why are you and cat even bringing this up now? she spoke about credit i doubt kuro will credit her now that 5yl is over.
Been given permission to finally answer this btw
For a fact, we were vaguely thinking about it for a while. Reason why we're beginning to speak about it now is because neither Cat nor I see any point in being scared of reprisal, specially due to a situation that I am not fully allowed to speak on yet.
We maybe would've spoken up sooner, if not partly for the actions of a creator that at the time was known as Kirigiri_Kirin. I don't know the many other names she has gone through I don't keep up with her. But basically, she had been planning to expose Kuro for a while — had like two people with bad experiences with him already lined up before we even spoke to her. A mutual friend vaguely told her of Cat's experience and instead of respectfully sending Cat a message asking for permission to cover the topic she jumped the gun and made TWO videos vaguely alluding to the topic, which put pressure on all of us, specially Cat, to come out with the full story at the time which Cat was not fully ready to do at the time and which lead to Cat's mental health taking a pretty dangerous hit.
Yes. This is confirmation that Cat WAS the person Kirigiri_Kirin was speaking about in those videos, and yes, this is us confirming that nothing was truly done with Cat's permission. Kiri even leaked a picture that was shared to her in confidence in her second video on the topic all to spite Kuro which put Cat at risk. Regardless of how blurred it was, she did it because SHE wanted to, to attempt to save her own ass not because any of us requested it.
She used Cat's story for the sake of clout, then when rushing out a callout because she was desperate to expose Kuro bit her in the ass, she turned around and basically said we were lying, which lead to us at the time deciding not to do anything about this. Keyword being, at the time. For Cat's safety above all.
As for the credit bit. Getting it is no longer the point. The point is the mistreatment and accountability.
anyway if I sold my Ben 10 games how much do you think they'd go for? I'm not really a gamer.............I have Vengeance of Vilgax for DS and the first Omniverse game for Wii btw
On Creator Narcissism, Abuse of the US Legal System and SLAPP suits.
(DISCLAIMER; I AM NOT AN ACTUAL LAWYER NOR CAN I GIVE YOU ACTUAL ADVICE. THIS IS FOR EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. IF YOU HAVE AN ACTUAL LEGAL SITUATION, CONSULT A LAWYER.)
Y'know. I've wanted to speak on this for a while, because i've seen this happen wayy too often in the creator space to the point of severe uncomfortability.
The situation involving a CERTAIN ex-commentary youtube channel has made me want to speak on this even more, and so. I'mma divide this into several parts including an introduction, explanation on what SLAPP suits are, including examples of what makes even a threat of litigation into a threat of a SLAPP suit, explanation on what SLAPP suits seek to gain, and an explanation on how it affects both the person that issues the threat and the person that receives the threat, as well as how it affects the wider community involved.
Let's begin;
What started all of this?
As soon as content creation went from a simple hobby into a multi-million dollar business, and as soon as all other branches of the entertainment business started relying on the internet for their survival; the scene began to be managed less like a community and more LIKE a business.
Large creators come to no longer see scrutiny as a necessary tool for humility and begin seeing all of their critics as existential threats to their business. Regardless of how truthful or how necessary the public conversations are, money and pride come first before accountability.
And so, they weaponize the already broken legal system; primarily from the US, against their critics in what is called a "SLAPP suit".
What is a SLAPP suit?
A SLAPP suit stands for "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation", it is a lawsuit, usually filed under defamation, that isn't necessarily either threatened or filed with the intent to win it, but is made with the intent to silence unwanted speech by the threat of litigation or essentially life ruination by way of bleeding the target dry of resources.
It is intented to scare the person receiving the threat, as well as anyone they know, into ceasing all mention of the individual(s) or all speech even related to the individuals issuing the SLAPP suit. It isn't illegal, per se, but it is legally an abuse of the legal system.
Out of the 50 states that make up the United States, 40 have preexisting anti-SLAPP provisions to their legal code, with these existing to protect individuals from this specific type of abuse, most of these allowing for early dismissal of a case if it is found to be a SLAPP:
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
What constitutes a SLAPP suit or a threat of a SLAPP suit?
Threatening legal action over mockery, banter, critique or roasting.
Threatening legal action towards an individual or individuals with past negative experiences with you as a person in order to prevent them from coming out about their experience.
Threatening legal action over commentary.
Threatening legal action over other people's speech that wasn't made by the person being threatened.
Demanding cessation of all speech related to the person issuing the threat or the people related to them.
Redundant speech and overcomplicated language.
Demanding public humiliation, such as demanding from the person that they read a letter of apology.
Demanding they sign anything prior to an actual lawsuit being filed.
Demanding for the threat, in either verbal form or in the form of a cease and desist, not be acknowledged publicly.
Among plenty of other things.
Does a SLAPP suit ever actually work in the creator's favor?
Technically? Yes. But not for long. It works in the immediate short-term by stopping the person(s) threatened from immediately continuing to speak up, maybe even getting them to take down certain posts in a panic.
We'll touch on the victim's side in a bit, because the response of the victim is a symptom of the wider reason why this never works for long, and that's the Streisand Effect.
The Streisand Effect has a very simple premise, the more you attempt to hide something, the more aggressively — the easier it'll be for people to find it out. Especially when you give the people you are attempting to silence nothing to lose if they're going to suffer anyway.
Besides that, once knowledge of the SLAPP suit comes out, the reputation of the creator takes an irreversible hit. Almost no one in the online space respects a creator that abuses the legal system to silence others. No matter how justified the creator thinks they are.
The only ones that actually "get away" with SLAPP suits are the large, over a million creators. Like the ex-commentary youtuber I mentioned, and I only mean get away in the sense that they can win the legal proceedings through the sheer level of resources compared to their opponent.
Their reputation, however NEVER heals.
What happens to the victim of the SLAPP suit attempt/threat?
Most of the people threatened or facing a SLAPP suit are regular folk, without the resources and means and hell, maybe even safety in their personal lives to actually meet the threat in the courtroom.
Many give in to the pressure and demands for the sake of their safety. Most don't do such a thing.
Attempts to leverage power against those weaker or more at risk than you triggers a mix of Cornerned Animal Syndrome and Mutually Assured Destruction within the online space. By pushing someone to the brink, making them feel like they have nothing to lose since they WILL lose anyway — you make them significantly more likely for them to speak out and fight back anyway.
And this is where the last point ties back to this one, because once the boiling point is reached, the victim is the one usually victorious, at least in the court of public opinion.
As said previously, Almost nobody in the internet likes or respects a creator that issues a SLAPP suit, even as an empty threat. Once the information comes out to the public, the rallying effect almost always ends up going for the one victimized.
How does this affect the community in which this occurs?
It is not pretty, to say the least. If it is a fandom already around a preexisting IP, the fandom will survive... Most of the time. But trust on the larger creators will crater if not dissapear completely, specially towards the creators that were friends and associates of the creator that issued the SLAPP suit, as you as a fan can never know if you can speak negatively on any of them in a public setting without getting attacked. It sows fear, of the leaders of the community, and fear sows division.
The community survives, but takes a while to recover.
In Conclusion;
SLAPP suits, when used in a fandom or online community setting, are the metaphorical nuke thrown into a city of innocents. And overall, are a massive mistake of hubris that CANNOT be taken back.
Once even so much as a threat of a SLAPP suit is issued, it dooms the credibility of the creator that issued it if they're not absurdly rich, dooms their career prospects, kills the trust and love of the fans and wider community once it comes out, and while the creator may win the short legal war, they will lose the longer, social war. They lock themselves onto a path of destruction the moment they abandon accountability for the nigh on narcissistic need to protect their own pride and MANY of them see it as worth it against all odds.
Well, at least until it bites them in the ass.
This, is another reason why I BEG and plead of the people that follow me to not put ANY creator on a pedestal, including me. You do not truly know ANY of us, down to the smallest content creators. Being awful, like going so far as to attempt to weaponize the legal system to destroy someone for saying something mean or saying something truthful but disgusting about us, is not BENEATH us.
Protect yourselves. Creators are NOT your friends, nor are they gods. they are people and entertainers. Treat them as such.
Do you know any good Ben and Julie fanfic? Or maybe some fanfic where Julie gets the ommitrix?
sorry I don't really read Ben 10 fanfics like that. @missus-n has some interesting Ben/Julie fics but they might not be what you're looking for if you want Julie 10.
I don't read/write too much Benlie, but here's a short rec list:
It'll Be Alright by Miss_Nihilist
After Elena Validus flees, having nearly killed Ben for the second time, Julie and her boyfriend have a much-needed talk.
you know i hated to close the door on you. by mss_nhlst
Ben's apology for everything regarding Looma's actions isn't received as well as in canon. Julie lays into him, in front of Rook and Ester.
This Reminds Me... by mss_nhlst
Julie is expecting a passionate night with her boyfriend. Ben has something else on his mind.
Swallowing Sour by orphan_account
No one ever choked to death swallowing his pride.
Surprise by Raven_Fox23
Ben was late to Julies birthday party, and for good reason.
Seven Minutes in Limbo by Anonymous
"Kiss?" Ben asked.
"Yeah," Julie leaned in to Ben. Ben could feel her breath touching his lips.
"Kiss," Julie closed the gap between the two. Ben didn't dare move. He didn't imagine this was how their first kiss - their first real kiss - would go.
Never Want to Lose You by ChryceClawenOptimus (← this user has many other Benlie fics as well)
After a terrifying nightmare and more than a few sleepless nights, Ben loses control - but that's better than losing Julie.
Once We Were Something by Morning66
Ten years down the line, when the pain has faded, Julie doesn’t regret what happened between her and Ben.
Vanilla Twilight by ParadiseAvenger
Ben Ten was a hero and Julie was his girlfriend, but it was never as easy or simple as the old comic books made it look. Instead, after a brush with danger, Ben does the unthinkable to protect her.
As for the second thing, I'm afraid I can't help you there, applemike! I have absolutely zero interest in other people wearing the Omnitrix.
jacobvanloon
germansingergirl
kianamaiart
snowghoul
kaledo-art
gummygunk
titsay
andulkaphoto
vaporwave
