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compact-turtle · 1 year

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yandere bounty hunter x gn!reader headcannons...

Concept: Yandere Bounty hunter x Reader

Tw: Kidnapping, Obsessive, Possessive, delusional yandere, Yandere Behavior, stalking, brief mentions of SA (not by the yandere), harassment, brief mention of death,

-Yandere Bounty Hunter who spends his days doing assignments. He’s one of the best at his company and in the country. He comes across a case that offers big bucks. Enough that allows him to retire early and live lavishly for the rest of his life.

-He reads over the case details. Interestingly, it’s just some rich kid who ran away from their parents. He was expecting some master criminal mind who had over thirty federal charges.

-Yandere Bounty Hunter who takes a few days to find you. Not like it’s that difficult. You were messy and left clues everywhere you went.

-Yandere Bounty Hunter who spends a few weeks in the city watching your every move. He studies your routines, habits and everything in between. He convinces himself that he’s just doing his part of the job.

-Eventually, he creates an encounter between you two. He introduces himself as someone new to the city. He’s looking for some friends to show him around. You jump at the opportunity to be his friend.

-For the next few weeks, you both spend a considerable amount of time with each other. Whether it was going to the movies, eating at restaurants or doing shopping trips. You were so sweet and naive offering to pay for everything since “that’s what friends do.”

-He finds it endearing watching you stumble over the simplest things. How you seem so lost in the world without him to guide you.

-One night, you call him in hysterics. You tell him about your landlord who’s been harassing you. He’s called you vulgar things, threatened to force himself upon you, and a multitude of other horrendous acts. Your landlord has even issued to kick you out if you don’t comply with his demands.

-Yandere Bounty Hunter who knows you aren’t used to this due to your sheltered lifestyle. You’ve never had to worry about the horrible people out there. He decides to call in a favor from an ex-bounty that owes him.

-Within a few days, the landlord issues are taken care of.

-You invite him into your apartment to celebrate the wonderful news. It’s small and cozy. The walls are a creamy white with a wooden floor to match. A strong smell of you lingers everywhere.

-You cook him dinner and for a moment, he imagines life together. You’d be his darling little spouse who waits for him at home. He’d be a charming husband who provided for you two. Life would be amazing.

-Yandere Bounty Hunter who confesses his feelings for you right then and there. You’re taken back but the thought doesn’t disgust you. In fact, you’ve been feeling some type of endearment for him as well.

-You both decide to make it official and become a couple. That night, you both fall asleep in your bed after spending time with each other.

-The next few months go by perfectly. He’s moved into your apartment and spends every day attached to you. You’re so gentle and he enjoys indulging in your hobbies with you. His favorite thing is when you kiss him before bed time.

-Yandere Bounty Hunter who wakes up to the sound of something in the apartment. He goes to investigate and finds another bounty hunter. He quickly takes out the other hunter but comes to a realization.

-it’s not safe here anymore.

-You wake up finding him standing over another body. You begin to freak out asking for answers.

-Yandere Bounty Hunter who comes clean about everything. His job, your parents, and the money involved. His heart breaks as you burst into tears. You yell at him through sobs accusing him of never loving you.

“Don’t ever say that, sweetheart.”

-Eventually, he knocks you out and ties you up. He puts you in the back of his car as he drives to your parents’ home. For the next few days, his mind is a wreck. You refuse to talk to him. You won’t kiss him or even look at him. He knows it’s from the shock but it’s driving him mad.

-However, he keeps his eyes on the prize.

-Yandere Bounty Hunter who delivers you to your parents in one piece. They’re overjoyed to have you back. They pay him more than the original price tag. He takes the money and leaves.

-For the next few months, things began to fall back in place for you. You were hurt and afraid after what occurred. However, you were healing after being placed in therapy. Your parents even with you and sorted out family issues that caused you to run away.

-You think about the bounty hunter, every now and then. You miss him and hate him all at the same time. Yet, you were starting to let go. It was better to forget that time with him.

-Until…

-Yandere Bounty Hunter who returns to your life. He’s set up a perfect little villa in the countryside where nobody can locate you. He kidnaps you in your sleep and whisks you away.

-You wake up in a panic afterwards. Yandere Bounty Hunter who attempts to calm you down. He explains about how he waited before the dust settled to pick you up. He chose somewhere secluded where you can raise a family together. If you don’t want children, then he’ll settle for raising some pets with you.

-It’ll be perfect just like how the two of you discussed back in the apartments.

-Don't worry, he's retired from his job. He knows how much you hated it.

-He kisses you and hugs you in his arms. It’s been so long since he’s done this. He’s missed every inch of your body since you left him.

-It’ll be ok though. He understands that you need time to adjust to your new home. It also doesn’t matter if you decide to run away later. After all, he’ll still find you no matter where you go.

-Hopefully, your parents hire another bounty hunter to find you soon.

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dumbbitchenergy17 · 6 months

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Where the Wild Things Are - Chapter 8

Chapter Seven: Because of You

Plot: Wild men or monstrous infected creatures, the world is wild and ravaged by Cordecyps but some are raised in it and flourish becoming a wild thing.

Word Count: 5.4K

Pairing: Joel Miller x Platonic!Teen!Reader, Ellie Williams x Platonic!Reader

Warnings: canon-typical fighting/violence, injuries, harsh language, joel actually cares :0, just fucking sad shit tw: trauma from abusive mother, description of child abuse

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I cannot cry because I know that's weakness in your eyes. I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh every day of my life. My heart can't possibly break when it wasn't even whole to start with.

Joel and Tommy returned soon after you passed on the question. They expected some resistance or some smart comment but you accepted the meal with a noise of thanks and eyed the medicine Joel provided but took it regardless.

Ellie was quickly berated by both Miller brothers to understand what the sudden calm behavior came from and clearly, the young girl had something to do with it. “I just talked to her?” That was her response and it was the truth. A single conversation with the young girl that didn’t involve scolding or harassment about being seen as ‘normal’ in Jackson was what occurred. Ellie worked at your pace not pushing you to reveal everything and treated you like a human being, not some wild animal that the people of Jackson think you are.

Whatever you took knocked you out leaving you sleeping throughout the rest of the day only to awaken nearing sunset with a healthy meal Ellie had gotten from the mess hall by Joel’s orders but she did sneak some desserts in for you to eat. The environment and relationship that was changing from your near-death experience started to become more noticeable. You still kept to yourself, your bedroom and the stables your sanctuary from all that was outside, you hardly talked to Joel this instinct that keeps you at a distance from the man, Tommy it was more of him talking to you but you would add your two cents in and were so rigid when he would appear at the stables at random times to check in on you or to bring you something to eat.

The only person you would really ‘close’ to was Ellie. You started eating some meals with Ellie just the two of you and she would fill the silence by talking about whatever was on her mind with you speaking at times, she would hang around the stables and help with the horses when she wasn’t at school or hanging with Dina and Jesse. She took you to some places she would go with her friends and there was one interaction where you met Dina and Jesse that didn’t involve you beating someone up or trying to kill them when you first met them. It was awkward with you standing slightly behind Ellie just staring at the two teens as they tried making conversation with you either responding with grunts and nods or not even saying anything. But when Ellie would speak to you a few short sentences would come out but directed to her.

Despite being close to the younger girl and interacting with her friends you kept that boundary with the Millers and yourself. No matter how many times Tommy would invite you over for a ‘family’ dinner you refused.

“I’m not in your family.” And that’s how it would end, no amount of begging or offering of your favorite meals would convince you. Why would you have dinner with people who claimed it was for a family when you had no relation to them?

The cold was only getting more colder entering the final month of the year before spring would soon come. Making sure all the horses had extra hay for this chill in the air especially the two colts that are Dakota’s. Once they were situated you went out to do some last-minute things only to be interrupted by the appearance of Ellie petting one of the horses Shimmer.

“What are you doing here?” Your tone may have sounded cold and threatening to others but the young girl knew otherwise.

“Just wanted to see if you’re done here. I need help moving something from Tommy’s to the house.” She says rocking on her feet it looks like she just got out of school her pack still strapped to her back.

“Why can’t you get Dina or Jesse?” You question grabbing feed from some of the older horses petting Red in passing, “Because the two of them have this dinner date thing—blegh.” She says rolling her eyes and making a gagging noise.

“I thought they broke up?” You were very confused by the two’s on-and-off relationship, “Yeah they are doing this date to see if they want to get back together. Come on let’s go I need your help and everyone else is busy.”

Adding the remaining food in the large trough outside all of the older horses' section you move back inside grabbing your coat and throwing it on. “Fine.” Ellie pumps a fist up in the air with glee as you take your time signing out in the log and writing some notes on items needed. Ellie rocks on the heels of her feet,

“Come on let’s goooo.” She groans and you follow the girl out of the stables trying to take the quickest route to Rancher Street. Normally you would take backstreets walking through the few wooded areas only to walk through the main streets when completely abandoned. The awkwardness from the lingering stares from people as you follow the younger girl like a shadow keeping close by but distant enough that people seemed to move away when the two of you came near. It didn’t bother you, you weren’t looking for companionship or kindness from these people you didn’t know them and they didn’t need to know you.

The family street appears as the two of you pass by the house you reside in towards the other house containing the younger Miller brother and his wife and child. Ellie bounds up the porch steps letting herself in holding the door open for you to follow. You hear the door close behind you and the sound of voices further into the house but you can’t make it out.

“Tommy we’re here!” Ellie calls out and Tommy responds with an ‘Over here!’ and the two of you enter more into the house. You should have noticed something was off with Ellie’s almost nervous but excited energy. When the two of you turned the corner and saw the dining room you stopped in your tracks. The table was set for dinner food was already prepared Tommy held his son on his hip bouncing the slightly fussy baby, Joel sat on one side of the table already nursing a glass of whiskey, while Maria entered with what you assume was the final piece of the dinner.

“Great you guys are here come sit food is still hot.” Tommy gestures as he places his son into the chair designed for the baby before taking his seat at the head of the table. Maria moves to sit beside her child the baby separating the couple. Ellie already throws off her pack and coat taking a seat beside Tommy leaving an empty seat between Ellie and Joel. You still haven’t moved staring at the display.

“Come on kid, food’s gonna get cold,” Tommy calls out to you and your eyes slowly move from the table to the man. He carries an almost hopeful smile on his face as the others stare at you waiting for you to join in their family meal.

“What the fuck is this.” Void of emotion and sharp edge to your words. You were cornered the air was thin and a pit in your stomach made your insides churn.

“Hey, language,” Joel calls out in a warning tone, especially before the young child. Your gaze snaps away from Joel to Ellie who looks anxious about the growing tension, “You said we were just picking something up from here.” Your throat felt tight and a tingling sensation fills your fingers flexing them trying to gain feeling.

A sheepish look covers the young girl, “You wouldn’t have said yes if I asked. You never said yes before. So I thought this would be the best way to get you to come…” Her plan which everyone else seemed to be involved in had backfired horribly.

“I’m not hungry.” Your response is short already rejecting all of this: this idea, the meal, the people, everything. You didn’t want this. “You haven’t eaten since lunch and that was hours ago.” Tommy brings up having been the one to bring lunch for you just a simple sandwich not filling enough to miss dinner.

“I’m not eating that.” You shake your head sending a glare to the meal before you. Though the smell and appearance of it once made your mouth water and crave it you only felt ill looking at it.

“We can get you something I’m sure we can mix something up real quick. It would be good to all sit together and talk about how our day has been anything just a nice family dinner.” Tommy tries to convince you but it was that one word that made you want to hurl.

“I’m not part of your fucking family.” You hiss taking a step back, “I don’t want this or you or anyone.” You wanted to bolt you wanted to be back in that cabin maybe you should have pressured them more to put you out of your misery back then or maybe not fought as hard against those raiders.

“Why can’t you just accept our help or the fact we care about you?! Sure the world is fucked up but you don’t need to hate the small amount of good that is left,” Ellie stands taking a step towards and a frustrated look crosses her face. “If some shit happened to you just talk to us but don’t fucking act like your the only one suffering. You don’t want a chance to be a part of a family that cares for you again be my fucking guest.” It was like a punch in your gut and if there was any food in your system it would have left your stomach. Your gaze snaps to the three adults each of them with ranges of pity.

Fucking pity.

They saw you as someone weak.

Some broken little thing that needed fixing.

Your gaze pauses briefly with Maria’s, the understanding of how hard those words affected you. She knew the truth she knew why you were cold-hearted your life focused on yourself and everyone else was your enemy. The look of a mother who wished to comfort a child. Why hadn’t you ever received that look? What made you so different that she could never give you that look? It made you fucking sick.

A metallic taste floods your mouth from how hard you are biting your cheek. The weight on your chest felt unbearable just having them stare at you. You don’t even think you could respond unless it was to throw up. It was hot and uncomfortable in that room and it only seemed to rise in temperature. Your vision just seems to tunnel black creeping in from the side.

Fuck you can’t breathe.

You probably could have ripped the door from the hinges from how hard you swung the door open. A loud crash as the door slams against the wall but you don’t even care. Numb feet trip down the steps the coldness of the air heightens as you rush away. The people inside that house their voices fall on deaf ears. You couldn’t hear anything. Blindly letting your body guide you somewhere finding the familiar clearing that was introduced to you by Ellie. Where you sat awkwardly to the side just observing the trio of friends laugh and tell jokes. They tried to include you but you just shook your head listening in as you picked the dirt under your nails. Your chest screamed for air that it desperately needed. The blood spills freely from your mouth staining the snow a crisp crimson. You hold onto a tree with one hand hunched over gasping for air surprised you haven’t buckled over.

Why didn’t she care about you?

Why didn’t she love you? She could have at least pretended for your sake.

And why didn’t he stay? Did he care that little that he didn’t want to try?

Was she right? Just a bastard child to a bastard father.

“Kid?” Your eyes darted spotting the couple standing a few feet away from you. Maria holds her son in her arms the baby is sound asleep wrapped up. Tommy takes a step forward and you react taking a stumbling step back swiping your mouth ridding the blood that paints your lips and a bit of your chin. “You’re alright..” Tommy stops holding his hands out like he’s talking down some rabid animal.

“Tommy,” Maria calls out to her husband who glances back as the woman moves forward, “Go tell the other I got her…give us some time to talk. Girl on girl.” She says before looking over at you who watches the interaction with cautious eyes. Tommy hesitates just for a moment before taking his son and leaving the clearing until it’s just the two of you. Maria heads swiping some snow off the log that substitutes as a bench taking a sit before patting one end. You don’t move keeping your distance.

“You don’t have to might be nice just to sit and talk.” She says warmly, not an ounce of disgust or even remotely upset with your actions in her home. You shuffle forward but sit on the snowy floor a good foot or two separating you. “Ellie is sorry for what she said, though I’m sure she’d feel even worse if she knew how hard those words hit you huh.” She speaks not expecting you to respond. Finding more interest in the snow your gloved hand tracing shapes in the snow.

“Is it the fact that you don’t want to have dinner with us or you’ve never been given the opportunity to have a normal meal with people?” Maria saw the way your gaze snapped to her before darting back to the snow avoidant of the adult’s gaze.

You’re not even sure you’ve had a decent meal in your entire life. Even being here in Jackson you’ve eaten the bare minimum to survive. Why would you indulge yourself in the luxuries of a homecooked meal or even fresh food? You didn’t deserve it, a stranger in this place. No reason for them to feed you well enough until they can throw you make in that cell or perhaps turn you over to the raiders.

“It’s not fair.” You mumble and Maria looks down at you not rushing you to speak, “You live this great life, a perfect little family in this perfect town. Nothing is wrong with you.”

“Not everything is perfect. We’ve all lost something…some more than others. I hav—had a son, Kevin,” Maria falters slightly and you can hear the sudden sadness lace her voice as you look up at her, “He was only three on Outbreak Day. Tommy has lost people he’s cared for, same with Joel and Ellie. It takes time to come to peace and some just never get over it.” Maria says a sense of peace despite the fact of losing a child.

“It still hurts but the pain gets easier but it never leaves. Some days are better than others. I can only be grateful for the life I have now and knowing my little boy is in a better place.” Her voice gets all choked up and she swipes away a stray tear from he misty eyes.

“I’m sure he knows he is loved.” You say softly and she nods looking down as a few tears fall but she takes a moment to compose herself.

“I’m sure in another world both my sons would have known each other. I’m sure in another world your mother would have loved you the way you deserved to be loved.” She says and you’re not sure how to react.

You’re not sure you could ever imagine a world where she loved you. To hold you in her arms like you were fragile glass. To read to you stories about far-off lands of heroes fighting to save the day. To soothe your tears and heal your cuts and scrapes you gained for having too much fun not from getting beaten and burned by those around you. To care about your interests and the things you enjoy. To be funny and make you laugh so hard you cry. To hold your hand when you are scared and protect you from the nightmares and fears that couldn’t hurt you. To make you a homemade meal to sit at a table and talk about your day and just be together. Maybe you would have a day in that picture. He’d come home from whatever job existed before the Outbreak Day, complain about the long day but happy to come home to his daughter and wife.

“I don’t think she’d ever love me no matter what world we lived in.” You wonder what kind of person you’d be in a different life but you believe that some people truly can’t change. Maybe this apocalypse truly brought out the real side that people had hidden in a normal society. “I’d rather have her lie to me. To at least act like she wanted to read me stories, to hold me on the cold nights instead of sleeping by a barely working radiator, to have my father be in my life and not just a string of drug addicts and horrible men, to tend to my wounds from bullies instead of learning how to stitch my first cut at nine, to just sit with me and a goddamn table and talk to me! To treat me like her kid...her fucking daughter instead of some bastard child!” Your throat grew more tight and your vision more blurry. It was anger a hatred towards her. You were jealous of all of those people who had good parents. A father in their life. A mother who loved them. You got neither. You wanted that. You craved it.

“I just wanted a mom.” You gritted out a burning in your eyes until you felt something run down your cheeks. Raising your hand see wetness appear on your gloves before turning your attention to Maria who looks at you sadness covering her eyes. Harshly rubbing your eyes to rid the tears and scowl though not a very good one. “Doesn’t matter it’s stupid anyway.”

“It’s not.” Maria defends against your statement, “You deserved someone to care for you and she failed you. Not you. You deserved that life you wanted and she failed to give that to you. She failed at being a mother. You didn’t fail as a daughter.” She says and it’s quiet between the two of you. A mother who wished she could’ve given the world to her first child but was given the chance to try again and a daughter who gave all she could’ve to a woman who was meant to be a mother and given nothing in return. Maria stands up holding a hand out for you. It’s a moment before you accept her hand though it’s not the action of helping you stand but telling you something deeper.

A mother caring for a child that isn’t even hers.

The walk back to Rancher Street has a new energy and a different feeling. You can’t describe how things changed between yourself and Maria but it did. As the familiar view of the house you occupy with Joel and Ellie comes into view a guiding hand rests on your shoulder and you’re brought away to the house that is Maria and Tommy’s. “Why are we going over here?” You ask confused maybe Joel and Ellie were waiting in their house. But they would have been waiting in their home for you to return.

“Just trust me.” She says and while a part of you, the part that screamed at you to run and hide. To reject this adult’s trust, you didn’t know her, she could hurt you, you don’t know her intentions. But you still followed after her until you reached inside the house that remained empty no sound of Joel or Ellie. Coming around the corner is Tommy and their son held in his arms. “You’re back.”

“Can you go sit at the dining table for a moment?” Maria asks and you nod trailing over to the dinner table to food still set and waiting for someone to eat it. You could hear some muffled voices a whole room separating you from deciphering the words between the couple. The couple returns with the male holding Liam as he places the baby in the highchair. The child babbles at his father before Tommy pulls away heading off to the kitchen with Maria. The baby seems in their own world before he makes eye contact with you and you feel locked in its gaze. A staring contest between a teenager and an infant. Pinned under the child’s innocent gaze unable to react. You weren’t sure what to do. He seems to see something you don’t do before giggles fill the room as it laughs at you. Maria and Tommy return the couple smile softly at the sight.

Your gaze snaps to Maria and Tommy, “I don’t know why it’s laughing at me.” The worried expression only causes the child’s laughter and babbling to increase.

“Well, Liam seems to like you so I don’t think you need to worry about him giggling at you,” Maria says before serving generous portions of food onto a large plate and covering it to keep the food all warm. She gives the plate to Tommy who collects his son and the two head back out and you watch them leave. “Where are they going?” You question as Maria grabs a new plate and starts filling it with a spread of the food placing it at one seat and grabbing a new plate she looks up at you.

“What would you like?” She asks and you look at the food, then the plate, then at her a look of confusion. “What?”

“What would you like to eat? There is chicken, a mix of vegetables, and mashed potatoes with some gravy we also have some leftover cookies but those can be for dessert.” She explains pointing at the different options before you. It hit you hard in the chest what she was doing for you. “You don’t have to stay, I can serve you and you can stay here and I’ll eat somewhere else or you can sit somewhere else in the house if you feel more comfortable.” She reassures you willing to work at your level. To just sit at a table and talk.

“You can choose.” You say fidgeting with the gloves on your hands feeling hot from the layered clothes. She does a spread of the options giving you the option to try everything with portions you would never serve yourself. It was too much food that you didn’t deserve. You weren’t sure you’d ever seen this much food just for you in your life. Maria settles down going to get started on her meal when she looks at you sitting across from her staring at the meal unsure where to start or if you even could. Maria stands up grabbing her plate, “Come on.” She grabs your plate and drink follows after her as the two of you leave the dining room finding yourself in the family room. Maria places her food on the small table in front of the couch gesturing for you to follow.

“You can sit on the floor or the couch whatever you prefer.” She says before moving toward the television to set something up. You sit on the ground your plate of food resting on the table at your chest your legs crossed under the small table. “You can start eating if you’d like. Don’t wait up for me.” She says over her shoulder and the hunger you’ve been holding back has you digging into the meal. Rich flavors and the weight of the fresh warm meal a great feeling in your body. A pleasant sound fills the room as light shines from the tv. Maria sits on the couch her plate resting on her lap as she starts to eat as the film begins on the screen.

“This is one of my favorites.” She says and the film plays and you’re sucked into the story reading the title of the film with wide curious eyes.

“The Lion King? How can a lion be a king?” You say looking back at the older woman, “Just watch the movie.” She says and you return your attention to what’s on screen.

You ended up moving up onto the couch around the midpoint, the food filling you up, and when Maria said that you were allowed to have more servings you declined so full from that. You weren’t sure how you got so invested in the film, feeling a deep sadness and shock when Mufasa died. To be invested in the characters Timon and Pumba a crack of a smile listening to their jokes. By the time the credits came it wasn’t shocking from the full meal, the film, and just the exhaustion from the day's events you drifted asleep your cheek pressed against the arm of the couch your arms acting as a pillow.

Maria got to work quietly cleaning taking your plates to the kitchen and started to pack up the remaining food leaving leftovers for them but having some to give to Joel and Ellie. With the leftovers in hand, she glances at you still asleep on the couch the dim glow of the TV shines on your features before she quietly exits her home to fetch her husband and child.

Joel wasn’t sure what to say or do when you returned. Given Ellie’s outburst that quietly turned to guilt once you fled his brother’s home, they went out looking for you. Looking back at their home, then the stables all the while comforting the young girl who was filled with guilt for the harsh words she had spat. When Ellie suggested a location the young introduced the older one to they ran into Tommy with Liam who reassured them that Maria had you and they were talking things out and to return to their home.

Joel wasn’t expecting Tommy and his nephew to appear at his door with what looked like the meal they were meant to eat. Still, he questioned where you were but Tommy reassured him that Maria was providing her dinner and it would be better to make it a gradual approach involving you in these things. He could understand that, you kept to yourself eating meals alone in your room or at the stables when someone would bring you something, you came and went with little to no warning. Sometimes late a night he had to really strain his already bad hearing for the front door to quietly creak open and even quieter footsteps travel around the first floor before retreating to your room. So the four of them ate the meal Maria prepared in Joel’s dining room. Ellie hoped to apologize to you but for the time being, was able to distract herself with Tommy’s son. Now that it was truly dark and a meal would be over when another knock came at the door and it was Maria with leftovers he couldn’t help but feel slightly frustrated.

“She fell asleep after dinner. Tuckered out from the day.” Maria says while trading the leftovers to Ellie for her son. Joel nods his fingers holding the loops of his belt, “Well myself or Ellie will come over in the morning to collect her.” When he said that he saw the look Tommy and Maria gave each other clearly he was out of the loop with something.

“What is it?” A hint of concern in his tone. “Joel..” Tommy starts not sure the best words as Maria takes Tommy’s hand giving it a reassuring squeeze, “We’d think it might be better if the kid stays with us.”

Joel wasn’t sure how to take that news. Did you ask to stay with them given the events of today? Was it something he did before? “I’m sorry what?” The words didn’t seem to register.

“We just think it might be good for her to be in a more family-oriented environment,” Tommy says and Joel sends him a questioning look, “The hell does family-oriented mean?”

“Joel come on, she stays practically locked up in her room and if not she’s at the stables until she has no choice but to come back. Ellie talks and tries to spend time with her but seriously Joel do you know one thing about her? You both are busy anyways with Ellie in school and you with your patrols she’s left with nothing to do.” Tommy says and Joel feels like this is an attack on his skill of taking care of a child. His hand rests on the broken watch around his wrist. He raises Sarah all by himself with the help of Tommy but it is just him and his babygirl. Then there was Ellie he would say he is raising her well for an ambitious spitfire of a kid. Tommy’s words hurt him and the image he had of being a good parental figure but it shined a light. He saw Ellie as his daughter his kid to protect and care for but in the beginning, you were some brat shoved in his hands as his responsibility now but he couldn’t explain this need to watch over you. Though he did it while keeping a 15-foot pole separating you both.

“You said you couldn’t do it cause of Liam why the sudden change?” Joel wanted to find an excuse just the tiniest one so he could claim he was the better fit but he had no clue why he wished this. The old him would be rejoicing and letting them take you off his hands.

“That’s because we didn’t know her. All of us needed to learn to trust her and we do. She’ll be around at least one of us when with Liam and this might be the first step and getting her out of her shell,” Maria says “She’s been through a lot Joel and she’s only now wants to talk about it. She needs normalcy in her life. I don’t mean this in a wrong way but you and Ellie still live and act like you’re out there fighting to survive.” Now that riled up the older Miller. Sure he kept to himself spoke when only necessary to do his job then returned home to do it all over again but things were different now. Ellie and him had things that they never had out there and being here was their fresh start from everything that has happened to them.

“Tommy.” Joel looked at his brother hoping he would try to defuse the situation and maybe reconsider but he didn’t. “Did you even ask her? Do you really know her well enough to know what’s best for her?” He sounded spiteful a bite to his words.

“Stop it,” Tommy’s voice curt to his brother and his wife, “We just came here to tell you she’s going to be staying with us. Not fight over who knows her better. If she wishes to return to stay with you she’s more than welcome to.” It’s quiet between the three adults before Liam begins fusing and it’s too late for the baby to be out.

“Look you’re welcome to see her. We’re not keeping her away from you Joel but if you really think she’s better off with you. Put some goddamn effort in getting to know her instead of treating her like some stranger.” Tommy says before delivering his brother a pat on his shoulder that was meant to be comforting but only felt like a mockery. The family retreats back to their home as Joel closes the door a weight in his stomach as he stares at the woodgrain on the door.

“Joel?” Ellie’s voice makes him turn from where he stands to find Ellie standing in the living room. He was sure she heard their conversation but didn’t but in. “Is she not staying with us anymore?” Sadness laced her features and it only added more guilty weight to his gut. This wasn’t something he could give some hopeful response that things would be better but he truly didn’t know. You’re decision would be up to you and it may be his fault for not putting in an effort.

“I don’t know kiddo…I don’t know.”

Where the Wild Things Are Tags

@ashisabitgay @bobbypickl3 @christinamadsen @clovergray @cozyphine @daemontargaryenwhore @darthrue @daughterofthequeen @ellistyle @fictional-character-whore @gods-menace @kitdjarin1 @lorenaloveslewis @lovelyygirl8 @lunawants @maelartasch @marvelandhamilton @minaridior @oscarissac2099 @poetoflawed @queenofthekill @rhaenyramistress @scoliobean @stargurl99 @stickthegremlin @supernerdycookietrashblrr @todoroki-simp @ucannotcompare @wife-to-pedro-pascal @your-shifting-gurl

If your name is crossed out tumblr won’t let me tag you for some reason. Sorry :(

#the last of us #the last of us hbo #the last of us fanfiction #joel miller x teen!reader #joel miller x platonic!reader #joel miller x reader #ellie williams #ellie williams x platonic!reader #ellie williams x teen!reader #ellie williams x reader #tommy miller #tommy miller x platonic!reader #tommy miller x reader #where the wild things are #where the wild things are series

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subway-tolkien · 2 years

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I’m a bit concerned about OFMD Season 2, only because I know—I know—there will be a vocal minority of “fans” who are upset that Stede and Ed won’t be in fluffy domestic bliss by the end of the first episode, turn on the show, and start harassing the writers, cast, and crew. They don’t understand—or don’t care—how serialized television works, the importance of conflict and character arcs to a plot, and that everything won’t be resolved ten minutes into the season. It’s frustrating, and not fair to the creators, writers, and everyone else involved in the show.

Yes, I’m basing this on the utterly ridiculous behavior of those who dislike the main antagonist to the point that they’re attempting to get his actor fired and doxxing/harassing people who do enjoy his character. When you are so myopic and entitled and selfish that you’d ruin someone’s career because you don’t like the bad guy he plays, you’re incapable of thinking critically about the media you consume and probably shouldn’t be watching the show until you learn how to process it. Period.

I dislike Izzy’s behavior, but that’s the point of him. I enjoy and appreciate his purpose in the show because his animosity and ulterior motives help drive the plot and provide conflict for the Good Guys to overcome, which makes for good storytelling.

People are basing their enjoyment of the show on whether it measures up to fluffy fanfic and Booktok trends with Canva covers. This is also driven by Netflix’s binge-watching model, where entire seasons are released at once and there’s no waiting to find out what happens. I grew up with weekly episodes and cliffhangers; I can’t imagine how fans nowadays would handle “Who shot JR?” or most of The X-Files.

There’s this all-or-nothing attitude in modern fandom that if the show doesn’t immediately meet their highly specific requirements, they’ll take it out on the fandom and the show itself. This is made even worse because these types of fans exist in an echo chamber that doesn’t allow for any other opinions besides their own.

The fandom’s already struggling, and I don’t want Season 2 to be its death knell.

Anyway, tl;dr—impatient fans with tunnel vision will inevitably be disappointed when everything isn’t completely perfect ten minutes into the second season, and all hell will break loose.

#Our Flag Means Death #OFMD #thoughts on fandom #this is mostly directed at younger fans who were raised online #but there are PLENTY of adults like this #[stares in Star Wars]

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blackbackedjackal · 10 months

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So much irl shit is going on aside from Lobo

We almost lost the farm and nobody told me shit till the day before. Had to basically beg the tax collector and got an extension for another month.

I spent 2 hours, an hour each, yelling at my parents to get their shit together. I’m fucking exhausted. My mom promised to get this house fixed ages ago. Now it’s to the point I can’t take a shower in the house because of how bad the plumbing situation has become. I’ve fucking had enough. I put my foot down. And if two whole ass adults can’t get their shit together, I’m kicking their asses until they do.

Found out there’s some drama going on behind the scenes on tumblr like, listen. Just because someone harasses me doesn’t mean I need defending or that it’s your business to attack the other person. I can handle my shit. I block and am over it. Digging into the other person doesn’t solve anything, especially if you’re not involved. I have ADHD, drama doesn’t interest me or provided dopamine to my silly little brain. I said my peace, it’s over, let it die. I’ve never facilitated a space for people to be shitty to others or advocated for anyone following me to attack someone. You’re not helping, you’re bullying. I’m allowed to vent my frustrations, I’m having a shitty go with life rn, but my frustrations are not your problem.

I’m not exaggerating when I say I’m a stubborn motherfucker (haha) when I need to be. Jackals are small but they’ve survived and thrived in an environment with lions, leopards, hyenas, crocodiles, hippos and when the going gets tough they know when to hold and when to fold. Take that analogy to understand that I can roll with the punches and I’ve got a loving and wonderful partner and wonderful friends who lift me up when I need it. Like yeah, I’m a little fucked up rn, I’m exhausted, but I’m too stubborn to let any silly shit stop me. I may go through this rough patch kicking and screaming but I promise, once the dust settles, I’ll be ok. I always am.

#jackal's journal

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brindletonbabee · 6 months

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Die in traffic dumb bitch!

RE: blacksimlish, her outlandish remarks, allegations & strange case of main character syndrome + her group of minions.

once you start accusing people of things that are not only detrimental to their reputation, but also just insanely inaccurate, how they defend themselves is neither here nor there.

there’s no rules to this shit. they minimized this to it being just “sims” out of convenience, it fits the narrative they’re pushing. if im being harassed for months and weeks on end & then being accused for being amongst the same accounts doing that nasty behavior, im going to be as out pocket as the rumors & attacks are. it stopped being about sims when my character was attacked. it stopped being about sims when the name calling started and it stopped being about sims when ole girl’s personal information was leaked. im not going back and forth publicly anymore, but once my account is unlocked i will be reaching out to yall, trust that!

at no point have i ever excused or justified the doxing. i think that is something that is dangerous and overall unnecessary. if this continues to be a concern, i urge all of those involved to bring law enforcement into this matter. since it has become about safety, please seek all necessary legal means to resolve the matter. as i will fully cooperate to my accounts being subpoenaed and searched for its activity.

blacksim (whose first name is just learned today after her information was leaked btw!) gets to still be accusatory and proceed to be confused as to why she’s getting the reaction she is. the same language she’s using, if someone else said it to her she would be going on a rampage and weaponizing her blackness. but again, defending yourself is only fine when it’s them. defending your character is only acceptable when it’s that group. she is the only person that has ever been attacked on the internet, so anyone who retaliates is wrong.

you’re grasping at straws picking certain words to point the finger, when the reality is no one knows who did that. but AGAIN, they want someone to blame and me being as outspoken as i am made me one of the targets. COOL. what sense does it make to go to tumblr and send someone hate message anonymously when i’ve been arguing with you and your clique publicly? or are yall going to say ive sent this to myself?

the delusion has to stop. apparently im the first and ONLY person to use “woe is me”. to sit and search my tweets is obsessive and weird. all it proves is yall have been watching for months out of jealousy, seething at the mouth waiting to pounce.

i’ll defend my character however i see fit the same way you all do. i won’t be deactivating, deleting or hiding anything, i won’t be apologizing, i won’t be taking anything back. to sit up until 4am when other parties have stopped responding, creating a twitter space to keep talking about it & being weird just genuinely shows the drama is what fuels you. i’m not giving this shit anymore light publicly. for those who want the context, it’s there and they’ve found it and reached out to me.

you provoked a group of people for months on end & we all got tired of your harassment. period point blank. none of us doxed you, we told everyone on twitter about accounts that solely were around to harass, bully and send threats. at no point was that brought up to justify what was done. no one laughed about you being doxed. none of us encouraged it. there is no proof to that and it’s all talk.

again, i implore you to involve law enforcement if you feel your safety is at risk and i will be more than happy to have my lawyer speak on my behalf. unlike others, the lawyer talk is very legit. i don’t play about defamation. reach out to chat further regarding legal action so i can provide the necessary information. thank you.

#stop bothering me #stop being weird #go touch grass #stop speaking on me #mumbling and cackling #it’s weird #how you so scared but sat up until *checks notes* 4 am laughing and lying on a twitter space about the shit?#bye girl #we’re the problem yet my socials have been receiving comments and threats all while you sat on twitter spaces yapping your gums.#the call is coming from inside the house

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thotpuppy · 7 months

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If you’re so vehemently against ai fanart what’s your take on fanmade graphics and edits that use stolen pictures from the internet? These fans didn’t go out with their camera to capture the images themselves, they searched through Pinterest and google and found photos taken by real photographers and, without asking permission, stole these images to edit and create into something else. Yet this practice is widely accepted amongst fandom, but the second ai is involved it’s akin to murder? Even when the fans have clearly uploaded said ai generations into photoshop to edit them first? Seems like a pick-and-choose double standard to me.

Okay first of all, let's address the fact that - going by the language you've used here - you've already decided how I feel about it, so why bother the pretense of "asking"? Dishonesty breeds Discontent. Don't lie to someone's face and expect them to be kind, yeah?

Secondly, almost every single person I know who works with image manipulation uses assets they DO have the rights to outside of specific actor's likenesses. There are millions of photos, graphics, illustrations, paintings, etc. that are open for free personal AND commercial use allllll over the internet and people use them liberally. And, actually, many, MANY of these people DO go out and take their own photographs, so I don't know where your misconception is coming from.

And, the big kicker - they also don't lie about it. They say when something is an edited photo, if it's not obvious.

Stolen images being used in edits is NOT widely accepted and is in fact generally pretty damn frowned upon in most art circles, and I absolutely don't support use of them.

Every single instance of fanart is a rocky road as far as IP infringement goes, but don't put fanartists on the same level as the industry professionals providing celebrity model photos. Unlike in AI and Art Theft, when those photos are used that's bringing attention to the figure in question, not taking it away from an actual creator.

Lastly, where the FUCK do you get off saying ANYONE is comparing AI use to murder? Persecution complex much? I get it, you wanna be a victim so bad, but you're the one stealing from people at YOUR industry level.

AI in general has a metric fuckton of potential to be something genuinely useful to artists of all walks, but the CURRENT industry is too unethically sourced. We need to get control of the market, get stolen works (including, once again, STOLEN LEAKED MEDICAL RECORDS) out of the training data, even if that means starting over from scratch.

Also, we need to get the bullies who think it's okay to do shit like spam a Machine Learning program with a single artist's work to harass them offline, target voice actors who have asked not to have their voices used into harassment campaigns, or lie to celebrities by selling them commercial rights to ML-generated fanart, which right now, they legally CAN'T DO. Because the copyrightable legitimacy of AI/ML works IS currently in debate in courts in the US. So.

Maybe instead of assuming everyone is out to get you, Anon, try not being a douchebag and stealing from fellow fanartists? And if you're gonna steal anyways, at least be honest and don't lie to people trying to convince them it's actually a digital illustration.

We can see the weird, fake blending. We can see the extra fingers, or utensils clipping through plates, or hands disappearing into heads, or shoes that don't end where shoes end. And while I'm not going out of my way to confront anyone about it, I'll just stay here on my own blog, blocking people who post AI, I am not the only person who is angry and disgusted at the lack of integrity and blatant disrespect.

#sterek #doughrito answers #tag your AI so I can block you #don't lie to me and expect me to be chill #and don't act like me making 1 tumblr post means I am the only one doing shit #I haven't messaged a single person about it #I haven't made a single comment #but you bet your ass I fuckin see it when y'all say shit and I KNOW you're lying #it's not a medical necessity you can fucking WAIT like everybody else with a moral bone in their body #im so fucking tired of this shit just be a decent human why is that so hard

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hael987 · 1 year

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The more I think about Kit Connor’s forced coming out, the angrier and sadder I get. It never should have happened.

These people are so chronically online they've forgotten the dangers of the real world (as well as things like common decency, compassion and respect for privacy). They've forgotten what boundaries are, completely lost in a parasocial relationship. You’re not entitled to any aspect of him or his life. People treat him as a commodity, not a person. The disconnect from reality is astounding.

He was harassed to such an extent, he’s just a kid, barely 18! Not to mention a real person’s sexual identity can’t be “queerbait” and how the harassers co-opted that important word just to use it incorrectly to carry out harassment. Further, he repeatedly expressed his desire to not reveal or discuss his sexual identity and that - his wishes and autonomy - was just completely ignored and trampled on.

The cruelty of taking away something deeply personal to someone. A person coming out should hopefully be a moment of self acceptance, self revealing, and self celebration happening if a person chooses to, on their terms. And all of that got taken away from Kit, it deeply saddens me. They took away his control, his power, his feelings of safety (due to the harassment) and also the potential future happiness that he could have experienced if he came out on his own terms. Also the fact that he’s so young and it was forced out of him due to harassment, it truly makes me worry about the impact this will have on him emotionally and developmentally, as well as how he’ll now view and feel about the queer community that should have been a safe-haven for him (members of whom forced this situation upon him).

I know it wasn’t just queer people that harassed him, but I feel that so many people seem to have forgotten their roots and the true nature of our queer community: it’s supposed a celebration, a space of security and togetherness, not some ideology based on gatekeeping. A focus of celebrating and supporting those that are in it, instead of a focus on keeping people from/out of it. That the queer community is supposed to be exactly that - a community. It’s supposed to be safe for queer people, both out and closeted alike. Yet more and more people seem to go out of their way to make it unwelcoming - and worse, unsafe - for the latter (i.e the closeted or the questioning).

Not only is someone’s sexuality none of our business but the whole “only queer people can act queer roles/ write queer characters/sing queer songs/be involved in queer media” movement is so unsafe. Media forms have been and always will be for expression and exploration, both of the world and self. While I appreciate the sentiment probably initially stemmed from good intentions (like providing more opportunities for queer actors/voices/creators, the want for authenticity and accuracy for queer stories, etc.), it doesn’t negate the fact that these extreme totalities, this black-and-white all-or-nothing, are not only reductive* but also harmful**. These mindsets lead to this exact situation Kit found himself in: forcing someone to out themselves just to stop harassment or justify themselves. It’s truly disgusting.

[* and ** under the cut at the bottom.]

What happened to Kit Connor should never have happened. It’s sickening and disheartening that it did. It shouldn’t have mattered how he identified, it wasn’t anyones business but his own. I feel like we should all be ashamed that people thought it was okay to do so. The fact that it happened shows a very real failing in society.

Not to mention the biphobia of the whole thing. It seems it stemmed from that he, a man (actually an 18 y/o boy), supposedly had a girlfriend/is attracted to women. How incredibly biphobic that is. People saw/assumed “girlfriend” and somehow their first instinct was to automatically assume “straight”, get pressed over their own unfounded assumptions, and then demand he prove otherwise. Like why wasn’t the assumption he’s someone attracted to multiple genders and then just drop it? It’s the rampant monosexism/ bi/pan-phobia as well as erasure and invalidation. But if I get started on that point I’ll never stop so I’ll just end this little piece here.

People saying he wasn’t outed because he revealed it himself so it’s ~fine~ are really missing the point. He’s just a kid, how could he withstand that pressure and vitriol being spewed at him online all day, every day. He was left with no other option if he wanted to stop the harassment, his hand was forced. If his options were a) stay silent and suffer horrendous harassment indefinitely or b) out himself to stop the harassment, was it really even a choice? If you cut off all other avenues and leave but one option you can’t then frame that as a “choice”. I guarantee he experienced the same feelings of violation, fear, and loss of power/control that come with an outing.

All in all, I’m so upset by the situation, and my heart really goes out for Kit. I hope he takes time for himself and is surrounded by supportive loved ones. I wish nothing but the best for him going forward.

*reductive:

To enforce such a mindset is oversimplifying things immensely. A person may relate to the role/story/song in some other significant way. It might be an opportunity for someone to understand and explore queer mindsets, struggles and lives. A medium for empathy.

For lack of a better example, as I can’t come up with one spontaneously rn: suppose instead that Kit was Questioning (instead of bisexual). He could have then found acting as Nick - who also goes through the experience of questioning his identity - relatable, or that the experience of studying the character, understanding and acting out the role and mindset incredibly helpful to his own personal journey. Even if he then ultimately discovered he was straight, it was still worthwhile for the role to have been played by such a person. (That was all just an example, not intended to offend or discount his real bisexual identity)

Someone could relate to the struggle of finding, discovering and/or expressing their true self despite not being queer.

Someone could be using it as a form/means to better understand and empathise with a queer person in their life.

Reality/lived experience is never so easily separated, distinct and insulated like some people seem to believe.

**harmful:

It puts someone in a dangerous situation and opens them up to homophobia/transphobia and hate crimes. It jeopardises their future career opportunities (because sadly we are still in a homophobic society and this is a very real risk). It plants the idea that a person’s sexuality is any of our business in the first place thus feeding into a harmful parasocial mentality.

These are but just a few examples and points but there are so many, many more.

#I’m incredibly ill rn so I won’t be engaging with any argumentative interactions I just don’t have the energy #but I’m also so angered and upset by the situation that I had to vent #kit connor #heartstopper #heartstopper cast #long post

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fellomenking · 10 months

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*Cracks Nuckes* Alrighty...

... So!

I’ve a Discord server!

... Long story short, it’s a simp server! Given the kind of blog I run, it should be kind of obvious on who the focus is on!

It’s... Kind of a small-ish server. But I’m lookin’ to sort of expand!

However, I’m not going to hand out invites. Mainly because there was another server before(that shall remain nameless) that got overrun by some toxic peeps. And I would very much like to avoid a repeat of that.

So, with that said: I do have some rules laid out. Please, look ‘em over. And if you’re interested, feel free to hit me with a DM, and I shall provide the invite!

Rules:

No Minors.

This is an 18+ Server. Content of the NSFW nature will be found in the server. With that in mind, there will be absolutely no minors allowed. If you are under the age of 18, you will be removed.

No Harassment. Don't let the term "Maiden" dissuade you. We at Margit's Maidens are welcoming toward all individuals! Any form of discrimination, be it in the form of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia or the like, will not be tolerated.

Anyone who has a history of wishing IRL harm upon persons who have dabbled into fiction that is not to their particular taste will be removed.

Be Respectful. We understand it’s not possible to get along with everyone all the time, but please, do not drag drama in here and do not create drama within the server. If you have an issue with someone in the server, either learn to coexist peacefully, or block the user in question.

As said before, we are a simp server. We're here to share different works, be it from others or our own. Links are always appreciated.

All works are welcome and appreciated, but are not required. I don't want to see anyone tearing down other's works, or posting about "Person X has written about Z and that's bad." It puts a damper on everyone's mood, and tends to lead to hard feelings. We are not here to bring other people down.

Likewise, we do occasionally dabble into discussions regarding lore. And, given that the Soulsborne games leave a lot to the imagination, it often leads to the creation of many headcanons, some of which may contradict lore. Not everyone shares the same headcanon. Which is fine! But please, keep things civil. We don't need anyone fighting over "your headcanon is wrong and mine is right."

"Your kink is not my kink, and that's okay!" Content found in the server can range from vanilla to Dead Dove.

For those unfamiliar with the term, Dead Dove is often associated with works that contain content of a troubling material. Or just isn’t really someone’s cup of tea. Notable examples include Berserk, and A Song of Ice and Fire, the former of which the Soulsborne games are heavily influenced by, and the latter of which the author himself helped shape the story of Elden RIng. Both of these works are known for their grizzly depictions of violence and rape, among many other things.

It's alright. It's perfectly fine if that's not your cup of tea. But I do want you to understand that, whatever is being depicted in fanworks, be it fanart or fanfiction, in-server or out, we are heavily against harassment(see No Harrasment up above.)

I don't want to see anyone shamed for being into scat, non-con or the like. And I especially do not want to see anyone wishing harm on anyone who’s dabbled into works that involve, say, Mohg and Miquella for example.

These are fictional characters. Please, recognize that these events, no matter how upsetting they are, are not real.

If you don’t like it, don’t read.

P.S: I don’t have a server directory made up at the moment, so um... Bear with me on that. ^^

#{{OutOfOmens}}#Morgott the Omen King #margit the fell omen

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gatheringbones · 1 year

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[“Sara Ruddick, in Maternal Thinking (1989)—a groundbreaking work in feminist care ethics—frames preservative love as one of the central acts of mothering, which is the relational position from which she derives an entire epistemology of care. It’s important to note, as well, that Ruddick understands “mothering” to be a practice taken up by persons of any gender; rather, anyone who commits themselves “to responding to children’s demands, and makes the work of response a considerable part of her or his life, is a mother” (xii). Preservative love is shorthand for all of those acts that keep a being alive and intact, and it is characterized by a specific response to the vulnerability of an other. It means “to see vulnerability and to respond to it with care rather than abuse, indifference, or flight”. It doesn’t require a particular affective orientation—we don’t have to be cheerful or enthusiastic about it, and we may indeed feel deeply ambivalent about such forms of care. Ruddick: “what we are pleased to call ‘mother-love’ is intermixed with hate, sorrow, impatience, resentment, and despair”.

Of course, only some trans folks are children, and not all trans people engage in mothering. But if you’re a person of trans experience and involved in trans communities, you know that intensified forms of vulnerability and exposure to violence and debility continue to inform trans lives across age groups. In addition to this, transition also scrambles normative temporalities of development. We have “second puberties” well into adulthood; we have “big brothers” or “big sisters” mentor us through transition because, though they may be younger in years, they’ve initiated transition long before us. We sometimes come from childhood homes that did not adequately provide the forms of preservative love and nurturance that form the crux practices of mothering. Alternately, we may have these forms of motherhood reduced or withheld upon the revelation of our transness. This is all to say we remain in need of mothering (in the many-gendered, expansive sense of the word) well into adulthood.

Trans historian Morgan M Page has given us a golden rule as we navigate the spaces of social media, and it is deeply informed by the ethos of preservative love. The rule is simple. “I do not shit-talk other trans people in public. If I truly have a problem that must be addressed, I speak to them directly”. She goes on to unpack what motivates the rule: the high incidence of mental health struggle in trans communities means that call-outs and online harassment sometimes translate to self-harm and suicide. In addition to this, the rising tide of antitrans organizing has made a practice of solidarity across difference increasingly crucial. We can ill afford to be locked in self-aggrandizing battle with one another. This is doubly so when we consider that the online spaces wherein we congregate—from the Yahoo groups and chatrooms of yore to the networks we inhabit on Twitter, Instagram, and all of the closed groups on Facebook that effectively operate as both support groups and skillshares—are the only trans-majority spaces to which many of us have access.”]

hil malatino, trans care, 2020

#hil malatino #currently reading #trans literature #gender stuff

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my-mt-heart · 5 months

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Hi MT, I just need to say something that's bothering me for weeks.

Yes, Melissa is back, obviously. Yes, we'll probably all watch The Book Of Carol. Does that mean we aren't allowed to state our opinion anymore?

Lately, I see people hyping S2 including rumors, sightings and pics. Which is amazing of course but personally, I still have and probably will always have a bad taste in my mouth.

It's the Daryl show. It's been for 1 1/2 years. Since they announced Melissa is out and no matter how many times NR says, :she's always been involved", she wasn't.

The whole show revolves around him. Him leaving his home, getting lost, finding allies and a way back home. Even with a heavy Carol oriented second season, it's still the Daryl show. What about the subtitle for S3 or maybe S4? The main title will always be the same, Daryl Dixon.

I don't want to shit in anyone's oatmeal. It's great that people are happy and hyped for S2. I can't wait to see our beautiful Carol and Melissa again. BUT I was hyped for a Caryl SO. Look at all we get at the moment. Still no Melissa. Yes, she's been always invisible until a certain point but it's not her equal SO, it's still Daryls and will always be. In articles, interviews, they'll always refer to its name, Daryl Dixon.

If anyone is thinking it isn't intentional, I'm sorry to burst your bubble. It is, very obvious so. The SO can have 5 subtitles, it's still the Daryl Dixon show.

It doesn't matter if Melissa was pushed out or if she left on her own will (it's still making me mad but it's a different topic), as soon as she was on board they should've gone with Raise The Dead or another title.

They didn't, they won't, they will always disrespect Carol and Melissa, no matter if she chose to come back. It continues to be the Daryl Dixon Spin Off.

Everyone hyping Melissa’s return and hoping for good Caryl stories is right to do so. Some may not think so, but I’m still holding out hope (I wouldn’t have any at all if Melissa’s EP title didn’t carry any weight). That being said, everyone who’s pointing out the issues with the title, other story elements, or the things being said in interviews are right to do so too. I wish it boiled down to one’s own outlook, positivity or negativity, but it doesn’t (I hate that dichotomy). It’s not on any of the fans. Yes, there are those who cross boundaries, who harass and threaten, and that’s not okay. Criticism in general though? Not only is it okay, it’s the only chance there is to change things. You seem to think Melissa/Carol will never be treated equally. Personally, I think it is possible 🤷🏻‍♀️ AMC needs to understand what the target audience wants, they need to know their revenue depends on how well they deliver what the target audience wants, and they need to hire a showrunner with the authority and the insight into the target audience to actually deliver what they want. How can we help ensure that? Talking about it. You don’t like that Carol’s name is only a subtitle? Say so. Don’t like the shipbaiting? Caryl’s ambiguity? Retcons? The gaslighting in the media? Say so. Or, if you just want to focus on what you’re looking forward to, do that. That’s my long-winded way of saying, yes, you’re allowed to have an opinion and you’re allowed to voice it respectfully provided you also respect the opinions of others who disagree ❤️

(I don’t think I need to say this at this point, but for what it’s worth, I share all of your frustrations)

#caryl #carol peletier #melissa mcbride #caryl spinoff #darylneedscarol #carol x daryl #the book of carol #twd caryl

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proudfreakmetarusonniku · 1 year

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the way you’re handling this is sad. Quackity is not only ignoring Dream but some of the people on his own SMP who also reached out with concerns. Dream has been nothing but mature, concerned and empathic throughout this entire situation and your response is to call him pathetic?

Quackity ignoring a friend that he’d been very close with before is concerning in itself and I personally find his silence to be very worrying. It isn’t right to just. go after dream for no reason when compared to Quackity i’d say he’s handled this drama with a good amount of maturity and concern for someone he considers a friend.

And bringing up dsmp lore in comparison to this rubs me the wrong way. Dream admits that he’s been being stalked, harassed and threatened because of *minecraft server drama* and your response is to compare it to c!dream knowing.. c!tommy didn’t want to be his friend?

i’m just overall a little bit appalled how you can possibly respond to the situation like this when it is Quackity who has been the one handling this poorly by putting off an issue and allowing his fanbase to harass and attack other creators.

“Dream has been mature” he’s been constantly going on about how omg quackity hates me when he didn’t have any communication with quackity about it. that’s not mature. that’s the fucking opposite of mature. that’s petty high school mean girl shit.

cutting off someone who got nudes of fans at the Very least and potentially groomed minors is Normal Actually. why would you wanna say a tearful goodbye to a sex pest. Plus, the thread indicates that other people struggled with getting into contact with quackity meaning he was probably fucking busy and had a life and not focusing on Twitter drama!!! how tf is he meant to know about drama and shit if he's spending most of his time working on his server.

quackity has done Literally Nothing, yet you blame him and see him as the aggressor. everything quackity does he gets judged a million times harder than any white creator. when quackity doesn’t engage with a situation at all, that he has no reason to because hes clearly uninterested and has busy work of his own, he’s at fault for the harassment his community sends, but when dream quote retweets someone and makes fun of them for petty shit it’s all uwu he can’t control his fans! when dream buys a trump flag it’s swept under the rug, when quackity downloads a popular mod that has racist mobs in it (which is bad and I’m not trying to downplay it but it’s nowhere near as intentional as buying a literal trump flag) hes irredeemable even when he removes it. and it’s so obvious that you’re doing this because he's a person of colour. maybe not consciously, but you’re condemning him for doing shit dream has done that you defend. do I think quackity is perfect? no, of course not. but it’s weird to condemn a poc for things you let his white peers slide on.

and there’s like 0 indication that the threats involved anything to do with the usmp. dream himself doesn’t even provide any evidence or proof they’re related. a lot of people really hate dream. from racist kiwi farmers who hate that he’s openly nd to people who don’t like misogynistic creeps. we have no indication which one of those groups tried to harm or stalk dream and his family, and assuming it was Quackity's fanbase with zero shown evidence or even ancedotes is fucking weird. it’s weird to put that into a statement about how your friend fell out with you- it’s implying they’re somehow related when they’re not. even if they were, there was literally no way quackity could have known and it’s wild to bring it up in a post about him ghosting you. it’s guilt trippy and weird. no one should trivialise or accept what happened to dream, but you shouldn’t try and tie it into private friend drama if you’re not gonna provide any proof of it being relevant.

#Dream neg #dream critical

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noonesgaylikegatson · 9 months

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July 31, 2023

O’Shae Sibley was at a Brooklyn gas station with friends late Saturday night, filling up a car and blasting music by Beyoncé when a group of men approached and told them to stop dancing, according to friends.

The men began using slurs and Mr. Sibley, 28, a gay man who was a professional dancer and choreographer, confronted them, according to his friends and a video of the altercation. The argument escalated and one man stabbed Mr. Sibley, according to the police. Otis Pena, one of Mr. Sibley’s best friends, pressed on his wound to stop the bleeding before he was taken to Maimonides Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

“They murdered him because he’s gay, because he stood up for his friends,” Mr. Pena said in a Facebook video that he posted hours after the killing on Coney Island Avenue in Midwood. “His name was O’Shae and you all killed him. You all murdered him right in front of me.”

No arrests had been made by Monday, but the police said that the hate crimes unit was involved in the investigation.

The killing has devastated Mr. Sibley’s family — he is one of 11 siblings — and unnerved the city’s gay community. While the motive remains under investigation, the attack was a reminder of the biases that L.G.B.T.Q. people face.

The Anti-Defamation League and the advocacy group GLAAD issued a report in June indicating an increase in harassment and violence against gay and transgender people, including online bullying, gatherings of armed protesters outside drag shows and bomb threats against hospitals that provide gender transition care. In the first three weeks of June there were 101 such incidents, more than twice the number during the same time period the year before.

Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a gay state senator in New York, said he was “heartbroken and enraged” over Mr. Sibley’s killing.

“Gay joy is not crime,” he said on Twitter. “Hate-fueled attacks are.”

Mr. Sibley had moved from Philadelphia before the pandemic, hoping New York would provide more auditions and opportunities, said an aunt, Tondra Sibley, 49.

“It was a senseless crime,” she said. “O’Shae has always been a peacemaker. All he wanted to do was dance.”

She recalled him as a small boy, “gyrating and jerking” to Missy Elliott. When he got older, he honed his skills at the Philadelphia Dance Company and, on the advice of instructors, began ballet, taking advantage of his long, athletic frame.

Kemar Jewel, a 31-year-old choreographer and director, met Mr. Sibley in Philadelphia 13 years ago at the Attic Youth Center, where gay teenagers could go for after-school programs and activities. They were only a few years apart, but Mr. Sibley saw him as a mentor. “He was like, ‘You’re my uncle. I’m going to call you uncle,’” Mr. Jewel said.

Goofy and fun-loving, Mr. Sibley was serious about his craft. He would hunker down at Mr. Jewel’s apartment until 3 a.m. to study dance videos, from vogueing to the modern techniques introduced by Martha Graham and Lester Horton, American dancers and choreographers born around the turn of the 20th century.

“O’Shae was so well versed. He was great at tap, ballet, hip-hop,” Mr. Jewel said. “He was an incredible visual learner. I’ve seen him watch someone do something twice and then just do it.”

Mr. Jewel, who is in London working on a show, said he was sleeping on Sunday morning when Mr. Pena called to tell him what had happened.

At the gas station, Mr. Sibley and his friends had been playing “Renaissance” by Beyoncé and vogueing, a style of dance that began as an imitation of fashion models in the 1980s and has evolved as an expression of pride and protest.

That is when the group of men approached, calling them names, Mr. Jewel said, recalling the account of Mr. Pena, who could not be reached for comment.

Both Mr. Sibley and Mr. Pena told them, “Stop saying that. There is nothing wrong with being gay.”

Mr. Sibley fought with them, and he was stabbed as Mr. Pena ran to intervene, Mr. Jewel said.

At the Brownsville building where Mr. Sibley lived alone in a studio, his neighbor, Beckenbaur Hamilton, 51, said he had warned the younger man against being so open about his sexuality. Mr. Hamilton, who is also gay, recalled attacks he had suffered in his 20s when going out to clubs, and said that he has recently been overhearing comments on the street about “all these rights” gay people have.

“O’Shae wasn’t afraid of being who he was,” Mr. Hamilton said. “He would defend his friends.”

They loved dancing outside and delighted in drawing a crowd. “But I’d see how people looked at them,” Mr. Hamilton said. “There was a worry in the back of my mind.”

In his video, Mr. Pena described Mr. Sibley as his brother and said the two were “always out and loud.”

“We as a community don’t deserve this,” Mr. Pena said. “We may be gay, but we exist. We’re not going to live in fear. We’re not going to live hiding.”

#gmadi #gay men #hate crime #tw #murder #death #O’shae Sibley #mercury

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bloomingdead · 1 month

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What do you comprehensively about focus of the heart? It’s definitely a project that’s certainly *there* with some talented folks on it.

This ask has been sitting in my box for a while, and I’ve resisted responding to it because I really don’t want beef with anyone on the project. My personal experience with those I have engaged with has been unpleasant, but that doesn’t fault their product nor everyone working on it. Also, I may jump around quite a bit because a lot of my feelings on FOTH have nothing to do with the game itself (it’s still in development) and everything to do with the “discourse” and reasons surrounding its creation.

Let me preface by saying, I’m incredibly impressed that the artists involved were able to come together to create a project inspired by the fandom they all love so much. Artist groups are a really great way to gain visibility as an artist. You could be making art that never reaches the people who would want to see it, but if you group together with other similar artists and support each other, your audiences begin to overlap and grow. That seems to be working really well for the people behind FOTH.

I should also warn that I am not the biggest fan of “fanon” content. I haven’t read a fanfic in its entirety in at least 10 years and I don’t make much content other than the occasional doodle and think-piece ramblings. I have nothing against shipping, headcanons, and AU’s. I partake in all of these myself, I have no issue with it. What I do have an issue with is people who say a creator intended for fanon that doesn’t exist in canon. Or people twisting dev’s words to their benefit, pulling things out of context to bolster their opinions. This has created conflict in the past between me and an artist or few on this project.

Shipping is very popular in the Horizon fandom, and has been since the first game was released. Zero Dawn provided us with many potential new friends for Aloy, some of which many fans were left confused as to how Aloy truly felt about them. After all, Ashly Burch who portrays Aloy is pansexual, and she claimed that over half the characters she’s played are queer. And Aloy, although inexperienced and unsure of herself in Zero Dawn, was definitely left flustered at some point by many of the popular shipping characters.

So why did it take the release of Burning Shores, a DLC that finishes with Aloy declaring her romantic attraction to a new companion, for the fandom to put together a dating sim? The Burning Shores DLC was released on April 19th 2023. The first post on the Official FOTH Tumblr was made on June 7th 2023. Their “About Us” post from the same day, says in the second sentence that they decided to create the game, “in the wake of negative internet discourse about fandom shipping.”

Negative discourse? What does that even mean in this context? Are they referring to devout fanon members harassing the game devs and Kylie Liya Page for the creation of Seyka as Aloy’s love interest? Who the fuck, other than people mad about Seyka, were creating fandom discourse around shipping Horizon characters at that time? Kylie Liya Page has literally been cyberbullied from the day the game came out. Yes, it’s died down considerably, but the only negativity surrounding shipping in the fandom was created by the very people who love shipping the most. Kylie was still experiencing the thick of this “negative internet discourse” six months ago.

So many of the very same people who desperately wanted Aloy to get her first romance, are the ones who were most off-put by Seyka’s story. It wasn’t good enough, it was forced, rushed, chosen “for me.” No, Seyka was chosen for Aloy, not you. A lot of people seem to forget that the role-playing element in Horizon is more of a tone-check. Heart, Brain, Fist. You’re not choosing Aloy's response, but how she responds. Is she going to address this compassionately, pragmatically, or stoically? Your attitude will be remembered in future conversations, but your choices have no effect on the quests or ending of the game. Your options in quests are to complete them as intended, or don’t do the quest.

We were never going to get multiple options for Aloy’s romantic partner in this game. She could still have another! Seyka doesn’t have to be the endgame, most people don’t end up with their first love. But how shitty would it be for us to lose Seyka completely as a character in the third game, because Kylie doesn’t want to come back and face that abuse again, or because the devs don’t want to subject her to that or lose more fans over it? What if they get rid of Seyka with a shitty write-off, and then Aloy ends up alone? We’ve now seen that she’s capable of opening her heart and experiencing that kind of character development. It would suck to have that taken away.

When you’re allowed to do whatever you want in fanon space, why go out of your way to harass the creators of the canon? Why bully fellow fans for having different opinions than you? You were already imagining these made up relationships that don’t exist, why does Aloy having a canon love interest ruin that? Why is Aloy having a canon love interest a disruption to fanon? It isn’t a disruption to fanon, clearly, as the creation of and support for FOTH has proved. Not only just by simply existing, but by their inclusion of Seyka in the game.

I was accused of being a bigot because I posted on my own blog that Aloy reads as a lesbian to me. I was harassed after Burning Shores came out for joking that we now have more proof of Aloy being a lesbian than bisexual. I’m a silly little lesbian, I see gay bitch, I want a lesbian. But that’s an opinion that exists in my mind, and on tumblr. It’s definitely not something I’m going to bring to the devs and accuse them of dancing around. Because still, as it stands, Aloy is most likely coded as pan/bi. It doesn’t warrant me or the thousands of other lesbian fans being harassed over a headcanon, though.

To me, and probably most people who genuinely feel normally about this game, there are way bigger issues in this fandom than anti-ship. There have been way bigger concerns surrounding how the developers and actors have been treated by the fans. There are way worse attacks conducted by fans who love shipping content than those who hate it. There have been worse attacks on people in this fandom by people "defending" their favorite ships than by outsiders in the gaming community that invade our spaces to tell us how mannish and ugly Aloy is. The people who think shipping is the biggest point of discourse in this fandom are most likely the same ones perpetrating it.

FOTH portrays their product as bravely pushing the boundaries on something that is going to receive backlash because it is shipping content. It represents itself as an amalgamation of all the shipping content in the fandom, dedicated to it. The language applied is intended to attract anyone who is cool with shipping, which I’m pretty sure is over 95% of this website. Definitely over 95% of the Horizon fandom. A genius move, from a marketing standpoint.

“What? That’s ridiculous, why are they facing negative discourse for a silly little dating sim? I’m cool with shipping, they get my support.”

It is ridiculous, isn’t it? Tumblr is full of shipping, how is a tumblr account for a dating sim finding itself in a position where it has to preemptively address negative discourse on the first day of the official blog existing? It’s because the negative discourse they’re warning against isn’t aimed at shipping, it’s aimed at the aggression seen from the creators on their personal blogs in regards to their favorite ship. But they opened with the discourse statement so that if they ended up receiving criticism from the people they bullied, there’d be a potential for fans of their project to blindly defend them because FOTH prefaced that all their haters just hate shipping.

That one statement from their account tells me that FOTH seems to be picksy-choosing what issues in this fandom warrant concern. Apparently, calling Aloy a lesbian is a bigger offense than sending death threats to actors and developers. Apparently, the worst discourse to happen in the Horizon fandom is because of those who defended Seyka from unwarranted hate and not the people who were enraged with her addition to the series. Apparently, FOTH wants to ignore all the harassment the devs of Horizon went through, but keep their fans aware that any so-called hate (criticism) that the FOTH creators face is simply unjustified and toxic. They opened their blog with an attempt to alienate anyone who might ever have a reason to criticize the game.

I won’t be playing FOTH, I have little interest in it besides innate curiosity. The closest I get to touching dating sims is fantasy RPG’s though, so I likely wouldn’t be playing it regardless.

As I stated in the opening, my feelings about FOTH have nothing to do with the game itself and rather the people behind it and the circumstances that brought it to fruition. I don’t think every artist behind it has the altruistic goal of simply creating something fun for everyone in the fandom to enjoy, I think some of them are just scratching an itch. If they were looking for something productive to place their frustration into, they found it. I’d be interested to know which pairings end up being the most fleshed out, and which ones are lacking. Especially since every artist got assigned to a character they genuinely enjoy. DM me privately to place your bets.

So, I guess, TLDR; I’m not going to try and stop anyone from playing Focus On The Heart, but I don't trust all the people working on it nor their intentions. For Reasons™.

#horizon #fanon #ask #rae rants #this is a fuckin long one holy shit #sorry i just love sociology and the reasons around why i dont like this game are too tumblr-sociological to resist explaining

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jess-moloney-malarkey · 2 months

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I make what? Like maybe two posts a month, when I think of it.

The hate blog posts incessantly, daily. Spamming the Jamie tag with vitriol about Jess and insulting other Jamie fans who come to disagree. And they came on to my blog today, after blocking me months ago, to instigate a back and forth via DM and publicly, on this random Tuesday. When my last post prior to today was from two weeks ago.

But it’s me. I’m the one who craves attention. I’m the bully and attention seeker.

I made this blog, yes. But I didn't make this blog to harass them. I made it to provide a different perspective about Jess, against the perspective the hate blog has. Then I realized I actually wasn’t interested in combing through obscure issues that 1.) mean nothing to me and 2.) are near impossible to confidently prove or disprove without any of us actually having being involved. And the post numbers on both our blogs don’t lie about which one of us cares more, and makes more time to care about people we don’t know.

And before “you say you didn’t care and don’t have time, but you’re still posting!!!” yeah I hear you. Even if I didn’t post anything else after your onslaught, you would keep saying how you were right about me because I didn’t respond. That’s your MO, you always are right no matter what side of the coin it lands on.

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peace-coast-island · 13 days

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Diary of a Junebug

Searching for hidden gems while overcoming trust issues simply by doing our best

I try to generally keep a somewhat optimistic outlook on people, but sometimes I come across something and my reaction’s along the lines of disappointed but not surprised. The lengths some people will go to mistreat another and try to justify their behavior is disturbing, but I guess that’s in their nature. However, that doesn’t mean that they can get away with it all the time. Sooner or later, they’ll have to pay for their transgressions, and maybe that’s why it’s always good to hold out a tiny bit of hope that things will change for the better.

It’s not easy to escape a shitty situation, and it’s not easy moving on from it. Just because you’re in a much better place now doesn’t mean that the trauma you’ve experienced goes away overnight. Things like trust issues, anger and resentment, and the feeling of being broken and unlovable - those are the kinds of scars that stay with you. That doesn’t mean you can’t overcome them, it just takes a lot of time and effort, and it is far from easy.

What sparked this whole thing was two different incidents that are kinda connected in a way. But first, let me go back and explain why we’re in Yuexing for a sort of impromptu event. And what kind of activity would that be? A gyroid event, of course!

Globe gyroids are kinda uncommon and tend to pop up wherever and whenever they want. We know for certain that they tend to show up in places with high cliffs and soil rich with various minerals, and so Yuexing fits that description. And also, besides the gyroids, we’re also here to check out the jade since it’s said to be very high quality. Good thing I know someone who knows someone who can give us access to the good stuff without breaking the bank.

Connie was the one who heard about the globe gyroids and told me and Isabelle about it. Part of the reason why they invited us up here for that is so we can sort of provide a good distraction for some people who could really use a break. After the ordeal they went through, they really do deserve to take it easy.

What brought this on were Sophea’s latest clients, an adventuring trio dealing with harassment due to unsubstantiated rumors and likely just bad luck. Basically, three complete strangers came together to become an adventuring team, rising probably a bit too quickly in the ranks, causing some to become suspicious of their success. As with most cases like that, it’s just a series of coincidences and pure luck, especially when you consider their backgrounds and combined talents.

In this case, there’s the party leader Nikolai, a seasoned adventurer, so someone with a lot of expertise and knowledge when it comes to that kind of stuff. Then there’s Saff who, like Sophea, is half human and half mystical beast, so she’s someone with unique skills and life experiences. And then Cerise, who comes from a noble family of mages in another land, meaning they’re quite powerful in terms of politics and influence.

It’s not uncommon for underdogs to suddenly rise up in ranks, although it certainly does cast suspicion depending on who you ask. However, in most cases, these suspicions are unfounded - but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t instances where some people use underhanded methods to climb their way to the top. The investigations are really to protect the adventurers under question as often times these rumors are usually started by someone who opposes them, usually out of jealousy.

What made this particular case difficult is the parties that are involved. In other words, two separate but similar motives in an attempt to discredit someone. And to make matters even more complicated, it’s the kind of harassment that puts someone in danger, which is why law enforcement has to get involved. What a mess that is.

First, there’s Nikolai being outed by his former mentor. Said mentor was like a parent to him, the one who raised him to become a capable adventurer, groomed him to be his successor, blah, blah, blah. Except things didn’t go the way the mentor had planned because Nikolai - surprise, surprise - is his own person with his own thoughts, options, methods, and moral compass. Basically, his mentor’s adventure party is involved with a lot of shady stuff and he didn’t agree to that, which ultimately led to him getting kicked out.

Of course, at first Nikolai just went along with it because he had no other choice - can’t fault him for that. Still, he couldn’t help but feel guilty for being a bystander while his mentor and comrades get away with scamming others. And because they were quite wealthy and powerful, that inevitably complicated things as there was no way to fight back without repercussions.

Eventually, he reached his limit when a particular incident went too far. At least at that point, when they inevitably kicked him out, at least he’d be able to support himself for a time. He had hoped that his other party members would stand by his side, especially his now ex-girlfriend, only to be disappointed in the end. And now they’re claiming how they’ve been “deceived” by him after he was outed. Some friends they are.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to bounce back. He, Saff, and Cerise happen to regulars at a local bar, so that’s how they met. It was crowded that night and they ended up sharing a table. Then they got drunk and opened up to each other about their woes and trust issues. Next thing they knew, they headed off to the local adventure’s guild to register as a team.

Initially, they just went on missions so they could pay their bills, though as time went on, they slowly came to trust each other. It wasn’t long before they started taking on difficult missions and climbing the ranks. Really, there’s not that much to it other than that.

Saff, like Nikolai, was once affiliated with a party who later tossed her aside. She’s originally from the north, though she believes her mythical beast roots are from Yuexing, which was why she moved there. She didn’t go into much detail other than her so-called friends were just using her and taking all the credit for her accomplishments. And then one day, for reasons unknown, they decided she was of no use to them anymore, so they robbed her and left her for dead in the middle of a dungeon.

Somehow she got rescued and later found out that her party left to travel west while telling others that Saff met a tragic end. By the time she reported the incident, their whereabouts became unknown, so it’s out of her hands now. As soon as she recovered and was told to leave the rest up to the authorities, Saff left, determined to make a clean break. Although she could care less about her ex-friends, they are considered fugitives, so when they finally get caught - well, that’s another legal mess she’ll have to deal with later. Besides, with everything else going on, it’s a good thing that they’re not involved with the current situation.

Cerise, unlike the others, had no prior experience as an adventurer. Despite hailing from a prestigious clan, she was treated like an outsider because she is disabled, which they are ashamed of. She considers it a mixed blessing that her parents sent her off to boarding school as it distanced herself from them. Although she’s the eldest, she was always infantilized and bullied, especially by her younger siblings and cousins. Had she stayed home, she doubts she’d be alive by now. Yikes.

She figured that when word got out that she had become an adventurer, no one would care. Instead, what she got as a response was not only hostility, but straight up harassment from certain people in her family. Cerise knew that they had little faith in her, though she never thought that they seriously assume that she had malicious intentions or something. She was under the false assumption that if she was able to prove that she could stand on her own, she’d finally get the respect she rightfully deserves. If only it were that simple…

Instead, when they realized that Cerise could take care of herself given the right accommodations, they interpreted that as her needing to be coddled in order to do the bare minimum, therefore, she’s nothing but a spoiled brat who can’t take care of herself. Again, yikes. She stopped expecting too much from them a long time ago, but when they started making her question whether or not she deserves autonomy over her own life, it’s no wonder why it’s hard for her to stand up for herself.

Cerise and Saff’s troubles began not too long after Cerise’s family heard about the investigation. Saff was unwittingly dragged into the family drama and lost her cool when she witnessed the bullying Cerise had to put up with. So she jumped to her friend’s defense, though she admits that she overstepped her boundaries a bit - still, she meant what she said for the most part. She and Cerise didn’t expect her siblings and cousins to blow things way out of proportion, labeling Cerise as a helpless puppet and Saff as manipulative mastermind. In other words, it was a private dispute turned into a spectacle, which inevitably added even more fuel to the fire. Situations like that never turn out well for both sides regardless of who’s right or who’s wrong.

The initial investigation was nothing remarkable, just a routine thing to make sure no one’s cheating, or abusing their power, or pulling some strings - and that should’ve been it. But no, now some people with petty grudges had to come in and start up some flames of their own. And for what? Revenge? Jealousy? Or are they just a bunch of whiny bitches who can’t stand the fact that their victims are doing better without them? Beats me. Though, considering the roots of these attacks are basically transphobia and ableism, it’s pretty obvious what their angle is.

As if the harassment and bullying isn’t enough, Cerise came across another thing that’s pretty fucked up. Basically, her siblings and cousins have been making bets on how Cerise will die because, A, adventurers live a high-risk lifestyle, and so their lifespans if they’re a mortal human are obviously shorter. And B, there’s a likely chance that she would commit suicide. So they’re making bets on whether she’d die by accident, murder, or suicide - what the fuck. And not only that, they also plan on profiting from her death, making it out to be sensational tragedy or something to draw sympathy or something. I’m like okay…that’s really fucked up and disrespectful…what the fuck is wrong with these people?

In light of that disturbing information, that prompted Sophea and Connie to tell the trio to get their affairs sorted out. They may not have much to their names right now, but that won’t stop their enemies from taking advantage of them when they’re dead. In Nikolai’s case, if he doesn’t put an executor on paper, his old mentor could easily swoop in and take over. So that means nothing would stop him from not only stealing what little property and assets he had, it’s also likely that he’d bury Nikolai under his deadname, leaving him to be misgendered and disrespected for eternity. What better way to disrespect the dead than to disregard their identity?

In Cerise’s case, Sophea notes some similarities with a high profile case she took on recently that’s still on the public’s mind. It involved the downfall of a once prestigious clan following various scandals, including allegations of abuse towards the former master’s eldest daughter. The daughter, like Cerise, has a mild intellectual disability, and so her father was ashamed of her existence. Thankfully, after she was thrown out of the house, another family took her in, and the head of that family, a general whose sister is an acquaintance of Sophea’s, later proposed to her.

Not too long after Lifeng took Shuyi under his wing, the allegations came out, which Shuyi’s father tried to deny at first. Some time later, Shuyi was reunited with her mother’s family, who were forced to cut off contact when her mother married into the Yulin clan. Basically, it was an arranged marriage for political reasons. After his first wife died, the former head of the Yulin clan married his mistress and they had a daughter who was going to be his successor.

While getting reacquainted with her mother’s relatives, Shuyu and her uncle came across her mother’s will that was hidden away long ago. To no one’s surprise, the Yulin head forged his first wife’s will so he could put himself as executor and take everything for himself. There has been suspicions, but without evidence, like an actual physical document, it was only speculation. As the family suspected, the authentic will maintained her brother as the executor and her daughter as the sole benefactor. And that put the final nail in the coffin for the Yulin clan.

The last thing Shuyu and Lifeng wanted was for the whole thing to become a public spectacle, but the ex-master apparently was desperate to save face. The legal mess that followed thanks to him was a nightmare, so most legal advisors dared not to get involved. Sophea was understandably reluctant too, but because she’s well acquainted with the Tianyu clan and is known to not be easily swayed or bribed, she was the best advisor who could put this potentially drawn out legal debacle to a swift end.

Because two powerful families are involved, the case was bound to draw a lot of attention. The general public was sympathetic to Shuyu and felt she deserved what was rightfully hers. When her father realized that, he tried to justify his abuse towards her in some desperate attempt to gain favor. Obviously, it didn’t work, and that led to an infamous confrontation in the courtroom when he made some speech about how his daughter was feebleminded and that she would never amount to anything - basically shit like it’s for her own good or she wouldn’t have known better.

By then, Shuyu was understandably fed up and told her father to go fuck himself, which surprised everyone in the room because she was said to be soft spoken and somewhat passive. Then again, we all have out limits. Sophea had a feeling that if it wasn’t for the fact that he was in public, he probably would’ve killed his daughter right on the spot. In the end, the Yulins refused to accept their downfall and committed suicide, blaming Shuyu for what happened. Shuyu’s sister is missing, though most likely dead considering how loyal she was towards her parents.

There’s still a lot of unresolved stuff with the Yulin case, but at least Shuyu’s no longer in their clutches. Sophea has to work with the estate in terms of giving Shuyu the money and property that’s rightfully hers, which will take a while considering the mess her father left behind. It’s not an ideal resolution, though it’s a start. As long as Shuyu’s safe and happy, that’s what really matters in the end.

With that case fresh in her mind, it makes sense that Sophea wants to make sure Nikolai, Cerise, and Saff get their affairs in order to avoid an incident like with Shuyu’s mother. It may not seem like a big deal, especially if you think you don’t have much to your name, but people should have a say in regards to how they want their death to be handled. It’s just basic decency and respect. Plus, in places like Yuexing, it’s also a cultural thing - deaths and funeral rites are big deal over there, so it must be done with utmost respect.

In light of finding out that certain people are making a game out of her supposed death in hopes of profiting off it, Cerise wants to know all she can about the topic of making a final will and testament to avoid being exploited when her time comes. Nikolai, knowing full well that his former mentor’s the type to disrespect someone’s wishes just because he can, also wants to delve more deeply into that - not just to protect himself, but to also protect others in a similar situation. Saff’s indifferent, mainly because she’s not a mortal, but that doesn’t mean she’s invincible. Better get those final affairs sorted out now rather than never, Sophea and Connie had warned her. They would know.

Despite the heavy stuff they’re dealing with, the trio’s glad that most of their troubles are behind them now that Sophea and Connie are helping out. Nikolai’s former mentor is currently in a lot of hot water because of an unrelated problem and now that the general public knows about his various transgressions like harassing and outing his former student, it’s safe to say that there’s no coming back from that. Whatever happens to his ex-mentor from here on out is no longer Nikolai’s concern.

As for Cerise, her situation’s a bit more complicated, but for now, the best thing she can do is shut them out, which is fine by her. Besides, with one of Yuexing’s best legal advisors around, Cerise knows that her family isn’t stupid enough to fight a losing battle unlike a certain former clan. Plus, she’s done trying to bend over backwards just to get approval from those who will never respect her. She’s found people who care for her unconditionally and won’t get mad at her for being slow and constantly make mistakes, and she’s found that to be more than enough. If certain people have an issue with that, well, fuck them for hating on someone’s happiness.

The one upside to all of this mess is that it allowed the trio to really get to know each other. The three admit to having trust issues, which is understandable given what they’ve been through, which was what ended up bringing them together. Despite being jaded by what they’ve had to deal with, it made them more determined to believe that people are still inherently good. Just because they’ve suffered doesn’t give them permission to do the same to others, and that’s what probably kept them from becoming completely disillusioned.

Nikolai said it best about how there’s a lot of suffering in the world already and it’s getting old. Break the cycle, so to speak. I see where he’s getting at and I think he’s right. People with that mindset are the ones who get things done and see to it that things change for the better.

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#animal crossing pocket camp #animal crossing #headcanon ramble #diary of a junebug

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