thing to do at this point.

During Carson’s stream, someone notified him that his ‘fans’ had started to doxx stans. Here is his reaction:

https://m.twitch.tv/callmecarsonlive/clip/SpicySassyGerbilArgieB8

A lot of people got mad that he didn’t do more to stop the doxxings, but I want to raise the question: what was he supposed to do? He can’t control his ‘fans’ (another breed of stans who don’t call themselves stans were doing the doxxings, to be honest) and he said not to do it. He was streaming, he didn’t know how serious it was or even if it was true, at that moment, what was he supposed to do?

It did get serious. People I know were doxxed. Anyone posting anything (positive or negative) about lunch club, smplive, and Carson were in danger. It was not fake like some people claimed. The twt handles in this post are blurred out because of the doxxing threats. I am making this post at my own risk, but I do feel that tumblr is safer than twitter at the moment.

This being said, it is in no way Carson’s fault how out of hand this has become. He has been against doxxing in the past and his sentiments haven’t changed. He has said more about the doxxings in replies to tweets such as this one:

Also, here’s what the mods on Carson’s discord server had to say about the situation. They’ve clearly talked about this with Carson, and are strongly against anyone who is doxxing these people (especially since a lot of the people being doxxed are minors).

A similar sentiment was shared on Ted’s discord server:

Here is what ItsAsaii had to say:

So that’s basically where everything stands right now. If you want an even fuller update on everything, check out Carson’s stream ‘afternoon fellas and fellettes’ where he talks about everything.

Here’s the last tweets I have from Carson regarding the whole situation:

And I agree fully with what he has said. And again, Carson doesn’t owe stans anything. Just like what was said here, he had subs and fans before he had stans, they did not ‘make’ him, and they cannot control him.

This is all I have to say, for now. If I have missed anything or you’d like me to cover anything else, please let me know. If I have hugely missed the mark and said something super wrong/offensive, let me know. If you’d like me to talk about a streamer or youtuber not related to lunch club, throw me a DM or an ask and I’ll try to compile some things, even if I don’t watch their content or know who they are.

If you’d like up-to-date information about drama in smptwt, streamers, and youtubers, join the Cancelled Heaven discord server- which I linked at the start of the post.

I thank you all for reading, and suggest that you reblog this so that as many people as possible can see it. If you want to risk it, go ahead and link this post in a tweet or something, but please do be careful.

For some ‘extra reading’ (watching) I highly recommend Contrapoints’ video on cancel culture: https://youtu.be/OjMPJVmXxV8

And Philosophy Tube’s video on artists and fandoms, there’s some really insightful things about parasocial relationships: https://youtu.be/3IG0Y63LkDM

Lots of love, and have a great day <3

#smptwt #smplive #lunch club #callmecarson #ted nivison #slimecicle #cscoop #twitter #twitter drama #twt #lctwt #stan culture #cancel culture #long post

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rwbyvein · 4 years

Text

Firen Lhain: Chapter 212: The Bumblebee Flies Anyways

Yang looked at Blake, reading her book on her bed. "You know?.." Yang voiced, and waited for Blake to look at her over her book, "I've been thinking..." With this Blake put her thumb in her book and lowered it. "The Vytal festival hits full force on Monday, so why don't you and me paint the town red, just the two of us. Maybe with less fighting this time."

Blake rolled her eyes and looked pensively at her, before nodding.

* * *

The gates to the club flew open, with Yang standing there, Blake shyly behind her. The goons at the club started to rush towards her, uncertain about what they were going to do. "Blondie!" Junior shouted at her as he approached the door, and she just glared at him. "Sir." he replied. "What do we owe... the pleasure?.."

"Me and the kitty cat were looking to have some fun."

Blake wasn't sure how to react to that. It was diminuative, but somehow found it endearing.

"Meaning?.." Junior asked.

"Relax." Yang stated, "We're just looking for a place where we don't have to watch our backs."

"And you picked MY club?" Junior asked, and Yang glared at him once again. "Sir." he stated.

"The enemy of my enemy," Yang stated, and reached her hand out low, "gets his balls crushed if he crosses me? I find that refreshing. Now, I'm sure you won't mind comp'ing our drinks and letting us girls have a bit of a night, now do you?"

"Whatever you say, Sir." Junior replied.

"Yangin'." Yang stated.

"Just try to keep the explosions to a minimum." Junior stated, and turned to walk away, "It's bad for business."

"I promise to be on my best behaviour." Yang replied.

"Very... reassuring..." Junior stated, and walked up to the bar. He leaned over to speak to the bartender, "These lovely ladies drink free tonight."

"Whatever you say, Boss." the bar tender replied.

Junior then pointed at another goon, "You, get my captains!" he shouted.

Yang grabbed Blake's hand and pulled her to a table. "Just sit pretty, and I'll get us some drinks." Blake wanted to frown, but found herself smiling instead. She still couldn't believe she agreed to this.

* * *

Junior stood in the back room with his captains, "I want EVERYONE, EVER - SINGLE - ONE of my boys knows to be as polite and helpful to the girls as they can. Maybe this time we can avoid an incident."

"Yes, Boss." the captains all replied.

* * *

Yang returned with a couple cocktails and placed one in front of Blake. She sat down on the bench and slipped in beside her. "I know we're underage, but..."

"We don't have... underage... in Kuo Kuana..." Blake voiced.

"Shit?" Yang said, "Wait, I mean... really?.."she eagerly asked.

In reply Blake developed a wide smile, "You don't have to censor yourself for me..." she voiced, "but no, it's up to your parents. Once they think you're old enough to start drinking, you can. Even young kids might be given small drinks."

"Kind of makes me wish..." Yang voiced, and Blake glared at her. "What, you grew up there, it can't be that bad, can it?"

"It is... beautiful... and... there's a stronger sense of community than the kingdoms... but that's because we're poor." Blake stated. "We don't have the luxury of living our own lives."

"Implying Patch is all that well off..." Yang voiced, and took a sip, "I mean, we call it Patch..."

Blake smiled and took a sip. "You are... hardly the most sophisticated girl on the team..."

"Okay... I mean..." Yang quietly replied, "comparing me to Weiss is just unfair..."

"Weiss is beautiful, elegant, but containted." Blake voiced, "You're more of a badass babe."

"I can't believe you said that." Yang giddly said.

"It's from the Spruce Willis movie." Blake stated, and took a sip.

"Wait?," Yang asked, "you think I'm that much of a babe?"

"Of course you are." Blake stated. "Babe is probably the only way to describe you... other than maybe firecracker..."

This caused Yang to snicker. "That's what my uncle always calls me..."

"Then that's something we can both agree on." Blake said with glee. "I'm sure Junior would agree." she said much more loudly as he passed their table.

"I'm not sure what I would call her." he muttered.

"What was that?" Yang asked.

"Nothing, Sir." he replied as he walked away. This caused the two girls to snicker.

"And what's the story with that?" Blake asked.

"I didn't like the way he called me Blondie." Yang said, and shrugged.

"That's it?" Blake asked.

"Uh-huh?" Yang asked, "Like you don't have a mysterious past." With this Blake dropped her head. In return, Yang wrapped her arm around her, pulling her close. "Easy..." Yang voiced, "We all love you. We know you have a lot you don't want to talk about, and we're cool with it. IFFFFF you tell us when you need help." Blake groaned an weak affirmative, and Yang kissed her on the top of her head. "We... all love you..." Yang headily repeated.

"I... know you do..." Blake voiced, "but... my past..." and in reply Yang once again kissed her on the top of the head. Blake, in turn, was content in Yang's warmth...

* * *

Blake and Yang sat up against each other and the fountain in front of Beacon, still drunk from earlier in the night, just enjoying each other's presence, the night, and the stars above.

* * *

Two tall shadows appeared by the fountain, approaching the pair of unconcious girls. The larger shadow picked up the larger girl, while the slightly smaller shadow picked up the smaller girl.

* * *

Jaune kissed Yang on her forehead as he hoisted her up to her bed.

"Daddy?" Yang asked, causing Jaune to pause, nearly dropping her. He caught her. Yang wrapped her arms around his neck, and he was completely unsure of what to do. Pyrrha kissed Blake on the forehead before tucking her into bed. She stepped up to Jaune and stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Hush, sweet thing." Pyrrha said to her and kissed her on the forehead. She then started lifting her up and the two of them helped her into bed.

"Sweet dreams." Jaune's deep voice stated.

"Night, mommy..." Yang voiced, "night, daddy..."

Jaune looked Pyrrha in the eyes, and she smiled at him in the dim light. She nodded her head away towards the door.

* * *

Yang woke up with a start, looking at the ceiling. "What... the hell... happened last night?.."

"Something about mommy and daddy." Weiss stated, as she preened herself up in front of the mirror.

Yang sat up with a start. "You're shitting me, right? Ha-ha. Quite the joke?"

"I heard it too." Ruby said as she looked out the window.

"What?" Yang asked, "Who?"

"Now, who else would corral and pair of our teammates, drunk, passed out somewhere?" Weiss asked.

"Jaune?" Yang asked.

"And... mommy?.." Blake asked.

"Shit." Yang stated, "Who in the hell did I call mommy?! Was it one of you?"

"To the best of my knowledge," Weiss stated, "no."

"Then..." Blake voiced, "who's the most likely to accompany him."

"I don't know," Yang stated, "they're all kind of big on him. Well, he is pretty big, you know, especially with the horns."

"Antlers." Weiss stated.

"Oh, man... I am way too hung over for you to be Weissing me..." Yang voiced.

"What-what-what?!" Weiss asked.

"You can be pretty Weissy." Ruby said to her.

"I can what?!" Weiss asked, "I do, suppose... can I?.."

"I think about it totally different after what Jaune said." Ruby continued.

"And... if I might ask?.." Weiss nervously voiced.

"That you nag because you care." Ruby stated.

"Aww... Weiss loves us..." Yang voiced, and then winced with pain, holding her head. "Way too hung over. Junior was comp'ing our drinks."

"Blake doesn't seem to mind." Ruby stated.

"That's because they let us drink early in Menagerie." Blake stated, "It's stops us from binge drinking, like..."

"Yeah... yeah..." Yang stated. "One hell of a night."

"Enough for us to get saved by our big, strong buck." Blake replied.

"Hart." Weiss said, "At least, that's how he refers to himself."

"I know what I said." Blake somberly stated.

"I think this calls for a group run." Ruby joked, only to get hit by a pillow thrown by Yang. "Oh, sweet, a pillow. Now my bed will be so cozy."

"Stop..." Yang weakly said.

"What was that, Yang?" Ruby asked.

"Pillow..." Yang grumbled.

"I honestly don't know where it came from..." Ruby voiced.

"Pillow..." Yang begged, and Weiss stood up and walked to the centre of the room.

"Perhaps some coffee?"

"I don't know if I should punch you or kiss you?.." Yang voiced.

"The latter would probably be perferable." Blake stated.

"Just for that..." Yang tiredly said, "I'll kiss the lot of you."

"Promise?" Blake asked. Yang looked at Ruby who was dangling the pillow from her hands, almost like she was offering it up to Yang. She wasn't, of course.

"Ah, just leave me be..." Yang said, and rolled back over, trying to sleep sans pillow.

"Unfortunately, we don't want your clock to be miss-set for Monday." Weiss stated.

"That's a whooolleeee daaay aawaaayyy..." Yang grumbled. "Tired." she pleaded.

"Then perhaps you can get to bed at a decent time tonight." Weiss replied.

"Augh." Yang exclaimed, and sat back up, looking at Weiss. "You promised me coffee.

"Post-haste!" Weiss exclaimed.

* * *

Note: Season 3 starts next Wednesday.

#rwby #firen lhain #faunus au #pollinated knight ending

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irarelypostanything · 3 years

Conversation

Unnecessary Arguments - Politics

Person #1: To be clear, the reason this was originally called “unnecessary arguments” is that it was supposed to be for discussing dumb topics. Like whether the Prius is a good car

Person #2: It’s an overpriced cheese wedge that gets 76 horsepower and decent mileage, if and only if you drive in the left lane at 40 miles an hour

Person #1: I’ll counter that later, but it seems there have been some really interesting political topics coming up. “Cancel culture.” Wokeism. The question of whether, or rather to what extent we should have the government censor big tech, and a newly emerging delta variant that is far more contagious but is only really gaining adequate media attention now

Person #2: Yeah, so should we stop masking now, or until the end of time? Also, aren’t you the one who posted on Instagram that, and I quote, “The pandemic is fking over”? Wow, I wonder what the word fking means

Person #1: I made the wrong call at the wrong time. What’s important now is that we resume the vigilance we had previously. But something has come to my attention. We have a certain candidate for a certain organization, and he has said some tremendously racist things on social media

Person #2: What did he say? “I voted for Trump last year”? Wow, we should probably make him lose all of his friends and job and then delete his accounts

Person #1: Well, in response to the NFL players who kneeled for the flag, he publicly posted that “if they don’t like our flag, maybe look at this one.” He then followed that up with a picture of the Confederate flag

Person #2: Oh

Person #1: He has made a number of other racist statements as well, including but not limited to telling them to “go back” to where they came from

Person #2: It says here he also deleted the social media posts, so what’s the problem? It’s a non-issue

Person #1: The problem is that he represents an organization that serves the youth all over the world. The problem is that he is running for office in a position that encompasses three states. The social media posts, then, are fair game for scrutiny. Do you really want to elect a leader who is full of hatred and racism?

Person #2: Don’t say it…

Person #1: Especially considering the entire country just got rid of the guy who represented extreme hatred and racism?

Person #2: That’s it. I’m so tired of this. We’re adults, right?

Person #1: Sometimes you surprise me

Person #2: We have the freedom to make political posts on social media. I acknowledge that we also have the freedom to use social media to call out other people. You think a bunch of political statements you disagree with are adequate grounds to then claim this man is unqualified for a leadership role in your organization? Fine. Don’t vote for him. But don’t proceed to act like he carried out some sort of violent racist act because of some caption he put in some picture

Person #1: Okay, so you have a nonprofit that exists for the purpose of helping young people, right?

Person #2: Sure

Person #1: You can’t break free of the politics, then. You need to demonstrate that you’re fit to rule. And if all I see when I search through your Facebook feed is hatred, what kind of message does this send?

Person #2: Those social media posts were stupid, I agree, and so he deleted them. Where does this end? What if we decided one day that we wanted to ban Christians from our group, because we disliked their common stance on gay marraige? What if we decided republicans were the problem? This organization is supposed to be a non-political one. That we still make it a point in our meetings to recite the National Anthem is one of many traditions that has persisted, but any tradition is open to the possibility of being overwritten. It used to be an all-male nonprofit...that was changed as we changed. But we have free speech

Person #1: As the saying goes, this is not what our founding fathers had in mind in the 1700s when they drafted the Facebook Terms of Service

Person #2: There was a bar in Sacramento. Someone tweeted that the bartender attempted to drug her. Tons of people on Yelp, Facebook, and Reddit rushed to her defense and tried to get the bar shut down. The police investigated. The entire thing was completely fabricated, and then she deleted the Tweets. Do you think the bar ever recovered from that?

Person #1: Are you comparing an allegedly baseless accusation to the accounts of someone with actual screenshots and timestamps to corroborate her claims?

Person #2: No, because this is even less relevant. If you’re going to assassinate someone, why keep it to Facebook? Get on the SEO game, guys. Do it on Medium. Do it on Twitter. Tarnish a name until you reach the point that googling a full name immediately makes Google suggest the word “racist.”

Person #1: Okay, so this is what upsets me most about your argument

Person #2: Here we go…

Person #1: You use your fear-mongering tactics. I’ll hear words like “cancel culture,” “woke,” what have you. You’ll claim that we’re far too oversensitive

Person #2: You are

Person #1: ...because we take a stand, and then I’ll see such blatant disregard for common decency. People in high positions who, and this is textbook racism, attempt to persecute and villainize others on the basis of their race. All with the common message that we’re not allowed to be American because of the color of our skin, and no matter how hard we try we will never belong

Person #2: Actually, the people we are “targeting” are not grouped by race at all, but by a common disrespect for the country we should be proud citizens of. What do you and I have in common? The flag

Person #1: So what you’re saying is that if someone doesn’t share your level of respect for the flag, and for what it represents, then we should go back to the countries we came from. But not the United States, because even if we were born here it isn’t truly our home

Person #2: No, what I’m saying is that the posts you keep referencing didn’t actually target people on the basis of their race. It targeted them on disrespect for the flag

Person #1: Kneeling was originally intended as a sign of respect

Person #2: Don’t give me that

Person #1: Over time, the narrative shifted. That somehow these actions were directly disrespecting veterans. And now, here we are, discussing how the act of kneeling is fair licence to let all the racism this man was previously holding back bleed through. If someone cuts me off while I drive, I’m not going to yell a racist slur, because I’m not a complete piece of human excrement. And I’m definitely not going to write racist things on social media

Person #2: Yeah, and you’d better not, or else someone is going to dig it up in several years even after you’ve taken it down and use it to prevent you from having a life, or a job, or friends

Person #1: Leadership is responsibility. I never said his life should be ruined. What I am doing is merely suggesting that he is unfit to lead us or our organization

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nico-idc · 3 years

Text

random vent because i'm numb rn and feel like it

This is a vent post, ill probably talk about su!cide, self h*rm, eating disorders and depression. I’ll also cuss a lot, and things will not be censored. Also, this may seem insensitive to people experiencing any of this, sorry about that. Dont read this if youre triggered by that.

Also, this is my experience with mental health. Everyone deals with it differently.

So, If anyone doesnt know, I have depression and anxiety. And right now, I’m feeling numb as it’s often described by people with depression. But, numb isn’t a very good description. I can still feel. I’ll still smile if you tell me a joke, or if something funny is on a video. I’ll still cry if there’s something super sad. Emotion is just watered down. I feel it, but not as much as I should. Me and my boyfriend were talking, and i couldnt tell him I loved him. It’s not becuase I dont love him, but I just cant feel much of anything, so I dont want to tell him I loved him. Becuase If i did that, I felt as though I was lying. The funniest thing is, I randomly started crying. Still felt nothing, but hey, I had tears streaming down my face. Who fucking knows why.

I havent been doing to great for a while now, but this is the worst i’ve ever gotten. Ive never felt numb before. I mean, I’ve felt myself starting to go through the motions, but i’ve never gone completely numb before. And before this i’ve had a few mental breakdowns. Hell, I’ve sat in a corner twice in the past month or so doing nothing but sobbing and begging myself not to move so I dont grab something sharp and cut myself. (I did not relapse, don’t worry). and recently I completely broke down over simply eating a cereal bar, got through it, ate it. I’m good now.

Figures. That does seem to be my experience. Oh no, big bad issue one time, then magically I just talk myself out of my bullshit, and im fixed. Ha ha, yet I act like I have all these issues. I mean, I didnt even attempt to starve myself, just thought “oh, friends and family wont let me” and didnt. Had a breakdown about a year later, been fine since. Cut for a few months, went to therapy for a few months, stopped cutting. had a few breakdowns about a year or two later, then was fine. was suicidal for a while, went to therapy for a bit, was happy for months. Had breakdowns every now and then, fine now.

ha ha, first time I say alot of this is online. Figures. I’ve done that a lot too. My boyfriend has found out a bit about my depression through this site. Becuase I cant talk to my boyfriend about my shit, but hey random people on the internet! hear about my problems.

So on another note, I recently found a song that describes part of depression pretty well. It’s called “i’m not dead” by boyinaband. it’s linked below, I’ll copy paste the lyrics, and explain how I relate, and what the lyrics mean to me, becuase why not? (lyrics will be in bold)

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I'm not dead

I'm not fixed, but I'm not giving up yet

Basically, this means that im still here, im still depressed, but I’m still trying to fight depression.

I'm sick of saying that I still don't have anything done

I hate telling friends I'm trying something just to give it up

I never commit to anything, I just say I’ll do something, then decide I dont want to.

I'm still unsure of my emotional state

I'm still incapable of focusing lately

I don't feel like creating

I'm tired of asking Google how to find motivation

I’ve been on break from writing for months now. tried to get back to it, lost concentration. I think this is self explanatory.

I don't think I've ever made

Something that's as good as I'm capable of

Ha, I dont put in enough effort and commitment to make something as good as possible.

I hate not having a reason to look my best

I only ever take care of myself with the intent to show the internet

I mean, I dont try to show the internet, but I only take care of myself when other people will see me.

If what made me successful was an imposed sense of stress then

I am so so glad that I hated myself

The only thing that makes me do things is extreme stress.

I didn't luck into this position

I struggle with decisions

I mean, im not in any high position, but I do struggle with decisions.

I wouldn't be my own friend

I'm too inconsistent

I’m inconsistent as hell. I’m in like 10 group chats, don't talk in any of them for months, then just show up like “hi, havent talked to you all in ages, but hi”.

Without immense pressure nothing ever gets finished

If these words make it to your ears it'll be a fucking miracle.

Yep. I went on whole rant about this on wattpad. Without pressure to do something, I don’t do it.

I'm fortunate to know more good people than most do

I wish I had more friends I could be physically close to

I dont personally have a lot of friends that dont live in my city, so the last line isnt an issue, but I do know a lot of good people”

I'm pretty good at like 20 different skill sets

At the expense of never being great at any one of them

I’m good at quite a few things. Drawing, math, even writing. But im not great at it. I’m average.

I wish this beat hit harder

I wish more syllables rhymed

I know 99 percent of people really don't mind

I dont personally relate to this, seeing as I dont make music.

I think collaborating forced me to finish things

'Cause I was terrified of wasting famous people's time

Oh yeah. Group projects would not get done if i wasnt scared of wasting my partner’s time.

I wish I could focus on what I define priority

I wish I was as grateful as I want to be

Dont really relate to these things

I wish I knew more people who were mentally stable

But if I did,

I wouldn't let them waste their time on me while I'm disabled

Oh yeah. Id love to have a friend who isnt depressed, but I wouldnt let them see that im fucked up becuase i dont wanna drag them down.

I feel alone

I know I'm not

I have a lot of friends, but I still fell alone in this world

I used to talk to lots of people.

Lately I've stopped

They didn't deserve it,

I've been a terrible friend.

But I couldn't bear to let myself become boring to them

I ignore group chats all the time. no reason. Probably shouldnt.

I don't let myself get my hopes up.

I love people who do.

Something good happens? what could go wrong? that is my thought precess.

I never know if what I say I feel is the truth

I have no damn Idea what I think, so its so hard to know what the truth in my head is.

I wish I didn't instinctively try to be less specific

So more people could relate, when they read along with the lyrics.

Not lyrics, but if i write/explain something, I immediately generalize things so its relateable.

I can be happy in the moment

I am not when I reflect

I smile watching youtube, but then I look back and think about how I wasted time.

I distract myself with gaming, waiting to get better

I hate it

Youtube will cure depression right? /s

I wanna do the most good, and prevent the most hurt

But I've gotta put on my own oxygen mask first

This is just an important phrase I try to remember when I’m down. for people who dont do well with metaphors, he’s saying that if you want to help people, you need to help yourself first.

I can't predict what I'll do.

I can never be sure

I am terrified of making promises any more

I can't face my work,

I feel sick from the word

I genuinely believe I'm capable of changing the world

Don’t relate much here, except for the more positive, upbeat tone the song takes on, and i feel that this part, the part above and everything below is dave fighting his depression.

I still think I can get better

I’m holding onto hope.

I still think I can create and get pleasure from it

I hope so, I want my art and writing to improve.

I'll keep aiming to make my emotion and my logic agree

The eternal stuggle. I always try to get the two to line up, it rarely works. I try to use logic more often though.

And become the best version of me

Always trying to improve myself.

I don't want to stop!

There’s alot this could mean. I dont want to stop creating. I dont want to stop fighting. I dont want to stop getting better. I dont want to stop living. I relate to all these things.

I’ll expand on this more later, it’s too late now for me to continue this

#cussing tw #swearing tw #tw suicide mention #tw self harm #tw eating disorder #vent post

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toloveawarlord · 4 years

Text

A Rambling about Obey Me and some of the discourse going around:

I’ve finally had a chance to sit down and think hard on the whole Lucifer didn’t listen to the MC say no in the newest event.

First of all, this post likely won’t be spoiler free so read at your own risk. I’m not going to censor myself for those who haven’t played up through Lesson 20 but most of the things I hit on is common knowledge anyways.

Secondly, I do not condone what they implied that Lucifer did. Consent is important, that’s not the point of this post. I’m not saying it’s okay to do so. This is simply the context of the game and my own viewing of it from a writer’s standpoint.

I put it under a cut because this is a long post.

Okay, now that we have all the disclaimers and stuff out of the way, let’s move into my own thoughts.

Firstly, this was meant to be dream sequence. I know a lot of people gripe about it doesn’t matter that it was dream, but if it’s supposed to be mc’s dream, then likely this particular mc was probably meant to be paired with Lucifer, they just gave options for those who aren’t Luci stans to get more people to play. But was a dream, and likely meant to represent an mc that wants Lucifer.

Was it a good writing choice to add in a choice to say and then do it anyways? Probably not, because this kind of thing always gets backlash from the community (i.e. Arthur in Ikevamp). But they did it, and it wasn’t explicit, nor did it actually say that Lucifer actually went through with it, again, because it was a dream and it ended at that particular point. You can argue that it shouldn’t have been implied, but you can also argue that it didn’t happen because it was simply an implication. The point that is made though, is that Lucifer didn’t respond in a “Okay, I’ll stop” manner. As far as him being a character and a demon, that response would be really strange, to me. Is it right? No, no one should force themselves on anyone. Is it a normal response for a demon who is the avatar of pride and thinks humans are lowly creatures? Yeah, kind of.

Secondly, this game is dark as hell. A lot of people don’t want to see it that way, because it’s an otome game and otome’s are typically solely focused on the romance aspect. Obey Me is riddled with violence, sexual tones (i.e. Asmo outright tells MC that the bar they are at is has sex rooms and can even be bought out for an orgy, and he has participated in those), and the main boys are even avatars of sin. It’s not an otome with a sprinkle of angst and sadness for backstory and character development. It’s a dark and twisted world where you can romance demons.

Speaking of demons, that’s my next point. The boys are demons. They have been around for millenniums, and demons are not known to have morals and live by our human standards of what is right and wrong. (again, see above, I don’t believe what Luci was implied to do was right.) But honestly, you cannot expect demons to have the same moral code that us humans do. It wouldn’t make sense and to be honest, it’s part of the appeal of the game.

Part of the underlying themes and tones of this game is that romancing a demon is taboo. It’s not going to entail the same trials and character problems that other otome suitors deal with. These aren’t boys. These are demons, powerful demons with their owns sins and they also believe that they are above humans. So, being above humans, of course Lucifer doesn’t really care if you say or not. He’s a demon and he is used to getting his way. He’s also the avatar of pride so he can’t fathom why you wouldn’t choose to be with him. (Again. I do not think it’s right for Lucifer to force himself on anyone.) From a writing standpoint, that was a perfectly acceptable thing for Lucifer to say, because of who he is as a character and a species. (But that doesn’t make it okay. I never said it was okay. I said it was normal for him as a character. I do not condone forcing anyone.)

Was it necessary for the story? That’s a little more difficult to define. I understand that this can be triggering material for some, and you are perfectly valid to say you didn’t like it and it was wrong. I don’t personally think that they made a huge mistake and should be reprimanded for it. It’s a story with dark themes and violence so it’s reasonable to assume that things like this are going to occur. They are demons with a very skewed sense of morals. But I totally get that there are people out there who don’t like reading that kind of triggering content.

I think a good middle ground would be to add some kind of warning to events or chapters. I don’t know how they would implement something like that, but it might be a more peaceful solution instead of going to the creators and telling them that they are wrong to add that content. Because, let’s be honest, not everyone is bothered by that kind of thing and creators can’t always cater to everything that might be a trigger to someone. For some, that kind of content is wanted and there aren’t any otomes that I’m aware of that has the option to explore those darker kinks. (Please don’t bring up Princess of the Moon Ultimate. That game is not what I mean.)

Obey Me really teeters on the edge of being too adult for minors, but there is plenty of content in the games that are okay for a younger audience. No matter what anyone says, the younger kids are not going to stop playing just because a stranger on the internet told them to. It’s not going to happen, so really, it’s only stirring up drama. I will say that minors should stay away from explicitly adult content created by us adults, mostly because of legal reasons, but again, I don’t think it’s going to stop anyone from doing it if they want to. Just know, that as adults, it’s really uncomfortable to think of minors engaging in explicit content. You are still children, whether you think so or not, but you’re going to play the game regardless (I know because back in my day, I did too). I think the middle ground for this is for minors not to engage with adults in any explicit or sexual themed content or talk. That’s about the most we can ask. Telling them not to play the game isn’t solving anything. (Please don’t come at me with this drama. I don’t want to hear about why they shouldn’t play or why they should be allowed, I don’t care about it.)

This kind of rounds me up to a big final point. I got off track with the content thing but back to the demons and their morals.

This why Obey Me is such an interesting story to me. The point of the whole game (so far) is that YOU are the one controlling the demons with the pacts. It takes a while for Lucifer and Belphie, but in the end, you get a pact with all of them. This really eliminates a lot of the dangers with the brothers. They obey you now. So, in the main story game (after lesson 20), if that Lucifer scene had happened (remember, it’s a dream), if you had chosen the NO option, then he would have no choice but to listen to you. Because the pact allows you to control them (we see this time and time again with MC telling Mammon to do things or stop doing things).

Which opens up the opportunity for you as the mc to teach them. I know this isn’t a prominent part of the game (it’s still real early to tell what’s going to happen) but now that you have them under a pact, you have the opportunity to reign in their sins and teach them to be decent demons. And honestly, it’s really one of the only ways that they could have handled the demons and a human in a romantic relationship. There is no such thing as a morally righteous demon. That would be angels (hello simeon). It’s going to be very interesting to see how having a specific suitor under a pact will effectively even the playing fields in a romantic relationship.

Take Asmo for example, as the Avatar of Lust. Before the pact, the scales of power were completely in Asmo’s hands. As a human, you literally couldn’t do anything to stop him from doing anything (hence the fact that Belphie literally kills mc, and there has been very dangerous situations). He’s a demon with enormous powers and the mc is a lowly human. And honestly, with Asmo being a narcissist, he probably wouldn’t understand why you wouldn’t want him. He’s Asmodeus. He’s wanted by everyone.

BUT

With the power of the pact, the scales of power in the relationship tip into the MC’s favor. Will this stop them from trying? Not at all, but now MC has the power to make them stop. And that’s really the only way that a relationship could happen. The power difference is simply too great for a human to date a demon without that added layer of control in MC’s hands.

I know that this is an otome game, and it’s supposed to be about romancing them and all that, but the story is riddled with dark tones and themes and it will most likely have more triggering material. I think that’s something that everyone is going to have to accept in this game. It’s not a lighthearted romance with angst and sex. It’s definitely not as dark as like Diabolik Lovers, but like vampires, demons have a whole added layer of twisted and taboo subjects that are going to play a large role in the game.

And I think that’s part of the point. This game is not going to be like Cybird’s games. It’s not going to be like MLQC. Personally, I like the idea of a darker game with wiggle for more adult oriented themes and content that we miss out on in the other games (i.e. I would have loved to seen a part of Edgar’s route where Claudius orders him to kill MC and he struggles with doing it or not and maybe even harming her in the process of figuring it out. Because, Edgar is kind of brainwashed by Claudius and it tracks for his character. But its romance otome, so of course, they weren’t going to take it that far.). Exploring the darker sides of romance, allowing for more raw and twisted concepts.

All in all, if you want a happy go lucky, suitors with cute romance and just a bit of angst and sex, this is not the game for you.

I also don’t think that going after the creators and saying that they shouldn’t put out darker content and having Lucifer do what he did in that event was right. This game is going to have uncomfortable topics and ugly moments. They are demons and this is devildom (see also: hell). Warnings would be great, I think finding a balance is good, but the creators are making this content for a broad audience. Not everyone is going to be happy. You can either take it with a grain of salt, and continue playing. Or you can not play it because you don’t like some of the content. The content creators don’t owe us anything. The whole “well this is for a western audience” is mute. There is likely going to be other triggering content because of the nature of the game. You can’t expect a dark otome to not have that, just because it triggers you. Warnings, yes, I think that that would help, let people know what they might be getting into in an event or chapter, but catering to the needs to every single player of a game is not going to happen, and it could cause the game to be shut down. This game is more adult oriented so it’s going to have more adult content that might not sit right with you.

I’m gonna end this by saying: Obey Me is an amazing game, and it has quite dark content in places. That’s the whole point of the game. It’s not a standard romance otome and trying to change it to be one is not okay. That doesn’t mean that your feelings toward it aren’t valid. It simply means that we cannot expect the same content as other otome games when it involves darker content. I don’t really want a watered down version of this game where they ignore the dangers of demons for the sake of romance.

I am gonna repeat a few things: I do not condone Lucifer’s actions, that’s not what I’m about. No one should force themselves on you. And this is filled with my opinions, yours can differ, but I’m not looking for anyone to come tell me why I’m wrong. This is just a few points of why I personally think that the game is doing just fine and doesn’t need to change.

#obey me #shall we date obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me thoughts

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