#Steve Hassan | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

elspeth-tirel · 6 months

Text

New Phyrexia As A Cult

Content Warnings: Heavy discussion of cults and cult recruitment, mentions of sexual coercion, abuse, gore in images (New Phyrexian art so if you’re good with that should be all clear)

I’ve seen many people talking about New Phyrexia with the release of Phyrexia: All Will Be One and March of the Machine. And I’ve seen people talk about the misconceptions of New Phyrexia, like assuming it’s a hivemind. Which leads me into the key point I wanted to discuss with this. New Phyrexia isn’t a hivemind, but there’s a reason it’s assumed to be one by most casual fans. I believe it’s most accurately conveyed as a cult, and that analysing and interpreting the specific ways it is like one has a lot of merit for how it is viewed. I’m also aware that most of what I’m saying isn’t new. Am I the first person to say New Phyrexia is a cult? No. But most of the time, I’ve seen people simply use it as a pejorative term to add on to the list of problematic buzzwords to attach when criticising New Phyrexia or the Praetors. And regardless of whether I agree with those people, I do feel it warrants much deeper exploration into why New Phyrexia is a cult.

I know this post likely will stir up a lot of people saying some not positive things about me and it but I felt it needed to be said. To those people who have a knee jerk reaction towards this and are going to immediately want to send me something criticising this, I don’t anticipate you’ll read all of this. But at the end of the document I did include a list of questions I anticipate a few readers will ask, and I would simply like to politely ask that you read that segment before sending anything to me or replying to this post.

To start talking about cults and the nature of New Phyrexia as one, it’s first necessary to answer a few important background questions. Many people are going to ask if I have personal experience with a cult. To that, yes I have, I was raised in one from birth until around age 17. I would not like to discuss this further, I am simply including this so people know when I speak here I know what I am talking about. Another important thing is the definition of a cult. What differentiates a cult from any other religion? Many people disagree on the exact definition, and every now and again you’ll get someone claiming that all religions are cults. But simplifying it that much loses track of the real harm cults do to a person. I feel a key aspect for what a cult is is Dr. Steve Hassan’s BITE model. BITE stands for Behaviour control, Information control, Thought control, and Emotion control. The key difference between a religion and a cult is one of control. Cults invade every sense of your being, they seek to make it so you don’t have a life outside the cult and what is necessary to maintain it. This is why it’s so difficult for people to leave them. There’s a sense of fear of the unknown. That if you leave there’ll be nothing out there for you. Who knows, maybe they made you do terrible things you can never undo, how will the people who weren’t there forgive you? You can accept the bad parts, because the good parts are there and there’s this giant fear of what will happen if you face the unknown, if you leave. Which brings me to my first major discussion point: Ixhel.

For the unaware, Ixhel is the protagonist of the Phyrexia: All Will Be One side story A Hollow Body, by Aysha U. Farah. It’s a fantastic read, I would highly recommend anyone who finds this essay at all interesting read it. For a brief summary, Ixhel was created by Atraxa- who was herself formerly a Mirrordin angel before every Praetor save Urabrask compleated her- to be used as a soldier/assassin. She feels devoted to Atraxa, but tries to suppress her other feelings- the feeling of love, of want of affection and approval. Throughout the story, she faces challenges to this suppression: a phyrexian named Belaxis who aids her in her mission, the Thane of Contracts himself, Geth, who challenges her on her devotion even as she kills him, and Atraxa herself in the end. She successfully completes her mission to slay Geth, but his words bother her. About her being a faceless drone, replaceable. So she takes Belaxis and Geth, and uses the Dominus of the Dross Pits to combine them into one being, now named Vishgraz.

Atraxa is furious at the idea of their creation. But it’s not necessarily their creation itself that she really has an issue with. It’s that the creation was made without being ordered to. Vishgraz represents a threat to her not in their existence but in showing that Ixhel took an action other than what was ordered, even if she did it in hopes of imitating her superior in the cult. Because if she can take one action away from orders, she can take more. And that is a threat to her loyalty, which must be punished to ensure she stays in line, to ensure she stays another faceless drone. And Ixhel does take another action aside from orders, an even more direct disobedience: she spares Vishgraz’s life when ordered to kill them.

Ixhel represents someone born into a cult. She only ever did what was ordered, because it was all she knew. But cults are not a natural state of mind, they’re a method of control that can be broken free from. And this shows with Ixhel. She obeyed mindlessly, until she was given another option, an idea of what could help her, what could make her fix those feelings she had been taught to ignore and repress. This is a common experience, it’s certainly one I went through. It’s not the only experience with cults though. Because another thing to mention is recruitment, and Phyrexia: All Will Be One provides a great example of this too.

Another aspect of the storyline for this set was the idea of compleated planeswalkers. This is a new thing for Magic, with the idea introduced in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, with Tamiyo. However this was most fully analysed during Phyrexia: All Will Be One’s main story, by Seanan McGuire (who also did a fantastic job with that story, I would highly recommend that one as well). But something I recently came to the realisation of, that I have not seen discussed, is the common factor between every single compleated planeswalker: they’re all the exact types of people who are most vulnerable to recruitment by cults.

If you’re reading this and thinking “most vulnerable” I want you to keep in mind I mean exactly that. Anyone is vulnerable to recruitment by a cult, especially if you think you’re too smart to be recruited. And that’s where our first victim I’ll discuss comes in, Jace Beleren. Jace is a man who prides himself on his intelligence, on his skill with his mind. But in the story, he falls prey to New Phyrexia because he underestimates them, and overestimates his own skills. The love of his life, Vraska, has clearly fallen to compleation. But he thinks he can be smarter; he can use his illusion and mind magic to give her one last day, one last day together with him, where they can pretend like she hasn’t been infected. And that is what makes him be taken in by the cult.

Jace fell for it because he wanted to be clever and thought he was too smart, but also out of love and devotion to someone else who fell. I believe even if he knew what would happen he would do it again out of devotion. And who knows, the story so far seems to imply he had a plan, that he knew what he was doing. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong and he’ll turn out on top of this situation. But even so, he still lost to New Phyrexia due to this.

Next off is Vraska, another key type to fall for cults. Vraska throughout her entire life has been abused by society, a victim of racism and police brutality. All of those are horrific acts done against her. And cults reach out to those people, they tell them they have the answer, that if they simply follow them they will find the ability to help other downtrodden like themselves, or find a sense of community with others who will not judge them, so long as they follow the rules. Lukka is also very similar to this, but slightly different. Lukka is an outcast, rejected by his entire society, like a very extreme example of ostracisation and bullying. Humans are naturally social creatures, and this can easily be turned against us with a want for acceptance leading us to take abuse we should not tolerate. New Phyrexia also promises him strength, the strength with which he can avoid being hurt again, which he can use to carve a new place in this world and hurt everyone who hurt him, but much much worse.

Nahiri also falls under a similar umbrella with Lukka, but slightly less self motivated. Nahiri has a burning desire for revenge, for power against the figure in her life who let her down, Sorin Markov. But also, she believes in her heart of hearts that she is a protector, that everything she’s doing is to protect her homeland and her people, the Kor. And what leads her to being compleated is this sense of protection. She sacrifices her own health and her chance at a cure because she wants to ensure the success of the mission of stopping New Phyrexia. And her self sacrifice to do this may have helped the mission succeed, but it doomed her to fall.

Nissa is very similar to her here actually, as she also fell due to helping someone. She trusted Lukka, and tried to help him to the end, and this led her right into New Phyrexia’s trap. Others who fell this way too include Ajani and Tamiyo. They all trusted someone or sought to protect someone, and that trust was used against them. This shows the type of people who fall for cults because they are selfless. Those who fall because they don’t see a value in their own worth as an individual, but do see it as a collective. This is one of the major flaws of white mana: it’s bad at putting yourself first. It’s so easy to simply fall in line with a cult when you’re used to falling in line and obeying to help the greater good, because with the right words it’s easy to convince anyone that anything is the greater good. It feels safe to take some sacrifice, because after all, we’re taught to admire martyrs. We’re taught to emulate, and share. And those are good instincts don’t get me wrong, one of the most beautiful things about humanity is our capacity for love for our fellow man, the ability for strangers to care for strangers so readily just because they need help. But cults take advantage of that, and New Phyrexia is no different.

This is also touched on in the story Cinders, by Cassandra Khaw. This story is unique because it showcases an aspect of New Phyrexia we haven’t touched on here, the Quiet Furnace. While most aspects of New Phyrexia are definitely considered bad, the Quiet Furnace is the one I’ve seen the most arguments for about it being ethical and good. And while it has the most potential for good with this freedom, it also shows more of how cults prey on the most vulnerable. In the story, a Mirran woman, Reyana, is tempted towards compleation by Slobad. Reyana lost everything. She’s fighting a war she never asked to fight, constantly on the run, constantly in fear for her life. And they show her her mother. At peace with the cult, happy, caring. A lot of people join cults simply to follow loved ones. And this is the exact way Reyana joined. A key thing to showcase that this was not genuine freedom, that despite this promise of peace this was a corruption of herself, is the consequences after. Does Slobad and his group allow the Mirrans to freely mingle with the compleat, to simply talk among them knowing they chose differently? No. While he claims this is a free choice, he also artificially holds back interaction between the cultists and their Mirran family, all interaction unless it is for the purpose of recruitment. This shows the real reason for all of this. It’s a show, a show that things can be good, a promise that life will be better if you join and obey, because those you care about made that choice too. If they really believed in this freedom of choice, the Quiet Furnace would not shun contact with Mirrans, simply tolerating their presence without compleating them, it would embrace contact with them, embrace the diversity of perspective those who did not choose the same as the compleat bring to the table. There are good people among the phyrexians, people who believe what they are doing is right and towards peace, towards helping everyone come to a common understanding. Most criticisms of New Phyrexia I’ve seen make the mistake of calling them all monsters, not thinking for a moment that they aren’t monsters, but people, people who made a bad choice for good reasons. But those people don’t realise that they themselves are a victim, a lure in a trap to make others take a choice they never would’ve made otherwise, with the threat of losing contact with their loved ones if they don’t make that leap.

Another point to consider is what cults offer you, and what New Phyrexia offers you. People join cults because they promise something they lack. Most often that is a sense of community, of welcoming, of becoming, and of love. The price to pay is simply your individuality. When you think about New Phyrexia, that fits perfectly in theme. The oil takes away your worries, it makes you unconcerned with what troubled you prior to your compleation. It doesn’t feel like something wrong, something infecting you, it feels like…. completion. Like something you’ve always been missing has been found. And that’s alluring. That’s genuinely a tempting proposition. Think to yourself, what price would you be willing to pay to not have to think for yourself anymore, to be able to feel safe and just live day to day. That’s the promise of cults. And that’s the promise of New Phyrexia. But it’s not a healthy promise. Following charismatic leaders blindly simply leads to suffering, whether it’s for you or those outside the cult, or others inside of it. This is even shown in the text, in the story for March of the Machine by K. Arsenault Rivera.

When Elspeth faces off against Elesh Norn, she has been changed. She gave up her life in a moment of turmoil, sacrificed her being to save the multiverse. And she was ascended because of it, having her sense of self altered and her physical form transmuted, when her only choice otherwise was death. Sound familiar? So when Elspeth threatens Norn's rule of power, what does Norn promise her? Friends among the phyrexians, lovers among them. She points out their similarities, how Elspeth is transformed as well, simply in a way deemed prettier by society, how her form is irrevocably altered, how she has a creed she is following just as much as Norn. And Elspeth does think of this offer, she does look around and think of how happy everyone looks, how content they seem to be to be cogs in a great machine forged with glorious purpose. But Elesh Norn doesn’t even think to talk about the consent of those people in the cult for whether they’d even want to be Elspeth’s friend or lover. Many cult members do end up coerced into relationships they do not want, and this is a showing that Norn is no different from any base cult leader. She knows that people deserve freedom of choice, and freedom of thought. The moment Elspeth realises Norn is wrong, the moment she realises she is nothing like Norn, despite the similarities between her religion and Norn’s cult, is seeing how Norn treats Jin-Gitaxias. Jin raises a simple objection, a logical one, that Norn is spending time discussing and talking while their soldiers, their people, are dying. And Norn tells him to be silent. Chief among all things, cults silence dissent against the leader. One could say that’s the cardinal sin in a cult. And that is what makes Elspeth realise she could never be like Norn. And hopefully, eventually, it is what will help Elspeth keep in touch with her humanity after her transformation. Because no matter what, the key lesson is, even the strongest of us is still vulnerable to temptation, to the urge to lose ourselves in obedience of another. And it's more important now than ever to remember to fight that urge.

Anticipated Questions (FAQ I Suppose But Ahead Of Time)

But I don’t see New Phyrexia this way, I think it’s (Insert X Narrative): That’s your view. You’re entirely entitled to it. This wouldn’t be very much of a good essay talking about cults and the importance of the freedom of choice if I insisted everyone else follow my point of view and agree entirely with everything I’ve said.

Are you saying I’m wrong for liking New Phyrexia?: Not at all. Again with the point before, this is my interpretation I am posting for literary merit in hopes it may interest others and perhaps aid their understanding of New Phyrexia. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with liking villains. It’s simply an understanding I came to through a lot of thinking about New Phyrexia I felt others may enjoy. The last thing I want is to start some sort of flame war over this. In fact if you use this essay to start such a flame war and try and make others conform to your beliefs, you have missed the point entirely.

Tell me about your personal experience with cults: Respectfully no. I will talk about that to people I am comfortable talking about it with. People who friend me on Discord may ask me, I may answer but I will not mind them asking. Otherwise I prefer not to share.

If you don’t want people to change their views, why did you post this essay?: I was thinking about my personal experience with cults and I thought others may want to see them and it may interest others, and it helped me type out my own personal feelings.

Isn’t it meritorious to discuss how New Phyrexia also has Christofascist elements with the Machine Orthodoxy and the specifics of the religion and how Norn demands they conquer?: For this specific essay, I actually believe no. A key thing a lot of people don’t think about is not all cults are the same belief systems. They don’t all approach with end of the world rhetoric, or some crazy theory, or hatred of others. Sometimes they’re a group preaching love and acceptance and tolerance, and claiming that you will feel much better with the cult. Sometimes they’re groups trying to take in the underserved of society and use their righteous indignation to serve their own ends. It doesn’t matter that New Phyrexia is Christofascist for why it is a cult, for all we care it could be about refusing violence entirely and spreading tolerance and goodwill to non phyrexians and preaching for coexistence. The key common factor is a manipulation of the members and control of their lives.

Despite all this I’m going to send you an ask or DM saying you’re horrible for this post in some moralistic way: Ok.

#magic the gathering #new phyrexia #MTG essay #Phyrexia: all will be one #march of the machine

299 notes · View notes

whatisonthemoon · 1 year

Text

Dan Fefferman attends an anti-cult conference

Stranger in an Even Stranger Land: Report on an Anti-Cult Conference

Dan Fefferman April, 2000 Washington, DC

In my capacity as director of the International Coalition for Religious Freedom, I decided to attend the annual conference of the Leo J. Ryan Foundation in Stamford Connecticut. Headquartered in Bridgeport, the LJRF makes no bones about its ties to the now-defunct Cult Awareness Network, which was put out of business by a lawsuit that tied it to an illegal deprogramming conspiracy. LJRF even bills itself as the renewed "Cult Awareness Community." Its current president is Priscilla Cole, who formerly ran the Cult Awareness Network, and several other CAN stalwarts can be found on its rolls.

Of course, it’s no coincidence that the group—named for the Congressman who was gunned down in the Jonestown massacre in 1978—has its headquarters in the town where the Unification Church is well known for its role in bailing out the financially troubled University of Bridgeport. LJRF’s executive director is Julia Bronder, an embittered former UB employee and UC critic.

Human Rights, but for Whom?

The title of the LJRF conference was "Human Rights and the New Millennium." This too may be no coincidence. Our own International Coalition for Religious Freedom (ICRF) sponsored a series of international conferences in 1988 entitled, "Religious Freedom and the New Millennium." Indeed a common thread running through the LJRF presentations was that "freedom of thought" is an even more fundamental human right than freedom of speech or religion. And since cultists can’t—by definition—have freedom of thought… Well, more on that later.

I have to admit that the conference was well run and well conceived to support its organizers’ purposes. I did feel a little out of place at times, especially with people who assumed I was an anti-cultist like themselves. One former UC member was so happy to see me, until I informed her that I was "still in." Another guy angrily accused me of being a private investigator hired by Scientology to harass participants and spy on them. Talk about bad vibes! But the majority of the organizers and participants I met were courteous, if cool, once they learned who I was. Below are some highlights. While many other groups other than the UC were dealt with, I’ve concentrated on what relates specifically to our work.

Accolades from the Adversary

Not to brag, but several speakers made reference to ICRF. They mentioned our four conferences and the cities in which they were held—Washington, Tokyo, Berlin, and Sao Paulo. They grudgingly praised our web site (www.religiousfreedom.com), and the "impressive array" of speakers whose papers we have posted there. A featured luncheon speaker, Prof. Stephen Kent of the University of Calgary, used the ICRF as a primary example of the way in which American new religious movements (NRM’s) are able to influence the American government and academic community. He admitted that ICRF has become an influential participant in the international human rights debate. Another speaker bemoaned the fact that ICRF had been able to get current and former congressmen, government officials, leading academics, and prestigious human rights leaders to join with us.

A special breakout session was devoted to the Maryland Task Force on Cult Activities which we’ve reported on previously in Unification News. The panelists—anti-cultists Ron Loomis, Denny Gulick, and Franz Wilson—declared the Task Force’s Final Report as a victory for their side. These men and other anti-cult activists on the Task Force were later given a special award for their efforts to create and influence the Task Force. The speakers acknowledged ICRF’s opposition to the Task Force, but naturally downplayed our effectiveness in blocking the anti-cultists’ aims. For example, they did not mention the fact that the state’s official task force on "Cult Activities" decided not even to use the word "cult" in its final report. Nor did they mention that one of its members, panelist Franz Wilson, interrupted UC member Alex Colvin’s testimony during a formal task force meeting and threatened him with violence.

Panelist Ron Loomis of the American Family Foundation avowed that the panel’s "agenda" was that "you should go back and attempt a similar effort in your state." But he warned about getting too much press in the beginning. "The best way to do it is locally," said Loomis, because national campaigns attract too much attention from NRMs and civil liberties groups. "Politicians are chicken," he complained. (In Maryland the legislation creating the Task Force was pushed through with almost no opposition voices raised, because our side did not find out about it until it had already passed the lower house and was on a fast track to pass the Maryland Senate. Four previous efforts by anti-cultists to pass similar legislation had failed when both sides were heard.)

Washington Times Targeted

The Washington Times and the WT Foundation were also major targets of LJRF speakers. One session was devoted exclusively to "Following the Money Trail in the Moon Movement." Led by Rev. Fred Miller, the session complained about the continued success of the Washington Times and its influence in conservative political circles. Miller seemed particularly upset by the success of the WTF’s American Century Awards. He named several high level political leaders who honored True Father Moon on that occasion. Miller was visibly disappointed by Jerry Falwell’s presence.

Another focus was George W. Bush. Several speakers mentioned him, believing that Rev. Moon must be a major financial supporter of Gov. Bush, if not directly then through his father. They are hoping to find evidence that UC money is ending up in Bush’s campaign treasury. They also bemoaned the fact that New Yorker seems to be a highly successful financial enterprise and that it has become a Ramada franchisee. Miller even reported on a meeting between himself and Ramada officials in which he sought unsuccessfully to influence them to end the relationship.

The anti-cult movement had been seriously discredited in the 1980s because of its association with deprogramming. It lost several major court cases, and also lost credibility among its mainstream funding sources. Now, however, it appears to have found a new "Sugar Daddy." Bob Minton is a reputed multimillionaire whose primary hobby in life is fighting against "cults." His main passion is attacking Scientology. However, he is also rumored to be a major funding source for the LJRF. Minton was a keynote speaker at this year’s conference, although he seems to have few credentials other than the green kind. He publicly announced that he had purchased 2,000 copies of former deprogrammer (now exit counselor) Steve Hassan’s new book, "Breaking the Bonds," which retails for 24.95. If you do the math, that’s a nice little contribution, and it doesn’t count any other donations to Steve’s new "Freedom of Mind Foundation" non-profit group.

No Hassle with Hassan

Speaking of Steve Hassan, I had several conversations with Steve during the conference. I’ve also been corresponding with him through e-mail. Notice the distinction I made in the above paragraph between "deprogramming" and "exit counseling?" Steve is adamant about making this distinction because deprogramming involves force and exit counseling does not. I think he has a point. I asked if he would be willing to put his opposition to forced deprogramming in writing to the Japanese Christian churches who—sometimes using his earlier books on "mind control" as their justification—are reportedly involved in forced kidnapping of hundreds our UC members. He agreed to do so. The letter says, in part:

"[An anti-cultist minister in Japan] told me this morning that sometimes, albeit infrequently, a family might hold their adult child against his/her will, and then a minister might be invited to speak with them. In my opinion, no minister should get involved in something like this as a matter of policy--even if the cult member requests a meeting in writing…

"I want this letter to stand as a public record that I think that any approach to help cult members should be one of love, compassion, and positive communication, not force. Otherwise, kidnapping or involuntary detention will invariably be traumatic… In fact, there was always another way that would have been less traumatic."

In return for his writing the above-mentioned letter, Steve asked me to clarify to the world community of Unificationists that he is not involved in holding people against their will. I think Steve is sincere in this, although he is certainly wrong in many of the things he says about the UC, Rev. Moon, "mind control," and NRM’s in general. Steve is a former deprogrammer, not a current one. What he does now is called "exit counseling," or in his current parlance "strategic interaction" to "break the bonds of mind control."

Now some of you will ask, "But isn’t what Steve does still really faith-breaking based on religious intolerance?" And I’d have to say yes. He gets paid by people who disapprove of other people’s religion (usually family members) to talk them out of it. And he also writes books and speaks out wherever he can trying to convince people of the need for the service he provides. But technically speaking it shouldn’t be called deprogramming unless force is involved. I’m hoping that since Steve wants UC members to avoid speaking in the present tense about things he did in the past (namely deprogramming), he’ll do the same and stop speaking about things we did in the past as if they were going on today. Watch this space.

Perhaps the most disturbing presentation of the LJRF conference was made by Jim Seigelman and Flo Conway, authors of the book "Snapping," which was instrumental in forming the anti-cult movement’s ideological basis in the late 1970s. Their presentation was entitled "Church vs. State," and it called for a new interpretation of the First Amendment that recognizes "freedom of thought" as the most basic human right, even more basic than freedom of speech or freedom of religion. (Another featured speaker, Stephen Kent of the University of Calgary eerily entitled his presentation "Human Rights vs. Religious Freedom.") Keep in mind that Conway and Seigleman and their cohorts, including exit counselor Steve Hassan, clearly argue that members of the minority religions they call "cults" do NOT have freedom of thought, because the cults have robbed them of it.

Seigelman actually called religion "the Achilles heel of American democracy." And Conway stated that "freedom of thought must be added to the first amendment." The both supported what they call a "judicial initiative" that will establish a "right to freedom of thought" in the same way that a "right to privacy" or a "right to have an abortion" has been established.

But if you unpack the Owellian newspeak, this type of "freedom of thought" simply stands the First Amendment on its head. Instead of "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or abridging the free exercise thereof," Conway and Seigleman appear to say that "The Courts shall interpret the law so that anyone who joins an unpopular religion shall be declared incapable of exercising freedom of thought." The legal and political implications of such a doctrine are staggering.

At its closing banquet, the LJRF gave Conway and Seigelman its highest honor, the Leo J. Ryan Award. The first person they thanked and credited as a pioneer in "this work" was not other than the father of deprogramming himself, Ted Patrick.

#dan fefferman #International Coalition for Religious Freedom #religious freedom #new religious movements #cult apologism #anti-cult #cult awareness network #steve hassan #steven hassan

2 notes · View notes

hornybunnybaby · 1 year

Text

I go to my local gaming store every Tuesday to play dnd and obviously I'm there to play dnd and we always have fun! Like we have a great dm who is running a fantastic homebrew! I'm super invested every session.

But, I'm always so horny before and after, imagining that this time instead of continuing the campaign, they run train on me.

I want them all to take turns railing me over the game mat while my fiance hangs out in the front of the store with David. I want them to ignore the sounds of the party draining their balls into me.

Maybe they could plan it out in advance so they all bring their mtg cards and play commander while they wait their turn.

Maybe they could just all keep playing without me. Mike could have me kneel under the table and suck him off slowly so not to distract him too much from dm-ing.

Or maybe everyone would just play regularly and expect me to play while I'm free use. Kevin could fuck my ass while his fighters doing something stupid again for a joke. Steve could come out back real quick so he can cover me in his cum. Hassan could make me ride him while it's his barbarian does his second attack. My fiance could reach over to let me take a sip of water while Travis casts a spell and fucks my pussy from behind. Angel (my fiance) could give me a sweet kiss after I finish drinking, before taking his turn like nothing was weird. Mike could yank my head off his dick so I could tell him what my character does during my turn in initiative before shoving me back down.

Fuck. It's one of my go to fantasies.

🩷🐇

#gangb4ng #dnd #mtg #slutty nerd #gamergirl #but the games are tabletops #free use kink #nerdy girls #ttrpg #i just want to be fucked #polyamory #hornybunnybabypost

225 notes · View notes

margotbamborough · 4 months

Text

I'm just jotting down a few themes I've noticed so far in the Running Grave!

Food/hunger/weight: while Robin's undergoing forced starvation in the cult (again, a common form of mind control used by cults) Strike is on a diet. A lot of references are made to characters being under- or overweight. For instance the detail that one of the ex-cult members developed a binge eating problem following her traumatic experience with the cult. Food (and Strike's and Robin's respective relationships to it) has been a pretty consistent motif that has popped up throughout the series so far and it's being made very explicit in TRG. There's definitely an idea of unhealthy relationships with food being explored. (Though also jkr just likes to write about food lol that's pretty clear in hp as well)

Disconnection from family: While Strike is actually connecting with his family more than we've seen before– forging a new bond with Lucy and her family, taking care of Ted, getting to know Prudence– the cult's MO (as is the case with most cults) is the opposite, to alienate victims from their families. We're getting to know several families who have been torn apart by UHC. The central family to the mystery is of course Mazu, Wace, and Daiyu. There's specifically a focus on mothers: there are several mothers or expecting mothers in the cult, Leda, Mazu, Ilsa (the book starts at her son's christening with her as a new mother). Even Bijou's apparent baby-trapping schemes fit into this theme, though I'm not sure how thats going to play out yet.

Mental illness/trauma: Prudence is a psychologist, and several of the cult victims either suffered from mental illness before being recruited or as a result of the trauma they experienced. Lucy discloses the fact that she's in therapy to Strike, a fact which surprises him, and encourages him to pursue therapy as well. Robin and Strike are both characters who have a great deal of unprocessed trauma, which they've slooowly been coming to grips with throughout the series, but I think so far this is the book where it's been most directly addressed. As of yet mostly in Strike's case, though given the nature of what's happening at in the cult I imagine I'm going to start seeing some of Robin's too.

Empathy/forgiveness: I'm not sure how to word this one but there's a feeling that Strike is becoming more open to understanding others and feeling more empathy towards them. He's a character who has previously been somewhat harsh and judgmental towards the people he deals with both in his personal life and his work– I'm not complaining, it's a good bit of characterisation. But after having criticised/scorned Lucy's lifestyle for the entire series so far, he's finally beginning to understand why she is the way she is and respect her. His realisation that she's actually incredibly brave was a HUGE moment. In general, Strike's inner monologue has been much less critical of the people he interviews than it typically is. The cult has a very black and white mentality, people are either good or evil, and I think this is something Strike has tended towards in the past- so TRG seems to be putting forward the notion that people deserve understanding and kindness. That nuance is important. A big issue when dealing with victims of cults is that many of them have been coerced into doing terrible unconscionable things that are difficult for the rest of us to understand, and many of them struggle with guilt, while outsiders struggle to forgive their actions. Steve Hassan explains this very well in his book (which is referenced in TRG and read by Strike)

I may expand on this!! These are just a few thoughts I've had so far

#cormoran strike #strike series #the running grave #im tearing through this book lol so i have to stop and collect my thoughts

26 notes · View notes

drafthorsemath · 2 years

Text

The Empire is a Cult

I’ve wanted to write about this for awhile and I guess The Bad Batch kicked that feeling into high gear. I started writing and kept going, so the grammar is probably not great.

Some context: I was raised in a cult. I started the process of questioning and leaving in my mid to late twenties. It took me four years of being a POMI (Physically Out of the cult, Mentally In) to really take the last step of leaving it behind me and becoming a POMO. Since then I have learned a lot about cults and what happens to someone under undue influence.

TW: mentions of a cult, physical abuse, mental abuse, death, undue influence

The Empire is a cult. Whether we look at the BITE Model developed by Dr. Steve Hassan (https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model/) or the definition given by Dr. Janja Lalich (https://janjalalich.com/blog/definition-and-explanation-of-the-word-cult/), the Empire fits the definition. There is a charismatic leader who makes demands on their followers so that the followers must do as they are told or be expelled from the group. In the case of the Empire that usually means death (all those Jedi that were killed under false pretenses, for instance) or indefinite servitude (Andor anyone?). Cults control the behavior of members, the information they have access to, they make demands on the kind of thoughts members should have, and they make demands on the emotions that should be felt. Cult leaders view their followers as resources to be depleted. They often look for ways to point out imperfections (real or not) in their followers. Anything that goes right is thanks to the glorious leader and anything that goes wrong, any bad feelings you have, that is all on your weakness as a follower.

And let’s get one thing straight. Born in or not, no one joins a cult. We might use this terminology, but really cults recruit people using lies, manipulation, and sometimes love-bombing.

The leader uses manipulation to get what they want, but they do not start out with the highest demands. They work their way up to those demands. For instance, Palpatine did not ask Anakin to murder the Jedi and join him immediately. He spent a decade whispering doubts at Anakin, pretending to take him into his confidence so that Anakin would feel special, and built up trust. At the end of Revenge of the Sith we see Anakin on his knees crying and saying he’ll do whatever Palp wants as long as he can help him save Padme. This is a classic example of bounded choice. A bounded choice is one that is made using only the information the person manipulating you wants you to know (part of information control). Anakin believed the only way to save his wife was with Palpatine, and while we know that’s not true, Anakin’s choices are muddled with this undue influence. Anakin makes his choice because he sees no other way. Because, surprise, he’s in a cult now and Palpatine has constructed it this way. Once he takes those first steps to turn to the dark side, he’s really in it now, so like most cult members (particularly those given leadership positions) he digs his heels in for years.

Often people like things to be black and white and that’s part of the appeal of cults actually! They offer answers and it ends up being very us versus them. Anakin isn’t totally evil or else he couldn’t be redeemed. There is still good in him. Yes, Anakin made a choice to join Sidious, but that choice was the result of manipulation. It’s not cut and dry. It was awful and lots of people died and the entire galaxy changed for the absolute worst, but ultimately Sidious was using Anakin just as he used anyone else he could. (I’m not saying this totally absolves Anakin. I’m just saying it’s complicated.)

Speaking of using people, let’s talk about the clones. These precious individuals were created so that one man could start a war and he used them as if they were trash to be thrown out once they served their purpose. (Truly, I hate that guy.) Literally created with chips in their head to control them and cause Order 66, The Bad Batch has given us a chance to see what they’re like when the chips are partially effective and then what the clones have to face when the chip comes out and they have to make a choice. Obviously I’m thinking about Crosshair. At this point (Season 2, Episode 5 has aired) we know that he believes his chip has been removed but we don’t know for sure if it has. Did something happen after Bracca but before Ryloth? Anyway, we know Crosshair’s chip was turned up to 11 in the beginning of Season 1 and then he goes after his brothers. Even if his chip is removed at this point, he’s still stuck in the Empire and surrounded by that culty influence. Even without a mind control chip, that does things to the human brain.

While Wrecker does eventually have to deal with his chip activating, his chip is removed in short order and the whole time he was surrounded by his brothers and sister. It’s important to note that Crosshair spends relatively little time around his siblings after his chip activates on Kallar and from then on, he’s surrounded by the Empire. Cults always, always, always separate their members from non-members. They make you feel important while simultaneously giving zero shits about you. The only thing the cult cares about is what you can do for them. They will bleed you dry. Literally the top leader of a cult will let the lower-level leaders do whatever they want as long as the cult isn’t imploding and the leader is thriving. Shaming, punishments, physical violence, whatever, are all used by cults to various degrees to keep members in line while telling these same members that this abuse will make them stronger, is for the good of the group and, in many cases, ultimately good for mankind. The Empire is no different. Crosshair is initially surrounded by a bunch of clones saying yes to everything told to them, he’s immediately put in charge post Order 66 so feels he has some special status, and he doesn’t have anyone around him really disagreeing. He’s later spending way too much time with Rampart who is a classic low-level cult leader and a shitty influence. By the end of Season 1, we see Crosshair back with his siblings, trying to send Omega off world for her own good while trying to recruit his brothers. Despite the Empire’s best efforts, Crosshair still cares about his family. This is really the first time he gets to talk to his siblings for any real length of time since his chip was activated. I am 0% surprised that he did not follow them off that platform after Tipoca City was destroyed. He has his doubts about the Empire and he’s torn, but it’s still not enough to counter the undue influence he’s endured since Order 66. Remember, he’s been saturated in the Empire’s messages and it’s hard to undo that quickly.

Hey this kind of thing happens to cult members a lot. You make contact with someone outside the cult, someone you love and who cares about you and they can be the most open, kind, awesome, loving person toward you, and it’s still hard for you to take that step and walk away from the cult in that moment. Most of us have to be able to sit with that knowledge for awhile. In my case, I had spent the first 25 years of my life, that’s right, a quarter of a century, preparing for the end of the world. We had a date, we knew the reasoning, we were certain, no questioning allowed, and then it didn’t happen. And when it didn’t happen, I didn’t reach out to people outside the cult. I didn’t immediately wake up and drop all my beliefs because they were that engrained. Cults can do this in relatively short order too. You don’t have to spend 25 years in something to have those beliefs engrained. According to cult expert Rachel Bernstein (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/opening-the-cult-vault-w-kacey/id1373939526?i=1000595229657) even during positive interactions and interventions, it often takes cult members time to process what’s happened, to start to question, and then eventually leave if they are going to. Like a good cult member, Crosshair waits 32 rotations for the Empire instead of getting on the ship with his family. (Granted, he didn’t know he’d have to wait that long.) Upon his return he is not allowed to be in charge by Season 2 Episode 3 and this is also a culty tactic - the Empire is so incredibly culty - because they’re trying to make him prove his loyalty again for practically no reason. They are putting him on the defense in the relationship. The Empire (like any cult) and its leaders must always be right and those who serve must have their loyalty questioned at least once in a while to keep them on their toes.

Then we see Cody make some really pointed statements to Crosshair. Cody is out and it’s important for a quietly questioning Crosshair to see that. And can’t this guy get some lunch? He’s not sleeping. Look, I know what it’s like to be alone in a group that claims to have all the answers. A group that only offers power to certain members once it sucks them in and then fucks over everyone else trapped in the cult. I know what it’s like to be in a group that surrounds you by people serving the same purpose, and yet feeling so empty and lonely that you want to sob on the daily and worse. Oh but you don’t have the energy to sob because you aren’t sleeping or eating. And then there’s the letdown of things not being what you thought they would be hopefully followed by the immense work of trying to get out and rebuild your life. It’s a process.

I’ll say this though: I am rooting for Crosshair. I am cheering for him to have the courage to leave the Empire and reunite with his family. Because it takes courage. There is still good in Crosshair. He still tries to protect his family in his own way. He’s lost in a maze of lies, but that doesn’t mean he can’t come back.

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb #crosshair #crosshair tbb #anakin skywalker #sheev palpatine #the empire is a cult #cult #commander cody

319 notes · View notes