#Ending Victim Stigmatization | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nexysworld · 2 months

Text

Dead Dove, Content Entitlement, and Fandoms

There's been no end of posts clogging up popular fandom tags with arguments and opinions on dark content, dead dove, and related things. While I've seen some decent posts that go over media literacy and dark content, I personally feel like none fully encompass my entire feelings on this nor provide all the points that I feel are important.

I know people have strong feelings on this subject, and I'm not expecting to immediately change anyone's minds. But I hope maybe I can toss some food for thought out there, or provide further context from both a victim of SA as well as a content creator. This has been bothering me for a while now to the point where it has been making me no longer want to write or engage in fandoms on Tumblr, and so I needed to get this out there with my stance. I've also had people in my inbox stating that my dark content is somehow morally better than other writer's dark content. TW: Mentions of dark content including discussions of noncon/dubcon, harassment, SA, etc.

Addressing Common Points

If you write or consume [INSERT CONTENT], you're romanticizing and endorsing it and that makes you a bad person. Or, you're weird/wrong/gross for it. I see this brought up primarily with dubcon/noncon topics. It should go without saying, but fiction is fantasy, it's separate from real life. Adults who consume this type of content understand that these things are NOT ok in real life. But to take it a step further, I want to stress that having noncon fantasies is actually INCREDIBLY common. In studies regarding these fantasies, nearly 50% or more of people who participated admitted to having fantasies that align with these topics the majority of which are women. Not only that but these kinds of fantasies are even more common in people who have been victims of these crimes. This isn't some niche thing only liked by a minority of people. If you don't believe me here's an example of ONE study, but there's plenty of easily accessible information out there. By conflating consuming/writing this content with someone's moral character stigmatizes these feelings further and does more harm than good. And I know what you're thinking though. But why? Why would someone who's gone through something like that fantasize about something so awful? Why is this appealing to anyone, victims or not? Fiction creates a safe space to explore topics. In fiction there are no real victims, no one is actually getting hurt, it's all fake. The characters aren't real and if at any point as the reader you are too uncomfortable to continue, you can stop and exit. You can like the idea of a fictional person tossing you around, while also feeling uncomfortable if a real life man tried to pick you up a the bar or didn't take no for an answer. There's also "normal" things you can fantasize about, but not want to participate in IRL.

Hypocrisy and what is considered dark content? This won't apply to everyone, but I've seen a number of people who claim to be anti-dark content but reblog things that are non consensual, perhaps without realizing it. And this is especially true for those who are younger on here. Please understand that noncon/dubcon does not inherently need to be violent or gory. Any situation in which there's a lack of consent or a power imbalance is inappropriate. Somno fics? If it's not explicitly stated that it was agreed upon prior in the fic, that is still non consensual even if it's written to be "sweet.", even if it's a pre-established relationship. Professor x student fics? There's power imbalance there. There's a reason you cannot have a relationship with your teachers in real life. Hybrid fics? Most people write hybrids as completely sentient people who are treated as sex slaves. They have little choice or are "following instinct." You cannot consent to someone who literally OWNS you after adopting you. You get the gist. There's far more to consent than physically manhandling someone. Yet because these things are written in a way that contextualizes them as being "sweet" and "normal", they aren't considered dark content by many people. If you're ok with the above, you have to understand that these ARE forms of dubcon/noncon. I would even argue that these are more romanticizing of these topics than stuff that's far more explicit in nature. If you would be pissed if your IRL partner tried to feel you up in your sleep, but enjoy somno fics, or enjoy the Taboo of Professor Leon, but wouldn't fuck your actual college professor - then that is the EXACT way in which people who enjoy even "darker" content can enjoy the fiction whilst not partaking in real life.

It sets a bad example for younger people on the website/"protect the children." Children shouldn't be looking at smut in general, dark content, vanilla content, etc. I don't know what else to tell you. It is NOT the job of content creators to try and police what teenagers do on the internet, that's between them and their parents. The majority of creators who make 18+ content explicitly state MDNI and block those younger than 18 if we discover them trying to interact with us. That is the most that we can and should be expected to do.

[INSERT CHARACTER] would NEVER act like that, it irritates me when people write them as OOC. Fanfiction is by definition NON canon. The only people who truly know how a character is supposed to act are the people who created those characters. But I want to add on to this, there are plenty of times in which a character acts entirely OOC even in fluffy or vanilla fanfiction. Every writer is going to have a different interpretation of how a character acts or thinks - and yet it's only really complained about when it's dark content. These characters are not real. Leon cannot be upset or hurt by people writing dark content about him, because he doesn't exist. Part of the fun of fanfiction, at least in my opinion as well, is justifying certain things within the context. Many dark content writers will and do explain why the character became how they are or why they think that way using canon as context - not that I think it's required because fanfiction can be whatever you want it to. The point is, dark content or not, not everyone will be on the same wavelength as you about your favorite character.

Even if you're a victim of SA or other crimes, you should get professional help, not read dark content. This is a very bad take in my opinion. Mental health care can be incredibly hard to get. Reading fanfiction is free, it's harmless. But genuinely, imagine you're a victim of a heinous crime, and you're already struggling with feelings regarding it - to then be mobbed by people online telling you that you're weird and wrong for having the feelings that you do? This is also in league with my first point, but having these feelings are actually VERY normal. This is a healthy way to process the emotions in a safe environment where no real person gets hurt, where you can leave whenever you want. Stigmatizing these things does hurt real people though.

You're hurting other people who're victims of these things. Look, if a fic is not properly TW then I fully understand. Every victim will have a different experience, and while some may be ok with dark content, others won't. So if you open a fic expecting it to be one thing and it's another, that's shitty. But tags are there for a reason. If you see something marked Noncon, and that's triggering for you, no one is expecting you to read it. And here's the thing with tags/tw's as well, everyone's trauma is different. Something that one person might not consider dark content, or is generally considered innocuous might trigger someone else. If you are one of those people who think even seeing the trigger warning could be harmful to people, then that's a prime example of WHY you must curate your own experience online. Block certain words, tags, and phrases to make sure you don't see them. But that's on YOU to do, not people who create content. Their only responsibility is to warn you about the contents of the content they've made, their responsibility stops beyond that point. You know what DOES affect real people besides the stigmatization of their feelings or kinks? Harassing them. Leaving hate comments, telling people to unalive themselves. These affect the mental health of the real people behind the content that you don't like. I've seen death and rape threats SENT to dark content writers.

Dark content in other forms of media. It's interesting to me that the majority of discussion around dark content comes from people criticizing fanfiction specifically. Take horror movies for example. The Saw Franchise, we'll say. Do you think the creators of that series want to enact those horrible things onto other people? Do you think they want to be the victims of Jigsaw themselves? What about people who watch content like that? You probably don't think that they do. There's TONS of movies, music videos, even horror novels that have incredibly, and I mean INCREDIBLY dark dead dove content - and yet most people understand that the appeal is in the taboo. That it's fiction. That people who consume THOSE forms of media don't want to participate in those things but do enjoy consuming that content. But when it's fanfiction it somehow becomes a problem.

Entitlement and demand of fandom content. In addition to all of the above, there is a major uptick in people complaining about the content within fandoms some not even relating to dark content. "There's too many stories where reader acts like X." "I hate how so many people characterize this person because that's now how they would act!" "Why is there so much smut? Why can't there be more of {insert what I want}". This is FREE content made by people who do this stuff as a hobby. No one owes you content, and no one HAS to write the way you want them too. If there's tons of content like that, then it's because it's popular. Perhaps your version of a character is in the minority opinion, and that's completely ok!

What's the solution to all of this discourse?

Be the change you want to see! If you feel like there's too many x reader fics where the reader doesn't act how you want - then write it the way you want. Do you have head canons about a series or character that you haven't seen discussed before? Make that post yourself! If you don't feel there's enough fluff in the fandom - then create some! And if you don't want to make content yourself - request it, commission it. Interact with your favorite writers! Encourage them, don't demand. Talk with them about their work, leave comments, and reblog, reblog, reblog!! Being a part of the discussion and interaction is the BEST way to help the community thrive. Surround yourself with the content that YOU want, curate YOUR experience. Block every dark content writer you see if it helps. Go into your Tumblr settings, block words, block tags. Don't set yourself up to be upset or bothered by the content you're getting. Even if you read the above and you still think every dark content writer is a horrendous, awful person - the best thing to do is still block them. Block their content. Harassing them and complaining on it will NOT stop that content from existing. But you will continue to upset yourself by not curating your own experience.

~~~~~~~~

If you made it through all that, thank you for reading. I want to add that my blog WILL continue in the future to have a mix of both dead dove and regular content. I also interact with other dark content blogs, so if you're someone who followed me because of my "regular" fics and want to unfollow/block me, I'm ok with that. <3

#nexyspeaks #Leon Kennedy x reader #resident evil #fandom culture #resident evil writers #resident evil x reader

370 notes · View notes

genericpuff · 2 days

Note

wait wait wait, regarding that Minthe post, you're telling me that Rachel literally wrote the character as having BPD.....and portrayed her as an abusive mean piece of shit??? WOW. fucking WOW. sorry for being so angry, but even if she "retconned" that - it's still so god damn disrespective. as someone who has BPD it hurts so much to see my mental illness villanised :(

ugh I'm so sorry pal. and I don't blame you for being angry about it, like I don't even have BPD and I'M fucking pissed LOL like I can understand why Rachel might have wanted to backtrack from that knowing fully well that Minthe's story wasn't gonna have a happy ending, but writing her with BPD in the first place and then BACKTRACKING from it as soon as she likely got heat for it (or just realized it wasn't a good look) isn't much better because it means now all she's done is written the stigmatized negative effects of BPD into her character without showing the more positive outlooks of healing and managing. Maybe that was doomed to happen considering Minthe is someone who doesn't get a happy ending in the myths, but it begs the question of why she'd write her with BPD to begin with because in hindsight it really does seem like she just wanted to use it as a way to make her "evil".

But like, when you read the actual episode, you can SEE the potential there for character growth, you can SEE that she's aware of her actions - but doesn't understand why she's "like that" which is a VERY common feeling among people with undiagnosed mental illnesses - but it was never meant to be.

Like jfc not only is it HEAVILY IMPLIED, but again, the episode is literally called "Splitting". And we see exactly that with Minthe, who can't seem to rationalize with herself that she messed up.

But... that leads me to another point that I failed to mention in that first ask response: she DIDN'T mess up. Like, yes, she messed up by escalating it to the point of slapping Hades, but it wasn't her fault that she didn't make it to her date with Hades. Whose fault was it?

Continuously throughout the first season we see Thetis being an awful influence who manipulates and gaslights Minthe. They're "friends", but it's clear Thetis does not have Minthe's best interests in mind. In this very scene we see Thetis manipulate Minthe and even attempt to get her so drunk that she won't be able to show up to her date. And then of course when that plan works and Minthe freaks out, Thetis spins it around on Minthe in a very passive-aggressive way.

But of course, the narrative has to find a way to turn this whole thing on Minthe being the bad guy. Hence we get the slap which shifts the focus entirely away from what led up to it back onto Hades who has, in a lot of ways, put her in a situation that she can't control. And of course, being in those kinds of situations does not help with mental health.

Like, sorry, I'm really going off here now, but... the slap happens in Episode 76.

When is it finally addressed again? Episode 103.

It took Rachel nearly THIRTY EPISODES to finally bring it back to Minthe, and in that time the reader has spent SEVERAL EPISODES reading about how sad and lonely Hades is, and about how cute and lovey he is with Persephone. The reader has not had ANY time to reflect on Minthe's circumstances, because it completely pivots away from her to focus on H x P as a sort of distraction from the fact that Minthe is a victim in her own right.

And when it DOES return to Minthe in 103, we get this harrowing reminder that her entire life is dependent on Hades-

And once again, here comes Thetis to the "rescue", reinforcing the negative feedback loop that Minthe is trapped in where she's put in unhealthy situations. She drags her to a bar and the whole time Minthe is not having fun because she's understandably still reeling from what happened.

Now we DO get some character development here, where Minthe realizes exactly what I've just finished explaining, that Thetis isn't her friend, that she'd rather not have Thetis as a friend than continue being talked down to and manipulated.

But then, as we know, because Rachel still needs Minthe to be the "bad guy", the breakup between Hades and Minthe winds up being all about Persephone from a POV that attempts to villainize Minthe for being "jealous" (rather than focusing on how shitty Hades actually is for having an emotional affair with Persephone to begin with) and then Minthe goes right back to hanging out with Thetis anyways for the sake of having the "evil other girl" who wants to "ruin" H x P's relationship.

It's not until Season 3 that we finally see Minthe tell Thetis to fuck off for good, but by then it's too little too late, and Minthe has lost an entire character arc. Rachel tries to go "see! Minthe's life is so much better now that she's taking care of children!" but that's an entirely different solution to a problem Minthe never had. She never got treatment for her BPD. She just got away from H x P which, while is a good thing, isn't actually analyzed as such. It's treated more as a "good thing" for H x P and the readers, because now they don't have to be subjected to Minthe's evil scheming anymore, something something "the evil is defeated". And don't even get me started on this comic's problem with constantly resolving female characters' story arcs through motherhood.

It bums me out so fucking much. Minthe deserved so much better. She's one of the many characters in LO who make it so painfully ironic when they're done dirty, because despite Rachel's attempts to write a "feminist retelling" that focuses on "moving on from trauma", she's inadvertently done more damage to feminism and the stigmas around mental health and trauma through her assassination of grounded and realistic and relatable characters like Minthe and Demeter who are shown ZERO empathy or understanding for their actions (unless it can be done so by making Persephone and Hades into the heroes). It happens so often throughout the comic it almost feels like how the comic markets itself as a "progressive feminist retelling" is some sick joke that I'm just not getting.

#ask me anything #ama #anon ama #anon ask me anything #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #lo critical

178 notes · View notes

bonefall · 4 months

Note

are there any bb!cats with schizophrenia or that regularly experience psychosis? people absolutely suck about mental illness so like. seeing characters like me going thru life and being treated like people and not monsters for something out of their control never fails to put a smile on my face! thank you for all the research and effort you put into making sure your disabled cats are not only believable but human. pd: cinderheart with bpd is an extremely based headcanon

Not yet but it's on my radar, plus NPD. The reason why I feel so unflappably confident with BPD is because I know and love people who have it, and I hate that I don't see any characters who are like them! So I feel like I'm really good at handling it, and knowing what's wanted in portrayals of it. It feels very personally important to me.

Pair that with the fact I write BB!Clans as canonically struggling with ableism and all these being so heavily stigmatized irl, I've gotta be REALLY careful with NPD and psychosis. I'm less connected to them so personally and I don't want to accidentally strike a nerve, you get me?

That said... I got an ask a while back that I'd been thinking about a lot, basically asking me about how Clan Culture would see psychosis in the first place. I've actually always been fascinated by how deeply schizophrenia is affected by the culture of the afflicted, so I've been idly thinking about that for a while without sharing those thoughts.

OH WAIT hangon let me explain some stuff about Schizophrenia and psychosis for people in the audience!!

Schizophrenia used to be diagnosed in subtypes before 2013. This is no longer accurate! A lot like Autism, it's a spectrum of symptoms that affect people differently. It's a cognitive disorder that messes with rational and organized thinking, and that can express in all sorts of ways.

One of the symptoms is hallucinations. It's The Famous symptom of it, but it's not actually something you NEED to have to be Schizophrenic. Not all people who are having hallucinations or delusions are Schizophrenic, either! I want to include an OCD character of some kind who experiences some mild auditory hallucinations, actually. The type where it's just random mumbling.

Delusions and hallucinations aren't the same thing Delusions are false beliefs and hallucinations are false experiences. An example of a delusion is, "If I don't click my pen three times, my family will die." An example of a hallucination is hearing voices.

PEOPLE WITH PSYCHOSIS ARE FAR MORE LIKELY TO BE THE VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE THAN TO COMMIT IT Feel like this is common knowledge in this space, and especially within my own following since I make a lot of art about mental illness and awareness, but it's always worth repeating.

So anyway

If you compare psychosis between cultures, you actually end up seeing VERY different expressions of the hallucinations. For example, in some cultures, voice hallucinations tend to say things that are negative or abusive, while other cultures hear significantly more positive, playful voices.

This doesn't mean that they're always less distressing. For example, the study above points out that Nigerian students (reported to hear lots of playful hallucinations) experience as much distress as Dutch students (tend to experience negative, abusive voices) during their psychotic episodes.

Still, there does seem to be a correlation with "less distress" and cultures that encourage psychotic people to see their hallucinations as positive, personal things. Even more interestingly, distress seems to be correlated with income and individualism in a culture.

But it doesn't stop there, the findings are fascinating.

Delusions of grandeur are rare in societies that discourage that sort of social mobility, reflecting social values.

Cultures that believe religious experiences are specific experiences-- like certain smells, temperatures, or sounds, will see those reflected in psychotic episodes

Yet, "voices" seem to be something seen across ALL cultures studied. Though some have more prevalence of random sounds and mumbling than others, they all share some expression of "voices that say stuff."

SO all that to say-- if I include psychosis it's definitely going to be trying to take the culture of each Clan into account, and I need to do a lot more research into what sorts of things people with schizophrenia and various types of psychosis want to see more often.

#psychosis #neurodivergence #bone babble

128 notes · View notes

lookismstuff · 11 months

Text

Lookism Webtoon/Manhwa is Still About Lookism, After All

Added some new analysis. SPOILERS ALERT.

I read many complaints that Lookism webtoon/manhwa isn't about lookism anymore (some even call it "fightism" or "gangism"). I respectfully beg to disagree, since I think the manhwa/webtoon is still a story about lookism, despite the genre shift. I recently binge-read the webtoon/manhwa for about three weeks, so maybe that's why I can spot the threads of the lookism theme across the story.

If you want to read about the current arcs, please read point B right away.

A. Lookism in its basic definition (early arcs)

Spotlight Characters

1.Daniel

Lookism is "societal discrimination based on looks or perceived notion of beauty". As we all know, this concept can easily be applied to the case of Daniel (Hyungseok). With his second body, Daniel could access the things he previously couldn't even dream of: becoming a model, a singer, even a trainee, finding friends, crushes, etc.

2. Crystal, Duke, Aru,Jasmine, Yui and Zoe

Crystal (Soojung)'s smaller body and Duke (Deokhwa) experienced discrimination based on their looks. Others used their looks or appearance to manipulate others, like Aru (the singer of PTJ Company), or Jasmine (Youngmi), the girl who framed Vasco for theft. Yui and Zoe (Haneul) had to "sell" more than looks as streamers (they had to dress and act provocatively even though they're minors).

3. Vasco and Burn Knuckles

People like Vasco and the rest of the Burn Knuckles suffer from being stigmatized as coarse criminals simply because of their looks, tattoos and built, when actually they're really kind people.

4. The Stalker

The stalker ended up getting the attention she craved after putting on some makeup, making her look pretty even though she's a hideous criminal inside and outside.

So the school/trainee/daily life chapters of Lookism are very straightforward about what lookism is and about its impacts. Maybe that's why some readers think that the lookism theme stops there. But actually the theme stays even after the genre shifts to scifi/thriller/action.

B. Lookism and Its Further Consequences (later arcs)

Ever since the genre shifted, the manhwa/webtoon expanded its notion of lookism into further observation on its consequences.

Let's see.

1.Juvenile Prison and Jiho's Last Moment Arcs

Jiho

In his desperation, Jiho sought for societal acceptance through a series of crimes. He kept making the wrong choices just because he felt victimized and alienated (from lookism reasons). He ended up in a vicious mentality as a tragic, suicidal murderer.

2. Hostel Arc

Spotlight Characters

Eli

Eli (Jang Hyun)'s studies hairdressing, benefits from his gentle looks and mannerisms. So people previously always excluded him from the list of J (Jaewon) High gangsters (unlike Vasco, Zack (Jinsung), Logan (Taesung), Burn Knuckles members) before the God Dog crew came to find him. Had he dressed, talked, and looked like a gang member, many people would've distanced themselves from him from the get go.

Olly

On the other hand, Olly (Ochun / Ohchun), who at times acted and looked unhinged, started out as a sheltered kid who was starving for attention and kindness. People were scared of him but he didn't start out that way, and he made himself scary, ironically, to gain some footing in the world that Eli lived in and later abandoned.

In Eli and Olly's case, the former benefited from lookism while the latter was disadvantaged by it, that until their respective backgrounds were revealed people never knew that they were biased towards these two.

Sally and Warren

Sally (Serim) is perceived as a rich princess just because of her looks and her rumored wealth, but is actually a very lonely child who lives alone in a shabby place. Warren (Wonseok) is rumored and regarded as a scary school thug but is actually a brave and protective orphan. The two characters suffer from prejudices that are rooted in lookism.

3. Fourth, Third and Second Affiliate Arcs

Spotlight Characters

Vivi and Mitsuki

In the Third and Second Affiliate of Workers (Ilhae) arcs, people like Vivi and Mitsuki benefit from their wealth and beauty that they (almost) got away with horrible crimes that range from illicit drug use, manufacture, and trade, multiple counts of sexual assaults, human trafficking, and abduction. In a lookism-based society, the rich and privileged could benefit more when they are also beautiful.

Jake (and Daniel)

During the Third Affiliate Arc, Jake (Gimyung) was allowed to enter Vivi's nightclub and work there mainly because he doesn't look like a minor. While Daniel wasn't allowed, until he shows the Workers pin that Gun (Jonggun) gave him. They're both minors but only Daniel was suspected, because of how different they look, showing a bias caused by lookism.

Ms. Raccoon and Arin

In the Fourth Affiliate arc, an innocent-looking streamer nicknamed as Ms Raccoon lured Hostel's Amy and Natalie (Yejin and Eunbi) and later bound them under a slave contract in a secluded location. The two young girls would not be easily deceived had the streamer seemed hostile.

Daniel also met Arin, a beautiful but poor newbie streamer, who was later drugged and almost sexually assaulted by Vivi's cohorts. He regretted introducing Kwitch streaming to her. Her case is an example that lookism can turn beauty into harm when the beautiful is socially disadvantaged.

Johan and Vin

Johan (Yohan) and Vin (Hobin) live with a disability (visual impairment). In Johan's case he always covers his impaired eye with his hair, while Vin hides his polycoria behind super dark sunglasses. But Johan's disability was discovered by Zack in the Fourth Affiliate arc, and Vin was forced to show his during the Second Affiliate arc. In both ocassions, both characters were furious that their disability was revealed.

Before the Lookism arc, Vin even told Mary (Miru) that his dream of becoming a rapper had ended since people had seen his disability implying that what society wants is a perfect celebrity.

Although both Johan and Vin don't fully lose their self-confidence from their disabilities (and Vin spitefully targeted Duke because of his physique), we can't ignore the fact that both characters choose to conceal their disability and consider it as their blemish. This behavior is also a facet of lookism.

Channing and Jace

Channing (Changwon) of Ansan Public hurt and shamed his opponents by slashing them with tattoo pens. The purpose of this torture isn't simply to inflict pain but also to bring shame, since tattoos are still stigmatized in many aspects and in many places, including in Korea. So when Jace was slashed and branded with Ansan Public's name and address and in uneven colors, Vasco was livid. It was more than just his own trauma resurfacing, you know. Jace already got his own tattoos, but being branded and stripped like that was humiliating.

4. The Hunt for Big Deal, United Major Crews, Holiday 1, Holiday 2 Arcs

Spotlight Characters

D.G., Gun and Goo

D.G. (Diego/Dagyeom/James Lee/Lee Jihoon). Behind that beautiful façade is a guy who got away with murder and erased everything about his past.

Compare his case with Gun's and Goo (Joongoo)'s, who exude dangerous gangster-ish vibes (especially Gun).

Even though all three had killed people before, D.G. is viewed as angelic, while Gun and Goo are portrayed as demonic. Their case is a clear example of lookism-based discrimination.

CEO Charles Choi and CEO Steve Hong

Charles Choi (Dongsoo), who beautified D.G. (through plastic surgery? a second body?), knew all too well of the power of beauty. It's his true and tested method: he used his own daughter Crystal (Soojung)'s disarming beauty in the same way.

Charles himself benefits from lookism. Out of all the fighters from Gen 0, Charles is the only one whose face and mannerisms look like a legit businessman. So he passes as one, even though he was Elite, a killer like the rest of those fighters.

On the other hand, Steve Hong (Hong Kyungyeong), Charles's business rival, is brash and often poorly dressed, so the public probably would probably lend more support towards Charles if their enmity was exposed.

Though both men are terrible fathers, Steve clearly abandons Jay and would probably be more criticized by the public than Charles, who fakes his affection for Crystal and face it he's a good looking old man. Charles is better at lookism-based P.R.

Luah

Small, slender, and pretty, Luah (Rua) is underestimated and often feels unsafe when she's out alone in public. In fact, she's a thorough investigator under the Big Deal crew, enough for Jake and the others to acknowledge her capabilities.

Daniel (Again)

After being underestimated for years by his relatives especially his cousins Dylan (Hyungjoon) and David (Hyunggoo) and their families, Daniel only gains full acceptance and recognition after he slimmed down, became more confident, and grew taller. This situation shows how lookism is a social wrong because it can break families apart.

5. Lookism Arc

Spotlight Characters

Hangyeol (The Grimm Plastic Surgery Clinic)

Hangyeol of Workers runs a legit plastic surgery clinic. Without the high demand for plastic surgery, it would've been difficult for him to hide the dubious malpractice, asylum and shelter operations. And why is there such a rush for plastic surgeries? The answer is lookism.

Hangyeol himself takes advantage of his looks and demeanor. Because of these, his patients takes it for granted that he's a pro through and through when in fact he's insane (and is a minor).

Mary

Mary has to hide her background as a judoka because of her past body size and another undisclosed trauma. She and Vin had to leave their hometown Cheonliang (Chunryang) and settled in Seoul, and could only recently embraced their Cheonliang identity again after Vin's escape from Mitsuki's illegal fight club.

Their shared trauma of body shaming and disability makes it hard for them to believe in other people, an example of how lookism works in alienation.

6. Jake Kim, James Lee & First Generation King Arcs

Spotlight Characters:

Sinu, Taesoo, and Seokdu

Taesoo, who is Hudson (Hyunseong)'s teacher from Ansan, is traumatized by his disability. His bitterness and shame drove him to lose his belief in himself, and to retreat from society.

Meanwhile Sinu (Shinwoo) and Seokdu are never discriminated only because they put up a "tough front" that seem to have "surpassed" their respective disability (in what is probably an example of how their society treats them as an 'inspiration porn', a term coined by Australian disability activist Stella Young).

7. First Affiliate Arc (Current Arc)

Spotlight Characters

Logan (and Daniel)

Logan is back at his worst in the First Affiliate arc when he taunted Daniel with the past crude name "Pikachu". Daniel too had to resort to call Logan "Pig" even though he knows that it's a name given by bullies including Logan himself.

This situation is an example of how lookism in society makes it difficult for people to escape from labels, no matter how far they've come.

Side Notes

Not exactly lookism here but ageism: the dismissive attitude by younger characters towards the aging members of Gen 0. Well of course physically they're different from when they were young but they're still formidable people! But they themselves despise the younger generation, so the hatred is mutual.

Maybe Samuel (Seongeun)'s bitter rivalry with Jake about Big Deal etc. counts as lookism. Jake benefits from his Gapryong looks, and is the more acknowledged one in the criminal underworld, for better or worse. I'm not saying that Jake only has his looks, of course he's talented and tough, but Samuel had nothing (the running joke between the creators and the fandom is how he's cool because his father was an AC repairman). I wonder if that was why Samuel tried hard to make his physique more formidable before meeting Jake again (but Samuel is literally a bag of insecurities and maybe not just about his looks or heritage alone so who knows).

In the Future...

I think the lookism consequences would keep appearing in the manhwa/webtoon. I mean there's the problem of Daniel's, Crystal's and who knows who else's alternate bodies. Daniel's alternate body was probably created as a perfect human weapon, while Crystal's was to observe people (and Daniel?). I have this feeling in my gut that the alternate bodies were products of someone's (Charles's? Someone else's?) morbid dissatisfaction about human imperfections.

There goes my rant about the threads of the lookism theme across the Lookism manhwa/webtoon. I'm sorry that this turns out to be very long.

165 notes · View notes

creature-wizard · 5 days

Note

law of assumption is stigmatizing being a victim as humiliating and bad thing that you should feel ashmed of being, they often describe being a victim as a "sucker" and a "loser" which makes victims of abuse feel ashmed that they ended up like this, as much as i would like everyone to be happy and always safe it's not possible sometimes and being a victim shouldn;t be seen as embarrassing

Exactly. If these people were just passing around self-empowerment advice that would be one thing, but within this context it often comes packaged with blame and contempt for victims that's just going to add to the trauma. It's really important to distinguish between self-empowerment and victim blaming/victim shaming, and not do the latter in the name of the former.

For anyone reading this: If you are leaving or questioning the Law of Assumption and need help, please see this post.

#answered #loa #loassumption #law of assumption #loablr #loa tumblr #victim blaming

27 notes · View notes

sofoulandfairaday · 5 months

Note

Please share all of your Sirius and Bellatrix thoughts ♥️

I have way too many, darling.

The TLDR is it is our choices that show us who we truly are, far more than our abilities. The long version is under the cut.

When reading about them I usually prefer stories where their original 8-9 year gap is preserved (it annoys me to no end when people write the Order and the Death Eaters as entirely made up of people in the same couple of years in Hogwarts —really? Was the conflict exclusively waged by child soldiers? Were Dumbledore and Voldemort just chilling before 1977, when they decided to start recruiting?). With that being said, I can also enjoy fics where - for shipping purposes - their ages are more compatible, to make them share time in Hogwarts or during the First Wizarding War.

I think they are very, very alike personality-wise. The narrative draws some delicious writing parallels between them, both physically and in their expressions, vices and virtues, and choices. Directly between them, might I add. The author underlines the difference between Bella and Narcissa more than once, we're meant to see it, and similarly we're meant to see the similarities between Bella & Sirius.

They are haughty, passionate, powerful, competent, arrogant, bright, much more intelligent than the fandom thinks they are. In general, they suffer from the stigmatization that many characters - but some people in real life do too - that someone who is intense and impulsive cannot possibly be as intelligent as people who are meek, soft-spoken, generally more controlled. Think what the fandom does to Sirius vs Remus and Bella vs her sisters, when every arrow points to the fact that they are actually the cleverest in these pairings.

They are both some shade of mentally ill, and not because of the curse of the Blacks - half the Blacks went mad didn't they? What's the saying? Every time a Black is born the gods flip a coin. god the Targaryen-Black parallels are gold - Sirius is very likely horribly depressed in OOTP, something no one around him seems to understand, infuriatingly. The only one that seems to get it is Harry, who has the literal Dark Lord living in his brain (= bigger problems to deal with). Bella is... I don't know what she is, ask me after my psychiatry module next year, but my money is on PTSD after Azkaban - after all, she didn't have the escape of an Animagus form behind bars. She would also very likely be victim-blamed for these different feelings, which would lend itself to a delicious nobody else in the world understands us but us type of post-Azkaban dark!fic which I would love to read.

They are both skilled at magic, and while they might despise each other for their respective political views, they respect each other because of this. Bella is probably above him in terms of magical power and skill, because she's 9 years older and because of Voldemort's training, but Sirius seemed to be keeping up quite well with her during their fight in the DoM.

Speaking of which, I am sure that Bellatrix's scream of triumph was due to her winning their duel, not because she thought she had killed him and that is probably the single thing I love the most about HBC's interpretation of her in the movies. That look. 10/10.

I am of the opinion that Bella is all bark and no bite when it comes to certain members of her family, especially her sisters. Sure, she might say that she wants to prune her family tree but 30 years later in the beginning of DH, she still calls Andromeda sister. I'm sure she would want nothing more than to put him under lock and key for the rest of his life and never let him escape, not kill him. And, to me, the way Sirius speaks of his family is very interesting. I'm sure he firmly believes that he hates them, but his actual feelings are more complex than that. You can hate someone and still desire their love, their respect. You can hate that they are the only people in the world who understand you - and hate yourself more in turn, for it.

Sirius seems to me like someone haunted by his own darkness. He, much like Harry, would be constantly worried that he's becoming like them. I'm sure it's a weak spot for him and I wish we had heard more bickering, or at least a full interaction between Bella and Sirius (I feel like she would claim him as hers, underline how much he cannot escape his own blood, even just to mock him/unsettle him in battle). But what Dumbledore says to Harry is true: it doesn't matter how alike they are, it's their choices that matter much more. And I feel like this is why the two of them would never reconcile in canon. They stand for different things.

I also think there might be some - and I know Freud is controversial nowadays, but bear with me - penis envy, on her part. Because Sirius was born the heir - something she would have given her left hand to be: to be born and die a Black instead of being expected to marry into another family - and he squandered it all away by consorting with werewolves and mudbloods. But no. He got everything and pissed on it, and it's just not fair. And by choosing not to come back, even in the two years after Regulus' death, he made sure that the Black Family name will die with him- and I think that is just something she can never ever forgive him.

Now. Everybody knows I don't like TCC and my preferred view of Bella is someone with fertility issues, even to the point of being sterile.

[I read an amazing fanfic once and a line from it stuck in my brain - "If I can't be life, then I'll be death"]

But. If we do see it as canon. This is also the reason why - despite being overjoyed at Delphi's birth - I am convinced that she wished for a boy when she was pregnant. If she had a boy with the Dark Lord, who couldn't possibly give them his name, the House of Black would have an heir. This is also the reason why I don't thing she was necessarily opposed to having children with Rodolphus - the "spare" would have been her heir.

Bellatrix would say that Regulus was her favourite cousin, but truth be told, it was really Sirius whom she respected more - at her core, in my opinion, Bellatrix is really only someone who respects power. Sirius is like her that way.

But Bellatrix is clearly a cruel person, which Sirius is not (or at least, he tries not to be: Kreacher and Snape are two very particular cases of people who are mean to him back). Also, Sirius' view of the world is much more egalitarian - If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals. Bellatrix is clearly someone who sees the world in terms of hierarchies, and lives within them (see: how she acts around Voldemort and what is implied of her treatment of house-elves who obey their masters: there is a scale and some serve others, and as long as they do so well they have certain rights; disobey, you get punished).

(Bellatrix is somewhat a feminist character but let's be real- she's not a revolutionary. She went to the Dark Lord and showed him just how powerful she was - aka my wand is bigger than all these male DEs' - and he said "okay, fair, I'll give you the Mark", thereby freeing herself. She is not a "equal representation for women inside terrorist organizations!!" type of girlie)

I also love how her death parallels Sirius'. It's thematically beautiful and it excuses her death coming at the hands of one Molly Weasley (who could never ever in a million years have beaten her on skill alone). She dies because she is arrogant. It's one of her traits. Overconfidence. She was always meant to die like that.

[coincidentally one of the reasons why she would not be a hufflepuff like some suggest: this woman is not humble]

I could go on, but I think I've rambled enough.

P.S. Let's not sleep on the fact that the two of them together would be hot.

#sirius black #bellatrix lestrange #bellatrix black #sirius x bellatrix #asks #answered

69 notes · View notes

jealousmartini · 6 days

Note

What the hell is happening in this ask. Girl "law of Assumption is stigmatising being a victim as humiliating and a bad thing you should be ashamed of" is such an oxymoron.. the whole point of law of assumption is using it to manifest you dream life. Not become a victim or even shame victims what even in the hell IS THIS☠️☠️

No one here is calling ANY victims of abuse losers this is actually insane😦

#shiftblr #master manifestor #desired reality #law of assumption #4d reality #shifters #shifting #loa #drself #loa blog #desired body #desired appearance #desired self #desired life #dream life #loa affirmations #loa advice

20 notes · View notes

diamondperfumes · 10 months

Text

The assertions that Dany will "succumb" to her family's allegedly "evil legacy" or the "taint" in her blood require pathologizing her for being an abuse victim borne of rape and incest, buying into bioessentialist "genetics is destiny" argument, and decontextualizing most of the passages from her book arc. This post, with a song juxtaposed with out-of-context quotes from Dany's chapters, is an excellent example.

"Every child knows the Targaryens have always danced too close to madness." The only "mad" Targaryens were Rhaegel, Aerion, Aerys II, and Viserys III. If you want to stretch it, you can include Baelor, though he was more pious and fanatic than mad. Maegor was cruel but lucid. Rhaegar was not mad, despite being Aerys II's son. And the narrative has distanced Dany from Aerys II several times, because one of ASOIAF's central theses is not "you are your father's child," but "you can overcome your father."

"She could not look behind her, must not look behind her" is not Dany "refusing to look at her family's history." This is taken from her fever dreams in AGOT Dany IX, and what she can't look back at is an icy breath that would cause her a "death worse than death, howling forever alone in the darkness." It's the first time Dany sees the Others in her dreams, and she is the only other character in AGOT to dream of them, the other character being Bran.

"I made a horror just as great, but surely they deserved it. Harsh justice is still justice." This is Dany feeling guilty for crucifying 163 slavers. How is that a sign of madness or refusal to confront her family legacy? It's actually a sign that Dany has empathy even for the worst of humanity, even for her enemies. Also, crucifying slavers isn't evil. It's odd that the same fandom that calls Dany a slaver, slave trader, slave profiteer, and slavery enabler, also calls her a tyrant or mad for crucifying slavers. What is she supposed to do with slavers? What is the "proper" way to handle them?

The mother of monsters passage is more proof that Dany is introspective and self-critical. In children's media, shounen anime, and Marvel movies, a villain may unironically call themselves a monster, but in more complicated, nuanced, adult literature, characters who call themselves monsters usually aren't bad people. They're the self-deprecating, humble, and thoughtful characters who are reflecting on their flaws and mistakes. Again, if Dany is someone who refuses to think about the dark side of her family, she would not agonize over the consequences of using her power. Monstrosity is associated with being stigmatized, ostracized, and alienated by hegemonic forces in society, and those characters who identify with monstrosity often have something to reveal about the violence of the status quo and the normalization of oppression.

George is deconstructing the coin quote, not reinforcing it. Madness/greatness, ice/fire, east/west, north/south, sun/moon, pain/pleasure, love/hate, are all dichotomies in the novel that George sets out to show can unite in some way. As I said, most Targaryens were not "mad," and I find it odd that for a fandom as progressive as it frames itself to be, the ableist stereotyping of "foreign otherized race from the East is genetically predisposed toward madness" isn't something fans problematize more.

Dany longing for the house with the red door and wanting to rest, laugh, plant trees and see them grow, are also seen as signs of madness because of her statelessness and homelessness. If a teenage girl has been raped and abused, and is herself a product of rape and abuse, and comes from an exotic Eastern family, then apparently her longing for home is actually a bomb waiting to detonate inside her, because she's unfit to belong anywhere. It's shocking that this mentality is seen as media literate or subversive.

"Dragons plant no trees" has already been disproven by Dany's arc itself. Dany reclaims fire and blood by the end of ADWD because she realizes the peace in Meereen is false (which it is). Jon Snow goes from wanting to hire glassblowing apprentices to plant crops in greenhouses to grow food, to abandoning his vows and declaring war to save his sister, and then dies. Why is that not seen as a sign of "succumbing to madness?" The acts are narratively paralleled. Perhaps––and this may be crazy, but stay with me––the thesis of FeastDance is that you cannot grow, build, and heal a nation in soil watered with blood. No such rebuilding or regrowing is possible unless and until real change occurs, and for real change to happen, the corrupt old guard cannot stay alive.

Certainly TWOW will be a darker book for every viewpoint character, but it's interesting to see how a combination of pathologizing Dany for her gender, ethnicity, genes/biology, trauma, and stateless/rootless/homeless status as an exile/diaspora, with decontextualizing her chapters, quotes, and passages, and an overall misunderstanding of the themes of ASOIAF, to single Dany out as a "dark" character who won't be able to "outrun" her "negative family history."

#daenerys targaryen #canondany #my discourse #meta #asoiaf meta #asoiaf

139 notes · View notes

campgender · 1 month

Note

is... is it ok to be stone without trauma??

short answer: absolutely hon!! you can develop & maintain whatever sexual boundaries you want forever 💖💖

long answer: people don’t have to conceptualize themselves this way if they don’t want to & i want to respect the perspectives + language individuals use for themselves, but in a political sense i believe everyone is sexually traumatized, because we’ve been raised in cultures with oppressive sexual ethics & expectations.

this is informed by Emily Joy Allison’s work on what she refers to (link) as “the sexualized violence of nonaffirming theology” — i consider purity culture & rape culture interdependent systems of sexual violence which widely produce what Allison conceptualizes as complex sexual trauma, ‘even’ in people without discrete experiences of specific trauma/violence (such as rape or assault).

i reflected on this concept a bit in a post last year (link):

stone doesn’t have to be an attempt to cobble together a new foundation atop sexual trauma but i do think all stones are, to some extent, sexually traumatized, because it is sexual harassment for a bunch of strangers to tell you what kind of sex you should have & how & with whom.

obviously not all stones have had our sexual practices directly invalidated by others, but most if not all of us have spent our lives being taught to have a certain kind of sex—from mainstream society, sex that prioritizes patriarchal power as represented by (in a system of enforced cishetero monogamy) the man’s pleasure over all else; in feminist & queer spaces, a reactive emphasis on egalitarian orgasms that ends up being oppressive as shit in its own ways:

not everyone can orgasm or wants to orgasm

not everyone wants to give other people orgasms

constructing orgasm as synonymous with pleasure is one of the major projects & requirements of rape culture, & contributes to the immense stigmatization of experiences categorized under PGAD + spontaneous orgasm

…& so on. furthermore, because i’m feeling particularly feisty today, i would go so far as to say that i & all stone victims/survivors need there to be stones without sexual trauma, or with complex sexual trauma that is illegible as such to society, or however else they define themselves (y’all define yourselves? an invitation without expectation), because if the legitimacy of my sexual boundaries is predicated on my victimhood/survivorship, then all society needs to do to invalidate my boundaries is convince me i wasn’t really assaulted, a project it’s been pursuing intensively since before i ever experienced assault.

i reject their movable goalposts, their game entirely; it is okay to be stone without trauma because it is okay to be stone. it is okay to be stone.

#stone #high femme #stone femme #stone bottom #stone top #stone butch #asks #impurity culture #οἱ λίθοι κράξουσιν #but what gets it for me is high femme #ok to reblog <3

22 notes · View notes

genderkoolaid · 11 months

Note

I was JUST debating sending an anon about alloaro stuff lol. i am writing a character who is alloaro, n i'm curious as to how i should go about portraying it respectfully? any pointers? <:} sorry if this a bit too vague of an ask

It is pretty vague but I can give you some pointers regardless! (If you have more specifics in mind, feel free to send another ask).

Alloaros can have a ton of different relationship desires; some people enjoy romantic relationships, some people are entirely non-partnering. But a lot of us really enjoy or want a sexual but non-romantic relationship, which tend to be really stigmatized! "Friends-with-benefits" tend to be seen as shallow, casual, and short-term, and/or will inevitably end up with romantic attraction. So if it would fit the character & story, I would be really cool to see a character who has a sexual non-romantic relationship! That could look a ton of different ways- anywhere from "literally married & living together" to "good friends who have sex and live independently."

Also going off ^, a lot of aros tend to be on the non-monogamous side; we tend to have a lot in common with polyam allos (like perspectives on jealousy & relationship anarchy). So you could have your character have multiple different partnerships! And some of those may be sexual while others aren't. I know for me, I consider my platonic relationships to be on the "same level" as sexual ones, so I would consider a very close friend to be equally as important as a very close sexual partner, and I might call both a "partnership" (especially if our lives are very intertwined). Looking into queerplatonic partnerships might give you some ideas here.

Some alloaros do enjoy sleeping around/casual sex. However, if your character engages in that, you should make sure they are a three-dimensional character who clearly has other interests and other personality traits, and is not defined by being hypersexual.

Personally, I would be very uncomfortable with an alloaro character whose presented as a heartbreaker, someone who leads people on. Same for a character who is presented as being afraid of commitment or unwilling to commit, especially if they end up "fixed" by a relationship (even a non-romantic one). There is a theme of alloro partners being depicted as poor victims of cold-hearted sluts who just wanted them for their body, led on by the promise of "real love," and IRL there is a trend of alloros getting angry with their alloaro sexual partners for not being romantic, even when they explicitly said they did not want romance. And there is also a stereotype that aromantics are just commitment-phobic and/or traumatized, and our aromanticism is a sign that we are broken and need fixing. Depictions of alloaros as cruel/mean or broken tend to be very arophobic. This doesn't mean alloaros always have to be perfectly sane and kind- I myself have a character whose essentially alloaro, is a slut and isn't the best person- but I'm not sure I would want to see that from an alloro author, and regardless it needs to be done very carefully. If your character does fall into these but you want to keep these elements, get a sensitivity reader to give you advice on how to keep them well-rounded. But in general don't make your villain/asshole character the only aro/alloaro.

Also: diverse alloaro characters would be awesome! There basically aren't any right now so anything you write will be nice, but alloaros come in all sizes, genders, orientations, ethnicities, bodies, etc!

#m.#ask box #alloaro #aroallo

113 notes · View notes

confessionsofa-roleplayer · 6 months

Text

Pro-ship/anti-ship is a stupid argument and a distractor from the real issue, which is not what you write but how you write it. Writing is a form of art and a lot of art centers on drawing inspiration from real things, which yes - includes uncomfortable topics and issues. We base art and writing on our perspectives and experiences and the hard truth is that these things are not universal. Inevitably, you will come across things that are different, disturbing, and sometimes - gasp - bad. You have a choice to interact with that content or not, but policing how other people engage with it or utilize creative outlets to tell their stories, especially if they have experiences with those subjects, is neither your business nor right. On the other side of the spectrum, writing dark or uncomfortable topics is not inherently bad or morally wrong. I would argue that, when done in certain ways, doing so can start conversations about things that need to be talked about. It can bring awareness to issues. It can be used to connect to people who have experience with these sorts of subjects to bring them comfort by reminding them they’re not alone. It can even be used to normalize talking about these problems in away that prevents stigmatization and stereotyping of perpetrators or victims. Seeing things in media helps make us aware of them and helps conversations happen. The trick is that these subjects should be done in a way which does not glorify or sexualize the actions, and does not create or perpetuate stereotypes about the perpetrators/victims. The fact that this argument has been reduced to a black and white, all or nothing type issue when it is so complex is really disheartening. This idea that you have to be completely for or completely against something and take sides while completely disregarding the nuances ends up bleeding into other things and preventing us from having real conversations about problems. The RPC needs to understand that what you write is not nearly as important as how you write it. Anything can be bad if you don’t take the time properly research it and address it with the care and respect it deserves.

#shipping #confessions

35 notes · View notes

sadistic-softie · 1 month

Text

I hate being confrontational or preachy and I've never done it before, and frankly, it scares the shit out of me because I don't want people to think I'm mad at them, but I just need to get this off my chest.

I don't have NPD, but I'm so fucking tired of seeing bullshit CPTSD healing 'resources' that use 'narcissist' as a way to say 'abuser' or assume that all abusers are narcissistic and/or vice versa. Like...I wanna heal my trauma without seeing NPD people being thrown under the bus and stigmatized for something they have no part in. Like...wtf? Is that too much to ask for?? My CPTSD is not because of someones or anyones NPD. It never was and never will be. Apparently this is a hot take, but PTSD in general is not from anyones NPD. PTSD is from TRAUMA and or ABUSE. Apparently this is such a common misconception that even my father believes it. He said, "it's because she's a narcassist" after I talked to him about my mothers abusive behaviors to me. So, yeah...that's an awkward fucking conversation I might have to have eventually?? Narcissist is not another word for abuser. I'm saying this as a victim of abuse. Narcissist is not another word for abuser. Yes, it is possible that an abuser can just so happen to have NPD, but they could also have literally any other disorder and that would't be the cause of abusive behavior. NPD doesn't 'make' someone into an abuser. People with NPD are not all abusers. Not all abusers have NPD. These things are not synonymous. You can not blame abusive behavior on NPD. In my particular situation, my family has fallen into a cycle of abuse type situation, in which each mother was abusive to her daughters, causing the cycle to become seen as 'normal' in the family, thus perpetuating the cycle. An abusers actions are purposefully negative. Even if the intent is not explicitly to abuse or the abuser is not fully aware that they are being abusive. Each individual behavior is done with a certain intent. Manipulation tactics are meant to gain power over a person, constant invasion of privacy is done to control a person, constant belittlement and agression towards a particular person enforces an unhealthy dynamic, unwarrented and or cruel punishments, threats, pushings of boundaries are meant to train a victims actions and mindset, and I don't think I need to explain why physical violence is harmful. The list goes on. None of these abusive behaviors are symptoms of NPD nor fit the description of someone with NPD. These behaviors are abusive, end of sentence. It has nothing to do with NPD. The following are screenshots from a simple Google search (literally bare minimum research) defining Narcassistic Personality Disorder:

I'm sorry is this post overwhelms anyone. I don't want this to feel like a scolding and I really hope I don't sound like I'm trying to take a moral highground because I don't wanna make anyone feel like they're a bad person or anything like that. I know my wording and tone in this post is quite agressive compared to how I usually am, and I apoligize for that. I also wanna make it clear that this is not directed at anyone or any group of people in particular. Also, take this with a grain of salt too, as I'm not a professional in any field whatsoever and these are just my personal thoughts and frustrations. I hope you have a wonderful day if you're reading this and if you aren't. Thank you.

17 notes · View notes

marshmallowprotection · 4 months

Note

Kait, do you think GE Saeran would have to deal with drug withdrawal effect during the period between his Good Ending and After Ending? It's highly likely, right? I want nothing more than to be by his side and comfort him during those times :(

Unfortunately, yes.

It's not sunshine and roses when it comes to somebody weaning themself off of the kind of drug he was taking. It was a combination cocktail of all sorts of drugs. The solution that makes up the Elixir is never quite the same each time, and the concentrations can be very different.

As far as I know, everything that's in there is bad for you. The Secret Ending tells us a few of the known ingredients but even the doctors are stumped on EVERYTHING that's in it. I've talked about about how he has to be going through a lot of painful symptoms but the game glosses over it because nobody really likes to talk about that kind of stuff. It's not pretty.

Not only that, but it's hard for people to open up about these particular issues since this is stigmatized no matter if somebody is in recovery or not. A good chunk of his time in the hospital has more to do with his physical symptoms than anything else. That is the case for many victims of Mint Eye. The mental duress and exhaustion are going to take a long time to heal, but as for the physical symptoms, some of those issues can be remedied in the meantime.

It's a mess of migraines, exhaustion, irritability, dehydration, and many other physical and mental symptoms that can differ person to person and substance to substance.

Saeran is going to be dealing with this for a while. Even after he's out of the hospital, I can't see him being comfortable taking any kind of medication outside of something for his migraines. Why in the world would he ever be trustful of medication ever again after he spent so much of his life being forced to take the elixir? Ray called it medicine at one point, you know?

He may not have been taking it for as long as SE Saeran did, but it doesn’t change the fact that he was suffering with the elixir for nearly an entire year.

He mentions once in the after-ending that he has medication he needs to take, and I imagine that offhand comment has a little bit to do with his recovery process. He takes medicine for migraines, that we know, but given that it’s been nearly a month and some change since we escaped Mint Eye, he’s had time to go to a doctor. Hell, I’m certain Jumin had not only helped him get a doctor, but get his proper government documentation as well.

So, he is getting the help he needs for his health, but there's only so much they can do for his sake. They can make sure he has the medication he needs to lessen the severity of what he's going through, but it's not going to stop it 100%. He's going to have good days and bad days going forward, and sometimes there will be an itch he just can't scratch.

If you can do anything for him, you should make sure you have your hand ready for him to hold whatever he feels that ungodly feeling that tells him he needs some kind of elixir to make the pain go away. Even though he said he knew he didn't need to take it anymore, it doesn't change his body's response to no longer taking it. He went off of it cold turkey, and I can't imagine it made him feel good in the days following the aftermath.

Worst case scenario, he keeps up a brave face in front of everybody as you all work together to find his brother, but the minute the two of you are alone, that's when he breaks down and shows you just how bad he feels. It might take a few days for the pain to kick in, but it'll get there, and you'll have to help him talk about… the elixir and what Mint Eye did to him. He may not talk about Rika or V, but he’ll have to tell them why he physically can’t work.

#princessjung #mod kait #mystic messenger #ask #anon #mysme #saeran choi #mm #mysticmessenger #choi saeran #character analysis #ge saeran #saeray #saeran

31 notes · View notes

lifeandlies-of-regulusblack · 1 year

Text

What is this thing with regulus redemption arcs and how, "oh he let sirius be abused" —

Shut up. Shut the fuck up. Shuuuuuuuuuut uppppp.

I'm so happy some of you have never been in heavily abusive households before that you can speak of abuse victims this way. That you get to keep this idealized version of what siblings are supposed to do when they're all under abusive parents. But also, *sighs*

Guys.

The ignorance.

I have three older siblings and we all got our beatings okay??? Our parents will set themselves aflame and then set us aflame too. And let me tell you. There's nothing like the fear that strikes when one of you is about to get and/or when one of you is already being HIT.

There is no letting this "one" sibling be abused.

YOU FUCKING FREEZE UP. Because it's terrifying. It shocks you every time. It kills a part of you off. It ruins something for everyone. Feeling so genuinely terrified that you remain unmoving in the face of abuse, under an abusive household —

Is not letting your sibling/s be abused.

We've all taken turns being the one at the receiving end of a hand. We've all taken turns having to watch/hear a sibling get hit.

It shocks you still. It scares you silent.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who've been in a similar household or relationship with their parents and stood up to them. However, that's not your everyday reality.

The shit is fucking scary my dudes.

Sometimes you just have to pick yourselves up after the storm passes. Sometimes it's all you can do.

So when i see shit like regulus "letting sirius be abused" and regulus "being a coward" because he didn't want to get beat up or be cut off from his family,

It makes me see red.

It's so insensitive. So misguidedly ignorant. So misinformed because of popular fanon discourse. And honestly? It sets up a lot of stigmatizing views when it comes to abuse victims.

Regulus can be a coward for many, many, reasons! But being scared of abuse himself and not wanting to be abused, as he sees the consequences that make its mark on his brother's skin IS NOT IT. Nor does him, apparently, not having been beaten enough justify being called a coward. Can some of you think for a second first?

The one thing I've never wanted more being part of the black brothers fandom, is just the tiniest (a lot) bit more sensitivity towards abuse and what it does to its victims. This consideration of course applies to sirius. Leaving an abusive household isn't an act of evil or betrayal. However, some of you will vilify a kid for being an abuse victim whose actions you can't seem to glorify. Well, let me tell you — there's nothing to glorify about abuse.

#regulus black #the black brothers #black brothers #sirius and regulus #marauders era #slytherin boys #hp marauders #regulus headcanon #sirius black #sirius headcanon #marauders fanfiction #marauders headcanon

137 notes · View notes

gatheringbones · 1 year

Text

[“The idea that work can be morally injurious has not gone entirely unnoticed. At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, it was described in often-moving detail in articles about physicians and nurses who were forced to make excruciating decisions—which patients should be hooked up to ventilators? who should be kept alive?—as hospitals were inundated with COVID-19 cases. “None of us will ever be the same,” wrote an ER doctor in New York City who worked on the front lines of the pandemic and published a firsthand account of the anguish that she and her colleagues felt.

Notably, though, it took an unforeseen crisis to thrust doctors into such a role, a crisis that eventually abated. In the case of many dirty workers, the wrenching choices—and the anguish they can cause—occur on a daily basis because of how society is organized and what their jobs entail. Unlike doctors, moreover, these workers are not lionized by their fellow citizens for working in a profession that is widely viewed as noble. To the contrary, they are stigmatized and shamed for doing low-status jobs of last resort.

People who are willing to do morally suspect things simply to earn a paycheck deserve to be shamed, some may contend. This is how many advocates of migrant rights feel about the Border Patrol agents who have enforced America’s inhumane immigration policies in recent years. It is why some peace activists have accused drone operators involved in targeted killings of having blood on their hands. These activists have a point.

The dirty workers whose stories unfold in the pages that follow are not the primary victims of the systems in which they serve. To the people on the receiving end of their actions, they are not victims at all. They are perpetrators, carrying out functions that often cause immense suffering and harm. But pinning the blame for dirty work solely on the people tasked with carrying it out can be a useful way to obscure the power dynamics and the layers of complicity that perpetuate their conduct. It can also deflect attention from the structural disadvantages that shape who ends up doing this work. Although there is no shortage of it to go around, the dirty work in America is not randomly distributed. As we shall see, it falls disproportionately to people with fewer choices and opportunities—high school graduates from depressed rural areas, undocumented immigrants, women, and people of color. Like jobs that pay poorly and are physically dangerous, such work is chiefly reserved for less privileged people who lack the skills and credentials, and the social mobility and power, that wealthier, more educated citizens possess.”]

eyal press, from dirty work: essential labor and the hidden toll of inequality in america, 2021

#eyal press #currently reading

98 notes · View notes

sophieinwonderland · 4 months

Note

Hey uh.... Are those mod posts in systemscringe about you supporting p3d02 real?/genq

Unsurprisingly, it's another smear.

Most of it is taking my host's personal post about having complex feeling about his own grandfather out of context. I think anyone who was raised by an abuser knows how messy feelings can be towards family members. And unsurprisingly, being raised in the home of a convicted former abuser, and the former victim who is willingly living there, is equally as complicated.

There is no excuse for abuse. But could there have been things that could have prevented the abuse? That post was my host suggesting that maybe the abuse could have been prevented by societal factors. Maybe if someone with severe PTSD from a war he didn't sign up for had been given proper mental health treatment on returning, things wouldn't have ended up the way they did.

I don't think it's wrong to believe that there could have been realities where someone who was sick was able to recognize that early on and felt comfortable seeking help. And maybe in those realities, some of the victims of abuse wouldn't have been abused.

There's no way to turn back the clock and undo the damage that's already been done. It's too late. But I think it's fair to believe we can work to prevent abuse like this in the future.

My host's comments were about the complexities of growing up with someone you love while knowing they did something horrible to someone else you love, and feeling that society as a whole let both of them down. That since his grandfather wasn't offending later in life, maybe that means his mom wouldn't have been harmed had his grandfather gotten help he needed before he hurt her. That this was a tragedy that could have been prevented.

I feel there's something really gross about using that as a gotcha for a syscourse talking point, but sysmeds never have had much in the way of morals.

To be crystal clear, my position is that pedophilia is a mental disorder, and nonoffenders should feel safe seeking treatment so that they can hopefully live happy, healthy lives without ever offending.

To me, it's also important to differentiate between people with paraphiliac disorders and child molesters. Not everyone suffering from a harmful paraphilia acts on it. And not everyone who molests children suffers from a paraphiliac disorder. Many are opportunists who just target victims who are most vulnerable, and don't have any particular attraction to children. While overlap exists, these are not the same things.

(We have no idea where my host's grandfather falls on this.)

I believe that if you isolate people with paraphilias, make them feel like they can't seek help, they end up with nowhere to turn and will be more likely to offend. Like with most illnesses, you'll get better results from treatment the earlier the intervention is. And ideally, early intervention means fewer children will be harmed.

Because that's the most important thing here. Protecting children from abuse.

This is what I support. Early intervention for nonoffenders to protect children. I don't believe in stigmatizing people just for having a disorder.

With the distinction between people with paraphiliac disorders and child molesters made, can we also talk for a moment about how the r/systemscringe mods are just straight-up supporting accused child molesters?

If you've seen their recent bot posts setup on the sub to try to disprove RAMCOA, it links to articles written by The Grey Faction, an ableist branch of the Satanic Temple aiming to deny the experiences of trauma survivors.

Much of the "research" on that page is coming directly from the now-defunct False Memory Syndrome Foundation.

For those of you who are unaware, Jennifer Freyd, the psychologist behind theories of Betrayal Trauma and DARVO, accused her parents Pamela and Peter Freyd of sexual abuse in the 90s after recalling her trauma in therapy.

Her parents responded by not only denying it, but setting up an organization called the False Memory Syndrome Foundation which was created to prove trauma memories were being implanted, and to take legal action against trauma survivors and their therapists.

If you've ever heard of DARVO as a tactic used by abusers before, know that Pamela and Peter Freyd's founding of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation were the inspiration for DARVO.

It is impossible to overstate the damage this evil organization inflicted on survivors of CSA in shielding their abusers from consequences

So while r/systemscringe desperately tries to paint me as some pedophilia defender, they're aligning themselves with actual child molesters and abusers, spreading the arguments that those same abusers used to discredit their victims.

#syscourse #csa tw #child abuse tw #abuse tw #false memory syndrome foundation

22 notes · View notes