#when i was 16 i went to the police about my parents abusing me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

am-i-the-asshole-official · 2 months

Note

AITA for calling the police?

Tw: Abusive relationship/ mentions / discussions of suicide. I briefly talk about someone attempting (they're fine now!) but provide no further detail.

I used to date this guy that I will call R. R and I dated for two years and in those two years R was incredibly controlling. He would demand to know where I was at and who I was with at all times. Whenever we got into a disagreement about something (not necessarily an argument, just us not wanting to do something / someone doesn't like a certain thing) he would start crying and whining about how hard his life is and how we have to do things his way or the way he wanted. Essentially, a pity party. If guilt tripping me wouldn't work he would get loud and violent. He never hit me or put his hands on me, but he would often intimidate me by getting up in my face or destroying things one time he punched a hole through his bedroom door because I didn't want to stay the night. We're both in high-school and I have a curfew.

Anyway, a few months before R and I started dating my father attempted to take his own life. R was usually the one to comfort me during my dad's recovery and at first he was very kind and helpful with everything going on. Then over time R progressively got worse and that's why I'm in the current situation I am in.

I decided to break up with R because of all the things mentioned above and I felt the relationship was moving too quickly. He was already talking about us getting married and having kids (I'm 16!!!) and he even suggested I get a tattoo of his name when I turn 18.

R immediately had a break down and I quickly went home. I made sure to dump him in a public place in case he tried to do something but when I got home he left me a whole bunch of nasty texts ranging from "baby I'm sorry, take me back" to "I hate you, drop dead."

When I stopped responding to his texts and calls he threatened to kill himself. He knew it was a sore subject given what happened with my dad and he knew it would get a reaction out of me. He said if I didn't take him back he would hurt himself.

I broke down crying and told my mom and she told me to call the cops and so I did. When the police got there R's parents were confused and said that he was totally fine and acting normal. R literally lied to make me feel bad. R went around telling all our friends that I'm a bitch for calling the cops "for no reason" and now everyone at school said I was overreacting and he didn't do anything wrong. I had my closest friend say it was unnecessary because there was no real emergency.

I feel like shit right now, some people are pressuring me to get back together with him in case he's serious and others are saying I overreacted by calling the cops because there was no real emergency and I got R in trouble with his parents because of it.

I know this is probably stupid high school drama and because I'm young I don't know any better, but I genuinely don't know what to do right now. I felt it was justified given what happened to my dad, I didn't want R to end up like him.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole #suicide cw

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flammingnachos · 7 months

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𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏(topper thornton x fem!reader)

𝘚𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴; opposite attract they say, well that’s the case for you and topper your the embodiment of a person that makes choices without the fear of judgment or criticism and then there’s topper

𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨; Pogue!reader, abusive topper, controlling and manipulative,cursing, slight forced marriage, SMUT, (1/2)

Reckless.

Something that I’ve always been called as a child

I’ve never really paid attention to what anyone had ever about me since I’ve never really cared too much about people's opinions why worry about something that doesn’t make a difference in your life rather than just stress about it

My Perspective on people's opinions however changed during my teen years after my parents went bankrupt and were forced to slave themselves for the cooks on the other side of the town, my father worked for Judge Thornton as his personal construction worker.

My father became great friends with judge Thornton through out the years occasionally bringing me over during my teens years to meet Mr Thornton only son Topper.

During this time Topper didn’t even spare a few glances or a few words other than “hi” and “bye” from the times I’ve been over at his home as “play dates” as my parents liked to call it. He was busy hanging out with this best friend rafe and started talking to Sarah cameron

It was when I turned 16 my life had really changed, mom was home for a few days of the week while dad was barely ever there after my 15th birthday. It was then that same day a few knocks where heard on my front door

I looked over at the broken chronograph that was slanted on the wall seeing that it read 8:00 PM

“Who could be coming this late” I wondered

I hesitatingly walked over to the door slightly peeking through the door seeing that it was Sheriff Shoupe and another male officer with him, he looked up at me

“may I have a word with you Cassidy” He asked taking off his hat and resting it upon his chest

“Uhm my mother isn’t here at the moment you’ll have to come back another time,” I said looking around the house a bit

“Well, there’s no need what I need to talk to you about is about them” he sighed out

My eyebrows furrowed

I opened the door fully and gestured for them both to come in

“I didn’t want to deliver this kind of message to a young person as yourself but your parents have been arrested” He said calmly

It went silent after he said that, my whole world felt like it was gonna go crashing down after that, I didn’t know what to do or how to feel. I just kept feeling daggers go straight through my heart and my vision blurring a bit

I wiped my eyes slightly

“W-what do you mean sheriff” I asked

“They’ve been arrested for theft, your father has been stealing money from judge Thornton bank and hiding it with your mother”

I stayed silent waiting for him to continue holding in my breath silently

“Judge Thornton was going to press charges but he made a deal with your father for his repayment, it involved you” he finished out waiting for my reaction

“W-what about me?” I whispered out

“He made a deal that you’ll be living with them from now on and you’ll be married off to there son Topper to repay the dept your father owed them” He said

That’s it right there.. when my whole word fell apart and crashed down right on me, the air seemed like it was suffocating me and the feet felt more heavier than they usual are and my body felt so hard to be still

I felt like passing out

The sheriff noticed this and held me slightly seeing my body about to stumble over and fall right onto the floor

“I understand how you feel Cassidy but right now your parents requested me take you back over the station to see them before they are put in jail” he said walking out the door slowly and guiding me over to the police car as he opened the door and I hesitantly got in frozen in place as he slammed the door and got in the drivers seat taking off

I was frozen in place unable to think or move a bone

This had to be a dream

The car moved up and down slightly as the sheriff drove through the bridge that separated the cooks from the pogues. The flashing lights from the street lamp post illuminating slightly over my face as he drove in the darkness

Without noticing more tears started slowly crept up into my eyes and right down on my face continuously as I wiped them trying the hardest for it to stop raining on my face but it didn’t.

The sheriff heard my sniffles and whales of cries and glanced at the rear view mirror.

I didn’t notice we reached at the station until I felt my door being opened and the cool summer air gushing on to me.

“C’mon Cassidy” he whispered out putting his hand out for me to grab onto it

I slowly looked up from the floor and looked over at his with glassy eyes slowly inching my arms to his and getting out the car

He closed the door guiding me into the station and down in the interrogation area, my head being dipped down and focused onto the floor the whole way there

He opened the door and there I was faced with my father and mother sitting side by side staring right at me with guilt in there eyes. I couldn’t bare to even look at them for what they had done and the situation they had now put me through

The sheriff pulled out the chair infront of my mother as I sat down chewing the bottom of lip

“Well I’ll leave you guys to it, you have a few more minutes left with your parents before there transit comes” he announced and then looked back over at them before taking his leave

The room stayed quiet

“Look sweetie what your father and I did was all for you, we didn’t mean for this to happen w-we just wanted you to have a better future” my mother spoke putting her hands over the table and rubbing the dried tears off my cheeks slightly

“Y-you’ve set me up to get married to some guy I barely even know a Cook at that” I sniffed

“It was the only way doll, it was either that or have you work for Mr Thornton off the debt that I made, I couldn’t have you slave behind me for something you didn’t even do” My father spoke back

I looked up at him with nothing to fury

“THEN WHY!? why do this shit if you knew you would have been caught and your poor old daughter would have to take all your consequence” I half yelled at him in frustration

This shocked both of my parents as there eyes both went up at my tone not to mention my cursing my mother removed her hands from my face

“Sweetie what we did was for you, for your future for your college for you fucking life-!” My mother started to yell but my father interrupted her trying to call her down

“louis!” he yelled

“Cassidy what your mother is trying to say is that this may seem like what we did was reckless of us because we didn’t think of the consequences but we did and we knew we would pay the price but we didn’t think that they would use you as the price we would be paying” My father explains in one breath

I stayed silent again

Right on cue the door opened we all turned to look over at who it was seeing it was another police office

“Times up, your transit is here Mr and Mrs Ryder” the man announced opening the door more wider as two other officers came in handcuffing both of my parents

“Wait wait, I didn’t get to-”I flinged up in a rush to stop them from handcuffing both of my parents

“I’m sorry ma’am but there transit is here to take them to the county prison” he tried to reasoned out

“It’s okay Cassidy, we deserve this” my father softly spoke out

“We’ll be fine, take care of yourself baby” my mother croaked out, water falling down on her face as she shut her eyes to stop herself fork crying even more than she already was

At the sight made me cry to seeing my other cry

“Noo mom please” I cried out blinded by the water spilling out my eyes

I grabbed my hands out for my mother as officer backed me up off her as I continued crying

“Well always love you Cassidy” my father said before he disappeared out the door and so did my mother, her cries still heard bouncing off the walls

The officer used his walkie talkie calling in for sherif shoupe

I sat back down crying into my arms

“I’ll take it from here officer”shoupe I recognized his voice nearing over towards me

“everything gonna be okay Cassidy, you can always vist them” he tried to cheer me up

I only cried out more

“C’mom cassidy we can’t be in here much longer, it’s getting late and you’ll catch a cold from the way you’ve been crying” he whispered out slightly picking up my arms

I sniffed whipping my eyes to stop the tears as I got up following shoupe to his police car passing by the rest of the officers as my continued wiping my eyes to stop the water from running back down my face some more

Sheriff shoupe opened his police car door as I slowly got inside the car buckling my seatbelt, the car taking off once I did so

I turned my head to the right looking thru the window watching as the trees passed by and by all the street lights that were now on

“It’s not my place but try to give Mr and Mrs Thornton a chance before you can judge” I heard Sherif shoupe spoke out making me turn my attention towards him driving the car

“Yeah”I whispered turning my attention back outside until we reached to my destination

We arrived in the next 10 minutes as the car came to a halt infront of there lawn, he got out walking springing to my side to open the door for me

I awkwardly smiled and got out as be slamed the door shut and started walking to the front door as I followed along

I examined my surroundings seeing their lawn perfectly mowed per usual and their front porch always looking effortlessly perfect, I stopped walking behind Sheriff Shoupe as he knocked on the door waiting for an answer

It took a minute for Mrs Thornton to answer the door, she smiled seeing Sheriff Shoupe but that smile faltered a bit seeing me there

Just great

“Sheriff it's nice to see you here with Cassidy” She cheered on with that plastic smile of hers

The sheriff smiled at this

“The pleasure is all mine, Cassidy didn't get to pack anything at all since her parents wanted to see her before they were transported to county prison” he explained as to why I just showed up empty handed with nothing but my phone

She nodded her head

“It's alright there's nothing like a little shopping won't fix for her” she chuckled out

He smiled while I stood there awkwardly

“Well, I should leave you guys to it then..Cassidy..enjoy your time with them and please don't stress over your parents there in great hands” He informed me, Turning to me as I nodded at his response

The sheriff nodded walking past me and right into his car, at Mrs Thornton opened the door more widely and gestured for me to walk in

“Come in please do” She said

As I walked in she the slammed the door shut, locking it making her way into another room in which I followed right behind her

“Mr Thornton or Topper isn't here at the moment which is great so I can just have a talk with you before I show you to your room and then you'll be meeting Both of them after they come in”she explained while taking a seat in her living room I'm guessing

“Sure” I croaked out unsure of what to really say to her

she smiled straightening her posture on the seat

“Okay good, as I'm assuming you already know you'll be the future wife of my son..”she paused looking for my reaction

I nodded pressing my lips onto a thin line looking around for a bit

“Good, there aren't many rules here but for you to always be with Topper outside, there aren't any restrictions or anything in the house…and you can't be out too late now” she finished off

“Okay” I said

“Alright, nice and obedient.. You truly are perfect” She smiled at me as I thanked her for the compliment

“Now I'm gonna show you to the room you'll be using until you and Topper graduate and you can move out and live somewhere by yourselves,” she said getting up and walking up the stairs and then making a left then up a smaller stairs in the corner where I saw three doors lined up next to each other

“that's Topper's room, Your room is right next to his, and The bathroom at the last corner” She explained using her hands

I hummed as she walked to the middle door opening it while walking in, following after her I got inside the bedroom and was amazed at what was infornt of me

It was bigger than all the rooms in my old House combined, I actually had a closet and not just a basket where I fold all my clothes and put them in and a big window scenery. Where I could sit and watch outside

I continued staring around the room twisting and turning as I inspected everything with my mouth agape in shock

“I know right, took my maids a few hours to get room cleaned out and changed into a girl room which was a guest room at first” She explained smiling at my reaction

She took a seat at the edge of the bed patting right next to her for me to sit down beside her, I listened sitting right down next to her

“I’ve never really had this type of experience before, since I've only grown Topper since he was young and his father and I were too busy to even try again” she sighed looking a bit sad

“I get that” I sympathized

She gave me a little smile pulling me into her embrace a bit

“Well, the boys is gonna get here in a few more hours so you have enough time to be alone in your new room for a bit before you meet your future husband” she cheered getting up and was about to leave before I halted her

“Thank you again..i’m sorry for what my parents have caused your family” I apologized

She only smiled at this

“Your parents actions aren't you faults, whatever they did doesn't correlate to you” She said, and then taking her leave shutting the door half open half closed a bit

I rested for a bit laying down on the bed before hearing some voices downstairs after a couple of hours just staring at the ceiling

“I still don’t get why where doing this mom” It was topper

And his mother arguing once again but it seemed like there voices were getting nearer to my room door

I squealed getting up and making myself look at least presentable and straight inform of topper and his father

Right then the door swinged open revealing all here of them Mr and Mrs Thornton and Topper himself all looking at me

Gosh

My breathed was nearly taken away by the sight of Topper, he still looked perfect from when he was younger

I say frozen unable to say a word but watch mindlessly as Mr and Mrs Thornton continued to argue some more

“Your wasting your life mopping behind that Sarah girl when you could be finding yourself a wife to continue the family legacy” his mother grumbled out angryly

“But mom” topper tried to reason out but his mother huffed out walking away from him as his father followed along

He stood there lost in silence

My crush on Topper never subsided even when he used to be jerk with rafe to me and John b and jj I still liked him even after his situation with the cook princess

It seemed like he’s examining me head to toe

We stood there in silence once more

“Enjoy your stay” he said in monotone voice before taking his leave and slamming his door right next to mines

Well that was just great

#topper #outer banks #topper x reader #thorton #rafe outer banks #obx fic #obx fanfiction #sarah cameron #the pogues #obx pogues

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writtenbymisunderstoodnerds · 2 years

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There for you (Christen Press x Reader)

Written on my phone, at 3am while bored at work so excuse any mistakes.

Warnings- Mentions of homophobia, alcohol abuse, abuse.

Words: 1K

"I didn't want you to find out this way. I didn't want... I didn't want you to find out at all."

"You know we all love you regardless, right?" Alex spoke, everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.

"Maybe. Doesn't matter now. Everything's going to be different."

Ali took a step closer to me, "Y/n."

I slipped on my shoes before heading to the door, "I can't do this."

After leaving the hotel I didn't know where I was going. My head was a mess and I just needed to get away from them.

I was an alcoholic, sober for almost 2 years now. It was something I never told anyone especially from the national team. Something that I found easier to deal with alone. Until now, I had let it slip when they were trying to get me to have a drink with them and I snapped.

Since I was younger, I had turned to alcohol to help drown out my problems. My parents were abusive both physically and mentally. More mentally than physically up until they found out I was gay when I was 16, that was when they tried to beat the gay out of me. I was on the brink of death when the police had showed up due to a report of concern from the neighbours. They were convicted for attempted murder while I was in the hospital for weeks then sent to live with a foster family. They were nice enough, but it was safe to say I was pretty messed up. That's when the alcohol abuse started.

Soccer was my only solace, the only place where I felt calm. I managed to hide and control it to only drinking myself to sleep for years. When I started drinking before games or in the middle of the day, I realised that I had to stop. I confided in my manager and the coaches for national and club team about my problem. We faked an injury and I checked into a rehab facility for a 90 day program. I started seeing a therapist as well.

When I came back, I was in a much better place. I was sleeping better and not as anxious. I was just happier. I still struggled with physical touch or when someone moved too fast around me. It was still hard, especially when the team went out, but I had made it 2 years sober so far.

After walking for an hour, I found myself sitting in a random bar with a glass of whiskey and a glass of water in front of me. The water was the only thing that I had drunken. I didn't even want to drink the alcohol, it was more a reminder of how far I had come. Maybe a way to test myself, to make sure I was still strong enough. Someone sat next to me and the glass was moved away. By the perfume, I knew it was Christen. The women I was madly in love with, not that I would ever tell her that. She was too important to lose. I figured they used my IPad to do find my phone when they couldn't find me.

"I wasn't going to drink it."

A hand rested on my forearm, "I know, but you don't need to torture yourself. Y/n, I know you didn't want us to know, but we're your team. We're here for you, regardless of what you're going through. The same way you're always there for us." She paused for a second, intertwining our fingers, "I'm here for you y/n/n, if you'll let me."

I pulled my hand away, "Chris, I-" I stopped when my voice cracked. She led me out of the bar and to the park across the street.

Her arms wrapped around me, "I know what you think, that I deserve better or you don't want to put your problems on me." Christen pulled away, cupping my cheeks, "I want you y/n, every part of you. You deserve to be happy. Let me be part of that."

Tears started falling which she swiped away with her thumbs. I don't know how she knew. Since I began developing feelings for her, I had done everything in my power to not let her know. The only person I ever told was Ali and I know she would never tell anyone.

All I could do was nod. I knew if I said anything that any sense of control over my emotions would disappear. Christen watched me for a few seconds before leaning in, connecting our lips. I melted into her, my arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her closer. It was soft, slow and gentle. Everything I never knew I was craving. All things I had never had before.

In my whole 28 years of life, I had been in one relationship that only lasted a couple of months. There had been plenty of drunk one-night stands before I got sober, but never relationships. I was always too scared. Christen was the most caring, accepting and loving person I knew. Of course she would be the one to come in knocking down all the walls I had built to protect both myself and others.

Once we pulled away, I whispered as if to not pop the bubble around us, "How long have you known?"

"A week or so. You hid it very well."

"Did Ali-" I cut myself off knowing she would know what I was asking.

"No, she would never. You fell asleep with your journal open. Im sorry, I didn't mean to snoop, but it was open to a page about me." Journaling was something my therapist had recommended and it helped me get out what I was feeling without actually having to tell anyone. Normally, I would be pissed if anyone read it, but I was kind of relieved she had. It meant I didn't have to tell her myself.

I was terrified of what was to come. Terrified of hurting her or my problems being too much for her. Being in a relationship was something I didn't know how to do, but for Christen I would do everything in my power to be a good partner.

Part 2? If so leave ideas for what you want to see

#uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #uswnt imagines #woso imagines #christen press/reader #christen press x reader #woso x reader #woso imagine

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chronicallycouchbound · 10 months

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What’s So Wrong With Having Heroes?

When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a doctor or a veterinarian. I wanted to help heal. And even as a small child, it felt like my calling.

Most kids dream of becoming a hero. The firefighters, the builders, the astronauts. The one’s who get medals and standing ovations. There’s many very monetarily successful movies and comics about all the superheroes we dream of. The people we want to save us. At one point, I thought I could be a hero. I wanted to be.

Being a hero wasn’t an issue for me though. People started to notice acts of kindness in me, and when they held that in high regard, I did too. I did everything I could to help others. It came naturally.

I bandaged my siblings and pets and strangers up. I gave advice like a wise old man, my aunt thanked me for helping her to leave her abusive husband when I was 8. I saved two people from drowning when I was 10. I talked friends out of suicide a dozen times. I became a street medic. I have saved dozens of lives, often under extraordinary circumstances. By definition, I fit the one for ‘hero’.

And I have so many issues with it. This isn’t a humble brag.

I genuinely think that we, as a society, put certain people on pedestals that shouldn’t be. I don’t think anyone should be. The hierarchy of heroes is inequitable and unrealistic. I think we should do the right thing because it’s the right thing, not to win an award or a badge of honor.

I see headlines all the time that are just ‘hero firefighter does their job!’. They’re paid to do this, of course they’re going to do it. As an abolitionist, I see cops hailed as heroes, usually for doing the objectively right thing, and it seems to magically erase the realities of what they do, the systemic harm they perpetuate. It’s the entirety of the ‘there’s some good cops’ narrative. And it causes great detriment to our communities because it makes it seem like the police do more good than bad.

Society particularly loves to paint white, cishet, abled, rich, educated, affluent men as heroes. The ones who can save us. Our hero.

And yet we ignore the people who are saving lives left and right, like people who use drugs who Narcan their friends. Or trans youth who stay up all night with their suicidal friends. Or the street medics who set up civilian ambulances for their under-served and neglected communities.

No one’s giving them medals.

Beyond that, people aren’t checking in on heroes. I’ve heard “you’re incredible!” and “thank you” a million times, but rarely do people genuinely check in on me after I’ve rescued someone.

And I usually need it. I’m at my worst mentally and usually physically after a rescue. It often takes months or years to process those events— they are traumatic for the rescuer too. Especially those of us without formal training or those of us who have attempted to rescue someone and lost them. We’re left to drift among all of these confusing and conflicting emotions, sometimes never understanding why.

The worst thing I hear: “I could NEVER do what you did”. It breaks me apart every time.

I don’t want to be doing this alone. I don’t want to have to save people over and over. I can’t save everyone.

I have to repeat that last one like a mantra sometimes.

I can’t save everyone. And so often, I still try to. I jump in without thinking. I throw myself into danger and worry about myself last, or, never. And it usually ends with me being seriously injured.

When I’d bandage up my siblings and pets it was after our parents hit us. I stepped in front of them as often as I could. I swallowed so much water while trying to save someone from drowning because they kept pulling me under that I puked. My 20-something-year-old boyfriend I dated when I was 16 stabbed me with the knife I had just talked him out of cutting himself with. He went on to keep caving my face in and choking me until I was blue. And of course, I’ve been seriously injured dozens of times during rescues. My body physically hurts so much afterwards, let alone the emotional toll.

I have to wonder: What would happen if I didn’t step in? Would it be so bad?

But of course, my brain always answers with a thousand of the worst case scenarios— or, just with what happened anyways. Sometimes people die no matter how much you try to fight to save them. And that has to just be what it is.

I think sometimes people live, and that just has to be what it is too.

But when we ascribe people as heroes, the message we send is that some people are heroes, some people aren’t. And I feel so strongly that this isn’t true. I believe that everyone has the capacity to help others, and so often, they do so in seemingly insignificant ways, and their deeds are not recognized.

Small acts of kindness are never small.

Life saving happens in everyday, ordinary ways. Sometimes what has saved my life has been something the other person will never remember or know. The Christmas cards from the elementary schoolers sent to the homeless shelter I lived at. The partners and friends who sat with me until I was safe on my own. My friends who held my hand as my heart beat dangerously fast, their presence being all I could feel, replacing the tightness in my chest. My cat cuddling me, purring until she snores. Strangers holding doors, strangers carrying my groceries, strangers checking on me. The dozens of items from my Amazon wishlists that have kept me alive.

I wish I could say how thankful I am to the community that’s kept me alive. How every time they’ve called me a hero, it’s because they made me possible. That they’re a hero just as much as I am.

I read ‘Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (And The Next)’ by Dean Spade recently. In it, Dean describes “leader-less and leader-full” movements. It’s exactly what we need in the world. Hero-less and hero-full communities. We don’t need a select few— we need communities and societies structured around giving care. We need it to be standard, not extraordinary.

Personal responsibility can lead to community responsibility. We could have thriving, beautiful communities where we all care for each other so fully that no one single person is a savior, because we are all uplifted equitably.

I urge everyone I know to be more like the heroes they uplift. To think about what values they hold in high regard in others and to apply them to their own actions. To be what they already are, and acknowledge it.

You’re included.

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madlad-sadgal · 8 months

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Goldenheart AU Pt. 3

I FOUND MY NOTEBOOK!

If you couldn't tell, I have found my notes about this AU and am finally able to make more parts (I could've just made new notes but for some reason my mind stopped everytime I tried to do that, so yeah). This part is gonna be about the band members' (Bal, Nimona and Meredith) backstories.

I highly suggest you check out these first if you wanna understand this, cuz it might not make sense: [Part 1] [Part 2]

(Edit: I'm an idiot and forgot to put the links when I first posted it)

Part 1 is just the base of the AU, and part 2 explains the Director/Livia's (the name I gave her) reasons to not want Goldenheart to be a thing.

Also, feel free to put any idea you might want to add on in the comments or the tags! I tend to look at them and take them in consideration. I don't tag you (some people don't want to be tagged), but if you want to be credited, just message me and I'll tag you if I use your idea!

Anyways, Enjoy!

Ballister Boldheart

Although he didn't live on the streets, Ballister wasn't part of a very fortunate family when it came to money.

Education was something his family struggled to provide to him, and food was thoroughly enjoyed as one never knew if the next meal would be provided or not

His parents worked in a quite successful company but were paid barely enough to survive despite the amount of work they did

Ballister also worked small jobs, such as helping the park keeper clean up garbage, helping the mailman deliver his letters and packages, and so on

When he properly met Ambrosius was when he was cleaning up the park

I say properly because everyone knows Ambrosius Goldenloin, future heir to the Goldenloin company, so when he walked up to a little boy with long dirty hair and worn down clothes, it was pretty safe to say he was wary of him at first

Slowly but surely, after they met up more and more, Ballister started to warm up to him until they became great friends

Ambrosius had tried many times to give money to his family or to buy him something, but Ballister always refused because 1) He wanted to prove he could help on his own, not thanks to some charity money, and 2) He really didn't need the rest of Ambrosius' friends to start rumors about how he was using him for money (It was pretty clear they didn't like him, mainly Todd Sureblade, the Sureblade's being long friends of the Goldenloins)

At some point in time, when they were about 9-10, Ambrosius had to leave cities because of something and the two boys wouldn't be able to talk anymore, so he left with heart wrenching goodbyes

After that, everything was basically shit

With Ambrosius no longer around, some of his old friends who had stayed behind picked on him (hiding the stuff he needed to work, throwing random objects at him when he was in the park, etc.)

His father succumbed to an illness he had been suffering from for a while which sent his mother spiraling into a depression and turning to drinks. She didn't abuse him, but behind her curtain of sadness, she basically forgot about him and it was up to Ballister to provide food and take care of the both of them

It didn't take long for child protection services to take note of this and, at 16, Ballister was placed in a foster home while his mother went to therapy and rehab

It was in the foster home that Ballister met Nimona (backstory later)

Nimona was younger than him by around ten years, a little six year old kid who looked harmless until you realized just how much chaos she could cause

Still, he enjoyed Nimona's company and his foster parents could tell, so they let the two kids be. It was a struggle to stop Nimona from causing chaos everytime they went to the market, but it was worth it if it meant they'd stay up until late into the night arguing about whether freestyle jazz was good or not, if pineapple belonged on pizza or not and what animals would be the best to have if you were running away from the police

Back to that last point, music (except freestyle jazz) was something that the two enjoyed greatly. Nimona enjoyed the drums, always getting a boost out of watching others go crazy on them. Ballister preferred bass (it may or may not be because he remembered Ambrosius had mentioned it being his favourite instrument once and he was desperately holding on to his old friend)

When Nimona turned 7, their parents' rights were terminated and Vivian and William (their foster parents) adopted them, and he was also adopted not long after because his mother's rights had been terminated as well, so now they were an actual little family

Ballister recieved a bass set on his seventeenth birthday, and Nimona received a drum set about three years later on her tenth birthday. By then, Ballister had gotten a lot better with handling and playing the bass and helped Nimona a little with her drums

When they were respectively 22 and 12, money became thin in their household and, having already been through it, Ballaiter didn't want to go through it again, so he decided he was gonna find a way to help his parents, except this time he knew little jobs at the park or helping the mailman wouldn't cut it

They knew they were talented and they could put their talents to good use, and the idea to create a band was somehow thrown into conversations

Only problem is, Bal is pretty good in technology, but he can't work backstage and on the bass at the same time, they'd need at least a third member

Enter Meredith Blitzmeyer

So I'm gonna stop this here because it's already pretty long, I'm exhausted and I'm pretty sure you can tell I got tired towards the end of this, but oh well.

Nimona's backstory's next.

And again, please add on to this with your ideas if you have any, I like hearing what you guys think.

#nimona #ballister boldheart #ambrosius goldenloin #goldenheart #nimona movie #nimona 2023 #ballister x ambrosius #nimona netflix #nimona spoilers #nimona au #dr meredith blitzmeyer

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theoldst4rv1ng · 1 month

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I’ve finally been told who it was who gr00med and abused me when I was 13. I don’t know how to process this information. I always assumed I’d been a victim of something bigger, more sinister, like some b@stard who would sell the pictures on the dark web or some dirty c*nt who doesn’t wash and lives in his mum’s spare bedroom. I never thought it would be someone who appears on the outside as being a respectable member of the community, a teacher, a kids football coach.

159. That’s how many named victims there were. ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY NINE. Children aged 9-16 who this man targeted, manipulated and then blackmailed into sending to most disgusting images and videos. I was probably by comparison one of his tamer targets, got off lightly. And I was one of the first in his campaign to destroy the lives of innocent little girls. I was gr0omed in October 2013. This man wasn’t caught, charged and sentenced until 2022. Nearly a decade after he took my life.

I’ll never forget the threats, the way he was able to gain information about me- where I lived, the school I went to, people in my classes. Turns out it was because he would coach kids in my year football and found me through them. Posing as a teenage boy, he infiltrated my home and destroyed my life in less than a day. I’ll never forget the panic I felt as the lies and the blackmail starting pinging into my phone “I know where you live” “everyone in your school will see this” “I will hurt your little brother … unless you send me that next photo in 10 seconds”. Now being an adult I want to go back and shake myself and shout that he’s lying that he’s trying to trick me. But I can also see how a girl only a teenager by 2weeks would be wracked with fear and guilt because of the messages he sent. The threats were relentless.

I will also always remember the police, and how they treated me when I finally broke down to my parents and they called them. I am disgusted at how I was treated by those pigs who were meant to be helping me. The policeMAN who came barely knew what he was doing and was more concerned with making me feel like a naughty little girl than finding the person who had assaulted me. Quick reminder that I WAS A CHILD AND A VICTIM yet the policeMAN felt that reminding me sending pictures of someone under 16 is illegal and I shouldn’t be doing that is more important.

They took me into an interrogation room. To do a statement as a child victim of online grooming they took me into an interrogation room. I was a vulnerable and abused child and they were treating me like a criminal. The rest is just a blur, a horrific nightmare of a blur. Then

Silence

Completely nothing for 10 fucking years. In that time I have attempted 3 times to end it, developed eating d!s0rders, self/h4rm3d for years. I’m manically depressed and I have an anxiety disorder. He ruined my childhood, he ruined my life.

My dad works in the prison service with s3x offenders and heard whispers about this man who was coming in to the prison, how horrific and strangely localised his targets were. Daddy did some digging, and found the interrogation transcripts and the files on the case and read every single page. The language he used, the way he would target the girls, the way he would blackmail them into sending more and more and more. The names he was using as aliases matched the person who targeted me. It was him. Dad watched JONATHAN CLARKE in court as he plead guilty to 181 offences against an identified 159 victims (estimates of more victims go over 200) and sentenced to 19years in prison. Unfortunately I didn’t find any of this out until a year after sentencing (yesterday to be exact) because my parents were waiting for me to be more mentally stable before telling me. Yesterday I brought the subject up with my mum and she cracked and told me he’d been caught but my case was, as far as we know, not used.

One of my parent’s friends has a little girl who went to court and testified against him. She’s 13 now, NINE when she was targeted. There a going to be countless friends, family members, acquaintances, colleagues of mine who know people, children, who were his victims. Daddy got him moved from the prison here to the Isle of White because there would likely be prison staff and other inmates who have children/family members/friends who were his victims.

I can’t explain the level of rage I feel. The level of disgust and hatred. But also relief. Being made to feel like I was to blame for so long, being forced into a mindset of self ridicule and blame by the police meant that when I found out it wasn’t just me, I grossly felt relief. Relief that I wasn’t the one to blame, that it was a dirty sick p3v3rt who was the bad guy. Relief that it wasn’t just me. But now I can’t get his mugshot out of my mind, I can’t stop thinking that those foul eyes saw all of me, took away my innocence, my dignity, my self worth. EVERYTHING. He took everything from me.

Now what do I do?

I want to hurt him. I want him to go through the pain I went through. Slice away at his skin, starve him for days then when he does eat force him to throw it all up. Take him to inches away from death then pump his stomach and force him to face the world or torture again. I have never felt this level of seething rage before, at least not to another person. It’s quite scary. But what am I doing in reality? Sitting in the bath with my cat sat on the edge writing a blogpost to nobody. Signed off sick from work with anxiety. Dosed up to the eyeballs on sedatives and mood stabilisers. I am so close to fading away it’s comical. So what do I do?

#tw abuse #child abuse #abuse mention #abuse survivor #tw grooming #tw ana relapse #ed behaviour tw #online grooming

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jazz-keeps-the-sadzz-away · 2 years

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im a bit busy, so enjoy a snippet of an au

Au: (Worried Neighbor Tom Au) Harry is addicted to drugs (16), and his neighbor, Tom (28), is so worried about the little boy that's constantly sitting outside on the porch. - "You look like you're dying."

Oh, those hands were so soft. Harry wanted to just -

He grasped Tom's hands which were checking his gaunt face, nuzzling his sensitive lips to the skin. It felt so nice.

Tom stared at Harry, blue iced with distress, and the man looked behind him on the porch aimlessly.

"Are your parents home?"

"No," Harry easily replied, tone sort of jovial and thick, like he was much too aware to slur but his tongue was heavy. This made Tom seem to panic. "Well, sir, why are you here - and touching me?"

"You find a drooling child on the porch at three in the morning, anyone is bound to ask if you're okay - are you high?"

"No," Harry happily said, and Tom immediately patted his cheek a bit.

"Okay, up, let's go, we're going to my house until I can get in contact with your relatives," he ordered, and when Harry lamely stared the man sighed and he grasped at the boy, helping him into a stand.

His hands were quite thin but large, and most importantly a comforting warmth, so Harry didn't mind so much as he was brought across the street and into a tiny one story house.

Harry wiped his mouth of wetness as he entered the very cold house, shivering and letting himself be seated at the dining table.

He patted his thighs with his fingers whilst inspecting the living room and kitchen that he could see from the dining area, noticing Tom slip the phone out of its receiver on the island and looking down to it.

"Who can I call?"

Harry scratched his face, swaying a bit. "Uhhhh…Remus Lupin, number is…"

Tom's fingers hovered over the buttons, eyes raising up from an angle when Harry went silent.

Harry was laying his head on the table, waves of panic and overwhelming shame coming to him now, and he made a helpless noise.

"Can you just…not call anyone?"

Tom's lips pressed thin.

"I know you're only sixteen, Harry. Can you please just tell me a number so I can get you to a safe guardian? I don't -" he exhaled and dropped the phone, making Harry flinch and raise his head up from the wood, "Harry, I'm going to have to call the police if you don't."

Harry felt a cold wave rush down his spine and freeze his thighs, making them tense.

"Oh - but - but I-"

Tom moved away from the sink and traveled to Harry, crouching down low so he was on the balls of his feet and his arm was between his legs while a hand gripped the table.

Harry shifted a bit, nervously aware of the attention and eye contact that came with the added height of his position.

"Buddy, you need to be truthful with me, because honestly right now this looks like an abused kid not wanting to go home while on drugs," Tom's voice was soft and calm, but it was sending Harry over the edge.

Harry burst into tears and he made a physically pained noise, gripping Tom's shoulders. "Please please please don't call anyone, please, please I'll do anything please-" He let out a winded and wet sob and that seemed to end the man, Tom's face turning into a grimace of discomfort as he stood and smoothed his hand over Harry's head.

"Shh, Shh, calm down, I haven't called anyone," he whispered, guiding Harry to sit up right, "Let's breathe - buddy can you breathe with me? Just slow, steady….okay…there we go…"

Tom's hands were in his hair and on his chest and Harry gripped the one pressing on his heart, sobbing and gasping out, struggling to relax.

"You're okay, you're okay," Tom whispered. Harry stared up at the man, the yellow light above the table making a halo out of this thirty-something stranger. "You won't call..?" "..." "No." There was heavy resignation in the man's tone. Harry felt too much joy to worry about why this man knew his name.

#harry potter au #harry potter #harry potter prompt #tom riddle #tomarry #tomarry au #tomarry prompt #tomarry snippet

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solitaireships · 5 months

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Hoffman Headcanon Backstory

I've been working on trying to figure out the timeline for stuff with Hoffman since I've been wanting to work on fics with him, so I give you all my rough backstory for him! This is more for me to keep track of things than anything tho. Note that I'm first naming him here because it feels weird to describe all of this just using his last name

Warning, this discusses abuse, neglect, cheating, alcoholism, and death. Divider is by saradika

Mark’s parents’ relationship started falling apart when he was eight. Both of them cheated on each other and would often fight. This got to the point where they’d often be out of the house, leaving Mark largely to figure out how to take care of himself, especially when his dad started drinking

Mark’s dad hit his mom during one particularly bad argument, and she ended up leaving and taking Mark with her

Mark’s parents divorced when he was thirteen. His mom had sole custody of him and he had no contact with his dad following this. His mom continued to do very little to actually parent him, leaving him to largely take care of himself as she dated a number of different men

His mom got remarried when he was about 16, and had a daughter with her new husband when Mark was 17. This is his younger sister, Angelina

Mark was very close with Angelina from the start, with him wanting her to have a better childhood than he did. He ended up stepping up and helping to raise her, with her parents not doing much to care for her

He went to community college and got an associate’s degree before going on to get police training. The idea was that he would be able to step in for situations like Angelina’s and his, helping where they hadn’t been helped

He was in pretty good standing as a cop, though a lot of people saw him as being very by-the-book. He would still end up willing to bend or break the rules in situations where he felt something was unfair, though

As Angelina got older, Mark pretty much cut off all contact with his mom, and Angelina would often stay with him during her breaks rather than go home to her parents

Angelina ended up starting to date a man named Seth after graduating college, with him being controlling and abusive

5 years before the movies take place, Seth was arrested for drug dealing and quickly got off on probation. About a week after that, he and Angelina had an argument when she wanted to go to a going away party for one of her coworkers, and this led to him killing her

Seth was arrested following this, being sentenced to life in prison

Mark was destroyed by the death of Angelina, with her being the only family that he had. He ended up turning to alcohol as a way to try to cope with the pain of losing her, often binge drinking and becoming much more apathetic and moody

Right before the movies started, Seth was released on a technicality. When Mark heard about this, he was furious. Being part of the task force investigating Jigsaw, he ended up kidnapping Seth a month after his release and putting him in a trap, framing this as Jigsaw’s work when the trap was inescapable

Shortly after this, he was found by John, who ended up blackmailing Mark into being his apprentice, with Mark then helping out with the various murders throughout the movies as is shown through the first through 6th ones (I’m mentally revising 3D. We’ll figure that out later tho)

#my posts #shepherd's hc zone #🧩#🧩 missing piece #gonna develop angelina more bcs the movies sure didn't #like she is so so important to hoffman. and she doesn't get a single line. come on

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kinnsporsche · 9 months

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Thank you for your kind words on my AITA for calling the police on my sister.

I'm sorry you've been through that. It's very rough and it's hard especially in situations where the child is abusing a parent.

hiiii op!!! (context, it's this @am-i-the-asshole-official post)

my brother was around the same age, maybe a little bit older, when everything went down with them. when i was growing up he'd always been abusive to me physically and emotionally (the worst thing i remember is him pushing me into a bunch of thorns and nettles and then him and his friend shooting me with a bb gun and when i was super young maybe 4 or 5 he hung my toys from the ceiling with rope) but he didn't start getting physically abusive with my own mum until somewhere between 16-18.

unlike your situation, i was young so i was home with my mum when it happened and so she never had to ask for our help, but i do have core memories of her hiding me and my little sister behind her whilst my brother was going off on one, i remember him shoving her and her hitting her head on the counter and splitting her eyebrow open and there was blood all down her face, i remember her having bruises all over, i remember him holding a knife to her, i remember her pulling one back to defend us (i was 11/12 which made my sister 7/8 at the time) and for most of his teenage years, he never changed. my mum made a lot of excuses for him until it got really bad - he was abused by his own dad (not my father, he's my half-brother) and she felt guilty for that, she felt like she messed up his childhood so this was her fault and she deserved it.

i dont think she started to understand how bad it was until the knives got involved, until he brought a group of people into our house whilst some man waited for them outside and threatened to tie everyone in the house to the back of his car and drive around our estate, until i, a twelve year old child, had to go up against him to protect my own mum whilst she was bleeding on the floor until my dad came over and got him out of the house. and after that is when my mum also became heavily involved with alcohol and alcoholism and lost herself until i was about 16/17. she's okay now, we're both in good places and super close, but i lost my childhood to the both of them because of how bad things got with the abuse and the drinking. i was kicked out of my own house at 14 iirc, i have ptsd (which fucking destroys my memory hence the broad age range bcs i cant remember shit), depression, social phobia, and anxiety from it all, i'm still scared of my brother, i'm terrified of confrontation, i have attachment issues, but the worst part of it all are the nightmares and the flashbacks. my mum doesn't know i have them, i've only told a few people, but they happen regularly. most recently my brother in one of them my brother tried to drown me and poured scolding water on my face so theres that.

op you did the right thing by showing her that there's consequences for what she did, if your mom was willing to let it lie, i am 100% sure it would and might still will grow into a situation like my brother. i cant believe there's people on that post claiming yta for calling the cops on your sibling when they laughed in the face of your own mother almost dying at her hands. yes acab, we know this, but until there is a better system in place to help and protect in situations like this, what else are you supposed to do? wait for your sister to one day do too much damage that your mom can't recover from? fuck no you have every right to defend your mom from her and, even if your mom understand it now, one day she will, especially if your sister continues to walk such a dangerous path.

please please see what i went through as a warning, and if you want to share this with your family so there's even the slightest chance that they might see how bad things can get if she isn't punished for her behaviour, if it's left to fester and root, if she thinks she can get away with it, then please send it to them. i'm wishing nothing but love and safety for your family, especially your mom.

#oh man oh man oh man im sorry i didnt mean to make that all about me and im sorry if its messy i started crying half way in it #ily op ilysm if u want to dm me to talk off anon my dms are open and i will be here to talk or listen to anything u need!!!!! ilysm!!!!#answered #anonymous #aita anon #abuse tw

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stellatenuem · 1 year

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mmm love writing ren post-royal and his character regression and people hitting me with the 'thats ooc for joker though' and im like listen. listen? reverse character development is fun and sexy actually. let them become Worse

and within my ren's canon, a character regression works because ren was raised in an enmeshed family. and toxic familial abuse cycles are magnified by proximity. especially wherein the abuser is unable to see the victim as anything other than an extension of themselves.

an enmeshed victim doesnt act like themselves when under the abusers influence. ren the person takes a backseat to a series of behaviors (healthy or otherwise) he developed while trying to cope with and survive the trauma he went through while living with his parents for 16 whole years. that doesn't just... become resolved even though he was able to grow in tokyo.

if anything, something like that can make it even harder to be put back in that kind of environment. i speak from experience. its such a devastating thing. you live in the dysfunction for so long you dont realize its impact until youve been away from it. you were okay. you felt better and you didnt even realize it until things go back to the way they were before. that moment of mindfulness, of being horribly aware of the before and the after can be so depressing.

environment is everything.

during his year on probation ren started developing emotional equity and forming the closest thing they've had to secure attachments up to that point. ren arrived in tokyo traumatized. he was planning on keeping his head down and staying quiet. he didnt want to make any friends. he didn’t think he could. what would be the point in trying? others would make up their minds about him as soon as they’d find out he was a criminal. they would abandon him, too.

ren didn't trust anyone around him. they decided they would create a personality as cold and distant as they needed to in order to protect themselves. then the universe dropped one Ryuji Sakamoto in front of him and those plans began to fall apart. ryuji, ann, and morgana literally opened ren up to wanting to TRUST people again. that maybe he isn't as damned as he was made to believe.

he grew as a person and found where he belonged. but he isn't free yet. ren's parents do everything they can to erase that person. they still command enough control over ren through their traumabond that re-inspires rens learned fear of them. so ren's trauma brain allows them to slowly pick away at the confidence and sense of self he'd come to find. even if its a betrayal of himself. even if at times he's able to summon the courage of joker put up a fight, its rare for him to see any wins.

ren's parents rule by emotional abuse. fear. and isolation. they go from shaming him heavily for a year with the silent treatment, to scrutinizing and watching his every move. trying to have control over every aspect of him again. where he goes. who he talks to. what he spends money on. how he spends his time. ren begins regressing more and more. and its not only their toxicity that lend to this. even if his parents were healthy and loving, ren still would have struggled deeply because of everything he'd been through over the year he was away.

aside from the horrific trauma he endured at the hands of the police, being toyed with by a malevolent god who erased his friends from existence in front of his eyes, and being betrayed by an adult he trusted in maruki, ren lost goro twice, and in the wake of that loss, was separated from his irl support system.

death and the grief that comes from it transform the life of the person experiencing it. it changes how you interact with your routines, hobbies, relationships, and even yourself. the person that emerges from a grief situation is not the same one who experienced the tragedy it in real time. and rens grief at times is powerful enough to swallow him whole. to impact his functioning as he tries to go about his life.

and every time he falls below his parents standards, tries to establish autonomy, they just punish him more. isolate him more by taking away his phone, his laptop, his only lifelines to his friends. he's going to get worse. hes not going to act like his authentic self. hes going to fall into his worst mindsets and make unhealthy decisions. even someone like ren, who knows full well his parents treat him like shit, at his core, still wishes for their love and approval. its one of the hardest things to reconcile with, even as a adult, that your parents will never be the people you need them to be.

in a way, he's got to grieve over that, too, now that he knows now what unconditional love looks like. (because of his found family and friends) like, this kid was ghosted by their parents for a whole year. after his life as he knew it was completely shattered and he was shipped off to the city to live with a total stranger. ren had been effectively abandoned by them to fend for himself. i cannot begin to comprehend how fucking emotionally damaging that is.

imagine that happening to you and then at the end of your year away, after you've been through so much more hell (most of which you cant tell any normal person about) youre just supposed to??? go back to living in their house with them??? after they did that to you? like. thats fucking sick. and then go back to gaslighting you and acting like they didn't hurt you. and theyre the victims, actually.

#sometimes things really do get worse before they get better #ooc.#cw abuse #discussions of abuse #headcanons.

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morazima · 5 months

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An Open Letter to my Childhood Sex Abuser's Fiance

(A warning ahead of time, this letter is graphic in regards to sexual abuse and human anatomy, read on with caution if you’re sensitive to such material).

I don’t know your name, so I’ll call you TF. TF, you were the fiance of the man who sexually abused me as a teenager. TF, your husband-to-be asked a girl who was only fourteen years old for nude photos of their breasts and genitals. TF, your husband-to-be asked to be sent graphic emails detailing sexual experiences between himself and me as his fantasies when I was fifteen years old. TF, your husband-to-be would want to write extremely sexually explicit stories and wanted me to masturbate to said stories. He even sent me instructions on “how to masturbate”. I was only sixteen.

I wish I knew who you were so I could actually email you and tell you this. Were you aware of your husband sexually preying on a minor? By all accounts, I was a minor and if I reported your fiance to the police, he surely would have been charged with a minimum of sexual harassment and/or sexual exploitation of a minor. At worst, he would have had to spend time in jail and register as a sex offender. Your country’s age of majority is twenty-one years old, and I was way below that age. I was not an adult in my country or your country. I was 14–16 years old when this happened. I didn’t know what I was doing or reading (and I thank God above I never did what your fiance instructed me to do so over the emails).

I wish to God I told my parents about the incident when it happened. I wish to God I could have told you when it happened, but I don’t think you would have believed me then and possibly not now either. Who wants to get a phone call or email accusing their fiance of sexual abuse that occurred about a decade ago?

The thing is, I don’t think it was only me he did this to. I was stupid enough to give his information to someone I knew and about a day later I got a text message from them saying “He’s a sick pervert”. Your fiance jacked off to an actual teenager’s breasts. Your fiance jacked off to explicit sexual fantasies involving a fourteen year old girlwhen he was in his twenties, knowing fully well that the person was only fourteen years old.

Your fiance is sickening and I wish to God you never went through with the marriage. If you did, God help you if you ever have children. I hope you can get yourself to a safe location away from him if you found out about this “dirty little secret” he had. I hope another victim came forward and told you that he sexually exploited minors. I do not forgive him, but I feel awful for you.

Sincerely,

A girl who kept this inside for over a decade and had dissociative episodes because of your child sex fantasizer fiance

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themovieblogonline · 2 years

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"Wannabe" Screens at Opening Night of the Nashville Film Festival on Thursday, September 29, 2022

“Wannabe” is a 13-minute 33-second short written and directed by USC graduate Josie Andrews that will screen at the Nashville Film Festival on September 29th, Opening Night. It's playing opening day in the "Next-gen: program 1" block on Thursday, Sep 29th at 1:00 PM at the Belcourt Theatre, and it's well worth seeing. It is bound to impress, as it is very slick, sophisticated, and timely---(not necessarily in that order.) Quite apart from the original song performed in the short (“Control,” written by Michael Lloyd, Greg O’Connor, and Writer/Director Josie Andrews, and performed by the Alley Kats), two things stood out, to me, about this impressive short. First, the Director’s statement (from Josie Andrews), who graduated Salutatorian of her USC 2018 film class, and, second, the setting of the short. Director Andrews said: “We were lucky enough to shoot our performance and exterior scenes at Sunset Strip’s iconic Viper Room before its demolition, while all backstage spaces were replicated and built on stage at USC.” Here, in her own words, is Josie Andrews’ story of the inspiration for the short film she wrote and directed: “Although I knew I wanted to be a storyteller from the day I was born, this is not a story I ever thought I'd tell. I got my toes wet doing community theater and by second grade I was scouring backstage.com for auditions in New York, calling everyone in my parents’ phone book, begging someone to take me to try-outs. To all our shock, I booked my first national tour at 8 years old and continued performing full-time. While my many years onstage taught me what it meant to be a good collaborator, it did not teach me what it meant to be a woman navigating Hollywood. Graduating early and moving to L.A.on my own at 16, other women’s stories in acting classes reinforced the fact that objectification and harassment were commonplace and not to be questioned. So, when I entered USC as an undergraduate acting major and utilized my student status to intern at places such as Lionsgate, NBC Universal, and The Weinstein Company, I thought I had no choice but to tolerate explicit texts and inappropriate advances from my superiors. It wasn’t until an unknown assailant broke into my hotel room and raped me while I was traveling out of the country that my capacity for abuse reached a boiling point. For the first time in my life, I went to the police only to be told that despite security tapes and witnesses, pressing charges would involve staying in the country for a lengthy trial, thus not returning to school. While my body returned to school, my spirit did not. Void of confidence, I dropped my major and stopped performing altogether, losing my identity. But hiding in the back of a cinema studies lecture, I had a revelation: perhaps I was still a storyteller, just a different kind than I initially thought. Perhaps the real agency lay behind the camera; perhaps that’s where I had to be to regain my own. Wannabe is not just a plea to believe those who have come forward, but a cry to consider the thousands who have not.” Ms. Andrews has woven the story of a girl band from the raw material of her personal experience coping with rape. In these days of MeToo, the mention of Harvey Weinstein is enough. It took investigative journalism by Mia Farrow’s son Ronan and brave victims to ultimately bring Weinstein to justice after years of his abuse of employees and aspiring starlets. From this raw material, Josie Andrews has fashioned the story of a girl band trio that is auditioning in the hopes of catching on with a producer who can help them achieve stardom. The role of the record producer who offers them a helping hand is played by veteran music producer Peter Zizzo as Landon. Zizzo, in real life, has a lengthy history of musical successes in producing records for many well-known groups and soloists, but he plays a straight role here. As the female trio concludes their performance of the (original) song “Control” the lead singer, Jada (Margo Parker, known from Lifetime’s “If Walls Could Talk,” “Girls Night Out,” and “Retrograde L.A.”) recognizes the man taking notes on a clipboard leaning against the bar as her rapist. He feigns complete ignorance and innocence of the crime. The Space Girls---lead singer Jada, Sky (Daisy Lopez), and Bianca (Victoria T. Washington)---are eager to be given the Big Break that every wannabe group dreams of, but should Jada agree to work with the man who raped her but suffered no consequences? She is obviously torn; the group members are, as well. There is even a suggestion that Jada may not be positive that Landon (Peter Zizzo) was the true culprit. This was the first USC post-pandemic production, and it is the product of a largely All Female cast. Aside from the performance by the fictional group, which is good, the recreation of the Viper Room on a back lot is impressive. The L.A. hang-out--- was partially owned by Johnny Depp until 2004. It was the famous location outside of which actor River Phoenix collapsed and died on October 31, 1993, almost 30 years ago. River Phoenix was only 23 years old at the time. He died from what is popularly known as a speedball, ingested at the club. (A speedball Is a combination of heroin and cocaine.) The once-thriving nightclub the Viper Room is being razed. If you ever wondered what the Viper Club looked like inside, this might be your only chance to find out. Kudos to the nearly All-Female cast and crew that has produced “Wannabe.” Very well done and very professional in every respect. This student thesis effort seems to point to good work to come from all involved. Read the full article

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