Angel (Damiano David & Victoria De Angelis)

Chapter 20

"Uhm...hey, guys...I know, this is unexpected but we feel like it's time to finally talk about the things that have happened in the past weeks.", Victoria started, her mouth feeling unusually dry. They were all sitting on the sofa in the living room and saying that the atmosphere was tense would have been a huge understatement. She was nervous...they all were. There was no doubt about that...especially because there were almost 2 Million people watching them. She had no idea what to say but since none of the others gave the impression of wanting to say anything at all, she knew it was once again on her: "Okay, so...I'm gonna be honest here: This is hard for all of us...I honestly don't know where to start but I think this is a good time to tell you that we are extremely thankful for those of you who still have our backs...those of you who do believe us. Obviously there is no use in trying to deny or sugarcoat anything that has happened, so we're gonna do our best to be as honest as possible." She took a deep breath, trying to keep her nervousness under control while holding Damiano's hand for support: "First and foremost, I would like to apologize for my last livestream. I overreacted and said things I shouldn't have said. I will not kill anybody, obviously, but I would like you to know that I will press charges against those of you who decide to spread pictures like this.", her voice was calm, though her blood was boiling when she showed the photoshopped picture to the camera. "I know some of you think this is a joke but you can believe me when I tell you it's not. This is not something you can treat lightly or make fun of. We're not talking about something insignificant like a dating rumor here...we're talking about serious physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Women get raped every day in this world and we sympathize with the victims...we show compassion and do our best to help them out but when it comes to men, most of us will look the other way. My question is: Why? Why does it make a difference? Do you think it hurts men any less? Throw those thoughts out because that is bullshit...Men are human...Men can get hurt and they can suffer just as much as us women." She could feel Damiano getting increasingly more tense with every passing second but she knew she had to continue: "I know the concept of a man being raped by a woman is hard to understand...I'm not saying it isn't but that doesn't make the issue less important. Of course, statistically less men get raped by women than women by men but does that really mean we can just disregard their trauma? No. Excuse my language but do you really think it causes less trauma to have toys forcefully shoved into you than have the same thing done with a cock? If you think that way that is just stupid and ignorant. Many people use the argument: Men are physically stronger. But that doesn't mean anything. If a man gets manipulated for a certain amount of time, his physical strength won't help him anymore. If he is psychologically abused and tricked into thinking he needs his abuser, he won't be able to get up and leave...that's the same principle as for women." Damiano was squeezing her hand tightly, clearly uncomfortable with the topic, so she spoke up again: "I know you want to hear Damiano's statement but he is only starting to recover from the things that have happened to him, so I will be the one telling his story for now. Some of you might be disappointed now but just know that it already takes a lot of strength from his side to sit here and listen to the things I'm saying. Anyway, I won't go into extreme detail of his story as it is not my place to do so but what Carla did to him is worse than most of you can even imagine. All of you saw the scars and we're not trying to deny the obvious: Yes, he is dealing with self harm...but not only that, he's struggling with anxiety, self doubt, panic attacks, nightmares and fucking horrible depression and trauma. All of that shouldn't lead you to view him as weak...it should do the opposite. Things like that are natural responses to the things he had to endure in the past year or more. Those are things that help him cope and while I do not promote self harm, I acknowledge it as something that makes life more bearable for him and that is okay. After trauma like that, it is okay to find coping mechanisms even if they are not ideal. Things like that are hard to understand if you haven't been through it but what I'm trying to say is this: Don't judge him or anyone else for the scars they have because you never know what truth lies behind them. For now, it is okay for him to use the blade when he doesn't know how to deal with certain things but eventually we will start working on getting away from it. What I want from you is that you're trying to be more understanding of our current situation. If that is not something you can see yourself doing, at the very least don't post hurtful things...and for God's sake don't come up to us if you have nothing nice to say. Try to think about what your words can do before you're speaking. Words aren't always just words...when a person is already deeply hurt, even the most innocent words can become a gun. Before you say things like "He should have liked it.", "He's doing it for attention." or "Men can't be raped.", try to put yourself in the same situation. How would you feel if it was your boyfriend, your brother, your best friend or even yourself? Wouldn't you want people to believe the story you're telling?" She looked at the others, who for some reason just looked insanely impressed...then she turned back to the camera: "Anyway...I think this is a good point to end the live stream. If you have any questions you can send them to us through our Instagram story and we will make sure to make a Q&A as soon as possible. Keep in mind to be respectful and be mindful of the people around you...remember: You never know what a person is going through until you have walked in their shoes. Thank you...bye." And with that, she ended the live stream. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey ;)

First of all: Thank you for all your nice comments. I am feeling better now, so I will be back with my regular posting schedule.

So, what do you think about their livestream? Was it good that Vic was the only one speaking or should the others have said something as well? Do you think it's understandable that Damiano doesn't make a statement yet? Was her speech even good? Let me know in the comments :)

Thanks for reading.

- Thalia