#and let me get started on the fact that we have an epidemic of murderous young boys that we have been ignoring since columbine | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

softguarnere · 1 year

Text

A Christmas Inheritance

Shifty Powers x OFC

Chapter One: Homecoming

Summary: After time away in Philadelphia for college, Zenie returns to her hometown for Christmas to collect an unexpected inheritance. Her only goal? To settle her legal business and return to the city. But what happens when she meets a handsome mechanic who throws a wrench in her plans? (The obligatory modern Hallmark au)

A/N: *takes a drag from a fancy pipe like an old timey professor* Okay so here's the deal:

I did that Hallmark poster maker earlier this month and could not stop thinking about writing a Hallmark au. "I don't like the holidays" and "I survive on cheesy Christmas romcoms" are sentences that can and do coexist within the Dove. 🫶🏼

We're only a few chapters into Like A Girl (Like a Man), but the holidays are ✨hell✨ Writing this every now and then when I'm blocked on other writing projects has been fun and kinda therapeutic. Does any of this plot really make sense? No! But that's the magic of Hallmark movies baby - all that matters at the end of the day is that they end up happy! And based on everything I'm about to put Zenie through in LAGLAM, she can be happy this time. Let's let them have this, shall we? (And if you'd like to be tagged in future chapters, just let me know 🤗)

As usual, this is based on the fictional depictions from the show - no disrespect to the real life veterans! 💕🕊️

Warnings: mentions of death, discussions of grief

The weight of the world already feels like it’s crushing Zenie’s lungs before she even opens the car door. Michael Bublé’s voice greets her as she tosses her bag into the backseat, and Bill is scrolling through the Ultimate Christmas Playlist that he and Babe made so long ago that certain songs inevitably show up in their Spotify Wrappeds each year. When her friend starts to recite the scores from the Flyers game the night before, her grip on the steering wheel loosens ever so slightly. It’s almost easy to imagine that they’re just driving around killing time instead of heading into a situation that has the potential to end with an all out McGlamery family civil war.

Still, if she has to be plunging headfirst into all of this, she’s glad Bill is by her side. There’s a reason his friends call him Wild Bill, and it’s not just because of his driving – although that’s more of a joke, because even with a prosthetic leg, he can still drive better than anyone in their friend group.

There’s also the fact that Bill nothing short of insisted that he accompany her on the trip back to North Carolina. On the one hand, ever since she helped him with a paper on the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, he or any other member of their friend group always seems to be right by her side, wherever she goes. On the other hand, if any family drama is going to break out over issues regarding the Will, Wild Bill Guarnere is a total wildcard who will not be afraid to fight back, grab whatever the lawyer says now legally belongs to Zenie, and then drive them back home as fast as his 4Runner will go – which is exactly what he has been telling Zenie for almost two weeks now.

(He also admitted that he wants to get out of the city for a bit. He and Frannie have hit a bit of a rough patch, and he seemed to think an adventure and a change of scenery would clear his head. Who is Zenie to judge?)

“You think your ma will like me?”

The question drags her out of her head and back into the present. “Huh?”

“Nothin’.” Bill smiles. “Just wanted to make sure you were still with us.”

“Sorry, I just – “ She blows out a breath. “I haven’t been back to North Carolina since this time last year. And even then I didn’t go all the way home; I stopped in Cherokee for the funeral, and then headed back to Philly the second it was over.”

Something feels strange about referring to the town she grew up in as home. For a while now, home has been in Philadelphia, referring to the apartment she shares with Bill, Babe, and Fran, when she spends the night. I’m heading home; I’ll meet you at home; You need me to bring anything home? How easily the words slip from her lips, even if Philadelphia itself still feels a bit like a sweater that your aunt buys for you under the assumption that she knows what size you wear even though she hasn’t seen you since you were twelve - it takes some getting used to.

“Well, Zenie Beanie, don’t you worry, because you’re not going home-home. Just to your hometown, not your parents’ house.” Her parents’ house, with it’s walls that always felt too close and too much like a heavy blanket that was slowly suffocating her.

“Did you book a hotel?” She raises an eyebrow, flips her blinker on as she merges. “It might be the country, but this isn’t exactly the time of year to go roughing it.”

“We have a house.”

“So like an Airbnb?”

“No. You’ll see.”

Zenie is nothing if not the youngest sibling, and her friend knows her well enough to know that she hates – maybe even despises – surprises. Inflating her lungs with a deep breath, she prepares herself to make this a very annoying road trip. “Bi-ill.”

She accidentally cuts herself off with a laugh when she sees his face. He grew up with a brood of siblings. He knows what’s coming to him.

“Zeeee-na!” He crosses his arms. “Nope! You just have to wait and see the accommodations yourself. It’s the first of many Christmas surprises.”

Many? It catches her so off guard that she almost slams on the breaks.

“What are you talking about?”

To prove a point, Bill turns up the volume and practically shouts along to Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass, refusing to elaborate further.

Sometimes Zenie really has to ask herself why she’s friends with Bill Guarnere.

She shouldn’t really be surprised when they pull up at her Granny’s old house. Not the one on the Boundary, but the one in Zenie’s nearby hometown, not too far down the gravel road from where her parents live. It had been where she had chosen to live after Zenie’s grandfather passed, when she packed up all her belongings and bought the house as soon as it hit the market, shrugging and saying that if she was moving to be closer to her only daughter and grandchildren, then she was going to be close.

Granny’s house was nothing special, Zenie has come to realize as time passes. Not in appearance, anyway. It’s quaint white paint, large windows, and sprawling front porch don’t give it much distinction between the other houses in the valley, but much like a good book or a person with a kind heart, it’s about what lies inside that counts.

Except part of what made the inside of the house so special was that her Granny was in it. With her warm smile, a welcoming hug, and a pot of fresh coffee always at the ready, everything about the days she spent in her Granny’s house as a girl felt like magic. Especially around Christmas, when the decorations and Christmas stories lit the house up with wonder. Granny would drag out her old record player, and Bing Crosby would keep them company while they baked cookies and put stamps on cards that needed to be sent out to what seemed like practically everyone that Granny had ever met.

Now she’s gone. That Christmas spirit went with her when she passed. Hell, everything magical and inviting left with her. And her house stands in the valley, empty of that warmth and looking utterly lonely, as a testament to that.

Neither of them moves when Bill parks the car. Zenie is staring at the house and Bill is staring at Zenie as she stares at the house. She told herself she would not cry on this trip, under any circumstance, but now her eyes sting and she wants to turn the car around, but she also wants to say something, and she’s not sure if she wants to hug her friend for comfort or slap him for thinking that this was the Christmas surprise that she needed.

“I’m sorry,” Bill finally says. He reaches across the console, hand open with his palm up. Without looking, Zenie takes it, interlocks their fingers, and squeezes like she’s holding a stress ball.

It takes her a few tries to speak without bursting into tears. “Why . . . here?”

From the corner of her eye, she sees Bill’s shocked face as he turns towards her. “They didn’t tell you?”

Her eyes are too watery for her to be snarky with him right now. Her expression is all the question that he needs.

“Zenie, your grandmother left the house to you.”

The house before them looms even larger. A year of her grandmother’s Will being dragged out, all for Zenie to drive all this way and then find out she inherited a house in a town she hates? What is she supposed to do – move back home and live in it?

“We don’t have to stay here,” Bill assures her, already gently taking his hand back so that he can crank the car. (That’s part of why she’s friends with Bill, she thinks, answering her own question from earlier. He does things instead of talking about doing things. Anyone else would say that they didn’t have to stay there while secretly implying that they had to, but Bill says they don’t have to, and he’s willing to drive away with no questions asked.) “We’ll go to a hotel.”

But just as he’s about to crank the car, movement from the front porch catches Zenie’s eye. She’s been so caught up in memories and emotions that she never bothered to notice that the lights of the house were on – because when was the house not lit up, both literally and metaphorically, when her Granny lived in it?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The next thing that Zenie knows, two little palms are slapping on the door of the car, and suddenly she’s climbing out the door and being enveloped by her niece and nephew, who are hugging her so tightly and squealing with such excitement that her heart feels full to burst and any tears in her eyes are from the pure joy of experiencing such unbridled affection.

“You’re here, you’re really here!” Jasmine cries, hooking her arms around Zenie’s neck so that she’s forced to bring the six-year-old up with her when she stands.

Sticky hands tug at her jacket as Jack vies for her attention. “Aunt Zena, is it true that you’re really going to stay for Christmas?”

Looking into her little nephew’s brown eyes, Zenie hesitates. A moment ago she had been willing to turn away from this place without a second thought. But now, seeing her niece and nephew and their excitement at her arrival, coupled with Bill’s fond smile as he watches them . . . Maybe a few days wouldn’t hurt. After all, her college is on break and she has someone covering for her at work. It’s not like she and her friends had anything better to do with their time off except watch cheesy holiday movies and sample Luz’s mixed drinks.

“Yes,” she says, if not a little reluctantly. “I’m staying, but I don’t know for how long.”

“Yes!” Jasmine cheers, the sound vibrating in Zenie’s eardrums. “This is going to be the best Christmas ever!”

Verbally, Zenie agrees, even though she’s not without her doubts, based on how family gatherings have gone in the past. And when she looks up and sees her older sister standing in the doorway, an envelope in her hands, Zenie repeats the sentiment like it’s a lifeline.

“I don’t know for how long.”

#Hey Zenie can you hold this real fast?#*throws my problems at her and runs off before she knows what's happening*#oc zenie mcglamery #my writing #band of brothers fanfic #band of brothers #shifty powers x original female character #shifty powers x ofc #shifty powers #hbo war fanfic #hbo war #hallmark au #Like A Girl (Like A Man)

9 notes · View notes

favdream · 2 years

Text

let’s talk about addison, and her education . although rivergrove is said to be pretty big in the world of tomboy, and might be even based on the city of new york, the school addison frequents is one all the kids in the series frequent : our lady of sorrows, a private school with what seems to be a good reputation. because the setting is ambiguous, i am unable to speak about its foundation and history, but i can speak about other things related to it and addison . to enter the school, i imagine you have to pass an entrance exam , which has been deemed not very difficult by many , just above normal difficulty meaning almost everyone has a chance of getting in . in general , addy is a good students with grades in the average in most subjects , except for sports where she excels in general . she doesn’t have a particular dislike for any subject and is someone who will study in order to improve or keep up her average . that fact can be taken from bloodborn ecstasy , where she says she has chemistry to study for after completing a mission, to which cheery cherry complains about the subject before addison points out it isn’t as bad as she thinks it is . if you ask me though , addison’s favorite subject after sports might probably be english , since her room has shelves full of books and it is hinted she is knowledgeable in literature .

if our lady of sorrows offers students a normal curriculum, with math , history , english classes and so on , the school also offers various activities the student population can join . for example, we see the music room in bloodborn ecstasy, where owen spends most of his time locked up playing the piano in order to avoid people , and where jessica comes to play the violin with him . addison, on the other hand , is part of the ravens , the female field hockey team , with whom she gets along with very well . she adores her coach , who looks after her , as well as her teammates who don’t hesitate to tease and poke fun of nick , the assistant manager , whenever he swings by . after him and jessica , the ravens are probably addison’s closest friends , a second family of some sort although that bond is weakened heavily thanks to the events of the series . prior to this, she would often hang with them outside of school , probably eating pizza at a nearby parlor , something they all stopped doing when an epidemic of crime started happening in the city.

after nick is murdered, i can only imagine the student body looks at addison with pity in their eyes , especially since everyone knew how close the two were . however , jessica is the only one addison lets in in her sorrow , something that continues after she leaves for bereavement and comes back during the winter . everyone tries to show her sympathy , trying to help in their own way , but she pushes them away , refusing to talk about it before , ultimately, smiling and politely thanking them between bloodborn ecstasy and false prophet. jessica’s death causes this attitude to be reversed however , as addison refuses to let people approach or talk to her in a context other than academic . with time , she starts to see some of her peers as bullies close to becoming criminals , before she completely loses interest in them with the events of the courthouse massacre coming at the horizon . in her pursuit of the ambidrex 20 , addison becomes a monster and embraces said monstrosity ... at the cost of her social life , and so much more .

#hc .#another old headcanon i'm reposting for the lolz #it's so odd for me to speak about high school when it's been ten years since i graduated #fun fact : it has indeed been around ten exact years since i graduated #long post //

1 note · View note

kindaeccentric · 3 years

Text

When I was writing my university bachelor's degree thesis (that I'm still to defend) about Penny Dreadful as a modern adaptation of Frankenstein I noticed how the original novel's homoeroticism is realized by the series in an interesting way.

In the way he is presented, it seems to me that Victor secretly desires men, but thinks that only through creating a perfect one by himself he's allowed to touch other man's skin. His endeavour to pierce the veil between life and death is an excuse, since Victor from the series grew up lonely after the death of his mother and he searches for companionship, for someone who would love him unconditionally, like his mother used to. He believes he can find such love only in a person he creates himself, brings from the dead, and who would see him as his only friend, calm and obedient. Yet his first instinct is to make a man, not a woman, and a handsome man at that.

I can imagine both Rory Kinnear and Alex Price are not everybody's cup of tea (I do find them attractive, they are quite charismatic), but the way the original Creature and Proteus are shown makes them attractive. Proteus we see through Victor's eyes, when he is tending to his body before its even reanimated, when he sketches him (a sure sign of affection) and when he teaches him how to eat in a way that becomes seductive, because of how the camera lingers on his lips and then, in a closeup, on his fingers running down his long throat, immediately bringing to mind erotic imagery. Some may argue that Victor tries to emulate the relationship between his mother and himself taking the parental role and projecting onto Proteus the role of his childhood self, and as much as it is partially true, their relationship bears these marks of hidden desire on Victor's part from the start. The image at the end of the first episode when Proteus is born shows Victor trembling, teary-eyed, looking at the body, a torn and stitched back together, but human body, of a naked man. He's afraid, but not necessarily of the man, but of finally getting what he wanted, it's a fear resulting from excitement. Then the man is touching his face tenderly and Victor, still trembling, cannot stop himself from a little smile. Their faces are softly illuminated by the orange light of the gas lamp, creating an intimate atmosphere of a warm bedroom. Victor practically gasps hearing his own name smoken by Proteus. I doubt all of it was intentional in the way I read it, but it doesn't change the fact that the final scene can be easily interpreted this way.

Then the original Creature, with the violence surrounding his return, presents him as highly masculine, smart, powerful, a direct opposite to the delicate, clueless Proteus Victor could easily form into whatever he wanted. The Creature throughout the entire series is perceived as ugly by some and easily tolerated by others, making his ugliness purely subjective, since, despite his small deformities he remains strangely alluring with his gothic qualities (black long hair, black lips, white skin, yellow eyes, proportional features) of a dark brooding gentleman. With blood on his face he becomes vampire-like (vampires always a symbol of hidden desires and 'depraved' sexuality, the Creature and Victor becoming a mirror image of Vanessa and vampire Mina, both Creature's and Mina's monstrosity an indirect result of Victor's and Vanessa's desire towards having a same-sex companion). The Creature touches Victor's face, a callback to Proteus doing it, but the Creature is not gentle, he smears blood all over Victor's face (blood in vampire narratives was always a symbol for other bodily fluids, that's why it seems so sexy, it also gained another meaning in the 80s, due to the HIV epidemic, which no filmmaker can shake off if they tried, I could discuss it more with The Lost Boys, but no time for that right now).

The dynamic between Victor and the Creature is a reversal of Victor's budding relationship with Proteus, experience winning over innocence. Victor is under another man's rule, and it terrifies him, because it would force him into a position of having to admit his attraction, whereas as the one in control he could have still easily deny it. The Creature, with all his attributes, symbolizes carnal love, he's all 'body', where Proteus was virginal, pious love (to an extent). In one of the scenes where we see Proteus he looks up into the skylight at Victor's apartment and appears angelic, as if in a halo of white light.

It's revealed Victor never had a woman, and the series wants the viewer to believe it's because of his awkwardness and passion for science that consumed him, but his dedication to creating himself male companions instead of searching for a living female one is exactly what makes him seem more queer coded.

It's clear that the lack of paternal figure results in Victor quickly becoming close with older men he encounters (Sir Malcolm, Van Helsing), but it also puts him into a position where he's constantly surrounded by men, with whom he feels more at ease, and is intimidated by women. The rivalry between him and Ethan is that of siblings, until the moment when Ethan teaches him how to shoot a gun. It might be a stretch (it is a bit of a stretch, I admit), but a gun often, especially in horror, alongside a knife, represents manhood and masculine power. Victor allows Ethan to touch him and encourages him to show off with the gun, which is a scene all too familiar from many other movies where the role of Victor is reserved for a woman and the interaction is flirtatious (can't pull examples out of thin air, but if you saw over 1400 movies like me you know I'm not lying). All this adds to the general image of Victor.

The Creature and Victor, when they are on a walk, have a very revealing conversation in which the Creature points out how quick Victor was to grow attached to his more perfect man, and Victor doesn't deny it, he admits that he did in fact feel affection towards Proteus, although the meaning of it as the scorned past partner expressing jealousy over the love he didn't get while someone else did is largely subtext. When the Creature says that he's lonely, Victor answers 'I cannot love you' (paraphrase, because I can't find the exact quote right now) and the Creature, disillusioned, mocks him, 'I do not want what you cannot give' suggesting that Victor, by making himself a meek obedient man, is selfish, cruel, manipulating, and a coward, therefore could not have loved Proteus truly. Then again, Victor cannot bring himself to love his original Creature, because he's not the ideal man he envisioned and by then the Creature being too aware of his flaws of character. The Creature/Caliban/John Clare knows that Victor is 'monstrous', not just because he's someone who desecrates dead bodies, plays God and abandons his creation, but because of his queer desire. It's important that in the case of Penny Dreadful 'monstrosity' signifies many different things, literal (being a vampire werewolf, witch, and so on), metaphorical (bad deeds, like letting your son die a horrible death, cheating, killing etc.) and wholy subjective, merely condemned by ignorant society (Sembene's blackness, Brona's sex work, Lily's want to be equal or greater than men, Vanessa's want for sexual freedom, the Creature's ugliness, Angelique being transgender and other cases), so it's NOT that much of a stretch this time.

We also have the whole problem with Lily. Victor is so attached to Lily (who takes up both Elizabeth's and creature's bride parts in the novel) because he believes that only by possessing a good woman he'll be redeemed for his 'sinful' desires, but he's foolish to think that. This belief reduces a woman to a semi-maternal, semi-virginal angelic ideal with no sexual urges or agency, like virgin Mary. Lily is a true replacement for Victor's mother, and his imagined redemption. As long as she's similar to Proteus, in that she's not sexual, and pure like an angel. Yet Lily is not a woman in that sense. She is another of Victor's creatures, so she partially also takes over the role of the original Creature from the novel, a male. She's not an ideal of a Victorian obedient wife, she has power, or tries to have it, but power in the context of patriarchal society is masculine by nature. The moment she drops her pretenses of a weak delicate wife-like girl Victor does not want her like this. He doesn't want a woman that is sexually liberated, because he doesn't like women in this way, and yet, by being similar to the first Creature (from Victor's perspective, from hers John Clare is similar to Victor-a man, I could delve into Brona's sexuality, but later, this thing is already way longer than I intended) she's 'the man' he wanted.

There is also Henry. Henry Jekyll takes the role of his namesake in the novel, Henry Clerval, Victor's closest friend, and a character most often cited to have homoerotic tension with Victor. It's true that some of the eroticism might be accidental, stemming from the prevalence of homosocial interactions in 'Frankenstein' which in turn is a result of misogynistic nature of 19th century Genevian society and in-novel universe reflecting it, but like I mentioned before, it still feeds into the queer reading of the text and translates beautifully into Jekyll and Victor being both extremely misogynistic towards Lily and their mutual homoerotic tension. In the scenes where Henry purposes his plan to Victor he practically seductively purrs it into his ear, Lily becomes merely a female buffer that allows for that interaction, a female presence which is an excuse for male closeness (here I have a couple of examples actually: Dead Ringers, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Scream (in a roundabout way, through murder) and a couple others, but that deserves its own article). I won't even mention more references to the novel, because that's a lot already.

Penny Dreadful, although I believe largely unintentionally, expands on what is already there through the changes it introduces in relation to the novel's plot. I have nothing else smart to say, I just think it's worth considering.

*I use the word 'queer', because that's the umbrella term we use in academic writing for years now and even our lgbt+ group at university is called 'queer', so don't come at me with stupid takes

#Penny Dreadful #queer readings #Frankenstein #Victor Frankenstein #lily frankenstein

81 notes · View notes

badass-at-fandoming · 3 years

Text

My Favorite Betrayal: Sevastian of the Winter

As one of the starter love interests for Lovestruck's popular Reigning Passions series, Sevastian of the Winter is a tumblr favorite. When I finally got around to reading his route, I enjoyed the stunning art and intricate writing--but this one moment really knocked me off my feet. I gotta post about it. Major spoilers ahoy.

One of the major themes in Sevastian's route is betrayal (which works so well in conversation with the theme of duty in Amara's route. The two routes are truly two sides of the same coin. But that's another post). From the plot to the art, betrayal, and its consequences, are everywhere. The decapitated statue in the Winter Quarter. Sevastian's nickname as "The Betrayer Prince." Heck, the Mark of the Betrayer Sevastian receives is mirrored on MC's sword-esque wedding dress.

[[Image ID 1, Sevastian pulls back his shirt to reveal a gleaming blue sword tattoo. The text reads, "Lines of twisting flame trace the shape of a stylized sword."]]

[[Image ID 2, MC and Sevastian stand side-by-side in their wedding clothes. MC's white dress has an incredibly deep and narrow neckline, with silver chain keeping it in the shape of sword. MC says, "Today marks the beginning of our life together."]]

As the plot goes on, Sevastian betrays, or contemplates betraying, various people and causes. Under the Silver Dagger persona, Sevastian betrays the other nobles by stealing their wealth. He betrays Lyris' trust and friendship by not talking to him after the wing debacle. He thinks about betraying his morals by murdering his father. You get the picture.

But there's one that stood out to me by a mile. It's this scene in s5:

[[Image ID 3, With weeping willows and fireflies behind them, Sevastian and MC stand distressed. MC has hold of Sevastian's forearm, while he leans slightly away from her. They both have anguished expressions on their faces]]

Let's re-orient. MC figures out she's the lost heir to Altadellys' throne. Lord Ubel, Sevastian's father, is salty about it, and MC and Sevastian flee his wrath and the capitol city. They hook up with the rebels, who oppose Ubel because he's an uber-rich dillweed. Led by General Nisse, the rebels task MC and Sevastian to convince the neighboring nation of Rovdyr to send troops and supplies. Our duo is on their way, but an ally betrays them. The situation devolves into a fight. A poisoned blade stabs Sevastian. Only MC's great-grandmother Edera pulling Sevastian into the hidden land of Fortrylle saves him. In this land infused with magical energy, time "stops" for Sevastian, and there's time to find the antidote for his ailment. Which is great, except the rebel cause is pressed for time. They need those Rovdyr allies. As illustrated in the above CG, Sevastian has the brilliant plan of leaving Fortrylle, letting himself die, and thereby forcing MC to get on with her royal future.

And I saw red.

My reaction was as searing as it was visceral. As a queer person, it's a very special experience to feel seen and represented in a work, but this was the first time I felt seen and absolutely hated it. This time, Sevastian was betraying MC and all they had fought for to be together. By throwing away his life, he was throwing all the choices MC had made to be with him right back in her face.

Part of the strength of my reaction stemmed from the fact that I had the 1980s AIDS epidemic on the brain. I'd recently watched Netflix's Circus of Books documentary. In it, a monogamous cishet couple recalled the epidemic and how it affected their lives and bookstore, which was a gay hot spot. Overnight, it seemed, their employees and customers started dying. They added hospital runs to their weekly errands. They called homophobic parents to inform them of their son's death.

And here, in the distorted mirror of fiction, was another queer man dying. No, not dying, but killing himself, so his partner "didn't have to suffer." So they "wouldn't be held back." So she could "move on" with her life and her queenly destiny. I'd heard those reasons before. I spiraled into the hundreds of stories of queer people killing themselves so their straight-passing partner could integrate into the heteronormative; into what others wanted them to be. The parallels drove me mad. Like these other deaths, his suicide felt so needless. Sevastian went on and on about how the rebels needed their queen, their rallying point.

The real kicker is: they don't. Like, no gamer wants to hear that their character is unnecessary to the story, but it's true in this case. MC and Sevastian don't bring anything particularly special to the rebel cause. They don't know military strategy or secret supply routes or a hitherto unknown access point to Altadellys. We learn later that Captain Amara and Queen Safir are around. With Amara's long history of service and Safir being the literal lost queen, they lend an equal, if not greater, sense of legitimacy to the revolt, and are excellent rallying points. Even securing Rovdyr forces don't require MC: General Nisse makes a war treaty with them on her own in Amara's route. The most MC and Sevastian contribute is Ubel's stolen funds. But once those are handed over, they're superfluous.

Just to nail this point home, MC has repeatedly said she doesn't have any particular inclination to be queen. It's more that the other options are terrible. Any destiny to be queen, any ultimate desire to wear the crown, is all in Sevastian's head. He's ignoring what she most wants, which is him, alive and by her side and loving her. I wanted to throttle him. In the midst of sickness and death, they had a chance to live in peace.

So, my God, was I impressed by this writing. For the low, low price of $0, I was absolutely knocked on my ass. Shit's GOOD, bro. I had to gush about it. Thank goodness the next scene gave us an affirming cuddle as a breather.

[[Image ID 4, MC and Sevastian stand close together in a grove of weeping willows. MC's eyes are closed. The text reads, "I lean into his chest as he curls his arms around me, half wishing I could crawl under his shirt and hide there."]]

This post is mega-long and has not real point besides LOOK AT THIS PRETTY, but ya know. Binge read Reigning Passions and you'll see what I mean. Thanks for reading!

#lovestruck #reigning passions #sevastian of the winter #homophobia #suicide #sickness #death #injury #well this got dark fast lol #circus of books #text post #everything's fine

17 notes · View notes

whitehotharlots · 4 years

Text

Triumph of cowardice

I used to be a True Believer in social justice. I mean, it sounds nice: a brighter world being possible through something as simple as guilting people to consume the correct cultural products and stop using naughty words. And even as I became separated enough from the theoretical end of the movement to realize that there was no way in hell it could possibly work; even as a I saw, in undeniable terms, how sociopathic and hypocritical the movement's purveyors were--how it seemed, in fact, to reward such traits; and even after I realized that these people were just straight-up making shit up, I still stuck with it. Partially out of idealism. But mostly out of cowardice, because I knew if I pissed one of these people off they could very easily ruin my career.

And now that I've seen this moral and intellectual cowardice spread into the broader culture and become all but mandatory, I think it's important to push back. Even if my impact is minimal, I couldn't live with myself if I stayed quiet.

Today I was reminded of a panel session I attended around 2011 or 2012. It was a big conference with an established, well-known and respected professor giving a speech about trans issues. I remember following along with the usual arguments--woke people tend to say the same few things over and over with no variation whatsoever (which is why the constant rejoinder to JUST LISTEN is so infuriating, because the fact that everyone is forced to listen provides speakers with little incentive to say anything worth listening to).

Anyhow, one line jolted me out of complacency. The speaker said that "trans women are hunted down like dogs," a crisis condition so intense that our usual standards of logic and evidence should be suspended while we address it. "Just last year," she said, "over 30 thousand trans women were killed in this country."

The crowd gasped. But that--that was simply not plausible. Afterward, I connected to wi-fi and found that the year before there had been fifteen thousand murders, total, in the entire US.

The common response here is that we'll never know the true rate of violence against trans people because it often goes unreported (an assumption that has recently been stretched out to dismiss any demands for concrete evidence of this supposed epidemic of violence). But even if we assume that to be true, the entire country's murder rate would need to be more than twice of what was reported, and every single person who was murdered would have had to have been trans.

The speaker’s statistic was a lie. Plain and simple. And this was from an established academic in a formal, professional setting. And no one pushed back in the slightest.

Now, that was forgivable, I guess. An emotional speech, a pressing topic, etc etc. The figure could have seemed plausible enough in the moment--I mean, how many people know the murder rate off hand? The people in the room could have been forgiven for taking it at face value.

I brought my concerns up to the people from my program who had attended the panel with me. One person's response was about what I would have expected if I had repeatedly screamed the n-word while explaining how the holocaust never actually happened--the act of looking up the statistic was violence, this is exactly why white men should not be in our field, expressing any incredulity was how fucking genocide happened and why am even bothering to explain this to you, you white male piece of filth.

After this woman stormed off I was left with people who were friends of mine. They were nowhere near as apoplectic, but agreed with the overall gist of the psychotic woman's outburst: it's simply not right to nitpick over statistics, even ones that are implausible to the point of being outright lies, when those stats are being deployed to express a greater truth. They knew me and therefore knew I didn't want to genocide trans people, but I needed to realize how bad and hateful outsiders would think me to be, were I express these opinions around them.

"Besides," one said, "maybe [the speaker] just misspoke."

Shamed, I didn't pursue the issue any further.

But it gnawed at me and I dug deeper. I found several transcripts and interviews the speaker had given regarding the subject. In each one, a murder figure was cited, but it was never consistent. They were all wildly implausible, but one day she would say 20k, the next 35, etc. And the academics who read and edited these--people who supposedly value rigor and attention to detail--never mentioned the inconsistencies.

This was disheartening but I rolled with it long enough to get out of the program. But then an even more disturbing development started to occur: people began citing correct statistics that completely contradicted the point they were trying to make, and those citations went unchallenged.

A famous one is that there is an "epidemic" of trans people being murdered, that leaving the house is a matter of life and death for every trans person and therefore you're a hitler if you disagree with anything they say. The number they use to prove this? Twenty-six. Not 26 thousand. Not 26 hundred. 26, two digits all by themselves.

Now, even if we take underreporting into account and even if we think the number of trans people is much lower than what their advocates would have you believe, this statistic would still suggest that trans people are murdered at a significantly lower rate than the general population.

I can't think of a parallel for this doesn't sound laughably insane. It's like if I said "yesterday was hotter than today. Yesterday it was 95 degrees out, but today it was 105" or "the dog is bigger than the elephant because the elephant is larger and contains more mass." The data presented herein is a direct, obvious contradiction of the point that's being made and yet everyone just goes along with it.

This type of madness does not occur in a functional milieu. This is the result of bullying and paranoia becoming the status quo on the left, of a movement that's so sure of itself that it's abandoned all pretenses of truth and decency. And we just let it happen. We don't even push back.

323 notes · View notes

steve0discusses · 3 years

Text

Yugioh Ep33 S4 pt 2: The Best Storyboarder Came Back Just so They Could Draw Tristan Getting Hit in the Nuts

OK lets just get to the good stuff.

God bless you, storyboarder.

(read more under the cut)

The team has entered the Atlantis lair of Dartz, which is also accessible through Paradius in San Fransisco, but youknow...we don’t have magic so it’s not like we could’ve skipped like 10 minutes and just done that instead of the helicopter escape, the Military moment, and the ride through a hurricane.

Oh wait, we do have magic, that’s right...well...for now, pretend we don’t.

Enjoy the snakes.

Strangely, Kaiba does not feel comfortable with the snakes, when snakes really just a smaller and cuter dragon. I love snakes. Never owned one...but I trust em.

Dartz has the Yugioh “old guy” aesthetic of “We just really like yellowed sandstone”

I get that they want this place (and also Yami’s house) to look like a tomb so there won’t be any paint on the wall but this is just a pet peeve of mine that Ancient times freakin loved garish colors on the wall in layers and layers of patterns and yet in fiction we never show that.

But...it doesn’t go with the vibe. I’ll let it go because it would absolutely ruin the vibe to have a bunch of swirly stuff in neon orange and green.

Before we have a chance to grab a step stool and just kinda yoink Yugi Muto, Dartz shows up, and this shot happens.

I couldn’t not grab a cap of that. I mean...look at it. It is SO HARD to foreshorten hands so it looks right and then bam they just did that. It’s just...

...I’ve been breaking down foreshortening in Yugioh shots for a while now trying to figure out why when I do it, it looks like a busted huge hand, but when they do it, it looks really good, and I’m starting to realize that maybe it’s more than just stacking but also...the composition?

You can’t really look at this picture as a whole. The hand is such a strong focal point that you must start there, and then follow down the arm to the face. I think when I do these foreshortening shots I make the hand the same weight as the face, and that’s my downfall. You gotta let the composition force the viewer to slow down and take time in order for the optical illusion to happen...maybe? I’m like over 30 now, you’d think I’d figure this out by now.

Whatever, that’s another post.

So like...what happened to those two people who used to be there????

And now prepare thyself for my lazy math. I know this math is bad. For people out there who feel like working out the geometric growth and calculate just how many souls Dartz slurps up--feel free to tell me. If I like the explanation, I will adjust the Death Count to match it. It’s just too 2020 for me to do more than multiplication at the moment.

Did I count how many people would have existed 10,000 years ago? no. Did I account for plagues? No. Like this math of 4 a day is bad...but eh it’s all I got right now in my mental ammunition.

Something that we did think about was...

Why not slurp up the Pharaoh soul when Yami was still alive? Like we assume the puzzle existed in the past but like...did Yami not get superpowered until Yugi woke him up? Was he in fact useless until he got a little bit of a battery charge during Season Zero when he was dumping people off of bell towers?

And like I get not knowing about the underground Ishtars, and not being able to get a hold of Shadi because Shadi is a lazy ghost, but Bakura was RIGHT THERE. You can’t munch up Pegasus off screen and then say “eh but Bakura’s kinda low tier” we know for a fact that Bakura is not...so like...there must have been some copyright situation where they couldn’t use certain characters. This is a filler arc--but it would have been nice to have at least some explanation as to why it took Dartz so long to finally murder the hell out of Pharaoh.

Which is me expecting way too much out of this show. Just something I was really hoping would get addressed but leave it for the headcanon.

It’s at this point that Mokuba realized he’s standing on top of people.

A crypt made out of human souls! Crazy, usually we’re in a crypt made out of one single human soul....and both of these crypts have Yugi in it.

In Raphael’s storyline, he’s been busy just cleaning up after everyone else. It’s supposed to come off as very serious but I was totally busting up when he’s just dropping bodies into the back of this jeep.

And in the Kaiba Corp plotline, Roland is anxiously wondering if he should be a Dad and save the kids or if he should be a dog and stay in the plane.

He stays in the plane.

Strangely this was the right call. (And this is why Roland has never died)

So they start throwing around cards, as you do, and Dartz puts down his Orichalcos, has he does, when suddenly...they started seeing stuff again. Can’t have a single card game without it.

So the Orichalcos is just a backstory device? For reals?

Something I alluded to quite a few episodes back with Valon was just...wondering why the hell the Orichalcos crew had so much freakin magic as to make all these visions during duels. Turns out...it’s just a thing to occasionally trip on Oricalchos juice. I’m not sure why we never had a vision with Mai, Weevil, Rex, or Gurimo, but at least we now know that Raphael and Valon weren’t as magical as I thought they were.

So we’re in like...outer space. Kind of the last place you’d expect out of ancient Atlantis and Dartz isn’t having ANY OF IT.

And honestly that makes sense. Imagine giving someone 10,000 years ago the run down on outer space. They’d freak. They’d definitely think you’re talking about demons.

If space is an elaborate analogy, we don’t know that yet. For how this is presented, it’s just an old man hootin and hollerin about how much space sucks, and I love that.

PS how anime is this shot of the earth behind the orichalcos symbol and the dude in the middle with the ass length blue hair--really damn anime, right?

Like at least one of you has this wall hanging, right?

For those that are too tired to look it up, Pangea was 280-230 million years ago.

THAT REALLY CHANGES MY MATH.

AND I’M TOO TIRED.

So my thoughts are...either the math is wrong and I’ll fix it eventually in post, depending on my mood come next Wednesday, OR...humanity was deleted and then came back later??? (because the dawn of mankind was 7 million years ago)

OR...

They just felt like drawing Pangea 10 million years ago. Maybe that’s all. Maybe I don’t have to fix anything. I dunno.

Maybe this isn’t Earth.

Maybe Yugioh Earth never had Loma Preita because it isn’t actually Earth. And, like a Final Fantasy situation, is a second planet on a parallel plane of our own?

Either way, I’m not redoing the math because I actually don’t know how to change it anymore. I’m v undecided of the timeline now......maybe the next episode will tell us more? (I doubt this very much)

RIP deathcount.

Yo Atlantis!

I have a lot of questions!

About Atlantis!

And the purpose of the aqueduct going the wrong direction.

Is that in fact the poop shoot?

But wtv it looks neat.

So anyway, that’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed my bad math, and I hope you enjoy your Halloween. Ours is a whole lot of nothing. I’ll be watching lots of Phasmaphobia streams while eating Butterfingers that I legally can’t give to children because it’s an epidemic (butterfingers is like the last candy that my old 30 yo ass can handle without passing out or gagging. Weird how getting older makes me hate all the good things I couldn’t eat when I was younger because I was too young to be allowed to eat them.) and that’s about it.

WHY did Halloween finally fall on a Saturday DURING an epidemic? I only get so many Saturday Halloweens in my youth...just why.

(and here’s a link to read these in chrono order)

#ygo #yugioh #recap #photo recap #humor #atlantis #yami #seto kaiba #mokuba #dartz #tristan taylor #getting hit in the nuts #roland #hallucinating while playing cards who knew?#S4 #Ep33

84 notes · View notes

kaypeace21 · 4 years

Note

something i noticed, during the s3 byler argument, Mike says “El’s not stupid, it’s not MY fault you don’t like girls.” Mike’s “it’s not my fault” doesn’t fit as a retort, the theme of his retort should be defending El. He should have said “it’s not HER fault you don’t like girls”. Knowing there were other versions of that line the writers must have consciously chosen to leave this one in, knowing how it could be interpreted. anyway, do you have any idea why mike even said that line?

Yes, I have talked about it -here (in my long ‘why Mike is gay post’). But since so many people misinterpret the meaning of Mike’s words- might as well do a shorter/more brief version .And do a post focusing on it. HE’S SAYING THIS TO HIMSELF!

First some background

Mike DOES NOT think Will is gay. Dustin foreshadows their fight in s1 saying “Dustin: “He’s just jealous.” Mike: “What?” Dustin: “Sometimes your total obliviousness just blows my mind?” Dustin: “ What matters is, he’s your best friend. And then this girl shows up… and all you ever want to do is spend time with her!” Mike: “that’s not true!”

Dustin: “Yes it is! And you know it. And he knows it. But no one ever says anything until you’re both start… yelling at each other like goblins with intelligence scores of 0. And now everything is weird”

Mike: “He’s not my best friend! … I mean he is. But so are you.”

He won’t let himself consider that Will could be gay because then it would be harder to pretend he isn’t gay himself . That it isn’t just a weird phase that he’ll grow out of. We see that throughout the show Mike is projecting his feelings for Will on to El . Who in s1 was described by 5 characters as looking like a boy (and specifically like Will, by 3 characters ). There’s just way too many examples of him projecting to list here. But s3 we see Mike is trying to mimic romantic moments between him and Will (from s2) to El (in s3). In order to transfer his romantic feelings for Will on to El. The “blank makes you crazy” vs “crazy together”, the shed scenes of “most important thing” vs “the best thing I’ve ever done”,etc.

The difference between past seasons though, is that Mike is now conscious that he’s doing this. The more feminine El gets- the harder for him it is to pretend. Especially now that they’re going through puberty- and the physical differences between boys and girls is becoming more prominent. We see this in the first ep of s3. I talked about it more here, but the Duffers use music with all the characters to convey plot points or the emotions of the characters. One example is when Mike forces Will to dance with a girl so he ‘fakes a smile’.

So yes, the fact that the very first lyrics that play when we see mileven kiss for the first time is “Just a little uncertainty can bring you down”- reflects Mike’s true feelings.And we know this is how Mike (not El) feels about their relationship because he begins to sing the song right after this lyric.The song is even from the album titled “boy in the box”. AKA: Mike is in the closet

“And nobody wants to know you now. And nobody wants to show you how.So if you’re lost and on your own. You can never surrender.” He fears that if he isn’t straight everyone he cares about will abandon him, and that he’d be lost and the only one ‘like this’ -all alone.But he can’t ‘surrender’ the false-idea of being in love with El (out of fear). This is the rural Indiana in the 80s- at the height of the aids epidemic. People on the news said gay people were being rightfully punished with the ‘gay cancer’ (aids). They equated being gay with being a perv, p*d*phile, murderer, or mentally ill. Churches said you’d ‘burn in hell’. In rural areas people would form gangs and murder people they thought were gay. Of course Mike is terrified and wants to be straight! His parents in s2 were Reagan supporters. And Reagan was notoriously homophobic. He’s probably afraid his parents will hate him, kick him out, or that someone will kill him or he’ll die from aids by simply kissing a boy.

We see Mike is doing his own f-ed up form of conversion therapy. He kisses El but he puts on the wall a drawing of Will so he can look at it while he kisses her. Probably hoping to transfer his romantic feeling for Will on to her.

Like that’s Will! He has light brown hair (not black) and Will is the only one associated with fire and has drawn himself with fire in the past. And Will even overlaps with the rainbow drawing that reads “mike” before we see the mileven kiss. It was intentional.

So when Will Says “you’re ruining everything (their relationship) .And for what?! So you can swap spit with some stupid girl.”

This infuriates Mike because he thinks swapping spit with El is the best way to save their relationship! And he’s been trying to ‘fix himself’ so Will doesn’t hate him- and it hasn’t been working, to Mike’s frustration. So he screams “El’s not stupid, it’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” because he’s projecting. And although, he loves Will… a part of him probably is a bit angry that he’s making him feel this way.

Mike never actually says to El’s face that he loves her- he even says during his fake-confession “[old people] say it”.And later Mike apologizes to El and says “sorry, I sound like a [7 year old].” Aka the number Will rolled in s1. Right after he discusses d&d with Will and talks about seeing both of them for the Hollidays. So it’s telling that after he says “El’s not stupid . it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” (to himself). He immediately regrets yelling at Will. He even closes his eyes and takes a breath before continuing. And apologizes, by giving a heteronormative answer of:

“I’m not trying to be a jerk, but [we’re not kids anymore]. What did you think, really?! that we’d never get girlfriends. That we’d just sit in my basement and play games for the rest our lives?”

Mike is yelling this at himself to keep his feelings for Will under control.El is an idea to Mike about what adulthood is- which is why he doesn’t really defend el (and his ‘love’ for her) but just talks about “girlfriends” in an abstract way. This was essentially Mike telling himself- he’s NOT allowed to just be with Will and never have a gf. He has to grow out of his ‘childish feelings’ for Will- before it’s too late, because being a gay man is dangerous. That’s why when the camera is on Mike (when he looks back a the byers house -and they only show Will and Mike). The dialogue is “But I know you’re getting older, growing, changing. I guess, if I’m being really honest, that’s what scares me. I don’t want things to change.”He doesn’t want things to change (and his feelings for Will to evolve into love, because that means Mike has to admit he’s gay and accept his future as a gay man-which at the time, didn’t seem very bright). They both are afraid of the future because of this. Mike tries to act like a ‘straight-adult’ and Will tries to revert back into his childhood because of this.

Mike also mentions “games’ because d&d is a symbol of byler’s romantic relationship. He’s just pretending to not enjoy the d&d game. Mike says they have to get girlfriends and they can’t play games for the rest of their lives. But that’s what Mike wants- he just wants to be with Will for the rest of his life (playing games) without either of them having girlfriends. Because, we see Mike never took any of Will’s d&d art off his walls.Even though he changed his poster (from the same wall that had will’s drawings on it) Mike couldn’t remove any of Will’s d&d art. It was an act - which is why he was upset (in the last episode) when Will was donating the game, and why during the Hopper speech, it pans to Mike as Hopper says “I miss playing board games every night.”

Mike even has a binder filled with every d&d drawing Will has ever given him.

In the pilot, they even say Will uses d&d to “escape” his insecurities about his sexuality “like mike” & Mike uses d&d to “escape” his insecurities about not having a gf. * And no, dustin & Lucas didn’t use d&d to “escape” anything- in the pilot script.

And right before Mike says the famous “crazy together”line it zooms in on Mike’s d&d set.

The “crazy together” scene is romantic since both Mike & Flo both equate love making you ‘crazy’. Mike saying “it makes you crazy” and Flo saying saying in s1 “ only love makes you crazy and that damn stupid”).

(x)(x)

Mike is lying about his feelings for El- and El is just confused about her feelings for Mike. The only one’s with mutual feelings for Mike is Will! Will even has a breakdown and goes ‘crazy’ after seeing a pic of them the night they promised to go crazy together - and then Will repeatedly calls himself ‘stupid’ . Because this is when he realizes and admits to himself he’s in love with Mike. And so he grabs a bat (that his dad- who called him a ‘queer’ taught him to use) and destroys castle Byers in a fit of anger and self-hate. That fight was what caused Will to realize his feelings for Mike and the jealousy he had been feeling were because he was in love with Mike. When Mike asks “what did you think, really? That we’d never get girlfriends… play games for the rest of our lives?”

Will is 100% honest a says brokenly “yeah. I guess I did” And then says angrily “I really did!” . Even if both don’t understand the gravity of their words in that moment Will was honest- he doesn’t want to ever have a girlfriend he just wants to be with Mike for the rest of his life. And Mike, who assumes Will is straight, is shocked that this conversation upset Will. Or that he would disagree with his words.

And again their last conversation (about d&d is very telling and is foreshadowing). What Will meant when he said , “I’ll just use yours when I come back- I mean… if WE still wanna play”. Is essentially foreshadowing that the ball is in Mike’s court. If he wants to be with Will for the rest of his life he has to initiate it and prove he loves Will after pretending for so long to love El, instead.

gif credit: first 2 gifs ampwn98 , 3th gif by janebycrs, 5th gif Cath-avery , 4 & 6th gifs mine

#byler #byeler #anti mileven

883 notes · View notes

princeescaluswords · 4 years

Text

Okay to Want Things

I got an ask yesterday that I deleted from Asshole Anon. It’s sort of a reflex by now because they read my stuff but don’t actually comprehend it, but this was so illustrative of how they keep confusing Canon Stiles with Fanon Stiles and how they try to dump all the negative traits on Scott and steal Scott’s positive traits for Stiles.

Now, what was that about Scott being obsessed with girls?

Let’s look at the dialogue. Let’s see how Stiles regards girls.

Mr. Martin: He's been here all night?

Melissa: He's been here all weekend.

Stiles: You're dirty.

Hanging around outside the hospital room of a girl who is not even his friend let alone his girlfriend for an entire weekend seems a little obsessive, don’t you think? Remember those scenes from Season 1 where Scott’s breaking into the morgue and Stiles is trying to hit on a Lydia who doesn’t even know who he is?

Right, let’s go on to being obsessed with lacrosse.

Coach: All right, geniuses, listen up. Due to the recent pink eye epidemic - Thank you, Greenberg - the following people have made first line on a probationary basis, emphasis on the word "probationary." Rodriguez. Welcome to first line. Taylor, and, uh - Oh, for the love of crap. I can't even read my own writing. What is that, an "s"? No, no, that's not an "s." That's a - that's a - That's a "b." It's definitely a "b." Uh, Rodriguez, Taylor, and, uh - Bilinski.

Stiles enthusiastically celebrates, while the team looks at him like he’s an idiot.

Coach: Bilinski!

Stiles: Yes?

Coach: Shut up!

Stiles: Yes, sir.

Scott: Stiles.

Stiles: It's Biles. Call me Biles, or I swear to God I'll kill you.

Just a reminder, this is immediately after Night School (1x07), where Scott revealed that the alpha is trying to make him kill his friends, including Stiles. We can see that Stiles has his priorities straight.

Okay, enough of that. What about popularity?

Here is a picture of Stiles winning the scoring goal in the State Championships and basking in Lydia’s admiration, while Scott is trying to thwart Gerard’s plans to murder innocents and Isaac with Jackson.

During the next episode, while Scott is trying to figure out a way to stop Jackson from turning into something with wings, Stiles sits in his bedroom and has this conversation with his Dad:

Sheriff: She left, huh?

Stiles: Yeah.

Sheriff: So is there, uh - Anything there?

Stiles: No. No, she's in love with someone else.

Sheriff: Ah. Listen - I know that getting beaten up, and with what happened to Jackson, has gotten you pretty shaken. But be happy about one thing. The game. You were amazing.

Stiles: Thanks, dad.

Sheriff: No, I mean it. Look, it was pretty much over. And then you got the ball, and you started running. You scored, and the tide just turned. And you scored again and again. You weren't just MVP of the game. You were a hero.

Just to remind you, this is a conversation they are having while Scott has stolen Jackson Whittemore’s body from the hospital and is riding in a car with Chris Argent to rendezvous with Derek.

Now, I’m going to defend Stiles here, because Stiles has every right to do this. There is nothing wrong with -- even in the midst of horror -- a teenage boy not willing to sacrifice his dreams to fix the Hale family fuckups. Stiles has the right to his own life. He can pursue Lydia, he can make first line, and he can earn the admiration of his peers for being the MVP of the state championship and still do the right thing.

But the necessary corollary to that is that if Stiles has that right, so does Scott. People who share the point of view of this anon don’t believe that. They claim that Scott was obsessed with girls, lacrosse and popularity but they can’t point to a single scene where someone got hurt because Scott dated Allison, where someone died because Scott played lacrosse, or the bad guys won because Scott became popular. Scott wants those things in Seasons 1 and 2, but he doesn’t throw anyone under the bus to get them. He simply didn’t. In fact, quite the opposite. Scott’s refusal to let Serial Killer Petey and Bad Decision Derek determine the course of his life is what makes him a hero in the show.

So, Asshole Anon, you know, choke on it.

#teen wolf meta #fandom racism #scott mccall defense squad #stiles stilinski #scott mccall

22 notes · View notes

kezziablue · 4 years

Text

Okay, so this is my first time ever using tumblr! Hopefully I do this right lol So basically, I wrote something for this fourth of July bc I’ve had a lot of conflicting thoughts about it lately, and it helps me a lot when I’m able to get some of my thoughts out of my head. I posted it on my other social medias (which yall are super welcome to check out and follow btw, i’m @kezziablue pretty much everywhere) and honestly very few people saw it from what i can tell. But my sister (god bless her lol) read it and urged me to post it here on my (up until this point) unused tumblr acct. So, here goes. Hopefully none of this goes against any guidelines? Like I said, V NEW HERE lol. Also forewarning, this is super long (I have a lot of thoughts lol). But it is here if you wanna read it and if you’re maybe thinking some of the same things:

I guess I should start by establishing the fact that i am American, since no one here would necessarily know that since I haven’t posted yet. Anyways! That being said, in the past, I’ve always loved July 4th, I think especially once we moved overseas because it was fun that it was a holiday that was distinctly American and reminded me of “home” (or at least one home of many). And to be honest, a lot of my love is probably for the BBQ and other delicious foods (potato salad 🤤) that I associate specifically with July 4th. And it’s in the middle of summer, my favorite season. There’s singing, gathering, and festivity. For me, it was the time of year that usually meant I got to see friends that I normally didn’t because we lived so far away. And fireworks are cool (at least they used to be, sound sensitivity is a B). What’s not to like? Or so I thought?

This year is different. I mean, that much is obvious. It’s different in almost every way imaginable. The amount of time between this month and the last, much less this July 4th and the last, seems unfathomable. So much has happened. So much has changed. So then, it seems reasonable to expect that this July 4th would be different as well. And it is.

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been asked what I’m gonna do for the 4th of July. Do I have any plans? And honestly, no, I don’t. The holiday hadn’t even crossed my mind. But with it being brought up, I started to think about it, and found that I was met with total disinterest in observing this holiday this year. It took me about 0.5 seconds to realize why: This year it just feels wrong. And celebration, honestly, is the farthest thing from my mind.

So I was left with the question: “do I celebrate the fourth of July this year?” And if not, what do I do instead? I pondered this, and didn’t come up with much. My brain is often so jumbled these days. So, in true millennial fashion, I did what I always do when I have questions like this that need answers, and I turned to Google, hoping maybe someone else was wondering the same questions I was.

I found several articles that were really helpful to me (and if i figure out how then I can link some if anyone wants to read). And I’m not gonna tell you what to think or feel or do. You decide what’s best and what’s true for you. And if this is something you care about at all, or if you’ve been wondering the same sorts of thoughts that I have, then I do encourage you to do your own research, figure out your own thoughts, decide what’s right for you. There really is a wealth of information out there that is so readily accessible.

So essentially, here’s what I’ve come up with, in deciding what’s right for me: this year I’ve decided that if I really care about America, the best thing I can do is educate myself about it. I can’t rely on school or media to tell me the truth. My twenty-four years on this earth and a lack of so much knowledge regarding both our history and the true current state of things have proven that much. I have to learn on my own. That’s my responsibility.

Even though I am black, I was raised in a white family, and by association and upbringing I also benefitted from white privilege in many ways (and this is something I’ll definitely discuss more as I continue learn and educate myself and process my own thoughts and experiences). I’ve spent almost half of my life living in countries other than the US, which also makes a difference. I’ve spent several years removed from many American realities and from feeling the immediate impact of prevailing issues that would have directly affected me otherwise.

I’ve come to recognize the weird duality of knowing that while I have experienced racism my whole life in many ways, I have also experienced white privilege in many ways. Because of my upbringing there were many times when, even when faced with racism directed towards me, I could turn away and say “it shouldn’t be this way”, thinking that my denial ensured that it wasn’t that way simply because I didn’t want it to be. It took a lot of learning (much of it still ongoing) to realize that the only way to truly eradicate racism is to face it head on.

So I can’t ignore the way things are right now (and have been for hundreds of years). And for me personally, I can’t use my breath to sing about American freedom while a man chokes out “I can’t breathe” as he is murdered by American police.

I can’t celebrate an ideal and ignore the directly opposing reality. Let freedom ring? When there are children being detained? Let us come together? When there are families being separated? “God bless America my home sweet home”? When we’re living on stolen lands? Sweet land of liberty? When the US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world? One nation, indivisible? When human rights and national safety become a political opinion instead of a given? Liberty and justice for all? When people of color are being disproportionately murdered by police who are not held accountable unless there is massive public outcry (sometimes not even then)? When we have laws that state that some people have the right to healthcare while others don’t simply based on who they love?

Maybe some of you have these freedoms and would like to celebrate that. But I don’t believe that any of us are free until all of us are free. So I’m not going to celebrate freedom today, because we don’t have it yet.

This is what I have decided is right for me. This isn’t me saying that you’re wrong if you choose to celebrate July 4th today. But I do ask that you be informed when you do so. Celebrate the freedoms that some of us do have, but don’t be satisfied, thinking that because some are free all are free. Maybe take a little time today to learn about things like:

-our country’s significant racist history

-the history of the peoples from whom this land was stolen

-the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls

-systemic and institutional racism

-police brutality

-state-sanctioned violence against people of color

-trans black women being killed

-the current normalizing of mass death by virus

-massive income inequality

-immigration detention facilities

-the prison industrial complex

-the school to prison pipeline

...and that’s just me naming a few of the things I can think of immediately. There is literally so, so much injustice in this country. So much oppression.

I can still absolutely acknowledge that we are a free nation in a lot ways that many other nations don’t experience. But the honest truth is that we’re a nation fighting for freedom yet built on racism and oppression. The freedoms we do have are guaranteed to some, and conditional to so many others. And so there is still so, so much wrong in this country that prevents us from fully experiencing “liberty and justice for all”. This isn’t me saying “wow. America is the worst”. This isn’t me ignoring the liberties that many of us do have. This is me acknowledging that in a number of ways it is (or is intended to be) good. But it’s not good enough. And it never will be, until we’re all free to fully access and enjoy our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

#blm #blacklivesmatter #blm movement #black lives have always mattered #blacklivesalwaysmatter #black lives fucking matter #4th of july #thoughts #july4th #july 4 2020 #independenceday #america #american #black lives matter movement #noneofusarefreeuntilallofusarefree #freedom

23 notes · View notes

middle-eastern-queen · 5 years

Text

Muslim representation in Elite

As a Muslim, I have so many issues with the Muslim representation in Elite Season 2. They portrayed us as people who need to be “saved” from our beliefs. Well im sorry to break it to you, but some of us are actually very proud of our beliefs and go about our lives in that manner. Most of us respect the rules and regulations we have. To non-muslims they may be “strict”, but to us its who we are. AND THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. We should be able to go on about our lives, just like everyone else does. The fact that our beliefs got reduced down to two horny teenagers in high school has me LIVID. Nadia legit took her hijab off, drank, had sex, lied and neglected her parents...all because of.... a boy?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

There are actually Hijabi women who struggle in their lives (be it at school, work, etc.), because they refuse to let go of their beliefs and don’t want to take their scarves off. And with refusing to do that, they get punished, judged and ridiculed by society for it. We get slammed with the most condescending line: “They refuse to assimilate”. This is not about assimilation, this is who we are. And we and our beliefs should be respected, just like everyone else’. And yet here we have a Muslim character who throws all that out... for a boy. Wow, if only I had taken off my hijab at 16, everything would be much easier (that was sarcasm). And don't get me started on her taking her Hijab on/off like an accessory. A HIJAB IS NOT AN ACCESSORY.

Listen I don’t want to start anything. If you love the show, great. I do enjoy the show myself. I too find Nadia and Guzman to be that couple. But as a Muslim, I kinda wish they had left the Islamic storyline out. Because it is disrespectful. Plain and simple. Instead of writing a strong female character who’s a Muslim, and showcasing her pride regarding her beliefs, they wrote a girl who let go of everything for a dude. As if her religion and her culture were “bad” and she needed to be “saved” from them.

There are Muslim girls who struggle daily because of that. Because they refuse to let go of what they believe in. Knowing full well that they will be judged by society for it. And these same women are the victims of hate crimes, assault, and rape on a daily basis. Hate crimes against Muslim communities have skyrocketed in western countries. It is an epidemic that people do not talk about. It was just last year that a young Hijabi girl got raped and murdered in the holy month of Ramadan, just because she was a Muslim. It was just a year before that that a Muslim girl, alongside her husband and sister, all got murdered in their own home for being who they are. So to write off Muslims and our beliefs as “well you can always take it off, it’s not important” is very insulting. Because Muslim women are brave, they’re courageous, and their beliefs are what makes them who they are.

#elite #muslim representation #season 2 is a mess #nadia x guzman #guznadia #elite netflix #telenovela

476 notes · View notes

trashyswitch · 3 years

Text

Pocket’s New Year Reactions: 2020 Edition!

2020...boy oh boy…

I made this channel on January of 2020. And thank god I did! My blogs and participation in the tickle community, were the only thing keeping me going throughout this year! It was a really hard year but with COVID, I got to meet tons of new people, make so many friends and return to writing fanfics!

I’ve made fanfics for a very long time. 5 years, actually! But I have never felt so invested in my writing than I have this year. In 1 single year, I managed to make a total of 122 fanfictions! This year! And it all ended with my first SCP Foundation-only fanfiction: 049 and the ‘unkillable creature’.

Yup: I have really fallen down the rabbit hole this time…

But to celebrate: I wanted to recap the different fandoms I wrote for this year, the amount of fanfictions I wrote for them, the highest amount of notes I got on a fanfiction and lastly:

...Well, I’ll keep that a surprise.

So: Let’s recap all that happened on Pocket’s New Year Reactions: 2020 Edition!

Let’s a-go!

I’m gonna start off with the fandoms I wrote the least fanfictions for: The Tiny Bundles!

For the very first tiny bundle: I wrote 1 single fanfic for Luigi’s Mansion (3, to be specific).

This was a fanfic about Polterpup and Luigi bonding, as well as Mario showing up near the end. I ended up closing this fandom because as much as I liked this fanfic, I wasn’t really as interested in writing more for it.

For the second tiny bundle: The Animal Crossing Series with 1 fanfic! This fanfic was mostly about Jacksepticeye and Gabsmolders’ Animal Crossing avatars hanging out during the Coronavirus epidemic. I really liked writing for Animal Crossing, and I wanna write more for it. But, I have to come up with more ideas.

For bundle #3: 1 single Markiplier TV fanfic! This fanfic was about Wilford Warfstache, Darkiplier and Yandereplier being a family. This specific fanfic was also based on an AU made by a couple of cosplayers: One of which is no longer on TikTok, sadly. I may write more fanfics in this fandom in the future, but no guarantees…

For #4: I wrote an original work upon request from a friend. This fanfic was about a cute couple who were just being playful and bonding. I sense that I may be writing more original works in the future, but again: we’ll just have to see.

For #5: I have 4 Youtuber Fanfics that involve different fandoms. One of them was written about platonic Septiplier, the second two were on Jelix, and the fourth fanfic (and most recent) was on Unus Annus! UNUS ANNUS! I will definitely be considering writing more Unus Annus. As for any other youtubers: Maybe.

For #6: I have 3 (technically 6) fanfictions written under the SCP Foundation! Though 5 of these fanfics were technically fandom collaborations with Sanders Sides, I did make 1 single SCP Foundation-only fanfic. I do plan on continuing to write more SCP Foundation fanfics. I just don’t know if they’ll stand alone, or if they’ll be collaborations again. We’ll see.

And now onto the 3 top fandoms I wrote for this year:

In at #3: is Five Nights at Freddy’s with 25 fanfictions: I swear: 90% of these are based on the Afton Family in some way or another. I have a problem...I will most likely be writing for FNAF in the future. I still love the fandom, and I still love the lore behind it! Sooo: Upcoming FNAF fanfics!

In at #2: is the Jacksepticeye Power Hour Fandom with 31 fanfictions! I love these guys so much! It’s too bad they were kinda thrown by the wayside by a lot of the viewers...But, I’ll still be working on a couple more fanfics. Specifically The Unexpected Roommate! I LOVE THAT SERIES! I look forward to writing more of it all the time!

And #1...for the most fanfictions written: Is Sanders sides with 59 freaking fanfics! If there's a need for proof that I’m obsessed, then THIS is the proof. But, that’s okay! I love writing fanfics on this series! I will 100% continue to write fanfictions on this series. I love this series to bits, and it’s my most popular series on Tumblr as well!

And now it’s fine for: Highest Notes!

This was the part where you could really tell what fanfictions were loved by fans, and what fanfictions were thrown aside. This is all gonna be taken off Tumblr, since almost all of the fans are on it.

First one that I will proudly show: My Unus Annus fanfic with 43 notes! This fanfic was a HIT the moment it came out! I swear! ‘Ethan and Mark Experience Torture Methods (Feat. Jacksepticeye)’ was a HUGE HIT! But I think the reason everyone loved it so much, was because everyone misses Unus Annus and its relativity on YouTube. I miss it too. Memento Mori, Unus Annus.

Now I will show my top Fnaf Fanfic! Now these were very close...So:

At #3 is ‘The Grumpy Ol’ Bunny’ at 28 notes.

At #2 is a tie between ‘The Suspiciously Strange Night’ and ‘Robot Anatomy Vs. Human Anatomy’ at 36 notes.

And the #1 spot goes to: ‘Jeremy and the Mysterious Robots’ at 37 notes! You’ll see what I do with this fanfic sooner than later…

And now we move on to the top Sanders Sides fanfic! This one had a huge variety of numbers! And boy, it was hard! But worth it!

At #3, we have ‘Snakes Need Tickles Too!’ at 91 notes!

At #2 is ‘The Upside of Hoodies’ (The very first one!) at 153 notes! WOW!

And last but not least, at our #1 spot...we have: ‘Voodoo Duke-craft’ at 196 notes! How in the world- I don’t really know why it got so many notes. But: you’ll see what we do with this one as well, veeeery soon!

And now the surprise you’ve all been waiting to hear about: I’m gonna re-read and react to the two #1 spots!

‘Jeremy and the Mysterious Robots’. I’ve actually re-read this one a couple times throughout the months. I liked re-reading about anxious Jeremy! I definitely wanna write more of Jeremy. He’s an underrated character.

Here we go!

[Jeremy has heard all the rumors.]

Well, I assume he probably did some reading about it before starting there. You should know a bit about a place before you start working there...you don’t wanna end up in a dumpster fire.

[He’s heard the urban legends about the child killer in the animatronic suit, and the children’s deaths. He’s heard about the children’s corpses being shoved into the animatronic suits. He’s heard about the ghosts of the children that haunted each and every diner. He’s heard rumors about the animatronics being alive because of these children. He’s heard multiple ideas of-]

Okay, okay, we get it! He heard rumors about the lore behind Five Nights at Freddy’s. He’s heard about the murders and supernatural stuff. Skip!

[Are any of these urban legends true?

If so: why did Jeremy sign up for a job at the one place that gives people the creeps?!]

Gee...I dunno! Why WOULD you choose to take a security guard job in a place that’s still haunted? Besides: instead of hiring a security guard, why not hire an exorcist? Seems cheaper and you’d actually get a problem fixed! (Or not...we’ve all seen Annabelle…)

[It was the second night of working at this nightmarish party place. All Jeremy wanted was the paycheck at the end of the week. He did NOT sign up for this stupidity…]

Teeeechnically he DID sign up for this stupidity. He didn’t have to take this job. He could’ve waited for more job offers to come up! Even if the Phone Guy had romanticized the risky job, he did warn him that ‘the animatronics get a little quirky at night’...Jeremy could’ve just abandoned ship right then and there and quit!

[Should he have reconsidered taking the job? Maybe.]

Um, HUGE YES!

[Is he regretting taking the job? Somewhat.]

Just somewhat, huh?

[Is Jeremy gonna survive the week? God, he hoped so.]

I hope so too! Spoiler alert: he does.

[Jeremy turned on the iPad and flipped through the cameras. It looked like the party rooms were empty. Next, he checked CAM 05 and CAM 06: empty. Thank goodness. Jeremy looked at the other cameras and found out something strange: camera 11 wasn’t working! It was just showing pure static.]

Okay, here’s some behind the scenes: I had to look up two separate maps for the FNAF 2 location. One with the camera locations, and one of the overall building layout. From that, I had to determine everything for this fanfic. I would later refer to these images for future fanfics as well!

[He realized that what he was gonna do was risky. But…what other choice did he have?]

Um...Don’t go??? That’s a choice.

[Jeremy grabbed his flashlight, and walked out of the office through the small hall towards Pasillo Central.]

“WHEN WILL YOU LEARN?!?!?! WHEN WILL YOU LEARN?! THAT YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES?!?!” ~SammyClassicSonicFan, vine.

[It took a little bit, but Jeremy managed to find the problem: a black wire was unplugged…]

I actually have no idea if this was the actual confirmed problem in the FNAF series. I just made it up as I went.

[Jeremy’s eyes narrowed in curiousity. Now when did that happen? It was working perfectly fine yesterday. Who unplugged it?]

First off: Curiousity. Curio(u)sity. Do you need any more proof that I’m Canadian? XD

Second off: I actually think camera 11 never actually worked during the game. I don’t quite remember though, so don’t quote me on that.

[Jeremy decided to double check for any miswiring.]

This would prove to be a fatal mistake.

[Suddenly…a couple heavy footsteps could be heard behind the stool, in the gaming room. Jeremy froze in place. Oh god…Is that what he thinks it is?]

“It was at this moment he knew...he fucked up.” ~McCulley Quinn, Vine

[Jeremy could feel the presence of a super tall figure behind him…Jeremy, growing extremely intimidated and anxious, slowly turned himself around to look the animatronic in the face.]

[...The first thing he noticed, was that the animatronic was brown. A chocolate-shade of brown with an orange hue on its belly and inner face.]

I wonder...Just WHO COULD IT BE?

Just kidding. It’s Freddy Fazbear.

[The eyes were open wide, staring at Jeremy with its light blue iris’s.]

Hmm...Hold on-

*aggressive typing noises*

Okay. Just had to double check. He does in fact, have blue iris’s.

[Jeremy just stared back at it, looking at the big bear as the visibly shaky flashlight shone onto it.]

Hehehehe...Anxious boi. Shouldn’t have chosen the haunted job, Jeremy!

[“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” Freddy shouted.]

🎶Do you hear that sound?🎶

[Jeremy shouted-]

🎶That beautiful sound?🎶

[-and threw his flashlight up in terror.]

🎶That is the sound, of, clean, white, shorts turning brown!🎶

🎶TORTURE AND PAIN!🎶

Beautiful Sound - Beetlejuice soundtrack (sorry not sorry)

[Jeremy jumped and quickly attempted to take a few steps back…only for his body to fall much more backwards than he wanted!]

“Nice job, dickface!” ~Anthony, Smosh: Pokemon In Real Life

[“WELCOME EVERYBODY, TO FREDDY FAZBEAR’S PIZZA!” the animatronic shouted. “I’M FREDDY FAZBEAR, AND I’D LIKE TO WISH YOU, THE BIRTHDAY BOY, A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” the voice declared very loudly.]

HAHA! That’s not creepy at all! *Michael Jackson moonwalks the fuck outta there*

[Everything went silent for a moment or two. “…Kill you?” the same voice said.]

WhAaAaAaAt?! A TwIsT tHaT eVeRyOnE sAw CoMiNg?! X’D

[“He fell off the stool, and I caught him.” Freddy explained.]

Freddy Fazbear nearly saves Jeremy from a concussion, a skull fracture or a brain bleed!

[“Now that I mention it, he hasn’t thanked me yet.” Freddy mentioned.]

Dude!

[“Oh-um…Thank you…for catching me.” Jeremy finally said.]

Good boy. *pats the man’s head, even though he’s technically older than me*

[“Are you gonna kill me? Shove me into a suit? Leave my dead body to rot inside the suit?!” Jeremy asked, still overwhelmed with anxiety.]

This guy’s gonna need some whiskey after this incident.

[“It looks like Mr. Emily hired another 'daredevil’ night guard. Do you really believe those rumors?” Chica asked.]

In case you didn’t get the twist before: the animatronics are NOT gonna kill him. Why? Because my fluffy ass doesn’t like writing about confirmed death. (At least, not yet...I later write ‘Don’t Release the Spirits’...

[“That’s a big child.” Chica commented.

“He’s grown up. He’s a male, grown up child.” Freddy corrected.]

Another reminder of the obvious: Jeremy is an AdULT in this fanfiction! He is not a ChiiiLD! XD

[“Flip him over.” Chica suggested.

“Okay.” Freddy replied.]

Insert long montage of Jeremy getting flipped over by animatronics who don’t know how to handle humans.

[“Let me go!” Jeremy yelled at Freddy, still pushing against Freddy’s fingers.

“He’s wiggling a lot. Is he having a temper tantrum?” Freddy asked curiously. Chica looked at the squirming, frustrated man in Freddy’s grasp.]

Ha ha funny? Get it? Cause he’s an adult? And he’s being treated like a child?

XD I’m just being silly. I actually found this part fun to write.

[“I think so.” Chica replied. “Try throwing him up in the air and catching him. I’ve seen parents do it. Kids love it!” Chica suggested.

Jeremy’s eyes widened in horror. Was he about to be thrown up like a toddler and caught by an animatronic?!]

Spoiler alert: Yes.

Insert long montage of Jeremy nearly shitting his pants while Freddy Fazbear breaks many laws against mishandling of an adult male, and extreme negligence if he were a child. May we advise that these animatronics are NEVER made in the future.

[By the time the sixth throw and catch had happened, Jeremy was visibly shaking in the arms of the animatronic. Jeremy’s face was visibly traumatized.]

HmMmMm...I wOnDeR wHy?!

[Without any warning, Chica fluttered the finger up and down, on Jeremy’s exposed neck. Jeremy’s body jumped and curled inwards to cover up the spot. A squeal left Jeremy’s mouth before he began flailing his hands towards the finger’s direction to stop it.]

Voila! Tickles! They have finally arrived!

[Jeremy’s eyes widened to the side of saucers! He began protesting as much as possible. “No, please! L-look! I’m feeling a lot better! See? I don’t need tickles!” Jeremy pleaded, putting on a fake smile to prove it.]

Probably any other time, this probably would’ve worked.

[But, Chica was persistent!]

But of course, it doesn’t. Because y’all wanted tickles? You’re getting your tickles!

[“Yeah! You were being a naughty little boy with a really bad attitude. I think you deserve some cheer-up tickles for that.” Freddy added, unintentionally teasing him.]

I think those tickles were a little more intentional than ya thought…

[“What- What are you doing?” Jeremy yelled. Freddy removed the slip-on shoe off of Jeremy’s foot, and let it fall to the floor with a loud clap. “Hey! Put my shoe back!” Jeremy yelled.]

But why would they do that, when they clearly wanna tickle your feet?

[“Here: Your turn to hold him.” Freddy said, before throwing Jeremy old-granny style over to Chica.]

UH…

[Jeremy was NOT ready for that. No human should ever be ready for being thrown like that! It’s impossible usually. But if it IS possible, It’s always frowned upon for being inhumane! But, why should animatronics know that?]

It’s kinda nice that Jeremy is making up for the fact that all the animatronics share 2 brain cells. But these animatronics could’ve SHATTERED BONES. When is that EVER considered okay?!

[Freddy tilted his head. “You don’t like my cold fingers?” Freddy clarified.

“IHIHIHIT’S COHOHOHOHOLD! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Jeremy reacted.

“Oh. Well I’m sorry, but I can’t help that! You’re gonna have to sit tight and get used to my cold, fat fingers.” Freddy teased.]

Basically what happened:

Jeremy: “KEEP YOUR HANDS FROM ANTARCTIC AWAY FROM MY FEET!”

Freddy: “Not happening! Suffer, you ticklish piece of shit!”

[Somewhere in the room, a quiet music box tune could be heard, twinkling in the background.]

GUESS WHO’S BACK! BACK AGAIN!

[THE MUSIC BOX! MARIONETTE! HE’S ESCAPED THE MUSIC BOX!]

MARIONETTE’S BACK! BACK AGAIN!

[Was he gonna die? Was the marionette gonna kill him? Was the camera going to record is very last moments? Were people gonna watch the camera to figure out how he died?…Would they blame his death on bad decisions? What would happen to his body?! WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?! JEREMY DEMANDED TO KNOW!]

[This is it…he’s gonna die…He’s gonna be found in a few hours, ripped apart on the floor…He could guarantee it.]

Anxiety in a nutshell.

[This animatronic isn’t cold. It’s covered in some kind of fur-like fabric.]

This was actually confirmed on the FNAF wiki fanpage. Marionette’s fingers are covered in fur fabric.

And now Jeremy’s gonna get ultimately tortured by Marionette’s 3 fingers on his feet. May his soul rest in peace.

[Then…Marionette did something only Satan himself would be capable of: Marionette pulled a couple of Jeremy’s toes back, and began scratching the more exposed spaces underneath the deathly ticklish toes.]

*looks at a watch* ...How the fuck is he not dead from asphyxiation? He’s been getting tickled heavily for at least an hour. He should be passing out.

[Jeremy was cackling like a mad man. The poor guy was losing energy rather quickly. His pushing and squirming had began to slow, and tears had started forming in his eyes.]

See? It’s about time.

[Not to be confused with tears of pain, of course.]

Wait, what?

[This wasn’t painful for Jeremy. Though this kind of fighting presents itself with a few cons, It wasn’t torturous either. It was…strangely playful. It sort of reminded Jeremy of the stories his friends would tell him, of the tickle fights they had with their siblings growing up. Some tickle fights were pure playfulness, other tickle fights were slightly torturous. But in the end, they still loved each other.]

...Well, go figure.

[Was Jeremy beginning to like the animatronics? Not intimate of course, but…Was Jeremy beginning to appreciate the animatronics’ tickling? Surely not! That’s absurd!…unless…]

Go figure. Yup. Gotta make sure it’s somewhat enjoyable so the reader can enjoy it without feeling bad! Cause that’s how I write.

[“Oh Cohohohome ohohohon! IHIHIHI THOHOHOHOUGHT YOHOHOHOU WEHEHERE DOHOHONE!” Jeremy yelled as his laughter grew louder. Marionette had reached its fingers into Jeremy’s armpit, and began scratching lightly.

“Your laugh is very fun to hear! I wanna hear more of it!” Freddy explained.]

Of course, you have to add a comment about liking the person’s laughter! Cause that’s always important!

[So, Jeremy gave them a nod to proceed. Then, Jeremy abrupted into brand new fits of laughter! How long was Jeremy gonna be like this? Who know? Jeremy didn’t care. Not one bit…]

Aaaaand that’s the end!

A little predictable, but still fun to read. Jeremy is still my favorite character in this fanfic.

And now, we’re onto the next re-reading!

Voodoo Duke-Craft! I’m proud of this one! I was happy to finally be able to come up with a fanfic idea involving voodoo dolls, and this was the first one! And EVERYONE LOVED IT! I swear, I’m not kidding! 196 notes says a lot!

So, here we go!

[Remus came to the front of the yellow and black room, and knocked on the door. As he patiently waited for the door to open, Remus looked down at the liquid-free blood bag with the doll laying upside down in the bag.]

Hehehehe! I like the idea that Remus holds his things in a blood bag-turned purse. XD

[The door finally opened. As he predicted, it was Deceit.]

This entire fanfiction is gonna involve Janus being called Deceit. Why? Because Deceit’s name hadn’t canonically come out yet! And this fanfiction came out long before the name reveal episode.

[Remus happily comes into the yellow-colored room, lined with snakes, Law and Order posters and Judge Judy posters.]

Because...Selfishness Vs. Selflessness! And law!

[Despite the doll coming from Remus, the doll appeared to be really well made!]

That’s a compliment!

[Deceit looked up from the doll. “And you’re positive this thing actually works?” Deceit asked.

“Yup! Positive. I tried it on myself before giving it to you, as you can see-” Remus said as he pointed at the green heart on the voodoo doll. “You can try it too, if you want.” Remus suggested.]

Remus: “I already tried it on myself, so you don’t need proof to show it works.”

Also Remus: “...But if you don’t believe me, I suppose you could try it on me...just to see…”

[“I suppose this works really well. I will use this voodoo doll to my advantage. Thank you, Remus.” Deceit said with a grin.]

...You SUPPOSE? You just tickled the man till he belly flopped the floor! Of COURSE it works!

[With everything in place, Deceit was ready to start tormenting the other sides. He left his room and closed the door, allowing Remus to process the mistake he’d made in his room.]

I doubt Remus would consider giving Janus a voodoo doll, a ‘mistake’. More like ‘the most evil idea ever’!

[Deceit walked around, looking for potential contenders. While walking down the hall, Deceit gazed his eyes upon a light blue-clothed figure. Recognizing who it was, Deceit his behind a wall and grabbed the light blue heart out of his pocket.]

Oh boy! It’s Patton first!

[Now, if it truly worked, Patton should be bonded with the voodoo doll. Just as a test, Deceit gave Patton’s neck a little flutter with his finger.

From a few feet into the living room, Patton let out a yelp of surprise.]

Huzzah! It works! Turns out putting a fabric heart onto a voodoo doll, will hook Patton up to the doll and make him feel everything that touches the doll’s head. Becaaaause MAGIC!

[Deceit began tickling the sides of the doll’s neck, fluttering his index finger on both sides of the neck one side at a time. Right side, left side. Right side, left side…

Patton squealed as his back fell onto the couch. “EEEEHehehehehehehe!” Patton giggled more, flapping his hands absolutely everywhere around his head.]

Oh NO! I could sense that! Nope nope nope nope NOPE.

[To make things feel a little better, Deceit turned the doll around and gave it a hug.

Patton smiled as he felt physically hugged by an invisible pair of arms. It felt so warm and snug. Like being held by a security blanket.]

Awwww! This part has always been a personal favorite part due to how loving it is. It’s times like these that make me wish I had a voodoo doll…

[Deceit allowed his mouth to morph into a toothy smile as he moved his tickly fingers over to the sides of the doll’s belly.]

You can just TELL he’s enjoying the hell outta this! #Janusisbestler2021

[Deceit’s mischief had just left him at this point. Deceit was actually really enjoying making Patton laugh like this. He was keeping it a mystery, sure, but it was really fun seeing Patton laugh and squirm on the couch.]

...Doesn’t everyone feel that with Patton? Or am I the only one? I probably am. I find that BILLIONS of fans LOVE seeing Virgil’s reactions. And Patton’s been fulfilling all the fans’ needs! So...yeah. I would love to tickle Patton! And I would love to be the tickle monster’s pray. Hehe ^w^

[As he hugged the doll, Deceit watched as Patton practically melted into the touch. It was here, that Deceit discovered something new about Patton: He’s touch-starved. If he were used to touch, Patton would be eventually squirming for him to let go. But, Patton was perfectly comfortable with being cuddled.]

I actually forgot I added that little fact in here! This is the most realistic fact I have ever seen in my life.

[If Deceit didn’t have anything to do, he would’ve definitely stayed to hug Patton for a lot longer.]

It’s sure a shame that Janus had 4 other sides to tickle.

[But, he had things to do.]

See? Poor man’s busy experimenting with the ultimate tickle toy that beats the Tickle Me Elmo by a landslide.

[Deceit hid in the room across from the red-doored room. The room belonged to Roman, who was admiring himself in the mirror. Deceit rolled his eyes, but smiled as he pulled out the red felt heart.]

Would you believe I’ve forgotten the order at this point? Maybe now was a good time to re-read it! I’m losing my memory. XD

[A couple seconds later, the red heart fabric began glowing. This meant that the heart was now fully bonded with Roman!]

Still don’t quite know how fabric glows, but whatever. Screw logic!

[Roman - who had been posing in the mirror with his arm up behind his head - squealed and slammed his arm down as he bursted into laughter.]

Aaah, yes: the classic ‘surprise armpit tickle when the arms are up’ trick. But, with a twist! I’m surprised he didn’t fall!

[Deceit giggled and tried tickling two spots at once: the doll’s left armpit and the doll’s right foot. Roman’s eyes practically bulged out of his skull. Roman fell backwards onto the ground, and rolled around manically.]

Oop- aaaand he’s down.

[Roman was freaking out. Thank god no one was seeing this! How would anyone react to him screaming in laughter at nothing, and rolling around like a wiggle worm?! He would NEVER be able to live that down!]

*sniffles* Here lies Roman’s pride and confidence. It will forever be missed.

[Deceit decided to listen to him and lessen the tickles dramatically. Deceit removed his fingers and decided to try a different tickle spot that Remus shared with Roman: the thighs.]

Remus would definitely do this.

[Deceit covered his mouth to silently giggle, before adding a second finger to the doll’s thigh. Roman let go of his knees and allowed himself to kick his legs as he rolled around and covered his face with his hands.]

Awww! De widdle bean is getting embawwassed! How adowable! OwO

[Deceit soaked up as much of Roman’s giggles as he could, before moving onto the left thigh.]

#Janusisasponge

[Despite one’s belief with soft tickles, Roman’s giggles didn’t die down! In fact, they almost got a little louder! Deceit’s very light fingernail tickles were almost teasy in a way! This made Roman’s face heat up in embarrassment.

“Plehehehehease! Ihihihi cahahahahan’t tahahahahake ihihihit! Ihihihit’s sohohoho ticklyhy, and ihihihit’s wohohohohorse thahahat Ihihihi cahahahan’t seehehehehe whehehehere yohohou’ll strihihihike nehehext!” Roman explained through his never ending giggles.]

Soft tickles can sometimes kill quicker than hard tickles.

[Deceit raised an eyebrow. ‘worse when you can’t see’? Now, Deceit was really intrigued.]

It’s called ‘blindfolded tickles’ with a twist. Aka: ‘you’re worse than SATAN HIMSELF’.

And now Janus is gonna start constantly switching spots, to show Roman’s variety in his voice. As if we don’t hear enough melody variety from his singing. XD

[His laughter would die down into giggles for a while, before growing into even MORE laughter! It was so strange and unpredictable! Whoever this was, was EVIL and should be given PUNISHMENT for such cruel tickle tactics!]

Anyone else agree with this?

*sees a sea of people in and out of the tickle community*

Okay.

Roman is given time to breathe, he’s hugged by Janus and Janus moves onto the next victim.

[After going up the stairs, Deceit came across Virgil’s room.]

We’re literally given the name of who it is this time. No clothing guesses here! Just immediate names.

[Now: Knowing Virgil most of his life, Deceit knew that these tickles needed to be tame and calming all at once. He couldn’t go hard on him at all, or else he will really regret it. Even though he could easily get away with it using the Voodoo doll tactic, he still wanted to make him happy, not make him feel miserable.]

Janus secretly has a soft spot for Virgil because he is a former dark side.

[Virgil gasped and bursted into giggles. “Eehehehehe! Gehehehet ohohout ohohohohof thehehere!” Virgil begged. Virgil zipped off his jacket and lifted up his shirt…Funny…No bugs? Were they invisible? Virgil felt around his belly and found that his belly was as bare as can be!]

I guess the voodoo doll tactic can be quite...deceiving! HA!

Why am I like this…it didn’t even make sense.

[It didn’t take long for his energy to come back thankfully, due to how easy Deceit was on him. Virgil sighed with a smile, and grabbed his headphones to place them on his head. But, just as he put his headphones on, a fluttery feeling started up on Virgil’s ear!]

...I actually completely forgot I chose ear tickles for this part! Talk about a renewed experience!

[Deceit’s smirk got larger as he tickled the different parts of Virgil’s ears. The back of the ears, the front of the ear, the top of the ear flap itself, and even the bit of skull behind the ear was really ticklish! Virgil was giggling madly, shaking his head back and forth and kicking his legs. He was so confused! How were his ears being tickled right now?! Was it some kind of witchcraft?!]

Wow! How did Virgil know?! How did he guess it was witchcraft?!

[Virgil just didn’t understand. And, to make matters worse, he couldn’t properly think with his ears being tickled and teased!

Deceit actually planned it that way. He knew that too many physical distractions would stop his spiraling head. This was for the best.]

Janus is actually very understanding and loving to Virgil, which is very nice to see! I should write more Virgil & Janus moments like this.

[Virgil gasped and suddenly smiled when he felt the feeling of a nice warm hug surrounding him. Virgil didn’t fully understand where the hug-feeling was coming from, but it was enjoyable! Virgil happily snuggled into his bed and cuddled himself into the invisible hug.]

Everyone deserves a nice long hug sometimes. And all the time, depending on the person!

[Oh boy! Deceit was REALLY excited for this session. Logan is known for showing very little emotion, so finding Logan’s ticklish spots and getting him to laugh could be a game-changer!]

Lee Logan be like:

‘shows no emotion. Therefore; laughter is more rewarding when tickled long enough.’

[After a few minutes of quiet looking, Deceit soon found a book on the very subject he was looking for: voodoo magic.]

Because of COURSE Logan has a book on voodoo magic! And this isn’t sarcasm this time! This is genuine! Logan would definitely have a book on voodoo magic in there!

[The Voodoo Doll Spellbook: A Compendium of Ancient Contemporary Spells and Rituals]

This is actually a book I found online! You can buy this book for $32 on Amazon!

[When it was 100% bonded, Deceit started off small. He placed his fingernail onto the shoulder of the doll, and drew a line down to the outside of the elbow and down to the doll’s stump at the bottom, before removing the fingernail.]

[...Logan paused his reading and looked at his arm. Logan examined it, and discovered a potential fear of his had come true: He’s bonded to a voodoo doll! How did- Who in the world has a voodoo doll of HIM?! And WHY?!]

Hahaha! That moment when you’re reading a book about voodoo, then you feel voodoo magic being done on you? That’s not creepy at all! A nOrMaL oCcUrAnCe!

[A large squeak left his mouth as he just collapsed onto the floor in mad giggles. Deceit watched as Logan’s emotionless demeanor just crumbled, and allowed his to fall into such an adorable state only a lean nerd could fall into.]

Presenting, Logan in a nutshell.

[Deceit liked seeing this reaction. It was kinda cute! So, Deceit kicked it up a notch! He placed his pinky finger onto the black button and began drawing circles around the outside of the black button on the doll.]

Janus is just having a jolly ol’ time! He should be a tickle monster more often!

[“Uuh-…Please! That’s my worst spot! I’m begging you!” Logan begged. Deceit lifted an eyebrow. If Deceit wouldn’t have known better, it would’ve sounded like Logan WANTED to be tickled on his hips! So, Deceit did the one thing he 'begged’ for: He squeezed Logan’s hip. “No! NO! NOOHOHOHOHO! HAHAHAHAHAHA! IHIHIHI SAHAHAHAID PLEHEHEHEHEASE! DIHIHIHIDN’T IHIHI?!” Logan asked.]

Janus being a little shit in 5 minutes or less. Also, when does please EVER work?!

[It was here, that Deceit decided to walk out from behind the book shelves and in front of Logan.]

Voila: the big reveal! Janus was behind the voodoo witchcraft all along!

[“Deceit?! What are you do-” Logan started, before pausing his sentence as he noticed the item in his hand. “…You!” Logan reacted, jumping up to confront him. “YOU’RE the one with the voodoo doll!” Logan confronted.]

...Bro...that was so slow. At this rate, Jim Carrey could determine it was Janus before you could!

[“Indeed I am. Are you surprised?” Deceit asked.

Logan put a hand in his pocket. “Yes…I suppose I am. I can see the chances of Remus using this, as much more likely than seeing you with the doll. Then again though…You are capable of manipulation…” Logan explained.

“Manipulation? Don’t you mean…” Deceit started, before lifting up the doll and his finger. “…exposing the truth?” Deceit corrected, ready to tickle Logan when needed.]

oooOOOOH! I can sense the tension! The idea that someone is holding information about your weakness, and is ready to exploit it at any point?! HOLY CRAP!

[Logan’s face visibly morphed into fear. He clenched his teeth nervously.]

See? Even Logan’s unnerved!

[Logan resorted to his usual monotone act. “What…is there to understand? I don’t laugh.” Logan explained.]

Why the fuck you lyin’? Why you always lyin’? MmmmOh ma gahd, stop fuckin’ LYYYIN’!

~Nicholas Fraser, Vine

[“Oh, NOW you cover up your laugh. Let me not remind you that a few seconds ago, you were freely giggling and rolling on the floor.” Deceit reminded. Logan’s eyes widened in fear and shock. He SAW THAT?! OH SHIT!]

Mm hmm, Yes. He did in fact see that. And now you are what the virgins would say: Fucked.

[Logan, growing angry at the dominance Deceit had created over the logical side, Logan ran and attempted to grab the doll right out of his hand. But nope! Deceit dodged it and squeezed Logan’s hip as he ran backwards away from the angry side. Not expecting his hips to be attacked so abruptly, Logan made a whining sound and doubled over desperately.]

..Well that happened. Tried and failed. #1.

[“Not a bad attempt. But, you’re gonna have to try a little harder, in order to get this thing out of my hands.” Deceit warned.

Logan attempted to glare at the evil side, but the glare quickly failed him as the doll’s belly button AND hip was attacked at the same time. Logan let out a muffled yelp and fell onto the ground.

“Interesting: Despite your logical nature, you seemed to believe that 'giving me a glare while I’m using voodoo magic on you’, will help you in any manner. Yet: it doesn’t.” Deceit teased logically...]

...Shit dude! I guess Janus is now the new Logan!

[Logan squeezed his eyes shut and helplessly began to let titters out of his mouth. “See? You’re beginning to break now. It’s probably because I’m using an illogical strategy to get you to laugh. No matter how much you laugh, you will never be able to truly understand: Why does a person laugh when they’re tickled? And, where does it come from?” Deceit proceeded to tease in a logical matter.]

Why are mice ticklish? Why does the world spin round? And one thing I will never know the workings behind: Where do babies come from?

[Logan’s pent up laughter pretty quickly turned into his regular giggles.

“Wow! 2 minutes and 30 seconds! Impressive! Yet, at the same time: unimpressive.” Deceit reacted.]

*crawls under about 10 different blankets and flips off Janus*

[“How, you ask? Well, that’s simple really: You happened to be born with a collection of nerve ending around multiple spots. But, to narrow it down: your hips-” Deceit squeezed his hips. “your belly button-” Deceit booped his belly button with his pinky. “and…” Deceit said with a smirk, before placing his fluttering fingers onto the doll’s inner part of the upper leg. “…Your thighs.” Deceit concluded.]

*screams out of my blanket burrito* “STOP TURNING INTO SHERLOCK HOLMES!”

[Logan couldn’t help his reaction at all! He couldn’t change it either! Logan’s cheeks, against all circumstances, had turned a light red hue! He was blushing! Deceit couldn’t believe his eyes! “Do my eyes deceive me?! Is the logical side…blushing?” Deceit asked.]

*starts slowly going into a lee mood because of JANUS DECEIT SANDERS!*

[Deceit tilted his head as he tried something. Deceit tried fluttering his fingers on the jawline and the back of Logan’s ear…Just to see how he’d react.

Surprisingly, Logan’s giggles heightened slightly as he curled into the strange, but comfortable touch. It was almost a melting spot for Logan. How cute!

“It would seem that Logan has something that everyone lacks according to my knowledge: A melting spot. You, Logan, are capable of melting into a certain ticklish spot…Almost as if you like it. Do you like it?” Logan explained.]

MMMMMMMmmmm why tf is this so CUTE?!

[Logan didn’t want to answer that question. He was NEVER going to answer such an embarrassing question!

Though…Logan’s reputation had been left in tatters minutes before this…so…it wouldn’t hurt, right?

“Fihihihine…Ihihi lihihihike ihihit…” Logan admitted.

Deceit smirked. “I knew it!” he reacted, still giving Logan’s ears ticklish, cute little treatment.]

Awwwwwwwwww!!!!!

[“Hey! Give that back!” Deceit yelled. Logan looked down at it, and smirked. It was a yellow felt heart. Deceit’s bonding heart…]

Oooooh...I forgot about this part! I actually forgot just how long this fanfiction was.

[With the voodoo doll in his hand and the yellow heart in his other hand, Logan could get Deceit back. Only…one problem:

“How does this doll work? Do I have to clip the heart onto the…black square where the heart location appears to be?” Logan asked.]

Congrats! You’ve gotten this far. But now, please let us interrupt your much-wanted tickles with some ‘I don’t know how this works’ kinda humor. Pocket’s fanfictions everybody: A place where filler is expected. XD

[Logan decided to test it. He lifted up his finger, and tried dragging a fingernail down the doll’s right, scaly side. Deceit gasped and hugged his side, showing off a wobbly smile and curling in a little.

“Fascinating…” Logan reacted. Deceit looked up and watched in horror as Logan squeezed up and down the doll’s side. Deceit squealed through his toothy smile and let out a few high-pitched giggles.]

Awwww yeah! REVEEEEENGE!

[“You know: For an intimidating and sneaky side, you have a very high-pitched giggle.” Logan reacted. Deceit only squealed in reply and continued to curl himself further. “How cruel of me…using such a powerful piece of black magic, for such a simple little reason. kinda makes you regret your previous actions…doesn’t it Deceit?” Logan continued to tease.]

*claps proudly*

Ladies and gentlemen: John motherfucking Watson!

[“There we go! That wasn’t so hard. Was it?” Logan asked.

“YOHOHOU’RE SOHOHOHO DEHEHEHEAD!” Deceit yelled through his strong and overpowering laughter.]

Woooow...Revenge seems pretty sweet!

[“Oh, alright. I suppose I can give you a break from the feet.” Logan compromised and removed his fingers. Deceit happily took the break and tried to replace as much oxygen as he could through his body.

But, Logan wasn’t done yet. Not by a long shot.]

No sir! No sir-ee bob!

[Deceit got stuck in Logan’s ticklish wonders for a good 30 minutes. Deceit was completely warn out from all the tickles. Which, how was that fair! Deceit had treated the others really well! Why did HE get the rough tickles?! Well, that’s simple:

What goes around, always comes around…ESPECIALLY if it’s a snake’s doing…]

Aaaaand that’s all folks!

I gotta admit: I loved that. I can see why the fanfic got so much recognition! It was long, it was SUPER TEASY, it was EVIL, and it was fun! I had fun!

I have to now sign off and spend the next hour with my family. I wish you all a wonder 2021! And may we all leave 2020 behind!

#newyear2020

5 notes · View notes

ask-de-writer · 4 years

Text

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 59 of 83 : World of Sea

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 59 of 83

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

written 2007

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

//////////////

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

New to the story? Read from the beginning. PART 1 is here

///////////////////////

Chapter 22: The Search

Rage, grief and mortification warred in Captain Mord’s heart as he looked at the map-table where he had sent Kurin in such anger. The worst was that, even if the Grandalor’s sailors were a boarding party, Kurin had been right.

The law was as clear as his anger was deep. While it was believed that the Grandalor’s sailors were castaways, the Longin had been required to pick them up, if only to hold them for trial. At least some of them paid in blood for their treachery! But they got what they came for. We may never see her again… The thought trailed off into unbearable pain.

Bron’s arm was trailing. He had bruises, one on his back, between the shoulder blades and one on the inside of his elbow. It was not serious but if his attacker had used a knife instead of that silly, weighted sack of fish-leather, he would have been dead.

Other crewmen were beginning to tell their tales of the battle and they were slowly realizing the same things. The assailants had been too few to have any hope of taking a ship like the Longin. Also, none of their enemies had been armed with anything but a padded leather cosh. It was as if they were trying not to hurt anyone on the ship. Some fools were even trying to tie that Sea Hawk to the attack. It was just lost in the fog.

Then they began to hear, Kurin’s gone! The bastards had kidnaped her! But that made no sense. They could have simply killed her. They had already tried to do it once. It would have been far less risky.

Looking at the map-table clearly, Captain Mord saw what he has missed the first time. There in the tallow, written in Kurin’s neat handwriting, was a note.

“Captain: The Grandalor’s crew needs justice. Their rights under the second G. L. have been violated. I have gone to help them. Kurin”

First they tried to kill her, now this! No matter what excuse, they have stolen her! In anger, partly at himself and partly at Kurin for being so gullible, he wiped out the note before any other should notice it. Details aren’t important! Whatever ruse they used, they kidnapped Kurin! The Grandalor is guilty!

Captain Mord returned forward, where one of the boarders lay propped against the foremast. The man had been stabbed deeply but still lived. Feebly he extended a hand holding a folded tallow-slate, hinged shut to protect its message.

Weakly he said to the enraged Mord, “Captain, read this. It’s from my Captain. We were to be your hostages for Kurin’s return…” He slumped lax, dead from his wounds, the tallow-slate falling from his fingers with a small clatter onto the Longin’s deck.

Captain Mord kicked the tallow-slate away unread. “Toss this Grandalor trash over the side,” he ordered.

His crew looked at him aghast. Nobody moved. Mord became angrier and yelled, “Dump him! That’s an order!” At last, a few deck-hands took the man’s body and dragged him to the rail. An Orca began to sing. They dropped him in fear. One noticed the tallow-slate and picked it up as he retreated.

Captain Mord realized that nobody would touch the body since the whale had begun to sing and heaved it over the side himself. The whale’s song went on for another ten minutes.

When it was done, Captain Mord ordered, “Swab up this blood and straighten up the area.” His men did do that, though they had begun to whisper among themselves as they worked.

Kurin disentangled herself from the joyous hug that Tanlin was giving her and said, “I need to see your log first, then all of the sickbay documentation. I want to see all of the Purser’s accounts and look over Master Selked’s shop. After that, I am going to interview virtually everyone on board.”

Tanlin let her go, becoming brisk, now that there was a task at hand. “Oi’m glad. Wen do ye wont t’ begin?”

“If I can eat in here, I’ll begin now,” said Kurin. “I need to start with the beginning of the indenture trade. I have to know about that in detail if I am to save your ship from Scattering.”

Tanlin got up and went to the long shelf holding the Logs of the Grandalor. As she was going down the line, absently tapping the spines of the volumes with her left index finger, she said thoughtfully, “T’ere’s somet’in’ t’at ye’ll find wen ye get t’ t’e interviews. Oi didnae mention ‘t before because ‘t wa’nae important in t’e way t’at ye asked about. ‘T does bear on ‘ow t’is ship wad respond t’ a penalty o’ Scatterin’.

“Every person on t’is ship’s adopted. All o’ t’em are now named Grandalor, m’sel’ included. ‘T happened t’e morning after our flight began. T’ey knew t’at t’e ship wa’ implicated in murder an’ chose t’is way o’ tellin’ Barad an’ m’sel’ t’at t’ey wad nae abandon us.

“Oi joined t’em.” She swallowed past a hard lump in her throat and a tear glistened in the corner of her eye.

“Princamorn wa’ but a name t’ m’ an’ t’e Grandalor’s home. Oi dinnae wont t’ lose ‘t.”

Intently, Kurin said, “I see. That makes a difference — to me at least,” she looked sharply at Tanlin, “if it was a voluntary thing.”

Tanlin was already fishing the necessary volume of the log from its shelf and looked back over her shoulder. “Twas. T’ey’d planned t’ do ‘t publicly, in t’e main square o’ t’e Gat’ering, ‘ad reserved ‘t, in fact, wen we ‘ad t’ flee. T’ey came t’ m’ first. Twas a total an’ welcome surprise. T’e only light in some very dark days.” She found the place that she was looking for in the book and gave it to Kurin.

Kurin settled cross-legged on Tanlin’s bunk with the book in her lap and began turning pages one at a time, glancing at each page and moving on. Tanlin watched as Kurin leafed through the volume of the log, almost twenty Gatherings old.

There was a scratching noise at the cabin’s window. Tanlin smiled to herself as it swung inward and Skye’s head poked into the cabin. The Wide Wing looked alertly about and stepped into the room. The bird turned about on the sill and used her beak to push the window closed and then hop-fluttered to the table in front of Tanlin, who chucked her under the beak and stroked her under a slightly raised wing.

Skye settled on the table and waited quietly. Kurin looked up with a smile and said, “Who’s trained who, here?”

Tanlin replied lightly but sort of seriously, “T’ey made m’ part o’ t’eir rookery flock an’ welcomed m’ t’ t’eir nest. Could Oi do less?”

Before there was any answer possible, Tahm returned with food, cups, utensils and trays. He set out the table, working nonchalantly around the sitting bird. Kurin put the log aside and came to the table.

“I take it that this happens a lot?” she said with a genuine smile.

It was Tahm who answered, “Every time that the Captain eats in. Sometimes it’s Skye, here. Sometimes it’s Thunderhead. I’m told that after the chicks are grown, it’ll be both of ‘em. Better behaved than many of the crew.”

The main course that he laid out was a Strong Skin roast. The bird looked sideways at Tanlin, who nodded. The bird promptly dove her beak into the edge of the roast and peeled off a strip. She began to bite it into bits which she swallowed quickly.

Kurin watched in fascination. “Better get yers w’ile ye still ‘ave a chance, Skye’s stoking up for ‘er chicks,” said Tanlin. She reached out, speared the roast with a chopstick and cut off slices with the knife that Kurin remembered from their first meeting. She piled the slices onto a tray along with a generous serving of red weed bread buns and seaweed salad. She handed the tray to Kurin and poured water into a cup.

“Sweet, sour or bitter flavor in yer woter?”

“Plain, please. Flavors for water? I never heard of any such thing.”

“Tis a Grandalor specialty. Barad told m’ t’at Kurti showed ‘t to ‘im shortly after she started t’ work as ‘is cabin-girl.”

“Now that puzzles me. I know what you told me at the Gathering but why would a skilled diver and stores clerk like Kurti stoop to becoming a cabin-girl?” Kurin asked around a mouth full of salad.

Tanlin considered for a moment and fed Skye a few more bits of roast before answering. “Oi wa’ still in m’ coma then. According t’ both Barad an’ Doctor Corin, she knew t’at she might die from ‘er lung parasite infection. Twas gettin’ worse in spite o’ t’e treatments. Doctor Corin wa’ just about t’ put ‘er on t’e invalid list. She wa’ in sickbay gettin’ a treatment wen she met Barad. ‘E’d come by t’ sickbay t’ look in on m’.

“‘E offered ‘er t’e light work job t’at ‘ad just come open, due t’ Chena’s untimely deat’. Kurti ‘ated bein’ useless. She jumped at t’e chance t’ avoid t’e invalid list an’ stay useful. T’ keep t’e seriousness o’ ‘er condition bein’ a matter o’ common gossip, Barad ordered ‘t kept secret. Barad could be considerate sometimes, even t’en.”

“I think that I see. The Barad that the fleet saw was something of a fiction?”

Tanlin leaned back nervously in her chair and gripped her right hand with her left. “Oi truly wish t’at Oi could say t’at but Oi promised ye t’e trut’. Tis a longish tale.

“Barad wa’ always a somew’at calculatin’ man. Once, long ago, Barad an’ Selked were married t’ twins from t’e Muline an’ by all accounts t’ey were ‘appy.

“An epidemic o’ fire cough swept t’e ship. Both Teralas, Selked’s wife, an’ Teralat, Barad’s wife, were among t’e nearly forty percent o’ t’e ship’s crew ‘oo died. Barad almost went mad wit’ grief, an’ dealt wit’ ‘t by calculatin’ almost everything. T’at’s ‘ow he became t’e Barad t’at you knew.

“Shortly after t’at, t’e Ca’tain died in ‘is sleep. A Coriolis storm wa’ comin’ an’ t’e crew needed command. T’ey took Barad’s orders an’ ‘e got t’e Grandalor t’rough safe, even t’ough t’e ship wa’ massively undermanned.

“‘E wa’ elected Ca’tain after t’e storm. At t’e Gat’ering t’at followed, ‘is election wa’ challenged by yer Ca’tain Mord. ‘E almost cost Barad both ‘is Ca’taincy an’ ‘is life. In t’e end, t’e Council up’eld Barad by only two votes. Even t’ose ‘oo voted in ‘is favor sponsored a resolution t’at t’ey did so only because t’e evidence against ‘im wa’ nae sufficient. T’at wa’ t’e origin o’ t’e grudge t’at ‘e ‘eld against Ca’tain Mord an’ t’e Naral fleet as a ‘ole.

“Barad rebuilt t’e crew by takin’ in t’e scupper sweepin’s o’ t’e fleet. T’e ones t’at naebody else wanted. T’e Grandalor became a refuge for t’ose wit’ nae ot’er place t’ go. Barad took t’em on a case by case basis an’ let t’em swim t’ Iren, if ‘e believed t’at a last chance would nae ‘elp.

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS NEXT==>

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

#SEA DRAGON’S GIFT #Part 59 of 83 #World of Sea #Written by De Writer

9 notes · View notes

rockinjoeco · 4 years

Text

The Stigma from the Media

In the wake of the tragic suicide of former Love Island presenter Caroline Flack, the topic of mental health has become more vital and sensitive than ever. It shouldn’t have to take a tragic suicide for people to start thinking about how they impact other people’s mental health, but it seems that’s where we are now. I could preach to people about thinking about mental health, etc, but it appears that in the wake of Brexit, those days where a majority of British people are kind appears to be over. If we are to tackle mental health stigma, then we need to get to quite possibly the key architect behind this stigma and influencing a toxic attitude on society; the media.

The media is a very powerful tool in our society and unfortunately it’s been proven so by influencing a poisonous culture on everyone. Is it any coincidence that dumbed down, exploitive outlets like tabloid newspapers are the most-read newspapers during a time when, as proven with Brexit and the election, that maybe a majority of the British public aren’t as intelligent as we’d like them to be. This isn’t an assessment I’ve made because an election result didn’t go the way I wanted. We all know about the problems caused by the Tory government, like many people being forced into poverty because of austerity and universal credit, how a knife crime epidemic started because of police cuts made by the government and we all know the billions of pounds wasted on Brexit, which I’m still yet to hear any logical reason as to why that’s a good idea, leaving the NHS to be underfunded. Yet the conservatives won the election by an overwhelming majority despite the hardship that they’ve caused for a lot of British people. Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party may not had been the formidable challenger to Boris Johnson as many would had liked, but Corbyn would have been more likely to fund the NHS and help those in poverty than Johnson. The theory is still that the media won Boris Johnson the election with a smear campaign against Corbyn, although the antisemitism allegations weren’t a complete fantasy. The media spouted propaganda to manipulate the public rather than being unbiased like any insightful journalist, and unfortunately too many people were gullible to believe some of the wild speculation they reported.

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to retire from royal duties, there was outrage amongst the public, but there were still people like myself who knew that the media treatment they had received was a major reason behind this. In the wake of Caroline Flack’s death, it’s a tragic summary of their brutal treatment of public figures and how it can seriously harm their mental health. The media relentlessly report on celebrities’ private lives, usually against their will, but for what reason? The private lives of celebrities isn’t exactly need-to-know information and doesn’t boast any insight into anything. It’s just a money-making scheme to sensationalise the most insignificant of events so the gullible and ignorant people can absorb themselves into. What we know now is the harm it does to the people that the news articles are about. Of course those in the media have branded Prince Harry and Meghan Markle selfish for stepping out of the media spotlight as an effort to excuse their abhorrent pursuit of them. They still make excuses for the car crash that killed Princess Diana in Paris back in 1997 and state that she was killed because the driver was intoxicated, but just before the crash, paparazzi were chasing the car that Diana was in and so it must be argued that the media had a part to play in the horrific car crash. The media are so powerful that they can get away with anything, even murder it seems.

We can debate about whether Love Island is a good tv show, and whether newspapers like The Sun, Daily Mirror and Daily Mail are good newspapers, but what must be talked about is whether or not they’re harmful. Let’s not forget that that two Love Island contestants, Sophie Gordon and Mike Thalassitis, also tragically took their own lives last year. Whether Love Island played any part in Caroline Flack’s suicide is up for debate, but surely the TV show should be under more intense scrutiny than ever, especially as questions about whether it damages someone’s mental health. Also last year, a guest on the Jeremy Kyle Show, Steve Dymond, took his own life and the show was cancelled as a result. For Love Island to not only continue, but add a winter series after two of their previous guests committed suicide raises a lot of questions and shows that ITV put ratings before the well-being of their participants. The media has now become more of a weapon, especially looking at Piers Morgan’s merciless vendetta against Meghan Markle and Jameela Jamil, all because he finds them irritating. Not because they’re criminals or because they’ve done any kind of wrongdoing. The phone hacking scandal by the News of the World demonstrates how certain media outlets have become weaponised to intrude public figures for the means of getting a story. Piers Morgan has frequently dismissed mental health awareness by stating that those who speak out are just ‘wallowing in self-pity’ and are ‘virtue-signalling berks’. If anybody else had tweeted that, they’d probably get in trouble at work, maybe even sacked. The fact that ITV haven’t punished Piers Morgan in any way shows contempt from the network as well as Morgan in regards to mental health and this is why there is still so much stigma around mental health. As someone with anxiety and depression, the media, especially ITV, is why I’ve suffered in silence for so many years.

Social media has also become more harmful than ever too. It has become a tool for users to harass and abuse people, especially celebrities. The cancel culture on social media is so brutal. Taylor Swift spoke out about how social media had impacted her when, following a public falling out with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, the hashtag #taylorswiftisover trended for days on Twitter and it was like being told to kill yourself and Twitter users were likening a human being to a TV show and they could just be killed off if they’re not how the public wants them to be like. Meghan Markle has also been victim of savage abuse on social media, as she admitted on ITV last September, and Lily Allen quit Twitter days after the General Election as she said that Twitter ‘gives a voice to the far-right’ and that it is used to ‘spread disinformation and lies’. When celebrities give their political opinion on twitter or if a news story has that sort of thing, the comments on twitter can contain people saying things like ‘stop talking’ or ‘stick to acting’, which is killing democracy in our country. Are celebrities not entitled to an opinion? Why are they less allowed to have their say than any non-famous person on social media? Nobody has to agree with them, but they have the right to an opinion, just like we are.

ITV has always been a poisonous institution, as any company which keeps Piers Morgan in a job would prove to be. Caroline Flack was forced to resign from Love Island following her assault charge on her boyfriend Lewis Burton, but many have pointed out that Ant McPartlin was allowed to keep his job at ITV when he was convicted of drink-driving, arguably a more serious offense than the one that Caroline was charged with. Because of McPartlin’s popularity, you could say that he is untouchable and can get away with almost anything, even if he did cause death by dangerous driving, ITV will still keep him on because he generates ratings, and that’s what comes first with ITV. The moment when Philip Schofield came out as gay on This Morning was a heartwarming moment and was seen as brave and inspiring to express your sexuality in the way Schofield did. Those inspiring moments are too few on ITV, especially looking at the suicides of their participants. Something at that company is wrong and their mental health campaigns seem redundant now. ITV care so much about ratings that it wouldn’t surprise me if they announced an autumn and spring series in addition to Love Island.

Caroline Flack said back in December; ‘if you’re going to be anything, be kind’. It shouldn’t have to take a tragic suicide for people to start being kind, but Britain has become a less tolerant and more crueller country than ever, especially in the wake of Brexit. People are so quick to pounce whenever a celebrity makes any kind of mistake, like all human beings do, and berate them in the most brutal way possible. While it is important to be kind, we still have to be brutally honest on important matters like mental health and we must get to the source of where it stems from; media corporations like tabloid newspapers and ITV. I, like many other people, hope that action is taken against the media for all the harm that they have caused people, because the media have too much blood on their hands.

#caroline flack #love island #itv #piers morgan #philip schofield #this morning #mental health #royal family #prince harry #meghan markle #taylor swift #lily allen #general election #brexit

32 notes · View notes

shirlleycoyle · 3 years

Text

The Man Who Helped Turn 4chan Into the Internet’s Racist Engine

In two decades, 4chan has evolved from a message board where people talked about anime to a casually racist but influential creation engine of internet culture, and now into a generator of far-right propaganda, a place where dangerous conspiracy theories originate, and an amplifier of online bigotry. This evolution, according to 4chan moderators who spoke to Motherboard and leaked chat logs, is in large part because of an anonymous administrator who used moderation enforcement, or lack thereof, to allow the influential website to become a crucial arm of the far-right.

4chan attracted hordes of disaffected young men who trolled various other websites, creating popular memes (many of them racist or sexist) and originating a great deal of internet culture. In recent years, however, 4chan has evolved into something actively sinister: a hive of bigotry, threats of violence, and far right ideology. This rapid and severe descent wasn’t driven solely by the mass action of disgruntled young men.

One current and three former 4chan moderators believe the process was aided along by the de facto administrator of the site, a far right supporter with the handle “RapeApe” who helped turn the site into a meme factory for extreme politics. Motherboard agreed to let the janitors speak anonymously because they said they signed non-disclosure agreements with 4chan.

Because of 4chan’s often wildly offensive content, many assume that the site is completely unmoderated. But 4chan has a corps of volunteers, called “janitors,” “mods,” or “jannies,” whose job it is—theoretically—to make sure that content on the site abides by the rules. (4chan draws a distinction between more senior “moderators,” who are responsible for all boards, and “janitors,” who patrol one or two; we refer to them interchangeably because janitors also moderate discussion.) The janitors we spoke to and a major trove of leaked chat logs from the janitors’ private communications channel tell the story of RapeApe’s rise from junior janny to someone who could decide what kind of content was allowed on the site and where, shaping 4chan into the hateful, radicalizing online community it's known for today.

Started in 2003 by Christopher Poole, 4chan was initially a place for people to discuss anime. Since its founding, the site has expanded to include discussion boards on everything from travel to fitness to video games to origami. It now claims around 22 million visitors a month. Some parts of it are also recruiting grounds for Neo-Nazi groups.

4chan’s more recent extremist element can be traced back to an infamous board: “politically incorrect,” which is listed as "/pol/" on the site. Ostensibly devoted to discussing politics, /pol/ threads often involve users calling each other racist terms, arguing for the genocide of whole nations or ethnicities, or debating about whether different concepts are “degenerate”—a Nazi term of art for material (or people) that ought to be purged. Posters there celebrate and lionize some of the most notorious mass murderers of the last decade, from Anders Breivik to Dylann Roof.

The forum has popularized iconography like Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character reappropriated by some as a racist symbol of the far right that President Trump’s son has tweeted images of. According to academic researchers, 4chan's /pol/ has become one of the most prodigious factories for content on the internet. And the boundaries of its influence spread far beyond the borders of 4chan itself, affecting everything from YouTube to Twitter to mainstream Republican politics.

The politically incorrect board wasn’t always this bad. In fact, former 4chan moderators told Motherboard that /pol/ wasn’t added to the site until 2011, eight years after the site started. For the first few years of its existence, according to two former janitors, Poole intended the /pol/ board to siphon off the racism from other areas of the site so that other users could enjoy their own, board-specific pursuits.

“It was started as a containment board,” one former moderator told me about /pol/. According to chat logs and former moderators, in its early days, moderators at 4chan removed racist posts and users from other boards while ignoring them within one board, “random” (/b/, which was supposed to be a kind of “no rules, anything goes” space. /b/ is where many early memes were born, and is where the hacktivist group Anonymous came from). Such posts also sometimes slipped by on the /pol/ board as well, even though they technically violated the rules there. “Enforcement was more active in the past,” a former moderator said. In contrast to its current far right political climate, “4chan skewed extremely progressive when it first started,” according to the mod, although the use of bigoted and misogynistic language was widespread even then.

But 4chan has changed in recent years. Several studies of the site have shown that 4chan has become more racist, bigoted, and toxic in recent years—especially the /pol/ board. Ideologies propagated on /pol/ have become linked with violence and domestic terrorism. 4chan janitors' main job is to clean up and remove child pornography, lest 4chan draw the wrath of federal authorities, but they also shape the discourse there by setting the limits of acceptable discussion. If a thread goes off-topic or starts to get too racist, the janitors have the responsibility for asking mods to delete it and potentially issue bans against specific users.

According to leaked logs and the 4chan janitors who spoke with Motherboard, the manager of 4chan’s janitors is RapeApe. Relatively little is known about him, even by the janitors who spoke with us and worked for him, although he has been supervising 4chan’s day-to-day operations for around a decade.

In 2015, Poole announced that he had decided to sell 4chan to a Japanese businessman named Hiroyuki Nishimura. Nishimura previously owned 2chan, a Japanese website which inspired 4chan. Janitors who spoke with Motherboard described Nishimura as being almost completely hands off, leaving moderation of the site primarily to RapeApe.

“[RapeApe] basically fulfills the role of an administrator considering Hiroyuki [Nishimura], the actual admin, doesn't touch the site,” a current janitor told me. Poole and Nishimura did not respond to repeated requests for comment. RapeApe responded by sending an email that contained only a single link to a video of naked muscular men dancing.

Even prior to the site’s change in ownership, RapeApe functioned as the primary judge of what constituted acceptable content on the site, as well as the person who educated the staff on what did and didn’t cross the line. As Gamergate became a subject on the site in 2014, 4chan users began harassing women in the video game industry due to what they perceived as progressive bias in reporting on games. Eventually, RapeApe tried to stop 4chan’s campaign of intimidation. “[Gamergate] is no longer allowed on the video game boards. So said [RapeApe],” one janitor informed another in the leaked chats. When other jannies protested, RapeApe rapidly shut them down: “This isn’t a democracy,” RapeApe wrote. “Gamergate has overstayed its welcome. It is starting to cause a massive burden for moderation.”

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 12: Counterprotestors to the Unite the Right 2 rally burn a Kekistan flag, a white nationalist symbol, in the middle of 15th St. NW near the White House on August 12, 2018 in Washington, DC. Image: Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images

In 2015, an anonymous former moderator leaked an extensive chat history of the janitors from 2012-2015 to a file-sharing service. One of the former janitors included in the chats confirmed their authenticity. According to a brief message posted with the logs, the leaker was unhappy with “the direction of the site.” From those leaked logs and the current and former janitors who spoke with Motherboard, RapeApe claims to be a military veteran who served in Afghanistan as well as a voracious reader, interested in video games, guns, and Warhammer: 40,000. He often complained about his family impeding his work and was afraid they would walk in on him looking at questionable or pornographic posts as he was moderating.

According to the janitor and chat logs (as well as a deleted Twitter account two staff members confirmed was his), RapeApe is also politically conservative and racist. One former janitor described him as “a typical right winger and /pol/ dude.” His Twitter account featured him responding approvingly to Tucker Carlson clips, urging another user to buy an AR-15 rifle for self-defense, wondering whether the state would force people to be homosexual and suggesting that Twitter was “staffed by leftists” who were deleting conservative users’ accounts. In conversations with other janitors in the leaked chats, he found humor in horrifying news about riots, shootings, and the Ebola epidemic—especially when that news involved Black people dying.

But RapeApe isn’t just a typical /pol/ user who happens to run the site. According to three current and former staff members, RapeApe shaped 4chan into a reflection of his own political beliefs. “RapeApe has an agenda: he wants /pol/ to have influence on the rest of the site and [its] politics,” a current janitor said.

Alone, RapeApe couldn’t steer 4chan to the far right. But he supervises a staff of dozens of volunteers who control discourse on the boards. According to the leaked chats and janitors who spoke with Motherboard, he instructed janitors on how to handle the more bigoted content on 4chan—and dismissed them if they deleted content he likes. He took a special interest in the /pol/ board, telling a novice janitor in the chat logs to “treat /pol/ with kid gloves. So long as they obey the rules, they are allowed to support whatever abominable political positions they want.”

4chan has an extensive list of rules posted on the site and each board has its own smaller set of edicts. A little-known and rarely enforced 4chan regulation, Global Rule #3, prohibits racist content on the site. But the leaked chat logs show many incidents of moderators and janitors discussing when racism got severe enough that it ought to be banned. Indeed, RapeApe himself deleted at least one thread for violating Rule #3 early on in his 4chan career, before he became a manager.

Once he became head moderator, RapeApe began to post reminders that moderators ought to be as hands-off as possible. In the leaked logs and according to current and former janitors, RapeApe pushed his staff into a position where almost no content could run afoul of the rule against racism. Instructing the janitors, RapeApe wrote, “And remember that with racism we're targeting the intent of the poster and not the words themselves.” One current janitor told me that in practice, within 4chan’s warped, irony-poisoned culture, this meant there was no way to ban a user for even the most flagrant, bigoted language or images. They could always claim that the intent wasn’t racist, even if the content unquestionably was.

"The plausible deniability excuse for racism—I was just joking, I was just trolling—is bullshit," Whitney Phillips, an Assistant Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Syracuse University and author of This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship Between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture, told Motherboard. "Intent can matter when thinking about the things people say, but it matters very little when considering consequences. Whether or not someone says a racist thing with hate in their heart, they're still saying a racist thing and that still contributes to dehumanization and the normalization of harm. Anyway, the very criterion is absurd, as you can't assess what's in someone's heart just by looking at the things they post, especially to a place like 4chan. The only reasonable conclusion is that, whatever might have been written in the site rules, this moderator ensured that there was no policy against racism. Instead it became a pro-racism policy."

The leaked chat logs show that RapeApe didn't want /pol/ to be totally unmoderated, despite allowing racist content. He was concerned with making sure 4chan wasn’t hosting illegal material. “Mostly I just want to keep the site legal,” he wrote to the staff in one message in the leaked chats. He posted frequent reminders to the channel to “take it easy” and ignore, rather than ban, racist content. In the leaked chats, RapeApe quotes judicial decisions on whether photos depicting animal abuse are illegal, concluding that they only rise to that level if the abuse is sexual in nature. In another case, he reluctantly told a janitor to delete some revenge porn, though not without belittling laws against it.

Nishimura’s purchase of the site in 2016 and RapeApe’s ascension to de facto administrator of 4chan coincides with an incredible 40 percent spike in the volume of racist and violent language on /pol/. Other, comparable sites and communication channels also pushed towards extreme conservatism independently of 4chan, so RapeApe and /pol/ certainly aren’t the only reasons why 4chan slid towards the far right. Some experts credited 4chan’s evolution to Donald Trump’s overtly-racist political campaign, others to an influx of new users, and still others to active interference and recruiting of 4channers by Neo-Nazi elements.

While other websites also host increasing amounts of violent and bigoted language, 4chan is an outlier even compared to other internet gathering places filled with similar ideologies. A VICE News analysis found that there was more hate speech on /pol/ than in the comments on one overtly Neo-Nazi site, the Daily Stormer. Mass murderers have posted manifestos on 4chan. White nationalists have used the site to coordinate protests.

When one Neo-Nazi group polled their supporters to discover how they came to the movement, /pol/ was tied for the most common gateway. Gab, another far right hotbed, contains about half the rate of hate speech as /pol/, and 4chan has 20 times more users. The only popular websites more toxic than 4chan are its much smaller offspring sites, like 8chan, now 8kun.

According to one current and three former janitors, RapeApe’s push for a hands-off approach combined with his preference for janitors who shared his political beliefs has shifted the website further into the extremes of bigotry and threats of violence in which it now operates. “He wants 4chan to be more like /pol/,” said one former janitor.

Over time, /pol/ has come to dominate the public perception of 4chan, overshadowing the quieter, less vile topic areas which make up much of the activity on the site. /pol/ is regularly the most active board on the site, but even so, it makes up a small portion of the total posts. Under RapeApe’s management, however, /pol/’s bigotry has metastasized.

“[W]hen RapeApe took over fully after [Poole] left, he put in a ‘laissez-faire’ policy of moderation, knowing exactly what would happen, that right wing ideas would dominate the site thanks to /pol/ spilling over onto other boards,” said a current janitor.

The /pol/ forum often hosts threads in which users talk about flooding other, unrelated boards with racial slurs and bigoted imagery. These “raids” expose users who were on 4chan to discuss other subjects to its unconventional, far-right politics. Posters who logged on to the site to chat about sports or browse pornography could find themselves learning about Neo-Nazi ideology instead. Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a professor at American University and expert on far-right extremism, describes this phenomenon as “gateway content.” Simply by exposing people to hate speech, psychologists have found that it’s possible to desensitize them to further hate speech and dehumanize outgroups. By raiding other boards and giving users a taste of their ideology, /pol/ diehards hoped to bring them into their fold.

In one incident from the chat logs, when a moderator tried to clean up such an “invasion” of the science board, RapeApe wasn’t having it. Rather than delete the thread a janitor described as planning a raid, RapeApe argued that they weren’t doing anything against the rules. “Are they actually vandalising or defacing anything, or harassing people?” RapeApe added: “Because if they're just posting things, that's not really a raid.”

Current and former janitors say that one moderator named Modcat was fired for disagreeing withRapeApe's laissez-faire moderation policy.

“Some jannies got in trouble for overusing [global rule 3, against racism],” said one former janitor.

An analysis of the archives of the anime board (/a/) Modcat used to patrol, derived by scraping its past threads, shows that Modcat’s departure and replacement with another janitor had consequences on the language used there. Motherboard used a 4chan archive and wrote a program to scrape data from the board over the last five years, counting the number of instances of common hate speech terms against Black, Latino, Jewish, and LGBTQ people each day, as well as Neo-Nazi slogans. This program scraped text only and so did not include instances of speech within images, a common medium of communication on 4chan. Immediately after his departure, according to former moderators, /pol/ users raided the board, spamming Neo-Nazi slogans like “sieg heil” and “heil Hitler” in about one in every 50 posts. (Use of these terms had been negligible before Modcat left.) Even after the initial raid on /a/ subsided, there were long-term effects on the forum. During Modcat's brief tenure, the anime board had hate speech in only about one in every 50 posts overall. Since his departure, that has risen to about one in every 30 posts.

Leaked chat logs demonstrate other instances of seemingly politically-motivated firings. Not long after a janitor named yetsturdy argued that the use of terms like the n-word and stereotyped depictions of Jews violated 4chan’s rules, they were fired. (Leaked chat logs show janitors suggesting that his firing was due to arguing with another janitor). A janitor who described himself as a “lefty” in leaked logs was let go ostensibly for losing his anonymity, although another 4chan staff member with far right politics is open about his identity on Twitter and publishes newspaper editorials under his real name.

Others in the leaked janitor chats noticed the firings of their colleagues. One even alluded to RapeApe’s apparent agenda, asking him directly: “with all these janitors quitting/getting fired, is… is /pol/ winning?” (In the chat, RapeApe quickly denied that it had anything to do with /pol/’s political agenda, saying that the fired janitors had violated clear rules.)

Five years later, the politically incorrect board’s conflict with the rest of 4chan has been settled: /pol/ won. After years of declining volume both there and on the site in general, /pol/’s activity (in terms of the number of users and posts) is on the rise once again, according to a site that tracks 4chan. Jumping upwards in May 2020, /pol/ boasted the highest number of posts per day since election day in 2016, when ecstatic users celebrated Trump’s victory by calling for a second Holocaust and harassing journalists.

/pol/’s surging popularity coincides with a boost for the rest of the site as well. According to SimilarWeb, a company that tracks web traffic, 4chan has risen to become one of the top 400 sites in the United States in terms of engagement and visits. The domain now rivals or exceeds major news sites in terms of the number of visitors: it gets more traffic than abcnews.com, for example.

And the /pol/ channel continues to create massive amounts of right-wing content. RapeApe’s “meme factory,” as he described /pol/ in one leaked chat log, is chugging along smoothly. “[RapeApe has] basically fulfilled his intentions,” a current janitor told me. “[4chan] exists as a fully developed political tool used for propagating memes and propaganda.” 4chan’s content sometimes spreads beyond its esoteric corner of the internet into the mainstream discourse, using a well-established pipeline running through Reddit and Twitter into more popular channels.

Journalists have chronicled the outsized influence 4chan has had on our culture and created many theories to explain its slide into racist extremism, connections to the rise of Donald Trump, and a surge in white nationalist movements around the world. Disaffected young men across the globe have participated in creating a hateful melting pot of conspiracy theories, bigotry, and hate speech with a massive, global audience.

We can’t know exactly how much impact the rhetoric on the site had on the world or the full extent of its influence on the broader political landscape. But we can dispel some of the mystery about how 4chan became filled with hate. Like every other platform, 4chan’s evolution stems in part from the choices made by its administrators about what speech is acceptable and what is not. Facebook allowed Holocaust denial content until Mark Zuckerberg decided not to; Reddit allowed its Donald Trump-focused subreddit to popularize 4chan’s content until it shut it down. 4chan became the dangerous cesspool we know today because of the choices of a site administrator who wanted to amplify far right content and an owner who doesn’t care.

The internet is one of the most powerful technologies the world has ever known, but why that power so often results in dehumanizing and hurting people is not as mysterious as we sometimes assume. It is the direct result of the choices people with control over internet platforms make.

The Man Who Helped Turn 4chan Into the Internet’s Racist Engine syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

2 notes · View notes