#and then she proceeded to try and justify it by saying she only used to ship them before she got older and saw the light 🙄 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

buckttommy · 2 years

Note

i love ryan but i’m newer to fandom (joined during the s5 mid season hiatus) and i’ve always vaguely heard about The Incident but have never been able to figure out what actually happened?? other than it was something that got him labelled racist and if you like him you’re therefore racist too. you don’t have to explain what happened if you’re not comfortable w it but i’m very curious and i support him but idk how to defend that choice without knowing what actually happened, you know?

Hi anon! I'm glad you asked. Not a lot of people know the context surrounding The Incident and I'm tired of people's ignorance. Enough is enough. This is long, but stay with me.

In May 2020, one of Ryan's followers at the time went through his partner, Chrysti Ane's, twitter account and found an instance from 2011 in which she used the n-word. Considering this was only days after George Floyd was murdered (or might have even been the same day; I can't find the tweets that incited the incident) and tensions were already extremely heightened, this discovery blew up in a massive way.

Days later (May 31, 2020), Chrysti Ane wrote this statement and posted it on Twitter:

[img. i.d.: As these recent events unfold, so do heightened state of emotions. My family and I have been accused of being racists for the past few days and I think it's past time for me to address quite a few things. This all started when one of my partner's followers dug up a few of my tweets from 2011 (9 years ago) that used the n-word. I will not justify using that word, but I will explain myself. At the time I was dating someone of African-American decent [sic] and started diving deeper into the culture; I made tons of black friends, listened to music that used slurs, watched black comedians that freely used the word, and I felt accepted by the black community. At the time, none of my friends found it offensive, but I must say I also didn't fully comprehend the WEIGHT of the word. I didn't comprehend the history, the struggles, the oppression. I was a 16 year old girl in high school trying to find my place and figure out who I was. I am not a woman with my own family, a child, and a partner. I am NOT the same girl I was almost 10 years ago, I encourage you to look back at where you were 9 years ago and think to yourself "am I the same person?" That being said, this is my formal apology for those tweets and who they have offended. We must hold people accountable for things that [sic] have said or done and I am glad this has been called out and I can show that 16 year old girl isn't the woman I am today. I can tell you honestly I have grown immensely. My respect for the black community is massive. What they have endured, what they have overcome, and what they CONTINUE to go through on a daily basis has opened my eyes and my heart. I will continue to use my platform, as I have been, to do good. I have donated, tweeted links, and spoken my peace on the matter. I have stood up for the black community and will continue to do so. Now I'd like to address a different matter - blocking certain accounts. After those tweets resurfaced, I experienced hate tweets, hate accounts, memes with my image and my partners, name calling, and worst of all foul names about my son. After responding to a tweet saying something among [sic] the lines of "I have many black friends and I couldn't fathom seeing such a thing [as George Floyd]" one of the accounts that had previously been a part of the "hate tweets" had told me I made her "uncomfortable" because it seemed as though if I didn't have black friends I wouldn't care. I responded addressing her previous online bullying and proceeded to get hate. To that I must say, I have repeatedly attempted to turn focus to what's important-EQUALITY/HUMANITY. It seems as though everything that is said nowadays is dissected and the overall message gets lost. If you don't speak or use your platform, you're "racist" or "choosing the side of the oppressor" or "part of the problem" but if you DO say something without articulating yourself CRYSTAL clear with no room for interpretation you're "racist" or "making people uncomfortable" or "part of the problem." I simply want to use my voice for good. I want to help. I want to do my best to let the black community be heard and RESPECTED. Let's all be part of the solution and create proper change in this country so everyone can experience what America is supposed to be an stand for.

The same day (May 31, 2020), Ryan hopped on Instagram Live and addressed both Chrysti Ane's use of the n-word and his own silence over several days. [Full transcription here] I strongly encourage everyone to read the entire transcript, but for those who don't want to, most of his Instagram live was about his support for the black community. During his livestream, Ryan:

Highlighted the black community as being instrumental to his growth and development as a human being

[img. i.d.: "I love my black brothers and sisters. In fact, a lot of them have shaped me into the person I am today. I'm very thankful for their input, their insight and their culture 'cause [they are] as proud of their culture as I am of mine. And the great thing about America is we get to combine those cultures. Black lives definitely matter and they should resonate -- they are the reason that America is so great.]

Called out the racists who followed him specifically:

[img. i.d.: "If you are a racist and you're following me or you think that this whole Black Lives Matter is out of proportion or anything, get the hell of [sic - off] my Instagram, get the hell of [sic - off] my Twitter. I don't need you. That's not the America I want to live in. I'm a biracial man. I gotta accept more than one race anyways. So anybody that follows me needs to be part of the solution rather than the problem. And of top of that, this is a human rights issue."]

Highlighted the realities of systemic racism and the black experience

[img. i.d.: Our black brothers and sisters, who are human beings, are being mistreated by systemic racism. That racism has allowed white people to just hurt our own kind, our own humans. That sh*t, I can't stand for. And now how I see all this changing is not overnight. It's by each individual making that choice to stand up to the next individual who is next to him who is being racist or being ignorant or being naive. I can't even imagine what it would be like to talk to my son and tell him people are gonna look at him worse because of his skin colour. That sh*t hits deep. It hits hard, and not because some of my friends are black -- that has nothing to do with me, this ain't about me at all. It's, again, about humanity. It's how we treat our fellow people.]

Did research before speaking, sought counsel from the Black POC in his life, and reverted back to history to back up what he was saying to his followers

[img. i.d.: I was looking through things over the internet, trying to do my research before I spoke, and black people getting killed by white people for racist views is nothing new. I mean, you can go to the biggest names -- Martin Luther King [Jr.] in 1968, Reverend George Lee, one of the first black people to vote, killed by white people. And the "I can't breathe" movement? That was nothing new. You saw all the NBA players wearing "I can't breathe" shirts, anybody in sports, anybody in entertainment was wearing "I can't breathe" shirts. That was Eric Garner in 2014. Philando Castile, 2016. I am not painting every police officer bad because there are good police officers out there, so what I'm trying to say is this is directly to those racists out there, who have embedded themselves into the American society. You could be a person working at the movie theaters, you could be working anywhere to be honest. I don't care if you got a badge or not -- if you're racist, you're a racist. And your time is coming to an end. There's more biracial people coming into the world, there's more black people getting influence in the world, we got our first black president and hopefully not our last black president. This sh*t hits deep. I keep saying it. I employ everyone else do their research. Start looking at why everybody is so angry. You know, COVID-19 is an epidemic but this whole racial thing is systemic. It's been happening for 400 years to people with skin darker than ours, for no other reason than just that. So we need to call out people who got more power in this, those white people who have more power in this. I only know of one big attorney because I worked with them on a TV show, but Mark Geragos who has helped out P. Diddy, Chris Brown, and all these other people. Let him start speaking up. Come on, you got enough money now. Start standing up for the right reasons now. So also doing my research and talking to the cast of 9-1-1 and trying to figure out what [we] can do, how we can help out. Some of those don't feel what it feels like to be a black person and will never be able to, so how do we help? And Aisha, who plays Hen on the show, she was all about just support, reaching out, help whenever you can, wherever you can. You can go to Black Lives Matter, you can go to defund the Police, but in my personal opinion, defunding the police won't help because there are good police officers out there. You can also go to colorofchange.org, that's a good one. I see that a lot of people are trying to help out on that one, and there's a fund for George Floyd himself and his family. So there's ways to help out. Let's just find the right ways.

It was during this same livestream [on page 3/4 of the transcript], that Ryan says this about his partner's controversy:

[img. i.d. And now we're talking about different things now, now we're talking about her using the n-word. Let's address it, okay? You're telling her that she can't speak through Twitter to her black friends that have allowed her to say that back and forth to them, specifically? Mind you, that is a private conversation had on a social platform. I can see the misconstrued insight on that. That being said, I have plenty of friends - Black, white, Asian, Indian, Korean - and we make fun of each other's races all the time. We call each other slurs all the time. We don't get butt-hurt at all, nah, because we know the actual person, we know who each other are, we know we're not trying to bring each other down. So what are y'all trying to get it? You're trying to prove that somebody who is not racist is racist? Nah, you don't have that power. There is no racist energy coming from this household at all. In fact, we're helping. Again, being part of the solution rather than the problem. I know, for sure, that all of our friends would speak up to say the same thing. They know who we are. We know we're not about bringing down other humans, at all, not even caring about any kind of colour or nothing. So y'all need to stop with that. And if you're breeding hate and throwing it our way, you're wasting your energy and you're wasting your time.

This comment was the impetus for the "Ryan is racist" narrative. The following day, Ryan once again returned to Instagram live for a shorter livestream in which he clarified previous comments. [Full transcript here]. I can't add anymore images but to quote him directly:

What up everybody. So after having some time to really think about it and really calm myself down, I felt I have to clarify certain things. Let me first start off by saying I do not condone the use of the n-word by any non-Black person, that includes all Latinos. That's not our word, alright? So that people that are coming after me, keep that same energy for Cardi B, Tekashi 6ix9ine, Fat Joe, all of them Latinos who've been using it for years upon years and getting passes from and by 50 Cent and whoever else and what-not and saying it in their music. Keep that same energy. That being said, let me clarify and address the real situation at hand: When I said slurs, I came from an angry place. I couldn't think straight and I misspoke. All that was going through my mind is seeing these comments about my girl and about my one-year-old son. Seeing death threats to my girl, seeing this foul-ass language about my one-year-old son. And I misspoke. I meant to say stereotypes, and do I condone stereotypes? Nah. Now amongst friends, can friends make fun of each other? Yes. That being said, I'm not here to bring anybody down, no race down. As far as my girl goes, using the n-word nine plus years ago, she was I don't even know how old. 16? I think she's grown as a woman. I think she has apologized for it. I remember her doing a tweet last night apologizing for it. And I don't condone her using it. We don't use that word in this household; it's not our word. I'm not here to take away from what the black community has gone through, or take something from them. I'm here to help them in any way, through support, through anything. So that being said, I apologize to those that I have offended, and misrepresented myself by using the wrong term. I stand by my "try, fail, learn, grow" state of mind and I will continue to grow, I will continue to help out the community. So hope everybody has a great day, enjoys their life, and let's help our black brothers and sisters going through this horrible, difficult time. Alright. Now have a good one.

After his livestream finished, big entertainment new companies such as Variety, EW, and TVLine began pushing the "Ryan is racist" narrative, fueled by Aisha, Rockmond, and Oliver's comments on Twitter made the following day.

Aisha:

[img. i.d.: A tweet from Twitter user RisingTom that says: Maybe we should ask his black castmates how they feel about this. @/AishaHinds @/ImAngelaBassett @/traciethoms @/RockmondDunbar Ryan stays completely silent during this movement then comes on to excuse his wife's use of racial slurs & admits he & his friends use slurs all the time. @/AishaHinds: How I FEEL daily is a perpetual state of GRIEF. There's sadly no version of this indefensible discourse that doesn't exascerbate that grief. There's legions of learned behaviors that need to be named and neutured [sic] so we don't continue to give life to them. May we know & DO BETTER.]

Rockmond:

[img. i.d.: Two tweets from @/RockmondDunbar: As a black man this should go without saying but just to make sure people in the back understand when I say this with my whole chest: I don't condone the shit. I don't like the shit. And I've never been one to allow the word to be used around me by any non-black person...cont 2ND Tweet: And any alleged 'black people' that are co-signing their non-black friends to refer to them in that way need their entire asses checked. Too much history, too much pain. Past and present. Shit is utterly unacceptable.]

Oliver:

[img. i.d. Two tweets from @/oliverstarkk: I know a lot of you want to hear my thoughts on what a cast member said today on IG live. I can tell you that my opinion is there is absolutely no excuse for the use of the n word. It belongs to the Black community only and I absolutely don't agree with it being used by... 2ND Tweet: ...anyone else under any circumstances.]

Ryan apologized again after that in one of his final posts on Twitter, and then alluded to the controversy (and his response to it) once more on Instagram on his 34th birthday.

Those are the facts. Now for my opinions.

The response to Ryan and the years of backlash that have followed (mostly from white people) are completely disproportionate to the situation at hand. The controversy wasn't even his to begin with, but at the point where he involved himself in it for the sake of his partner, everyone (Ryan's castmates, the greater public, the fanbase, and Ryan himself) quickly lost sight of who was initially at fault. I don't think Chrysti Ane should be raked over the coals for comments she made 10+ years later, but the fact of the matter is that Ryan showed more contrition and genuine apology and desire to do better in his multiple apologies than she did in hers. Chrysti Ane victimized herself in her apology; Ryan didn't. That makes a difference.

I have always maintained, and continue to maintain, that BIPOC are allowed to feel about him however they want to feel because BIPOC communities were, in essence, targeted. But I encourage everyone to know the facts before making or maintaining any sort of decision or judgement.

And to all white people who read this and still decide not to like him, please know that I do not trust you. I probably do not like you. Not only have you inserted yourself in a discussion you absolutely do not belong in for years, but any continued vilification of a man of color after learning all the appropriate context is transparent and deplorable. For years, I have watched people hide their blatant racism behind empty activism, but there's no excuse for that now.

Here is all the context.

BIPOC, do with this what you will. White people, please keep your mouths shut on the matter.

#jack.txt #ryan guzman #RG discourse #one and done #jack answers mail #this took three hours to write. my poor eyes.

402 notes · View notes

garfeildfanpage · 3 months

Text

To kind of add onto the Aoiaoi post from earlier I just wanted to include a few things I didn’t mention cause discourse

Akane didn’t strangle Aoi, but he still pushed her over, and proceeded to grab her by the neck and forced her upwards, hence the coughing. That’s still bad, actually!

Tbhktwt is having a moment right now, and I feel like a lot of people are either overblowing / diluting the conflict in the chapter. Akane is being forceful, both physically and not, and that’s not good! It’s obvious to say that in no other situation would Aoi have confronted her issues, but that doesn’t take away from the invasive act of it. He isn’t just forcing her to confront her feelings, he’s distressing her on purpose to prove his point, no matter his intentions he’s still doing something wrong. They’re both incredibly messed up individuals, and Aoi has a lot of blood on her hands as well.

Aoi intended on killing herself, and when Akane got in her way, she took him with her.

I’ve reread Akane & Aoi multiple times and still sit on the conclusion that their confrontation solved nothing. Akane is upset at Aoi for lying to people, but he doesn’t once try to rationalize why she’s doing so. Instead, he puts all the blame on her. He claims to understand her so deeply yet not once does he show her an ounce of grace. All he does is make her problems a “what about me?”, he doesn’t ask her anything, it’s all just what he thinks. “Why do you act like this?” Would’ve been a lot better than just getting in her face to yell, I think. Aoi has reasons for the way she acts, not excuses, but she tells him why she thinks that way and he still doesn’t get it. He repeatedly dismisses her distress, and gets in her space when she doesn’t want him to. She isn’t flustered, she’s uncomfortable. Which should be obvious considering the difference between the expressions she makes when she is! This chapter, and I really can’t stress this enough, is the farthest thing from romantic, and absolutely eons away from being even remotely healthy. This chapter is a hard and uncomfortable read, because of how deeply gross it is.

Aoiaoi is an incredibly complex relationship that shows two people in a toxic codependency, and Akane & Aoi is the absolute breaking point. They’re both fucked up in ways that only being apart can fix, and when forcing them to “confront” their issues, it’s just going to get messy. The objective view of them as peers is muddled when you focus on the imbalance between the two. Aoi has dealt with constant harassment from childhood, and as shown in the chapter, and has assumedly been mostly sexual harassment. And for Akane show such a clear disregard of her comfort is gross in basically every way. That is the rock bottom of Aoiaoi, and I am so tired of people justifying what happens just because they like them.

And I can repeat this a thousand times, every relationship in tbhk is flawed. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore the bad behavior in them, and using it as an excuse is exhausted and weird. You can like Aoiaoi all you want, but that doesn’t mean you should justify the bad shit! Every relationship is flawed, but that doesn’t mean they’re all flawed the same. Not everything is toxic yaoi, some things are just toxic, and acknowledging that is really important. Don’t justify abuse or mistreatment! I think!

I could restate the whole end-part of the original Aoiaoi post but I don’t feel like it. Uhmmmm I don’t hate Aoiaoi I just personally think they should be treated by the fandom at large with more tact and care. They’re volatile and in a lot of cases I see people just, ignore the toxicity, in favor of a cute ship and that’s not great. Understanding flaws within characters is important, don’t be dense, don’t be misogynistic! Cause Aoi hate is usually that! Akane hate isn’t though as much as I love him he has his,,,low points (this entire post) and deserves getting thrown through multiple stained glass windows

Uh ninja out bye

#hot cheese #jshk #tbhk #jibaku shounen hanako kun #toilet bound hanako kun #akane aoi #aoi akane #something about tagging uhm yeah #they make me ill In the bad way #I wish I had something positive to say about them but I care so little the only time I do is when i have something negative to say #I don’t hate straight people (lie) don’t hit me

14 notes · View notes

evanox · 1 year

Text

A recent conversation (recent when I started writing this, I got held up by uni a lot) has reminded me I never wrote in full (at least in here) how I feel about relix in Sage's route ch13-14 and how it was an interesting development that ended up falling flat... It might not be too fair to judge from only 2 chapters, but then again I can’t trust if 2 more chapters would’ve done much of a difference.

Here's what we know about Felix from his prologue and Sage’s route (and a few bits of Felix’s):

Rime died at the battle of Mournfall. That was 5 years before the prologue. The ritual that summoned MC was meant to resurrect Rime, which means Felix has been isolating himself and looking into resurrecting his dead boyfriend for a good 5 years. We know he has an issue with isolating himself from his own route, and in Sage’s route we don’t really see him much unless we’re discussing plans in Fathom’s war room/his office.

Ch5: in Felix’s route we see Anisa and Felix both have opposing, black-and-white views on necromancy. You do have the option to challenge Felix’s views in his route, but in Sage’s, Felix goes behind our backs to use the more unsavory method to get answers out of Balsam and when confronted by Sage, he justifies himself by saying that “it’s nothing worse than what Sage had done to [Balsam],” which, hello, a bit insensitive given that it was Felix and Anisa’s intervention that provoked Balsam and forced Sage’s hand to kill his own childhood friend.

Ch10: Upon finding out about the corruption potion and trying to figure out who's responsible, Felix immediately sides with Rime no questions asked. When the fact that Rime did stab Sage (and unnecessarily tortured him some more even though his goal was MC), Felix's response is insisting that there has to be a good explanation. He can't even look MC in the eyes when he tries to defend Rime. Now I won't begrudge him his defensiveness. Rime was good and kind and a hero to the Starsworn, and Felix loved Rime; it only makes sense that he'd be in disbelief, that he'd desperately try to make sense of the situation. But one would think that the murder attempt would shake Felix's faith, making him start to doubt if this is still his Rime. Because when Rime did attack MC in Felix's route, Felix didn't hesitate to defend them and stand up to Rime. He embraces the fact that this isn't his Rime anymore. But in Sage's route, when it's his friend of well over 5 years getting stabbed and tortured, or when MC is being threatened, Felix prioritizes taking Rime's side even as more clues point to his involvement in exploiting the Griefers and corrupting them.

Ch8: And then Felix is still trying to negotiate with Rime and understand where he's coming from which hey, that would be a fair and sensible course of action if, you know, Rime hadn't just lured us into a trap in the LOS cultists' lair and proceeded to summon a gang of corrupted Griefers to attack the Starsworn gang without discrimination.

Ch 11-14: Even after all of that happens, Felix has been making himself scarce to the remaining Starsworn and continuing his attempts at recruiting Rime (which happens off-screen) and six months later we come back to them walking into Tulsi's tent hand in hand.

Now, I’m not saying that’s a bad development. It’s an interesting development. I like how we get to witness a specific facet of each character’s personality outside their route. Anisa in Felix’s is so strict and disciplined it almost makes her feel distant from her friends even when she tries to be helpful and only in her route we understand why. Felix in Sage’s leans more towards his obsessiveness and how he struggles with moving on and it is in his route we understand why. It makes perfect sense that we’ll come back to Felix and Rime dating 6 months later. No one’s contesting that or asking to be spoon-fed the events that happened off-screen to understand why it happened. All the aforementioned events point to the fact that unless a variable (like MC) is introduced into Felix’s life, he’ll always come back to Rime.

The aforementioned events also point to the fact that it’s really unhealthy. Not only is the narrative very comfortable with it but it expects you (and the other characters) to be comfortable and accept it. Sage is expected to apologize to everyone when he loses his shit over Rime being present but we all just roll with Rime stabbing Sage.

Looking back at the timeline of events in Sage’s route, at no point was Felix shown (or even given the chance) to develop and then he’s thrown into a relationship with his undead, corrupted ex. “But oh! He had plenty of time within these 6 months to grow!” Not only is healing not that linear, but remember Astraea was in upheaval at the time thanks to Gramme taking over, which would’ve easily triggered traumatic memories from the first war. Not to mention that it seems most of his time within the 6 months was spent with Rime, the object of Felix’s obsession for well over 5 years.

But Rime is not quite the man Felix fell in love with years ago, and he can love Felix with every dead fiber of his being but it still wouldn't make him fit to offer Felix the help or encouragement he needs to grow or learn how to move on or even re-evaluate how he used necromancy (the way Felix-route-MC did). If anything, Rime is the only party that stands to benefit from how delusional Felix is in Sage's route, and he doesn't seem willing to question Felix’s skewed judgements. We’ve already seen that Rime left his moral compass behind him in the void. Felix says so himself in his own route.

“Ohhh but tumblr user evanox why can’t I enjoy my evil fucked up reindeer and his necromancer boyfriend why does everything need to be AcKnOwLeDgEd and have consequences and a moral this is just a romance vn”

By all means, enjoy your evil fucked up reindeer. That doesn’t mean I still can’t criticize what half-assed writing that felt like. The beauty of Felix’s route was the complexity of his and Rime’s circumstances and how necromancy is not a consequence-less feat, but one that comes with a heavy price paid by both resurrector and resurrected. For that sentiment to be swept under the rug in Sage’s route even after the writers goes out of their way to give Felix (and by extension Rime) a considerable spotlight is just disappointing.

“Ok but this is Sage’s route there won’t be time to allow them to develop.”

Yeah, I’m aware, but the influence of external factors (limited time, limited chapters) doesn’t mean I have to consider the bad writing good. That’s first of all.

Secondly, it wouldn’t have been that hard to add some subtle details that would’ve significantly acknowledged the relix side-plot without sabotaging Sage’s main plot. Things like MC still feeling uncomfortable around Rime while Sage puts himself between them even after peace was made, a hint of disdain from Anisa or even expressing concern towards Felix (the way she always did in his route), an agitated lash of Elowen’s tail over having to collaborate with the guy who had a hand in corrupting the Griefers and tried to fuck her over when she sought the Starsworn’s help, a sarcastic remark from Tulsi that leaves everyone feeling awkward about having to break bread in her own tent with the zombie deer who stabbed her brother and exacerbated his corruption---all of that would’ve gone a long way to give that development the weight it deserves.

Better yet, I’d like to see Rime betray the Starsworn and try to kill two birds with one stone: keep Felix by his side and make a second attempt at the astrolabe. I think it would nullify all my former notes and make for a great parallel to Felix’s route and how it reality-checked Felix and tackled the consequences of necromancy and desperately holding on the past. I initially assumed that’s where the route was headed but it’s mere speculation and would need its own post, but I do think it would be rather ✨ spicy ✨.

#long post #repeat after me guys 'just because i like something doesn't mean it's well written and anyone who disagrees is a thick illiterati'#rime solano varela #felix iskandar escellun #felix escellun #last legacy #fictif #fictif last legacy #last legacy rime #last legacy felix #fictif rime #fictif felix #sage lesath #fictif sage #last legacy sage

85 notes · View notes

mamayura · 9 months

Text

I just need to be direct about some things for Ladybugs side of Ladynoir in s5 now for a sec.

It's just.. somebody please tell me how I am supposed to believe that Marinette actually learned something from the season 4 Ladynoir conflict or won't continue to just fall further back on her words when Revelation showed that Ladybug will lie and use Chat Noir as bait and a tool again to continue her s4 treatment of him and how he was nothing but the scapegoat/pet/punching bag for her and Alya for the entire season? Something she already in s4 barely felt appropriately bad about until the end of Strike Back had her pull a 180

Marinette literally proofed in Revelation that she has in fact either not learning anything or doesn't think Chat Noir deserves a better treatment, season 5 just didn't give her the chance to pull this more often because there were no other heros. What am I supposed to expect from her in season 6 now taht the entire team is back?

How am I supposed to think that Ladybug is capable of having a partnership with Chat Noir were both of them are allowed to make mistakes without getting punished for it when Derision is literally the episode about how her being bullied and publicly humiliated is the core of her trauma and yet the same episode has her go back and put Chat Noir at the risk of the very same thing by her own hands again because of the lucky charm plan, and as per usual HE apologizes for having been emotional and yet she never takes accountability for how she then proceeded to use him?

So people in season 4 were right? Ladybug is not capable of behaving normal in this partnership, the moment Chat Noir makes a mistakes or has a bad day or is affected by a power she will continue using him then however she pleases. Is she just not capable of coming up with other plans? Can Chat Noir really not exist in this partnership without being at the constant risk of being turned into a tool and scapegoat while being humiliated in their dynamic the moment he does something wrong? Is the only way of preventing that Chat himself not making mistakes again because Ladybug can't be asked to not do this shit to her partner?

Or can Adrien for once NOT be the only one to apologize in situations like that? I wouldn't be as harsh on what she did in Derision if Psycomedian in season 4 didn't exist where it was already established that Ladybug takes it for granted what Chat Noir puts up with for and from her and that got maxed out for all of season 4. And yet in season 5 Derision we are somehow not one step further? Can she not just say "Hey, about the toilet thing. Sorry that I went after you there, it was my first instinct because the power was to act out the meanest humor. Sorry for having used you like that again though, I will try to do better"

In the context of what Marinette's traumatic backstory is that plan of hers showed 0 self-reflection and once again puts all pressure on Chat Noir to not make a mistake around her or else she will apparently go back to her old ways without feeling bad about it. If Ladybug never clarifies anything then the episode just had her indirectly tell him that this is still what he has to expect from her when he has a bad day or whatever. Just like with Ladybugs violence in s4 she was never asked to take an ounch of accountability for and teached children bad lessons on how to treat friends several times because she's a girl and can get away with it, Derision has her indirectly reinforce that Chat's responsible for her treatment of him. He needs to do better to prevent her from pulling stuff like that because she's "justified" in whatever she does to him anyway as s4 teached us.

Or the fact in Migration neither Marinette nor Adrien know for sure if their partner knows that Luka knew their identity and Monarch picked up on that, and yet only for Adrien one can make a legit argument for why he didn't bring it up and that's the fact that Ladybug and Luka left him for so long all alone in the akuma battle that he would rightfully assume that this is were Ladybug and Luka talked about everything. Marinette on the other hand has no excuse for why she is keeping the fact that Monarch knows that Luka is aware of both their identities a secret from Chat Noir. It's yet another impossibly irresponsible secret directly concerning Chat's life and possibly the safety of all his civilian loved ones she just keeps from him and can't be criticized for because it's Marinette.

So she learned nothing from season 4 and stuff like Ephemeral?

Or even just little moments like Marinette proudly confirming to Alya behind Chat's back that she had him wear the insult paper in his bell for an entire season and them laughing, when it should be a no brainer that Chat didn't agree to wear it so she can tell it others behind his back for him to be laughed at. He trusted her that nothing bad would come out of it and yet that's what she did the moment Alya was there. That is such an awful thing to do. You don't do that to friends. Thats what I expect from Chloé, not Ladybug in Ladynoir.

Or in Réunion when Jeanne was talking down on Chat Noir because she is projecting her own Black Cat issues on Chat by insulting a 14 year old boy for not looking like a full grown man and Marinette.. agrees. One episode prior Marinette was gushing towards Alya about Chat's looks, muscles and whatever but the moment Marinette is insecure in front of an adult Ladybug who isn't all nice to her she directly agrees with insults unfairly directed at Chat Noir through backhanded compliments about "but he's very loyal" because at least it isn't her? And right in front of Chat too?

What's even worse is that Adrien couldn't see or hear Jeanne so from his perspective he literally just witnessed Ladybug agreeing with an insult about him spoken by a past Ladybug while he can't at all defend himself. Chat has no way to tell if the past Ladybug isn't constantly insulting him because apparently his Ladybug won't even disagree or sees any problem with that, and neither does he know if that already went on prior to meeting him.

It's moments like that for which I'm genuinely glad that he rejected her next episode in Elation. Why would he want to still date Ladybug when shes agreeing with insults being directed at him? Adrien was noticeably more insecure from then on in Réunion because he just doesn't know how hard he's being trash-talked and Ladybug just agreed :/

And then of course there is Kwamis choice right after Elation which.. dude, from Adrien's perspective he rejected Ladybug ONCE and then she fucking LEFT. Instantly. Adrien learned that episode that Ladybug herself is apparently a hypocrite and can't take a no either. Their entire partnership dynamic demands of him to be her yes-man and never ask for anything, never saying "no" and if he does than she stands under no obligation to respect it like when she still just uses her guardian privileges to overwrite him having renounced his Miraculous.

And then she for the first time actually had to respect Chat telling her "No" about something and she left. The ending of Hack-San is meaningless now because of Kwamis choice!

Season 5? What am I supposed to do with stuff like that for Ladynoir? Did Marinette learn something in the Ladynoir conflict of season 4 or only partly and I have to expect her regressing again and going back on her words because she was never properly called out on anything? If calling her out is the only way Marinette can learn then why is no one asking BETTER of her in important stuff like this regarding Ladynoir?

Did Marinette learn something or nah? Or will you at least have Alya want better for Chat Noir when Marinette herself already can't do it?

#ml season 5 #ml season 4 #ml ladynoir critical #ml rant #this isnt salt I'm listing stuff she did #im just frustrated at stuff like this #ml spoilers #miraculous #ml

11 notes · View notes

jordanianprincesses · 3 months

Note

My post is actually going to get some heat but I really have to say it

I know rajwa gets a lot of hate online and people are sympathetic towards her BUT BOOHOO CRY ME A RIVER she’s an iffing future queen and frankly I think she doesn’t give a damn (I’m not excusing bullying I’m just saying she clearly doesn’t care) here’s why I think some of the criticism she’s getting is actually somewhat justified…

Rajwa was really popular once the engagement was announced ALOT of people praised her and liked her but unfortunately here’s a list of what the JRF did to completely ruin rajwa’s reputation

1) they acted as if she was this very conservative Saudi woman from a big and important family (they literally mentioned all her family tree during the announcement) when in fact she wasn’t!

2) they literally didn’t even try to remove pictures from online and save rajwa from the public scrutiny she’s going to get once the pictures are released

3) rania spent so much time praising her and pushing her which gave people the illusion that she will be a working royal SINCE WE SAW HER EVERYWHERE BEFORE THE WEEDDING

4) they set high expectations for her without making sure that she was actually fit for these expectations (I feel like they just ignored that she might be lazy and simply didn’t want to work)

5) they spent way too much time coddling and protecting her instead of working on improving her and her work ethic. I think they did that because they were terrified she would leave otherwise!

It seems like the JRF were actually setting her up from the start l. Now now for the part that I will get hate for…I don’t think rajwa is completely innocent and she helped in tarnishing her image as well

1) she did not contact certain people to delete some of her past photos which is insane because she knows how popular Hussein was in the past and she should’ve at least used her brain a bit.

2) she enjoyed the limelight before the engagement a bit too much without thinking this will make the expectations for her higher.

3) she thought that being queen in Jordan is an easy task where you only have to play dress up and look pretty, which leads me to believe she didn’t even bother to simply google how messed things inJordan are.

4) she doesn’t even TRY to push against the royal family! She does what they want without even asking or thinking whether it was good for her or not. She doesn’t use her brain at all.

5) THE FAMOUS BIKINI SCANDAL: now now before you eat me alive I do think she was a victim and we should blame the person that invaded their privacy BUT it’s so stupid on her part to think that she can just slip under the radar and wear whatever she wants after the HUGE wedding they had! She was 100% aware of how popular she had become and still she didn’t USE HER BRAIN and think for a moment that there’s always people watching especially in public. I genuinely would’ve excused her if they were in the privacy of their own home.

6) now finally the most inexcusable of all: I think she genuinely doesn’t want to work. Now people like to come up with “theories” that maybe rania doesn’t want her to work (which is almost impossible considering how much time and effort rania put into hyping up rajwa and making her popular) or that Hussein is the one setting her up with is also not true because he is trying to push her as well… so we are left with the only option that Rajwa genuinely doesn’t want to be a working royal and just wants royal treatment with no royal responsibilities… because if she wanted to work, she would have. It’s not that hard to ask your team to give you a task to do.

7) wearing boycotted brands in the middle of genocide

Conclusion: I think both parts are at fault here they set her up and then she proceeded to set herself up as well. I wholeheartedly believe rajwa did marry for the title mainly and was so protected and coddled that she thought that’s all she’s getting A TITLE. I think she was shocked and overwhelmed with the work that comes with it. So she decided not to work at all. As if for the bullying? I honestly don’t think she cares she’s living her absolute best life and she’s set for life with the JRF stolen money and endless connections. 🤷🏼‍♀️

It’s crazy coming up with these conclusions now… I was rooting for her & Hussein so hard just about a year ago ! 💔

I agree with you in most of what you said but not all of them . Anyway, welcoome

#answered

5 notes · View notes

thekatebridgerton · 2 years

Note

I totally agree with you saying Penelope is not a racist.

Have some of her ‘victims’ of gossip been poc? Yes but that’s down to casting alone, not purposely trying to make Pen a racist. She writes about anyone. I’ve seen some saying her calling kate a prickly beast is an obvious declaration of her racism and it’s just not. Many are creating these false realities to support their hate campaign against Nicola and Pen and it’s ridiculous. Fair enough not liking a character but they’re slandering Nicola and pulling her apart, a stranger who they know nothing about.

As a woc I do not think pen is a racist and I do not think Nicola is a racist. The whole anti nc needs to be closed down and they need to stop having the audacity to act shocked and offended when people call them out for bullying because that’s what they’re doing. Some need to realise that just because they’re a kanthony shipper it doesn’t automatically make them a good person or a voice for the whole fandom.

I’m both a kanthony and polin shipper and I’m just tired of them, really tired.

Again, I don’t think some people understand that racism is quite literally the form of discrimination where one targets another because of race. As in, if Penelope were racist she would have to specifically discriminate against Kate and Edwina because they’re brown.

Not because they’re from India (xenophobia), not because they’re women (mysoginy) not because they’re not nobles (classism). Racism is discriminating them because they’re brown.

And since we’re on the subject you would be surprised about how many people get their racism and xenophobia confused. As a latina, I don’t usually get discriminated for racial reasons. Since most latinos are white passing. But depending on the specific country I say I’m from, discrimination can range from wild to very mild. And this happens for all cultures really. Because a brown person can say “ I was born and raised in Yorkshire” to a Londoner and face very little discrimination while another brown person can say “I was born and raised in India” and face A LOT of discrimination. It would have cero to do with being brown and everything to do with the culture they were raised in.

So lesson of the day dear readers. Don’t get your racism and xenophobia confused.

So in that sense, I don’t think neither Nicola or Penelope are racist at all. Because that would mean she’s reluctant to be around brown people or black people, (or Asians, or Latinos). And does her best to undermine their efforts on and offscreen. Which I haven’t seen her do.

Again I reiterate, I don’t believe in racism, or xenophobia, or any other form of discrimination because in my world the only distinction that exists between people are people who act like jerks and people who don’t. Discrimination only follows that criteria.

I went to the boutique the other day and was received by two white attendants, one treated me so nicely I wanted to be her best friend forever, the other did look at the color of my skin and proceeded to ignore me and walk away whenever I needed something. I could have said this was because she was white. But the other girl also saw that I was latina and still was very friendly and nice to me. So my conclusion? One of them was just a jerk, it had nothing to do with being white.

You’re going to meet people in life who have every excuse to be racist and still treat you with kindness. You’re going to meet people in life who are just looking for an excuse to treat other people badly and will find it just to justify themselves, even knowing that the way they are treating others is 100% wrong. Their jerk behavior is on them and isn’t a reflection of the whole group of people they belong to.

And yes, this happens in fandom too. People will use all sort of excuses to justify themselves when they’re being mean to strangers on the internet. It doesn’t matter if they’re advocating and defending against discrimination, being mean to a stranger in the internet, is still wrong, and any justification will not make them less of a jerk.

So don’t measure everyone with the same yardstick just because they happen to share some traits in common, like race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, or even religion. Jerks are Jerks and in my book that’s the only minority they will ever be a part of.

and that’s the tea

#racism #xenophibia #things we don't talk about #Nicola Coughlan #discrimination in fandom

14 notes · View notes

thegreaterlink · 2 years

Text

Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S3E8 "The Price”

God almighty, it feels good to be back!

A lot's happened since I took my little hiatus - I got a shit-ton of work done, did some writing, found out I was aro-ace, and we finally got Paramount+ over in the UK.

I can't thank you all enough for your patience. Now, let's get back to work...

THE PREMISE

The Enterprise is hosting a gathering of interplanetary dignitaries (try saying that five times fast) who are negotiating for the rights to a stable wormhole discovered by the Barzans which could serve as a valuable shortcut to the Gamma Quadrant.

Overwhelmed by her duties as ship's counsellor, Troi meets one of the negotiators, Devinoni Ral (played by Matt McCoy), and they quickly become enamoured with each other. However, as the negotiations reach a boiling point, suspicions begin to arise about Ral's legitimacy, and whether or not the wormhole is too good to be true.

MY REVIEW

Ah, another Troi-centred episode in which Troi gets the short end of the stick as a character.

Her romance with Ral moves way too fast for my liking, beginning with him entering her quarters without her permission, violating her personal space, caressing her hair and practically inviting himself to dinner later that night, during which he kisses her in a manner which doesn't look very consensual.

Ral: Am I moving too fast for you?

Troi: No... I'm moving too fast for me.

Ral: I like that better.

And here I thought the only Shades of Grey I'd see in Star Trek was a godawful clip show...

However, it is revealed that Ral is actually part empath, and uses these skills to his advantage in negotiations by keeping it a secret. To his credit, we do get to see his skills as a businessman, but it's difficult to take him seriously when we go from him making skilful negotiations to him rubbing Troi's feet.

When Troi confronts him over using his abilities to get a leg up in the dealing process, he tries to justify it by claiming that Troi uses her powers for equally selfish reasons and then leaves like she was in the wrong!

Ral: Now, it's a matter of life and death when you take the advantage. Me, I deal in property, exchanges. Nobody gets hurt. So you tell me: which one of us would you say has more of a problem with ethics?

I'd say the guy who's using his empath abilities to cheat his way into a business deal, asshat!

At least he gets a good scene with Riker to put him in his place. The last time I encountered a side character I despise as much as Ral, he was brought back in a later episode and violently murdered in spectacular fashion. The chances of that happening again are slim, but a guy can dream.

Anyway, the Ferengi invite themselves to the proceedings, and their appearance in this episode begins their transformation from bumbling villains into shrewd businessmen, with much more toned-down performances compared to the snarling and hissing we're used to.

Unsurprisingly, they're also quick to engage in sabotage, incapacitating the Federation representative and leaving Riker to take his place. It seems at this point they were starting to get a better grasp of how to utilise the Ferengi in their storylines.

Riker recommends that they check to see if the wormhole is truly stable, so Data, Geordi and two of the Ferengi take separate shuttles, head through the wormhole... and emerge in the Delta Quadrant.

We then see Troi meeting up with Dr Crusher for their daily yoga (which is apparently a thing) and stretch in skin-tight leotards while talking about men and how Troi is so much more limber today in a scene which I'm sure someone on the production team would insist is very important to the plot.

Sorry, did that scene feel out of place? Jarring, even? Well that's how it's edited in the episode!

Back on the shuttles, Data and Geordi realise that the other end of the wormhole is unstable, and they head back through after failing to persuade the Ferengi to do the same. The exit to the wormhole collapses, and the Ferengi are left stranded over 70,000 lightyears from their ship.

Hmm... a starship crew flung into the Delta Quadrant by forces beyond their control with no means of getting home? Sounds familiar...

As the negotiations draw to a close with Ral seemingly securing a victory, Troi thankfully realises that what Ral told her was a bunch of manipulative bullshit and outs him both as a partial empath and a secret collaborator with the Ferengi!

Data and Troi return, reporting that while their end of the wormhole is stable, the other end constantly shifts places and eventually the wormhole will collapse entirely.

As the Ferengi presumably go to retrieve their lost crewmates (although with an 80-year trip, I doubt it), Ral is left with a worthless wormhole for his troubles. He goes to see Troi one more time (asking permission to enter this time, so at least he's making some progress), spouts some faux-romantic (fauxmantic?) bullshit about realising that he needs to change, and Troi tells him very politely to fuck off.

5/10 - Troi deserves better.

As glad as I am to be back, I wish there'd been a better episode waiting for me.

#star trek #star trek review #star trek the next generation #star trek tng #jean luc picard #captain picard #uss enterprise #will riker #geordi la forge #deanna troi #beverly crusher #wesley crusher #star trek data #star trek worf #negotiations #ferengi

7 notes · View notes

gaslightgatekeepgirlbosscombat · 7 months

Text

Group A, Round 2, Poll 1:

Propaganda under the cut

Emma Frost

Telepath, which is *the* gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss superpower, especially when you’re a supervillain! Emma’s rich, grew up rich, left her shitty abusive homophobic dad, and then proceeded to lie steal manipulate and leave brain dead everyone in her way to become a millionaire and one of the heads of the rich people kink club that secretly runs the world. Yes this is 100% canon since 1980 thank Chris Claremont. She’s a Bitch (affectionate, self identified). She mindwipes people all the dang time. She once blew up a horse to convince a teenager to murder her coworker. She is girlbossing so close to the sun (Dark Phoenix) she ends up comatose and nearly dead like multiple times and then just gets up and keeps Girlbossing! Her secondary power is to turn into literal diamond, which she learns after she’s like the only survivor of a six-million person genocide, and then uses entirely to fuck people up. I’d say she’s definitely girlboss 1st, there are no limits to the things she can’t girlboss, and her real superpower is being rich and ruthless, gaslight 2nd, because she is a telepath who constantly manipulated people for fun, and then gatekeeper 3rd, because, well, she is trying to build a community for all mutants, so her hate keeping is very much telling humans to fuck off (when not manipulating them for money) but justified gatekeeping is still gatekeeping. Kick Tony Stark and Carol Danvers off your property when they try and moralize at you Queen.

She’s a mutant telepath who started off as a super villain and now uses that bitchiness and moral grayness to serve her ethnostate…for the children

She's da blue print babeey

Lady Ethel Mallory

Lady Ethel is the marketing specialist for an evil corporation that's trying to put everyone in these dreaming boxes, all of her broadcasts are about how the boxes are great and the company is great and it's a whole nice family in there but it's just fake dreams and she also met with the guy that put people's ghosts (including his son) into a bunch of instruments to make an army and she wanted his methods of doing that, great lengths are taken to keep everyone in the dreaming boxes, all of her broadcasts are hijacking the actual narrators broadcast, and she's really tall/has sharp teeth/big heart shaped sunglasses/and has giant flies for pets and surveillance. seems pretty gaslight/gatekeep/girlboss to me

Important Lady Ethel facts you need to know: -She's 9ft tall ...nope, that's it, that's all you need to know.

she's the marketing executive of a company that gaslights millions of people a day. She is IN CHARGE OF THE GASLIGHTING DEPARTMENT. She is also in charge of writing the gatekeeping guidlines. There is no character on this planet more gaslight gatekeep girlboss than her

artist: @ a-duck-of-wellington

#group a #round 2 #xmen #x-men #emma frost #lady ethel mallory #hello from the hallowoods #hfth

87 notes · View notes

bookwyrminspiration · 1 year

Note

Oh Quil, it's June and I've made a terrible mistake! I've been selfish, and let my emotions take control of me and been simply dreadful to my best friend. It doesn't matter that my intentions were good, I put it across the wrong way and I really hurt her. I was so afraid of losing her that I pushed her away and didn't listen to what she had to say and now I'm really scared because I don't want her to be upset and oh Quil, how can I possibly make it up to her? I don't know what to do!

Hey, June! I can only share my thoughts on what I would do, so keep that in mind. But it sounds like you're already on the right track by acknowledging what you've done and how it's impacted your friend.

I will say that your friend is allowed to be upset over whatever you've done, and even though it may suck that's part of the consequences. That doesn't give her the right to do whatever she wants, but she's allowed to be upset.

As for making it up to her, I think the best way of proceeding is with honesty and sincerity in an apology. Tell her how you're aware of how your actions weren't okay and why. You can share what drove you to act the way you did--your emotions and fears--but be careful to be clear that you're not trying to use that to justify your actions, only explain where you were coming from. Be clear in what you'll do in the future to avoid something like this happening again. E.g., you'll tell her when you're feeling worried about losing her so you can address that together. And then give her time to process and feel her feelings.

For example, it could be something like "I'm sorry I pushed you away and didn't listen to you, because I hurt you, which was never my intention. I was scared of losing you because [reason] and had good intentions, but that doesn't make it okay. I'll try to talk to you about things like this if it comes up again instead of pushing you away. I understand if you need time and won't pressure you into responding or accepting, but wanted to apologize. Take care."

Obviously you can tailor that to your situation and add details I don't have, but genuine apologies can be really helpful. When I apologize I like to make sure I show that I've thought it over and understand why my actions were wrong and show that I want to do better. And then I add a well wish at the end (like "take care")

Then, as much as it sucks, it's okay for your friend not to accept your apology. Maybe she will, maybe she won't. Either way, you've expressed your remorse and shown you care. It may take time to get through, and it may take time to recover. But that's what I personally think is the best next step based on the information you've shared.

Sometimes we mess up, it happens. Don't beat yourself up too hard over this; acknowledge what you've done and learn from it. We've all been there. You'll be okay and get through it, I have full confidence in that.

Hopefully some of this helps, and please take care of yourself <3

#quil's queries #june nonsie #this is what I think is good. but I'm just one person so. there is that #if you want to specifically do something with her you can add that as well #say you haven't been spending as much time with her and she's upset about it #then you could say 'if you're willing maybe we can go do this thing together and hang out/reconnect'#that's just an example but there's a lot of possibilities #I would just prioritize sincerity and acknowledging your mistakes #that can mean a lot #sending hugs across the internet!!#long post

3 notes · View notes

the-thinking-mans-mirror · 4 months

Text

1. We're On A Road To Nowhere

“So in conclusion, this specimen cannot be classified at the moment, and until it can be properly studied, should be contained with special caution. Despite them… not showing signs of aggression.”

“You know it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Supreme type. We agreed that we consider all of them irreversibly dead, and if proven otherwise, we surely would already know about that. No reason to worry.” Dr. Kengis assured him and landed on his chair, crossing his legs. Dollan had to wait out a few seconds while he checked the text that popped up on the screen of his laptop and rubbed his hands together contentedly after finishing reading it.

“For sure it doesn’t have to be one, but at least the two of us need to know what to do in case it ends up destroying the facility. We don’t want history to repeat, Doc, and I’ll… Well…” Dollan trailed off after he met the doctor’s disapproving glare. “You know very well why I’m so unsure about this.”

“Try looking at this from a more positive angle. Such little injury on them is a rare occurrence nowadays, almost as if it's their first transition, and as I’m informed, they seem to be already conscious, and I’m going to get in contact with them.”

Dr. Kengis carried on and on about how special this new case was, but the captain didn’t listen anymore. Over the years that Dollan had spent on the Platform, he became more and more convinced that his constant fear of vulnerability was justified as he learned how weak the “Shards” were in practice. No surprise they needed such a strong security system and at least some real humans and not just copies of their personalities and memories. Even if they had no emotions, the Shards were inferior and Dollan wasn't planning to change his mind about it. He didn’t trust anything. The doctors, the assistants, all the unwilling participants of this study, which he couldn't call any word other than “lab rats”, god, even the other security guards.

Taking part in the study of “mind reflections” taught him that humans stick their noses into things they weren't even supposed to know about more often than it seemed. The more the doctors proceeded, the more damage was done. And yet… whether he liked it or not, those were the specifics of his job.

The guards were supposed to bring them in the next ten minutes, at the time they were already on the way. A group of five went down the hall, carrying a person. A tall figure of a woman didn’t fit fully on a stretcher, her feet hanging off of it. Bizarre colors of her hair and clothes didn’t fit in the whiteness of the building, but it didn't seem to bother anyone. As she started to wake up after what felt like eternity, her long pointy ears twitched. She tried to open her eyes, but right after she squinted as her nose got scrunched up. The air in the room was filled with a pungent chemical smell. Combined with bright ceiling lights, it was not only suffocating, but blinding as well. She had to consciously put effort into listening to the noisy environment to process what was going on. Surrounded by, as she managed to notice, people dressed in a distinctive gray uniform with blue and white coats on top, she felt the surface she was lying on shake with each of their steps. She still didn't feel conscious enough to be able to understand what they’re saying, but just enough to grasp separate words. “Platform”, this word clearly repeated from time to time. It was hard to imagine in what context it can be used, because so far the idea she got of the place they were in was a hospital. After all, the thing they carried her on seemed to be a stretcher or something like that, hospital stuff either way.

“Why would I be in the hospital in the first place?” A thought crossed her mind, a first clear one in a long while. Anxiety interfered in the chain of thought and sudden doubt filled her mind. “This doesn't seem right. Should I talk to somebody? These doctors are weird anyway… If anything happens, how am I supposed to get away from at least five people?”

The odor suddenly became unbearable and the burning in her throat caused a coughing fit. The voices got louder as something that she identified as a weird looking medical mask got pulled on her face. It did make breathing easier, but it certainly wasn’t designed for it. Apparently, nobody thought about asking how she was feeling and this fact made her distant worry grow. “I’m like, ninety nine percent sure those ain’t doctors. Where the hell am I?” But this thought also got swept away as one of the people plugged an unknown device into her ear. By the looks of it, it was an earphone, but it didn’t make sense - why can’t they just speak like that? Maybe she would’ve asked if at that moment she wasn’t interrupted.

”Greetings, Number 12! Is the connection alright?”

The sudden noise startled her, she flinched but didn’t make a sound. The voice was by no means familiar.

“I… Uh… You see, it is, but you’re too loud…” She reported hesitantly, clenching her fist in slight discomfort.

“My apologies!” The stranger said cheerfully, way too cheerfully, but… Thinking about this, she was missing out on a lot here, so maybe their excitement was justified. But at least the level of sound was comfortable now. “It’s a good opportunity to be able to speak to you in person before you’ll be put under proper containment.”

“Containment? What’s going on, exactly?” Her anxiety returned as she realized that the situation started to take a dark turn.

“No need to worry! After we make sure you won’t be able to cause any disorder, we’ll discuss that!” The lack of proper reply to her question made her terror stronger.

“I'm-… I'm sorry, I think you didn't hear me. Where are you taking me?” She asked with growing horror, and was ready to call for help if needed, when the earphone let out loud crackling static, making her jump again, and after a moment of unpleasant noise it faded into…

”…Can you hear me? Hello? We don’t have much time!” A worried voice was calling out. It was more appealing and sounded feminine, and despite something still being a little bit off with it, she answered in a cautious whisper. “I can hear you. Who are you?”

“Awesome, 12! I don't mean harm to you, I want to get you to snap out of your dream, hence I implore you to tell me the truth. Do you know what you’re doing here?”

“…I don’t think I do…” She replied, dread overcoming her. If she had known something this entire time, why couldn't she recall a single memory of this place? What else did she forget?!

“Hm… That’s not a good thing, but I’m sure we’ll figure this out together, 12.”

”You know I have a name, right?”

“I didn’t hear him call you by your name, forgive me. What is it?” And she went quiet. For a good ten seconds she laid there, still carried to an unknown place where she was apparently about to get locked away for god knows how long, when something finally came to her mind. This special name… She felt a strong connection to it - it must be hers. ”It’s… Atlas. I think that’s it… I hope so at least. Hard to say when you barely remember anything at all.”

“We don’t have much time, Atlas. But you’re lucky you got me - machines find their way to anywhere. Now, if I may ask…”

“What was that about just now? Don’t tell me you just hacked into somebody’s system and…”

“Why, of course I did, silly. How else could I get to you?” They paused to let out a sigh and this made Atlas realize she has a breath to let go of as well. “We’ll talk about this eventually, but the alarms will come off at any moment. I need you to get out there before everybody finds out about our conversation.”

“I doubt it’s going to be that easy.” Atlas groaned and shook her head. Her thoughts just began to catch up with the present, and it wasn’t looking good in any way. Taking a peek at what’s in front of her, in the gaps between the backs of two people that were in the way she saw a door.

“That gotta be an elevator or something.” She thought, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to take a better look.

“Yes, that’s exactly what we are going to use for your escape.”

Whoops. Did she really say it out loud and didn’t notice?

“I must be thinking too loud.” Atlas managed out a scoff. None of the five guards seemed to notice and that made her ask the stranger on the call, “By any chance, do you know why these guys ain’t paying attention to what I’m saying?”

“I don’t know. I assume that’s the effect of the mask you’re wearing. Anyway, I must warn you.” As they paused, Atlas noticed how the group started to slow down, judging by how much less the stretcher shook. “You’re about to inflict some change on your surroundings. The best advice I can give to you is just to… believe you can do it. Trust your mind more than you trust your eyes.”

Atlas slowly lifted her back off the stretcher, leaning on her forearms. Looking at the elevator door just a few steps away, she saw one person walk up to the strange device near the door that looked like a tablet and press their palm to it. The device made a short satisfied sound, and from above everyone heard a distant thud. Not exactly the sound an elevator usually makes.

“And when, pray tell, I’m supposed to do something about…”

The blinding white light changed to red in the blink of an eye. Through the speakers right above them a deafeningly loud siren broke out. The sound stunned the group, and while they stood, frozen in surprise and confusion, Atlas stared into the slowly opening door, as she muttered her realization that was already evident.

“Well god damn. Guess the time’s now.”

“Atlas! The elevator!” The voice alarmed. “You need to get in it before they can!”

In terror, Atlas realized that behind the door was nothing other than pure darkness. The elevator shaft was empty. Of course it was, the power must’ve shut down!

“It’s not there!”

“I know! It doesn’t matter!” The voice yelled, and as Atlas saw everyone turn around to her, as if just realising she was there at all, she heard exactly what her panicked mind was telling her. “Jump!”

And Atlas leaped off the stretcher, getting out of her jacket with amusing speed as one of the people held onto the collar of it to stop her, and reached the fully opened elevator doors.

The darkness consumed everything in a matter of seconds as she slammed into the opposite wall, managing to get a good grip onto one of the loose cables.

“What are you doing?!” The voice exclaimed in utter shock, as if they genuinely expected Atlas to jump right into the all-consuming darkness.

“I don’t want to die, idiot!!!”

Atlas’s hands started to get weak and she slid down the shaft for a good few meters with a panicked yelp.

“Remember what I told you about the changes! You won't die if you think of your will to live! Use your power to bend this place however you wish, Atlas!”

Looking down, Atlas thought of all the things she would've wanted after she was out of this place. Nothing came to mind but… She wanted to know. She needed to live to find out! She didn't know what she was living for yet, but she sure as hell wouldn't go before she figured it out!

And Atlas finally gave in. Fingers slipping off the cable and legs slightly pushing her body off of the wall, she fell, fell into the evident nothing, her confidence in the opposite holding solely onto the very belief that below there’s more than certain death. Squeezing her eyes shut, she wanted to scream, but the wind that hit her in the face left her breathless. In the last attempt to protect herself from god knows what awaited her at the bottom, pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them tightly. She could barely hear what was in her earphone, which stayed in place by sheer luck - the wind was too strong. This descent seemed to last at least a good minute until Atlas realized there was no point in keeping her eyes closed. The pitch darkness devoured the small world she escaped from right into its gluttonous hands. And it was about to close down its jaws so in the end, Atlas disappears in it as well, but just the moment before it happened…

Her collision with an uncertain surface caused a loud bang, but Atlas barely felt any pain. Suddenly being surrounded by cold, she attempted to look up, and in that moment all she could see was the column of water that rose above her from the impact.

“You’ve made it!”

#writing #beginner writer #writers on tumblr #writeblr #fiction #psychological fiction #science fiction #scifi #fantasy #superhuman #the thinking man's mirror

1 note · View note

recentlyheardcom · 7 months

Text

Former President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at the judge overseeing his trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud lawsuit in Manhattan.The former president referred to Judge Arthur Engoron as a "rogue judge" while speaking to reporters inside the courthouse, claiming the judge had undervalued his properties in a partial summary judgment handed down last week ruling that Trump had persistently committed fraud. "And he's a disgrace to people that call themselves judges," the ex-president told reporters. "And his clerk should not be allowed to be in his ear on every single question. You take a look at what's happening with her. She hates Trump more than he does."Trump also slammed James, calling her lawsuit "a scam and a sham.""We have a racist attorney general who is a horror show!" Trump added. "She ran on the basis of she was going to get Trump before she even knew anything about me!"Some legal experts characterized Trump's courthouse meltdown as a sign that he knows his defense stands little chance of prevailing."I think that Trump has already decided he's going to lose on the law," John Yoo, a Berkeley Law professor and former Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration, told Fox News on Monday. "Last week, the judge already made all the key findings against him. So what I think President Trump has done is turn this all into a political strategy.""I would say it was the acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, because everything he said, whether it's true or not, is all aimed at the political sphere," he said. "Everything he said could only make sure that he's going to lose. Attacking the judge for being rogue, saying the... attorney general is racist. Now, there's no way that this judge is going to find at all in the favor of President Trump.""And I think on appeal, he's going to lose because this is not the kind of case appeal judges don't want to get involved in and reverse factual findings by the trial judge," Yoo added. "So I think what you're seeing here is actually throwing in the towel on the law and using it instead as a platform to amplify his political message. But that political message will tube and tank his ability to prevail at all in this legal proceeding."[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FebjjgEFDEA[/embed]CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honing noted on Monday that it was "a counterintuitive strategy to openly attack the person who's going to be rendering the verdict in this case, the judge.""It seems to me Donald Trump's strategy here is essentially damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead," he said, according to Mediaite. "He understands he's not going to kiss up to this judge. He's not going to try to please this judge. I think he realizes he's going to lose... He already has lost the first count, the most important count. I think he's trying to make, A, a political appeal, B, I think his legal approach here is going to be his lawyers. They're going to be hoping to set the stage for appeal, hoping that they can find something that was procedurally incorrect, find some sort of bias in the judge that will justify an appeal. But he's leaning into this for sure."Anchor Sara Sidner underscored the use of the word "racist" in Trump's criticism of James, observing how "every time he goes after the judge or the attorney general in saying that she's racist, they get threats like this is actually dangerous for them every time he does it."Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course."And I do think we have to call it out every time we get used to it, because he does it every single time. But there are real consequences to these statements," Honig replied, adding "They are, in my view, what we just heard is over the line.""Look, you are allowed as a defendant in a criminal case or a civil case," he continued. "You're allowed to criticize the prosecutor, you're allowed to criticize the other party.

You're allowed to criticize the judge. Again, query whether that's a smart decision, but you can do that. But there is a line. And when you get to the point of calling the attorney general a racist, when you get to the point of saying some of the things that I won't repeat about this, AG about other prosecutors, about the judge, that becomes dangerous. And the question is, will either the prosecutors in any of these cases or the judges in any of these cases do anything about it? We see that starting to happen now in one of the criminal cases, the federal case in D.C., the judge is considering a gag order as we speak.""And by the way, these statements that we're hearing today probably aren't going to help Donald Trump in arguing against that," Honing asserted.

0 notes

seawater-aurelia-writing · 3 years

Text

The Break

Pairing(s): Fem!MC/Yuu/Reader x TBD

Summary: MC finally shuts down from all of her acts of helping with overblots and the countless favors/demands that are asked of her. When the Prefect of Ramshackle is the one who needs help, who steps forward?

WARNINGS

I am not the best at labeling warnings or triggers but I can say that this story is laden with neglect, self-neglect, anxiety, possible depression and attempts to justify the above. There could be more labels that I can add but i’m unsure how to word them - so please exercise caution.

Quick Note: The reader in this story is largely based upon Cinderella, for multiple reasons (#1 being that I want to and #2 being that I absolutely love Cinderella and think she’s amazingヾ(•ω•`)o ) . If that type of character behavior annoys or offends you, I recommend skipping this!

She should have seen it coming; The break. Her break.

Her sight blurred with tears, which spilled over her eyes quickly as she laid upon the floor of the library – cold and alone. In front of her, just out of reach, laid her phone amidst the plentiful books which laid strewn chatoticly across the floor from her harsh tumble. Her phone vibrated constantly cause M/C o flinch as she imagined the messages that must be flying across her notifications; Her friends and upperclassmen asking for favors and why she hadn’t completed what they asked.

‘I need to… get up.’ She thought to herself, willing herself to move her arms but her body was more akin to cold, ancient steel, a machine that had been abandoned and forgotten throughout time; It felt nothing like how she was a month ago, a week ago, a few hours ago. ‘ I have.. so much left to do.’

As she tried to find the will to stand – M/C thought of how she ended up in this position; body battered and bruised after falling from the top of the ladder in the deserted corner of the library.

She could barely life her feet as she made her way down the path, back towards Ramshackle Dorm. In her arms, Grim lay curled into her chest as he slept peacefully in her arms.

‘We both had a long day.’ MC mused to herself, gently pressing his closer as the cold, wintry wind blew harder. She recounted their day slowly, going over each task they had accomplished.

Crowley wished for them to wake up earlier to remove unwanted, viney weeds from around the campus gates, Sam’s Store, and the fencing around the Flying Course field in exchange he’d give them some aid to finally repair their roof. Unable to refuse such an offer, M/C awoke at 3 am to be able to accomplish all of the weeding.

However, Grim had not woken to any of her calls or he just ignored her, leaving M/C to venture into the darkened morning on her own to do the weeding.

After 2 hours, when she was finally able to head back to Ramshackle to freshen up before breakfast, she was stopped by Vil. The Pomefiore Dorm Head all but demanded her attention for an hour in the afternoon, her lunch period specifically, to fetch him some arctic sea water from Azul.

Vil was supposedly unable to pick up the water himself as he had an impromptu photoshoot and Azul would only meet during lunchtime.

Despite the tone he used, M/C could sense that Vil was more antsy about missing his photoshoot -made more evident by the slight twitch at the mention of potentially missing the event. She agreed with a bright smile; choosing to ignore Vil’s comment about grass sticking to her and her ‘odor’ when she turned to leave.

Finally, she made it to Ramshackle and rid herself of the stray remnants of debris before she freshened up. Grim, who finally awoke, all but rushed her from the home before she could rest – determined to beat Ace and Deuce to breakfast.

But as luck would have it, M/C could not make it to the Dining Hall before she was stopped by a rather, frazzled Ruggie, who all but shoved a bag of food onto her. He left rushed orders to take it to Leona as he was asked to help restock the lounge before classes. He ran off before she could refuse.

Grim happily skipped to the dining room, telling her not to waste time since he wasn’t going to save her any of the food. However, before she could rush off – Grim yelled back at her to pick up some tuna for him at Sam’s since she was going out of the main building anyway.

She only nodded, ignoring the hollowed feeling in her stomach and the way it rumbled in protest.

M/C remembers being stopped before she could reach Leona, the botanical garden just in sight. That view had been blocked by the ever-looming, Leech Twins. Floyd grinned down at her and plucked the sandwich from her hands.

“Ah! Koechi-chan is so sweet!~ She brought food for us, Jade” Floyd cheered, ignoring her protests and pleas for him to give her the food back.

“Indeed she did, Floyd.” Jade chuckled, doing nothing to stop his twin, who began to eat the food in front of M/C. “And by the way, Prefect. Vil told us that you would be the one picking up his items later today.”

“Y-yes that’s right. At lunch time.” She clarified, her voice softer as she deflated. In retrospect, she still didn’t know what she could have said to Floyd to make him stop. So many girls on Magicam were adamant about how they maintain dominance over their own friends to avoid being stepped on but they always sounded cruel; Giving instructions to ‘clapback’, to insult them, to physically hurt them or poke at their insecurities to make them listen. She didn’t want to snap at the twins, not only would it not do her any good but angering them isn’t what she wanted.

“Azul needs to push that time to this evening, at dinner. Vil suddenly requested twice the amount and thus more payment is required.” M/C remembered the chill that ran down her spine as the Twins seemed to loom over her even more.

“P-Payment? But I don’t-“

“Rook is handling the payment but,in the even he doesn’t, please he prepared to pay any outstanding fees.”

The Twins ignored her pleas for clarification, with Floyd only turning around to demand that she be present for his basketball practice later today.

M/C recounted how, after that, her day became a blur with random intervals of clarity when another request or demand was made of her.

Ace and Deuce asking her to handle their chores in Heartslabyul of feeding the Hedgehogs and Flamingos while they went to mandatory study hall with Professor Trein.

Trey caught her and asked for her to pick up some cream from Sam’s shop for him. She also picked up the tuna that Grim had asked for and the only thing she could afford to eat to replace the breakfast that she missed – a discounted egg salad sandwich.

A sandwich she could only eat half of, as the other half was given to Silver, who had missed breakfast looking for Malleus. He had not asked anything of her, she remembered, but the way he looked at her was odd to say the least. He was adament on her sitting down and finishing her half of a sandwich before leaving but the appearance of Ortho, who asked for her to run an errand for Idia, pulled her away.

Her classes came and went, leaving her feeling isolated as usual. Professor Crewel, never one to shy away from a ‘training’ opportunity, chided her for using an incorrect about of Phoeniz wings in her potion. He only became agitated when she proceeded to answer his questions about the potion, a simple draught, completely wrong. Grim was of no help as even he didn’t know the answers, nor did Ace or Deuce by what they had said but Ace and Grim took great joy in laughing at her misery.

Normally, it wouldn’t have affect her but today, it hurt.

But she smiled anyway.

Lunch time came and, again, she was stopped before she entered the dining hall. Sebek demanded her help in finding Malleus, who was not present at lunch. Again, Grim deserted her as Sebek grabbed her and dragged her along beside him and Silver to find Malleus.

Again, Silver regarded her in an odd way but he said nothing out of the ordinary towards her.

They never did find Malleus and Sebek took too yelling at her for being unable to be of any use in finding him.

“..Sorry, Sebek. I’ll try harder next time.” Was all she could say, while Silver chided him on being too harsh.

As they made it back to the main building, it was time for classes; She had missed lunch as well.

‘Perhaps that’s why I was so dizzy.’ She thought to herself, managing to prop herself onto her elbows. The floor beneath her moved and rippled, similar to the waves in the great oceans back in her homeworld. ‘Correction, why I AM so dizzy…’

Her mind again wandered back to her day after lunch time; Where her day only worsened.

Without any proper food in her, there was no way that she could stay awake with Professor Trein’s class. Lucius quickly spotted her and alerted Trein, before Deuce could fully wake her up.

“Do you believe yourself too smart to pay attention within my class, Miss M/C.” He sneered, a glare firmly on his face as he gazed down at her.

“N-No, sir. I’m sorry, Professor! It wasn’t-“

“Silence.” His voice was firm as harsh, caushing her to flinch and shrink in her seat. “There will be no talking back to me of any kind. I had high expectations of you, Miss M/C and yet you have a complete lack of manners. As punishment, you will write me a paper explaining the important of Magical History, no less than 10 pages. If it is not on my desk first thing in the morning, then expect a harsher punishment. Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes, sir.” She mumbled, her head bowed in submission. M/C could remined the feeling of the heat behind her eyes; How hard it was to hold back tears in that moment.

She hadn’t expected kindness from Professor Trein but it seemed no one was recognizing that she was doing the absolute best that she could do with the circumstances that she was in.

She was blunt and sarcastic at times, yes, but she can’t think of anyone who can hold their tongue constantly. Yet when she seemed to speak, unless it was humorous in nature or her agreeing with those around her- she went unheard. But if she pressed and asked for help, who would drop their things to come to her aid?

Those thoughts plagued her for the rest of the day;

Even as Floyd threatened and scolded her for missing basketball practice, where she was supposed to stock the ice water and the cool towels for him, even though Epel asked her to pick up some old weights from Ruggie.

Even when Ruggie scolded her for not delivering Leona’s sandwich, calling her a thief for eating the sandwich when she reassured him that she didn’t and that Floyd had taken it.

Even when Ace and Deuce whined and complained about letting them down for not feeding the animals properly, when she couldn’t do it properly as they never explained all of the rules to her.

Even when Azul asked, demanded, that she find a specific book for him within the dark recesses of the library before closing as Vil’s additional fee– the thoughts never left her.

In truth, she was merely an anomaly in this world; An irregularity that didn’t belong, didn’t have a place within this magic, twisted world that she found herself in. She was without even the most basic magic to help her through her day to day life as the other had. M/C didn’t know even the most basic of terms within classes that would help her – shown by her struggling grades and performance.

She wouldn’t last outside of NRC, even Crowley had alluded to that. She had no birth certificate, no I.D. on her person, and no family of which to speak of.

Who would risk their own education and future to help someone who wouldn’t be able to do anything on their own anyway?

Even Grim, the other half to her ‘whole student’ was beginning to separate from her as his magic was matured and refined.

But that was why she smiled, was it? She smiled because she liked being needed, feeling as if she had a place in a world where she had none. Even if it ended with her being overworked, sleep-deprived and feeling so hollow – she was needed. A little suffering was nothing.

If her friends would excel in the world around her, wouldn’t that be worth it all? They shouldn’t have to suffer and fail in their classes just because a useless anomaly couldn’t handle the most basic of things.

‘It’s fine.’ She thought to herself, finally pushing herself to her knees. She winced, her movements letting her know just how bad her fall had truly been; Her chest hurt and ached with every beat of her heart, her right leg, the one which hit the ground first, was pulsing and red hot and all over – it felt as if fire ants were stinging her.

“It’s..fine.” She mumbled to herself, reaching with shaking hands to begin the task of stacking the books that she knocked over.

“No, it is not.” Came a hardened voice from behind her.

M/C tensed, her eyes widening as she registered the voice as Professor Trein. As she straightened her back quickly, aiming to turn to look at her professor, the room began to spin once more. Sound all around her became muffled as it felt as though her entire was was submerged underwater.

“ -s M/C. Are your manners that abhorrent that you cannot even turn to face when when I speak to y-.” Professor Trien fumed but his voice faded away despite how hard she attempted to focus on it.

“P-Professor…” She whimpered, curling into herself to try to stop the sensations around her; But they never ceased, even as she felt something wet run down her face - a pain beginning to bloom upon her head as she focused on the wet feeling.

And it all went dark.

2K notes · View notes