#control structure

[p4nishers]

one of the most important things terry pratchett has taught me is that it's okay to be angry. no one has ever said that to me before. he taught me that anger was an engine. that you can use that anger. that it goes hand in hand with love. he taught me to never underestimate my anger, because it's one of my strongest points. he taught me genuine anger was one of the world’s great creative forces. he taught me i shouldn't be fighting my anger, but what caused it. he himself said rage underlines everything he wrote. i never heard anger talked about so openly like that before and it's freeing, i suppose, to realize you are truly, truly not alone in your rage at the world. you never were.

#“Granny Weatherwax was often angry. She considered it one of her strong points. Genuine anger was one of the world’s great creative forces. #But you had to learn how to control it. That didn’t mean you let it trickle away. It meant you dammed it carefully #let it develop a working head let it drown whole valleys of the mind and then - just when the whole structure was about to collapse - #opened a tiny pipeline at the base and let the iron-hard stream of wrath power the turbines of revenge.“ #not a moment goes by that im not thinking of that quote #ill stop going on about anger and pterry i promise it's just that im angry all the time and he's the only thing that has helped so far and #you dont get over that sort of thing #gnu terry pratchett #discworld #terry pratchett

[aronarchy]

Why we don’t like it when children hit us back

To all the children who have ever been told to “respect” someone that hated them.

March 21, 2023

Even those of us that are disturbed by the thought of how widespread corporal punishment still is in all ranks of society are uncomfortable at the idea of a child defending themself using violence against their oppressors and abusers. A child who hits back proves that the adults “were right all along,” that their violence was justified. Even as they would cheer an adult victim for defending themself fiercely.

Even those “child rights advocates” imagine the right child victim as one who takes it without ever stopping to love “its” owners. Tear-stained and afraid, the child is too innocent to be hit in a guilt-free manner. No one likes to imagine the Brat as Victim—the child who does, according to adultist logic, deserve being hit, because they follow their desires, because they walk the world with their head high, because they talk back, because they are loud, because they are unapologetically here, and resistant to being cast in the role of guest of a world that is just not made for them.

If we are against corporal punishment, the brat is our gotcha, the proof that it is actually not that much of an injustice. The brat unsettles us, so much that the “bad seed” is a stock character in horror, a genre that is much permeated by the adult gaze (defined as “the way children are viewed, represented and portrayed by adults; and finally society’s conception of children and the way this is perpetuated within institutions, and inherent in all interactions with children”), where the adult fear for the subversion of the structures that keep children under control is very much represented.

It might be very well true that the Brat has something unnatural and sinister about them in this world, as they are at constant war with everything that has ever been created, since everything that has been created has been built with the purpose of subjugating them. This is why it feels unnatural to watch a child hitting back instead of cowering. We feel like it’s not right. We feel like history is staring back at us, and all the horror we felt at any rebel and wayward child who has ever lived, we are feeling right now for that reject of the construct of “childhood innocence.” The child who hits back is at such clash with our construction of childhood because we defined violence in all of its forms as the province of the adult, especially the adult in authority.

The adult has an explicit sanction by the state to do violence to the child, while the child has both a social and legal prohibition to even think of defending themself with their fists. Legislation such as “parent-child tort immunity” makes this clear. The adult’s designed place is as the one who hits, and has a right and even an encouragement to do so, the one who acts, as the person. The child’s designed place is as the one who gets hit, and has an obligation to accept that, as the one who suffers acts, as the object. When a child forcibly breaks out of their place, they are reversing the supposed “natural order” in a radical way.

This is why, for the youth liberationist, there should be nothing more beautiful to witness that the child who snaps. We have an unique horror for parricide, and a terrible indifference at the 450 children murdered every year by their parents in just the USA, without even mentioning all the indirect suicides caused by parental abuse. As a Psychology Today article about so-called “parricide” puts it:

Unlike adults who kill their parents, teenagers become parricide offenders when conditions in the home are intolerable but their alternatives are limited. Unlike adults, kids cannot simply leave. The law has made it a crime for young people to run away. Juveniles who commit parricide usually do consider running away, but many do not know any place where they can seek refuge. Those who do run are generally picked up and returned home, or go back on their own: Surviving on the streets is hardly a realistic alternative for youths with meager financial resources, limited education, and few skills.

By far, the severely abused child is the most frequently encountered type of offender. According to Paul Mones, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in defending adolescent parricide offenders, more than 90 percent have been abused by their parents. In-depth portraits of such youths have frequently shown that they killed because they could no longer tolerate conditions at home. These children were psychologically abused by one or both parents and often suffered physical, sexual, and verbal abuse as well—and witnessed it given to others in the household. They did not typically have histories of severe mental illness or of serious and extensive delinquent behavior. They were not criminally sophisticated. For them, the killings represented an act of desperation—the only way out of a family situation they could no longer endure.

- Heide, Why Kids Kill Parents, 1992.

Despite these being the most frequent conditions of “parricide,” it still brings unique disgust to think about it for most people. The sympathy extended to murdering parents is never extended even to the most desperate child, who chose to kill to not be killed. They chose to stop enduring silently, and that was their greatest crime; that is the crime of the child who hits back. Hell, children aren’t even supposed to talk back. They are not supposed to be anything but grateful for the miserable pieces of space that adults carve out in a world hostile to children for them to live following adult rules. It isn’t rare for children to notice the adult monopoly on violence and force when they interact with figures like teachers, and the way they use words like “respect.” In fact, this social dynamic has been noticed quite often:

Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority” and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person” and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay.

(https://soycrates.tumblr.com/post/115633137923/stimmyabby-sometimes-people-use-respect-to-mean)

But it has received almost no condemnation in the public eye. No voices have raised to contrast the adult monopoly on violence towards child bodies and child minds. No voices have raised to praise the child who hits back. Because they do deserve praise. Because the child who sets their foot down and says this belongs to me, even when it’s something like their own body that they are claiming, is committing one of the most serious crimes against adult society, who wants them dispossessed.

Sources:

“The Adult Gaze: a tool of control and oppression,” https://livingwithoutschool.com/2021/07/29/the-adult-gaze-a-tool-of-control-and-oppression

“Filicide,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filicide

#repost of someone else’s content #medium repost #Alba M. #purity culture #ageism #adultism #youth oppression #childism #child abuse #parental abuse #youth rights #youthlib #youth liberation #parricide #nuclear family abolition #anarchism #note: I would consider reevaluating the demonization of adults who kill their parents too #many victims remain entrapped well into adulthood #there are still a lot of issues of economic dependency and control especially for young adults #and I don’t think such a totalizing power imbalance engendered in childhood is so easily levelled #even if an adult does become financially independent #likewise for adult victims of intimate partner abuse: also structurally made difficult for them to leave #even if not criminalized to the same degree #anti-abuser aktion

[chasingfictions]

buffy the vampire slayer | 1x12 → 5x22

#btvsedit #my edit. #spuffygifs #slayerdaily #buffysource #usercande #usersez #userveronika #tuserjana #tvedit #buffysummeredit #it’s the way buffy is the one staring most intently at the master as though she can see what’s coming #it’s the way the other two staring at the master are jenny and angel who are the most steeped in doomedness #how the scoobies are looking at each other #how giles is just looking at buffy. and then he’s still looking at buffy again 4 years later #also thinking abt the transition from the school to the ruins of the tower #the controlled environment vs the revelation that society’s structures are flimsy and fabricated #and the school carries that specter too with its eventual explosion #SO MANY GHOSTS

[saionjeans]

on the subject of rgu and intelligence, i love how there really is no way to determine who the “smartest” character in utena is. like you can obviously identify who the most knowledgeable characters are, but it’s not a matter of “being intelligent,” it’s a matter of being privy to information. utena and miki are good at school, but they’re naive. juri and saionji are cynics who understand the limitations of the system, but nonetheless situate themselves within it because they lack the potential to imagine an alternative. nanami implicitly understands that something is distinctly wrong, and does try to extricate herself from the system, but she also doesn’t know that cowbells are for cows or that girls don’t lay eggs.

anthy is functionally the smartest character (among the children) because she’s always (at least) one step ahead of everyone else and understands the rules of her world, but she only truly becomes the “smartest” character once she leaves. because “intelligence” is arbitrary and constructed. it’s what you do with the information you’ve actually been presented with, how you respond to the events you’ve witnessed, that truly matters. and even then, knowing is only one side of the coin. nanami, saionji, juri, touga, akio, and anthy all logically understand how the system harms them as well as others. but the potential to imagine a better future is what is truly spectacular and groundbreaking—revolutionary, in fact—and that’s something utena and anthy achieve, not through the capacity of their minds, but through the strength of their hearts.

#u #analysis #manalysis #utena #anthy #miki #nanami #juri #saionji #touga #akio #and to be clear im not saying utena and anthy are uniquely capable of leaving #i think everyone has the capacity to leave!! that’s the point #like how nanami is hardly DUMB because she’s been denied information #she’s an abused child #the flow of information (within some kind of structure….. idk what you’d call that…..) is so so crucial to methods of control #again. it’s no coincidence that akio maintains a SCHOOL.

[ganondoodle]

(wip- rough concepts for the map layers etc for the totk rewritten/botw 2 project)

i hope its confusing enough with all three map layers plus some rough info all in one ngvfdjknvfdkjnvgkd

ultimately i want to take into consideration where towers and shrines where in botw to make use of that more directly, but this is a rough idea layout for all layers

(purple is underground, dark is sky islands, then theres the main map with the changes i got so far, main dungeons roughly marked- though they are varied in which layer they are- the settlements and the dragon paths- since i want all three dragons to fly in one map layer that matches their part of the trio)

not as interesting as the other concepts so far but it takes even more work than those to make this even if in a rough version so far

#ganondoodles #zelda #art #wip #ganondoodles rewrites totk #the structure over the castle is to mimic the pillars- similar strucutre is in the udnerground as well #since it was said that the main control unit for all the towers etv are below the castle #and since ganondorf is the power source of the main network #i thought it would make sense to have a unique structure for connecting everything as the most elaborate tech forming the core of it all #anyway- thats all for now #off to comic work again

[toonheartz]

trying to design wicked mickey and he just looks like the "i just drew a dark fucked up version of hamburger helper" meme 😭

he is DEFINITELY not ready for use

#gotta draw something ✏️ #mickey mouse #oswald the lucky rabbit #wicked mickey #struggling so hard with colors due to wearing more clothing #im thinking i might need to go back a step and figure out aesthetics bc its not very clear rn #LIKE TBF. he is edgier than disney's mickey #i have vague ideas i need to WRITE DOWN for once to structure better #also this isnt remote control au where im stumped there is like.........how DO you make a design for that #i forgot to write that down #also im sorry if red oswald is jarring 💔 #no id #ignore my cringe typography

[guiltyidealist]

It should be a criminal offense if an insurance company is responsible for a delay in a policyholder's necessary health care.

Withholding prescribed treatments, even for just a day, can be anywhere from inconvenient to catastrophic for the victim. Medical providers may not withhold necessary treatment from any patient on any grounds, as it is their duty to provide it-- it should be justly illegal for any "middle man" to interfere with a medical provider's legal and ethical obligation to treat a patient.

Severity of the charge and its legal consequences should depend upon the scope of the offense (length of delay) and its consequences to the victim (impact on the person).

The testimonies of the victim, the pharmacy, and the medical provider who prescribed the treatment should be key considerations for the determination. Additional important testimony should come from the victim's other medical providers, housemates, family, educators/mentors, colleagues/coworkers, or employers.

The charge should become criminal record for the company. The company (perhaps the agent's office) should be fined per day delayed.

Some taxation can be applied; just to pay off the folks who do the filing, advocacy, testimony, processing. A hefty majority of the fine should be compensation owed to the victim.

If delays became a criminal charge on companies' records, then companies would have a strong motive to terminate agents who aren't performing with punctuality. It would become their best financial interest to invest only in timely agents who would, in turn, gain a best interest to invest only in timely subordinates.

I posit that insurance delays would wane significantly, resulting in more timely delivery of treatments to policyholders, and many people's qualities of life would improve drastically for it.

#of course. this is an idea that sticks /within/ the overall capitalist framework. #the purpose is to promote the welfare of the people /while/ they are trapped within the structure #hopefully helping enable them to -- among other things -- abolish and emancipate themselves of the structure altogether #i know that the ''real'' problem is the /existence/ of insurance companies #the privatization of health care. the profitability of health care. #the fact that money is power in our system. the fact that whoever has it is allowed to control the lives and deaths of others #the true solution to the problem presented here is the abolition of the capitalist system that manufactures it. #what i provided is a sort of ''meantime mitigation'' strategy #*sigh* #rant #psych major rants #fuck capitalism #guillotine the rich #health care #insurance #pharmacy #socialism #leftist #leftblr #anticapitalist #ableism #healthism #classism #medical abuse #medical neglect #systemic inequity #accountability

[yuri-for-businesswomen]

im not autistic but i believe in their beliefs (because i share like 80 % of symptoms typical for autistic women with yall)

#overstimulation? check #bursts of anger? check #overwhelmed in social situations and needing a lot of downtime in my safe space? having comfort people? check #seeming ‚weird‘ to other people? check #always feeling like i dont fit in with the girls? check #overly excited over small things? check #sensory issues? check #never knowing when its my turn to talk in conversation? check #people reacting weirdly when i interject in conversations? check #monologueing about my special interests? check #special talent? semi check because i dont think im that good at drawing but i used to get in trouble in school for drawing too much #often say inappropriate/inappropriately frank and honest things unintentionally? check #extremely analytical thinking especially regarding social relationships but unable to make me less weird? check #having been the odd one in my family and school and at work all my life? check #having specific rules how everything has to be done? needing rituals and structure and a controlled environment? check #social anxiety as a result? CHECK #the list goes on… #its the adhd/bpd mix i think #personal

[asherisawkward]

I feel as though the crew needed to read on dictatorship and colonialism so they can better portray them in the show I feels as thought it a tell don’t show type of phenomena, the isles became a utopia when Belos is gone and no one was upset their ruler was missing, the rebels didn’t provide evidence that Belos was planning a Genocide, and Philip was able to one-handily conquer the isles with the guise of wild magic being dangerous because why?

A lot of different stories have trouble portraying the power struggle and difficulties that arise as a result of a strong government with tight control of the people being removed.

In Avatar the Last Airbender, they did an incredible job of portraying the loss of culture and distinct boundaries due to the colonial behavior of the Fire Nation and even the way it affected the livelihood of towns and cities under it. They didn’t have time to also depict the way that the political structure would shift to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. This has led to a feature generally referred to as “The Good Successor” or something similar. The basic premise is that there is a descendent of the big bad who assisted the heroes and will take over after the fall of the aforementioned villain, allowing for a more satisfying resolution with less worries about the future while it’s implied that changes will happen after. In the example I used, Zuko would be this character.

The Owl House….did not do this. They don’t talk about the various ways that cultural traditions and history were erased by Philip’s actions and control of the government. From what we saw of Elsewhere and Elsewhen, he didn’t need to change much, anyway. The Isles already conform to the European and Colonial behaviors imposed by most wide-spread colonial empires, so there doesn’t appear to be a great loss of information history or culture, although there were mentions on the restriction of knowledge. They don’t mention any of the ways that the dissolution of the Covens affected the Isles or even what they did to counter that. It feels unrealistic and, quite frankly, lazy. Bad things don’t just go away because the person with the most power does; actual changes need to be made.

#The Owl House #TOH #Philip Wittebane #Emperor Belos #Destruction of history and culture #Dissolution of imperial powers and structures #TOH criticism #TOH critical #Avatar the Last Airbender #ATLA #Fire Nation Empire #Effects of colonization and imperial control #Prince Zuko #transition of power

[cienie-isengardu]

[MK1] Bi-Han & Kuai Liang. Good brother? Evil brother? Nah, just different reactions to trauma, part 3

part 1, part 2

The previous part helped me lay a ground to establish the main difference between Kuai Liang and Bi-Han. Scorpion, as a dedicated follower of father and Liu Kang’s authority is what I had called the Believer. He does not question the nature of Lin Kuei duty, as he built his life around it. Bi-Han on another hand is definitely a Questioner, as he questions and undermines not only the wisdom of Fire God or even his own father but also the reasons why his clan should serve Earthrealm in the first place as he sees such servitude as enslavement. So one brother follows orders of those he considers to be his superiors while the other, the same as all know to us major cryomancers, has a rocky relationship with authority.

Being the sons of Grandmaster definitely influenced their life by how they were raised, because beside the hardship of physical training they, as heirs, needed to be prepared for their future duties to the clan. As the eldest, such additional education was aimed primarily on Bi-Han, and depending on how big is the age gap between brothers, he could be more involved into clan politics - and in result more aware of the inner working of Lin Kuei and the unrest of his people than Kuai Liang or Tomas were. I will expand this thought soon, for now let's talk about the Grandmaster and Mother, as the first authority figures that shaped and influenced both brothers.

FATHER

There is no doubt that their father played a great role in shaping Kuai Liang and he meant a lot to the younger brother. During story mode we had 6 main scenes in which Lin Kuei brothers interacted with each other:

waiting together for Liu Kang

before infiltrating Fortress

after Bi-Han defeated Nitara and Ermac

before brothers separated to carry on their parts of mission

Bi-Han’s betrayal

the second confrontation between brothers that lead to Kuai Liang and Bi-Han fight + Kuai Liang and Tomas talking over unconscious body of Sub-Zero 

Out of 6 examples, four was focused on the ideological conflict between Sub-Zero and his brothers - and in all of those scenes, Kuai Liang was talking about father in one way or another

“His teaching did not pass with him. They should still guide us." “We must honor his vision Bi-Han." “Bi-Han!! How could you?! Father would turn in his grave if he saw this!" "We must chart a new course. One that both honors our Father's legacy and serves Earthrealm."

but outside the importance of father and his teaching, had almost nothing meaningful to say in the presented interactions. What is frankly a pretty alarming detail. Not only because Kuai Liang barely interacted with Tomas before he needed his support (6th interaction scene), but also he does not contribute much to the mission - the only one time he does say anything relative to the job at hand is when Smoke is out of the picture.

In contrast, Bi-Han and Smoke talked about how to process the mission on two separate occasions - before and during infiltrating the fortress, even though Tomas is the least battle experienced out of the three brothers (confirmed by his BIO and the falling scene) and the one about whom frustrated Bi-Han said to not have Lin Kuei blood.

And this is very surprising choice of creators, as it was Kuai Liang to whom other characters will look up for leadership during battle to close the portals, so A) he doesn’t lack the skills and self-confidence to lead a mission and B) he was no afraid of Bi-Han nor Tomas as he spoke his mind openly around his brothers. 

For the majority of Bi-Han’s chapter, literally all Scorpion has to say was to critique Sub-Zero even for things not worth the scorn[1] or bring father into discussion despite perfectly knowing this will only frustrate his elder brother more. 

Again for contrast, during the same chapter Bi-Han spoke of things not related to his father or ambitious plans for Lin Kuei’s future. As in:

discussing mission with Smoke on two different occasions

enjoying the fight for his own personal reasons (glory, testing his skills against worth opponents)

childhood memory - hearing the stories about Nitara’s people as a child

Sub-Zero’s chapter alone gives us a good hint of differences between Bi-Han and Kuai Liang. Scorpion is all about father and tradition to the point he barely interact with Smoke despite his own assurance “We may not share blood, but we are brothers” and has little to nothing nice or supportive to say to his elder brother despite their close bond (as provided by intro dialogues: Kuai Liang believing their bond couldn’t be broken and Bi-Han wishing to rule with Kuai Liang at his side).

In all fairness there is something almost fanatical in the way Scorpion acted at this point in story mode and it would be easy to claim this blind-like dedication to father is what Kuai Liang was at the core. However, like I said in the previous part, the same as Bi-Han’s behavior was influenced by emotion out of his control, the frustration we were told by Scorpion and shown through Sub-Zero’s angry gesticulation, the same assumption should be made for Kuai Liang. The best hint comes from the interaction between brothers before they attempted climbing on the wall.

Sub-Zero: “We must find a less guarded section before attempting an ascent. Finally we face a worthy foe. Victory will bring us glory." Scorpion: “Glory? We fight for duty." Sub-Zero: “Does our Father's ghost possess you? All I hear is his voice."

Saying someone is possessed is a strong way to emphasize how a person is acting differently than usual. By Bi-Han’s frustrated reaction we can assume that the way Kuai Liang behave and speak mimic the behavior of their parent - and if Sub-Zero was constantly rebuked by father the way he is rebuked by his younger brother over everything, whatever big or small matter, it could be the origin of his growing frustration. 

However we need to keep in mind that Kuai Liang was deeply affected by the unexpected death of their father, so this event could influence the way he interacted with his brothers, especially with Bi-Han. There is no reason to doubt they were once close, but I think the moment when Kuai Liang lost not just a parent but the most important authority figure, he started treating father’s wisdom not as just a guidance but some sort of Sacred Laws he - and his brothers - needs to follow to the letter.

At first in story mode Kuai Liang only says “His teaching did not pass with him. They should still guide us” to which Bi-Han replies that father’s wisdom can guide them but not “shackle” (limiting). But the more conflict escalates, the more Scorpion insists “We must honor his vision Bi-Han” yet he does not provide any real argument why they must do it actually. Like yes, sons should respect their father and be obedient while tradition is an important part of one’s culture, but Kuai Liang never goes out of his way to provide any example of what is good about that wisdom in the first place.

In contrast, the more tense became their interaction, the more vocal Bi-Han was about why he reject their father’s teaching:

Sub-Zero: "Vision is what he lacked. He was blind to our superiority. We settle for defending Earthrealm when we could help lead it."

and later, at his breaking point, 

Sub-Zero:"He was doddering old fool! He did us a favor, having that accident. And I was right to let him die.[...] Father had doomed the Lin Kuei to mediocrity. Now we will achieve greatness."

At the same time, despite the harsh criticism toward father and considering his death as “favor” done to Lin Kuei (brothers) and having no regrets for letting him die, Sub-Zero’s relationship with his parent is not so one sided as it may look at the first glance. 

Through intro dialogues, Bi-Han still considers his father a foolish, short sighted man

Scorpion: Father would be ashamed of you. Sub-Zero: Only because he lacked vision.

and

Smoke: Father wanted us to be brothers. Sub-Zero: Yet another of the old man's foolish dreams.

or

Sub-Zero: My father was a fool to follow you. Liu Kang: He wisely honored Earthrealm with his service.

but at the same time he does not completely reject the notion of the father’s greatness

Sindel: I knew your father. He was a great man. Sub-Zero: Yet he never understood the Lin Kuei's potential.

or that the man’s wisdom had some merit

Sub-Zero: Father was right about one thing: never trust a sorcerer. Quan Chi: Truly, he was a wise man.

nor Sub-Zero's action was motivated by hate or spite

Reiko: Is it true: you let your father die? Sub-Zero: What war's ever been won without losses?

or

Ashrah: What kind of son betrays his father? Sub-Zero: One who sees his father's time has passed.

(And there is something really weird how Reiko bothers to ask Bi-Han about his father’s death yet Fire Lord, who praised the previous Grandmaster as a wise man to serve Earthrealm, has nothing to say about the matter? No anger, no rebuke, not even a simple comment for what Bi-Han did? When he expressed regret on various occasions for the ill fate of Sindel and her husband? I guess this could add to the pile of reasons why Bi-Han resents Liu Kang’s authority for not treating his Lin Kuei allies with the same or similar level of respect he express toward Outworld Royal Family).

Scorpion in his intro dialogues does not question father’s authority at all. He does speak about him with

Sindel

Scorpion: Your husband's murder haunted my father. Sindel: All those close to Jerrod were devastated.

and

Sindel: Both your parents were excellent fighters. Scorpion: I can only hope to live up to their example.

Geras

Scorpion: I want to see the moment my father died. Geras: You are not ready to receive that knowledge.

and Bi-Han (“Father would be ashamed of you”) however I didn’t find any example he directly mentioned father to Smoke, who, like Sub-Zero, had a more complicated relationship with the man[2].

He also expressed to Johnny and his mirror match burning anger at Bi-Han for father’s death:

Johnny Cage: Bi-Han's got you all fired up, eh? Scorpion: He'll burn for betraying my father.

and

Scorpion: I won't be consumed by vengeance. Scorpion: How can your father's death not burn you?

This fierce reaction to father’s death is understandable, as Scorpion’s Bio said, 

Like his cherished father, Scorpion is dedicated to the Lin Kuei and its defense of Earthrealm. When his father died, Scorpion was bereft. 

Now, let’s focus on the choice of words. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, bereft means:

suffering the death of a loved one but also being deprived or lacking something needed, wanted, or expected.

Which is why I think the loss of a father is for Kuai Liang something more than just missing a beloved parent. He also lost the guidance that was constant in his life since he was a little kid and he tries to fill the emptiness by honoring and in result, mimicking the authority figure he built his life around. 

Kuai Liang’s character theme is HONOR

and as much as it is about his integrity and loyalty to father’s teaching (protecting Earthrealm), I think this is also a keyword to what Scorpion dedicated his life: to honoring the past but only through father’s idea of tradition, duty or his legacy[3].

Story mode: "We must honor his vision Bi-Han."

and

Story mode: "We must chart a new course. One that both honors our Father's legacy and serves Earthrealm."

and

Smoke: With you as grandmaster, our new clan will flourish. Scorpion: Only if we honor tradition.

If we agree that Father was the authority Kuai Liang followed and built his life around, then he did not just lose a parent but also a central part of his world, a source of comfort and security. And Bi-Han, the closest remaining blood-relative, the eldest sibling is NOT PROVIDING THE NEEDED COMFORT and/or STABILITY because Sub-Zero does not follow father’s teaching anymore and slowly is building his life around different values and goals than were accepted by previous Grandmaster. 

Which is why I believe Kuai Liang so desperately clings to it, and honors the man’s teaching like it is some sort of sacred code and can’t anymore interact with elder brother the way they used to. Because he is afraid to lose the last connection to cherished father - if Bi-Han casts away their father’s teaching, they will be forgotten with passing time and then lost forever. And the dislike of changes father would not approve and fear of being forced to act against his own brother are part of Scorpion’s BIO:

[...] he took pride in knowing that his brother, Sub-Zero, would succeed their father as the Lin Kuei's grandmaster. But Sub-Zero's unprecedented moves to cast off the Lin Kuei's traditional duties have frozen Scorpion's enthusiasm. He fears that one day he may have to battle his brother for control of the Lin Kuei's legacy.

- even if Bi-Han prior to his betrayal scene did not do anything that cast off the tradition. We could hear him talking about his ambitions to change Lin Kuei, but only between his closest family and never openly questioning or challenging Liu Kang’s authority. Like yes, Bi-Han was frustrated and lacked patience for back talks of Kung Lao who still didn’t figure out Lin Kuei pulled out their punches and acted violently once Johnny grabbed his arm - and how much it was a learned reflex to respond with violence and a simple excuse to hit him is up to debate. But each time Liu Kang got involved in the “conflict” Sub-Zero fell back to his place and obeyed. The same as he did not argue about the mission he and his brother undertook on Fire Lord’s order.

As the story mode provides, the clan was more than ready to reject the past because only Kuai Liang and Tomas refused to follow Sub-Zero’s leadership. Which speaks a lot both about Lin Kuei as a society and Kuai Liang’s dedication for tradition and father. The story mode really made him look to be in the minority in that matter. To the point that he openly admitted to Smoke how small are chances for him to replace Bi-Han as the Grandmaster even though he is the second in line to that title:

Smoke: “What are you doing? Once he's exposed, won't you be made Grandmaster?" Scorpion: "You forget Cyrax and Sektor. Their loyalty to Bi-Han is absolute. They'll sooner abet his corruption than follow me."

At his breaking point, Bi-Han explained to brother he lied about father’s death because 

"[...] you couldn't, and still can't, face the truth. Father had doomed the Lin Kuei to mediocrity. Now we will achieve greatness."

what is of course a very subjective opinion, but considering how sources presented Kuai Liang and how narrow-minded he can be, especially during mourning father, I’m willing to give Sub-Zero some benefit of doubt. Not if father worsened the Lin Kuei situation or not, but about Scorpion and his inability or lack of will to face the truth. Lin Kuei has changed and Bi-Han alone is not the source of problem, because he is the clan leader for relative short period of time while the whole clan rejected the centuries old traditions honored by Kuai Liang’s father despite knowing it puts them on the collide course against Liu Kang, Earthrealm and Outworld. What is more, just because the previous Grandmaster died, it does not erase all the older members who served Earthrealm longer that Bi-Han or Kuai Liang lived and they too support Bi-Han’s independence streak as far as sources implies. Would they reject Sub-Zero if they knew about his part in Grandmaster’s death? Maybe or maybe not, all depending how long and how deeply the dissatisfaction about the Lin Kuei situation runs. Something that Kuai Liang may not be aware of - or quite the opposite, he was in fact painfully aware about it and this is why he feared Sub-Zero's desire for change, because he knew the clan will gladly support it.

The same as for tradition, brothers have a different approach to their father and what he symbolizes in their life. For Kuai Liang the man was a cherished family member and moral guide, the first and final authority while for Bi-Han a source of frustration and limitation. Understandable then, they have an opposite reaction to his death, one is heartbroken and the other sees it as an opportunity for his own growth and realization of ambitious plans. 

The Lin Kuei brothers’ feelings for mother though are drastically different matter and this will be the subject of the next part.

SIDENOTES

[1] The best example happened here: 

Sub-Zero: “We must find a less guarded section before attempting an ascent. Finally we face a worthy foe. Victory will bring us glory." Scorpion: “Glory? We fight for duty."

as Bi-Han can’t even express the joy he finds in fighting without Kuai Liang cut in and bring it down again to duty and in the wider perspective what father trained them for. An excitement that in itself is not inherently a bad thing, especially since the Sub-Zero’s quotes after losing the fight against Nitara or Ermac shows how Bi-Han would graciously accept defeat and praise his enemy (“You are a superb adversary. More than worth the wait” and “You are as formidable as promised. Let’s continue.” respectively) thus his attitude is about something different than bloodthirst or fun. Sub-Zero was warned about the danger Nitara and Ermac posed:

childhood stories about Lin Kuei's effort against Nitara’s people: “As a boy I heard tales of battles against your kind.”

Liu Kang’s warning about Ermac: “You are Quan Chi’s creation. Liu Kang warned about you. I had hoped for the chance to battle your dark magic.”

and so Bi-Han hoped to face worthy opponents against whom he could test his skills. And though it may sound selfish, we can’t forget that Sub-Zero was raised as a warrior - only facing strong opponents and overcoming the danger allow a warrior to make progress. Lin Kuei warriors were always striving for perfection, and if this mindset did not change in Liu Kang’s timeline, it is understandable why the prospect of facing danger after years of idleness pleased the Grandmaster.

Bi-Han looking out for a chance to perfect his abilities, wishing to test himself and earning a recognition for fighting skills he dedicated his whole life doesn’t sound as something deserving such a negative reaction. Especially since Bi-Han at this point has never done anything that put the mission or his brothers at risk. And though he was frustrated about his and Lin Kuei's situation, it never stopped him from doing his duty - until the capture and Shang Tsung’s offer scene. An offer he wouldn’t be otherwise interested to listen to, as was seen during his fight with sorcerer

and Sub-Zero’s intention to eliminate the enemy for good (even if Liu Kang clearly said to capture the sorcerer not to kill him).

This leads me to think Kuai Liang’s rebuke was uncalled for but also supports my feeling mentioned in the previous part - Scorpion did not enjoy fighting but was doing it because tradition (father) demanded that from him.

[2] Tomas’ complicated feelings toward Lin Kuei Father are rooted in his trauma - it was Grandmaster’s own people who killed his mother and twin sister. As much as an adult Tomas respect his adoptive parent and maybe even became emotionally close with he man over the years, there is still something in the way he spoke about the past events that indicates it was not always the case - and maybe he still feels some resentment to the man that at least indirectly destroyed his childhood

Kitana: You are Kuai Liang's adopted brother? Smoke: His father's honor demanded that he take me in.

and

Reptile: Lucky for you, Kuai Liang's father took you in. Smoke: It didn't feel that way at the time.

And I guess this is just the nature of intro dialogues, but it feels off to me that when Tomas is talking with non Lin Kuei characters, the father is always connected down solely to Kuai Liang (and not for example to both brothers) and Tomas never corrects them or say anything implying that despite not sharing the same blood, the man became his father too. There is also something to say how Tomas twice brought father in his dialogues with Bi-Han: 

Smoke: Father wanted us to be brothers. Sub-Zero: Yet another of the old man's foolish dreams.

and

Sub-Zero: You were never truly one of us. Smoke: Were Father here, he would disagree.

None of the brothers adds “my” or “our” father - and Bi-Han could do so, if he didn’t consider Tomas part of the family. Interestingly Sub-Zero only once said “my father” in his intro dialogues and between the three brothers, Sub-Zero's ones revolve the most around the man (I counted 8 separate, direct intro dialogues), while Kuai Liang does not talk directly about father with Tomas at all in their pre-fighting interactions. Which is quite surprising, considering how important father is to Kuai Liang and how often Smoke brought the man’s authority in story mode and intros.

[3] At this point I think it is not the burning anger that Kuai Liang shares with the original Scorpion that should concern other characters (and us), but his “blind” clinging to the past that brought Hanzo Hasashi a lot of suffering and made him an easy target for manipulations. Now, I know this may sound too harsh, especially at such an early stage of exploring a new timeline and having no clue what is NRS’ final goal for his character development but hear me out. Kuai Liang’s Shirai Ryu is not an improved version of Lin Kuei, but it's replacement. For now Scorpion needs to find and train willing adepts to secure Earthrealm and his new clan’s safety, so it’s understandable his focus is set on the most urgent matters at hand, but if he is not willing to closely examine past and question it - be it father’s teaching or what lead Lin Kuei to follow rebellious Sub-Zero than following their traditional duties, he will recreate the system that objectively speaking is unfair to people born into it. As far as we know, Lin Kuei members weren’t paid for their dutiful service, they lived in isolation and secret, forced their children to endure hardship since childhood to turn them into superb soldiers (tools) so Liu Kang’s Earthrealm could be safe and sound and even in times of peace, the warriors could die for unspecified reasons that aren’t related to natural death out of old age (presumably what happened to mother). There is much more to talk about, so I’m gonna leave this matter for another part. Just signaling that Kuai Liang’s fierce loyalty to father (past) can be as dangerous as Bi-Han rejecting it.

#mortal kombat #bi han #kuai liang #tomas vrbada #sub zero #scorpion #smoke #lin kuei #my analysis #that kinda get out of control #sorry folks as much as i'm dying to talk about lin kuei bros' mother i needed to cut the text here #as it something around 9-10 pages already lol #i won't lie writing about pyromancer kuai liang is so painful and i tried my best to not be harsh on him #for being so narrow minded character that like barely provides any arguments or explaination for his cause #especially in contrast to bi han who though is painted as the “powe hungry brother” he has some good points and at least give me #something to work on and analyze #while kuai is mainly father this tradition that #and it is so weird bi han and tomas have more intro dialogues about father than kuai liang and tomas have #it is not character flaws nor their fault just storyline and how story is structured and so on #but it is so weird sometimes #i'm here for scorpion being affected by grief over father and fear how the world he knows is falling apart to explain why brothers #were so frustrated and bad at communication #the same way i feel bi han's frustration influenced his behaviour

[sserrated]

👼🏻

#don’t know if it’s just being back in this house #but I’m scared #I’m feeling like I really miss my ED #like I actually miss my bulimia #and anorexia and my anorexic body #It’s been like stepping back in time and I’m trying hard to fight it #but damn I miss that time #and most of all that body and that feeling #g0r3c0r3 #g0recore #g0rewh0re #cnc k!nk #cute gore #intox kink #ed relapse #3d relapse #I miss the routine of my bulimia #and all the routines and structure and control of my ED

[itspileofgoodthings]

I was teaching Ophelia’s death scene this week and one of my classes spontaneously giggled when she died (because they are 16 years old and emotionally immature) and I said, in a shocked voice, “it is NOT funny” and they all insisted that it was and so I let it go but then the next day I showed them some Ophelia art, made them think about how sinister it was that her death happens offstage but is still described in such detail for the viewer, which tells us she was WATCHED but not HELPED as she died, and then played a clip from Branagh’s Hamlet of Kate Winslet singing a mourning song for her father and when I tell you how satisfying it was to hear a total and complete hush fall over the room

#teaching tag #Obviously I cannot control their emotions and I don’t try to. but I love to lay all the right groundwork for them to be moved #even if they don’t understand or forget it a second later #I can do that!!! let them have their moment of silly little reaction and then clear it away and make them look at the moment again #giving them all the context and support they need and don’t have on their own #and I have no idea if it works on a personal or individual level because it depends on what they let into their little hearts #but as a class i KNOW that it works. because of that signature hush #the same thing happened when I read the proposal scene from David Copperfield out loud #it’s happened with the end of the inferno. P&P Pemberley scene. teaching twelfth night #it’s my favorite thing to do in the entire world #to just sweep everything away and then re-build how to look at a scene #and the thing I LOVE about teaching high schoolers is that there’s the immaturity and the boredom etc. etc. #But underneath that there is a great stupidity ready to be taught #that is so much better than pretentious college age kids or hardened adults who already ‘know’ what it’s about #they have that grain of stupidity (more than a grain lol) that o’Connor talks about #that is the secret to letting things in #and I’m so passionate about showing them and I’m just getting better at clearing the ground and knowing what tools to show them when #and also —-this is A new thing I’m learning —-how to hold back my own emotions or reactions so as not to cloud it #whenever I start talking very matter-of-factly and very quickly and almost dispassionately about the structure of a moment #that’s so much better than me having the emotion because it gives THEM room to have the emotion #and that’s simply how they’re hooked #ANYWAY. as I said lots of thoughts thanks for listening wldkdkejejjejejejehe

[this-acuteneurosis]

so funny thing with your dont look back thing, nearly all the political allies of Leia and folks, generally like VERY few that we know are actually directly democratic. like Padme former job could count sorta, but how democratic MONARCHY would work.... although Darsana could be a mostly democratic on via his Senatorship. found it funny cause Bail is like assigned by the queen and padme is hers as well, which fair, Senator is a really bad term for what they are, diplomat would be the better term.

I mean, I've thought a lot about how the Senate is ostensibly a democratic body when actually there is no planetary regulation to how they "elect" their senators.

I've ultimately decided to not go down this specific route for the fic, but arguably, the Republic is...not a government. They don't have anyone to enforce their "laws." The GFFA is huge. Like, I cannot stress this enough, taking the loose shapes of government for countries and slapping it down as a framework for how tens of thousands of planets are "ruled" by a "democracy" was always, at its core, bullshit. The Empire, with it's huge military and aggressive enforcement couldn't prevent the Alliance from camping out on abandoned planets, which, we know as residents of this good earth, is more than enough space to develop multiple entire civilizations. Frankly, as horrifying as it was, the Death Star was about the only logical conclusion space fascists could come to for a total control endgame. (That or implanting chips like the clones had but whoops, the past won't exist until 15 years after the future, so...)

That isn't to say that the Republic, or something like it, wouldn't exist and serve a purpose. Having a forum where people in disparate governments agree to things like trade rules and enforce them by, say, refusing to trade with people not in the group, or at worse rates, could definitely explain a Republic sized coalition of planets/planetary systems. They could even develop things like anti-slavery agreements, taxes dues, a group of negotiators loyal to the "Republic" instead of to individual planets or systems for theoretically unbiased diplomacy.

But yeah, if you notice that Leia's views on democracy don't match Padmé's assertions from AotC and RotS(released post 9/11 guys, Anakin's character was not the only casualty of that time), it is 100% because she was going to be the hereditary ruler of a planet and had no problem with that.

Keep in mind that democracy, in many ways, is more effective the more direct it is, because even self-interested politicians have to give you what you as a majority want if they have to win each of your individual votes. But that is incredibly hard to organize and maintain. Especially because the elected officials figure out really quickly they don't want to be beholden to so many contradictory interests.

And the more indirect a democracy becomes, the more your welfare relies on the innate charity/sense of responsibility of your representatives. Yes, as people who weren't voted into office, Padmé and Bail don't actually answer directly to their people. Padmé's on a bit thinner of ice because she's appointed by a directly elected queen, so Jamillia has motive to oust Padmé if she threatens Jamillia's re-election. But Bail? Our favorite, made it through most of the Empire, stuck to his guns, initiated the Rebellion, raised his baby girl right? Yeah, no, he's a nepotism boy, and everyone would have been screwed if he didn't have the moral and ethical fortitude of mountains.

#Don't Look Back #politics #Padmé Amidala #Bail Organa #democracy #this isn't just true for DLB #the structure of the Senate 100% allowed for the kind of corruption that enabled Palpatine's takeover #he didn't need to convince the galaxy to make him Emperor #just a bunch of scared senators who didn't want to lose their jobs #and were happy to war monger because the Confederacy was very dangerous competition #in theory #if they hadn't also been controlled by the Sith

[eskildit]

i feel like i cant put harrow and palamedes in modern aus together because then im faced with the realistic conclusion that harrows academic/professional accomplishments would be seen as lesser compared to palamedes’ due to sexism and i do think that would be harrows joker moment. i do think she would start killing.

#as she should! #palamedes is for sure an ally to women but he doesn’t control the larger patriarchal structure #harrowhark serial killer origin story #palamedes sextus #harrowhark nonagesimus #the locked tomb #eskildit posts tlt #ok to rb

[strawberrystepmom]

mind has rotated to kakashi today and all i can think about is how resistant he is to you doing things for him until he figures out you’re doing them bc you care for him and want to alleviate his stress rather than trying to yank control of his life from him

#I have always hc’d kakashi has having anxiety rooted control issues (just like me fr!!!!) and as exhilarating as falling in love would be #for him there’s also the terror of: how do I share myself with someone else how do I relinquish my fine tooth comb #bc I know he’s nothing if not structured and disciplined and self sufficient so giving that up feels like too much at first #but you make him dinner with a smile you fold his clothes and hang them out to dry #you fold the edges of his comforter just how he likes bc you know it’s comfortable to him not bc you have to