#Steve Hassan

[creature-wizard]

So I find that using the BITE model for cults is a lot more useful when discussing what a cult actually is with folks who either use it too much or not appropriately, but there's some wild shit the author, Hassan, has said--including calling/implying being trans is a cult and being weirdly panicky about erotic hypnosis (and just, imo as a recreational hypnotist, way overstating the power of hypnosis), claiming Trump was hypnotizing people, etc--do you know of any alternate resources for cult/high control group awareness to recommend or read that aren't by him? And/or how would you approach his work, if you're aware of his claims?

Unfortunately, I don't know of any alternatives right now.

My personal feelings the BITE model is that it can be an okay starting point for someone who suspects they're in a cult. It's not a great tool for diagnosing potential cults, because some of the items on it are so vague (for example, "a. Adopting the group’s ‘map of reality’ as reality") that they could be used to demonize any other political, spiritual, or cultural group as a cult. And like all other checklists that lack nuanced elaboration, it generally just lends itself to reductive thinking that can lead you to false conclusions, or be used for malicious applications.

[wakewithgiggli]

"The creator of the BITE Model considers abusive relationships to be two-person cults."

The creator of the BITE model is also a massive transphobe, and i know what illegalities anti-cult activists get up to, so I'm dubious of accepting anything promulgated by him.

It's a shame the BITE model comes from him, which does seem to be a good model, but his history shows how easily influenced he is.

America has a weird relationship with cults where they’re terrified of small cults (or organizations they think are cults) but completely normalized massive cults that hurt many more people (eg: LDS Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Amish, Scientology, most Megachurches)

[wat3rm370n]

Right-wing talk show used Steve Hassan’s BITE model for anti-mask propaganda.

Someone told me on Sept 28th at around lunchtime, sometime at the midday, in northeastern Pennsylvania, there was a right-wing talk show on broadcast radio where the talk show hosts were using Steve Hassan’s cult “BITE model” to assert anti-mask propaganda, by saying that it proves the government is an awful cult, and mask mandates were authoritarian cultism or something. Continuing the right-wing anti-mask campaign in 2024 is absurd, and probably only had the purpose of ginning up Qanon past glories to get out the vote for Trump. Steve Hassan was not on the show himself as a guest, from what I was told. At times Steve Hassan said some stuff people find troubling or problematic, but I haven’t heard of him being an an actual anti-masker or using his cult criteria to argue against mask requirements himself. 

I’ve tried to find out over the intervening weeks but have been unable to find out what radio show this was on. If anyone knows, please tell me what it was, or do let me know if you have heard any reason to think Steve Hassan approves of this kind of argument.

[crucifiedfaerie]

𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙 !

𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔶 𝔪𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔬𝔪𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔦 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔬𝔯 ! 𝔦𝔣 𝔞 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔰 𝔠𝔯𝔬𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔦𝔱 𝔪𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔰 𝔦 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔫'𝔱 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔫��𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔶𝔢𝔱, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔰𝔬𝔬𝔫 . 𝔦𝔣 𝔞 𝔣𝔦𝔠 𝔦𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔟𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔰𝔣𝔴 .

˗ˏˋ 𝖘 𝖙 𝖆 𝖗 𝖜 𝖆 𝖗 𝖘 ˎˊ˗

— kylo ren / ben solo ╰┈➤ gibson girl ; Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 ╰┈➤ sparring sessions ; Pt. 1 ╰┈➤ nsfw alphabet | sfw alphabet

╰┈➤ growing pains ; Pt. 1

╰┈➤ nicotine stains ; Pt. 1 | Pt. 2

╰┈➤ gods & monsters — anakin skywalker — din djarin

˗ˏˋ 𝖙 𝖍 𝖊 𝖇 𝖆 𝖙 𝖒 𝖆 𝖓 ˎˊ˗

— the riddler / edward nashton

˗ˏˋ 𝖘 𝖙 𝖗 𝖆 𝖓 𝖌 𝖊 𝖗 𝖙 𝖍 𝖎 𝖓 𝖌 𝖘 ˎˊ˗

— eddie munson — johnathan byers — steve harrington

˗ˏˋ 𝖙 𝖍 𝖊 𝖑 𝖆 𝖘 𝖙 𝖔 𝖋 𝖚 𝖘 ˎˊ˗

— joel miller

˗ˏˋ 𝖍 𝖆 𝖗 𝖗 𝖞 𝖕 𝖔 𝖙 𝖙 𝖊 𝖗 ˎˊ˗

— severus snape — remus lupin — sirius black

˗ˏˋ 𝖒 𝖎 𝖉 𝖓 𝖎 𝖌 𝖍 𝖙 𝖒 𝖆 𝖘 𝖘 ˎˊ˗

— father paul hill

[agentbootyreportingforduty]

omar hassan’s wife in the h50 season 9 finale:

[smashpages]

‘All Eight Eyes’ are on Steve Foxe + Piotr Kowalski’s new miniseries

Giant spiders invade New York in their latest project, which Dark Horse will publish in April.

[misterzeroyear]

So the expert says something you don't like so suddenly their analysis is cancelled LMAO that's information control babes. He's def right, y'all are a cult

girly I want u to point to wherever those posts came across as fully serious to you because I don't remember saying anywhere that his research or analysis was cancelled?? I said the post was cancelled (the same way you'd "cancel" a show) and fuck steve hassan for being a bigot,,,, learn to laugh and have a little whimsy u absolute maniacs LORD

[whatisonthemoon]

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.

[saxafimedianetwork]

As Ethiopia and Somalia Bicker over Somaliland, Somali Politicians See Opportunity for Relevance

#Somali politicians seize on #Ethiopia-#Somaliland MoU to boost personal ambitions, despite lingering uncertainty over the region's future. Critics claim ET's move is an attempt to weaken #Somalia & that is a galvanizing issue to rally the nation, both online & in political circles.

Continue reading As Ethiopia and Somalia Bicker over Somaliland, Somali Politicians See Opportunity for Relevance

[misterzeroyear]

NEVERMIND EVERYBODY POST CANCELLED THE GUY WHO MADE THE BITE MODEL (Steve Hassan) ALSO SUCKS

so one of my special interests is cults right, so im pretty familiar with what's known as the BITE (Behavior Control, Information Control, Thought Control, and Emotional Control) model

its basically a method of identifying how much of a cult a group is and was made by a former cult member so u know it's pretty legit. The higher the group scores, the more likely it is that it's a cult

well, there's about 37 points in total (counting each criterion as 1 point and adding all four categories together) and, since everybody mentions how much of a cult terfs seem to be, I decided to run their methods and behavior through the BITE model

terfs scored a 21/37, which is a 56.76/100 in percentage terms, which isn't that high. it skirts culty, but it can rest as is. right?

all im saying is that, if what ur preaching is meant to be the absolute truth of reality and the rest of us are delusional, maybe ur cult score should be *significantly* less than over half, y'know?

anyways, just thought i should pop in and throw that out here. can totally reblog with/drop the images i used to score terfs on here if u want (as in, both the highlighted versions that detail all the criterion terfs hit, as well as non-highlighted images for people to score other weird hate groups for fun in the middle of the night too) (also feel like you'd find this funny: the category terfs scored the highest on (8/9) was information control)

yeah this is insane (not at you, this is directed at terfs)

Literally wild that people just write them off as some dumb people who don't know what they're talking about ?? when they're literally a cult ??

well obviously given your research they're not 100% a cult, but tbh a score that high is still ridiculous

[graphicpolicy]

Steve Foxe and Piotr Kowalski deliver a new vision of horror in All Eight Eyes

Steve Foxe and Piotr Kowalski deliver a new vision of horror in All Eight Eyes #comics #comicbooks

Steve Foxe and Piotr Kowalski present a new vision of creature-feature terror in their new horror series, All Eight Eyes! This brand-new series reunites the team of Foxe, Kowalski, colorist Brad Simpson, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou following their collaboration in Razorblades: The Horror Magazine, a taboo-busting anthology of terror co-created by Foxe and multiple Eisner-winner James…

[elspeth-tirel]

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.

[morning-sun-brah]

First Impressions

Art by @sha-biest

(This AU is jointly created and entered into by myself and @sha-biest)

@tmnt-ocxcanon-comp

First Impressions;

As far as first impressions go, Mikey and Hassan got off to a rough start. Mikey spent the better part of a full day behind Hassan’s law office, commissioned to add a mural to the back wall to deter graffiti. Too bad Hassan forgot his assistant had hired him, because when he was leaving the office for the night, he mistook Mikey for a criminal…

“Hey kid, what the fuck? Can’t you go do this shit in the Bowery?” 

Mikey’s eyes narrowed at the figure approaching him, the irritated tone shooting through him like a lance. The man was tall (not as tall as his brothers had grown, but still well taller than Mikey himself- who only stood at 5'8), with dark skin and black hair rich in the bath of the LED light. His suit was crisp and well-fitted, and he stood with a leather satchel strapped over his shoulder, one hand on his hip as he narrowed his eyes at the mutant. 

“C’mon,” the man was rumbling in a chastising tone. “They just cleaned the last graffiti up.” 

Dark eyes swept an irritated glance over Michelangelo, and it suddenly clicked in his mind what was being implied. Mikey felt a wash of annoyance roll through his shoulders. 

“Wow, you’re really fucking dumb,” Mikey clipped, and the man who stood before him narrowed his gaze. 

“Excuse-”

“Read your emails much? How many taggers do you think set up a flood light and announce their presence, you walnut?” Mikey snapped, shaking the can in his hand idly and giving the man an eye roll that was all Donatello- perfected by years of watching his older brother perform the motion. “You think I just, what? Roll out the red carpet for the cops or…?” 

The conversation only deteriorated from there, though Hassan did try to apologize (too bad he never really seems sincere). 

“Fuck you, man,” Mikey barked. “I’m a full-ass adult. I pay taxes.” (He didn’t, but the hell if he was going to share that with Mister Prim-and-Proper.)

“Excuse me for being skeptical, short stack.” 

Mikey’s eyes went round. “Short stack?! Short stack?!”

The man smirked, and Mikey held back the desire to throw the spray can right at his forehead. 

“Tiny, even,” the man added, white teeth flashing. “Pocket-sized.”

Eventually, though, the two of them begin a very will-they-won’t-they relationship, comprised of Hassan sending Mikey gifts, and random text messages that multiply over the course of two years.

They’ll probably figure out they’re in love… probably…

Some songs for the ~vibe~

Bonus, The first-ever sketches of Hassan and Mikey;

Art by @sha-biest