#cw brainwashing mention

[bogboy420]

ok so i hav THOUGHTS and FEELINGS abt ep 4 of tadc that r honestly kinda difficult 2 put into words? but im gonna try

so i actually genuinely liked this episode even tho it was kinda difficult 2 watch (in a good way!!) but then after watching it i immediately went into the tags 4 tadc and specifically tadc ep 4 2 c what every1 else was saying abt it and tbh i think that was a mistake? like now tbh the problems i hav w the fandom r kinda almost overshadowing the actual content of the episode 4 me which is rly sad bc the episode was a rly good 1

okay so i may as well get this out of the way and accept that im probably gonna get hate 4 it but i gotta say smth that ik basically no1 else is gonna agree w me on,,,

GANGLE WAS NOT THE VICTIM OF EPISODE 4!

and i don't just mean that in the "she wasn't a victim of jax's antics this episode" way i mean like,,, i keep seeing ppl still doing the "oh no poor baby" thing w gangle even w this episode and like? it's tiring!? tbh i honestly thought this episode was the 1 that would get ppl 2 c in gangle what i was seeing in gangle the whole time tbh which is that gangle is the embodiment of weaponised "im just a girl" white woman tears

also 2 get this out of the way since ik the fandom is kinda split on this 1 yes i hc gangle as white, i feel like her character would b different if she was asian both in how she interacts w anime and in her design

so okay 2 explain that, if gangle was japanese i don't think her design would include the european comedy and tragedy masks so heavily and it would be more likely that her design would instead be modelled after japanese kabuki masks since she wouldn't hav the same connection 2 the european comedy and tragedy masks as a european person would and we see that cultural signifiers do in fact change in the character designs with pomni who i think likely is supposed to be asian, her jester costume is more similar to asian styles of clothing than european and her hair is in a style that's very popular with asian working women, now because im not asian and i don't know a lot about cultural signifiers in asian culture aside from what i've heard i could be wrong about some things here and if there are any asian people who would like to correct me please feel free to, just to be clear bc i keep having this problem across my blogs WHEN I SAY IF U R IN A MINORITY GROUP IM TALKING ABT U CAN CORRECT ME THIS DOES NOT EXTEND 2 PPL OUTSIDE OF THAT MINORITY GROUP WHO WANNA START BEEF W ME OVER NOTHING!

so okay in my head gangle is a white girl, this is relevant 2 how she weaponises toxic positivity and then weaponises her crying, white women hav been doing this 4ever and it's how i was able 2 c her being like this from a mile away, i knew she was gonna b like this the whole time but it feels like every1 else in the fandom keeps falling 4 it idk, like at least 4 me this episode rly highlighted how gangle and jax r narrative foils of each other

jax is abrasive and rude and wants ppl 2 think he's just an asshole bc he doesn't know how 2 connect w ppl on a deeper lvl but realistically all he would do if he had a bit of power over some1 would b 2 mess w them a bit bc of him being chronically bored

gangle if she had even a tiny bit of power over some1 would literally b micromanaging them and incredibly controlling and abusive but wants every1 2 think she's harmless

jax when he bullies the others it's clear that it's him lashing out bc of a lack of control in his life so he acts as a bully 2 try 2 feel like he has a dagree of control over his environment

gangle when she starts treating the others badly it's when she's finally in a position of power

gangle is literally being an abusive manager this episode but every1 is more focused on the fact that jax was a bully in the previous episodes 2 notice! hell even some ppl r glorifying gangle's actions! like wtf!?

like okay, early in the episode jax throws ragatha into the deep fryer, that's bad we all know it is, w that being said we also know that physical damage in this world is not permanent and that ragatha will b fine even tho she's having a bad time of it, jax is very clearly doing this as a way of lashing out bc he doesn't like that the adventure they r doing 2day is working at a fast food place

gangle,, seemingly doesn't care abt what's happening 2 ragatha? and is more focused on punishing jax's behaviour, telling him off and then having a conversation w caine who is "upper management" 4 the adventure abt how she wants a punishment 2 b awaiting jax 4 his behaviour at the end of the day, she then also delights in holding this power over jax the entire episode, it's worth pointing out i think that gangle never bothers 2 get ragatha out of the deep fryer and is even shown walking away from ragatha still in the deep fryer showing that she really doesn't actually care about the fact that ragatha is being hurt

later gangle consistently keeps piling work onto jax throughout the episode and seems to delight in holding this power over him, jax gets more and more tired and depressed throughout the episode and eventually stands up for himself but in a way that is less violent than usual, gangle tries to get him to do a job that isn't in his job description, jax then points out that that should be handled by the people who's job it is to do that, gangle then asks jax "doesn't he want to be a team player?" and other office buzzwords that managers often use 2 coerce employees into doing work that isn't in their job description, jax then says no and that he doesn't care abt any of this which is a very normal attitude 4 a fast food employee 2 hav and that's when (if i remember correctly) gangle sends him 2 the brainwashing room also this bitch has a brainwashing room where she tries 2 brainwash jax but no1 cares bc every1 is still defending her 4 some reason!?

another thing that i think is relevant is that i hc jax as having ASPD bc i hav ASPD myself and i relate 2 jax a lot bc of this and hav noticed ways in which jax's behaviour is very similar at times 2 how my ASPD symptoms show up, there r some differences obviously since jax is living in a video game simulation where physically harming ppl leaves no permanent effect and i don't live in that situation but the cycle of messing w ppl around u 4 entertainment, lashing out when things don't go ur way and then not being able 2 connect w those around u thus making u less able 2 control these behaviours in the future and making u lash out more is very real, the chronic boredom is there, the irritability is there, jax using messing w ppl as a primary source of entertainment and also a primary way of trying 2 connect w those around him is there

this is relevant because this would mean that jax is being punished by gangle for showing symptoms of ASPD, smth that he can't control not just that but while gangle is the main villain every1 is kinda a dick 2 jax in this episode, pomni assumes that jax must hav an ulterior motive when he asks how she's doing, zooble basically tells jax that his actions r making it more likely 4 caine 2 kill them all (which i don't think caine would do but zooble seems 2 think he would) and ragatha says that she hates jax but doesn't want jax 2 hate her and basically confesses that being the actual reason why she pretends 2 b nice 2 him, (also yes i say pretends and not tries since she gets mad at jax earlier in the episode 4 smth that jax points out "was actually a mistake that time") and the thing is? jax isn't even surprised, he knows that ragatha hates him already he just also knows she wouldn't say that if she was sober

also side note i rly need ppl 2 stop saying that gangle's brain washing was successful and that's the only reason jax was more friendly/agreeable/less of a bully this episode like no, it's bc he's depressed af this episode also pls stop saying that gangle brainwashing jax would b a good thing if it made him act differently that's legit such an ableist thing 2 say omg

anyway i think im gonna leave this here 4 now bc i woke up not long ago and this post is getting long so idk lemme know if any of this is coherent ig? lol fr tho i hate gangle and i don't understand y u guys like her and hate jax so much

edit: seems like i may not hav made it super clear but i hc jax as being a black queer man as a black queer man myself, i didn't make that very clear initially bc i legit 4get that not every1 sees him that way, idk man 4 me as a black queer guy the coding was there and gangle picking on him in the workplace i think was definitely partly motivated by her doing that white woman thing of seeing a man who doesn't hav as much power as her in society and then leaping at the opportunity 2 abuse that power in the work environment as a perceived "revenge" thing

[e-m-p-error]

[ @voxtekoverlord || Continued From Here ]

[ Alastor ]

"Oh! Oh! Vox, I'm so proud of you! You were being funny on purpose! Oh-ho, I never knew you were funny!"

If he could get a dig or twelve in on the other Overlord, he would. Vox could relish in his attention all he wanted, but he was going to have to endure being made fun of. It was just their way.

"You must have an audience for a reason, I suppose, but I thought it was all brainwashing! Television does turn your brain to jelly!"

[howlsofbloodhounds]

hey, ive seen you mention OSDD 1 and 2 in your posts. What is the difference? I only know that OSDD 1 is a system

Yes, OSDD-1 causes systems, with community subtypes of OSDD-1A and OSDD-1B, which is unfortunately often used interchangeably with OSDD-2 even though they are very different.

If I recall correctly, an individual will not be diagnosed with “OSDD-1” or “OSDD-2” but just OSDD, and usually the reasons why are listed. I might be wrong about that though.

Anywho, OSDD-2 is hard to find information on, but there are a few brief descriptions such as the few below I could find;

“OSDD 2 is "identity disturbance due to prolonged and intense coercive persuasion" such as (but not limited to) long-term brain washing. This can start in adulthood. These folks will question if they are the person who they were before the coercive persuasion took place or if they are the person who they became as a result of this situation.

(Ex: In Stage 1, ‘am I sans, or am I killer?’ as opposed to Stage 2 and above, where he is fully Killer (the imposed, programmed identity who just sees itself as something with Sans’ face and body because “sans would never kill Papyrus”)—just different states of Killer.)

So this can happen after you leave a coercive cult or a terror organisation for example, but also if you lived most of your life as a military personnel in a warzone and suddenly you return home to your original environment, and now you don't know if you are the peaceful family person you were before or the soldier who killed people. The two identities separate but not like in DID.

It's more like you don't know which version of yourself you should identify with, who you really are. This can include other forms of dissociation. Furthermore, to be diagnosed the symptoms have to significantly bother you and disturb your everyday functioning. Generally these guys are also diagnosed with PTSD/C-PTSD.”

“OSDD-2 is characterized by identity disturbance due to brainwashing, torture, thought reform, or otherwise coercion-based dissociation. Examples include being indoctrinated into a cult, being held captive, etc.”

“Other Specified Dissociative Disorder-2 (OSDD-2) is characterized by identity disturbances due to brainwashing, programming, torture, thought reform, or otherwise coercion-based dissociation. This includes being indoctrinated into a cult or being held captive.

In the DSM-IV, OSDD-2 was described as derealization without depersonalization. With the revisions to depersonalization/derealization disorder in the DSM-5, this is no longer the definition of OSDD-2.”

[rawliverandgoronspice]

sssstop!!!!!! assuming ganondorf is a rapist random youtube videos I'm literally eating my own fingers and swallowing the bones whole like one of those weird birds aaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!

[makiruz]

TERFs do not believe in consent, they believe that there are good choices and bad choices; if a woman does something they consider "bad" even if it literally harms no one, then she was forced into it by patriarchy; if she says that she likes it, she was brainwashed into thinking she likes it, deep down she hates it; only the "good" choices are made freely and with full consent

The bad choices can be anything from wanting to be homemaker, engaging in kink, wearing femme clothing, being promiscuous, getting unnecessary cosmetic surgery, having sex with men, etc, etc

This btw extends to trans men, who they believe to be self-hating women; but not to trans women who they believe to be evil men out to rape women

[pan-magi]

The Alma Tran arc should have emphasized more on religious trauma and indoctrination. In this essay, I will-

[sleepyfan-blog]

Exhaustion

Author’s note: this is the second part of Sirass’ backstory! First. Next. I hope you enjoy the fic!

Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets @the-pure-angel @whorety-k @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

Warnings: medical horror, child endangerment, child soldiers, child death, child abuse mention of brainwashing/indoctrination, Iron Warriors Aspirant Training, please ask me to tag something if it bothers you/I missed something

Summary: A look into the day of Aspirant Sirass, immediately post surgery.

Sirass woke up, as he did most days after his capture by the Iron Warriors, in pain. He gritted his teeth and breathed in through his nose, out through his mouth as he waited for the agony from the most recent surgery he’d been forced to endure. He heard a quiet sob from one of the other aspirants in the bunk above him. Part of him desperately wanted to reach out to his brother to try and comfort him… 

But Sirass was keenly aware of the fact that their captors were watching them most if not at all times. They saw compassion as a weakness. They saw kindness as pointless unless it was in service to manipulate others. If they were being watched, saying a kind word, or poking his head over the side of the other’s bed and trying to crack a joke, or offering a light touch to the shoulder or arm would get their entire squad beaten black and blue if they were lucky.

So Sirass forced himself to ignore the quiet sniffling and hiccupping from the occupant of the bunk above him, breathing through the pains of the surgery inflicted upon him. He’d been informed that it was another organ meant to make him stronger, better, faster. To turn him into an Astartes. He knew when the pain was at a level he could start to move at, as the aching, bone-deep ravening hunger in the empty pit his stomach had become started to gurgle and grumble.

The Iron Warriors aspirant looked at the chronometer and suppressed an annoyed sigh. He had an additional hour and a half before he and his squad would be collected for the morning meal…

Though to call the thick, porridge like substance filled with chalky vitamins and gods knew what else a meal was generous at best. It tasted awful, but it filled his belly up like nothing he’d ever eaten before. Sirass closed his eyes, muttering to himself the many if arbitrary seeming rules that he’d been told that sticking too would allegedly allow him to survive the trials ahead of him into becoming an Astartes.

Sirass didn’t necessarily want to become an Astartes, but he’d also been told that if he did survive and pass all of his trials, he would eventually be able to go back home. He might be able to see his mother again, which was the main hope driving him onwards. He’d heard over and over again how it was an honor for him and the others to be chosen to become Astartes. To Serve the Imperium of Man, to serve the Tyrant of Olympia in such a direct and honorable manner. Sirass privately thought that was a lot of groxshit, but he knew better than to say that out loud. 

Rebelliousness was severely punished. Dissension meant death - and often not just of the mouthy Aspirant who said unwise things, but those closest to his physical proximity. 

~

“GET UP YOU LAZY LAYABOUTS! IT IS TIME FOR FIRST MEAL AND TRAINING!” The training sergeant yelled as he kicked down the door, startling awake the nearly dozen aspirants who’d been sleeping in their bunk beds. 

There were startled sounds coming from the others, and Sirass had jumped in his bed as well, but he waited three seconds before getting out of bed, immediately turning to make it before standing at attention at the foot of his bed, hoping that he hadn’t bled through his bandages and sleeping tunic from the abdominal surgery he and the others had received yesterday. He���d be scolded for being messy.

The others slid out of bed at varying levels of coordinated and stumbling. The aspirant two bunks above him rolled off the edge of his bed and began to fall.

Sirass reacted on instinct, taking a half step forwards and catching the other before he could fall all the way to the floor, setting him on his feet as fast as possible, silently hoping that the training sergeant either didn’t notice, or didn’t care that had happened.

The training sargent swept past the two of them  without so much as a glare in their direction - which caused Sirass to let out a tiny sigh of relief, making sure to make as little noise as possible.

The brother he caught murmured a soft “Thank you!” Before going up on his tiptoes to make his own bed before standing at attention.

Two of the aspirants at the far side of the sleeping room hadn’t left their beds. They hadn’t even moved when the Sargeant had called for everyone to leave their bunks.

Sirass could understand why they didn’t want to move - his body ached from the surgery and he was so hungry he was shivering and felt a little weak at the knees and clammy. But such open defiance meant a beating.

The training sergeant stomped over to where the two unmoving aspirants were and looked at them both. There was a small sneer on his face “Weak. These two were week. Not enough Iron Within to handle the process. Cadet Sirass!”

“Yes sir!” Sirass called out, snapping a crisp salute the other’s way, ignoring the way that it tugged at his stitches.

“Lead this group of your brothers to the cafeteria. I will hold you personally responsible if anyone gets lost or the group loses discipline on the way to the grubhall. Understand?” The sergeant ordered.

“Yes sir.” Sirass acknowledged, swallowing hard. “You heard the sergeant. Everyone line up in two lines. Cadet Malix, you’re my second.” Several of the others looked at the unmoving Aspirants, but no one wanted to be accused of Questioning Orders and hurried to obey. That and Sirass suspected that they were just as hungry as he was.

~

The trip to the cafeteria was mercifully short and silent, though He had been forced to reprimand four of the others for trying to start an Unauthorized Conversation in the hallway of the massive ship they’d been training on. He wanted to know what was going to happen to the unmoving aspirants as they did, but as he was “in charge” of them, and cross-chatter wasn’t allowed in the hallways, he had been forced to maintain discipline. 

The hot sludge they were being fed today was greyer than normal, and the liquid that was too sweet-salty to be normal water was thicker as well. Sirass couldn’t find it within himself to care or wonder about the whys behind it, eating his position of food as quickly as possible. 

“I wonder why Umil and Shay weren’t moving… They’re going to be in trouble.” Malix murmured quietly, a worried frown on his face.

“They were the last ones out of surgery, yesterday.” Sirass responded quietly “And their surgeries took twice as long as ours. I don’t… I’m not sure…” While most of the time, if an Aspirant was going to die because of a surgery, they died on the table, not returning to the squad they’d been assigned to, from what SIrass had seen. But sometimes an Aspirant or two died in his sleep after being released from the butchers… Apothecaries… Who’d cut him open and shoved an additional organ inside of them before sewing them back up again.

“Ah. I… Oh.” Malix sighed, staring forlornly at his half-full bowl of sludge. 

“You need to finish eating. You know how they get when we don’t.” Sirass encouraged. “It’s best… Not to think about it. There’s nothing we can do.”

Malix huffed silently but nodded, morosely digging his spoon into the grey sludge, swallowing down another mouthful.  The two of them diligently watched over their remaining brother-aspirants for breakfast.

~

The only positives about the handful of weeks after a Surgery Day was that the physical training was less gods-awful, if only to ensure that they didn’t rip their stitches and bleed out over the training floors and waste the time and expense poured into them by the trainers and medical staff who were shaping them into astartes. The downside was during those weeks, they pushed the propaganda and indoctrination into How Amazing The Imperium Is and Serving The Imperium hard.

Sirass dutifully repeated the mantra of the Iron Warriors over and over again, to the beat that the training sergeant set, alongside his fellow aspirants. They would be doing this for another hour, before being told more Glorious Stories about the chapter, and the brilliance of their Primarch, Lord Perturabo. 

The more he learned about the incredibly powerful being, the less he ever wanted to be anywhere near the near-godlike being. He sounded equal parts tyrannical bastard and unholy terror, both in the forge and on the battlefield. All Sirass wanted was to be able to see his mother again, to apologize for not listening to her. He could still remember what she looked like, and the sound of her voice, at least…

He did most of the time. It scared him, the days when he forgot what his home had been like. To know that he couldn’t recall the color of his mother’s eyes. On those days he’d take out the purloined needle he’d taken and practice the stitches his mother had taught him on the blanket he had, or the inside of his clothing, making sure to undo it before anyone could see what he was doing. The needle wasn’t something he was allowed to have as an aspirant, and practicing a skill that would probably be seen as frivolous… Sirass did not want to be beaten for trying to remember the one person who had truly loved and cared for him.

Not in this place of blood and fear and misery. Sirass was fairly certain they were trying to beat all of the kindness and humanity out of him and his fellow aspirants. This one, small act of defiance was something that he was hoping he’d be able to have.

[tianshiisdead]

❄️ For femslash Hetalia @femslashetalia day 7: Plaything

❄️ Pairing: nyo Japan/nyo Manchuria (OC)

❄️ Rating: M for suggestive themes and implied dark themes

❄️ Warnings: Imperialism, dark themes, implied abuse, suggestive content (like one single line at the bottom about touching someone’s chest and nothing else lol), implied brainwashing

❄️ 1932, Manchukuo freshly established, Manchuria answers some questions.

[phoebonicawrites]

Hey look I actually finished writing something. Apparently the key is being as self-indulgent as possible and just going for it.

So I've been rotating the entire cast of Drăculești around in my head since I played the demo, and the flower symbolism spawned this idea. This isn't actually compatible with any continuity in the demo. It's an AU don't worry about it.

Hanahaki disease is traditionally caused by unrequited love, but I like the variations where it's unspoken love better. And I'm a sucker for brainwashing/amnesia tropes where the suppressed thoughts and memories are just kind of... biding their time.

***

Tomorrow they leave for England.

Renfield finds his chest tightening at the thought, tries to force the feeling down, take slow, steady breaths. There's nothing to fear. It's disloyal of him, to even think there might be. It shows a lack of faith.

And he is nothing if not faithful.

And still his body turns traitor against him, cold sweat breaking out on his brow, his throat threatening to close up altogether, his insides churning - butterflies in his stomach, haha - his fragile mortal heart pounding so hard that he can almost hear it. He grips the bedsheets tighter, trembling.

There's nothing to fear. There is nothing to fear. He knows England, knows London, knows how to walk in sunlight as a free man and do all the work required of him. He won't be going back to the straps and the shocks and the stark white rooms that crawled with nightmares only he could see. His Master saved him from all of that, pulled him out of the darkness and gave him a home and a purpose and will never abandon him, not if he does his job well, not if he is obedient and faithful - he is nothing if not faithful -

A racking cough shakes apart his train of thought as he curls into himself, gasping for air, something scratching at the back of his throat - is one of the little lives he's allowed to feed on trying to make its way back up? Or is he coming down with some illness, some mundane weakness of his still too human flesh?

Please no. He can't be ill. He has too much work to do.

He closes his eyes. Deep breaths. In, out. One day he will be more than this. One day he will sit at his Master's right hand and eat at His table with the rest of the family. One day his body will be transformed, made new, made perfect, and he will have eternity to spend at his Master’s side, to be faithful, to be cherished, to be loved -

"Hhhk-!"

The next breath never comes.

Something rises in his throat, wedges itself into his airway. A thick mass, soft around the edges but unyielding, scraping at the walls of his throat as he spasms around it. Can't cough it up. Can't swallow. Can't scream.

He pushes himself to his knees, drives balled fists into his stomach. Once, twice, again. No good. Black stars wheel across his vision, he's going to pass out soon, no no please I can't, I can't die, no, He promised! He gave me a job to do! please I want to live I want to live I want to live -

Only one thing for it.

Fingers force their way into his throat. Gagging, lungs burning, he claws at the thing, tears away a few tiny useless fragments before finally, finally, he finds a firm grip and pulls. It won't move, and then it does move but with agonising slowness, tearing at him every inch of the way as he drags it out into the light.

He pulls the thing out of his mouth with a hideous wheezing gasp, retches, barely has the presence of mind to turn his head so that he vomits over the side of the bed and not onto the sheets. Collapses shuddering to the mattress as he gulps in air with broken sobs, staring at the puddle he's made on the stone floor, blood and bile and iridescent wings and...

...golden petals.

Slowly, he turns to look at the thing in his hand.

It's a sunflower head.

Renfield can't understand where it came from. Just as he can't understand why the next thing he does, before even trying to clean up the mess he's made, is to walk to the window, hold the flower out into the darkness, open his hand and watch as it falls past the edge of the cliff and out of sight.

He can't understand why the sight makes his eyes burn with fresh tears. A sunflower. What could that possibly mean to him?

He can't remember even having seen the sun before.

[kara-zor-els]

In regards to SA against men not being taken seriously in comics, I'm thinking about how Clark has entered sexual relationships with women while brainwashed at least 3 times (2 in comics, both written by John Byrne btw, and 1 in STAS, but there might have been more) and no one ever brings that up.

[habitual-creatures]

...That looks like the boardwalk I was on when I was attacked...when they wanted the kids...

~Dreamacape Like~

WAK3UP! PL3AS3!

~✒️📖/🕕

(( the screen fills with eyes... then the eyes turn to the suction points of tentacles. It feels suffocating. You're suffocating.

You're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying you're dying ))

T̷͇̝́̌̇͝h̶̢̼̦̟͋̽͒ḯ̶̛̜̓͊s̴̞̖̖̤̿͌̔̾ ̵̦͕͖̉̆̈i̴̡̛͚͔͋s̸̫̽͗ ̶̨̀̔ǟ̴̙͓̲͘ľ̴̟͍̇ļ̷̞͎̰̑̿ ̶̩͒y̷̝̾̓͝o̷̘̮̊͒u̶̠͊͑̽̅ṙ̵̙̰ ̴͓̑͌f̵̛͖̞͉͍̉́͊a̸̯̬͐̐́̎u̶̞͎̟̙̒̚l̷͎̝͉͒̓ẗ̷̥͔́̿.̸̞̝̤̹̑̽̈́͗

̸̤̾͝Ỳ̸̡̬̦̟ö̴̟́ų̵͓̭̈́̈́̈́ ̸̺̓̇d̴̠̼̄i̶̯̖̊̏ḋ̴̬̖̬ͅ ̷̧͇͔̫̈́̒͠t̸̩́͘ḧ̸͇͔i̵̡̮̓̿s̷̹͊̉̏ ̴̛̙͎̑͌̿t̸̢̹̗̝́̆̾o̷͇̻͓̐̔ ̶͎̝̪̦͘y̷̲̬͙̠͒͂͒o̴̠͘͠ú̶̱r̶͔̎͜s̸̻͉͍̾̅̿e̸͇͇̚͠ļ̴̜̪͐̀̐͠f̵̘̝́̋.̷̢̈́̚.̴̱͕͚̊̒.̷̢͍͓̆̈ ̵̤̯̞͗̋b̴̗̈́̏͑̚e̷̪̮̩͊͋͘ć̷͇̠à̸̯͎͉͇͊̽u̴͙͙͚̽ş̵̛̝̕͠ĕ̵̡̙͙͍͐ ̷̡͈̅͝ý̴͉̈́͘o̵͖͚̽͌̆ͅü̸̲̣͔͉̈́ ̷̼͙̪̌a̸̢̛̱̾͛̒r̵̙̦͊e̷͈̓̑ ̸̘̜̈́͑͝w̷̤̟̮͓̽ö̶̲̼́̄̓r̷̨̞̺̲̿͂t̴͇̝̾͐͘h̸̫̍̔l̸̥̚e̷̛̫̜̊͒s̷̡̲̚s̵̺̅̍̈́͘.̴̦̥̣̮̏̅͂̈́

(( he jolts awake, absolutely terrified, and the TV turns off. ))

(( translation

This is all your fault.

You did this to yourself... because you are worthless. ))

[joannes-journal]

=+=+=+=+=

*Tape Begins*

*Her voice is more hoarse than last time and it almost sounds like she's been drinking and crying. Her accent is thick.*

Hey, it's me again. Uh...I got thrown off of a cliff over the waterfall... Landed on my back pretty hard, now my hip's actin' up. Too young to experience sciatica, right?

*Awkward laughing*

I think I died again or blacked out or...somethin'.

I just kept seein' cult-lookin' shit in the abyss I was stuck in.

And there were eyes. Followin' me around everywhere.

...

And I saw Dakota.

God, Dakota.

Where do I begin?

Dakota was standin' in the center of a circle, starin' distantly at the ground in front of him.

He was missin' his arms below his elbows, lookin' like they were ripped off. And he wasn't bleedin' blood. It looked more like a thick, inky, black substance. The flesh of his cheeks was torn open and his jaw unhinged.

His eyes were sunken and dull, and his skin was a sickly pale, almost grey color. He had this...he had a fuckin' crown of nails diggin' into his skull.

Kids shoes and socks were missin' and he was standin' in a puddle of his own blo...ink...?

Kept sayin' "JOIN US, MOM. HE WILL PROTECT YOU."

I dunno what the other members of Observer's old group had to go through. If it was anythin' like this...I just got so much more respect for Thousand Eyes.

If not...what if it's because Dakota's a nephilim?

What if?

*She trails off and starts crying, which turns into sobbing. The sobbing eventually breaks off into the occasional cluster of hysterical laughter. This lasts for about 10 minutes before the tape cuts out in static*

*Tape Ends*

=+=+=+=+=

[autolenaphilia]

I’ve seen at least one viral tumblr post argue for Steven Hassan’s BITE model for “mind control” to warn tumblr users for signs of a cult. And like, it’s a noble goal, but I don’t trust the BITE model one bit. For one thing, the concept of “brainwashing” or “thought reform” or “mind control” is very controversial and there is no scientific consensus that it’s real.

Now there are tons of abusive and authoritarian groups, let’s call them cults, who use tactics of socially isolating members from their previous family and friends and outside information. This is itself abusive and makes it harder for members to think critically about the group and leave. And children are easily influenced and can be indoctrinated, especially if they are raised in isolated circumstances.

Still, brainwashing theories do often make outlandish claims of a total “thought reform” that removes personal agency from adult members of cults in a way that is hard to prove or disprove. Scholars such as Rebecca Moore argue it’s even pseudoscientific.

It mainly functions as a comforting thought for friends and family of cult members, as it removes personal responsibility, the member becomes a victim instead of a willing participant, and it’s similarly useful for ex-members to absolve themselves of their actions. It was used more worryingly in the 70s and 80s to justify coercive “deprogramming”, which was family of cult members kidnapping them and attempting to reverse the claimed brainwashing of the cult.

This brings us to Steven Hassan, who I think might be the most visible advocate of “brainwashing” theories active today. He was a moonie for a couple of years in the 70s, before deprogramming and becoming a prominent member of the anti-cult movement of the 70s/80s. His BITE model seems credible at first glance. There are a lot of genuine signs of an abusive group environment on this list. If anything, some of the signs are too obvious, to the point of being facile. The model literally has “murder”, “torture�� and “rape” on the list.

Hassan also places a lot on the idea of hypnosis being this super-effective method of controlling another person, which I don’t think the scientific evidence supports. And I have other reasons to think Hassan is a complete crank about hypnosis, more on that later.

A lot of these things are very general too, in a way that makes it easy to accuse almost any group of being a cult. A lot of these things are not in themselves abusive and just general human group behaviour. For example: “Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda, including... Newsletters, magazines, journals, audiotapes, videotapes, YouTube, movies and other media.“ This is literally just an aspect of being an organization in a society with mass media. The organization linked to above is set up by Hassan himself, and it has both a newsletter and a youtube channel. Another example is “Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth.“ Basically any political and religious group has an underlying ideology which it expects its members to believe in.

So basically any group of people will hit many points on this model, which makes it liable to be misused to label any group the speaker doesn’t like as a cult. And Hassan himself likes to stretch his definition of “cult.” He has famously labelled the Trump movement as a cult. And not to defend Trumpists, but while Trump is an authoritarian fascist leader, in my view his movement lacks the rigid organization and cohesion to be an effective “cult” environment. Hassan’s idea of “mind control” also obscures the deeper societal reasons behind Trump’s success as a politician. The misogyny, racism, and transphobia of Trump’s ideology is rooted in systemic inequalities providing a material basis for such supremacist ideologies to prosper in USAian society.

Less famous, but more revealing, is his tweet thread from a few years ago where he comes to the conclusion that trans people are a cult, or at least a “cult-like situation.” You see, Steven discovered the world of forced feminization hypno porn youtube videos. Now that’s a weird subculture, and forced fem as a porn genre has problematic transmisogynist ideological baggage, as I’ve written about briefly here. But it’s porn, both the creators and audience know it’s not real. You can’t be hypnotized into becoming a trans woman against your will.

Except according to Steve Hassan, PhD and self-described “World-renowned expert on cults.”, they are wrong. As he explains “What I watched in Hypno porn IMO was weapons-grade mind control and if a person watches it...they could be profoundly influenced to, for example, believe they were a woman in a man's body.“

It’s a hilarious twitter breakdown, where Hassan destroys down any credibility he might have had in one go. His BITE model seems to be this sophisticated and realistic model of “mind control”, far removed from its depictions in literal cartoons and hollywood movies. But no, his idea of the power of hypnosis is identical to that of porn videos. The funniest thing about forced fem hypno videos are the transmisogynists who think it is real. Hassan has tried to explain his conversion to the moonies as a result of mind control, but I think the simpler explanation is that he is a very gullible person.

Of course, Hassan’s transphobia is worrying. He is a famous “exit counselor” for cults, an advocate of deprogramming and since he believes trans people are essentially a cult, the twitter thread is essentially advocating for conversion therapy for trans people. He explicitly disavows conversion therapy, but he is essentially advocating it by another name. He has similarly mostly disavowed the coercive “deprogramming” of the 70s and 80s anti-cult movement, except as a “last resort.” We should keep in mind that the “father of deprogramming”, Ted Patrick was involved in efforts to kidnap women to cure them of “leftism” (in the case of Susan Wirth in 1980) and lesbianism (in the 1981 case of Stephanie Riethmiller, which included corrective rape). Deprogramming and conversion therapy turned out to be the same thing.

It is legitimately funny when people like Steven Hassan think hypno porn is “weapons-grade mind control”. Yet there are many monstrous acts you can justify when you argue that people lack personal agency and need to be rescued.

[draconicfool]

so many headcanons for emanator verse

now fully under the gaze of abundance, Eros has learned to fully control the use of erotoxin

he is even more unhinged as he has fully embraced the concept that to love is to be fully and utterly devoted to your beloved to the point of allowing them to devour you

as he is now an emanator, wounds and conditions that were once unable to be fixed with his terrahymn can be now though they come at a greater price

he does not differentiate between who gets eaten anymore and will actively prioritize trying to eat those he loves and adores whereas in main verse he would avoid it

he sees his condition once more as a blessing and it is a sign of his status, thusly he is not embarrassed or ashamed of his need to consume flesh

he travels as he likes to spread his gift to those in need and therefore bring more of the abundance's gifts to others

he absolutely has 100% been indoctrinated by the abundance but he doesn't know that

[1000creepyeyes]

Hi! I’m Eisley. I’m a 28 year old disabled asexual lesbian from the east coast. I struggle with a slew of both mental and physical health conditions such as DID, PTSD, Degenerative Disk Disease, Meneire’s Disease with hearing loss and an IGG deficiency (etc.) I really need ya’ll’s help.

In short; my mother spent last weekend brainwashing me to the point of a nervous breakdown. I had my friends, sister and therapists all telling me the same thing but I’m really struggling with the events. I’m without any money and need a new phone before she turns this one off on me. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not rn. I don’t know what I should even do to help myself rn, just fuck. I feel so helpless. My mother screamed, called me a liar, manipulative, a monster; she fed me horror stories of all the “terrible things I’ve done to her” and the lingering reminder of something she used to say when I was a child “I brought you in this world, I can take you out!” I get that it’s a generational thing to say that, but it’s a little different bc while I don’t believe my mother would ever do anything by her own hand; I do believe she could bring me so low that I’d do it for her. I’m afraid if I don’t get a new phone figured out, I may have to confront her. If you’re unable to help financially, plz blaze/reblog this.

Ask for my cash app in my DM, thank you 💜

[minecraft-illagers]

Who should join the blog next

Note-Both will be joining, but one will be joining way faster than the other.

Captain Vs Pearl

Snippets of their characters

Captain is the leader of the Witch killers. Grew up basically a brainwashed solider for his father. Due to his twisted view, his trust in witches in general are very low.

However, he seems to have calmed down a bit and is retired to mend his bond with broken family. His rep is still the same.

--

Pearl is the pirate Captain of tribe of Illager who sail the seas instead of staying on land. Pearl is know for tough, calm, commanding appearance. However, she's not cruel at all and treat her crew with respect.

Uncommonly come to shore for pilling Villagers for resources. Oddly enough don't convert Villagers into Vindicators.