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heretichromia · 3 months

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Exploring the Relationship Dynamics Between the Abyssal Hunters

I had a few people either misinterpret or express confusion regarding this post that I made, so I want to make a different post covering the same (and more) material that's more rooted in explicit textual evidence which doesn't use emotionally-charged language. I'm going to try my best to stay neutral here and discuss multiple possible interpretations.

In short, I want to break down all that we know regarding the nature of the relationships shared by the four* Abyssal Hunters. In long, see below. And...I mean long, it's 5,000 words.

*Abyssal Hunters as a faction of Ægir; sorry, Andreana. Note: Minor Path of Life (CN) spoilers below. None of the major events are spoiled, but I do talk about a lot of the context that the event gives us on Ægir society and the backstories of the Hunters.

What we know from the text:

I'll keep this segment as objective as possible, and only state things that I can directly argue as nearly indisputable from textual evidence. Some interpretation work is going to have to be done here, however, and I'm open to anyone who disagrees with anything here pointing out the passages in the text that contradict my assertions.

Ages:

This is a subject the community as a whole is widely misinformed about, so I'm highlighting it separately.

We know from Path of Life that the expected lifespan of an Ægir is around 150 years.

Gladiia is likely in her late 30s. She has 17 years of combat experience, which we're led to believe began relatively shortly after she received independence from her abusive, neglectful, and controlling mother. She was appointed as Consul of Technology before becoming an Abyssal Hunter, though her module description characterizes her as having been unable to decide the trajectory of her life, which implies to me that she was not free of her mother for very long before the operation. We don't have reason to believe Ægir uses child soldiers nor appoints children to be Technology Consuls, so this places her minimum age at around 35 and her likely age as a little older than that. She was still characterized as a young Consul ten years after her appointment, so I don't believe she'd be much older. Late 30s is my best approximation; much older than that, and things begin making less sense regarding the multiple parental figures still present in her life.

Skadi is likely also in her 30s, though the actual bounds are wider than Gladiia's. She has 13 years of combat experience, making her 31 at the youngest. However, from Path of Life we know that she was the most skilled technician in her division prior to becoming an Abyssal Hunter. This means she probably had at least a few, if not several years of work experience out of the Academy. If she's younger than Gladiia, it's likely not by many years, and she could even be conceivably older than her. I think she's probably a small handful of years younger, if you had to ask me my personal interpretation.

Laurentina is the youngest of the Abyssal Hunters. She has seven years of combat experience, implying that she joined a decade after Gladiia. This places her minimum age at 25. We can imagine she's probably not too much older than that, since she never fully embraced a career as a sculptor before changing circumstances caused her to apply for the Abyssal Hunters. She's probably in her mid-to-late 20s.

Ulpianus is the oldest, and potentially by a considerable margin. He was the first Abyssal Hunter, becoming one twenty years ago, as well as one of the scientists who created the Abyssal Hunters to begin with. He was already one of the most preeminent scientific minds of Ægir by this point. Since Ægir can live to 150, this means the upper bound on his age is potentially very high. This man could conceivably be in his 80s or older without it breaking anything we know about the story. The lower bound of his age is probably somewhere in his late 40s at an absolute minimum, assuming that the Ægirian process for becoming an accomplished scientist is anywhere remotely similar to the real-world one. It's completely up to speculation where his actual age falls between those bounds.

Connections between the Hunters:

An important note to make here that isn't precisely a connection, but does inform them: Ægir as a society does not have a compulsion towards nuclear family structures. In fact, the opposite is true. From Path of Life, we know that Ægir are usually raised in groups in dedicated schools. Ægir seems to prioritize careers over interpersonal relationships, and direct blood family ties are much weaker. Ægirian women don't give birth to their children directly; the embryos are surgically removed and then grown separately.

Laurentina's close relationship with her biological parents was noted as being somewhat atypical, and they still didn't raise her themselves. Instead, they allowed childcare services to raise her while frequently taking her with them on their trips when they could. Gladiia's upbringing, where she was isolated by an abusive and neglectful mother, is also atypical. From her conversation with Clemenza, we learn that she was in fact strongly suggested to give up Gladiia to childcare services, but refused to do so.

Onto the actual connections:

Gladiia met Ulpianus in the earlier years of the Abyssal Hunter project, when she was a young, emotionally vulnerable woman who was actively seeking new familial connections (see: her module). Given how well Ulpianus understands the other Hunters (implied in Stultifera Navis and displayed in Path of Life), it's very unlikely that he wasn't aware of this. Ulpianus declined his student Underflow's application to the Abyssal Hunters because he didn't want her to become like him. It's likely, then, that he personally processed Gladiia's entry into the Abyssal Hunters.

We know from Specter the Unchained's module that the two of them spoke at least somewhat often, discussing subjects like philosophy. In the one conversation we see, Ulpianus is explaining to Gladiia his concerns about the direction Ægir is heading in these "protracted days of calamity," and she seems to either agree with or absorb his pontification. He certainly takes the lead in this conversation with the "young Consul," and while a mentorship role can be inferred from this, it's not directly stated anywhere.

From Gladiia's IS3 ending, we know that Ulpianus never directly indicated to her that he felt any connection between them, nor did he bring up concepts like seniority around her. However, his actual feelings concerning her were clearly more sentimental than he let on, as he unexpectedly sacrificed his life for the sake of his "junior." Gladiia hadn't realized he was so sentimental until it happened, but in retrospect she looked back upon it warmly, realizing she never truly understood Ulpianus.

We have fewer interactions between Ulpianus and Skadi than we do between Ulpianus and Gladiia, but we can infer something of a dynamic from what we do have. Ulpianus trusted Skadi implicitly. From Path of Life, we know that he treated her differently from the other Hunters in his company. Ulpianus was a brilliant tactician who gave complex plans to each of his soldiers, but when he got to Skadi—who frequently spaces out when listening to others, and by her own admission in the event doesn't like to think—he merely told her that he trusted her to carry out her duty. He understood her, and didn't belittle her for her weaknesses. He had faith in her, and was right to do so; Skadi completed every mission exceptionally.

In the Second Company, meanwhile, Gladiia and Laurentina clearly had a closer relationship than just their positions would imply. Gladiia considered herself Laurentina's teacher, instructing her not only in the art of war but also in life skills. Their first lesson was not in violence, but in dance (Specter the Unchained OpRec). Whereas Laurentina is now frequently associated with her dancing, not just in narrative framing but actively by Ulpianus in Path of Life, she had barely danced much at all prior to her dances with Gladiia.

Already by the time of her aforementioned conversation with Ulpianus, Gladiia had developed a fondness for her subordinate. She even smiled when she spoke of her glowingly, something she almost never does. Gladiia, as critical as she is of almost everyone, can hardly find fault with Laurentina. From the aforementioned OpRec, we see that even Laurentina expects her to lecture her more than she does. Frequently, when confronted with her peculiarities and the choices she makes, Gladiia will approve of them warmly. The OpRec also has a wonderful passage of them just talking and spending time with one-another. It's very warm and gives a lot of small insights to their relationship and their relationship with the arts (a subject they're both very attached to) that I can't really explain effectively here without exploding the already extremely high word count. I'd recommend reading it if you haven't already.

In short, though, the relationship between Gladiia and Laurentina is very warm despite Gladiia's frequent brusqueness and coldness. In Ægir, they would see plays together—but because of Gladiia's insistence upon minimizing distractions while experiencing art, would sit apart. In Specter's post-Under Tides OpRec, Laurentina had to practically beg Gladiia before she showed her any more warmth than would be warranted to any other subordinate, as Gladiia kept her emotions tightly to her chest. Laurentina's emotional intelligence and close bond with her allows her to see through Gladiia's practiced emotionless exterior. Like Ulpianus, she understands Gladiia well enough to see through the strong facade she fronts to get glimpses into the deep well of anxiety beneath. In Laurentina's story in IS3, their bond is described as so close that she doesn't need to speak with Gladiia to understand her. She continued to dance with her as their primary method of silent communication for months after Gladiia had ceased speaking because of how much she hated how the Seaborn assimilation had changed her voice.

Of course, Laurentina and Skadi also share a deep bond, which is probably the most well-known one. Though how well they knew each other prior to the attack on Ishar'mla is still somewhat unclear—though it's clear from multiple sources (e.g. Specter OpRec, Path of Life, etc.) they weren't strangers—the important bulk of their relationship concerns their time spent together at Rhodes Island on land. Tortured by the Church of the Deep's horrific experiments and driven insane by the originium that Bishop Amaia injected into her spinal column, Laurentina was in an almost unrecognizable state when she was reunited with Skadi (Specter OpRec). She'd developed a second personality called Specter as a result of her experiences, one that was fully unfamiliar to Skadi, and the real Laurentina seemed to be locked away inside her own mind, in endless sleep, unable to awaken.

Skadi took care of Laurentina. She was not easy to care for. Beyond just requiring intensive care to keep her alive, Specter was mentally unstable. She would be unable to leave her treatment room for long stretches of time, and if the way she spoke to Skadi during her OpRec once she'd 'fallen asleep' again is any indication, some of the things she'd say to Skadi were truly vile. To continually bear this cannot have been an easy burden to shoulder, but Skadi would nonetheless come into her room constantly, sing songs to her, and tell her stories. Laurentina heard it all, though she couldn't speak. Though she teased her for it mercilessly when she awoke after Under Tides, she expressed legitimate gratitude to Skadi for all she'd done taking care of her.

If their bond was not intensely close before, it is now. Laurentina, now awake, teaches Skadi to dance in Unchained's OpRec, just as Gladiia taught her before. Just as she can see through Gladiia's facades, Laurentina understands Skadi enough to be able to see through hers to the genuine, warm, and caring person she is. Skadi, meanwhile, goes to great lengths to make sure Laurentina is okay. She cared more about her wellbeing than she did about obediently listening to the orders of her superiors; when Gladiia came to take Specter from Rhodes Island, she protested, and followed Gladiia to Sal Viento to take her back.

Skadi and Gladiia do not have nearly as warm a history. Both are rather emotionally unintelligent and wear masks of indifference around each other. That isn't to say they don't care about each other, though; if anything, we have plenty of evidence to the contrary. Gladiia did not hesitate for a moment about risking death for Skadi's sake in Under Tides, feeling a duty to protect her from both the First to Talk and the monster that dwells inside her head. They share a bond of camaraderie that's constantly reinforced in every event.

In Stultifera Navis and its supplemental material, we got more inklings of the development of a deeper relationship between them, though it's naturally strained because of their natures. Skadi, who always calls Gladiia "Second Captain," accidentally called her Gladiia in SN—to which Gladiia brusquely remarked that she was getting rather comfortable around her. She corrected her mistake and hasn't made it since. In the oft-mentioned now Specter the Unchained OpRec, when Laurentina teaches Skadi how to dance she remarks that Gladiia would like to dance with her. Skadi brushes this off as a mean-spirited joke, but it's much more likely that Laurentina knows they both feel an unspoken fondness for the other and is steadily poking at them to share it with the other.

Lastly, and certainly least, we have Laurentina and Ulpianus. There's...almost nothing here. We know that they're not strangers, and from Path of Life we know that Ulpianus at least understands Laurentina well enough as an individual, but as far as I'm aware there's not much to suggest what sort of relationship they may have had beyond just comrades, if any. Ulpianus seemed to become disinterested in continuing his conversation with Gladiia once she started gushing about Laurentina, but that's more likely a case of him being averse to talks about feelings in general than it is any distaste for Shark herself.

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Possible interpretations:

From this, we have a pretty good idea of the general shape of how these dynamics work. There's a lot of room to talk about the intricacies of their relationships, and I...can't cover every single possibility here.

I'd love to. If you ask me, I can keep yapping. I didn't write all of this because of some solemn dedication to archiving these fictional fish. Please, litter my inbox if you have questions. I can yap endlessly.

Instead, I'll focus on some of the predominant interpretations that I've seen across discussions and fanworks. Namely, the idea of the Abyssal Hunters as a family and the idea of some of the Abyssal Hunters as romantic partners.

I'll be covering interpretations that are both supported and not supported by the text to varying degrees. I'm going to outline how well I believe the text supports these interpretations, which is obviously going to be subjective, but I'm going to try to keep my own personal bias out of it. I have my own preferences, but I will be as neutral as I can be here.

The Family Angle

The Abyssal Hunters are a found family. That's not so much subtext as it is text—again, see Gladiia's module about how she failed to find the warmth and belonging she sought from her biological family, and instead searched for a new family. They have dynamics between them that are clearly at least meant to mirror existing family dynamics.

But a found family is not the same thing as a biological family. It does not necessarily feature the same dynamics as you'd find between actual family members. The "family angle" is the interpretation that the relationship between all of them is in fact completely familial in nature. While found families do not preclude romantic and sexual relationships between their members, a familial relationship between these characters implies that their bond is strong in a way that is neither romantic nor sexual in nature.

This, in itself, is neither confirmed nor denied by the text. It's consistent with what we're shown, and is perhaps one of the more 'pure' interpretations of these relationships—in the sense that it doesn't read more into the characters than the information presented. The Abyssal Hunters are characterized in expressly familial terms, and so this interpretation says that this is the extent of their dynamics. For clarity, it is neither more nor less correct than other interpretations for this, and is not personally my own. If there's anything limiting this interpretation, it's that Ægirians don't have nuclear family ties in the same way that we do, but that doesn't in my view contradict a familial interpretation as much as it modifies how it's perceived by the characters.

There are, of course, a lot of different ways you can approach the family angle. I'll outline some of the more sensible ones that can be concluded from the text.

One of the more common interpretations is that of the three female hunters as siblings. Again, there's no real confirmation of this in the text—only sentiments that the bond between them is thicker than blood—but there's nothing in the text which contradicts this. They certainly could play into typical sibling dynamics fairly well, with Gladiia as the serious, beleaguered older sister who whips the younger siblings into shape, and Laurentina as the brattiest child of the family who's nonetheless more emotionally intelligent than her stubborn sisters. It's one I see a lot, and I don't really see an issue with it.

Another common interpretation is that there exists something mirroring a parent/daughter relationship between the Captains and their subordinates: Ulpianus/Skadi, and Gladiia/Laurentina. From what's been outlined above, there's definitely food for this sort of interpretation in the text. Gladiia, for instance, is definitely motherly towards Laurentina. I do not believe this is a coincidence; as someone who was failed by her mother in horrendous ways, she's taken on a motherly role towards those she cares for and whom she believes she has a responsibility for. I think this, in itself, is a fine interpretation.

I think it gets much weaker when it's taken a step further into a literal parent/daughter relationship between them. These are adult women. At most, the age gap between Gladiia and Laurentina is a little over a decade, and they were adults when they met. She might feel a motherly responsibility for this woman, but I do not believe she'd consider a fully adult woman only around a decade her junior to be her daughter. Friendships between people in their mid-20s and mid-30s happen all the time in the real world. They are not, by any stretch of the imagination, anything like real parent-child relationships. The age gap between Ulpianus and Skadi is likely wider, and thus it's more reasonable that Ulpianus would see someone Skadi's age that he met in her 20s as someone who could have been his daughter. Even in that case, their dynamic would be heavily qualified by the fact that he has always known Skadi as a fully adult woman.

One similar possible dynamic that I almost never see is the idea of Ulpianus as a father for Gladiia. They're of similar ages, and if he saw Skadi as someone who could have been his daughter, he surely see Gladiia as the same. Gladiia, as well, desperately needed a parental figure in her life and never got one. They clearly have a senior/junior, possibly mentor/student relationship in the text, even if neither of them explicitly acknowledge it as one. This is the logical next step, which many have taken for the other plausible parent/daughter relationships, but I never see this one.

The Romance Angle

People like shipping. I'm people, too. I like shipping. It's pretty natural that, when it comes to characters we like that have close relationships like this, there's going to be people who are primarily invested in slapping two or more of them together like Barbies. Some of these relationship dynamics are more plausible than others.

Here's where some of the objectivity might break down. I'll try my best to limit my personal bias, but it's extremely hard to speak objectively about topics that are so obviously subject to personal interpretation.

First, I'd like to emphasize that Ægirian social dynamics, likely including romance, are alien to us. The likelihood that these characters would feel exactly the same about romance as we do in a predominantly monogamous society structured around nuclear families with a marriage at the core is...very low. Ægir and the nations of land are fundamentally different in ways that make understanding one-another difficult. Listen to some of Specter the Unchained's voicelines expressing her frustration about how she doesn't have the means to convey to the Doctor everything she'd like to. While we can (and should if we'd like to) have fun with applying our concepts of romance to them, we should always keep in mind that they might not actually share them as characters.

On the more fun side, this opens up a world of possible arrangements. We can speculate, for instance, that these characters might be much more open to polyamory than others might. Or, perhaps, their courtship looks very different from ours, and we can explore how that might look through fiction. One relationship existing does not need to preclude the others even in our society, much less theirs.

The most obvious potential romance that most people would identify among the Abyssal Hunters is Skadi and Laurentina, and I have to agree that it's one of the most plausible, if not the single most. I...don't think I even need to linger too much on this one, because most of it's already been laid out. Their story reads like a tragic yuri plot. The romance is practically already written; if you showed me the exact same story that these two have, but they kiss at the end, it would not remotely feel like it came out of nowhere. It's one of many dynamics between characters that would be readily interpreted as romantic by a wider audience if, say, Skadi were a man. It's already one of the most popular Arknights ships as-is! It fits their characters, and makes sense as an interpretation.

It isn't necessarily the only interpretation of these characters, of course. As discussed, there's a wide array of ways you can interpret their bond, and many are just as supported by the text. While there's plenty of subtext that can be said to be romantic between them, that subtext can all be interpreted in platonic and familial ways. This is a Chinese gacha game; we're not going to get explicit confirmation of any of these relationships, and all romantic subtext will be written to resemble other kinds of subtext. That means that other subtext that was legitimately not meant to be romantic can scan as romantic. There's no strong argument here for authorial intent regarding the two of them either way.

...You can tell how strong the potential for a ship here is that I felt the need to use one of the two paragraphs I spent talking about it to discuss how it's not necessarily the only possible dynamic.

The second most likely, in my eyes, is Laurentina and Gladiia, which I'll elaborate further on than Skadi/Laurentina because of its rarity as a ship by comparison; it's legitimately plausible that most who might read this haven't considered it at all. Of the pairs possible within the trio, they're the two with the oldest history, who clearly have a deep and intimate bond. The exact nature of this bond is subject to interpretation, of course. As discussed earlier, Gladiia is quite motherly when it comes to Laurentina. A familial interpretation of the two of them is common, but as uncommon as a romantic interpretation is, I think it's both easily supported and already has plenty of material in the text to feed it. You can easily read the time they spent together in Specter the Unchained's OpRec as a date. That their dynamic has motherly characteristics does not stop it from being romantic. Plenty of romances in popular fiction have motherly elements to them; that behavior can simply be Gladiia's chosen language of love.

An issue that I can imagine is the power dynamic between them—not necessarily even as a moral argument about the ship, but as an issue between their characters. Laurentina was, of course, young when she joined the Abyssal Hunters, and Gladiia became both her superior and her mentor. I would be surprised if Laurentina was much older than 21 at the time, and I would not be surprised if she was in fact 18. Gladiia, meanwhile, would have been probably in the range of 28-30. While almost the same exact age gap would be present between Laurentina and Skadi, who would have met her at a similar time, the fact that Gladiia served as her mentor definitely colors the relationship in a different way.

As someone who clearly felt a responsibility towards Laurentina, I find it very unlikely that the nature of their relationship was immediately romantic. Even though Gladiia was immature in many ways and inexperienced compared to others of her age as a result of her isolated childhood and arrested development caused by her mother's abuse, she still likely would have seen a romance as unacceptable between the two of them. That may have even contributed to the arm's length she seems to sometimes keep Laurentina at, to the latter's chagrin.

However, critically, they aren't that age anymore. Laurentina is firmly an adult who can make reasoned decisions for herself, and frankly often showcases more emotional maturity than Gladiia does. Their situation is radically changed. Gladiia is still her commander, but she's her leader more because of mutual trust than any necessity to follow the orders of the Ægirian military. They're no longer student and teacher; they're much more akin to equals now. There are now things that Laurentina can teach Gladiia; Gladiia is now the one who most desperately needs character development. The barriers that could have stopped their feelings from becoming a romance have eroded, and there is now the potential for one to form that is completely fitting within the bounds of the text and our understanding of their characters.

...

Okay, it's time to discuss the subject matter of the post I linked at the top of this one. Ulpianus and Gladiia.

...Almost everything I've just said about Gladiia and Laurentina applies doubly here.

It's the same dynamic. A junior who becomes an equal. It's much more common, in my experience, probably because it's heterosexual. Like with the other dynamics, there's nothing in the story that outright contradicts it. I do think its claim is weaker than the last two, though. I find it much harder to believe that Ulpianus would have harbored romantic feelings towards Gladiia.

She was much younger than him at the time they met, compared to the age gap between the other Hunters and Laurentina, and—as mentioned—he was likely very aware of her emotional immaturity, vulnerability, and desire to form real connections for the first time in her life. Ulpianus is, from what we can tell, a very thoughtful man who understands his comrades very well and reckons solemnly with the consequences of his actions. As I put it in a previous post, he's a man who "constantly pontificates on duty, responsibility, and what 'ought to be.'" I don't believe a principled man like Ulpianus—who is stubborn about principles to the point of contentiousness, who considers emotions to be secondary to duty and righteousness, who is prepared to throw away everything for what he believes in, including his life and his humanity—would do anything that could be considered taking advantage of an emotionally vulnerable young woman. That seems incredibly contradictory to his character. Even if she's grown physically, I think it's easy to read from his actions that he still sees her as someone who's still immature. I think he would have a much harder time seeing Gladiia as an equal peer than Gladiia would Laurentina.

Now, to play devil's advocate somewhat, I will say that there's material within this to work with. The love of a man who won't even confess that he cares at all for his younger student, much less act upon his desires is a setup for what could be a great fan-made story. I don't personally think it could ever end with the two of them together while staying true to their characterization, but that's up for interpretation. This is, however, not the way I see this ship characterized at all. If anything, they're most popularly depicted as ex-lovers or the husband/wife of a nuclear family. I've probably belabored the point enough that I don't need to break those concepts down, so I'll leave it there.

Briefly, I want to pay some lip service to the idea I floated earlier of a...fish polycule. I don't believe that Skadi and Gladiia have the most romantic flags at present out of the trio, but (especially in the event that both of them are romantically involved with Laurentina) I can easily see them growing closer and eventually breaking down the barrier of communication between them that stops them from expressing their fondness for one-another in ways that aren't professing they'd want the other to kill them if they became a monster.

There's not a lot of material in the text for this, but that's hardly stopped anyone before. It certainly hasn't stopped me. I ship Gladiia with Lavinia/Penance. I don't need them to acknowledge each other's existence to see a line there; I'm not about to judge anyone for pairing off two characters who have had considerable screen time together, where one nearly died for the sake of the other.

Lastly, I feel like I should at least mention e.g. Laurentina/Irene and Gladiia/Kal'tsit. Mostly because this post isn't about those dynamics. I could talk about Gladiia/Kal'tsit. I could talk about the parallels in Gladiia's first IS3 scene, where Gladiia's recollections about her mother's neglect are immediately juxtaposed with Kal'tsit's concern for her. I could further elaborate on Gladiia's complex relationships with the concept of motherhood, and how Kal'tsit relates to that. I won't. But I could.

I don't even know if I ship Gladiia/Kal'tsit as a romantic couple. I just like their relationship a lot, whatever form it takes.

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Endnotes.

Thanks for reading! I don't have a sweeping conclusion to finish with; the point of this post was just to compare and contrast popular fandom depictions of these characters with the actual material found in the text.

I hope you enjoyed, or learned something. I know there's so much goddamn text in Arknights that it's kind of impossible for anyone to reflect thoroughly on every single part of it. If you have any questions, criticism, or suggestions, my inbox is open!

#arknights #gladiia #specter #skadi #ulpianus #abyssal hunters #ak text

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hyperlexichypatia · 6 months

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CN: This post is about child abuse.

I was talking to a younger neurodivergent person about their horrifically abusive childhood, which included their parents beating them, drugging them, and sending them to abusive therapies, and for some reason my immediate thought was: That's so unfair, you shouldn't be allowed to beat your children AND pathologize them!

To be clear. I believe you should be allowed to do NEITHER of those things. Physical abuse and psychiatric abuse are both wrong!

But at minimum, you should at least have to choose between old-school, authoritarian, beating, yelling, physical-abuse-based parenting and new-school, authoritative, pathologizing, psychiatrizing, emotional-abuse-based parenting. They're mutually incompatible Abuse Philosophies!

The one (1) good, semi-redeeming thing about the psychiatrization of childhood and parenting is that it teaches that beating children is bad for them. Truly the only beneficial thing about it!

I remember reading about local schools adopting a "positive behavior interventions" system, and having mixed feelings about it -- Behaviorism is abuse, absolutely. But I live in an area where the largely unquestioned cultural norm is to deal with children by beating them. If parents can't be persuaded in a day to convert to neurodiversity-affirming, youth-affirming, gentle discipline, isn't getting them to deal with children's "bad behavior" by taking away stickers better than what they're currently doing? Is "positive behavior intervention" the lesser evil, in this case?

But is it? Is it even effective at that? What's to stop parents from sending their kids to behavioral therapy and also beating them? I honestly don't know.

Whenever mad liberation people argue against psychiatric abuse (forced drugging, coercive therapy, institutionalization, etc), pro-psychiatric-coercion people always defend it as better than "the alternative" of physical abuse. It's always "Would you rather they go to prison? Would you rather they be homeless? Would you rather they get beaten or shot by police?"

And of course, that's a false choice, because we would rather neither! We would rather disabled/Mad/neurodivergent people be free. Not abused or coerced in any way at all!

In addition, I'm reminded of something my partner said about men who brag about being "nice guys who don't abuse women like those other men do": Even if they're telling the truth (which, often, they're not), the value of this as a braggable claim is dependent on abusers being widespread. Mediocre men benefit from the widespread existence of abusive men, by getting to be the less-bad alternative to something worse.

The same is true of psychiatric abuse being "better than" physical abuse: Even if psychiatric wards and group homes are better than prisons, even if therapizing children is better than beating them, even if social workers are less abusive than police, even if all these things are true, the argument for psychiatric abuse relies on keeping physical abuse as an option on the table.

And even so, to circle back to my original point: Does psychiatric abuse even prevent physical abuse? Certainly not always. It also doesn't prevent poverty or homelessness -- we always point out that it's possible to materially support people without controlling them, but also, it's possible to control people without materially supporting them at all. Stripping people of their autonomy in order to get them financially provided for... doesn't actually get them financially provided for.

I also talked to a younger neurodivergent person who was kicked out of their parents' home at age 18. Gee, I thought the entire purpose of reclassifying young adults as still-children, and disabled adults as forever-children, was to prevent that from happening? I thought we had to endorse abusive parenting because the alternative is homelessness? Turns out, people with abusive parents can still end up homeless!

The status of youth rights and disability rights is so messed up. Parents can do essentially whatever they want to their children (especially if their children are disabled). It's disgusting and it's morally reprehensible at every level. I don't have an uplifting ending for this one.

#cw child abuse #mad liberation #youth rights #psych abolition #anti psych #liberation #neurodiversity #mad pride #antipsychiatry

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wormworker · 1 year

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( CN: graphic child abuse, endosexism )

Mutilating the genitals of Intersex babies is not only horrendous in itself (and universally accepted), it doesn't end there.

Your child will grow up with you having withheld that they're Intersex, and they'll start having debilitating pain and health problems and have no idea why, and neither will their doctors.

Endosex (binary sex) genitals are only part of being Intersex, and not all Intersex people have visibly Intersex genitals. Intersex people have Intersex chromosomes and hormones, regardless of what horrific things you do to our genitals.

Period pain comparable to endometriosis, chronic fatigue, out of control weight problems regardless of how hard we work to maintain a healthy weight, neverending genital pain, excruciating GYN exams that can be so painful they cause PTSD... the list goes on, and NO ONE knows how to help us with our pain because of the almost complete lack of medical research on Intersex people and the withholding of our indentities/diagnoses from us.

#actuallyintersex #actually intersex #endosexism #social justice #civil rights #human rights

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kainereee · 6 months

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Photographer - The Emperor

Going insane over the new idv tarot design like a very normal person, specifically looking at Joseph.

I'll be looking at meanings from a range of websites though most tend to follow the same message.

General Meaning

This is the card that asserts authority, organizes systems to retain maximum control and is the paternal influence of the Tarot deck, assuring that protection and security are provided to all those playing by the rules.

From this meaning alone it feels like the Emperor is the perfect card for Joseph. Immediately my first thoughts go to his inventions and obsession with the mirror world. The CN translation of his third character day letter sees him call the photo world akin to an "eternal kingdom", which has more hopeful connotation.

Joseph doesn't necessarily have malicious intent. Yes, the things he's done are utterly heinous and would be to any rational person who heard of them, but the bottom line is that both Joseph's hubris and his genuine belief that what he is creating and working towards will help people. Joseph sees living as suffering, but he doesn't see the afterlife as something that can guarantee him happiness either. Because the afterlife is foreign and unknown to the happiness he experienced as a child.

Instead he chooses the camera world. Preservation, something he has created, where everyone can be happy together, trapped together in a beautiful eternity. The photo world is the peaceful world where they will all rest, away from the adversities of life.

So how does this all relate to the Emperor? I like to think that it makes sense that because of how many things in Joseph's life that were out of his control ruined him, in the broader sense he does need (or feels like he needs) a huge sense of control, as much control as possible. The camera world allows him that. He's the master of that world but he does not assert such authority to rub his own ego necessarily, but because he's convinced that people need protecting. That living is suffering, and he's merely doing what's best for all. He is protecting them.

I also want to note it might be important that we are served the Emperor card upright. The reversed position of the card implies a lack of control leading to an abuse of power and unwise decisions. What Joseph does is undeniably an abuse of power objectively, but describing it as just that loses a lot of the nuance behind his actions and motivations. Despite how clearly mentally unstable Joseph is he is in control of what he is aiming to do. Like what the Emperor card represents, he has a burning ambition to achieve his goal no matter what it takes — and we see that from the way he does not falter after all his friends leave him, how it's implied that not even Elliott could stop him even though his words left some impression on him.

Design Notes

Moving on, I'd like to look at the design in more detail in comparison to what the traditional Emperor card looks like.

To get the full picture of the design we can look at the actual heritage of the Tarot card, which read me down a rabbit hole of exploring the history of the Emperor card exclusively. One detail that stuck out to me particularly was the fact Joseph isn't facing the audience in his card. In more contemporary decks the Emperor faces you head on, but Joseph isn't. I'd say this is likely in relation to the Tarot de Marseille characteristics.

By the mid-seventeeth century after Tarot card production had moved to France, the Emperor gained the characteristic of sitting on his throne in profile with his legs crossed.

The position of his legs was staged for maximum effect. Sitting at ease with one leg crossed over the other traditionally signified the highest status person in the room, or someone about to pass a legal judgment.

This doesn't drastically change the meaning of the card itself, but I thought it was a cool detail nonetheless. It feels quite fitting for Joseph ( Judge skin aside ) in the sense that he believes that what he is deciding for people is right, or that he even has the authority to in the first place. It fits well with his arrogance and ultimately all the other decisions that lead him to his self-destruction in a way.

The detail doesn't stop there. The Emperor card changed yet again with the occult tradition.

19th century occultists like Eliphas Levi, Oswald Wirth and Papus retained the Tarot De Marseille image but added their own cosmic interpretation. Particularly They saw the Emperor’s body as a triangle with his legs making a cross. Together these form the symbol for alchemical sulfur and allude to spirit dominating matter ( now where does that sound familiar ... )

What's particularly relevant to Joseph is that Wirth changed the Emperor's legs slightly to be more like the astrological symbol of Jupiter.

Because of the Emperor’s association with the number four and the Hebrew letter Daleth (door or womb) occultists saw the Emperor presiding over the birth of all material things, then ruling the material world as Jupiter. The globe topped by a cross, a traditional symbol of the Emperor’s worldly and spiritual power, was reinterpreted as the astrological sign for Venus, emphasizing the concepts of birth and creation. The Emperor represents the creative fire at the heart of all beings; so he’s also energy trapped in the material world.

So how does this all relate to Joseph? Well as I said this doesn't drastically change the meaning of the card, but there are small details and nuances that you could interpret liken to Joseph. Like how the pose he's sat in originates from when tarot deck production grew in France. On the other hand, the connotations of Jupiter could be the way he did achieve his goal in a way in creating the mirror world — defying the rules of life and death itself. Since the Emperor also represents the creative fire at the heart of all beings it could also be alluded to Joseph's origins as a creative in his journey, and his wish to see something more than the dullness and dread of life.

There is a lot more to the card heritage of the Emperor and other parts I could have mentioned, but I decided to include these as the most relevant. I'll have it referenced in the end if you'd like to check it out!

Now I'll continue my insanity into what the Emperor card means in certain contexts.

Past

In the past position, The Emperor represents a father or other authority figure who laid down the law and set a firm definition of acceptable behavior for you. Perhaps you rebelled against him or his teachings, or maybe they helped to keep you out of harm’s way. If you are in a secure position now, you have The Emperor in this position to thank. But some people do abuse their authority and if you are alone and alienated after being witness to the abuse of authority, this card confirms that the blame is there. Often we are given rule over our world and mess things up ourselves. Other times, the trust that put us in the care of another is at fault when this person goes overboard and so The Emperor represents a tyrant.

Honestly I don't have one set idea of interpretation in regards to Joseph and his story in terms of the past.

The first thing that came to mind was his father. We don't know a lot of things about Joseph's family outside of Claude especially with his relationship with his parents. All I can think of is Joseph's 2021 character day art where there were noticeable cracks over his father and mother in the portraits behind him.

Considering Joseph is hardly in a secure position, it might be implied that something went wrong too with his parents. When he lost Claude he had no other immediate family that we know of aside from them, but until he was of age he still would have been under their care. Was there a certain pressure placed on him as the only remaining son of the Desaulnier family? Did Joseph feel perhaps alienated by his parents who may have tried to move forward much quicker than himself? These are questions that we can't answer yet.

The other "tyrant" of Joseph's past I had in mind could have been the person who lent him those books on the occult when he visited the unnamed manor. I already alluded to such a person bearing similarities to Henry and Dorian in my little ramble after finishing the picture of Dorian Grey. But again, there's nothing to he said for sure.

Present

When The Emperor is in the present position, you have the rule of law before you to guide you on your journey. This card is especially strong in the present position as it gives you an absolute confidence to move toward a goal. This can also represent the influence of another person in your life right now. Are you so enamored of a new friend or lover that you have started following the advice and lifestyle habits of him or her? Have you discovered a new hero in the arts whose work has expanded your consciousness to the point that it is hard to relate to people who have not had a similar reaction to this person’s artistic output? Is there a new teacher in your life who has changed the way you think? Perhaps a new person at work is transforming the way you approach your on-the-job goals. The theme running through all of these possibilities is that one way of seeing the world is coming to dominate the way you experience life.

I've highlighted that last part for reasons that I've already stated in this post. But that line in particular is pretty relevant to Joseph.

Joseph who could not run move on from his grief and instead fell deeper into it. Joseph who could never enjoy life the same without Claude in it and after seeing the horrors that death brings, in his brother's death and the revolutionary war that tore up everything he had ever loved and known. Joseph whose life was dominated by his grief, anger and anguish that pushed away those who might have loved and cared for him — even Elliott, at the very end, could not save him.

Future

The future position is an uncomfortable position for The Emperor. The days and weeks ahead are vague and quite affected by the smallest decisions of the here and now. The Emperor card demands to assert itself. When The Emperor card is here, anticipate a change to come into your life in a bold manner; expectations to conform in the way you carry yourself may be part of this picture. Regardless of the situation, understand that new demands to follow a specific behavioral prescription will be coming your way and coming in the near future. Prepare now to submit, evade or resist.

There's a number of ways you could interpret this and none are strictly right or wrong. A lot of which echoes much of the sentiments of needing control, disliking uncertainty and particularly change in general ...

It could also be interpreted in regards to the trajectory of Joseph's life after Claude's death — what became of his future. We have seen Joseph has gained a habit of self-restraint now — not truly speaking what's on his mind but rather speaking what he needs to achieve a means to an end. He's someone who does feel the weight of peoples' expectations on him and seeks to excel past them, and that particularly becomes evident post the tragedies of his younger years. He changes particularly in the way he carries himself, whether that be influence of his own grief or that new-risen demand as the Desaulnier's surviving son and the pressure he put on himself.

Final Notes

You made it to the end! You must be as crazy as me or smth damn.

Anyways this was an unnecessarily long ramble of me basically saying how perfect this card is for Joseph and his story and I'm sure there's so many other elements I missed out and failed to convey. But this is all for fun! Don't take my words as law.

I kind of want to do some more for a few of my favs so ..

#idv #identity v #joseph desaulnier #identity v photographer #idv photographer #idv joseph #kainalysis #actual mania #as in typing this was a fever dream #i was juet waiting for the cleaninf lady in our dorms to finish #forgive typos or obnoxiously long sentences im a law student

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thecreaturecodex · 1 year

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Rokurokubi

"Yokai and Kami" © ArtStation user "Mamslick", accessed at his gallery here

[I didn't much care for the Pathfinder 1e version of the rokurokubi. Not that it's a bad monster; it's a fun take on the rokurokubi as a hag. But it's not a good representation of the actual folkloric entity. The rokurokubi is one of many yokai that seem to exist as a way of entertaining male anxieties about women, particularly in the context of a society as patriarchal as Edo period Japan. So many yokai look like beautiful women... but then they getcha! And a lot of them getcha because you deserved it. These yokai start as humans, and then form from the abused, the neglected and the downtrodden. These people don't have a real voice in society, but turning into a monster lets them act out. Sound familiar?

Which is why, even though the Paizo's 2e rokurokubi has acceptable art, I'm not using it. Because it's a man, and rokurokubi are women in the stories nine times out of ten. Plus, I'm posting this for Monster Girl Summer.]

Rokurokubi CR 3 CN Monstrous Humanoid This woman is beautiful, but clearly monstrous, as she has a neck that is twice the length of the rest of her body.

A rokurokubi is a cursed creature that represents the adage “turnabout is fair play”. The misdeeds of a person, particularly a wealthy, egotistical and stingy one, can cause their child, lover or other person close to them to become a rokurokubi. This especially occurs if the person to become a rokurokubi is abused, as it empowers them to strike back at their tormentor. Rather than sleep, the newly formed yokai begins to play pranks in the night, anything from drinking all the lamp oil to startling people by peering around corners to inflicting bloody wounds. They prefer to ruin lives and reputations rather than kill, at least initially. Most rokurokubi end up quite enjoying their new state, and move around in society after having dealt with their initial oppressor.

Many rokurokubi live their lives as uninhibited and hedonistic people most of the time, revealing their monstrosity in order to get something they want or to lash out at someone who is rude to them. Their necks can be as short as that of an ordinary (albeit willowy) person, or as long as a constrictor serpent's whole body. Their teeth are sharp and inflict bloody wounds, and they are experts at scaring people. Perhaps the strangest ability of a rokurokubi is its ability to drink oil and heal from it. Even alchemical bombs can be swallowed safely, if the rokurokubi manages to catch them in their teeth.

Rokurokubi can form from any type of humanoid, although most of them are human. In patriarchal societies, women more frequently turn into rokurokubi than men, but any sex and gender is possible. They have the lifespan ordinary to members of their original species. A few rokurokubi reject this, making pacts with shadowy powers for immortality—these are the universally sinister rokurobabas.

Rokurokubi CR 3 XP 800 CN Medium monstrous humanoid Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +8 Defense AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+4 Dex, +1 natural) hp 25 (3d10+9) Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +7 Immune sleep Defensive Abilities drink oil Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee bite +6 (1d4+3 plus bleed), 2 claws +6 (1d3+3) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with bite) Special Attacks bleed (1d4), threatening lunge Statistics Str 16, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 15, Wis 16, Cha 19 Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 20 Feats Combat Reflexes (B), Deceitful, Persuasive Skills Bluff +9, Diplomacy +9, Disguise +9, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (local) +4, Perception +8, Stealth +9 Languages Common, Senzar, one cultural language SQ adjust neck Ecology Environment urban Organization solitary or circle (2-5) Treasure standard Special Abilities Adjust Neck (Ex) As a move action, a rokurokubi can dramatically change the length of its neck. If it reels its neck in, it loses its reach with its bite attack, but gains a +8 racial bonus to Disguise checks to appear as its original species. If it extends its neck, it gains an additional 10 feet of reach with its bite attack, and can ignore cover when making a bite attack. Drink Oil (Su) As an immediate action, a rokurokubi can attempt to catch a thrown flask of oil, alchemist’s fire or alchemical bomb in its mouth. It makes a Reflex save with a +2 racial bonus against a DC equal to the attack roll made with the flask. If it succeeds, it takes no damage and instead heals 1 hit point per die of damage that would ordinarily be dealt. Threatening Lunge (Ex) If a rokurokubi extends its neck and makes a bite attack in the same turn, it can make an Intimidate check to demoralize the opponent it bites as a free action with a +2 racial bonus.

#rokurokubi #yokai #monster girl #monster girl summer #japanese folklore #pathfinder 1e #pathfinder 2e #if i ran the zoo #i take a hammer and fix the canon

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rp-guzi · 4 months

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(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)⸝♡ This Good Son Welcomes You!

H-Hi!

Um...

Most of you will probably end up with my dad having you for dinner, but uh... until then! We can be friends, can't we? •ᴗ•

Let's talk! I'll tell you stuff about me, and you can tell me stuff about you! Maybe we can play some games before you have to... uh...

ᵍᵒ ˢʷⁱᵐᵐⁱⁿᵍ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʰᵉ ˡᵃˢᵗ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ ᵉᵛᵉʳ

Never mind! It will be fun! Just don't tell dad I let you out of the cell, OK? Or I can't promise what he'll do... Oh! No no no! To you, I mean. My dad loves me more than that!

I guess I have to get used to some stuff if I'm going to be a cool ghost king like him someday, huh? *nervous chuckle*

I picked out a uh... a name for when I... after I die and become a cool ghost, I mean. You can call me Emerald Gleam Lighting Dawn right now if you want to, though! I don't mind! ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

I don't have any powers yet, but I'm learning!

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾₊✩°｡⋆˚⁺

My shrine paintings:

I hope I do look this cool when I'm a ghost!

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊☾₊✩°｡⋆˚⁺

((-OOC

Mod uses They/Them. Gu Zi uses He/Him

Mod is an adult, but character is a child, don't be creepy pls.

CN: Some posts will imply past child abuse that's no longer happening

DMs are welcome!

/OOC-))

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mihrsuri · 2 years

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So @theladyelizabeth reminded me of a thing (under read more because discussing child abuse)

One thing that really came through when I looked (as much as I could deal with) into attitudes/laws in regards to child sexual abuse was that yes, actually it was recognised as a thing and even as an awful thing.*

*That is not to say there wasn’t victim blaming or that it was all wonderful for survivors (it was not) but the idea that Child Rape Was Okay Historically Actually is…not born out. Also see the idea that people would always obviously blame their child who would be Ruined Forever.

#child abuse cn #lil and her ridiculous aus #ot3: political power trio

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annlarimer · 5 months

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CN: Discussions of queerphobia, institutional control over women’s bodies, suicide, transmisogynist stereotypes, child abuse

#revolutionary girl utena #anime #takarazuka #manga #shojo

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shootinwebs · 7 months

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( cn: child abuse, trauma implied )

headcanon that sometimes (like during trust exercises or something) alastor will talk about something really fucked up from his childhood or life on earth in general. and since he never really healed from any of it, he'll talk about it in this eerily cheerful tone and even laugh about it. and everyone else gets so quiet. but he'll just change the subject as if he didn't just unknowingly spill his guts out.

#hazbin hotel #alastor hazbin #headcanon

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comfy-whumpee · 1 year

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I would give my firstborn child to see Jax testifying against Savvie

Finally coming for Anon's firstborn, sorry for the wait. Also sorry about any weird formatting, tumblr forced me to use the new editor and it's shite. As always, written with the help of Savvie's writer @ashintheairlikesnow

CN: implied noncon, emotional and physical abuse, medical malpractice, broken bones, victim blaming.

@bloodybrambles, @wildfaewhump, @ishouldblogmore, @lektricwhumpktric-whump, @that-one-thespianan, @raigash, @burtlederp, @rosesareviolentlyreadread, @eatyourdamnpears

THE CLERK: Thank you, sir. You may be seated. Please lean forward into the mic and keep your voice up, for the record. Can you state your name and spell your last name for me, please?

THE WITNESS: Jackson Gallagher. G-A-L-L-A-G-H-E-R.

THE CLERK: Thank you.

"She tried to get that corrected," he mutters. "They told her to shut up."

BY MR ROOKS:

Q. Good morning, Mr Marcoset.

"See? She told him to do that."

MX. WHITE: Could the witness be referred to by his legal name, please?

THE COURT: Yes. The witness will be referred to as Mr Gallagher.

BY MR ROOKS:

Q. Good morning, Mr Gallagher.

A. Good morning.

“Took him a while to get to the point, that day. And it was a stupid point. Delay tactic.

Q. Mr Gallagher, is it true that you were alone in Mrs Marcoset’s home on multiple occasions when she went out?

A. Yes.

Q. Is it true that you were not told what she was doing on those trips?

A. Yes.

Q. Is it true that you spent periods of time in a separate part of the house to her, unaware of what she was doing?

A. She locked me in the basement sometimes, yes.

Q. Even that aside, Mr Gallagher, is it true that you cannot be sure of what she was doing at all times?

A. Yes.

“See. Load of crap just to get to the point.”

Q. In that time, is it possible she could have met with other man?

A. I guess. Yes.

Q. And did these trips continue throughout 20XX, before Mrs Marcoset announced her pregnancy?

A. –Yes.

Q. Can you be certain, Mr Gallagher, that you are the father of her children?

A. I’m certain. You can ask her yourself.

“She was so fucking offended. But she knew why it was done. They ordered the paternity tests after that, and that was another fucking week gone.”

BY MX WHITE:

Q. Good morning, Mr Gallagher.

A. Good morning.

Q. How was your arm broken?

A. It was a few months before she – Savvie – said she was pregnant with Isabella. I was taken to visit her uncle, Isaac Marcoset. He asked her to bring me, she said. When we arrived I was taken to a room, with the people he called staff all lined up inside.

Q. For clarity, Mr Gallagher, what do you mean by ‘the people he called staff’?

A. I met a lot of people who worked in the house. They were called staff, but I never saw them being paid or leaving the property, and some of them said they were born there.

Q. Thank you, Mr Gallagher. Please continue. What happened when you were brought before the staff?

A. Isaac took my arm in both hands and broke it. I hadn’t seen him in a while, I didn’t know what it was about. I gave him lip, of course – the others all looked scared and I wanted to make them feel better. It hurt a lot. But I told him he wasn’t so big and scary. He pushed me into the wall for that and yanked on my arm till it came out the shoulder.

Q. Were you given medical treatment?

A. Yeah, Stewart set my shoulder.

Q. By Stewart, are you referring to the Box Boy owned by Isaac Marcoset, designated Fifteen?

A. Well, yeah, but can I call him Stewart? He was only ever called the steward when I was there, but I thought I should call him by a real name. I’ve been a number before and it’s important, having your name. He liked it.

Q. I understand. Let the record show that ‘Stewart’ refers to Fifteen.

MR ROOKS: Could the Box Boy be referred to with his legal name, please? As we have settled the matter of using legal or chosen names in the court.

“That pissed me off. But the lawyer told me later it probably backfired ‘cause I never managed it on the first try. Stewart is Stewart. Made me look like a good guy, to humanise him like that.”

BY MX WHITE:

Q. Did you receive any other treatment?

A. They took me to a doctor who knew about me being a captive. He cast the arm and gave me painkillers.

Q. Did he give the painkillers to you directly?

A. No, actually. He gave them to Savvie.

Q. Describe your access to pain relief through your recovery period.

A. It was – erratic. Savvie controlled when I ate and slept, and she took over that too. She didn’t let me touch them. I was told to stay in the bed, her bed in her bedroom, and she would bring them over when the alarm went off. But most times she’d say I had to kiss her first, or ask if I really wanted them, before she let me have them. Or she’d forget. I’d remind her if she was there, but if she wasn’t, there was nothing I could do. A few times she’d be in a bad mood and say she was too upset to get them, or I’d get them if I apologised to her. One time I remember, she turned off the alarm. I could see the sun and I knew it was time. But when I asked her, she said it wasn’t time yet. She asked if it hurt, and then she told me I had to lift it see if it could go higher than yesterday.

Q. Who took over your household work during that time?

A. Hannah. She’d come by a few times a week and work on cleaning the whole house, same as I had to. I spoke to her a bit. She had a collar, same as me.

Q. How did Ms Marcoset react?

A. She was furious. The first time I met Hannah, she was out. When she came home she grabbed my arm, the broken arm, and squeezed it as hard as she could. She said I wasn’t like the others, I wasn’t staff. Because she loved me. I told her she was hurting me, the pain was – I can’t describe it. Really f- really bad.

Q. Did Ms Marcoset realise she was hurting you?

A. Yes. You could see it in her eyes. They went wide, and – and her breathing picked up, like she was excited. When I said she was hurting me, she said she knew. I asked her why. She said – because I can. Because I want to.

“God, Jax.”

“…Yeah.”

Q. Did she release you?

A. Eventually. She made me wait. I thought I was going to be sick, or pass out. I couldn’t breathe right. She just told me to look at her. She said, she said I should be able to hurt a, a little. For her. I had, she left nail tracks on my arm. It was out of the cast, I don’t think I said. She dug her nails in so hard I had lines of blood. Those ones didn’t scar. I have a lot on my back, from her, but – a lot of nail scratches on my back. They weren’t the only ones.

“It gets worse.”

BY MR ROOKS:

Q. You told the court that you were treated by a doctor, Mr Gallagher. Are you referring to Dr Russell Leppelman?

A. Yes, I think that’s him.

Q. Is it true you were taken to him by Mrs Marcoset for that treatment, immediately after you were injured by Isaac Marcoset?

A. Yes. Stewart, uh, Fifteen told her to.

Q. Is it true that Dr Leppelman provided you with a cast, painkillers and a treatment plan?

A. Well he refused at first. He called me a pet. But—

Q. Did he treat you?

A. He did, yes.

Q. Is it true that he treated you in private, away from Mrs Marcoset?

A. Yes.

Q. Did he ask whether you had any allergies?

A. Yes.

Q. Did he perform a wellbeing check?

A. What does that mean?

Q. Did he ask after your personal safety and mental health?

A. Yes.

Q. Did he act unprofessional towards you in any way?

A. Not in the treatment.

Q. So you were separated from Mrs Marcoset, alone, with a healthcare professional who was attending to your wellbeing and health, but you did not ask him to help you escape the captivity you claimed?

A. I did, actually.

“She didn’t know about that bit. Figured they’d ask it, they asked it about every time I admitted to meeting another fucking soul.”

A. I told him I was a slave, and he said I should call myself lucky I wasn’t treated like the others. He said I was a pet. He said he played golf with Isaac and none of his people dressed as nice as the clothes I had on. I asked if I got patient confidence and he said yes, unless I was rude, basically.

Q. So you had patient confidence, and you asked him for help?

A. I asked him if he would help me and he said he wouldn’t.

Q. He invited you to share what you wanted in patient confidence, is that true?

A. Yes, true enough. I asked if she was on birth control because I was worried about kids. That surprised him. He said she wouldn’t keep her kids as slaves.

Q. Did he provide you with that information?

A. He told me she was. I asked if he knew about the other slaves, the staff. He said he knew. But he said she wouldn’t hurt her own kids.

Q. Why do you consider that an unreasonable belief?

A. He knew her. He said, what did you expect from a Marcoset? He knew her dad and her uncle, he knew about the staff and that some of them were blood relatives.

Q. That has not been proven. Did you actually ask him for help escaping captivity?

A. I did. I could see he didn’t like the idea of her having kids. He knew that would be bad. So I said, if eventually she goes off birth control, and there are kids now, would he help? He told me not to worry about it.

Q. Is it true that he did offer to help, although he believed it would not happen?

A. Not really. He said I was playing for pity. He said I should be good and, lie back, and think of England, and put up with it. He said I should try harder to make her happy with me. He said, specifically said, he wouldn’t tell anyone about me.

Q. Dr Leppelman said he would help, in the situation you imagined, if he believed the children would benefit from his intervention. Is that true?

A. Yes. But—

Q. So did you ask for help escaping from captivity for yourself?

A. No, because he told me before that point that he wouldn’t. He also hit me. Twice.

Q. Is it true that he explained his family was under threat?

A. He mentioned it. He said I wasn’t worth it.

Q. Do you consider it unreasonable for him to prioritise his family over a stranger?

A. Not me. But he knew about the child slaves. He should have at least done something for those kids.

Q. But is it true that you did not ask for help for your own sake, Mr Gallagher?

A. Yeah.

Q: Thank you.

“There you go. One page out of a fuckin’ hundred. Do you get the picture?”

Kieran set the transcript down. “Thank you for sharing that with me, love. I don’t think that was easy for you.”

“Nah. But it’s been…bloody hell. Ten years. You never looked it up even once. You of all people should get to know.”

Jax finally stops pacing, settling down on the sofa next to his partner. Kieran holds still, letting him lean close.

“Izzy’s probably read it all five times over, anyway,” Jax adds, and Kieran surprises himself by being able to smile.

#jax #whump #epistolary whump #my fic #broken bones #kieran #implied noncon #victim blaming #court case #court whump? idk anyway it's how ash got her start so it's tradition

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