#Proof 1 that this community is a cult | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

highpri3stess · 3 months

Text

TEE/IVORY The Disgraced One, her hypocrisy and her antiblackness: a post

I said I was going to make this post if @/saetoru ever showed her face on this app. And here we are now @ctrltoru-main

In January 2024, a tumblr thread exposing the now disgraced tumblr writer @/saintsugu was posted by an anonymous account named @/user-anon. User-anon exposed this man for engaging with shota art and art sexualizing ed. Other users came out and exposed more of his racially insensitive past as well as his problematic attitudes. The general public was against this behavior and it was a massive call out.

Good right? Problem solved. Let’s go home.

Not even up to 3 days later, an account known as @/criticalthoughts came out. Now this account was different, because unlike everyone condemning @/saintsugu, this person came to his defense. As of now, @/criticalthoughts has deactivated and all their inflammatory works have disappeared into the abyss. All except one.

@/saetoru - currently now @/ctrltoru-main had reblogged the first ever post of @/critcialthoughts, which I am eternally grateful for, because now that debauchery is out here for us to see. Tee, an infamous tumblr who was disgraced out of the writing community and remains a pariah, had come out of the wood works to say something in defense of Ezra.

Now, I don’t need to introduce Tee or Ivory to you people. If you read this post you would know that Tee the disgraced one, is already, to put it nicely, a terrible person. Talking about her is like beating a dead horse. Except this one has refused to die in peace and actively inserts herself into spaces she isn’t needed in.

Now, if the above post by Emmie that I linked here isn’t enough to convince you on why Ivory/Tee should not be welcomed back to any community in tumblr, then I’m sure that her shitty defense for Ezra, the response to people calling her out for her shitty defense, Tee’s antiblackness and her cult of antiblack followers as well as her lack of regard for the genocide going on in her country - all which I am about to get into, will.

Tee/Ivory defending Ezra’s accusations: A summary

Now if you’re like me and you have a short attention span for bullshit, then you won’t want to read whatever nonsense came out from Tee on that post.

But for fairness sake, I’ve decided I'll link Tee’s arguments as I break them down one by one, before I get into what I want to say. You can choose if you want to read the post and the summary or you want to read only the summary.

Paragraph 1: Victims of assault know what a predator looks like.

As a victim of assault:

She has been silenced to pretend nothing is wrong.

She has experienced rape culture first hand.

She also asserts you have to see it with your own 2 eyes to know the real harm.

She implies that she knows the patterns of sexual predators.

Paragraph 2:

Premise (a): It is simply not logical to assert that Ezra is a pedo

Art so far (depicting Shotatoru. and shotadori. Shotagetou. Come on, I’m losing creative names for these) is the only proof of this claim.

People jumped into conclusions -allegedly- because of said content, as far as taking legal actions.She asserts that there is no connection of shota art to pedophilia.

Said shotatoru art is not enough evidence for pedophilia because it is fictional.

She also asserts that majority of the people who jumped into said conclusion acted on emotional impulse

Premise 2(b): People who did accuse Ezra of being a pedophile are acting selfishly.

Asserts that they are not real victims

Asserts that they do not listen to real victims like her.

Asserts that they do not listen to authorities who work on such cases.

Asserts that they are acting in their own sense of justice.

Paragraph 4: Dark content is dark content

Dark content portrays a lot of themes we are uncomfortable with and it is made to explore topics without harming anyone.

Dark content is not used to determine moral standing

No dark content creator is in a place to judge Ezra or draw a line on morality. Simply because they create dark content.

Tee’s concluding points:

Emotions have led people to believe that Ezra finds gratification for such content.

She talks about not knowing what pedophilia is, as we are not real victims and disrespecting real victims. Again.

Calling Ezra a pedophile is hate speech. We have zero proof to harass him - No the shotadori art is not proof- that will stand in a courtroom.

We are driving people off this app and enabling hostility. Also Ezra’s anti-blackness is just a rumor.

The important thing is art is not pedophilia and pedophilia is not art.

My Analysis;

Let me first start by being empathetic to you Tee/Ivory, even if you don’t deserve it. I will never undermine your experience as a victim. As a survivor of CSA, I know that your lines on rape culture is true and real. It’s painful that you had to go through that and I feel empathy for you.

Grace period over.

If you didn’t read my paragraph summaries, I’ll just give you the gist of Tee’s post here.

“As a real victim of child sexual assault, Tee knows what a predator looks like, therefore, according to Tee’s judgement, accusing Ezra of being a pedophile is illogical because the content he viewed was not real CP. Those who label him as such are acting out of selfishness and their claims are invalid because they are not real victims. Also, dark content is too abstract to accuse someone of anything and no dark content creator has a right to draw a line.”

Ivory/ Tee does have a point here. We did jump the gun on calling Ezra a pedo. We just judged based on art, thinking that he’s a pedo for looking at and engaging in Shota art. She makes a good point by saying that we don’t know what we are talking about.

I’m very sure if we even check or compare the definition, it won’t even mean the same thing. There is no know connections of shotacon to pedophilia, even in real life court cases.

So, let’s educate ourselves on what pedophilia is, shall we?

If we look at the English definition, it defines pedophiles as: “A person aged 16 years old or older who is mostly or only sexually attracted toward prepubescent children. (by extension, common use) An adult who is sexually attracted to or engages in sexual acts with a child…”

And if we look at the definition of Shotacon: “A sexual complex where an adult is attracted to young, typically prepubescent boys, or the fictional depictions thereof.” or “hentai anime or manga, or other Japanese-inspired erotic art featuring young, usually prepubescent boys.”

“a fictional young boy character, especially one featured in such material. Typically drawn with exaggerated or stylised cute features.”

Wait a minute.

Let’s look at Wikipedia maybe they’ll give us a different definition: “Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children.”

Okay, US legal: “Pedophiles are people with a sexual attraction to children. Manifest acts, such as taking sexually explicit photographs, molesting children and exposing one's genitalia to children, are all crimes.”

Okay, okay, Britannica: “Pedophilia, in conventional usage, a psychosexual disorder, generally affecting adults, characterized by sexual interest in prepubescent children or attempts to engage in sexual acts with prepubescent children.”

Oh. By definition, every thing found on Ezra’s twitter account would qualify him -not just english wise but legally as a child-lover.

Okay, you can still argue that there are no real life accusations linking shotacon art to being a predator. Except, that’s not the case:

A particular case of a man in Virginia who was arrested for looking at shota/loli art. This was an added charge, to downloading CP in his hard drive and assaulting an 11 year old. He was supposed to be banned from the internet, but had used shota/loli as replacement for CP, thinking the authorities wouldn’t notice.

I could go on and on about cases linked to this, but then again I would again be beating a dead horse.

So Tee, you woke up. You took your device without doing ANY research. Came on tumblr.com and started to type a poorly researched, poorly thought out post in response to the bullshit @/criticitalthoughts posted.

Because if we stand by what you said about it not standing in court, we know that is bullshit. If Ezra stood before a law court today, he would register as a sex offender.

Now, let’s come down to you weaponizing your victimhood:

As you notice if you read what Tee said, you will notice phrases such as “As a real victim” “real victim like herself” “People who are outraged are not real victims”

You will also notice her little blurb about Dark content creators not being moral enough to draw a line.

There is actually a name for that behavior. It is known as Virtuous Victim Signaling. For those who don’t know, virtuous victim signaling is basically claiming victimhood whilst demonstrating a sense of moral superiority in order to gain approval or favor.

What Tee has effectively done in her blurb is not only state that those who had valid concerns about Ezra’s predatory fetishes are not real victims - most like myself are actually survivors, as well as condemn other dark content creators who are also majorly survivors, as hypocrites, she has also put herself in a sort of moral high ground as a “non bully” or “anti witch hunt”

By portraying herself as the only victim in this situation, she has stripped other survivors not only of their experiences, but also of any form of empathy or understanding we are meant to have for the survivors' concerns. This is not the first time Tee has exhibited this behavior, as we see when she is confronted with bullying accusations (that turned out to be true) and her turning it around to make it seem like she’s the one affected instead of taking any form of accountability.

And it’s funny how Tee/Ivory loves to talk about witch hunts and bullying when you are single-handedly responsible for pushing out four writers from this app with false accusations, lying on your friend about blackfishing, outing Emmie’s new account on your callout post -an account that was supposed to be private mind you, lying and subposting that people were copying your blog’s aesthetic and plagiarizing your fics, inciting death threats on your own mutuals, bullying a black muslim who called you out on defending Ezra’s actions and deflecting his situation and posting her account name so that people harass her.

You also mention something very interesting in your post Tee:

As far as I remember Tee/Ivory, you had a burner blog that you used to harrass your mutuals. You spread hate about your own mutuals. You sent death threats and encouraged your followers to send death threats to your own mutuals the moment their blog had traction.

You mean like how you spoke ill about Emmie who was your friend? Or how you dragged my mutual Nara on your page and called her Islamophobic? Or how your followers are doing the exact same thing and dropping into people's inboxes?

The problem with virtual victimhood signaling is that people like Tee can see themselves as a pinnacle of morality when everything they accuse others of is what they themselves are guilty of. Tee is perfect embodiment of 'every false accusation is a confession' literally.

Also, in terms of putting herself in a moral high ground, she mentions that dark content creators have no right to judge or draw a line. Which is not true, because if people at bizzarocon could draw a line at a guy fake SA a fully grown aborted fetus as shock value -and if you know bizzarocon you’ll know that they literally write ANYTHING taboo, then dark content creators can draw a line for the same reason.

Anything that involves a child, real or a likeness of a child, is where we draw the line.

(I recommend you read that article well, because Chandler's argument and Tee's argument correlate with each other)

Writing about things like noncon or dubcon is all about regaining a sense of control that was lost. It is all about what happens to the writer or to the the reader. It can even help to process their feelings and coming to terms with cnc kinks. It can serve to bring awareness. It can even make people uncomfortable. It depends.

No dark content is more palatable than the other Tee.

And we are not crazy for all agreeing that shota art is wrong.

What does shota or loli content give? What is the intent behind wanting to put vulnerable children in sexual positions with you an adult as an aggressor? Think about it.

Using being a CSA victim and mentioning Ezra’s case of of being a CSA victim does not absolve Ezra from what he did or justify his attraction towards the likeness prepubescent kids. There are many CSA victims that grow up and repeat the same thing again because instead of vowing not to repeat or inflict harm on kids like they did to them, they use their victimhood as an excuse, a shield to perpetuate the same harm on others. Your kind of rhetoric is what a lot of pedophiles and MAP use to justify their actions.

It is sick. It is twisted. It is evil.

You do not get to undermine or silence other survivors’ outrage just because of your personal beliefs Tee. You don’t get to strip them off their survivor status. You are not the only ‘real’ victim and you do not get to speak for us or over us. Using your experience to undermine anyone else's is simply unacceptable Tee. You had absolutely no right

Tee’s racism and racial insensitivity:

If you follow any black writer on here, you would know how many have left due to racism.

You will also know that black writers in the anime community face intense racism for simply existing in a predominantly nonblack space. We are treated like nobodies, told to our faces that our faves would hate black women. We are called slurs in our inboxes, told our pussies are burnt and smelly just to name a few.

When we talk about how we are not represented in fics we are bashed and when we do write x black reader fics we are criticized intensely.

This is what black writers have to face on this app. Every. Single. Day. An app that is supposed to be our safe space and sanctuary.

When the Ezra allegations came out, a lot of black women came out and reiterated that while they were in the same server with him, Ezra had called black women’s hair nappy and then said “it was a joke” and in return these women had to leave because the server members defended Ezra.

Not just one. Not two. About 5+ black women came out to say this. Word for word.

And I’ve spoke to a few who had evidence of what he had done and how they were treated horribly.

Now Tee/Ivory thought it was a good idea to not only discredit victims of Ezra’s antiblackness but call them “rumors” and witch hunts. And when confronted about what she said about it by my mutual, she put words in my mutual’s mouth by saying she is linking pedophilia to antiblackness.

I don’t need to tell you that speaking over a black woman and putting words in her mouth is racially insensitive and also a form of racial violence. I’m sure you know this Tee.

Then Tee derailed the topic into talking about palestine. Something Tee convinently only brings up when confronted with her bullshit. Something that Tee never EVER talks about or reblogs on her account.

You can go check the only posts in tumblr Tee has opened her mouth to say anything about palestine if it is not her avoiding responsibility for bullying and false accusations. Not once did you see her post about the boycott divestment week that was happening THAT WEEK. or the strike that we were not meant to post anything that wasn’t pro-palestine.

Not only that, when my mutual rightly called her out for using the Islam card (virtuous victim signalling AGAIN) to hide behind the fact that she was defending a pedophile, and yes smut is against the Hadith. You don’t get to pick or choose what is a sin or not, especially when your fellow muslim sister is speaking to you. Tee wrongly accused her of islamophobia, posted her account for her followers to send her racial slurs. Tee never clarified or apologized to her for anything that happened right after.

Let’s not mention how this is also a textbook example of antiblackness in the Islamic community which you just perpertuated there. Tee’s behavior, silence and tolerance of antiblackness from her followers also shows where she stands.

Also, Tee you are a horrible person for weaponizing your loved ones and the ongoing genocide to shield yourself from criticism. You only care or mention it when people are rightfully airing you out for your lies. How dare you. You are sick. You are sick for encouraging your follower to incite violence on a black woman. You are sick for accusing a black muslim woman of islamophobia and you are very sick for hiding behind Islam to propagate horrible ideaologies.

Then again, you are only a poc when it benefits you. Your activism starts and ends with using it as a shield when faced with valid criticism about your actions.

In conclusion:

Why did I make this post? Is it to call Tee/Ivory out?

No.

It is a reminder. This is is the kind of person Tee is. She will silence another voice that isn’t hers and hers alone. And the fact she even came back and started writing on this app again is disapponting. Yes, many people would see what she did as just ‘drama’ but her bullying, threatening, silencing of surviviors, antiblackness and using a genocide as a shield for valid criticism will never be drama to me. It is real. These are issues that bleed out in real life.

At the core of your heart Tee/Ivory, this is who you truly are:

Bragging about how you’re in a different tax bracket on site that says eat the rich and means it, is ironic. Calling people brain dead and jobless for saying that you should take accountability - most of us who are actually accomplished - in fact far more accomplished than you will ever be Tee and far more talented and humble compared to you- is embarrassing.

You and your fans can keep spewing out slurs like it’s a tuesday morning Tee/Ivory.

You want to complain about hostility after witch hunting and kicking out better writers from this app? People that were your moots who cared about you? You want to complain about hostility when you outed Emmie’s new account? Or when you let your followers harrass Nara? Or how you had a hate account bullying and mocking your fellow writers? Or you single handedly making everywhere so toxic that your ex moots had to deactivate?

You?

You’re the cause of the hostility. You. You. You.

The JJK fandom is not missing anything with you gone. Don’t come back until you apologize to everyone you hurt with your actions. And if you like, delete your account and make a different one. Change your name. We will still know it’s you at your core. You'll can never change who you really are and this behaviour will forever stain your reputation in the fandom circle.

#tw. discourse #tw. csa mention #tw. ed mention #x reader #x reader discourse #tw. racism #tw. antiblackness #tw. fanfiction discourse #jujutsu kaisen #tw. weaponized victimhood #jujutsu kaisen discourse #gojo x reader #gojo satoru #saetoru #Tee/Ivory

76 notes · View notes

ellieslittlebitch69 · 1 year

Text

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Summary: first person pov-- after escaping David's cult, you come to find jackson all on your own. your family is dead. but, you have to find something to keep fighting for.

Hello y'all! This is my first tlou fic! It takes place in first person pov, without the use of y/n bc idk why but it always feels out of place to me, and interupts the flow. This is reader x Ellie and this is set right after the ending of tlou 1. I plan for this to be long with frequent updates, hope you guys enjoy!! This is more of a prologue than a chapter one, since it's so short, mostly provides background info.

----

At this point, I was beyond ready to fucking die.

I had been walking aimlessly in the woods alone for two weeks now, constantly shivering. My toes lost feeling ages ago, everywhere else I was feeling too much. All of my wounds from head to toe had been sticky, especially my ankle, with snow and drying blood. My stomach never stopped growling, the last thing I ate was the remaining mint leaves from my pack, washing it down with handfuls of snow.

It was better than before, anyways.

Father and I escaped from David's group in mid December. Between the low rations of food, the disappearance of Mother and little sister Bonnie’s corpses, and the beatings David’s men loved to give if you even coughed during bible study, we decided to take our chances deep in the trees. Besides, I had grown up in the woods. It would be like going home.

Instead, these woods were nothing of my own. The trees hold tons of pillowed ice, plopping onto your head any moment they so choose. Game was sparse, Father was lucky to return with an arrow in between a singular rabbit’s head. Worst of all, the fear of leaving a trail for David’s men to come collect us, or our bodies. I didn’t know which sounded worse.

We both quickly lost any sense of body fat to keep us warm, and we both knew the dangers of lighting a fire in the open. It was hard to keep going, when I was praying to die from starvation already. We had somewhere to go. Somewhere we could finally be safe.

We had heard whispers of the town of Jackson a couple of years ago, right before we made the decision to follow David along to Silver Lake. A town of communism, shared items, a community as a whole. It sounded too good to be true, and there was no proof of it ever existing. Mother had just given birth, and knew deep within her heart that she could never make the travel if there wouldn’t be immediate care. And then his men found us in the woods.

As we traveled, father never stopped trying to keep a smile on my face. He would make silly faces as we walked along the trail, continuing long after I’d give in with a contagious giggle escaping my lips. On quiet nights, he would tell stories of the war, with booming side effects and glowing facial expressions. It was nice to hear the sounds of our laughter, at least more than the sounds of our hunger.

He never made it to Jackson. Just as we were within a day of travel, we were met with a lone clicker, aimlessly wandering the woods. The snow made it impossible to run, and only had a handful of arrows left. I didn’t even get to say a word before father charged it, shoving me down a valley before doing so. When I did turn my head, I could hear the crack of his neck.

When I finally approached the end of a steep hill, numb and weak, the first sight I had was a gun barrel pointing to my lips. Horses surrounded me, along with several other barrels loaded and pointing straight ahead. I held my breath, finally waiting for the sweet release of a bullet. My whole family was gone, my skin was beaten and covered in blood, and I could see my bones through it all. There was no point anymore. I was finally finished.

As I closed my eyes, waiting for the final noise of the raiders finishing me off, I hear a dry, low voice, “Have you been near Infected?”

I look up to the man, deep blue eyes and furrowed eyebrows, the rest of his face covered by a silk handkerchief. His eyes were pained, looking down to see my coat soaked with blood and snow.

“Not within the last two weeks,” I husk. I can feel my throat crack, and ringing begin to play in my hears like a drum.

The man looks beside him, and my eyes follow to see a thick, large dog with growling teeth, his neck and chin dribbling with saliva. I wonder the last time they’d given it a meal.

Maybe I was the meal. Dogs do like bones, after all.

Whatever way it goes, I know that it will end with my final breath. I feel a lump form in my throat, “If you’re going to kill me, please do it already.”

The words barely leave my mouth in time for the dog to come crashing to the snow, hurdling towards me. I don’t even have the energy to flinch, instead my legs give out just as I feel myself turning away. The snow covers my limbs as I close my eyes, waiting for the first blow.

Instead, I’m met with the dog licking my face, warming my nose. Just as a smile comes to my lips, everything fades to black.

—

My eyes flutter open to see two of the cowboys from yesterday, a man and a woman, standing over me with gentle faces. The air is warm, like springtime in the woods at home. Everything feels like a dream. As I look down, I see a plethora of thick, wool blankets piled onto my frail body. The air smells of clementines and vanilla, which automatically makes my mouth water.

And then I realize. The cowboys, with guns, are standing over my weak body.

My body moves before I can think, as I shoot out of the bed and run for the door, the cool tile hitting my pads of my feet before I immediately collapse onto the floor with a thud. My breath quickens as I begin to crawl slowly, ignoring the shaking in my hands.

The man sighs, and leans over to pick me up, which results in me screaming and spitting in his face. If they’ve kept me alive, that means they want something from me. Life isn’t free, and after my horrors in David’s cult, I couldn’t bare anymore.

The man sighs, “Easy, young lady. We’re here to help you.”

“Help me?” I shriek, my voice catching in my throat. “Is that why you pointed a dozen guns at me?”

‘Well, we can’t just let anyone in you know.” I begin to notice his features as he comes into focus. Long, black hair just past his ears that almost curl at the ends, deep big brown eyes, and a bushy mustache that covers his upper lip as he attempts a smile. It’s almost comforting.

Almost.

We stare in silence at each other for a moment, as I gather the energy to bring my knees to my chest. My breathing slows as I look over to the woman, who stands over the man’s shoulder. She smiles at me, a warm genuine smile, that is reflected in her honey eyes. It reminds me of Mama.

“We are not going to hurt you,” she begins slowly. “You’re in our hospital, where we’ve been treating your wounds. Hypothermia, several open wounds, bruised ribs, and clearly starvation.”

I nod to her slowly, not releasing the grip on my knees. As I look around, I realize she’s telling the truth. Monitors color the walls next to the bed, along with a tray of food in the woman’s hands. As my eyes graze the window, I notice green blades of grass blowing in the breeze.

“Now, can Tommy help you back to bed so we can chat?”

I allow Tommy to pick me up slowly, wincing as I realize how stiff my entire body feels. As I lay back into the blankets, I immediately burrow into them as the woman places the tray in front of me slowly. Piles of roasted potatoes, seared chunks of meat, and what looks like miniature cabbages. I can’t stop myself from digging in with my hands.

Tommy chuckles, “Easy now, little one. Don’t wanna over do it. We have plenty of food to go around.”

I ignore him as I devour my plate. Where are they getting all of this? I hadn’t eaten a potato in years, and this meat was deprived of the usual freezer burn of David’s. It was tender, juicy, flavorful. All delicacies that I’d been deprived of since I was a little girl. It was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

The woman smiles, “My name is Maria. Now, Before we can help you, I need you to answer a few of my questions. Can you do that for me, honey?”

I can feel myself soften at her words, my mouth coated in the juices of the meat. Before I can even ask, Tommy slides over a tall glass of cool water. It runs down my throat, and for the first time in a while I don’t feel it hit the pit of my stomach.

“Did you travel here alone?”

I shake my head, “No, ma’am. My father started to travel with me but um… he didn’t make it.”

Maria sighs, “I am so sorry for your loss. I only ask to make sure no one will come looking for you, we try to keep a low profile.”

“We?” I ask, looking around. “What even is this place?”

The two look at each other knowingly with a smile, before their gaze returns to me. Tommy looks as if he recognizes me from somewhere, but I can’t quite place his face.

“Welcome to Jackson,” Tommy says. “Were you looking to travel somewhere else?”

My smile erupts with delight. I had made it! I don’t know how, but by the grace of god I made it alive. “This… this is Jackson? I made it?”

“Yes, yes you did,” her voice replies sweetly. “And you are more than welcome to stay, if you choose.”

“Well fuck yeah I want to stay,” I giggle, taking a mouthful of potato. “Wait, that’s it? You’re just… letting me stay? There’s gotta be a catch.”

She nods, “Well, for a few months you’ll be in recovery. You should be cleared for release soon, we’ll assign you somewhere to live in the town. Normally we would put you with another family, but we got some town homes hooked up with power, so if you want a place to yourself it’s yours.”

I continue to listen to her, nodding as I continue to eat myself sick.

“Once you’re all healed up, you’ll need to help out in the community. Pick a job, so to speak. You’ll also be included in patrols once you turn sixteen. Help keep everyone safe and whatnot.”

I wait for her to continue on with the terms, but there’s nothing more. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” she smiles. “Is there anything you’re interested in doing? Agriculture, community work, hunting?”

Tommy clears his throat, “You did bring one hell of a bow with you.”

“Had to feed my family somehow,” I say, wiping my mouth with a sleeve. “My father taught my archery, and I’m pretty average at foraging.”

“Excellent. We’ll have you placed with our hunting team. While we do keep and butcher, it’s always better to have more than none.”

An awkward silence fills the room as I take my last bite of the meal, holding myself back from licking the plate clean. That was the biggest plate I’d ever been given. That entire plate could have fed my entire family. Then I remember, that none of them are left.

Maria claps her hands together, “Great! Well, the townhomes are located near town square, near Joel’s. Tommy will walk you over to get settled, and I’ll come by later with prescriptions and whatnot. Does that sound okay?’

Nodding, I begin to stand as Tommy shakes his head, “None of that, peach. You may be discharged but you still need to heal if you wanna walk normal any time soon. I’ll go grab you a wheelchair.”

As Tommy rolls me along the street, I take in the sights of Jackson. Large, lit up buildings with smoke exiting the tops. Shops, pens for animals, even a movie theater. The sun kissed my skin gently, a warm breeze passing through my curly hair, filled with matts. I didn’t even care, because for the first time in my life I felt free.

As we turn a few corners, we approach a medium sized building with a staircase on the side, four large doors separating the space. The paint, deep blue, was slightly chipping at the ends. It wasn’t much, but I guess now it’ll be home.

As Tommy fumbles with the keys, I hear him sigh, “I’m sorry you’re here all alone, little one. Young girl like you deserves a family.”

I can’t bring myself to say anything as the lump in my throat swells. I hadn’t really ever taken the time up until this point to realize, my family was gone. Truly gone, and I’d never be able to see them again. I can hear the sound of father’s laughter in my mind, frowning at the thought that one day I may forget it. It leaves a pang in my chest.

“But I hope that one day,” Tommy continues, “Maybe Jackson can be your family.”

76 notes · View notes

mappingthemoon · 4 months

Text

Zines Read 2023

Unemployment / Aaron Lake Smith

Behind the Zines #14 / ed. Billy McCall

Zisk #31 / ed. Mike Faloon & Mike Fournier

Zisk #32: Remembering Bob Gibson / ed. Mike Faloon & Mike Fournier

Zisk #33: Bartolo Colon: Hall of Famer? / ed. Mike Faloon & Mike Fournier

Brief Text Descriptions of Everyday Events / Keith Helt

Flotation Device #18 / Keith Helt

Denacola: Menagerie / Dena Zilber

Nothing Spinning #1: Hydrogen / Lindsey Richter

Nothing Spinning #2: Helium / Lindsey Richter

Scenes from the Late Devonian Period / Lindsey Richter

Stoneybrook Looks / Lindsey E. Richter

sixteen years sober and i was thinking about relapsing / enola dismay

A Cookbook Christmas #5 / Peter & Ansley

QRK5 #6 / Ed Tillman

Save the USPS: A small business’s love letter to an essential American institution / Danny Caine

How to Resist Amazon and Why (rev. 2nd ed.) / Danny Caine

The Paruretic #1: The story of a guy who’s pee shy / Mark Cunning

The Paruretic #2: College / Mark Cunning

The Paruretic #3 Vacation / Mark Cunning

The Paruretic #4: The Search for Help / Mark Cunning

The Paruretic #5: Dating

I Could’ve Killed Alex Jones / Mark Cunning

Gut Bucket Research #10 / David Tighe

I Want an Army Out of Caves… #12/Unclassifiables #3 / ed. David Tighe

Unclassifiables #13 / ed. David Tighe

The Secret of the Moon’s Rotation #33 / ed. David Tighe

Behind the Zines #15 / ed. Billy McCall

Brides of the Mystery / Lydian Brambila

zines in libraries: collecting, cataloging, community / Zine Librarians Interest Group ; Joshua Barton, Violet Fox, Anissa Malady, Kelly McElroy, Matthew Moyer, Sarah G. Wenzel

Zine Librarians Code of Ethics Zine / Heidy Berthoud, Joshua Barton, Jeremy Brett, Lisa Darms, Violet Fox, Jenna Freedman, Jennifer LaSuprema Hecker, Lillian Karabaic, Rhonda Kauffman, Kelly McElroy, Milo Miller, Honor Moody, Jude Vachon, Madeline Veitch, Celina Williams, Kelly Wooten

Ornery Cuss / K Ratticus

Against the Logic of the Guillotine / crimethInc.

Bound to Struggle: Where Kink and Radical Politics Meet #1 / ed. simon strikeback

Bound to Struggle: Where Kink and Radical Politics Meet #2 / ed. simon strikeback

Bound to Struggle: Where Kink and Radical Politics Meet #3: Language / ed. simon strikeback

Bound to Struggle: Where Kink and Radical Politics Meet #5: Praxis / ed. simon strikeback

Men I Think Are the Same Man: Men I Have Mistaken For Each Other (and some women) / aggie

Every Thug Is a Lady: Adventures Without Gender / Julia Eff

tear the petals off of you / Julia Eff

People Like Us: David Byrne’s 1986 Cult Film True Stories as a Search for Autistic Connection / Lewis Attilio Franco

Tracing this Body: Transsexuality, pharmaceuticals & capitalism & New Flesh, New Struggles self discovery thru porn & kink / michelle o’brien

Brides of the Mystery / Lydian Brambila & Ariel Ackerly

An Otherworldly Light #1 / R. P. Schneider (ed.), ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion

An Otherworldly Light #2 / R. P. Schneider (ed.), ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion

Welcome to Our Dimension Party (2nd ed.) / Samantha Hensley

Behind the Zines #16: Zines Saved My Life! / ed. Billy McCall

Weirdo du Jour #3: “Line Cook Love” / K Ratticus

Cathode Ray Mission #1: A Horror and Sci-Fi Fanzine / K Ratticus

Cathode Ray Mission #2: A Horror and Sci-Fi Fanzine / K Ratticus

Testimony, v. 1 / ed. Ryan Avery

Postcards from Irving, v. 5 / Tyler

The Desert Sun #51 / Billy

Proof I Exist #42: Five Days in Chicago / Billy McCall

Zisk #34: If Ichiro Journaled Like Henry Rollins / ed. Mike Faloon & Mike Fournier

Selected list of zine distros and other places to find most of these titles:

Antiquated Future

Behind the Zines Distro (Billy McCall)

Bound to Struggle (simon strikeback)

Crapandemic (Julia Eff)

Dena Zilber

Flotation Device (Keith Helt)

Gut Bucket Research (David Tighe)

Honeycraft (Lindsey Richter)

Lydian Brambila

Policymaker (Mike Fournier)

Related Records (Ryan Avery)

SAMSKETCHBOOK (Sam Hensley)

Weirdo du Jour (K Ratticus)

ZineLibraries.info

PS I'm moonmoth on LibraryThing.

#zines #lists

9 notes · View notes

brightgnosis · 3 months

Text

"Learn Your History" Is Not A Battle Cry To "Abandon Your Practice"

The point of older and / or better researched, more historically oriented practitioners (often Reconstructionists who get demonized for doing so) pointing out the historical inaccuracies in modern lay information, and pressuring people to learn the legitimate academic history of their religion and its traditions? Is not meant to say “you can’t practice them because they’re not ancient; you’re just a pretender if you’re not celebrating the real ancient stuff”.

It’s to say that you don’t need to manufacture fake histories for your holidays, your traditions, and your Spirits in order for them to be considered valid in the first place; the main point is that you don’t have to continue believing (for example) the historical lie that Eostre is an ancient Goddess in order to continue celebrating Ostara, or for that celebration to be perfectly valid in its own right ... The false myth of Eostre doesn't have to factor into it at all.

It's to say that whether it's a genuine 2,000 year old tradition (incredibly rare by the way), a 300 year old one (much more common), 50, 10, or even just a 1 year old tradition that you just started ... They can all be as equally valid and spiritually fulfilling as one another. It ultimately doesn’t matter if it has significant meaning to you.

What does matter, however, is that we’re always transparent about the truth of things: Where what we practice comes from, how old it is, what its origins are, and how we came about this information (personal creation, gnosis, or historical record; etc). And more importantly: That we make concentrated efforts to continuously do better; that we continue to try and right the wrongs of our predecessors and Elders- especially when those wrongs are still causing blatant and provable damage both inside of, and outside of, our communities (and to the cultures from whom many of these vestiges originate or are pinned to in some form).

If you want academically aligned proof of this, one should really look no further than Ronald Hutton himself for validation; according to Wikia alone:

Interviewing Ronald Hutton for an article in The Independent, journalist Gary Lachman commented that Hutton had “a very pragmatic, creative attitude, recognizing that factual error can still produce beneficial results”- for instance noting that even though their theories about the Early Modern Witch-Cult were erroneous, Margaret Murray and Gerald Gardner would help lay the foundations for the creation of the new religious movement of Wicca.

If you somehow have no clue who Ronald Hutton is, and have never heard his name before: He’s a Professor of History at the University of Bristol and is considered one of the leading experts on Pagan studies in the world, with a specialization in Early Modern Britain (which extends into some Celtic* areas of the UK by proxy). You’d probably better know him as the author of works such as Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft, Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain, and Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain- absolutely all of which you’ve seen me either directly source quote from, or reference, over the course of my existence (especially when I was actually a Reconstructionist, if you've been around that long).

Unfortunately the Independent article referenced on Wiki (titled “Ronald Hutton: Wicca and other invented traditions”) seems to have been removed from the site at some point. As of now, I’ve been unable to track down a working and fully archived copy. Still, several other (far more questionably sourced) articles I’ve stumbled across- including some interviews- in looking for an archived copy, have likewise referenced Professor Hutton’s seemingly enthusiastic views about, essentially, just making things up yourself without the need to pass it off falsely as being ‘ancient’ in order for the practices to be spiritually or otherwise “valid”.

So truly: If one of the leading experts on Paganism in the world is telling you to make things up all you like, but just don’t make things up about history? Then I think it’s pretty safe to say that us more historically oriented practitioners on Tumblr (of all places), correcting you about said historical fallacies genuinely shouldn’t rock your spiritual boat too badly. Honestly, if anything, learning the true history of things and correcting any misinformation you were given at any point in time (wherever it came from) should further deepen your ability to connect with and celebrate these things- not destroy them.

If your knee jerk reaction to finding out that you’re wrong is ever “now I have to completely abandon everything I hold dear, and give everything up”, you have a lot of internal work you desperately need to do. Because that’s neither healthy, nor appropriate, and it signifies a lot of personal problems in relation to your beliefs and practices and how you (subconsciously or not) incorrectly moralize the entire concept of "being wrong".

This is an opinion post based in 20+ years of experience and research. If you found this helpful or interesting, please consider Tipping or Leaving a Ko-Fi (being Disabled, even $1 helps); you can see my other "Original Content" here

This account is run by a Dual Faith «(Converting) Masorti Jew + Traditional NeoWiccan» & «Ancestral Folk Magic Practitioner» with 20+ years of experience as a practicing Pagan and Witch. If that bothers you, don't interact.

#Old Blog Reposts #2021 #Original Content #Original Witchy Content #Academia #Religion & Magic #Being A better Human Being #Paganism #Eclectic NeoPaganism

3 notes · View notes

megabuild · 5 months

Note

always sucks when you ask ppl to send in ask about aoyuer and I sit there staring bc im aoyuer’s proud #2 fan and yet I cant come up with anything because all I do is think about cscott its embarassing. what does he even do in aoyuer be a sad bug? oh no the prophecy? pix is literally dying in the desert

HELP its ok. frankly im always like wah i wish i could talk about aoyuer but then its like. people dont send me questions BECAUSE im not talking about aoyuer so they dont have any info to go off. vicious cycle. Anyway here's your Scott ramble

Much of Scott’s character right now comes from his home and the worldbuilding around it. Rìbhinne Deil is effectively a closed settlement theocracy, with Fèidhism (corruption of “god deer”, worship of the Twin Stags) being the religion almost all its citizens follow. I wouldn't call them a cult because that's a heavy word with a lot of contrasting definitions, and while certain practices they undertake would be considered bad by modern standards both IRL and in canon, Arc 1 is set in the equivalent of the 1400s and most characters view the area as “a bit creepy and weird but not really our business”. Having said that, their worship of Aeor is certainly Not very healthy.

As a theocracy it's largely controlled by a council of priests who aren't all that relevant, but also on occasion the fèidh fuil (corruption of “blood of the deer”), a ‘chosen’ one who is believed to be a reincarnation of Alinar. (Functions about the same to the canon “champions”.) The fèidh fuil is a difficult role- outwardly, they are the unquestioned leader of Rìbhinne Deil, but often they are groomed for the position from a young age and serve more as a puppet that allows the council to remain in control. The fèidh fuil’s word, however, is still final.

Scott (birth name Sgàid, which he still uses within RD) is about eight when he is chosen as fèidh fuil, a result of a tragic event where his parents and twin brother Seornaidh are killed in an avalanche. His body is the only one recovered from the snow and he almost dies to frostbite but makes a miraculous recovery, something the priests seize as proof of his chosen status. In canon Scott’s relationship with Xornoth is very glossed over and we never really get any hints he even had a brother until it’s randomly dropped in that oh yeah, that guy's my twin… so here it’s more a parallel of the original Twin Stags myth, where Alinar was so heartbroken over Cohnal that Aeor removed his memories to make him a “perfect soldier”. Scott’s memories aren't literally removed, but he is encouraged to repress his grief and focus more on his duties, with his family barely being mentioned and the avalanche being turned into something beautiful that “awoke” his godlike status instead of a tragedy.

He becomes a controversial fèidh fuil. As I said above RD is a very closed off settlement- prior to the Empires Project it is one of the only major settlements in the area and they have little to no contact with the others. By the time Scott was about eighteen he wanted to change that- hence the change of his name to a more anglicised one, which he used when communicating with others. It's about this time he gets in contact with fWhip, who has just left military service and been appointed Royal Alchemist. While the Empires Project is fWhip’s baby, Scott certainly plays a part in helping it come to fruition. By the time the main story begins, he's just turned 21, making him the second youngest ruler above Jimmy (20, with some leeway since aging as a fish hybrid works differently).

In terms of his relationship with Pix, it’s a difficult one- in canon they only interact once and very briefly. In AOYUER Scott is definitely not a huge focus- my original intent was for his story to play out in the background, functionally very similar to canon, as a sort of reminder that Pix is the main character of this story but not the overall story. However I just.. really love worldbuilding and RD in particular has been so fun that he’s probably ended up having a bigger part than I intended LOL. In a lot of ways I would consider him a sort of “broken mirror” to Pix- he’s everything Pix should be as a leader to his people but Pix is also deeply aware of how Scott's situation is equally, if not moreso stifling than his own. Their interactions are pretty brief- they have an argument about religion at one point, and I’d like for them to have a more candid discussion towards the end. But outside of that, unfortunately he doesn't show up that much. (Or he isn't planned to, anyway. Knowing him he’ll sneak his way in to being a major character somehow.)

#asks #bree #aoyuer #scraps

5 notes · View notes

the-faramir · 5 months

Text

Niji-iro Midori: The Reluctant Ringmaster

Chapter 1: We Are On a Diplomatic Mission to Absalom

Midori was born in the Minkai Empire into the Niji-iro family, a large clan of kitsune with diverse fur patterns. Chairo, Haiiro, Kuro, and Shiro were her brothers; and Akane, Kiiro, Mizuiro, Murasaki, Orenji, and Pinku were her sisters. Her parents, Tetsu and Sakura, were diplomats, so the family spent most of their lives traveling to far-off lands on business trips.

One such trip was a diplomatic mission to Absalom, the City at the Center of the World, the Jewel of the Inner Sea. The Minkai Empire was in negotiations with Lord Gyr of House Gixx and his Grand Council to smooth over some unpleasant business regarding trade routes and supply ships going missing.

Unfortunately, the unpleasant business was not as straightforward as it seemed on the surface. The Aspis Consortium, the organized crime syndicate masquerading as a legitimate trade empire, was responsible for the piracy. But try as they might, no party could prove to the authorities that those gangsters were guilty.

Until now.

Tetsu and Sakura had brought damning evidence of the Consortium's hand in the matter and were prepared to present their proof to the Grand Council the next day. The diplomats traveled with a small but highly skilled security contingent of swordsmen, shinobi, and sorcerors to protect them against any enemy. Arriving at the Minkan embassy in the Ivy District of Absalom with the Niji-iros, the team cast protective wards around the family's chambers, sent out patrols to keep an eye on the streets, and posted guards at both entrances.

Tetsu and Sakura felt safe. Their children, however, were clearly uncomfortable with all of the hustle and bustle. Their parents put them in windowless living quarters in the basement to help them feel safer and more secure.

That night, Pinku, the youngest daughter, refused to go to sleep. She kept telling her mother that it wasn't safe at the embassy. "The snakes! They're coming to hurt you and Papa! They're gonna burn down the building! They're coming to take me and my brothers and sisters from you!"

But Sakura knew that Pinku had been telling crazy stories about xulgath cults and extinction curses since the family had arrived on the Starstone Isle, so she calmed Pinku down as best as she could and put her to bed.

All of the children eventually slept soundly except for Midori, who got up just before midnight to get a drink of water from the kitchen.

The Aspis Consortium was no stranger to military assassinations. Facing a threat that could potentially dissolve the Consortium at the hands of various world governments, the Patrons would spare no expense to keep the proof of their culpability unexposed. They had arranged specialized strike teams to eliminate the threat to their collective reputation.

Aspis assassins had been tracking the shinobi since they arrived at the embassy. Once the shinobi left on patrol after dark, the Aspis assassins harnessed their superior knowledge of the city streets to hunt down and kill them by quarter to midnight, leaving the Niji-iros none the wiser.

With the patrols eliminated, the other strike teams were free to emerge.

Shadowy figures emerged onto four high rooftops of buildings within sight of the embassy. The four groups of four began their preparations. The druid of each group, part of a sniper duo with his or her corresponding elven eldritch archer, shifted form into a bat and flew toward the embassy. Each bat peered through the windows of the top floor to find the sorcerors tasked with casting and replenishing the defensive wards on the living quarters and entrances below. One by one, the spotters communicated over their telepathic links to their archer counterparts, "target acquired." Meanwhile, the accompanying wizard and priest strengthened each archer with multiple blessings and magical enhancements. The archers nocked their faintly glowing arrows to their rune-studded bows and took careful aim.

The clock tower in the square near the embassy struck 12:00.

The archers' bowstrings twanged faintly in unison. The seeker arrows flew in unnaturally straight lines to the corners of the embassy, turning abruptly at right angles to zig-zag through windows and hallways, navigating the few turns needed to find their marks. The sorcerors died instantly, their hearts pierced by the magical flying shafts. "Target eliminated," the spotters reported to the archers.

12:01.

Aspis wizards emerged from the shadows in the streets surrounding the embassy. Together as one, they cast their magic around the building to dispel the remaining protection wards and any other surprises that the Minkan sorcerors could have left behind.

12:02.

From a nearby toy shop, dolls and stuffed animals jerked into motion as if they were alive; these poppets streamed out of the shop's milk door, started ticking like clocks counting down the time, split into two groups, and scampered toward the groups of wizards near each entrance to the embassy. One wizard in each group started casting a spell, then leaned down and touched the lead poppet of her group, engulfing each group of quietly ticking poppets into complete silence.

12:03.

Another wizard in each group moved away from the poppets and toward the entry doors, casting a spell. A touch to each door broke its locking spell and flung open its physical lock. The wizards ran back to the shadows.

12:04.

The silenced poppets rushed the unlocked entry doors on either side of the embassy and burst through, completely bewildering the guards waiting inside as they could hear nothing. The guards could not react other than screaming noiselessly as the poppets swarmed them, latching on to limbs and heads, then silently exploding as their internal timers expired.

12:05.

A team of heavily muscled and lightly armored brutes in black cloaks gathered by the back entrance to the embassy with two wizards who provided them with silence spells as well. Using hand signals, the lead brute guided the team inside and down the stairs into the basement, leaving the wizards outside.

The team slammed soundlessly through the door of the living quarters where the Niji-iro children were sleeping peacefully and undisturbed, thanks to the absence of noise. They only woke up as they were torn from their beds, screaming without sound. Pinku looked at her siblings and mouthed, "I told you so!" Kuro and Shiro, having gone to bed with their bokkens in their hands for just such a contingency as this, attempted to bash in the skulls of their would-be captors. However, their attacks only made the brutes laugh soundlessly, causing the children to panic even more. The brutes tied up the children's little mouths and limbs and stuffed the ten of them into burlap sacks. Then the team proceeded to ransack the room to ensure that no children had been left behind. Finding no others, the team left the building quietly, where the wizards turned the group invisible to cover their retreat. The Niji-iro children would make fine hostages to use as leverage against the Niji-iro clan to ensure that no more evidence against the Aspis Consortium would find its way to Absalom.

12:10.

A final group of eight wizards moved to the front of the embassy, casting their spells. The eight fireballs that pounded into the third floor charred every person on that level, along with all of the damning paper documents, to ash. Teetering precariously from the fiery explosion, the embassy collapsed into a heap of burnt wood and rubble.

12:11.

The Aspis Consortium teams vacated the area.

A small voice escaped from the partially collapsed kitchen in the basement of the embassy: "Help!"

There was nobody around to hear.

The voice fell silent.

Chapter 2: The Circus Arrives Without Warning

Chapter 3: Hi-Diddle-De-Dee, a Carny's Life for Me

Chapter 4: Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys

Chapter 5: One Does Not Simply Walk Into Abberton (Coming Soon)

Chapter 6: The Circus of Wayward Wonders (Coming Soon)

#pathfinder #pf2e #kitsune #extinction curse #character backstory #ai artwork #original character

4 notes · View notes

impunkster-syndrome · 7 months

Note

hi wait

I wrote out all the stuff I remember about pluralhub's cult-like behaviors

if you're comfy with it can you PLEASE elaborate because while i sort of just. joined and then let it sit in my serverslist, id like to leave immediately if theres shit like THAT going on there

thank you regardless of whether you end up elaborating or not!

It was mostly me doing this for a server I am on that is not affiliated. I recognized a few members from The Garden and we started talking about it.

I want to add as a disclaimer that many groups will have these traits to a lesser degree. What matters is the impact and reason for doing so. I do think that people do not always set out to create controlling groups, but they can become harmful over time.

I took all criteria from this link right here, so refer to that as I go down the list.

Using this to take a look at pluralhub, and here's what I see:

Behavior control-

12 - Which I think is fair to say is pretty common with how for example the theory of structural dissociation was immediately considered "not how systems work" when it may apply for some because of the guy behind it. In that environment, it was really a "You have to believe the same as everyone else" kind of thing.

13 - Really applies to the "All anti-endos are inherently malicious and out to get you" mentality. This lead to stuff like people who even were friendly to anti-endos getting regarded with scorn.

Information control-

1 - Since a lot of resources were misrepresented and even criticism was intentionally misrepresented. Stereotyping of DID and how much amnesia and what types were enough to count.

2 - Is a big one. There were a handful of known resources widely shared and people were often discouraged from other perspectives. SophieInWonderland was a big blog that was circulated that did often misrepresent critics as well.

4 - With how people are known to get banned for stuff in non-partnered servers.

5 - See one as well, sort of had a "Approved information" thing unofficially. It'd be the same reasons every time. The Harvard thoughtform study, the single bhuddist who said they don't find it appropriative, etc. The anti-endo who pointed out that "tulpa" language is culturally appropriative was discredited for being anti-endo and the points were never truly engaged with in a non-defensive way in the wider plural community as well.

6 - With sources and system information being used against people, like "problematic" fictives, the BeeFox situation (That one is a lot more complex but should have been handled better and not as public from what I know of it), the encouragement of spying and reporting non-hub activity to the hub for bans.

Thought control-

1 - In most spaces you have to prove you're good enough for hub rules and they at times require external socials as proof. The forms for verification can be intrusive.

2 - For things like pressuring "problematic" introjects to change or disavow their source, as well as anyone with memory barriers or amnesia being pushed to get a diagnosis despite the ableism that can come with that

3 - A lot of stereotyping to stop complex conversations, like how common DID stereotyping was.

4 - Questioning -genic stances frequently got you outcasted or sort of unofficially watched.

5 - I sort of count it? Encouraging of introjects of other server members, how quick people would hand over thoughtform resources, the meme that kept giving people new headmates by being an infohazard

6 - Staff are known to lie and misrepresent situations that make the hub look bad, Grey Skies' history of trying to shut down any criticism of the hub itself and the community

8 - Anything critical of the hub was mocked or ignored

9 - Same as 8

10 - Major problem with this and anti-endos. Anti-endos were made out to be either stupid or inherently in the wrong due to their stance, so any points were discarded as "Oh they're anti-endo." The community very frequently poisons the well to try to discredit anyone with different information or stances.

11 - Sort of? it was very centric on "we don't know much about the brain so anything can happen" and I do count that as being able to alter that perception.

Emotional control-

1 - Yes, so often. Any idea of "This person in-sys is causing too much harm and dormancy is not enough" is seen as bad as outerworld murder or if someone chooses to not exist anymore that is a bad thing.

3 - Problems with server atmosphere are always blamed on members

4 - Mostly in situations like 1 but also for not agreeing with server staff, not rejecting a "problematic" source, etc

5 - The "Anyone who is anti-endo is out to get you" idea, the spying, and how you would get cut off from all hub friends if you got banned and most will likely not contact you

6 - Actually happened with us multiple times, usually when someone's system doesn't function like other systems "should" or when questioning the norm

8 - You will lose all your friends and connections in the hub and for a while you were out of the plural community entirely due to how small syscord is. For the start, PH was the first known big hub with no competition until Multiplicity Database came around.

The Garden and high control of the hub in general practically traumatized us into not remembering that.

#the blackbox askbox #pluralgang #pluralpunk

3 notes · View notes

abigailzimmer · 1 year

Text

Favorite Reads of 2022

With how many books I loved this year (lots of poetry, speculative fiction, and writers reading other writers!), it’s interesting to see what really lingers with me. Some books, like Rebecca Lindenburg‘s are quiet but I always think of her list-poem of clouds when I look up at the sky. Fathoms wasn’t exactly a page turner and the long passages of statistics in Invisible Women made my eyes glaze over at times, yet I go on thinking about and sharing what I’ve learned from them. Olivia Cronk and m. forajter are friends and encountering their voices again on the page was the most special kind of reading experience. The first six books on this list were particularly unexpected and inventive in how they played with form. Here’s a little more of why I loved each of them:

1. I simply adored Dear Sal, a poem/play/poem/epistolary by Jeremy Radin (published by Not a Cult) about love, longing, and home. With its backdrop of war and the Jewish diaspora, theatrical feel, and love story, plus a fabulist cast of characters, Dear Sal reminds me of Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic in all the best ways. Abacus, “the letter-composing klutz,” writes to Sal, “the stubborn beloved,” a year after their brief affair, and the others chime in—in sympathy, distraction, or encouragement that he once again find “stars and the beginning of your darlingsong” (my favorite line, right up there with “the animal of my solitude.”) The letters to Sal are my favorite parts but also delightful are the distinct voices of each of the personae poems, as in this one from his pants:

“But o you bleary

and bumbling thing!

O you brimming

and bumbling marvel!

What is all this [he indicates my bumbling]

but proof

that all this [he indicates the mysteries]

is working?”

2. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado is a tough and exquisitely told story. A memoir of a psychologically and emotionally abusive queer relationship, told at a slant, through the tropes and genres of other stories—spy thrillers, creature features, stories of wrong lessons, omens, natural disasters, and deja vu. Through her story, she also explores the general disbelief of abuse in queer relationships, the desire to “put our best foot forward” in the community, and the subsequent need for marginalized communities to be accepted in all their humanity—acknowledging the good and the bad. Again, it’s a tough read, but also incredibly moving and I loved the path she found to write about the unspeakable.

3. Interrogating the Eye by m. forajter (Schism Press) is a journey in understanding what images represent—a witness, an annunciation, a leakage, a thinking of the future, the self (“boring!”). Under the influence of Kurt Cobain, roses gifted by Bhanu Kapil, and medieval art, forajter writes with and on depression in a world that is polluted, sick, and full of passion. How do you return to making art when your relationship to yourself has changed, and where is “a steady hand … to no longer think in pieces”? Forajter looks and looks, and her looking grows into a kind of ownership and replenishing desire. It’s a heartfelt and exciting read.

“tuned towards the void/tuned towards myself // and yet, the sneakiness of vision. the sun that touches. the multiplicity of light. this is a vision made velvet.”

4. Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda, translated by Polly Barton is a special kind of ghost story collection. Inspired by Japanese folktales, Matsuda’s stories feature a woman’s lover who, fished out of a river, appears every night in need of a bath; a son grieves his mother too much and to her annoyance; two saleswomen are eerily successful in getting people to buy their lanterns; and a ghost who died counting plates counts them again in her new form. These stories feature clever and thoughtful women with expanding ambitions and selves, exercising their very special talents alongside the living. This was so unexpected in style and voice and utterly delightful!

5. In two long poems, Olivia Cronk takes us into a wild, performative space in Womonster (Tarpaulin Sky). Scenes are blocked for the stage, our characters lounge on beds paging through magazines, and the narrative is frequently interrupted by a interrogator asking the speaker if they know what they’re doing. Through a deep attention to childhood and adult desires, fashion (“I understand the game is played in costume”), and the emotions we “parade in language,” she examines the many selves we carry from one era of our lives to another and one space to another:

“everything leaks / from home / and like it’s coming right into my purse like I packed it in the morning with my lunch”

The theater of home life is re-created on the page as both a control space to practice living in the speaker’s preferred conditions (“I cannot bear / domestic re-order”) and a purely play space rejecting convention and seeing everything anew (“the impossibility of the stairs meeting us is like a play”). It’s a thrilling, soap opera of a read, one to keep you on your toes and full of possibilities that only Olivia can create.

6. In The Trees Witness Everything, Victoria Chang (Copper Canyon Press) herself two very interesting constraints: a response to a poem title by W.S. Merwin and the form of a Japanese syllabic poem. The short poems (on memory and time, how we move through the day, how we look up and the birds we see when we do, and sadness, meditations which always seem to move together) are simple and powerful, giving so much space to sit with in the hard moments and delight in the small moments. I like that Chang writes mostly from a realist perspective, slipping occasionally into the surreal. And among the moon. Poets and their moons and the birds—I’ll never tire.

“There is a bird and a stone

in your body.

Your job is not

to kill the bird with the stone.”

7. The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio is a moving picture of both the large and everyday challenges that undocumented people face. Through interviews and her personal experience, Karla raises the issues of what being undocumented means for access to health care—the networks of healers and solutions that spring up in its absence and the challenge in caring for aging parents, which particularly struck home. She writes how because of the need for work, undocumented people are often the first responders in crises and natural disasters, as in the case of 9/11 clean up efforts, but do so with a high risk of exploitation (to their health and to getting paid) and few means of advocacy. And she shares stories of people living in sanctuary, its indefinite state and challenges and its affects on families. In her introduction, she writes that she approached the interviews not with a journalistic focus but in the spirit of translation, particularly of poetry, to convey her subjects with the warmth, humor, wit, weirdness, and annoying traits they had, to make them more than workers or legal terms, to make them human. A necessary read and so much to think about what and how we can change our systems. One heartbreaking passage that has stuck with me is of the long-term effects of generations of kids being separated from their families:

“Researchers have shown that the flooding of stress hormones resulting from a traumatic separation from your parents at a young age kills off many dendrites and neurons in the brain that results in permanent psychological and physical changes. One psychiatrist I went to told me my brain looked like a tree without branches. So I just think about all of the children who have been separated from their parents, and there’s a lot of us, past and present, and some under more traumatic circumstances than others—like those who are in internment camps right now—and I just imagine us as an army of mutants. We’ve all been touched by this monster, and our brains are forever changed, and we all have trees without branches in there, and what will happen to us? Who will we become? Who will take care of us?”

8. Invisible Bias: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men is a book that is somehow both obvious and illuminating and also vindicating and incredibly frustrating for women to read. Caroline Criado Perez explores the places where we lack gender-specific data for everything from the unexpected planning of snow plow routes to creating clean-energy stoves to filing joint taxes. Some of this women just know intuitively: office spaces are too cold, seat belts are uncomfortable, iPhones rarely fit in pockets or hands, and gosh we do lots of unpaid labor. But it’s fascinating and affirming to see how these standards come about and how they might easily change once we gather the appropriate data and include people in the communities that a product/medicine/service serves to be part of the planning and feedback processes.

9. This year I read two collections by Rebecca Lindenburg, whose work is quiet and yet has loomed large in my mind. The Logan Notebooks (Center for Literary Publishing) in particular is a listy kind of book, in the spirit of Sei Shōnagon’s Pillow Book, a consideration of what makes a poetic subject. Lindenberg’s poems are gatherings on the topics of trees, mountains, insects, winds. On things that matter and things that have lost their power. Set in many kinds of wests, but mostly Utah, Lindenberg chronicles dailyness, the beautiful and impossible things that happen and also the things that are simply there. It’s an easy, meditative book to fall into, and one that grows in loveliness the longer you sit with it.

10. And finally, Rebecca Giggs' Fathoms: The World in a Whale was a dense and slow read and at times a little boring and yet these reasons are part of why it’s stuck with me for so long. The book focuses broadly on humans’ history with and impact on whales, partly in how our trash affects them (one whale was found with a whole greenhouse in its stomach), but also our noise, our tourism, our exploration and excavation of the world, our attitudes toward experiencing nature. She writes that because of her research, “my entire definition of pollution demanded revision." Griggs advocates for a philosophy of conservation that goes beyond "saving the whales" to retaining the "possible contexts in which they can continue their unique behaviors." She writes:"How to care for unmet things would seem to be a key question of this political moment."

My favorite fact: Cow farts release carbon dioxide, but whale poop helps absorb it. Because of ocean pressure, they rise to shallower levels to poop—and the current of their poop stirs up organic matter, bringing it closer to the surface so that it photosynthesizes, accelerating plankton growth and absorbing CO 2. The last 200 years of whaling has significantly depleted whale populations, altering the air and earth's atmosphere. So restoring populations would mitigate climate change—as significantly as trees. (!!!)

8 notes · View notes

w1tchd3str0yer · 1 year

Note

What I found on the 1rst page of Googgle about Greek names for planets.

Astra Planeta (Αστρα Πλανητα / Astra Planêta); "Wandering Stars", "Planets" the Stellae Errantae)

//In Greco-Roman Classical Mythology, the Astra Planeta are brothers, and are five of Eos' and Astraeus' children, along with the Anemoi and Astraea, personifying the Classical planets (minus the Sun and the Moon (Eos' siblings), and the Earth (Gaia)). Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not included, as they are invisible to the naked eye and were thus unknown to the ancient Hellenic peoples. //

There is an interesting thing that you should know to understand why I include this information here. In my research on Boiling Isles, there was some kind of celestial war between "Titans" and "Star people" deityies. Both sides have a religeous cults dedicated to them. Most of the followers are witches.

Since witches that steal human teeth are from Mars then it means they serve "star people" and therefore the "Titans" cult is their opposite. Maybe we could find some temporary alligment with "tolerable" witches that oppose this sky alien race. (But the Titan look like litteral Satan so that is questionable.)

Mercury

// Original name is stilbon (Στίλβων). In the ancient Greek religion it is the sky god of Hermaon and one of the Astra Planeta. The word, Stilbon, means shining. //

The name sounds like "stillborn" missing "l" and "r". Maybe we could get a date out of this.. L = 12 (!!!), R = 18. I have 0 ideas.

Venus

// Hesperus (/ˈhɛspərəs/; Ἕσπερος, Hésperos) is the Evening Star, the planet Venus in the evening. Hesperus' Roman equivalent is Vesper ("evening", "supper", "evening star", "west"). Also called Εωσφόρος / Φωσφορος //

Dont see anything in particular yet.. I see only "Herpies" and "Hes-per-us" aka "He is per us"

Mars

//Pyroeis (Πυρόεις) in ancient Greek religion is the god of the wandering star (Aster Planetos / Astra Planeta) Areios. He is also known as Mesonyx (Μεσονυξ; "midnight").//

Bonus: I see Me-sony-x hidden message. The company is definetly connected to demons-! Maybe it is the one sending the teeth on Mars using teleportation tech. Or magic even.

Saturn

// Phaethon (Φαέθων), means "radiant" (from the verb φαέθω, meaning "to shine"). This name could be understood as, "the shining/radiant (one)". Ultimately the word derives from φάος, phaos, the Greek word for light. Phaethon, also spelled Phaëthon. //

I think the easiest connection we can find is to Photons.. but the truth cant be that overly simple. Phaos sounds like chaos, Phaethon sounds like Python (Pythonidae). So what I am taking from this is that Saturn is a capital for Lisard people Empire. And they could be behind the egyptian pyramids. Probably they hyde a good amount of radiation inside of them, that was prodused by the mummies.

--Your №1 Fan

BUT OF COURSE......... IT ALL MAKES SENSE.

THIS WHOLE TIME. THE ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM HAS BEEN APART OF THIS.

NASA IS LYING TO US AND THIS IS OUR PROOF.

You're absolutely right. Of course, the rings on saturn are the roads satelliates for communication from lizards to demons.

The pyramids... the radiation.... mummy energy... WE'RE CRACKIN THIS THING WIDE OPEN.

#ask #ooc tags #I READ THIS WHOLE FUCKING THING BTW #anon ask #n1 anon

4 notes · View notes

howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 1 year

Text

Sun Myung Moon: Prophet for Profit (1976)

▲ Here is the self-ordained Reverend Moon as he spoke behind a bullet-proof screen in New York’s Madison Square Garden at a 1974 rally. He preached love while thousands of his followers were in the streets collecting money.

Parade magazine, May 30, 1976 pages 6-7 (also Day of Hope 3-2c.pdf)

by L. H. Whittemore

NEW YORK, N.Y. Next Tuesday night (June 1, 1976) in Yankee Stadium a pudgy, round-faced, 56-year-old evangelist from South Korea will launch his greatest effort to date to convince Americans that he has been chosen to lead us all to salvation.

The preacher is the self-ordained Rev. Sun Myung Moon who, since coming to this country, has added thousands of young Americans to his global army of followers, amassed a fortune that includes at least $50 million in property, publicly embraced a President of the United States—and been accused of brainwashing, misleading and virtually enslaving his converts. Moon’s Yankee Stadium rally kicks off a national tour he calls the “Bicentennial God Bless America Festival.”

To his followers, who are often called “Moon Children” or “Moonies,” the persuasive Moon is “the third Adam, the next Jesus Christ, and the true parent of mankind”—a new Messiah who will, in the not too distant future rule the world.

To many concerned American parents, however, he is a false prophet who has lured their children into his “Unification Church” by appealing to their idealistic instincts and then cuts them off from their families and sets them to work peddling, recruiting and raising money for him and his worldwide organization.

One Moonie who managed to escape from the movement is Ford Greene, 23-year-old godson of Sen. James Buckley (R.-Cons., N.Y.). Like thousands of others, Greene was hooked by attending a weekend workshop that was never outwardly identified as being part of the Moon organization, which has set up several front groups bearing names like the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles, [CARP on College Campuses] and the Creative Community Project [in the Bay Area]. Most are run by Moon followers brought from other countries to do recruiting here.

‘Love-bombed’ Says Greene: “Anyone who goes for the weekend introductory program gets ‘love-bombed.’ That means all the Moonies are super-friendly. They say how glad they are to see you. Everyone laughs and sings and has a good time. I tell you, it’s quite a trip.

“They tell you the Messiah is now here on Earth, and they, hint very strongly that it’s Moon. After listening to hours of lectures and never having a chance to think things over for yourself, you’re ready to believe.”

According to Jean Merritt, a psychiatric social worker in Lincoln, Mass., those who join up with Moon “are usually idealistic young men and women who are having difficulty deciding what to do with their lives.” The cult offers an attractive alternative to the outside world, she says. But at the same time their “ego functioning is manipulated” by the group until they are “mentally imprisoned.”

What is it that Moon followers are supposed to believe? Although Moon calls himself a Christian, he holds that Christ failed in his mission on Earth. In Korea, Moon was dismissed as a Presbyterian in 1948.

[He was excommunicated by the Presbyterian Church, and jailed in Heungnam Special Labor Camp for bigamy in 1948. The husband of Kim Chong-hwa reported him to the authorities for conducting a wedding ceremy with his wife. He was never a spy for South Korea or a political prisoner. That was a UC smokescreen. Moon’s friends were communists and he had chosen to enter communist North Korea in 1946.] Since then he has evolved his own religious concepts, including the assertion that “America has been chosen as the nation to receive the Messiah for ultimate world salvation in our century.”

Moon, who delivers his public exhortations in Korean with an interpreter translating his words into English, asserts that God works through nations, as does Satan. America, being “God’s nation,” must be prepared to do battle for the Lord against the Soviet Union, Communist China and North Korea. The only way to win such a global confrontation, he indicates, is to join the Unification Church before it’s too late —both God and Moon are losing their patience.

[Moon only became anti-communist in the early 1960s to save his skin in South Korea. Later he gave $millions, and submarines, with missile launch tubes to North Korea. LINK.]

“Kings and queens and heads of state will someday bow at my feet,” Moon has told his followers. “I will conquer and subjugate the world.”

The Korean link There is a link between Moon and the South Korean government. President Chung Hee Park not only gives Moon his open support but sends thousands of civil servants to an anti-Communist school [in Guri] run by the Unification sect. Moon’s chief associate is Col. Bo Hi Pak, who was a military attaché for the South Korean government in Washington, D.C., from 1961 to 1964. Pak has also been associated with the Korean CIA. LINK

Whatever Moon’s beliefs and principles may be, there’s no doubt that he has been able to turn them into hard cash. Although he claims to have between 2 and 3 million followers in 100 countries, principally Japan and South Korea, it’s the United States that has really turned out to be a money machine for him. [The money from Japan should never be underestimated. LINK ]

“In 1975,” reports Neil Salonen, 31, president of the American branch of the Unification Church, “we received nearly $12 million in cash at our national headquarters in New York City. But the total collected all over the country was much larger.”

Moon and his movement have purchased $10 million worth of property in Tarrytown, N.Y., near the Hudson River, not to mention real estate in more than 100 cities and in every state. Minimum total value is put at $50 million. To acquire his 22-acre Belvedere estate in Tarrytown, Moon plunked down $850,000 in cash. He also paid $625,000 for a mansion in nearby Irvington, N.Y., where he lives with his fourth wife and their eight children. The cult also owns a 254-acre estate and seminary in Barrytown, N.Y., about 50 miles north of Tarrytown, which is said to be worth $1.5 million. The seminary is the unofficial world headquarters for the Unification Church, whose spiritual home remains in Seoul, the South Korean capital. Moon also is the proprietor of two seagoing yachts and a Manhattan town house. His wealth has helped create a high-powered propaganda machine that would turn a Presidential candidate green with envy.

A numbing regimen According to those who have managed to break loose from the cult, it has also created near prison-like conditions for the true believers.

Moonies live in homes rented or purchased by the Unification Church. According to Salonen, there are at least six “training” or “residential” centers in each state, some with just a few members and others with up to 100. Members are ordered to refrain from alcohol and sex. Men and women are separated in the living quarters and even close friendships are discouraged.

Former members of the cult insist that they never got more than five hours of sleep a night. Moonies, they report, are kept busy with a regimen of exercise, group discussion, lectures, songs and prayers, games like tag [and volleyball] and, of course, long stretches of recruiting and peddling in the outside world. Beneath an exterior of cheerfulness, they are often tired, hungry and even numb, performing their tasks with only the thought that they are “saving the world for God and Moon” to keep them going.

▲ Jaime Sheeran in her room at a Moon seminary. She’s one of three daughters of New Jersey Insurance Commissioner James Sheeran. She won’t quit the cult.

The typical Moonie The typical Moon disciple in the U.S. is a man or a woman, average age 23, from a white, upper-middle-class family. Many are college students disenchanted with American life. Most are carried away by the initial workshop experience, and then find that they’re being put through increasingly lengthy training sessions.

“We’d get letters every week or so,” says Mrs. George Swope of Port Chester, N.Y., referring to the time when her 19-year-old daughter suddenly dropped out of college after one of the cult’s weekends. “She wrote how ‘happy’ she was but that she couldn’t come home. And she never did come home either, until we got her out.”

Her daughter, Winnie, left after six months, but only after being “rescued” by Ted Patrick, 45, the best-known practitioner of “deprogramming”—a rigorous technique of talking it out. Patrick is nicknamed “Black Lightning” by the Moon followers, both for the color of his skin and for his swift appearance in their lives. He claims to have “rescued” more than 1000 members of various cults, all of which, he says, use some sort of “brainwashing.”

In a recent book called Let Our Children Go, Patrick accuses the Unification group of “brainwashing” methods like those used in the Korean war, “when many of our prisoners were subjected to intensive political indoctrination.”

Virtually all former Moonies say that they were “programmed” to think and behave in a certain manner. “My daughter said that she and others would be willing to do anything for Moon,” says Mrs. Swope, “because he really represents God to those in the cult.”

“They completely ripped off my mind and my free will,” says Denise Peskin, 21, of Plainview, N.Y. “I was a robot for Moon. My mind was empty. It was just a reflector of everything they told me.”

‘Eyes out of focus’ Denise says that she worked in San Francisco selling flowers and recruiting new members on the streets. “We were told to say anything to get money,” she reports. “I pushed flowers for ‘youth educational guidance’ and did very well. I also got 50 recruits.”

One of Moon’s most ardent foes, Rabbi Maurice Davis of White Plains, N.Y., says he and a group of 900 concerned families have helped at least 95 Moonies out of the cult. “At first,” he says, “the kids have their eyes out of focus, with plastic smiles on their faces. There’s a total lack of genuine emotion. One boy saw me and actually shriveled into a corner in stark terror. He said the cult had told him I was the Devil. I kept talking to him, trying to get him to think for himself again. He said, ‘Moon is fighting for my soul and so are you. How do I know where the truth is?’ I told him, ‘Moon wants you to stay in his organization. I want you out in the world, free.’ When he finally snapped out of it, he broke into tears and said, ‘Just tell me one thing—where have I been?’ It was frightening.”

Meanwhile, thousands of Moonies work unbelievably long hours soliciting funds and peddling candy, peanuts, flowers and the like, on street corners and in parking lots. Former members say they lost all track of time and that they collected no less than $100 a day.

Since April 1973, Moon has had a permanent residency visa from U.S. immigration, even though questions have been raised about his past. He has been accused of holding sex orgies as part of his rites. A spokesman for him in Seoul says: “It is true that Teacher Moon was tried on morals charges, but he was eventually acquitted.”

‘God loves Nixon’ In 1973, during the Watergate crisis, Moon launched a huge campaign in support of President Nixon. He marshaled 1000 Moonies into rallies and marches with signs proclaiming “God Loves Nixon.” At a White House meeting, the pudgy cult leader embraced the then President.

One of the few public responses to Moon by a prominent politician has come from Sen. Mark Hatfield (R., Oreg.), who said in 1974, “The appeal to nationalism of any country, as if somehow God has favorites among his creatures, is very, very dangerous, particularly when you mix that with the cultic adulation and devotion of his followers and the implicit, if not the explicit, statement that he [Moon] is the new Christ.”

Hatfield’s warning is echoed even more strongly by ex-Moonies who charge that Moon is really seeking world political power and is assembling an army of young zealots ready to die for him.

PARADE interviewed a former high-ranking member of Moon’s cult in the United States who had been in charge of its “political arm” called the Freedom Leadership Foundation. Alan Tate Wood, 29, now a psychology student at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said that he left Moon’s group “because it’s not a church, but a fascist political movement. His group is the most powerful analogue to the Hitler youth that we have at this time.”

The parents act Last February, more than 300 parents of Moon disciples from 30 states converged on Washington for a meeting arranged by Sen. Robert Dole (R., Kan.). They met with representatives of the Internal Revenue Service, the Labor Department, the Postal Service, immigration authorities and others in hopes of persuading federal officials to investigate the Unification cult.

So far, however, there has been little action by the government. An IRS spokesman, Leon Levine, told PARADE that investigation of Moon’s group as a tax-exempt organization poses a touchy, perhaps crucial problem: “The law says that churches are tax-exempt. The question is, when does a group qualify as a religion? It’s not easy to answer.”

Meanwhile, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon goes right on holding meetings, making converts, acquiring property and preparing for his own version of Armageddon.

_____________________________________

Ford Greene – the former Moonie became an attorney

Moonwebs by Josh Freed (the book was made into a movie)

The six ‘wives’ of Sun Myung Moon

Crazy for God: The nightmare of cult life by Christopher Edwards

After Sun Myung Moon’s help, North Korea Launch an SLBM Missile on October 2, 2019

#Sun Myung Moon #Yankee Stadium #Unification Church #Korean messiah #Family Federation for World Peace and Unification #Hak Ja Han

3 notes · View notes

commaclear · 1 year

Note

warning: isnabity

Oh Q oh poor poor poor q 😭 what's that 1 quote "always the bridesmaid but never the bride?" well FUCK that q's always on the sidelines always being supportive but never the one having his moment to live life and be cared for and he IMMEDIATELY went to caring so much abt Wil like any of his family members or patients once he learned of Wil's "upbringing in a cult".

maybe he's more like a ghost than a ghosthunter bc I feel like he'd be the type of kid who would never make any scene or ask for anything in his youth bc he felt like his parents were burdened enough looking after his mother to the point that he wouldn't ask to go out to any festivals or anything that could complicate his parents' lives and would just stay in his room trying to do good with his studies and find a different kind of positivity in his life thru books and the internet in his own little world, while he just hoped his mom and other family members were doing alright.

look at how quick he was to say he understands if Wilbur doesn't want to be around him anymore!! he thinks he's a burden! He's ready to disappear from Wilbur's life if that's what Wilbur wants or even if Wilbur doesn't want that he's probably got the conviction to do it anyway if Tammy says it's what Wil needs.

I think, ultimately, q feels powerless. he felt powerless to do anything for his mom, he works in the hospice for people who are beyond saving but still need comfort, he runs a ghost hunting youtube channel where he probably never got an even slightly convincing ghost event before Wil came along, but he's still such a kind and generous person who probably did all he could to support his mom, is clearly VERY passionate about his hospice job, and who always jumps at every single opportunity he gets to get even a SLIVER of proof that Ghosts exist and that he could communicate with them to the point that he almost got himself killed in like chapter 2. He donates to homeless ppl on the streets that he can't help get a job and a roof to live under but can hopefully help eat one meal.

he was terrified that Wilbur regretted trying to hook up with him but decided to go to his apartment anyways to see if he was okay, nevermind if he's absolutely humiliated and gets his heart broken by being kicked out of the apartment and yelled at in the hallway by Wilbur when he says never wants to see him again. he never had a chance to have selfish want growing up and now he's fallen for a Demon that he'll have to break his own heart to protect because he'd still never consciously try to harm him even if that's what Wil wants and even if a demon more than anyone else would understand and not hold it against him to be selfish bc ultimately he feels powerless but instead of giving in to his hereditary depression he feels like he needs to continue fighting this battle he can't win, pushing the Boulder up the hill, and trying to be as worthwhile and impactful of a person as he can for the sake of his friends, his family, and the world by putting others first and making it his midsion to help others until his body finally fails him.

WAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHH

- cooler wuacjity apologist anon

Well damn, looks like qaa has some sharp competition bc this is a top-tier analysis

And accurate, I might add. Yes, it's been like 15 chapters, but I've finally gotten to reveal why this Quackity is so wonderfully tragic

I love him

#anons my beloved #the cooler qaa #and they were ghosthunters

4 notes · View notes

randosyscourseblog848 · 2 years

Text

I find the sysmed argument of "we can't have studies that solidly prove our point because we would have to traumatize children for science"... odd.

How would exposing children to trauma prove that plurality can only develop through trauma? At most, it would prove only that plurality CAN be caused by trauma, which was never up for debate.

A much better indicator would be to have several trials where a LARGE sample of young children were randomly selected, and continuously provided therapy or interviews through to adulthood. The correlation between traumatic events and presentation of plurality-indicating symptoms would be written down. Of course, this method would still be DEEPLY flawed- even aside from the obvious moral implications of simply observing a child that may be undergoing trauma, even if it's something like a natural disaster or medical trauma, there would be massive issues with parental interference and participant retention.

It's an argument designed to appeal to the emotions and shut down the burden of proof. "X can only be caused by Y" is a flawed claim on the face of it and this is the argument they use to obscure that. Absolutes do not hold up under scrutiny.

Additionally, this is often tossed out when people point out the vague language used in the DSM-V in relation to DID and OSDD-1. However, we already have an example of a dissociative disorder that is attributed to a specific cause, and the language they use to communicate that. OSDD-2 and OSDD-3 are attributed to "prolonged and intense coercive persuasion" and "reactions to stressful events" respectively. For OSDD-2, instead of describing the disorder first and stating that it is associated with certain causes, it states that

Individuals who have been subjected to intense coercive persuasion (e.g., brainwashing, thought reform, indoctrination while captive, torture, long-term political imprisonment, recruitment by sects/cults or by terror organizations) may present with prolonged changes in, or conscious questioning of, their identity.

It specifies the circumstances that cause it first, centering that. The wording used in the DSM-V is very, very deliberate. Did they expose people to brainwashing and torture in order to determine this? Of course not. It is a direct and conscious choice to attribute this label to a trauma cause, and one with specific parameters at that. It does not say "some presentations of this disorder happen in people who experience X", it says "some people who experience X will develop this", and that is a very important distinction.

It is not conclusive, it is not 'scientifically proven'. If the scientific consensus of the DSM-V believed that disordered presentations of multiplicity could only form in response to intense, repeated childhood trauma before a certain age, it would have said so.

---

Note: this post is setting aside nondisordered plurality for now, as this is focusing on the language used in the DSM for DID and OSDD-1. It should be noted that there is zero support for the idea that DID and OSDD-1 are the only manifestations of 'multiple people living in one head', but this has already been addressed a lot by other syscoursers.

#🔼#we are. so tired #scientific literacy is extremely important when you're making absolutist claims about the ENTIRETY OF THE PSYCHOLOGY FIELD

6 notes · View notes

hearth-and-veil · 2 years

Text

Handling Magical Liars

There are many, many people in magical communities who will lie about their abilities for gain. Whether it's money, status, or just awe, they want something from you. Try not to give it to them.

Please keep in mind that not everyone is a liar; some people just suck at communication. Some people are just assholes. However, these are typically some good indicators that someone is full of shit.

1. They're self-aggrandizing. Actions speak louder than words. People with real power and skill don't have to talk constantly about how great they are.

2. They blame you if you can't tell how powerful they are. Anybody who puts the burden of proof on you to know that they're ✨️special✨️ isn't. Just like all people who run around bragging about being special, different, quirky, unique... and they're actually basic af. Same here.

If someone is claiming to be powerful, but gets mad that you can't feel their power, and tries to blame it on you being weak/inexperienced/stupid/etc, they're not. Anyone truly powerful can demonstrate.

3. They claim to be more than human. If someone is trying to tell you that they're a god, a demi god, a spirit, an elf, an alien, a primordial, etc., they are completely full of shit. Worse than just being full of shit, they also think you're stupid or they wouldn't be trying to get you to play along.

4. Your intuition says something is off. Trust your intuition. Intuition is a primal, magical part of us. Allow it to help you.

5. They can make you powerful too, but only if you join their cult super special secret ancient tradition conveniently passed down without notice (or documentation) for thousands of years. All you have to do is pay them or serve them. Interesting how that works.

Still not sure? That's ok. Some liars are quite good at it. Some are using magic to influence you. Here's some steps to take to be sure.

1. Ask. Ask a trusted member of your community. Ask me. Hell, ask them. Some people will cop to their bullshit to save face when they're caught.

2. Play along for a while, providing false information. If they go along with your lies, you know they're definitely lying. I use this a lot with psychics and mediums. Oh my Grandpa Mort, who lost an arm in Normandy, is trying to warn me about a curse that you can lift for $500? Interesting. I don't have a Grandpa Mort. None of my family was in the European theater. None of my grandpas are amputees. Also, my immediate grandparents were all born after WWII.

3. Laugh. I'm not kidding. When someone makes some insane claim, just laugh. Their reaction will tell you a lot. If they insist, it probably isn't true. If they laugh too, or back off, or say they understand your skepticism, or something like that, they could still be lying but I would be a bit more favorably inclined towards them.

4. Tell them to prove it. They'll either flounder or argue. Don't let people bullshit you with talk about faith, or witchcraft not being evidence based. Substantiate or suffocate.

You've determined they're lying. Now what?

1. Ignore them. You are under no obligations here. Quoth Cardi B: If I see you and I don't speak, that means I don't fuck with you.

2. Don't ignore them, but ignore their nonsense. Ok, not everybody is quite as good as me at pretending entire people don't exist, especially when they stand in your presence. It's a learned skill. So still be nice to that person, and just pretend they never said anything so stupid.

3. Flat out tell them you don't believe it. My typical response, if any, is the good ole "Yeah, no." One thing: don't apologize or equivocate. You don't owe them your belief, and you have nothing to be sorry for.

4. Leave. If they won't stop bothering you, or they make you feel unsafe, remove yourself from the situation.

5. Warn others. You don't have to drag the liar, but if you know other members of the community, give them a heads up. It's only polite.

Warning: some people believe their bullshit. That doesn't mean it's true, but people get caught up in their own hype. People who really believe what they're saying can be dangerous if corrected. Nobody likes their delusions challenged. Be careful, be safe. Sometimes the best thing to do is walk away.

#witchblr #witchcraft #witch #baby witch #witch advice #witch tips

4 notes · View notes

omniishambles · 2 years

Photo

Saros Scattergood : Stranger Things AU

Aged 12-15 from Season 1 to Season 4.

Once called Meredith Sawyer, taken away from her single Mom, age 6.

Branded as no 18 at Hawkins Laboratories.

Escaped the lab age 11, picked up by cult leader Sanderson Scattergood. She spent the majority of season 1 living at Sanderson’s commune on the outskirts of Hawkins.

Renamed Saros, an adopted daughter and ‘proof’ of Celestial existence.

During season 2, Saros escaped the cult and began living in Hawkins with an adoptive family. She starts to attend Hawkins Middle/High School.

The saros is a period of exactly 223 synodic months, approximately 6585.3211 days, or 18 years, 10, 11, or 12 days (depending on the number of leap years), and 8 hours, that can be used to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon.

Anti Vecna Song : Chiquitita by ABBA

#saros aes #c edit #I'll figure things out as I go along for this one but the verse basically starts around season 1 #saros ; stranger things v

3 notes · View notes

brainanalyse · 9 days

Text

Exploring Synonyms for Brainwashing

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Understanding Brainwashing 3. Exploring Synonyms 4. Unveiling Coercion 5. Analyzing Manipulation 6. Delving into Indoctrination 7. Examining Persuasion 8. Investigating Mind Control 9. Recognizing Propaganda 10. Reflecting on Thought Reform 11. Consequences of Psychological Warfare 12. Conclusion 13. FAQs

1. Introduction

What is the power of words? How do they shape our thoughts beliefs and actions These questions lie at the heart of our exploration into synonyms for ‘brainwashing.’ As we navigate through the labyrinth of language we’ll uncover the various terms used to describe the subtle art of persuasion and manipulation.

2. Understanding Brainwashing

Definition: Brainwashing also known as thought reform or coercive persuasion refers to the systematic manipulation of an individual’s beliefs and behaviors. Origins: The term gained prominence during the Korean War in the 1950s stemming from reports of communist tactics used on prisoners of war. Characteristics: Brainwashing often involves isolation control of information and intense indoctrination techniques.

3. Exploring Synonyms

Influence: Synonymous with persuasion influence encompasses the ability to sway someone’s opinions or decisions. Impact: Influence can be subtle or overt ranging from subtle suggestions to direct commands. Examples: Advertising, peer pressure and charismatic leadership are all forms of influence.

4. Unveiling Coercion

Coercion: Unlike influence coercion involves the use of force or threats to compel someone to act against their will. Tactics: Coercive tactics may include blackmail intimidation or physical violence. Ethical Concerns: Coercion raises ethical questions regarding consent and autonomy.

5. Analyzing Manipulation

Manipulation: Manipulation involves skillful and deceptive tactics to control or influence others. Subtlety: Manipulative techniques often operate under the radar exploiting cognitive biases and emotions. Psychological Impact: Manipulation can erode trust and undermine individual agency.

6. Delving into Indoctrination

Indoctrination: The process of instilling a set of beliefs or ideologies in an individual often through repetition and reinforcement. Group Dynamics: Indoctrination thrives in environments where conformity is rewarded and dissent is punished. Cultural Influence: Religious institutions political movements and extremist groups utilize indoctrination to maintain cohesion and control.

7. Examining Persuasion

Persuasion: Persuasion relies on logic, emotion and credibility to convince others of a particular viewpoint. Rhetorical Devices: Techniques such as storytelling, analogy and social proof enhance persuasive communication. Ethical Considerations: Effective persuasion respects the autonomy and agency of the individual.

8. Investigating Mind Control

Mind Control: A controversial term referring to the manipulation of an individual’s thoughts, emotions and behaviors. Cults and Sects: Mind control is often associated with fringe groups that exert extreme influence over their members. Debate: The concept of mind control raises debates about free will coercion and the role of social influence.

9. Recognizing Propaganda

Propaganda: Propaganda involves the dissemination of biased or misleading information to promote a particular agenda. Techniques: Propagandists use techniques such as censorship, distortion and repetition to shape public opinion. Historical Examples: Propaganda has played a significant role in shaping historical events and ideologies.

10. Reflecting on Thought Reform

Thought Reform: Also known as reeducation or ideological remolding, thought reform aims to change an individual’s beliefs and values. Totalitarian Regimes: Thought reform has been utilized by totalitarian regimes to suppress dissent and enforce conformity. Psychological Effects: Thought reform can result in cognitive dissonance, identity crisis, and emotional turmoil.

11. Consequences of Psychological Warfare

Psychological Warfare: Psychological warfare encompasses tactics aimed at influencing the beliefs, emotions and behaviors of adversaries. Long-term Effects: Psychological warfare can have lasting effects on individuals and societies, contributing to trauma and social unrest. Ethical Dilemmas: The use of psychological warfare raises ethical dilemmas regarding the use of manipulation and deception in conflict.

12. Conclusion

In our journey through the labyrinth of synonyms for ‘brainwashing we’ve uncovered the intricate web of persuasion, manipulation and influence. Words hold immense power capable of shaping our perceptions and guiding our actions. As we navigate through a world inundated with information and persuasion tactics let us remain vigilant and critical thinkers resilient against the subtle forces that seek to sway our minds.

13. FAQs

1. What are some warning signs of being manipulated? Common warning signs include feeling pressured or controlled, experiencing a loss of autonomy, and noticing inconsistencies in information or behavior.

2. How can I protect myself from manipulation? Stay informed, trust your instincts and critically evaluate information before accepting it. Building strong personal boundaries and seeking support from trusted individuals can also help protect against manipulation.

3. Is brainwashing the same as persuasion? While both involve influencing others brainwashing typically implies a more extreme form of manipulation often involving coercion, isolation and intense indoctrination techniques.

4. Can anyone be brainwashed? While susceptibility to brainwashing varies among individuals factors such as vulnerability social influence and environmental conditions can increase the likelihood of succumbing to manipulation.

5. How can I help someone who may be experiencing brainwashing? Offer support and encouragement encourage critical thinking and independent decision-making and provide access to credible information and resources. It may also be helpful to seek professional assistance from therapists or counselors specializing in coercive control and manipulation.

#brainwashing #brainwash synonyms #brainwash cleaning

0 notes