RAVEN: To all you haters out there…

You need to know that I don’t abandon things, I just remove myself from spaces where I’m not wanted.

So don’t pretend I am a coward just because you dislike my life.

CAPTAIN: I can relate, as I hardly have any real friends left because I’ve had to remove myself from many toxic friendships and relationships too, in some cases with people who have lame, misguided, propaganda-driven extremist partisan political views on both sides of the aisle, but mostly with people who apparently never grew up past high school and are still into “bagging” on me and others around them…

…which we all know they do because they themselves are insecure and thus do it to deflect attention away from themselves and their own imperfections by being the “popular clown” that points out the imperfections of others and “busts their balls” to get our circle of friends, or whatever random crowd happens to be around us at the moment, to laugh at me or others before said friends or crowd can pick on and laugh at them instead.

And of course whenever I’ve called them out on it they’ve typically all claimed that; “they didn’t mean anything by it” and that; “they were just taking the piss, mate”, etc…

…to which I’ve always replied; “Really? ‘Cuz it sure did sound intentionally mean-spirited to me…”.

But then they’ve usually given me the lecture about how “they thought that I was punk rock and didn’t care about what other people thought about me”, to which I’ve always replied; “It’s true, I am punk rock and I don’t give a fuck what you or anybody else thinks about me… but it’s not about whether or not what you’re saying about me is true, partially true or not true at all, nor is it about whether it hurts my feelings, mildly rubs me the wrong way, or is completely irrelevant to me altogether…”

“…but rather that what it IS about is the fact that we’re supposed to be friends and I don’t treat you like that because you ARE my friend and I like you, care about you and respect you, and because to me what you are doing is not a mature and civilized way for friends or people in general to treat each other. And I’ve asked you time and time again not to treat me that way but you just don’t seem to get the message, and you seem hell-bent on continuing to do it, and I’ve given you umpteen chances to knock it off but you just keep fucking with me, so we’re done here”, and then I’ve ghosted them.

But I didn’t ghost them because I’m “thin skinned and can’t take a joke”, nor did I remove myself from the situation because I’m a coward either.

In fact it was just the opposite of the latter, or in other words I removed myself from the situation because I got tired of being disrespected by them via constantly making me the brunt of their jokes at my expense and therefore I had to walk away before I ended up knocking their fuckin’ teeth out because I was sick of it…

…and also because they were my friends and I didn’t wanna have to hurt them, nor feel bad because I had to bust their grill. And because I also certainly didn’t wanna have to go to the ER and get my knuckles stitched up, and then maybe also catch a battery case and spend some time in the clink, pay a fine, and take domestic violence classes either.

So therefore it’s just been safer and easier, for both of us, for me to just walk the fuck away and let them go fuck themselves instead.

RAVEN: Standing ovation.

You get it entirely.

DAVID ANTHONY: Captain, that whole reflection hits like a freight train of truth, bro… and it deserves a response that honors the grit behind your sentiment.

Quitting toxic friendships or relationships is much like quitting a long-term drug addiction by crawling out of a burning building you once called home, in that you know the walls are toxic and the air is poison but yet it’s familiar. And when you finally break free, coughing up the smoke of your past, you expect to find people cheering outside. But instead you find silence. Or worse, mockery from the same crowd that used to pass you the lighter.

That’s what your so-called friends have been: the ones still inside the burning building, laughing at the flames, pretending it’s just a warm night. And when you step out and say; “Hey, this isn’t funny anymore” they act like you’re the problem. Like sobriety, clarity, and emotional maturity are some kind of betrayal.

You didn’t ghost them because you’re weak. You ghosted them because you’ve already fought the hardest battle of your life against addiction, against self-destruction… against the version of you that used to tolerate disrespect because you didn’t think you deserved better. And now that you do, you’re not about to let some emotionally stunted clowns drag you back into the circus.

Their whole “just taking the piss” routine is the same deflection addicts use when they’re not ready to face their own pain. It’s the same denial, just dressed up in sarcasm and social games.

And when they say; “I thought you didn’t care what people thought about you” they’re confusing punk rock with emotional numbness. But you’re not numb dude… it’s just that you’re awake. You care, and that’s why you walked away.

You didn’t leave because you couldn’t take a joke. You left because you’ve already survived the punchline of your own life, and you’re not about to let anyone else write it for you.

So yeah, maybe you’re standing alone now. But it’s the kind of alone that comes with clean lungs, clear eyes, and a spine made of steel.

And anyone whose still stuck in high school politics, petty digs, and insecure deflections, well let them choke on the smoke… ‘cuz you’re out here breathing free.

And that, my friend, IS punk rock.

CAPTAIN: It’s been eighteen years now since the last time that I put a lighter to the Devil’s glass and had my final boulder meltdown, then smashed it and walked away for good, and eight years since I drank his bottle dry and smashed it too, both cold turkey.

With that stated, as a former fiend and lush I must tell you that your extremely wise and immaculately-worded metaphorical analogy response hit me harder, and completely blew my mind, far more than even the epitomal “first and best hit” that I took all those years ago and then spent decades chasing in a vain attempt to replicate, and of course to no avail just like most other users do.

So I really “took it to heart”, as it meant more to me than you can even imagine… and I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart, brother.