I had shared this drawing with my friend earlier, I'd say that my drawing looks way less scrappy on paper, right? Well anyway, this is my drawing of Nai Nai. I realize I kind of messed up her eyes but oh well ðŸ˜
I have not drawn digitally in a HOT MINUTE so I'm pretty insecure about this, esp. because I used the actual image as reference ofc. But here's my drawing of Alyssa Bustamante. Her hair was a pain in the ass to draw
The West Memphis Three refers to three men (Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr.) who were convicted as teenagers in 1994 for the brutal murders of three eight year old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas.
Their case is one of the most famous examples of a potential wrongful conviction in U.S. history, largely because the prosecution's theory relied heavily on "satanic panic" rather than physical evidence.
The crime (1993): The bodies of three young boys (Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers) were found in a drainage ditch, naked and hog-tied.
The suspects: Police focused on Damien Echols, an 18 year old high school dropout who wore black, listened to heavy metal (Metallica), and read books on Wicca and the occult. They eventually arrested his friends, Jason Baldwin (16) and Jessie Misskelley Jr (17).
The conviction: Despite no DNA evidence or eyewitnesses linking them to the scene, they were convicted. Misskelley, who had a low IQ, gave a confession after 12 hours of interrogation (which he later recanted).
Damien Echols was sentenced to death.
Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr were sentenced to life in prison.
The case gained international attention through the HBO documentary series Paradise Lost, which suggested the teens were victims of a "witch hunt" by a conservative community looking for a scapegoat. High-profile celebrities like Eddie Vedder, Johnny Depp, and Peter Jackson eventually joined the fight for their release.
In a rare legal maneuver, the three were released from prison in 2011 after 18 years. They entered an Alford plea, which allowed them to:
1. Maintain their innocence legally
2. Acknowledge that the state had enough evidence to potentially convict them
By doing this, their previous convictions were vacated and they were sentenced to "time served," allowing them to walk free immediately, even though they still technically have a criminal record.
The West Memphis Three continue to advocate for their full exoneration. As of 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that New, more advanced DNA testing can be performed on the original crime scene evidence (such as the ligatures used to bind the victims), which the men hope will finally identify the actual killer and clear their names permanently.
I’ve spent a lot of time recently explaining my intent behind this channel. I’ve realized that while I appreciate the conversation, I no longer feel the need to justify my interests to people who have already decided to misinterpret them.
Here is where I stand:
Aesthetics vs. Actions: I make edits because I like the visual language of the internet. The timing, the music, the "dope" transitions. Being able to find a 15-second edit visually interesting is not the same as supporting a crime. I can hold two truths at once: I like the dark aesthetic, and I find the real-world actions horrific.
The "Streaming" Hypocrisy: We live in a world where corporations spend millions to dramatize tragedies for profit, yet niche creators are attacked for exploring the same themes. I don't "debut" these cases for the world; I research them for a specific audience.
Detachment as a Tool: People often say you shouldn't interact with this content unless you were affected by it. I believe the opposite: being detached is exactly what allows me to look at the data, the reports, and the "why" without being blinded by pure emotion.
The Limit of My Control: I don’t condone idolization. I tell people in the comments I don't agree with it. But I am not responsible for the internal psychology of every viewer. If someone chooses to romanticize a tragedy, they would find a way to do that regardless of my content.
Intent vs. Impact: I’m not disputing that impact matters. People have every right to be mad at what I make. But I have every right to make it. That is the nature of the internet.
I’m done with the explanation debt. If you’re here for the research, the forensics, and the deep dives into systemic failure (Sylvia Likens, WM3, etc.), welcome. If you’re here to assume the worst about my character, you’re free to do so elsewhere.
The case of Sylvia Likens refers to the 1965 torture and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is often described by legal experts and historians as "the most diabolical case" or "the most terrible crime" in the state's history.
In July 1965, Sylvia and her younger sister, Jenny, were left in the care of Gertrude Baniszewski, a 37-year-old mother of seven. The girls' parents, who were traveling fair concessionaires, agreed to pay Baniszewski $20 a week to board them. The abuse began incrementally after payments from the parents became inconsistent.
Over the course of three months, Sylvia was subjected to escalating physical and psychological torment.
The abuse was led by Gertrude Baniszewski, but she encouraged and directed her own children and several neighborhood teenagers to participate.
Sylvia was eventually held captive in the basement, starved, and denied water.
When her body was discovered on October 26, 1965, an autopsy revealed over 150 wounds, including cigarette burns, scald marks from hot baths, and the words "I am a prostitute and proud of it" etched into her abdomen.
The official cause of death was a subdural hematoma (a brain injury from a blow to the temple) and shock, complicated by severe malnutrition.
The 1966 trial drew national attention due to the involvement of children in the torture.
Gertrude Baniszewski: Convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. She was released on parole in 1985 and died in 1990.
Paula Baniszewski (Gertrude’s daughter): Convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life (later reduced on appeal; she was paroled in 1972).
John Baniszewski Jr., Coy Hubbard, and Richard Hobbs: Convicted of manslaughter and served roughly 18 months to two years.
Sylvia’s death led to significant changes in Indiana law. It was instrumental in the creation of the mandatory reporting law, which requires any person who suspects child abuse to report it to authorities. This was a direct response to the fact that many neighbors had heard Sylvia’s screams or seen her condition but did not intervene.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the "Grey Space" of the Alyssa Bustamante case, looking for the "Why" behind the 2009 tragedy. Recently, an interaction in the comments (with a younger person, ironically) gave me a massive "hitch" in my thinking and forced me to re-evaluate some of my older content.
In some of my earlier videos/threads, I used the language of Forgiveness. At the time, I saw it as a way to stay empathetic and clinical. However, I’ve realized I was wrong.
Forgiveness is a sacred authority that belongs only to the victims and those directly impacted. As a researcher, my role isn't to forgive, my role is to document and analyze.
What’s Changing:
The Language: You will see a shift toward objective, clinical analysis. We can understand the "Why" (systemic neglect, mental health failure) without overstepping the moral boundaries of the "What."
The Goal: To provide a database of information on Systemic Silence so we can recognize the red flags before the next tragedy happens. I’m grateful for the "worthy opponents" who challenge my views. It’s how the research gets sharper. We are moving forward, older, wiser, and more focused on the data.
Next Case: The Neighbors of Silence (Sylvia Likens) & The Cost of an Aesthetic (WM3).
I want to share something I don't talk about often. When I was 13, I was in that grey space many of you see in my edits. I was dealing with verbal abuse, and I was the "safe person" for a friend who was struggling with self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
The adults in my life reacted with terror rather than help. My mom was more afraid of the "idea" of me being suicidal than she was interested in the "why" behind my pain. To the rest of the world, I was just "weird" or "seeking attention." When you're 13 and the people who are supposed to protect you are just scared of you, you stop talking. You build a spine of iron just to survive.
I stopped the darker path at 13, not because my life suddenly got better or the abuse stopped, but because I had a realization: it wasn't doing anything for me. It wasn't solving the problem, it was just keeping me stuck in the cycle.
That realization is why I make my edits today.
I use hooks because I want to reach the kids who are currently 13, 15, or 17 and feeling like they have to become a headline just to be understood. I want to catch them before they are "too far gone."
Understanding the "why" behind people who committed heinous acts isn't about excusing them, it's about showing the grey space kids where that road actually leads.
To the survivors: I hear you, and my work is fueled by the desire to make sure there are fewer of us in the future.
To the "messed up" kids: I see you. You don't have to pick up the shovel to be seen. You can choose a different mode of communication before it's too late.
Context doesn't excuse, but it explains. And in that explanation, we find the red flags that save lives.
I see a lot of comments calling Alyssa "stupid" for how she handled the aftermath, like scratching out her diary or burying the body where it could be found. People say, "a smart person would have burned the page."
But that's exactly the point. When we look at this through the lens of developmental trauma, the poor execution of the crime isn't a sign of low IQ, it's a sign of total psychological collapse.
1. Survival intelligence vs. Systematic logic Alyssa was forced to be "smart" in ways no child should be. When you are 6 years old and left alone to care for your siblings because your parents are incapacitated, you develop survival intelligence. You learn how to endure, how to hide, and how to stay silent. You don't learn how to respect "rules" or "consequences" because the adults in charge of those rules never kept you safe.
2. The diary: a discharge, not a plan The act of writing and then aggressively scratching out her thoughts wasn't a "failed plan." It was a physical release. Her brain was so deregulated that she was just trying to move the "darkness" from her head onto the paper. The scratching out was the sound of a silent scream, a desperate, messy attempt to "delete" a reality she couldn't handle.
3. The "explosion" A calculated killer wants to get away with it. A person in a "slow burn" explosion just wants the internal noise to stop. For a few minutes, she projected her internal chaos onto the world so she didn't have to carry it alone anymore. It was a monstrous choice, but it was also a moment of extreme vulnerability.
The takeaway: if we just call her "stupid," we miss the lesson. Her inability to plan or cover her tracks is the biggest piece of evidence that her mind had been decaying for years. She wasn't a "mastermind"; she was a kid who had been parentified and neglected until she finally hit the point of no return.
I've noticed a recurring pattern lately: people sharing my content not to engage with the message, but to perform moral outrage for their friends. They see an edit, their brain triggers a "this is wrong" response, and they rush to label it "sick" or "disturbing" to prove they are on the "right" side of history.
If that's you, I want to be very clear about what this space is, and what it isn't.
1. The edit is a metaphor People struggle to separate the medium from the message, just like they struggle to separate the human from the crime. If you can't look past a stylized video to hear a clinical and psychological autopsy of systemic failure, you aren't ready for the conversation I'm having.
2. Consensus isn't truth Sharing a video just to get your friends to agree with your hate isn't "activism," it's a performance. It's the "Social Validation Loop" in action. Needing a crowd to confirm your morality only proves that you are afraid to sit in the grey space alone.
3. We don't "click off" here The easiest thing to do when a child is "messy, edgy, or broken" is to look away and call them a monster. My channel is for the people who refuse to click off. It is for those who are brave enough to ask "why?" even when the answer is ugly.
4. Disgust is a feeling; hate is a choice It is natural to feel disgusted by a horrific act. I feel it, too. But using that disgust as a license to attack my character or ignore the reality of adolescent mental health collapse is a choice. I won't tolerate performative hate here.
To my real community: Thank you for being the ones who stay. Thank you for being the ones who understand that humanity isn't a status you lose when you break, it's the reason we have to keep looking, even when it hurts.
Lyss
I had shared this drawing with my friend earlier, I'd say that my drawing looks way less scrappy on paper, right? Well anyway, this is my drawing of Nai Nai. I realize I kind of messed up her eyes but oh well ðŸ˜
1 hour ago | [YT] | 1
View 2 replies
Lyss
I have not drawn digitally in a HOT MINUTE so I'm pretty insecure about this, esp. because I used the actual image as reference ofc. But here's my drawing of Alyssa Bustamante. Her hair was a pain in the ass to draw
21 hours ago (edited) | [YT] | 5
View 7 replies
Lyss
The West Memphis Three refers to three men (Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr.) who were convicted as teenagers in 1994 for the brutal murders of three eight year old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas.
Their case is one of the most famous examples of a potential wrongful conviction in U.S. history, largely because the prosecution's theory relied heavily on "satanic panic" rather than physical evidence.
The crime (1993): The bodies of three young boys (Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers) were found in a drainage ditch, naked and hog-tied.
The suspects: Police focused on Damien Echols, an 18 year old high school dropout who wore black, listened to heavy metal (Metallica), and read books on Wicca and the occult. They eventually arrested his friends, Jason Baldwin (16) and Jessie Misskelley Jr (17).
The conviction: Despite no DNA evidence or eyewitnesses linking them to the scene, they were convicted. Misskelley, who had a low IQ, gave a confession after 12 hours of interrogation (which he later recanted).
Damien Echols was sentenced to death.
Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr were sentenced to life in prison.
The case gained international attention through the HBO documentary series Paradise Lost, which suggested the teens were victims of a "witch hunt" by a conservative community looking for a scapegoat. High-profile celebrities like Eddie Vedder, Johnny Depp, and Peter Jackson eventually joined the fight for their release.
In a rare legal maneuver, the three were released from prison in 2011 after 18 years. They entered an Alford plea, which allowed them to:
1. Maintain their innocence legally
2. Acknowledge that the state had enough evidence to potentially convict them
By doing this, their previous convictions were vacated and they were sentenced to "time served," allowing them to walk free immediately, even though they still technically have a criminal record.
The West Memphis Three continue to advocate for their full exoneration. As of 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that New, more advanced DNA testing can be performed on the original crime scene evidence (such as the ligatures used to bind the victims), which the men hope will finally identify the actual killer and clear their names permanently.
1 month ago | [YT] | 2
View 13 replies
Lyss
I’ve spent a lot of time recently explaining my intent behind this channel. I’ve realized that while I appreciate the conversation, I no longer feel the need to justify my interests to people who have already decided to misinterpret them.
Here is where I stand:
Aesthetics vs. Actions: I make edits because I like the visual language of the internet. The timing, the music, the "dope" transitions. Being able to find a 15-second edit visually interesting is not the same as supporting a crime. I can hold two truths at once: I like the dark aesthetic, and I find the real-world actions horrific.
The "Streaming" Hypocrisy: We live in a world where corporations spend millions to dramatize tragedies for profit, yet niche creators are attacked for exploring the same themes. I don't "debut" these cases for the world; I research them for a specific audience.
Detachment as a Tool: People often say you shouldn't interact with this content unless you were affected by it. I believe the opposite: being detached is exactly what allows me to look at the data, the reports, and the "why" without being blinded by pure emotion.
The Limit of My Control: I don’t condone idolization. I tell people in the comments I don't agree with it. But I am not responsible for the internal psychology of every viewer. If someone chooses to romanticize a tragedy, they would find a way to do that regardless of my content.
Intent vs. Impact: I’m not disputing that impact matters. People have every right to be mad at what I make. But I have every right to make it. That is the nature of the internet.
I’m done with the explanation debt. If you’re here for the research, the forensics, and the deep dives into systemic failure (Sylvia Likens, WM3, etc.), welcome. If you’re here to assume the worst about my character, you’re free to do so elsewhere.
1 month ago | [YT] | 2
View 19 replies
Lyss
The case of Sylvia Likens refers to the 1965 torture and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is often described by legal experts and historians as "the most diabolical case" or "the most terrible crime" in the state's history.
In July 1965, Sylvia and her younger sister, Jenny, were left in the care of Gertrude Baniszewski, a 37-year-old mother of seven. The girls' parents, who were traveling fair concessionaires, agreed to pay Baniszewski $20 a week to board them. The abuse began incrementally after payments from the parents became inconsistent.
Over the course of three months, Sylvia was subjected to escalating physical and psychological torment.
The abuse was led by Gertrude Baniszewski, but she encouraged and directed her own children and several neighborhood teenagers to participate.
Sylvia was eventually held captive in the basement, starved, and denied water.
When her body was discovered on October 26, 1965, an autopsy revealed over 150 wounds, including cigarette burns, scald marks from hot baths, and the words "I am a prostitute and proud of it" etched into her abdomen.
The official cause of death was a subdural hematoma (a brain injury from a blow to the temple) and shock, complicated by severe malnutrition.
The 1966 trial drew national attention due to the involvement of children in the torture.
Gertrude Baniszewski: Convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. She was released on parole in 1985 and died in 1990.
Paula Baniszewski (Gertrude’s daughter): Convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life (later reduced on appeal; she was paroled in 1972).
John Baniszewski Jr., Coy Hubbard, and Richard Hobbs: Convicted of manslaughter and served roughly 18 months to two years.
Sylvia’s death led to significant changes in Indiana law. It was instrumental in the creation of the mandatory reporting law, which requires any person who suspects child abuse to report it to authorities. This was a direct response to the fact that many neighbors had heard Sylvia’s screams or seen her condition but did not intervene.
1 month ago | [YT] | 5
View 4 replies
Lyss
I’ve spent a lot of time in the "Grey Space" of the Alyssa Bustamante case, looking for the "Why" behind the 2009 tragedy. Recently, an interaction in the comments (with a younger person, ironically) gave me a massive "hitch" in my thinking and forced me to re-evaluate some of my older content.
In some of my earlier videos/threads, I used the language of Forgiveness. At the time, I saw it as a way to stay empathetic and clinical. However, I’ve realized I was wrong.
Forgiveness is a sacred authority that belongs only to the victims and those directly impacted. As a researcher, my role isn't to forgive, my role is to document and analyze.
What’s Changing:
The Language: You will see a shift toward objective, clinical analysis. We can understand the "Why" (systemic neglect, mental health failure) without overstepping the moral boundaries of the "What."
The Goal: To provide a database of information on Systemic Silence so we can recognize the red flags before the next tragedy happens.
I’m grateful for the "worthy opponents" who challenge my views. It’s how the research gets sharper. We are moving forward, older, wiser, and more focused on the data.
Next Case: The Neighbors of Silence (Sylvia Likens) & The Cost of an Aesthetic (WM3).
1 month ago | [YT] | 5
View 3 replies
Lyss
I want to share something I don't talk about often. When I was 13, I was in that grey space many of you see in my edits. I was dealing with verbal abuse, and I was the "safe person" for a friend who was struggling with self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
The adults in my life reacted with terror rather than help. My mom was more afraid of the "idea" of me being suicidal than she was interested in the "why" behind my pain. To the rest of the world, I was just "weird" or "seeking attention." When you're 13 and the people who are supposed to protect you are just scared of you, you stop talking. You build a spine of iron just to survive.
I stopped the darker path at 13, not because my life suddenly got better or the abuse stopped, but because I had a realization: it wasn't doing anything for me. It wasn't solving the problem, it was just keeping me stuck in the cycle.
That realization is why I make my edits today.
I use hooks because I want to reach the kids who are currently 13, 15, or 17 and feeling like they have to become a headline just to be understood. I want to catch them before they are "too far gone."
Understanding the "why" behind people who committed heinous acts isn't about excusing them, it's about showing the grey space kids where that road actually leads.
To the survivors: I hear you, and my work is fueled by the desire to make sure there are fewer of us in the future.
To the "messed up" kids: I see you. You don't have to pick up the shovel to be seen. You can choose a different mode of communication before it's too late.
Context doesn't excuse, but it explains. And in that explanation, we find the red flags that save lives.
Thank you for being part of this community. 🩶
3 months ago | [YT] | 5
View 3 replies
Lyss
I see a lot of comments calling Alyssa "stupid" for how she handled the aftermath, like scratching out her diary or burying the body where it could be found. People say, "a smart person would have burned the page."
But that's exactly the point. When we look at this through the lens of developmental trauma, the poor execution of the crime isn't a sign of low IQ, it's a sign of total psychological collapse.
1. Survival intelligence vs. Systematic logic
Alyssa was forced to be "smart" in ways no child should be. When you are 6 years old and left alone to care for your siblings because your parents are incapacitated, you develop survival intelligence. You learn how to endure, how to hide, and how to stay silent. You don't learn how to respect "rules" or "consequences" because the adults in charge of those rules never kept you safe.
2. The diary: a discharge, not a plan
The act of writing and then aggressively scratching out her thoughts wasn't a "failed plan." It was a physical release. Her brain was so deregulated that she was just trying to move the "darkness" from her head onto the paper. The scratching out was the sound of a silent scream, a desperate, messy attempt to "delete" a reality she couldn't handle.
3. The "explosion"
A calculated killer wants to get away with it. A person in a "slow burn" explosion just wants the internal noise to stop. For a few minutes, she projected her internal chaos onto the world so she didn't have to carry it alone anymore. It was a monstrous choice, but it was also a moment of extreme vulnerability.
The takeaway: if we just call her "stupid," we miss the lesson. Her inability to plan or cover her tracks is the biggest piece of evidence that her mind had been decaying for years. She wasn't a "mastermind"; she was a kid who had been parentified and neglected until she finally hit the point of no return.
3 months ago | [YT] | 4
View 7 replies
Lyss
If you need to call me names to feel morally safe, go ahead.
3 months ago | [YT] | 5
View 0 replies
Lyss
I've noticed a recurring pattern lately: people sharing my content not to engage with the message, but to perform moral outrage for their friends. They see an edit, their brain triggers a "this is wrong" response, and they rush to label it "sick" or "disturbing" to prove they are on the "right" side of history.
If that's you, I want to be very clear about what this space is, and what it isn't.
1. The edit is a metaphor
People struggle to separate the medium from the message, just like they struggle to separate the human from the crime. If you can't look past a stylized video to hear a clinical and psychological autopsy of systemic failure, you aren't ready for the conversation I'm having.
2. Consensus isn't truth
Sharing a video just to get your friends to agree with your hate isn't "activism," it's a performance. It's the "Social Validation Loop" in action. Needing a crowd to confirm your morality only proves that you are afraid to sit in the grey space alone.
3. We don't "click off" here
The easiest thing to do when a child is "messy, edgy, or broken" is to look away and call them a monster. My channel is for the people who refuse to click off. It is for those who are brave enough to ask "why?" even when the answer is ugly.
4. Disgust is a feeling; hate is a choice
It is natural to feel disgusted by a horrific act.
I feel it, too. But using that disgust as a license to attack my character or ignore the reality of adolescent mental health collapse is a choice. I won't tolerate performative hate here.
To my real community: Thank you for being the ones who stay. Thank you for being the ones who understand that humanity isn't a status you lose when you break, it's the reason we have to keep looking, even when it hurts.
We are looking for answers, not applause.
3 months ago | [YT] | 5
View 3 replies
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