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drabbles-of-writing · 4 years

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Okay now you have to tell us what the siblings did to the Blight manor.

SOMEONE ASKED!!

well, first of all, they tear that bitch to the GROUND. it was during the first four years when they raid the place to grab Amity’s stuff and Dip Out. whole family was there while the parents were out at some meeting. came back to rooms on fire and over half of their belongings missing. they fixed it all up, obviously, but it was a HUGE talk for a while.

but what I really meant was when the twins inherited the manor. Something happens to the Blight parents, haven’t decided on if the bitches just died or moved away, and they suddenly own their old home. They rip out anything that has anything to do with their parents, change color schemes, furniture, all that and either chuck it in the trash or the darkest depths of the basement and set it ablaze. Burning the past away motherfuckers. And then, when all that’s done, they change the name. They thought about it for a while and eventually decided on the name; the Raven House. It was a joke between them, and also to tick off Lilith, but the name stuck. They even gave her a tiny picture above the door to solidify it. Eda still insists the Owl House is better than any big manor.

Once everything is finished and the manor is re-made, the ex-Blight’s all come to an agreement on what to do with it, since they all already had their own places and didn’t feel like moving into the house they were abused in. They say a final ‘fuck you’ to their parents and make it one big safehouse. By which I mean it’s like a shelter. Kids or young witches and humans alike (though the humans are just kids wandering by after getting in a fight with a monster or the older graduated kids when they need a little assistance) can come and stay in the Raven House to be safe and secured for however long they need.

Barcus is in charge of the place, and he looks after any kids who come along no matter the background. Some kids only stay for 24 hours, others stay for months, sometimes a few years, on end. These are typically kids who have nowhere else to go or are on the run. We’ve got kids from the Isles, stowaways from other islands and even The Mainland, kids escaping abusive homes, orphans, kids who just need a break after getting lost/hurt nearby, the works. It’s a well-known place that’s completely free, since the Blight’s and even Lilith on occasion pay the taxes for it. It’s sweet for Barcus because he’s supplied with everything for free, but also hell because he has to deal with a bunch of kids on a daily basis. Luckily for him, he likes kids.

Course some witches or humans don’t understand Barcus, so he always has a chalkboard and chalk around his neck that he can hover in the air with his magic to write to the kids and help them learn how to understand him. If they can’t read, he usually has to call in one of the other kids in the House to help him out. No matter how long a kid stays, they are asked to carve their names on a large stone outside the manor. It used to be a statue in the front lawn the ex-Blight kids knocked over and left there, but it was repurposed. It’s littered with names and it’s not uncommon to find Barcus staring at the names or teaching some kids to read by having them read the names off the stone.

Now, the manor is big. It can easily house multiple packs of kids. But the thing is, it only has 6 bedrooms, and Barcus uses one of the smaller ones. Of course multiple kids could live in the same room, but there are some that need it more than others and aren’t comfortable with other kids. So the bigger bedrooms are saved for those kids (unless there’s an open spare one in which case it gets SWARMED) or Barcus asks the new kid to set up their stuff anywhere in the house, so long it didn’t interfere with others. Which leads to kids sleeping and hanging out in....interesting places. There’s always someone living in one of the bathrooms, three kids minimum at all times squirreling away in the closets (small and large), there’s a pile of pillows and blankets in the second dining room where kids hang out under the table, the big hallways have sleeping bags in them, some kid hid in one of the larger kitchen cabinets just because she could, there are SO MANY in the basement and attic, the library has all the nerds vibing on the bolted-down wall shelves and balconies, and one madlad set up a hut on the roof. Barcus isn’t happy with any of these but he supposes so long they don’t hurt themselves or own up to it being a bad idea later, he’ll deal with it.

They also offer to send plenty of these kids to school (usually Hexside but sometimes others), but there are a few who refuse it and Barcus homeschools them. The rule of thumb with anyone who stays in the Raven House is that you WILL be smothered in an intense amount of Found Family and you CANNOT stop them. It’s a mad house and it’s glorious. They have their own kinds of memes and vines in that house and it’s law that if someone says “pubby” then EVERYONE in the vicinity has to tackle Barcus in a cuddle pile.

Others of the Owl Family often drop by as well. The first few times were a mess cause Barcus had to explain this was his family and no you don’t have to come down and say hi if you’re uncomfortable but please stop losing it every time Edric comes by we know he’s a fashion extraordinaire please- Camilia is one of the most common visitors, and the kids call her Aunt Camilia (a name she would vividly remember from her time in the human realm) and she teaches them all how to cook and tell them stories from the human realm. Barcus is very thankful because he needs one stable adult to help him with these kids. All the ex-Blights visit as well, though Amity slightly less because she’s so busy. Edric arrives just to show off, and Emira is a lot more refined n checks in on the kids, since her job is a children’s health care worker. Granted, Barcus does a pretty good job of being their therapist, he got a degree for a reason. Amity is a treat visit, because there’s always someone who knows she’s the Empress’s advisor and they all gawk at her for a minute before realizing she’s a shy dork n have fun info dumping on her bc she listens to them with rapt interest. Gus is a fun show, often taking down notes of the theatre kids and showing off his illusion magic, acting as his own little inspiration to them by being one of the best in his grade despite being significantly younger. He also tells his theories of the human realm which are still off and need to be corrected by Camilia. Willow is a lot more sweeter n is like the grandma who gives you too much candy but is also not afraid to beat someones ass. She’s one of the few adults All the kids respect. Luz is fun because she gives adventures and shows off a lot. And kids are always in awe at her tattoos and scars. Of course, Luz still has dumbass ideas every once in a while and ends up getting kicked out early in her visit on occasion. She showed kids how to swallow a light spell. Lilith shows up at least once a month for a little bit, and the kids always LOSE IT. At first it was genuine shock but eventually they just did it for fun because they knew it made Lilith embarrassed. Eda...god Eda is a visit kids are either excited for or dreading, depends if you can put up with her energy. Eda usually shows up when she’s bored, hiding from the cops or needs to steal something from the Raven House. She’s the weird eccentric grandma of everyone and she adores the kids. Her showing up often either ends in something catching on fire or a couple of kids getting in trouble with the law, which Eda or Barcus can easily snatch them out of. Y’all know of the Life Changing Field Trip With Zuko? Eda has a very similar thing where she grabs a gaggle of kids and takes them on an adventure, but it usually ends up looking like chores. Either way it ends up in either giving the kid some Advice they needed or just changing a way they think based on the adventures they get up to. When she gets much older and crankier, she slows down a bit but never stops having bad ideas or advice, but it’s a lot easier for the calmer kids to talk to her.

Barcus keeps all the trinkets the kids give him and holds them in a special room only he can access, like the passageways in Hexside. He cares about all the kids who come to the Raven House, even if its only for a little while. He’s still a dog at heart. A lot of kids he hears from a few months or years after they leave. They’ll call or show up and tell him how they are. And whenever they do he makes time to sit down with them with tea and listen to all they have to say. Even if they only visit once, he’s glad to see them. But, of course, there are the kids he never hears from. The ones who don’t want to, the ones who are too busy, the ones who moved off the Isle and elsewhere, the ones who get lost out there in the world, and the ones who have died. But Barcus almost never learns what their fate was. He’ll have nights where he sits in his room filled with trinkets or by the rock with names and wonder what happened to them, and hoping that they’re okay and happy. But he doesn’t have time to think about that. He has new kids coming in all the time, he should focus on them, not the past. That’s what he tells himself.

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atrwriting · 2 years

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Strategy // Draco x oc -- Ch. 29

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Story Summary... Alexandra Graham may have grown up homeschooled in the Wizarding World, but that did not stop her from learning about "The Boy Who Lived" and doing whatever she could to help put an end to the tyrannical reign of Lord Voldemort. Fighting and winning the Battle of Hogwarts was her first battle, but what happens when she has to navigate good and evil, love and hate, and redemption and punishment, when their lines begin to blur?

xxix. expomise

epoximise (ee-POX-i-mise): adheres one object to another, as if they had been glued together

* * *

"DRACO, I BELIEVE IT is time to hand over your wand," Alexandra said, keeping his stare locked on the Minister and his Aurors.

"Not quite yet," Minister Weasley remarked with his lips folded in a firm line.

Alexandra leaned her head in question towards the Minister. Scrunching her eyebrows, she inquired, "may I ask why, Minister?"

The man sighed as both Harry and Ron looked sunken from behind Ron's father. Their faces, usually bright and optimistic at a challenge, had considerably fallen since they had scanned Draco's memories.

The Minister began, "While Draco's memories were considerably incriminating for the Malfoy family, it was... quite difficult to... experience... your world through Draco's eyes for my two Aurors here."

Alexandra knew what they meant. She knew that a part of them finally understood the abuse Draco had endured as a child that continued well into his adulthood. While their faces were gray, that didn't mean that they didn't have a proposition on the tip of their tongues.

"That being said," Minister Weasley clasped his hands together on the table in front of him. "We would like to make another deal."

"What would this deal mean?" Alexandra asked as she drew in a sharp breath.

"The one we just signed for is still in place and will remain in place even if you do not agree to this new one," Minister Weasley stated. "We found your Hogwart's outing rather concerning, seeing as thought neither of you are students and have no right to be there. However, we cannot deny that the information you provided us from Draco's memories were not extremely helpful in making connections on a few cases."

Alexandra nodded. "I'm sure Draco was happy to be of help."

Draco scoffed. Alexandra elbowed him underneath the table, to which he shot her another look.

Git, Alexandra and Draco both thought at the same time.

"Right," Minister Weasley eyed them warily. "Continuing, my Aurors and I would appreciate more memories in the future like the ones you provided for us today."

"Minister Weasley, I know you're probably aware of this, but if you're insinuating what I believe you are insinuating, then I'm left to worry whether or not you have considered the danger of the situation," Alexandra laughed incredulously. "We could have been compromised at any moment."

"And Rodolphus Lestrange could attack everything we have fixed any moment, Ms. Graham," Minister Weasley spat. "Surely I shouldn't have to make you aware of that."

Alexandra felt her nose scrunching in anger. "Then surely I shouldn't have to make you aware of the fact that your Aurors look gray in the face because they realized that Draco endured more danger than they thought throughout his life, from his own father, and shouldn't be subjected to any more danger from 'old' friends or estranged uncles that will surely Crucio or Avada him on sight."

"We understand the risks, but we are prepared to compensate you and Mrs. Malfoy for them," Minister Weasley added.

Alexandra scrunched her eyebrows. "I am still doubtful of this deal, but I'll allow you to tell my clients so they can join me in my doubt."

Minister Weasley sighed. "We are prepared to save Narcissa Malfoy of the trouble of going through the trouble of a trial as long as she agrees to a six months to a year in Azkaban."

"Absolutely not!" Alexandra hollered as she stood up and smacked an open palm on the table. "Absolutely nothing in those memories showed her performing any heinous act related to terrorism!"

"You're right," Minister Weasley agreed. "You're quite right. However, housing multiple terrorists is not an innocent act."

"She was forced to, and I won't have you stand before either of my clients and act like that isn't the case," Alexandra hit at the Minister, eyes wild.

"This is not Mrs. Malfoy's first run in with being a passive participant with Voldemort," Minister Weasley stated. "If she was a first time accomplice of Voldemort, I'd consider being more lenient."

"Accomplice is a stretch, Minister," Alexandra bit through gritted teeth. "Even my blasted father wouldn't be able to convince the Wizengamot of that upon retrieval of both Narcissa and Draco's memories."

"I have yet to hear what you would like my son to do, let alone how this new deal would benefit him," Narcissa suddenly spoke up, voice unwavering.

Everyone in the room snapped their eyes to where Narcissa sat, face frozen in her intense look. Minister Weasley swallowed.

"Upon looking through his memories, we realized the vast knowledge that Draco had on Voldemort and past followers goes way beyond than what we have access to," Minister Weasley began. "Given him filling in the blanks where my team couldn't, I am prepared to offer him an Aurorship after his probationary period and wand confiscation term has finished."

Alexandra couldn't help but ponder the deal. Narcissa would be able to escape the stress that comes with a trial and would be guaranteed safety from outside world threats while the Ministry wraps up loose ends. Becoming an Auror would be an excellent way for Draco to put his skills and information to good use and hopefully improve his reputation.

"We'll take it," Narcissa answered.

Alexandra sucked in a sharp breath before turning to Minister Weasley. "What my client means is-"

"I am grateful for my counsel's advice but I accept the deal on my son's behalf," Narcissa stated with no hesitation, eyes locked on Minister Weasley's.

Minister Weasley shared a long, hard stare with the Malfoy Matriarch. While Narcissa remained unmoving and emotionless, it was clear that the fact that Narcissa sprang to help her son caused Minister Weasley to feel some emotion about the deal he had just laid out before them. He turned to Draco.

"I believe your word is all we need to hash out the details, Draco," Minister Weasley stated.

There was neither a sneer nor frown present on Draco's face, just disbelief. Just disbelief as his blue eyes flickered from Minister Weasley, Potter, the younger Weasley, back to Potter, and then finally his mother. Narcissa locked eyes with Draco before Draco's eyes began to scrunch together. After some time, Draco turned back to the Minister.

"I accept your deal, Minister Weasley."

#draco #malfoy #draco malfoy #draco fic #draco au #draco love #dracotok #draco fic rec #draco fanfictio #post battle au #draco angst #draco smut #draco fluf #harry potter

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repo-net · 3 years

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It's been over a century since I last shared an OC of mine properly here, so here's another one of em, lmfao. This little fella has slowly become one of my more favorite ones mainly because he's kind of a representation of what I was like (well, aside from his backstory) before I grew into the more social and outgoing person that I turned into mid high school, so I have a special place in my heart for him. Anyways.

• Name: Aoyama Nakazke

• Gender: Male

• Height: 161cm (5'3")

• Weight: 53kg (118lbs)

• Likes: Having his hair stroked, bottles of cola, cats

• Dislikes: The smell of garbage, belts, and being ignored

• Talent: Street Baller

• Birthday: May 28

Link to the picrew used to make the above picture:

Full body images: (left is his regular outfit, right is his gym/jersey outfit, but it's more or less just him without the jacket, lol)

Personality: Aoyama is a humble and caring boy, one that shows a lot of will to prove that he's harmless and won't pull anything suspicious. He has a genuinely kind heart, one willing to reach out to others when he has a chance to do so. Despite this though, Aoyama isn't all that he seems.

He has his own insecurities due to a lack of social interaction growing up and a lack of attention and affection ever being given to him, and thus isn't exactly the best when talking to people. His thoughts and his words, while self-deprecating at times, may contrast with occasionally selfish actions to try and survive, and thus leads to Aoyama's fear of being seen as self-centered by others.

Despite this though, Aoyama truly does try to make himself look as trustable as possible and tends to act on the good side, but his desire to survive can overcome this, and while getting close to him isn't a particularly hard task, it takes a while for him to actually open up to his problems, being rather timid. Gaining his full trust can make him very attached to you though, as he values someone who he thinks won't just abandon and hurt him as incredibly saintlike, and goes out of their way to defend them, even if said person truly is in the wrong. That can be a good or bad thing depending on who he ends up giving his full devotion to.

(Backstory coming up is kind of long and has some content warning for abuse, so I'll just point that out. It's nothing too complicated, you can summarize it in 2-4 sentences if you wanted to, but I thought I'd make his backstory more detailed.)

Backstory: Aoyama lived in an abusive and poor household growing up, his parents taking out their frustration over their situation on him, claiming that their lives wouldn't be as miserable if he weren't born.

They would constantly shelter him and refuse to ever let him out of the house despite constantly seeing other kids enjoying and living their life, and being someone who got the bare minimum in education via homeschool, he was incredibly inexperienced with talking to people, and to some extent, stil is. As a matter of fact, to this day, Aoyama hasn't even graduated middle school.

His parents would berate and get on his case whenever he made even the slightest mistake; and when he makes a larger scale one, his parents would beat him with a belt to discipline him, and this only grew his hate, for them and his want to go out even further.

One night, Aoyama simply couldn't take it any more and snuck a bag with clothes, what little money he had along with a generous amount of what his parents' wallet had and a basketball along with himself outside of the house at night and never returned ever again.

Once he left the house and had no one but himself to look out for himself, he had to turn to playing basketball on the streets to keep himself entertained and sane. But it was clear to him that he wasn't going to survive since he'd just run out of money sooner than later. So, he decided that the only way to really live is to play with other people at basketball, and gamble his money to get paid.

However, due to his small size and dirty clothes/look, he'd get picked on by bigger kids and he'd get pushed around and hurt a lot, his life became a constant competition where he had to constantly come out on top in the harsher, more physical street basketball environment he had to grow up in to pay for the food and drinks he needed just to live. But his talent for basketball from his speed, stamina, and technique would always help him defy odds and come out of matches richer.

Every day was a battle with other kids and every day he had to spend his money wisely and make sure no one would try to steal it from him; he was constantly paranoid of people staring at him like an outcast and he'd only trusted those he played with on the courts. His life for more than half a decade was just physical and bruising streetball that had him have to put his body on the line just to sustain himself in the streets. His only company during those times were stray cats, and the occasional teammates after ball games that he'd share a cola with.

One day while he was looking for a new street to stay in though, Aoyama participated in a larger scale street ball tournament outside of his home town, and he came out of nowhere as an underdog to win, defeating a mountain of larger names in the street ball genre and gaining recognition around the area. He was recruited into a major street ball team and after they learned that Aoyama literally had no place to stay in, he was allowed to sleep in the team bus + the team's dugouts/dorms.

Ever since then, his life has significantly improved, at least by his standards, he's travelled across the country with his teammates, he's gotten just the tiniest bit better at talking to people, though he's still a rather introverted and timid mess when outside of the playing court. His current goal is to win a bigger tournament with his team and use the winnings to come back to his parents and apologize for stealing the money he took from them when he left the house, despite all the abuse that he took from them, he wants to hope that they've changed when he comes back. That's what his wish and hope is.

Extra/s: His preferred position on the court is shooting guard, although due to his height, he ends up getting pushed into the point guard position more than he likes to admit.

He bought his jacket after he got recruited by his current team. Before that, all he wore were white shirts and shorts that he'd buy from low quality stores and toss out after a week because they got dirty.

His body is actually pretty muscly since he had to work on it to not get pushed around and hurt as much when playing street ball, but there are still some present scars on his torso, some caused by his parents' abuse.

Quote/s: "I don't really get how it all works, if I'm being honest. But if this sorta thing makes you happy, then I'll do it. Even if it's gonna embarrass me..."

"Hey, you leave them alone! You're just trying to twist the narrative on them with your made up story, aren't you? A person like them... they'd never do wrong! If you wanna come at them, then you'll be coming at me too!"

"S-Stop that! I don't know what the hell you see in me, but I don't agree with it if you're acting this way around me! I don't understand feelings like this, and trying to think about stuff I don't understand just hurts..."

Anddd that's more or less Aoyama Nakazke. Sorry that this was long as hell, it's probably not anything special but I like how he came out. Please give feedback if you have any, it'd be really appreciated! Thanks for reading!

#danganronpa #my oc character #aoyama nakazke

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lindira · 3 years

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In further news, our school district isn’t one of those nice ones who actually care about kids enough to go against the governor of Texas and require masks anyway. (Fucking cowards.) However, they are offering a parent-led virtual option. It’s not graded or conducted by an actual teacher, nor is it accredited. So… does this virtual schooling actually count for something? No fucking clue. But we have 3 and a half days to think about it, so we’ll likely not get any answers to our questions before we have to make the decision.

We’re almost certainly doing this, but I’m so goddamn angry about everything. (Rant below.)

For starters, the virtual option doesn’t even start until a week out from the start of school, so I guess we have to risk it for 5 days or he gets unexcused absences. And then, while I’m confident I can make sure my son learns what he’s supposed to, this severely hampers my ability to find reliable work. Gig work or part-time, at best. And I know we’re not as big as Dallas or Austin or Houston, but this seems like such a throwaway effort on the school district’s part. I understand that they’re in a difficult position and with not a lot of time to act, but they couldn’t have a bigger backbone or planned ahead of time for the possibility of cases going up again?

It’s like those of us who actually CARE about the health of our children are being punished - forced to decide to risk our child’s safety by sending them to school as one of the only ones with a mask, because we can’t afford not to work or don’t have the resources to homeschool/virtual school them; or to give them a possibly subpar, possibly invalid education but giving them the best chance not to get sick.

Meanwhile, there are fucking morons out there, making comments on the school district’s Facebook, applauding the district, saying things like - I shit you not - “masks are physically and psychologically abusive!” and “people are DYING from the vaccine!” and “forcing masks on children is child abuse!” But of course, they’re the ones who are allowed to live their normal fucking lives as if they aren’t the ones allowing the virus to mutate. As if they aren’t the reason the case count in Texas has skyrocketed back to the levels they were in winter. As if they aren’t the reason our hospitals are choking with patients again. Oh no, they get the benefit of going to work and earning a living and getting a real teacher who will give their children an education they know will count. Because God forbid anyone step on their ~fReEdOmS~, as if they even understand what that word means or what it should entail. “My freedoms don’t end where your feelings begin, blah blah blah...” Yeah? Your freedoms should end when it harms other people.

So goddamn SICK of this fucking country. Already sick of this fucking state. Things wouldn’t have been much better in Iowa (also has a Trumpist governor), but at least the case count per capita was far lower and I knew the Des Moines school district had integrity. (And, looking at the DM school district website, they have a far clearer and more directed virtual option available. *sigh*) No matter what decisions we’ve made about where we live or what we do when we get there, it has proven to be a wrong one. I’m so mad that not only does my child have to live through a pandemic, but he has to be so grievously affected by stupid fucking decisions made by stupid fucking Republicans.

But then here we are. And I’d rather live with shitty educational conditions and muddle through our financial problems than risk my son becoming a statistic.

#lindira rants #lindira has kids

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gaphic · 4 years

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hit me with them hot homeschooling takes my good bro

my hot takes were NOT optional but i’m glad someone is brave enough to step up

hot take the first: due to basic math, my mom was able to give me and my little brother (2 children) DRASTICALLY more individual attention than any public school teacher (25-30 children) ever was. if we didn’t understand something she was able to commit the entire day to puzzling it out, because she didn’t have other classes or students to worry about. until i entered public school i never worried about ‘stupid questions’ or stressed about tests because she had the time to be there for me. there was no schedule to stifle us, either. i was never made to sit with a lesson i already knew, waiting for my classmates to finish the mandated work so we could MOVE ON ALREADY, and i was never rushed through something before i completely got it. in public school i begged to retake algebra because i didn’t understand it fully, and i was refused because i technically passed the class. with my mom, i would’ve retaken that course however many times it took, and stopped when i was comfortable with the material, not a second before

the second: that thing about lack of oversight allowing evangelistic parents to pick and choose creationist-friendly textbooks? it works in reverse, too. my mom was able to pick history textbooks that weren’t soul-stiflingly boring and jingoistic. when i started going to an underfunded public school in the deep south, i already had a more comprehensive knowledge of history than most of my classmates GRADUATED with. i learned about cherokee, sioux, and navajo history individually, while many of the kids in my town were learning that the civil war was about ‘states rights.’ and that’s just history! my science classes included walking around my neighborhood with my mom, making detailed, labelled diagrams of our local plants and learning about which ones were edible or toxic. my mom even did her best to teach me about classical music, which neither of us understood, but hey, public school didn’t bother to fund the arts at all!

the third: relating to my first point, i also had way more free time than any of my friends. WAY more. my school day was over in less than 4 hours. i never had to wake up before sunrise to catch a bus, i could eat while i did my work, i could go to the bathroom whenever i wanted, i could work outside if it was nice out, i could drag my feet and whine and bitch because ‘i dont WANNA do math today!’ and i would still be finished before my friends got home from school, and have the rest of the day to Be A Kid And Play

the fourth: as you may have noticed above, I Had Friends. i don’t know where this idea comes from that homeschooled kids are totally cloistered and deprived of all socialization? i mean, i’m sure SOME are, because they have shitty fundamentalist parents, but. i grew up in a neighborhood? where other children lived? and i played with them all the time. i had plenty friends. in FACT

the fifth: i had better socialization than you. yeah, this one is controversial, but hot fucking take: i don’t actually think it’s great for childrens social development to lock them into a system where their peers are almost exclusively within 1 year of their age, and every adult they come into contact with is an explicit authority figure.

as long as i can remember, i have been praised for my ability to talk to anyone. not so much now, because i’m an adult and other adults generally don’t expect me to defer to them like they used to, but when i was a kid? people were stunned at my ability to hold a conversation with a grownup, and equally impressed with my ability to interact with much younger children. before i went to public school, before my anxiety got bad, i had a drastically different view of adults as a social class, a view i wish i was able to preserve through that time. it’s hard to articulate now, because it’s not that i was under any misconceptions about the power they wielded over me, but... i considered them equals? in a way my public-schooled friends did not

NB4 ‘BUT THATS NOT THE CASE FOR EVERYONE’ yeah i know i know i know. i know my family is unusually privileged in that my mom was able to stay at home to teach us instead of working. what i’m saying isn’t ‘everyone should homeschool’ or even ‘everyone CAN homeschool,’ what i’m saying is ‘the format of homeschooling provides unique opportunities.’ some parents will abuse those opportunities, but that isn’t the formats fault. it’s the fault of the parents, and the nuclear family culture that treats children as the legal property of their parents, and those things should not be conflated

#Anonymous

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arcticdementor · 5 years

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In the David Fincher produced, 2017 Netflix series, Mindhunter, two FBI special agents travel the country interviewing serial killers in the 1970’s. The series, based on the non-fiction book “Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit” by John Douglas, chronicles the beginnings of advanced criminal profiling techniques developed by the FBI in response to a number of high profile, and gruesome crimes carried out during the era, beginning with the Manson Family murders of 1968. Throughout the show the fictional special agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench meet with frequent resistance from other law enforcement personnel as they attempt to unravel the minds of the serial killers they meet. Everyone from their bosses in the agency to the local police officers they encounter along the way express extreme discomfort at the thought of empathizing or attempting to understand the killers Ford and Tench interrogate. These men are just evil. There’s nothing more to it. Nothing can be learned from them. No insight can be gained. They’re simply, purely evil, and attempting to say anything more on the subject is an affront to the victims, their families, and to human decency and capital-J Justice in general.

Fictionalized though the series may be, in our own time, in the era of mass shootings, one doesn’t have to go far to find similar responses to this uniquely contemporary category of violent crime. Media coverage of the killers oozes sensationalized language that depicts them as dark, evil, twisted, vile, abhorrent, insane. The public, in internet comment forms across social media, offer up their thoughts and prayers, and inevitably, the discussion devolves into a debate on the second amendment and the merits of gun control as politicians and journalists quickly move to steer the national conversation to more politically fruitful areas in order to amass momentum in passing various pieces of long desired legislation targeting gun owners or the NRA. The killers themselves, their personalities, their motivations, their worldviews, the experiences that shape them, every time quickly slip through the cracks of the conversation and are forgotten long before their respective cases are ever brought to trial.

…

Over the course of hundreds of hours beginning in 1959, Ted Kaczynski, the future unabomber, participated in an intense psychological experiment conduced at Harvard by Dr. Henry A Murray. During World War II, Murray had worked for the Office of Strategic Services in developing personality assessment techniques designed to test potential recruits on how well they would endure interrogation and torture by the enemy. At Harvard, Murray went on to further develop his method, transforming it from a diagnostic assessment of mental anti-fragility, into the basis of a radical personality modifying procedure he hoped could be used to forcibly evolve human consciousness in order to prevent the nuclear annihilation he feared was inevitable in light of mankind’s petty national prejudices and self-interest during the period of the Cold War. Kaczynski was among his unwitting test subjects, and though his personal, radical Luddite beliefs would ultimately diverge from the kind of technocratic globalism Murray intended to inculcate in Kaczynski, in a strange way, Murray was also more successful than he could have possibly anticipated.

…

No case provides better evidence of this possibility than that of Adam Lanza, the 2012 Sandy Hook shooter. After years of denied requests, more than 1,000 pages of evidence relating to the Lanza case were finally released to the Hartford Courant in December of 2018. Lanza, who killed himself following the attack, left behind no manifesto. He had even taken the precaution of smashing his devices’ hard drives prior to the shooting. In the end hundreds of pages worth of Lanza’s writings were ultimately recovered by the police, and it’s only from these scattered fragments that his beliefs and opinions emerge. Like Holmes in the weeks and months leading to the Aurora massacre, Lanza was no stranger to psychiatric evaluation. Throughout Lanza’s entire life, from the age of 3, when he was first diagnosed with speech and developmental problems, he knew little else but the offices of therapists and counselors and psychiatrists. A rotating cast of mental health professionals drifted in and out of his life. They all recognized the so-called ‘warning signs’ all too well, but even with a lifetime’s worth of treatment, they completely and utterly failed to prevent his transformation into mass murderer.

…

Lanza goes even further, and characterizes the years of psychiatric treatment he received since childhood explicitly as abusive: “I was molested at least a dozen times by a few different adults when I was a child. It wasn’t my decision at all: I was coerced into it… What do each of the adults have in common? They were doctors, and each of them were sanctioned by my parents to do it. This happens to virtually every child without their input into the matter: Their parents sanction it.”

…

The United States spends more per capita on primary and secondary education than almost any other country. As of 2014 the U.S. is in the top 5, below only Switzerland, Norway and Austria. Despite this however, year after year, a majority of Americans report dissatisfaction with the quality of K-12 education in their country. Alternative education remains a persistent source of controversy within the public consciousness. Private schools, charter schools, school vouchers, homeschooling, all are topics that filter in and out of the national political conversation. Democrats, on the whole, maintain an unyielding support for the compulsory nature of public education in America, while practices like Homeschooling are largely written off as the exclusive province of religious fundamentalists and political separatists. The same goes for the diverting of public resources to charter schools by means of a tax exemption or credit. The argument that has formed over time to circumvent these controversial alternatives boils down to a single word: Socialization.

Public schools not only educate students in facts and skills, the argument goes, but also serve to socialize children by serving as a microcosm of the pluralistic, diverse society in which these students will one day have to live and contribute to. A private, all male school, for instance, will fail to prepare its students for the modern workplace, where they’ll have to cooperate and even take orders from female colleagues or superiors. Likewise, desegregation busing is required to ensure students experience a sufficiently diverse environment. When it comes to a wide variety of controversies in public education, the socialization argument continues to form the backbone of liberal resistance to conservative attacks on the public schooling monopoly.At the same time, as liberals defend the practice and theory of socialization, the scourge of bullying has, on-again off again, served as a cause célèbre among many of the same people. Since 2010, October has become National Bullying Prevention Month, a campaign by the non-profit PACER organization in coordination with companies like CNN and Facebook, among others. Television shows and documentaries have tackled the subject, and celebrities like Ellen regularly champion anti-bullying causes. But what is bullying but the core of Socialization? In a sense the two can almost be considered synonymous. Bullying is, after all, the school of hard knocks which children undergo to learn the complex, unspoken rules of social game playing. Socialization is about instilling conformity, and bullying remains the core experience for many children in learning about all the ways the deviate from the norm. When children are unresponsive to bullying, that’s when things are kicked up to the teachers and administrators and school counselors, and that same unpliability and unresponsiveness is re-conceptualized by well-meaning adults as developmental disorders.

In 1975 Autism was diagnosed in children at a rate of 1 in every 5,000. Today that number has soared to nearly 1 in 100. This has ignited a public controversy over the source or cause of what by every definition deserves to be called an public health epidemic. 75% of children diagnosed with Autism today are boys. There’s no need to go searching for a cause. Vaccines aren’t behind the explosion in Autism rates. Teachers and school psychologists are. School psychology today is a booming industry, one which the US Department of Labor identifies as having some of the best employment opportunities across the entire field of psychology. 75% of school psychologists are women, with an average age of 46. It is this same group of people most empowered to conduct psychological monitoring of children across the country, and over the last 30 years, they have come to classify a larger and larger percentage of young boys as having developmental issues, to the point where it’s not clear whether there is anything wrong with these children at all, or if school psychologists have simply written off a wider and wider range of behaviors which they find problematic or incomprehensible as constituting autism.

…

In 2013, a Texas teenager named Justin Carter was locked up for threatening a school shooting. Whether or not the threat was legitimate is another matter entirely. In a bout of online shit talking over League of Legends Carter wrote “Oh yeah, I’m real messed up in the head, I’m going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts…” in response to a quip by a fellow gamer calling him crazy. He quickly rejoined: “lol jk,” likely realizing the fact he could get himself in trouble saying such things. Whether or not it was a good idea for him to make such a comment is immaterial, what matters is the violent, disproportionate response that followed. A Canadian woman, thousands of miles away, reported Carter. He was arrested and locked in jail. Bond was set at half a million dollars, which his family couldn’t afford to pay. He languished in jail, was assaulted by fellow inmates, and then locked up in solitary confinement for his own safety. After 4 months in jail an anonymous donor paid to have Carter released on behalf of his family. The state dragged out the matter for years, delaying the trial as long as possible on tenuous grounds. In the interim Carter was banned from using a computer. It wasn’t until spring of 2018 that a plea agreement was finally reached and Carter was let off with time served.

This is the paranoid system which today we entrust with rescuing at-risk young boys. This is what stands between us and more school shootings. Never mind the fact that as this system has grown, it has only led to a rise in mass shootings. Maybe the real cause of such cases is not guns, or a failure to identify and treat students, maybe the cause is these same students, following a protracted process of isolation and attempted psychological modification, learning to play the part the system has assigned to them, that of the security threat. When schools spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on active shooter drills and security systems, isn’t it just wasted money until someone comes along and gives them an excuse to use it? The complicated apparatus of psychological surveillance and socialization that prevails among schools today is, like the TSA checkpoint at the airport, nothing more than an elaborate piece of (psychological) security theater, and theaters require drama, and more importantly, villains. People like Adam Lanza and James Holmes are certainly killers of the very worst kind, guilty of evil, but on a larger scale, their evil is a only a reflection of our own, of the perverse societal mechanisms we’ve developed to give ourselves piece of mind, regardless of the children that must be fed to the machinery for it to function.

#kantbot #autistic mercury #mass shooters #read the whole thing

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3wisellamas · 5 years

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Boxbot Headcanons 4.0

Just...fuck. Here’s more.

-Raymond likes to play team sports all by himself, and by that I mean with a full complement of other Raymonds, since no one else can match his skill level. He hates how predictable this makes every game, though, since he literally knows what the other players are thinking at all times. On some occasions he will intentionally glitch himself, desperate to introduce SOME randomness into their strategy...

-Ernesto was the family tattletale as a kid, usually the one to inform Boxman of his siblings' antics. They got back at him by stealing his hats.

-Darrell's toddler model had a serious design flaw, a leaky valve somewhere in him that took Boxman far too long to find and fix. Until he did, the poor kid used to oil the bed a LOT, and is still really embarrassed about it.

-Shannon is really good with Linux, and has her own custom kernel on her computer, mostly so that none of the boys can figure out how to use it and snoop in on her stuff.

-Do not put Jethro in tiny clothes or makeup. Ever. He has a lot of humiliating memories from playing dress-up with Darrell and Shannon (really, just being dressed up by them against his will) when they were younger.

-Ernesto's actually got quite a love of fashion, to match his younger siblings (other than Jethro), and a part of that is collecting fancy hats and suits. However, the turtleneck look with his top hat is definitely his favorite -- in fact, he specifically requested it become his default appearance as part of his robo-adult upgrade.

-None of the adult/teen bots have their driver's license, or even a learner's permit -- they kind of just taught themselves to drive, mostly using videos game, since their dad sure wasn't going to. Ernesto and Darrell usually drive the Boxmore trucks, and carry fake IDs when they do so. (Boxman used to make them for extra cash in college)

-Magnets are forbidden anywhere in Boxmore, with the sole exception of the few on the fridge. And even then, only Boxman's allowed to touch them -- if any of the robots try to pick one up with their metal fingers it quickly turns into a (very sticky) disaster.

-Mr Logic used to beg Gar to go easy on the other Boxbots whenever they attack, and though he didn't quite understand Logic's relationship to them he did make an effort to do so, sometimes just sending them home with a juice box instead of fighting. Logic did the same with Rad, Enid, and even KO as they were hired, to much less results sadly.

-Darrell has a bad habit of chewing on things when he's stressed out -- pens, straws, drawstrings, his fingers, etc. (And his titanium teeth make this habit quite destructive!)

-Raymond's a surprisingly big reader -- that vocabulary's gotta come from somewhere! Naturally he likes romance novels and plays, but has been looking into a number of Fink's sword-and-sorcery recommendations. In between battles he spends a lot of time sneaking off to the library, and in fact between this and a bunch of other activities he's the one that spends the most time outside the factory.

---

Care for some Boxman ones too as a bonus? -He writes in chicken scratch. Of course. -He is actually ambidextrous -- he writes better with his human hand, and so considers himself more right-handed, but does a lot of other things better with his chicken claw. -That robot eye totally has x-ray vision. PV needs to get some lead underwear ASAP. On a less creepy note, he can use it to easily diagnose and repair broken robots! -Lord Boxman comes from a long line of famous joke villains, and that's why "Boxman" is used as a villain insult. He may or may not even have a distant relation to Dr Weakpoint... -He actually is a decent chef, when he's able to focus on it. Unfortunately, being both a supervillain CEO and a single father of 6 makes that almost impossible. -Boxy made all those sweet custom Boxmore action figures that Darrell has all over his room. They were supposed to be for a marketing promotion that fell through. -There's still a few random junkfish still active at Boxmore, along with a few hanging out in the sewers right underneath, and the company does offer support and repairs for any customers that come in with the older models. For the most part, though, only Boxman himself ever really deals with them. He low-key loves seeing his old work still going strong after all these years.

---

And...fuck it all. Fink's an honorary Boxbot now, so why not a few for her and Venomous? -Fink doesn't build pillow forts, instead she likes to build blanket nests, and burrow in them. -Fink is absolutely that insufferable little kid who swears like a sailor and insults whatever she can over in-game chat, just to sound tough while griefing. She also has a nasty (in more ways than one) habit of forgetting to mute her mic while eating... -PV's not a fan of videos game, but he LOVES board games! (Boards game?) Fink doesn’t really share his passion for them nowadays, so he’s secretly quite excited to try playing with the robots. -Fink will eat anything if you pay/dare her enough. ANYTHING. Though, she's a rat, so she's usually fine. -PV homeschools Fink, and she's actually a couple of grades ahead of other kids her age. (The 'Professor' thing isn't just for show!)

#a few of these may or may not have fics already in progress so stay tuned... ~^#ok ko #ok ko let's be heroes #emheadcanons

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hxhbb18 · 6 years

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HxHbb18 summary list

Categories

Killugon (18)

Leopika (4)

Troupe misc (3)

General Misc (8)

Killugon

Killugon 1

Warnings: Violence, language Rating: T Pairing: KilluGon [School AU]

The Zoldyck Family Company struck either fear or awe into the hearts of all who heard it. All except its heir. To Killua Zoldyck, his family business was nothing more than a burden he’d been saddled with. But he couldn’t get away. Not now. They were in the middle of a mafia war. That didn’t mean he couldn’t rebel just a little. Enter Gon Freecss: The perfect catalyst. Gon could help him break his shackles. Gon could be his friend. Gon could free - Gon didn’t deserve to be dragged into a war. Gon needed to be kept safe. Killua needed to stay away. Gon didn’t share his sympathies.

Killugon 2

Pairing: Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck; Kurapika and Leorio will make an appearance as a couple, briefly; Alluka Zoldyck/OC Rating: M Warnings: Post canon/canon compliant; Killua and Gon aged up to 19; some killugon angst (but a happy ending!); equal parts killigon fluff; probably some canon-typical violence; emotional abuse involving Illumi/Alluka, again canon-typical; some killugon sex It’s been five years since Gon and Killua said good-bye at the World Tree, with promises to write and meet again. But for the past two and a half of those years, Killua has dropped out of contact with Gon, without warning or explanation. A quietly heartbroken Gon has come to believe that he’ll never see his childhood friend again, and settled back into his quiet life on Whale Island: until the day when he opens the front door to find Killua on the doorstep, emotionally shattered and on the verge of physical collapse. Over the course of the next hour, Gon learns that Killua’s father is recently dead, leaving a power vacuum in the family business that his brother Illumi is all too willing to fill. Worse, his sister, Alluka, has been kidnapped from the home he’s been sharing with her in Lukso Province. He has evidence that Illumi is behind her disappearance, wanting to use her to cement his status as head of the family. Killua believes that Gon is the only person who can help him find her before this happens, and convinces him to leave his quiet life behind once again to help rescue her. This story is told in alternating sections, from Gon/Killua’s and Alluka’s points of view. It follows the former best friends across continents on their quest to save Alluka. But Gon and Killua also have both past hurt and betrayal and new feelings to come to terms with, plus the re-awakening of Gon’s lost nen. Alluka, meanwhile, is no longer a child, but a young woman growing into independence and impressive powers of her own. Illumi may have locked her in a tower, but this bad-ass Rapunzel might just be the one to save them all.

Killugon 3

Rating: M Warnings/Triggers: Emotional abuse and manipulation and mild to moderate physical abuse. All by Illumi against Killua. Mild nsfw, nothing explicit planned. Pairings: killugon with leopika on the side [Medieval, Aged Up AU. Gon and Killua are 20 and the rest of the characters are aged up respectively i.e. Kurapika is 25, Leorio is 27, etc.] King Killua and Sir Gon have known each other since childhood and are very close, some might say inappropriately so for two people of such widely different social standings. When things start to develop between them, Prince Illumi, chief advisor to the king, is determined to quash such nonsense, leaving Killua to feel he has no choice but to put his duties as king before his personal feelings. Illumi has Killua believing he’s isolated and powerless, but he’ll come to find he’s not alone.

Killugon 4 Pairing: Killugon (Killua Zoldyck/Gon Freecss)

Rated T Warnings: Swearing, some angst Killua Zoldyck doesn’t expect the world to give him very much. Being disowned and completely ridiculed by his family only seems a little much for one day. Now, though, he’s trying to find his little sister Alluka, who’s escaped the other Zoldycks to the otherworldly realm of Masadora, where time stands still. Masadora, the afterlife of this world. Masadora, the ultimate goal-the catch is that he has to break his curse in this life before passing on to the next one, and no witch doctor or soothsayer can do that for him. Killua needs another person who’s willing to stick with him not just in the remainder of his own life, but in Masadora as well. Gon Freecss is perfectly content in his own way. He’s a part of the Hunter Association, which defends and protects their corner of the world. He has a predictable way of life that he can count on. He doesn’t, however, count on a strange silver-haired man showing up and asking for his help grudgingly. He definitely doesn’t count on the rollercoaster that follows, nor the newfound feelings that come with it. A retelling of the Irish fairytale of Tír na nÓg.

Killugon 5

Pairing: Killugon Rating: T Notes: Not AU. Pre-canon leading into the events of the Hunter Exam. Warnings for torture but not overly explicit. On Whale Island: Gon chases a boy through the trees. They jump from branch to branch and he catches a glimpse of white hair before he blinks and then—nothing. On Kukuro Mountain: A boy who stepped out of Killua’s dreams. He has brown eyes, green clothing, and is very, very real. “I know you,” Killua whispers to the dark, to the emptiness, to the universe and anyone who is willing to listen, and feels the truth of his words skin deep, bone deep, heart deep.

Killugon 6

Rating: M or E Pairing: Killua Zoldyck/Gon Freecss (Aged-up - mid-twenties) Warnings: swearing, nudity, sex, violence, blood, canon-compliant transphobia (Illumi towards Alluka), likely character death (Illumi). Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Romance with a happy ending. Killua Zoldyck has been cursed for helping his sister Alluka flee execution after his brother Illumi, the guardian mage of their village, found her guilty of forbidden magic. If Killua tries to cross the sea and join her, abandoning his people, the curse will raise a storm and he’ll drown. Disgusted by their treatment of her, Killua has left his village to live alone. That is, until he’s confronted by a shamelessly naked Gon Freecss, a handsome young warrior from a race who live beneath the ocean. Killua’s captivated by Gon’s amber-flecked eyes, beautiful trailing fins, long hair and decorations, and his playfulness, strength and bright smile. They fall in love and marry, though Gon can only spend half his life on land—as long as he never eats cooked food. For a time they build a happy life along the shore, sharing their evenings and nights. However, Killua’s family still have unfulfilled plans for their lost heir. One morning, Killua wakes to find Gon missing. He searches everywhere, but in the end finds only a cooked pipi shell that shouldn’t be inside their hut. He realises someone has tried to break the taboo and his lover is lost to him, returned to the ocean forever. Unwilling to contemplate a life without Gon, Killua continues to hunt for him on land and as far as he can reach out to sea. He doesn’t know if he can find a way for them to be together again and his only hope is in magic he doesn’t understand. He still has a promise to fulfill: to tear his brother Illumi down from his position as guardian mage and clear the way for Alluka’s return. He faces Nanika, the true guardian spirit of his people, in her sea-serpent form to plead for help. Finally he comes up with a desperate plan. He’ll travel beyond his limits at sea and face drowning to reunite with Gon and try to turn the cursed storm back on Illumi. If Killua can deliver his evil brother to Nanika, maybe he can create a balance so he and Gon can stay together. But even her magic isn’t as powerful as that which keeps him and Gon apart—the force of an entire ocean. (Note: Inspired by the Maori legend of Pania, a sea-maiden who lived half her life with her lover ashore until he secretly tried to feed her cooked food. She fled to the ocean and he never saw her again.)

Killugon 7

Pairing: Gon/ Killua, side Leorio/Kurapika Rating: T Warnings: Language, implied past child abuse Tags: Aged up characters, Magic College AU Padokea’s college for Wizardry is Killua’s first and only taste of the outside world without strict and constant supervision. No parents, no butlers, no giant locked house; just him and his freakishly large familiar Mike. In school, he would make his own name for himself. Not Killua Zoldyck, just Killua. He’d learn magic with methods that didn’t require torture, and maybe make friends along the way. They wouldn’t need to know where he came from, or what his family business consisted of. After all, the Zoldyck trade revolved around stealth and subtlety. It wouldn’t be hard for him right? … Right?

Killugon 8

In x My x Dreams Pairing: Killugon, mild Leopika Rating: T (for violence, language, and Hisoka being a pervy creep- nothing nsfw) Soulmate AU Koibito no yume, Lover’s Dream- The phrase coined for the phenomenon where you are plagued with dreams from birth of a faceless individual who is your soulmate. You can dream of their lives, their family, their personality, but you will never see their face or know their name until the day that you see them in real life. For some who meet during childhood, the dreams are like second nature. They don’t even know that there’s anything significant about them because they were so young when their soulmate was faceless. For others, they’re haunted by those dreams for years.

For Killua Zoldyck and Gon Freecss, this was the case, the dreams lasted for eighteen years. Killua dreamed of a boy living with his aunt after his father left him, homeschooled and sheltered from the world. Gon dreamed of a boy raised in an abusive household who was forced to do things and forced to grow up too quickly. One has all the love in the world from only one person, the other lacks any genuine love while constantly surrounded by others. Neither has a clear goal in life. Neither having a friend. Both searching for love and acceptance. Both enrolling in the first semester of their freshman year at The University of Yorknew- as roommates. Then the dreams change.

Killugon 9

Pairing: Killua/Gon

Rated T Warnings: Angst, canon-typical violence Killua turns 18 and refuses to take up his role as head of the family. Silva wants him brought home for a reminder of his true nature, and orders Illumi to hunt him down. But Illumi believes Killua has been manipulated by outsiders, and is secretly in need of rescue. He scrambles Gon’s memory, freeing Killua to embrace his destiny. Gon awakens, confused and disorientated, to a wall between himself and his memories. Mito finds Gon and word finds Killua. When he visits, Gon doesn’t recognize him. They travel to Alluka with hope Nanika can help. Gon relearns the boy who seems to know everything about him, and Killua tries to keep from falling apart.

Killugon 10

Pairing: Killua/Gon Rating: T Notes: Canon world minus nen, aged up, post marriage, fluff (so much fluff), hurt and comfort, domesticity on whale island

Time passes and adventures end but that doesn’t mean a new one can’t take its place. Years go by but everyday is special when you spend it with someone you love. Killua and gon have been married for 19 years now but that doesn’t mean they don’t still play, laugh and yell in the forests and ore the hills of whale island. Though it appears that even quaint life can’t seem to hold them down.

Killugon 11

Pairing: Killugon with some other pairings mentioned but not explored in detail

Rating: M

Warnings: aged-up characters; frequent swearing; frequent and explicit sexual references; mild internalised homophobia; casual homophobia and transphobia including slurs; toxic/dysfunctional family with reference to some abusive behaviours; mild violence

Other notes: modern AU; I’m taking certain liberties with Gon’s family set up for plot purposes, and with Ging’s character; the whole fic is from Killua’s point of view; Hisoka does stuff

As far as Killua is concerned, being the child of someone who is running for office definitely has major downsides, including but not limited to having to interact with his father’s sleazy campaign manager or being showcased at various public functions. Though it also means seeing his family finally accept his sister for who she is, if for all the wrong reasons. And publicity events are not always a total waste of time. One of them did result in meeting a sweet dreamboat of a teen wrestling champion, after all. Whom Killua can hang with and guiltily fantasise about… and hopelessly fall for. Wait.. how is that not a downside?

Killugon 12

Pairing: Gon & Killua (Flower shop au)

A few years after the main storyline, while Kurapika and Leorio are off to the Dark Continent, Killua and Gon have lost contact over the years due to their travels. Gon eventually decides to move away from Whale Island as a break from his studies, to open a flower shop right in Yorkshin City. Unbeknownst to Gon, Killua has found a woman he feels dearly for during his travels with Alluka, to one day be finding himself within Yorkshin City in search of an elegant bouquet as a symbol of his affection to his beloved. As they reunite, Gon invites Killua out to the local firework festival being held in the city’s center that weekend. Killua, confronted with the sudden meeting of his long lost childhood friend, incessant affectionate feelings arise within Killua causing doubt within Killua’s one-side relationship with his significant other. Tossing aside his inner conflictions, he decides to spend his evening with Gon only for his best friend to give flourishing hydrangea with an unexpected confession.

Killugon 13

Pairings: Gon Freecss/Killua Zoldyck Warnings: swearing, violence Rated T Gon Freecss, Summer-born Bounty Hunter, has always been known across the Summer Tropic for his prodigy and odd behavior. The bizarre Hunter becomes the center of Tropic gossip once more when he brings his too pale, blue-eyed, and silver-haired Winter-born fiancé, Killua Zoldyck, to the Summer Solstice Celebration. It would be scandalous to invite a Winter-born to the Summer Solstice on any given year. But to completely ignore the increasingly tense political frictions between the Summer and Winter Tropics after the disappearance of Winter Tropic Prince is a new level of blind ignorance that only Ging Freecss’ son seems capable of bearing. Little do they know, faking an engagement to sneak a runway Prince into the Summer Tropic Palace and steal the kingdom’s legendary Looking Glass is exactly the kind of thing Gon would do. The arrangement would prove lucrative to Killua and Gon both if successful. And luckily for Gon, it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to pretend being engaged to someone he’s half in love with already. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?

Killugon 14

Pairing: Killua/Gon

Rating: T

Additional notes: as canon as I can make it, reunion au, about 4 years, aged up kiddos, light fluffy reunion fluff. Gon has a sporting scar down his eye. Fluff

Killua and Gon haven’t seen each other since the world tree. While they tried to keep up with each other in the first few months of separation, their communications teetered off until it was nonexistent.

Killua enjoyed being with Alluka and Nanika, it was amazing seeing the world with them. But every day without Gon weighed heavy on his heart. And maybe Killua was just ignoring how he really felt about it all.

Gon had been travelling the world with his fellow hunters, trying to relearn nen and getting into his usual trouble. But Gon knew it was at best a distraction; to run from his fears and worries- and most of all to distract himself from Killua.

Killua finally plucked the courage (through Alluka forcing him) to meet up with Gon again after almost 4 years. He’s nervous though; will Gon be upset they haven’t spoken in forever? Will Gon have new friends and be far gone from being Killua’s friend? He honestly didn’t know what to expect. He wasn’t expecting a scar on Gon’s eye, among other things.

Killugon 15

Pairing: Killua/Gon Rating: M Warnings: canon-typical violence and light gore, major character death, references to canonical child abuse and canonical csa (read: hisoka). Dark continent arc spoilers. Medieval fantasy AU. Aged up killugon. It’s a legend, told and retold through countless songs, countless stories: of how the humans and the faeries waged a war, great and terrible as all wars are; of how the noblest of knights slew both the Faerie King and himself with a rose of flame. And of how, on that night, a young hero lost himself to darkness. Swearing a terrible oath, he grew from a boy into a man in one night- and thence into a savage, tempestuous giant who stalks long-hidden forests, crushing all who dare oppose him. It’s only a legend- but when the rebellious young nobleman Killua Zoldyck is sentenced to kill that giant, he soon discovers that old legend is more real- and more human- than he could ever have dreamed.

Killugon 16 Pairing: Background KilluGon. Warnings: Canon typical violence, mentions blood, possible graphic depictions

Rated T Gon practices black magic in a city beyond time. Alluka is one of the best tennis players in the world.

Killua is… between jobs.

Gon kicks in their door and says hello by eating fistfuls of salt from their kitchen.

Things get weirder from there. Highlights include: The death of an Elder God, Alluka playing tennis with a demon, Killua going missing Alluka suffering because of her gay brother.

Killugon 17

Title: The Life of Death Pairings: Killugon Rating: T for Teen Tags: Major Character Death, Killugon, Fluff, Angst The life as death is a lonely one for the small nonamed spirit. Every moment spent with another; a fleeting last moment. One often filled with hopelessness and sorrow, but also comfort and release; all things death is used to. All things death has come to expect from those whose pain and life he’s come to take away.

That is until death finds himself face to face with a village boy, named Gon, who appears at the edge of the forest. Surprised by the lack of fear and no trace of pain on that smile plastered face, death ventures closer and an unlikely friendship begins. With a new name and an energetic friend, Killua finds that maybe his life as death isn’t as lonely as he thought it would be. But all of that could fall apart with just a simple touch.

Killugon 18

Rating: G

Pairing: Gon/Killua

Warnings: brief depictions of violence/blood, disembodied pain

There are two types of magic, Aunt Mito tells Gon: the world magic, the things wizards and mages use to shape the world. It’s real, because it’s founded on laws and rationality. It builds bridges and creates cities, tears down walls and destroys mountains. It’s the sort of magic that makes sense.

The Freecss family doesn’t do sensible. Never has. Theirs is the second magic, magic made from dreams. Magicians pull from their imaginations and their dreams to spin stories and grow gardens, to give a moment’s peace to those who can’t sleep or inspire fire and fear in the hearts of the cruel. Dream magic can be quiet, or it can be as awe-inspiring as any rune. But dreams don’t make sense. As much as they can understand about the rules of dreams, there are so many more that defy even the most sensible worlds.

Maybe dreams are the key to understanding Ging. Something he left behind for his son before he vanished, something he understood better than anyone else, so much that he finally got lost in them. Gon’s not sure.

What he is sure of is the impossible boy that drops in his dreams, haunting his waking hours with magic that isn’t only of the world and isn’t only of dreams, a dreamwalker named Killua that claims he doesn’t dream at all.

And how can there be magic without dreams?

Leopika

Leopika 1

Rating: Mature/ Explicit

Warnings/Triggers: Violence, Explicit Sex/NSFW Content, Self-Destructive Tendencies

Pairings: Leopika, probably some mentioned killugon at some point in there

(Modern AU)

When push comes to shove and rumors come to an irritating boiling point, Kurapika makes an impulsive decision to hire Leorio, a broke college student moonlighting as an escort, to help him take care of them. That part of his plan works just fine. It’s just that Leorio never took into account actually liking the guy.

“So wait, you’re hiring me to-“

“You know exactly what I’m hiring you for,” Kurapika says, short and to the point. Leorio politely refrains from opening his mouth, even though it’s probably the second time he’s been polite in his whole life. “You are sexually experienced. I am not. I am tired of my competence being questioned for something I have little interest in, so I’m handling it.”

Handling it by hiring an escort? Leorio opens his mouth, closes it, unsure of how or even why he’s trying to argue with this guy. As long as Leorio gets paid, what does he care?

And then, clearly unimpressed with Leorio’s silence, Kurapika raises an eyebrow. Fuck, Leorio is done for. He’s a goner. The condescension alone could cut glass. “Your… agency told me you were professional. Are you going to be able to live up to that? Or should I leave now and save myself the inevitable disappointment?”

Well, Leorio does have to pay for college somehow.

Leopika 2

Pairing: leopika

Rating: M

Warnings: mentioning of sexual harassment and physical abuse (choking in particular), implied emotional abuse, potential adult themes

Becoming the stylist of one of America’s currently most discussed solo artists isn’t quite how Leorio hoped to start his own career in the music industry, but it will have to do. He has a foot in the door now, and he knows this job can earn him some sorely needed connections. And the work’s not so bad either, even if it sometimes leaves his head spinning and his body struggling to catch a breath. It has quiet moments like these, when it’s just them and their little inside jokes and Kurapika’s dark eyes settle on him with a twinkle of amusement.

In which Leorio is an aspiring singer and songwriter and Kurapika is a musical prodigy with the temper of a rockstar. Together they face the dark aspects of the business and an utter lack of privacy while they pine for each other fiercely, either man unaware of the feelings of the other. Yet, when their first tour comes up, their patience and restraint is put to a new test. A small shared living space. Drunk impromptu karaoke sessions. A childish lovesong, written years ago, that Kurapika rather wants to forget about and that might easily give him away.

One of them is bound to slip up.

Leopika 3

Pairings: Leorio/Kurapika

Rating: T

“I wish we had more time,” Leorio said, voice uncharacteristically fragile. “God, I wish we had more time.”

Kurapika couldn’t bear the pain in the other’s words; couldn’t bear the terrible truth. He felt his eyes close, and he took a shaky breath. Me too, me too.

Kurapika’s mission to retrieve the Scarlet Eyes from the Fourth Prince is a success, but at a steep price. Instead of feeling accomplishment at his deeds, however, he only holds regret. So he is given another chance, a segment of borrowed time to right the wrongs and to actually live. Still, borrowed time is time that must run out, and Kurapika battles with the knowledge that everything that he does, everyone that he loves, are bound to be lost.

Leopika 4

Pairing(s): Leopika Warnings: swearing (kind of a lot), relationship angst. Rating: T Leorio is thinking too much. About Gon and Killua, their brushes with death. About how much they’ve overcome in their young lives. About how inadequate he feels next to his friends, who have both suffered and accomplished so much. Leorio is left alone with these thoughts eating away at him after the Chairman Election and Killua and Gon’s departure - that is until Kurapika calls, saying he wants to meet up with him. In his emotionally fragile state, Leorio agrees, in spite of the knowledge that his reunion with Kurapika will dredge up even more difficult feelings - ones that he’s been trying to ignore since they were last together in Yorkshin. When Kurapika finally arrives, he sees a more vulnerable side of Leorio than he ever has before, and he finds himself in the unusual position of comforting the friend who up until now has always played the support role.

Phantom troupe misc

Troupe misc 1

Pairing: phinkuro (Phinks/Chrollo) Rating: M Warnings: Violence, trauma, physical abuse, forced captivity, descriptions of injuries and body trauma. Minor character death. Bruised and broken and shackled liked a dog in a cage, Phinks lived his life as if every day might be his last. He had no reason to hope for better; he had nothing beyond the steel of the ring, the glare of the lights, the jeers of the hungry crowds eager for blood– And even then, he only had that until he lost. Angels didn’t fly in this place… But one still came regardless.

Troupe misc 2

Warnings: Mentions of Violence, Language

Rating: T

Pairing: Shizuku/Franklin, Mentions of Uvogin/Shalnark and Pakunoda/Machi

In this world, romance is no mystery. Whatever is written on one individual will always appear on their soulmate’s skin, leaving no confusion as to who is destined to be together. It is a novel concept, a blessing meant to ensure that love is found and celebrated. To know you have a soulmate is to live knowing that some part of you is made for another.

Franklin, however, is not convinced that he has anything in common with whoever keeps scribbling constant, ridiculous reminders all over themself.

Troupe misc 3

Pairing: Kurokura

Warnings: swearing, violence, injuries, T rating There are a few perks to holding a grudge. Some enjoy the anger that boils under their skin, while others appreciate the fine art of vendettas. The best perk, however, are the clocks that seemingly appear out of thin air, as if they were tangible proof of one’s hatred. The clocks, simple in body and purpose, ranging from digital timers to hourglasses, have only one sole purpose: to show how long someone has to exact their revenge. Getting revenge within the time limit is top priority. Any action done within the time limit is overlooked by society and the law. Gossip has it that people call this the Grudge Rule, and that anything done out of spite past the time limit set is illegal. In this world, Kurapika was able to encounter and quickly befriend Chrollo. Though unbeknownst to the both of them, because of their meeting, the unfortunate of event of someone’s death was put into action, forcing them to deal with their pasts’ and relationships’, all while trying to find the person responsible for their suffering.

Misc fics

Misc 1

Pairing: meruemkomugi Warnings: (angst, violence)

Rated T

She was the owner of a small bar in the middle of a city that no one really knew. She was also one of the towns core protectors, guarding the streets from outsiders and embracing the fact she was a bit of a rebel at heart. He was a handsome traveller, and a collector of games, searching the world with nothing but a bag full of mysteries to his name. That, and the thought that he had to be somewhere, and meet someone, for a reason he just couldn’t recall. On a dreary, stormy afternoon, as the traveller enters her bar to escape the rain, he finds himself challenging her to a game. “My name is Meruem,” the traveller introduces, his smile one that could capture any heart in an instant. “My name is Komugi, and I hope you don’t think I’m going to let you stay here for free just because you might have a nice face. You’re still gonna have to pay for that drink if ya don’t want me to kick you out of this bar and back into that storm, because trust me, I will.” It’ll take some time, but star crossed lovers always manage to find their way back together again. Even if that means being in another city…both in slightly different, but very human forms…not able to remember who they were a lifetime ago.

[Merukumugi reincarnation au.]

Misc 2

Pairings: Killua and Kurapika Rating: M

Warnings: Graphic Violence, canon triggers from both Btoom! and HxH, angst, drama, implicated relations, slight time travel play.

Following a game ad developed by the Phantom Troupe, Kurapika finally has a lead on the monsters who took everything away from him. The game was called Btoom! The same one Kurapika was so disinterested in when he first saw it advertised. Now, however, he was going to hunt down the company and kill the developers. That was the plan, until he wakes the next night to discover himself trapped on an island. With only a pack of explosives and a sensor chip implanted in his hand to protect himself against people who wanted to kill each other! Shocking as that was, Kurapika quickly learns that he is in the game of Btoom! The same one that was taking up the crazed nation of his world, only this time it was undeniably real. As he continues to progress in the strange game of survival, his carefully cultivated hate over the years start to crack after he meets Gon, Killua, and Leorio, other survivors on the island, but so full of prospect for him that Kurapika began to develop feelings for them. But the game is more than trying for Kurapika, for he has to battle the demons inside his head as well, and figure out his ultimate decision: survive in this new place and win the game with his newfound friends, or risk everyone’s brittle safety to find a way to get off the island and defeat the troupe. Yet, what if he died in the game before getting his revenge? If he could get vengeance in the first place?

[Btoom! AU] a crossover *Btoom! is a manga/anime series about a survival game on a remote island. A supposedly harmless video game called Btoom! is recreated in real life. Known to the people in the anime as an rpg game where you take out players with bombs called bims and a tracking device in one’s hand, the recreation of the game to real life is kept secret from the public. So the players, random civilians disowned by their loved ones through the btoom developers, have to kill one another by a set of rules to win the game and go home without help from the outside world.

Misc 3

Pairings: Hisoka/Senritsu, Kurapika/Senritsu, Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic violence, graphic sexual content, mentions of abuse, mentions of PTSD, mentions of survivor’s guilt, body horror, gore, horrorfest from hell taking place on a ship from hell

Additional notes: canon-compliant through Chimera Ant Arc. Dark Continent Expedition Arc AU. Not for the faint of heart. Spooky.

A scrap of paper with a single line of notes from the Dark Sonata has appeared deep within the treasure trove of the Kakin Royal Family. When Senritsu learns of the Dark Continent expedition, she realizes she has one more chance to make things right before it all falls to pieces. Compelled by its lure, she rejects Kurapika’s offer to join the expedition as a bodyguard, and instead sneaks into the ship under the guise of a peasant searching for a better life. Hidden in the subaltern, she shadows the princes as she pieces together the reasons behind the Royal Family’s possession of the notes. Meanwhile, a clown stalks a cluster of spiders, but catches a hint of a melody in the wind. Putting his initial quest on hold, he offers a helping hand to the woman with the wide-brimmed hat. Following close behind is Kurapika, who knows his friend is stalking the princes, but can’t bring himself to question her motives when the Kurta eyes beckon him towards them. Maybe it’s fate, or maybe it’s the evil seeping out of every corner of the ship, but either way, a song haunts the hallways. It’s a song Senritsu knows well. It may be the last song she ever hears- and the last song she ever plays.

Misc 4

Rating : T

Characters : Bisky, Feitan, Chrollo

The Opal and the Obsidian

No one can fool Bisky Krueger, and certainly not this young Nostrade man, an obscure stone trafficker that no one had ever heard about yet. But he surprised her when he vanished with the precious Moire, a gem of crystalised nen, extremely rare, expensive and powerful.

The motives of this mysterious man are unclear, and can’t be explained by greed only. But only greed pushed the two Nostrade mercenaries to try to rob her. Greed and stupidity : they are young, inexperienced and don’t even master their nen.

Their names are Chrollo and Feitan and it’s the very first time they go out of Meteor City. They have the informations she needs, but they won’t give ‘them away for free. They’ll help her take back the Moire if she trains them.

Her? A trainer? She is not a teacher and she hates kids anyway, but she has no choice. She has to earn their trust and respect. There’s a long way to go…

Misc 5

Rating: T Warnings: Violence, some mentions of gore Pairing: Gen

Up the mountain, surrounded by dense woods and an ever-looming fog, is a house known to all around. No one dares venture near it. No one human, that is — until Gon Freecs wanders into the gloom without a second thought. They say herbs that heal all illness grow under that strange moonlight… He’s sure the Zoldycks — kitsune, mischief-makers and purveyors of miracles — have something that can help his gravely ill great-grandmother. He crosses the boundary between the woods and the deeper forest — and fortunately, doesn’t meet the same fate others have suffered. A strange white-haired boy has found him instead.

Misc 6

Pairings: Mizai/Zepile, Leopika

Warnings: mild gore and horror associated with flesh collecting and mafia dealings, some violence

Rating: T

As the reputed “conscience of the Zodiacs”, the black-and-white print of Mizaistom’s daily ensemble reflects not only his bovine aesthetic, but also his judicial manner of thinking in painstakingly defined terms of right and wrong before taking action. Although he bears no special ill will towards prospective new Boar Leorio, when Cheadle assigns Mizaistom the mission to locate the nigh impossible to reach Kurapika and invite him to join the Zodiacs at Leorio’s personal request, Mizaistom finds himself tempted to conduct his own investigation into who Rookie Hunter Leorio really is in order to uncover the true nature of Leorio’s connection to a flesh collector’s lackey turned mafia boss.

In a serendipitous encounter that promises to accomplish both Cheadle’s mission as well as his own, Mizaistom meets Leorio’s friend Zepile, an auction-savvy antiques trader with aspirations of becoming a Hunter himself one day. Mizaistom employs Zepile to serve as his undercover agent within the flesh collectors’ market, where he hopes to attract the attention of Kurapika’s henchmen and secure a meeting with their elusive boss face-to-face. However, the case demands a high level of continuous cooperation between the moralistic Ox and ex-counterfeiter Zepile, and over time, Zepile’s criminal past and what Mizaistom considers an insufficient effort to redeem himself test Mizaistom’s strict sense of justice and his belief that no criminal has truly repented a crime if they haven’t allowed themselves to be tried and held accountable by the law.

Misc 7

Pairing: Cluck/Kanzai

Rating: T

Warnings: canon-typical violence

ORCHiDELiRiUM: the name given to a period of time where the acquisition and discovery of rare orchid plants reached a fever pitch among the collectors and enthusiasts of the wealthy and titled. None were prized more highly than the rare Black Orchid, native to a small republic whose only access point was severed by a tremendous rockslide during the plant’s last cyclic bloom nearly seven years ago. Professional Botanical Hunter Cluck is contracted to not only recover a specimen of the rare flower, but protect it from any and all intruders. She is more than up for the first task, but for the second, she enlists the help of her colleague Kanzai, and the two find themselves battling mafia legions, the strangely misanthropic people of the once-isolated nation, and a living forest in pursuit of their prize.

Misc 8

Rating: M

Pairing: (Slight)HisoIllu

“Caught in the midst of an impromptu fight, Hisoka’s phone slips from his pocket.

Gon and Killua, drawn in by the powerful bursts of Nen, are the first to pick it up.

Just what exactly does Hisoka have on his phone? How many snapchats can they send before they’re found out? How many bizarre texts can they flood Illumi and others with before they get angry?

And what will happen when Hisoka comes to get his phone back?”

#hxhbb18 #do not reblog

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gillianmaddoxx · 3 years

Text

( PHOEBE TONKIN, 26, CIS FEMALE ) I just bumped into [ GILLIAN MADDOX ] the other day while walking down [ NORTH ] Kingsboro, where [ SHE/HER ] live. I hear they can be [ INTELLECTUAL ] and [ WITHDRAWN ], but when I think of them I immediately think about [ A SONOROUS VOICE TELLING A STORY, BROKEN RECORDS SCATTERED ON THE CONCRETE, THE SCENT OF CIGARETTES AND VINTAGE LEATHER ] ( saxon, 26, she/her, cst )

Out Of Character

Hi, it’s me, back again! 🥰 This time with a character much less delightful than Teagan. 🥴 Regardless of such, we are still always open for connections, ideas or plots so please, please, please do not hesitate to hit me up if you want to conjure something up with this absolute nightmare.

Basic Information

Full Name: Gillian Rose Maddox.

Nickname(s): Gil, Gilly Bean.

Birthday: July 12th, 1994.

Orientation: Pansexual.

Language(s) Spoken: English.

Background (Trigger Warnings; drug/alcohol abuse, murder/suicide.)

Gillian Rose Maddox was actually born Gillian Rose Halifax to Charlotte and Warren Halifax of Los Angeles, California in the summer of 94′.

The couple were high school sweethearts that had moved to the city two months before the birth of their first and only child as Warren was in the beginnings of a musical career and wanted his wife and child as nearby as possible.

By the time their daughter was one, Warren had officially released his first album and had quickly entered the mainstream. By the time she was three, Warren had gained popularity worldwide and slowly drifted into someone his wife didn’t recognize.

TW: SUBSTANCE ABUSE The world of Hollywood and rock were filled with alcohol and drugs that had begun to consume the musician. He wasn’t often home and the times he was tended to present the same routine of yelling about everything in their lives before passing out on the couch or the floor, smelling of death.

After many instances of being screamed at for simply being in a room or making a sound, Gillian developed selective mutism. It was as if the second she was able to speak clearly, she held no desire to, words only coming from her when she was alone with her mother.

TW: MURDER & SUICIDE & GUNS One day when Gillian was nine, after a particularly bad mix of alcohol and drugs, Warren was brought home by his manager and a close company friend in a delusional state. The male was angrier than usual and ranting about things that didn’t connect or make logical sense and while Charlotte attempted to bring him back to reality, a shot sounded through the house and suddenly the woman was on the ground. While the manager attempted to gather control of the situation and the gun, it took mere seconds for another shot to echo out and Warren to crumple.

Due to his namesake and the fanbase that he had built, the two men worked quickly to change the scene and present it as a break in gone wrong before calling authorities, claiming they had arrived to the home minutes ago and that the couple’s daughter had been found sleeping safely in her bed.

Gillian had tried desperately to communicate the truth with the cops but words failed her and the case was eventually deemed an unsolved double murder, a tragedy to the music community and Warren’s fans worldwide, one still mourned to this day.

After the incident, she was was sent to go live with her grandmother in Saranac Lake, New York. A home that was a vast change to the house and city she had been raised in up to that point, an unfamiliar quiet embracing her.

Therapy had been attempted, as had school, but a refusal to speak paired with a trauma of too loud of places led to most days being spent in the quiet of her grandmother’s home, homeschooling and a separation from most of the world.

As years passed, communication slowly began to blossom more and more, though it tended to remain in one word answers and shorts responses, it was much more than the silence that she had offered in the beginning.

By the time she was seventeen, a fascination with the world of true crime - particularly unsolved murders, had blossomed to a point that her grandmother deemed concerning. She had insisted upon meeting with a police chief in a nearby town to discuss a case, though upon arrival, found herself unable to relay what she wanted to. Instead, Gillian went home and recorded the story and findings that she had unraveled and returned to play it for him. Of course, they initially thought the teenager to have no idea what she was referring to, but everything she had listed somehow added up and an arrest was made, solving a four year old cold case. It was at the station that an officer first mentioned the intrigue of her storytelling, words that would stick with the girl for years to come.

At nineteen, Gillian’s grandmother passed and she was left alone once again.

Somehow, she found herself moving into the bustle of the city, changing her last name in order to retain some amount of anonymity and cut association with her father. She settled in North Kingsboro, and with no need for a job as she had inherited her father’s royalties on her eighteenth birthday, she found herself looking into something that she had been thinking about for the past two years, a podcast.

Gillian began diving deep into unsolved cases all across the country, studying everything from crime scene analysis to psychology, using her father’s money to hire private investigators and hackers, finding cases and trying to crack them or at least, be able to provide the details that might.

The first episode of ‘That Quiet Night’ was released in December of 2015, a podcast hosted by someone only ever identifying themselves by the name “Rose”. Since that time, the podcast has helped solve 11 cases and re-open 23 additional ones, increasing both interest and tips in cases all around the country, managing to come in at number 7 on the list of Top 100 Podcasts in the US last year.

Personality

Hear me out? She’s not a horrible person, okay, I swear it. However, she’s still not great with talking and even then, she never managed therapy or emotions so she’s just kind of blunt and straightforward about the facts and what she’s thinking? She doesn’t do it to be insensitive, it’s just all she knows how to do? Pry doesn’t even realize the way she’s affecting people and certainly wouldn’t understand or know what to do if someone started crying on her or something of the sort. She’s just a broken and confused baby who doesn’t know how to socialize like a normal human.

Desired Connections

Childhood friends; another celebrity kid, they could have just met when their parents all hung out or lived nearby, they wouldn’t know what had happened to Gillian but maybe recognize her when they see her?

Exes; this girl doesn’t understand feelings enough to pry do a proper relationship but maybe someone tried or thought they were in a relationship and she’s like no?

Hookups; she a hoe, that’s all.

Coworkers; I use that term loosely but basically anyone involved with law enforcement in any way that maybe worked with her on a case in the past or even is doing so currently?

Literally anything you can think of, please hit me with it, okay!!

#wow this took wayyyyy too long but here we are #kingsboro.intro

0 notes

thetrumpdebacle · 6 years

Link

When she heard the news story of the 13 siblings allegedly held captive in their California home by their parents, Susanne Reisenbichler’s said her first reaction was, “Oh no. Somebody else.”

Interested in California Captivity Case?

Add California Captivity Case as an interest to stay up to date on the latest California Captivity Case news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

Reisenbichler and her sons Govinda Angulo and Josef Reisenbichler said hearing the reports on the Turpin siblings brought back memories of what they experienced while being confined to a cramped New York City apartment until just a few years ago.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said 13 siblings — ages 2 to 29 — were allegedly being held captive at their home in Perris, California, by their parents David and Louis Turpin. When discovered, several of the children were “shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings,” the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities were alerted to the situation when a 17-year-old girl, who apparently escaped from the home, called 911 and said her 12 brothers and sisters were still being held captive there, the sheriff’s office said.

The parents David Turpin, 57, and Louise Turpin, 49, have each been charged with 12 counts of torture, 12 counts of false imprisonment, seven counts of abuse of a dependent adult and six counts of child abuse. David Turpin was also charged with one count of a lewd act on a child under the age of 14 by force, fear or duress. They have pleaded not guilty.

“I was horrified, and beyond that, it brought just a flood of emotions and memories and thoughts of my own experience and my children’s experience,” Reisenbichler told ABC News’ “20/20.” “It really was more than shocking. It was just so many emotions at once: a lot of compassion and empathy and also understanding and knowing exactly what they went through, what those children were feeling.”

Susanne Reisenbichler says since the documentary “The Wolfpack” was released she’s been working on her memoir and writing children’s books.

“It definitely struck a lot of chords throughout the years since that story has been told from our family. I’ve done what I can to put it away, but it’s brought back a lot of memories,” Govina Angulo, now 25, told “20/20.”

For more than a decade, Reisenbichler shared an apartment with her now-estranged husband Oscar Angulo, her oldest child and only daughter Visnu and her sons Govinda, his twin Narayana (who now goes by Josef), Mukunda, Bhagavan, Krsna (who now goes by Glenn) and Jagadesh (who now goes by Eddie).

Oscar Angulo, a Hare Krishna devotee from Peru, forbade his children and wife from leaving their apartment and held the front door’s only key. Aside from the few trips outside allowed for appointments or strictly controlled visits to New York tourist destinations, the children had no contact with the outside world.

ABC News

Twin bothers Govinda Angulo and Josef Reisenbichler reflected on their life since leaving the small New York City apartment they were confined to for over a decade.

“Our father was pretty paranoid about a lot of things,” Govinda said.

On the 16th floor of a public housing development which the family of nine called home in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the children were raised in four small rooms, homeschooled by their mother. Neighbors told “20/20” they didn’t see the children.

By the time the children had reached their mid-teens, Angulo had covered the windows of the apartment with blankets, and claustrophobia began to take a hold on the brothers. It wasn’t until one day in 2010, that Mukunda, the third youngest who was 15 at the time, found the courage to step outside alone for the first time.

Though her family had more freedom and less harsh conditions than the Turpin siblings allegedly lived in, Reisenbichler said she found similarities between her family’s experiences and that of the Turpins.

“When I heard the 17-year-old, I thought, ‘Mukunda was 15 when he broke out, so it’s a very close age,’” Reisenbichler said.

Magnolia Pictures

Until five years ago, the six Angulo brothers were rarely let outside.

“I can’t, you know, speak for every family who’s gone through similar experiences. But I guess … with anybody who’s … confined you only know people from that world that you’ve been confined to,” Josef, now 25, said. “I think we knew in our gut that our situation was not right and we just didn’t fully understand it and but… because you have only each other to reach out to and to make the best you can out of it with whatever you can because a bond happens.”

After the boys, known as “the Wolfpack,” started leaving the apartment more often, they eventually gained more freedom to explore the outside world.

For years, the family didn’t have any outside friends until the brothers met director Crystal Moselle, who befriended them after she saw the boys walking down the streets of the Manhattan with their waist-long dark hair and sunglasses.

Moselle turned the family’s story into the documentary, “The Wolfpack,” which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015. And their lives haven’t been the same since.

Reisenbichler said it’s a complex question to ask why her children didn’t leave their homes sooner.

“Most people have that thought, ‘Why didn’t you leave? Why didn’t you get out?’ And that is whether the questioner realizes it or not,” Reisenbichler said. “It’s projecting blame onto the victim or the survivor, you know, asking, ‘Why didn’t you do this?’ Because it’s a very, very complex situation and it’s not easy to understand.”

Govinda Angulo

The Angulo brothers who starred in the documentary “The Wolfpack” say they continue to adjust to life outside of their apartment.

Josef said it’s fear of the outside world fostered by his father that made it especially hard to leave.

“That’s why it’s hard to break out and why you hold back for so long and why you hold back from any kind of help that may be possible, because it’s the conditioning, whether you realize it or whether you feel in your gut that it’s wrong. It’s very hard to break that especially when you become used to it your whole life,” Josef said.

Josef said that as his family met more people and slowly got to know more of what it was outside of their apartment, he feared what would happen in the future.

“’Do we go back? Do we break away from it forever?’” Josef recalled thinking. “It’s a break in your reality and you don’t know what’s going to happen and you don’t really know especially how to feel about it. You don’t know that you feel that this is a good thing or if this could just be a road to some [worse] thing.”

Though they said their lives have since changed for the better, Govinda said the experience will always be a part of them.

“In a way, it’s shaped us for who we are… I don’t know how we would’ve turned out if it had been something with the Turpins we went through,” Govinda said.

Govinda Angulo

Govinda Angulo, left, and two of his brothers are pictured together riding the train.

Reisenbichler said she watched as her sons overcame the hurdles of learning “how the everyday little details of a normal society are carried out.”

“They had to learn directions and how to go places and what subway lines went where and how to pay for a subway card and how to use the subway card. That was a really big thing, and just things like paying for food in the grocery store or going to buy a notebook … let alone preparing for job applications,” Reisenbichler said. “If you’ve never seen it and you’ve never dealt with it, it’s overwhelming. And I really have to give my children a lot of credit in how extremely well they’ve just handled everything, and just, you know, bounced through and they’ve just embraced all of the things that they’ve had to learn and catch up on, that people who are 10 years old already know normally in our society.”

“Some of the hardest adjustments I think mostly is having personal connections with other people because you feel you don’t,” Josef said. “Your own reality and our reality was so far removed.”

“In reality, we’re still adjusting,” Govinda said.

Today, many of the brothers have moved out of the apartment, and Oscar Angulo no longer lives there.

“My husband is no longer living at the apartment, and there was a big celebration for that. And I am still little by little continuing to work on a memoir of my life and my time with my children. And I’m also in the middle of working on some children’s books,” Reisenbichler said.

Both Josef and Govinda share an apartment with a friend.

When asked if they had a message for the Turpin siblings, Reisenbichler said, “I would like to say to the family that, don’t lose faith and don’t lose hope.”

“And however hard it will be, don’t be afraid to connect, to reach to people,” Govinda said.

via The Trump Debacle

#IFTTT #The Trump Debacle

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radreactions · 7 years

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Dream Daddy/Mummy

Written by @saintlyguy who was inspired by a dating sim called “Dream Daddy.”

*Warning - Imminent cuteness ahead!*

Ada: The bumbling mom who’s first priority is to protect her child. Although Ada is fully capable of looking after her child and teach them common sense, she’s not the best cook or cleaner. When she’s not extinguishing the oven fire she started, she’d ask help from her neighbor Codsworth, even for babysitting while she works as an arithmetic (probably for NASA to uncover some hidden figures). Although her house isn’t the most organized place, Ada provides a safe environment for her child despite her doubts and flaws.

Cait: At first, she’d have cold feet; to think she of all people could raise a child on her own. She would need to gradually warm up to the idea, at first being frustrated with providing food and bed for two. Despite her callous personality, Cait would refrain from yelling at her child and forbid herself from laying a hand on them. Coming from abusive parents, Cait would want to be the caring mother she never had. She would need PLENTY of help from Nate/Nora, considering they’re much more experienced in parenting as well as etiquette. That means less drinking (few shots a week don’t hurt), stop getting into (as much) fights and to cut back on swearing. Overtime with assistance of her friends and a swear jar, you could see Cait walking through Sanctuary Hills with her kid in hand. Eventually she would begin to teach them how to fight. She would kinda be like Black Canary in the Injustice series.

Curie: The apex mother; plenty of love, hugs, kisses, cuddles and snuggles. Her child would be pampered emotionally and prepared educationally. Curie would homeschool her child, so well that they will most likely study abroad on scholarships. Mama Curie will always ensure that her child eats healthy, properly maintains hygiene and above all feel as if they can always turn to her for anything. She would do the “Get Out” challenge across a playground in order to kiss her child’s boo-boo. Whenever her child accomplished a feat, no matter how small (especially during potty-training) they would be met with a small applause and a kiss on the forehead. Mama shines especially when taking care of her sick child. “Rest mon cher, Mama will nurse you back to health.” No doubt her child will grow up into a reflection of her selflessness.

Danse: Military dad. Disciplining his child so that they could be much better and stronger than he is. Also the dad to walk around in buttoned shirts with rolled up sleeves. He’d be especially involved in his child’s health and well-being. Willing to spend any expense for his child’s pursuits, so long as he finds them practical and morally sound. An example would be when he closed the door on a recruiter from CIT. “Damn Institute.” Despite his mildly overprotectiveness, Danse’s child will always have a shoulder to cry on; arms to hold them; a rock to lean on. As a baby his child would always be willing to sleep on his broad chest or be carried in a baby harness. Many admirers of him would envy the child for being the apple of his eye.

Deacon: The cool yet irresponsible dad. Always looking for creative ways to have fun with his child; taking them out to conventions, festivals, arcades and amusement parks. He would even go so far as to design his child’s room to their liking; if they love Batman, his child would be sleeping in their own Batcave. How does he afford all this? “Don’t you worry your little head, nothing’s too much when it comes to my little one.” However the father and child would always be covered in bandages, since safety isn’t always taken into account; like that time he dressed up as Bane so that his child could defeat him as Batman/woman, which ended with Deacon having a broken nose and a missing tooth.

Dogmeat: No one, NO ONE will ever harm his puppy. You looking to harm Pupmeat? You will hear the most intimidating snarls and barks in your life. Here’s a translation: “Motherfucker you lay a hand on my pup, I will bite your genitals and ass off. Afterwards my pup and I will tear up your skin. Afterwards, I’m gonna shit in your mouth and leave your corpse to the maggots.”

Gage: Similar to Cait, Gage would have no idea how to handle fatherhood. At first his only concern would be providing basic needs. After seeing how fussy his child can be without any attention, he began to take into account their wants. This would be annoying to Gage as he began to carry his child wherever he went. Soon he became a much more responsible father; telling bedtime stories and teaching his child what he knew. He would however know to give them space here and there so that “They don’t grow up to be a pussy.” As much as he loves his child, if they were to go do something stupid, he wouldn’t be afraid to throw his slipper at them.

Hancock: The ghoul would want to pass on his ideals of freedom onto his child in order to help improve the world, but first he would need to change the man in the mirror first. No more chems. For real. He’d ensure that the vices of Goodneighbor would not corrupt his child; they would be the diamond in the rough. His child would have much freedom in how they express themself; clothing, identity and interests. Anyone would dare bully his child would feel a knife poke into their back as they’re dragged back into an alleyway for a discussion. “‘Boys can’t wear dresses/ Girls can’t wear suits?’ You and I need to have a talk.”

Longfellow: The outdoor dad; type to shop at North Face or Bass Co. Wears fishing vests and hiking boots wherever, whenever. Not shy about drinking in front of his child, although he would hold off on sharing a drink until they’re 21. Takes his kid camping/hunting/fishing once a year. Takes a cross-country trip with an RV to see wonders of nature. He would want to raise his child out of a metropolitan area, probably somewhere like the frontier.

MacCready: Duncan would have someone to share his interests, be it Grognak comics or mutfruit. The lucky kid would always have someone to watch the latest Marvel movie with, sometimes even going in cosplay; their favorite by far is Guardians of the Galaxy Vo. 2 (for obvious reasons for those who have seen it). MacCready is always willing to roleplay and even larp with Duncan, having plenty of cardboard to cut into whatever they need. Whenever he isn’t playing with Duncan, MacCready is out working his tail at two jobs; despite medical bills for Duncan, the father and son are able to live happily.

Nick Valentine (story time; Lego Batman reference!): After chasing a lead regarding the Mysterious Stranger, Nick returns to the agency for a new case in Far Harbor. Heading to the terminal, Nick researches a disappearance and how he’ll get there. “Fastest route to Far Harbor.” The terminal isn’t responding. “FASTEST ROUTE! Why isn’t this thing working?”

Dun dun duh! “Hello Mister Valentine. I’ve just taken away your terminal privilege.” GASP

“Lucky for me, I got a master password.”

“You mean “ellie_sucks.” Crap. “Nick, it’s time you start taking responsibility of your life and it starts by raising your daughter.”

“I’m sorry, I’m completely lost.”

“The young orphan you let in with you, she’s been living here for a while and I’m quite fond of her.”

“Well I don’t have time to watch a kid. Send her back to wherever she came. Or the orphanage if they still have any.”

“Mr. Valentine this will be great for you. Start getting you back with us socializing people. Let her into your life as you let me in.”

“As someone who doesn’t know how it feels to have a surrogate father, you shouldn’t be telling me how I should run my life, now lift the terminal lock.” Slyly, Ellie opens the door to allow the young girl in. “Ellie, what are you doing?!”

“Letting Piper into your life.”

“Don’t forget Nat!” a squeaky voice announced as the door closes behind Valentine’s new daughter. Wait. Daughters. Ellie may have let that detail slide.

Piper: Having an appropriate job to support her plus one family, she would live in a condo with her child and auntie Nat. Given her punctuality for news, Piper told the best bedtime stories; not ever needing to read from a storybook. Her child’s imagination would soar while their grammar and writing surpasses their classmates’. Nat would be competitive regarding who’s a better caretaker; Piper won this when she brought in Grandpa Valentine dressed up as Santa for Christmas. Eventually Nat will settle for second best; what child could resist Piper showering them with kisses and cooing “Who’s my little pearl? You are!”

Preston: A parent whose care almost rivals that of Curie, maybe even Nora/Nate. Preston would raise his child close to school, the park and their favorite restaurant. He’s the dad who would wear a funny apron while baking brookies for his child and their friends. He may not understand some of the songs his child enjoys, but he’ll put up with them so long as the songs aren’t derogatory; he was on the fence when his child would listen to The Fuxedos. Preston’s concern grew as his child grew. As much as his child understands, hearing “Another college needs your application” daily gets old.

Strong: The dad who wears the shirts that say stuff like “guns don’t kill, dads do.” Everybody wonders how the hell did anyone decide to have a kid with that guy. But they quickly change their minds when they see how Strong scared off some hoodlums with a single stare. He would always be the chaperone for his child’s school trips. Although he may not be that smart and has to use a flip phone, Strong makes up for it by providing safety for his child and their friends. Although no one dares to invite him to their barbeque, he’ll probably eat everything (but ensures to keep two whole steaks for his child.)

X6-88: Being cold on the outside and seemingly apathetic makes it hard to see X6 as a parent. None of his neighbors know his past, or where he gets his income, but this dad is able to provide organic meals for his child as well as get them pretty pricey outfits. Ever since they were a baby, X6’s child would wear gold Rayban aviators, similar to their father. X6 would ensure that his child’s posture and strut just exhausts power and regality. But what most people don’t realize, is that he doesn’t shy away from staycations in pajamas and having lightsaber fights with his kid once and awhile.

Nora/Nate: Fresh cookies baked in the afternoon, homemade costumes/cosplay, a robot butler and faithful dog. This household just gives off family vibes. Nora/Nate would ensure that Shaun would grow up into a person more grand than they are. They would be on top of everything Shaun is interested in. Their family would be the envy of Sanctuary Hills. If only.

Conrad Kellogg: Although this he scares most people, his wife and daughter, Sarah and Mary would feel safe in their bungalow near San Francisco. Although prefers to keep to himself and his family, Kellogg would always take his family out so that they may enjoy themselves and each other. But what’s secret to everyone, even to his family is a secret room where does some pretty shady business.

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newtreefarm · 4 years

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Okay, so, if my next kitten will come from my new husband, then I will be getting married again. If that's the case, what am I looking for?

Superficially: tall, red hair would be nice, musical (I'm not a soloist but I like to sing and I like good music. I would like him to be able to at least sing on key, but a good voice would be a bonus).

Deeper characteristics: he loves the Lord with all his heart and has an active, growing, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ (this is first and foremost above everything). Someone who is kind and can be patient with me as the Lord completes my healing process (some of it can only be done in a healthy relationship). Someone who will love my son like his own child and can understand visits with his dad. Someone who will never cheat on me, or be abusive to me or my son. Someone who can handle money wisely and offer security (I don't mean he has to be rich, but he needs to manage what he has well, and be trusted to provide for his family). Preferably someone who welcomes my conviction to be a stay-at-home mom. That doesn't mean I won't work at all, but that my work would have to be scheduled around the kid(s)--like the sewing job I have now. Someone who has a good sense of humor and likes to have fun but doesn't always want to be away from the home. I want us to be best friends who prefer to be with each other. We don't always have to be home or with each other, but I'd like it to be our first choice. And last, but in no way least, someone who knows how to love deeply and how to be loved deeply.

So, that's my list, or what I could come up with now. It's not necessarily in the order of importance. I just put it down in the order I thought of it. And...I'm sure there are more things to add that didn't come to mind right now. But, this is a good picture.

What I do know is that the Lord has to be the match-maker this time. I tried my own hand at it last time and ended-up divorced. I have a feeling that this time, only He will be able to do it anyways. That's kinda the story of my life right now--what's impossible becomes possible with God. Expect a miracle! (Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way). I'll do what He wants & when He wants it, but only if I'm sure of both. I sure don't want to take it out of His hands.

Ah, well, back to the daily news. Tomorrow is homeschool co-op. I've been sewing more than usual and more than originally planned for the last couple of days. As a result, I'm more tired and stressed than I'd like. I'm trying to earn more & feel like I need to push things this week. I'll need to pray and make sure it's Him telling me to push myself & not just me. I need to find a good, healthy balance. I haven't even been relaxed enough to do ceramics all week so far. The good news, though, is a tweak to the timing and amounr of my vitamin shot has made me feel close to normal again. My old self is waking up again and I like it. Maybe that's why I'm pushing myself. The more I work, the more I make, and then I can get a new curling iron and nail polish, a new pair of earrings to wear with my short hair, and maybe a movie ticket to go see the new Star Wars movie (if it's still in theaters). Is that greedy? All these things I want to buy. I don't want to be greedy, but sometimes money is just necessary. Ah, I will pray that the Lord changes my heart if I'm wrong. I am, however, enjoying feeling like I know who I am again. Like I woke up after a long winter's sleep. Well, enough of my ramblings for today. I need some sleep before the school bell rings in the morning. God bless and good night.

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dontgoawayemily · 7 years

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My Name is My Identity

By: Emma Ron

Now let’s get one thing straight, my name is Emma Ron. It’s what I introduce myself as, it’s what my friends and coworkers call me, hell, it’s even what my bosses call me. It’s my name, however, it’s not the name I was born with. I was born Emily Ron. Yes, I know, “Emma” and “Emily” aren’t that far apart and being called one over the other should not be a big deal right? But it totally is. I’ve been getting shit my whole life from people who don’t understand what a name can mean to someone. That’s exactly why I’m writing this essay, to explain to people how much a name can mean and why it is important to call someone by the name they prefer.

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to change my name. I have memories of being in first grade and writing “Elizabeth” on all of my assignments instead of “Emily”. As time went on though, I started to realize that I was just going to have to suck it up and start using my real name, no matter how much I didn’t like it and no matter how much it didn’t fit me. So I started going by “Emily” again.

I went through a hard time in middle school. Being born in 1999 meant that “Emily” was the most popular name of my birth year and that there were a lot of girls named “Emily” at my school. In each one of my classes there were at least two other Emilys, and both of them were always more “popular” or “cool” than me. Sometimes i’d be in class and would hear someone say “Hey, Emily” and i’d turn around to see what they needed only to find that they weren’t talking to me, but the cooler Emily, and once they saw that I had dared turn around they would say something along the lines of “Why would you actually think we were talking to you?!”. I would turn back around in my seat and resume my classwork. Of course I was stupid for thinking they would be talking to me.

There were also, of course, the “Emily Rankings” in which guys in our class would say “Who's the hottest Emily?”. You’d always hear things like “OH Emily Mason is amazing” or “Emily Lopez is so hot!” but you sure as hell would also always hear “Emily Ron? Shes an ugly mother fucker.”

It was also around this time that I only had one friend. Her name was Cristal, and she didn’t do much to boost my confidence either. She would constantly threaten to stop being my friend unless I waited on her hand and foot and did whatever she said, which of course, I did.

During this time I found myself depressed and in need of a creative outlet where I could be myself and vent my feelings to people who could relate. This was when I opened my first blog. I stared and my empty bio and started to type “Hi! My name is” and then stopped. This was my chance to be who I wanted to be, someone stronger than the bullied girl at school, someone completely different. “Hi! My name is Emma”, I wrote. The blog I created ended up helping me a ton, I could post what I actually liked and show my true colors unlike in my school.

The bullying and emotional abuse however, only continued into high school. I still only had the one friend and was pretty much having a shitty time. By the end of freshman year I had pretty much accepted that for the rest of my time at high school I was going to be “the shittiest and the ugliest of the Emily's”, the girl with only one crappy friend and was afraid to talk in class. Then the unthinkable happened. The summer before sophomore year my only friend, Cristal, dropped out.

I was totally caught off guard. What was I going to do now? Now I was not only the lame and ugly shy girl but I also had no friends. I cried for about a week straight, begging my mom to homeschool me and put me out of my misery. Of course that was never going to happen, and I had to think fast on how I was going to save myself. I turned again to my blog. If only I could be the cool Emma Ron from my blog in real life. Maybe I could.

School started again and instead of introducing myself to teachers and peers as “Emily” I introduced myself as “Emma”. It was the first time I was comfortable in my own skin. I don’t know what it is about the name “Emily” but it was holding me back. The second I became Emma in real life I became who I really am inside, I was no longer afraid to show my true colors and my life started getting so much better. I joined clubs, participated in classes, and had too many friends to count at one point. Being “Emma” made my life 360 for the better.

Becoming “Emma” is easily the best thing i’ve ever done for myself. But of course, it has to come with it’s issues. My high school had a facebook confessions page which was pretty much just a page to talk shit on students. As poor little freshman “Emily” I never expected to see my name appear amongst the drama but low and behold, in my senior year I find myself staring, dumbfounded, at my computer screen. Someone had actually taken the time to type out a rant about how ridiculous they thought it was that I go by “Emma” instead of “Emily. It was pretty meanly written too. Now on this page, normally people in the comments agree with the poster and gang up on whoever the post is about, and when I saw 33 comments I immediately thought that was going to be the case. However, when I opened the comment section I saw what I never expected to see, my classmates standing up for me. 33 of my classmates had commented on the post, saying that the poster was out of line for saying what he did and that it doesn’t matter to him what I prefer to be called. I cried of happiness for the first time in my life that day. The classmates that used to torment “Emily” were standing up for “Emma”. I had never felt more accepted in my life.

The bit of ridicule from my classmates was easily brushed off my shoulders, what isn’t so easily dodged are the attacks from my mother. My mother has always been offended that I prefer the name “Emma” to the name she gave me. She takes it personally when she really shouldn’t. I get where she’s coming from though, I can see why she would feel bad and why it may upset her, but the way she handles it is horrible. Everytime she hears someone call me “Emma” she corrects them. “Her name’s Emily”, she’ll say. Or if she sees me write my name as “Emma” she’ll say, “That’s not your name”. She never will call me Emma, and i’ve learned to accept it, but it makes me feel horrible every time she down plays my name because i’m not Emily anymore.

To me, Emily is that little girl in middle school who’s afraid to speak in class and only has one friend. As far as i’m concerned, she never aged up past 15. I’m Emma now. Emma is strong, independant, and doesn’t take shit from anyone. She’s brave and enjoys speaking in class, she knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to do what she needs to get it, and she has a countless amount of friends who love and care about her. Emily and Emma are two completely different people.

That’s why it’s important not to question what people ask you to call them. You never know what they went through to get to that name, or what it really means to them. A name is more than a name. It is a reflection on the wearer. Your name is your identity, and mine is Emma.

#mine #writing #name #essay #depression #article #emma #emily #my story #identity #names #original #my writing

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unixcommerce · 4 years

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Patrick Knight of Adobe: 57% of Parents Feel Closer to Coworkers Now Despite Working from Home

This week Adobe released a US-based study of one thousand currently employed people who usually work in an office setting to see how they are working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among some of the findings include:

Zoom fatigue is real – Only 33% of workers surveyed feel video conferencing is as productive as in-person meetings and another 34% say they’re starting to experience video conference fatigue. Instead, 78% of workers are using email to connect with colleagues, while 56% prefer making phone calls.

Distance makes relationships grow stronger – 42% of workers feel they know their colleagues better now vs. when they were in the office. Of this group, a whopping 60% of parents admitted to feeling closer to fellow parent-colleagues as they bond over homeschooling their kids and adjusting to working life as stay-at-home-working-parent.

Work/life balance is more critical than ever as workers decrease the number of minutes a day they check email by 10% (352 in 2019 down to 315 in 2020.) To keep the work/life separation, 53% of workers are waiting until they officially start the workday to check email (compared to 48% in 2019)

Interview with Patrick Knight of Adobe on Changing Work Behaviors

To dig in more to the study I had an opportunity to speak with Patrick Knight, Sr. Deliverability Consultant at Adobe, to get more takeaways and insights from the study. Click on the embedded SoundCloud player below to hear the full discussion.

smallbiztrends · Patrick Knight of Adobe: 57% of parents feel closer to coworkers now despite working from home

Below is an edited transcript of a portion of our conversation.

Small Business Trends: Interesting to see that so many people feel they are more productive working from home than they were going into the office.

Patrick Knight: You’re right, 73% of parents feel that they are equally, if not more productive working from home. And the reason for that is flexible schedules, right? It’s the primary reason. They feel that they can balance their life a little bit better. So for example, you can put the younger children down and maybe it’s nap time and then you can schedule your workload there. Or maybe after dinner, or maybe a little bit earlier before the kids wake up.

It forces you to have more control over things there. And when you’re in the office, you don’t have too much of that because of other things like commuting and so on and so forth. So yeah, having that flexibility is great. And then in turn, you can then have that time with your family and children and so on and so forth. So it’s really about that work-life balance that you can really take more advantage of versus being in an actual location.

Small Business Trends: And even though we’re Zooming all the time now and using instant messaging apps, email and phone are by far the most popular communication channels for work.

Patrick Knight: Why is email so high? The first thing is that email is a communication channel that’s not an on-demand type of video conferencing. And just as a sidebar, there was a time where marketers felt that email was not going to be the communication channel anymore. But in the deliverability world, we knew that email would always stand strong. So they felt that SMS may take over instant messaging and other media.

However, we see that email is on top. And the reason why is because instant messaging and other forms of communication tend to be more interrupting, more intrusive. So if you think about that Slack conversation, that conversation may never end and you cannot be productive with that. It’s like the same for on-demand video conferencing.

With email, it gives you more control over your schedule, your time checking your email and when you respond. So this also allows you to get more done versus being on these calls. You ever had a video conference call or even an in-person conference that could have been handled with email? But because it’s so easy to push that button and say, “Well, I can get this person on my screen. They use it.”

So additionally or secondary, the phone communication also has that same effect. So this is the reason why you’re seeing email so high and you’re seeing the correlating information here between the video conferencing and email and why it’s a communication method that’s more preferred and you’re seeing it more.

Small Business Trends: Do you think if you did this survey a couple of months from now, that number for “Zoom Fatigue” would be significantly higher at this point?

Patrick Knight: Absolutely, because I think again, we’re going back to these… I think we already abuse meetings in general. Now we’re just going to take it to a whole other level. And then on top of that, we’re still stuck inside. So we’re going to have more of these meetings. And I would think that number would shoot up if not even maybe another 40% in the next few months because of where we are today.

Small Business Trends: One of the more interesting findings was that doing web conferencing meetings seems to be making coworkers feel like they know each other even better than they did when they were doing face-to-face meetings.

Patrick Knight: Yeah, absolutely. I thought this was interesting as well. And this made perfect sense to me. So nearly half of American workers say they know their coworkers better than when they were in the office. Then nearly 60% of parents reported feeling closer to their colleagues as they bond over things such as homeschooling children, adjusting work schedules due to lack of childcare, even occasional guest appearances of those pets or children or someone’s running across the screen. Sometimes a cat may… I’ve seen it where, it was on a call with a client the other day, and their cat just came right on in and just started touching the screen and everything else.

And then you also see the background of your office because it gives you more of a understanding of who that person is. You see people every day at work. You hear about the children, you hear about pets, you hear about what their interests are, but seeing it, which is another means of sensory that is pretty powerful, sight, that brings that bond together. And that’s the reason why it’s actually not surprising to me to see the numbers and results that we have so far.

Small Business Trends: And maybe this helps to explain this a stat that says 93% of folks surveyed say they feel brands were striking the right tone with their email communications during the pandemic, because, quite honestly, when I was looking at this the first time around, I was like, “Are you kidding me? 93% feel like brands are hitting it out of the park on the messaging?” But you have a theory for why this is the case.

Patrick Knight: Absolutely. So, yeah, we can see clearly that 93% of consumers feel that most brands were striking the right tone with emails, especially when we talk about COVID and despite the increase of focus on COVID from brands related to safety. That was a large percentage of it, just COVID-related emails in general.

Brands understand that connection means everything when it comes to their consumers, especially through email. Because email is a… It’s a conversation. I always say that email is a two-way conversation. So if you’re just sending out information and you’re not really relating or targeting or creating really relevant content, email is pointless. So I think with COVID it was very relevant for everyone. So hence the reason why I think they are really sending out the right communication, we care, we understand and we’re here for you.

Now, what’s interesting is that 66% of those consumers, they still want the email offers. Thank you for telling me about COVID, thank you for understanding and now I want to engage more because of the fact that you care and we’re trapped at home. Everyone’s buying online. So they want to receive those offers from those brands and they want to understand exactly what those discounts look like. Because I can tell you right now, most of the companies that have an online presence, they’re doing amazing because of the fact everyone’s ordering something. I have to tell my wife, “Stop ordering from Amazon. Stop it!”

You just want to hit that button and literally every day somebody comes here. My doorbell rings and there’s a package and it’s just not my household. I’ve spoken to many. And because the brick and mortar is going away for right now, the email really is what drives traffic to a website. So if you get an email about an offer that is relevant and it’s engaging, then that’s going to just drive that customer to your website, where they’re going to purchase and purchase and purchase.

I can tell you, I have had countless conversations during even freelance, I did freelance Livability for a while, and every client that I would talk to, even now, engagement is important. Engagement drives something called email reputation. And so if your reputation is actually really good, your chances of you reaching the subscriber, it’s their inbox, not their spam folder, it’s a heightened situation there. So I absolutely agree that they should continue with the same enthusiasm, the same strategy, the same energy that they have now. And that, in itself, will drive the traffic and the revenue that they want.

Now, them going back to the old ways, I think that because they’re seeing such great responses, I think more and more people are going to understand why engagement matters, why reputation matters, why they need to keep sending those very well thought out emails versus the batch-and-blast method, which previously was the thing to do before COVID. So once we start seeing the results of things, this is the direction I think, or hope, people will take.

But that will be up to everyone else to see. I can tell you that there’s great learnings here, but it’s really going to depend on the individual. And just as a thought again with that, I recommend always engage. Whatever you’re doing now, continue because this is what’s going to keep your brand alive. This is what’s going to build the trust with a subscriber and your customers. This is what’s going to drive conversions and open rates. And that’s where the meat is. That’s exactly where you want to be.

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This article, “Patrick Knight of Adobe: 57% of Parents Feel Closer to Coworkers Now Despite Working from Home” was first published on Small Business Trends

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The post Patrick Knight of Adobe: 57% of Parents Feel Closer to Coworkers Now Despite Working from Home appeared first on Unix Commerce.

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