#the very nature of a cult is that the people are conditioned to not trust anyone from The Outside | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

langernameohnebedeutung · 18 days ago

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there's a lot of valid takes on why Gen Z is becoming radicalised at the rate they are - all that misinformation, tiktok, red pill, the pandemic - all have good points. But I think another factor is that even politically, their sense of normalcy is entirely different to the one of prior generations. The spiral of the last 15 years, the way the Overton window has moved, the change of style and tone in political discourse, the normalisation of anti-democratic ideas, the obsession with people's private lives, the topics that are front and centre during elections these days, the changing concept of the respect and dignity expected in a public office (god I sound like a boomer) - all of that was shocking to us.

the three generations of my family, all born and raised in VERY different time periods from one another, we've all just been equally shocked and horrified again and again these last 15 years - not just by what is happening but how it is happening and by what is possible and how easy it is to make a total mockery of the democracy and the rule of law. For all of us, that was a feeling of realising that something we implicitly trusted in to the point that it didn't need talking about ... just falling away. Or proving to always have been an illusion to begin with. To someone who grows up right now, this safety and security has NEVER existed.

But for these kids - the window of their life where they start becoming politically and culturally aware basically coincides with this downward spiral and I think that makes many of them blind or numb to it. I think for many of them, that's just their understanding of how things naturally progress and politics works. That the way previous generations evaluate the current situation - this framework of intentional manipulation and misinformation and radicalisation - is just fair and acceptable behaviour and that of course politicians manipulate the discourse to get what they want and of course it is normal to tell brazen lies and spread panic if that gets you what you want and if you're loyal to the party, you parrot those lines whether you really believe in them or not. (And let's be honest with ourselves - the seed to that has always been there)

And others, who I imagine intellectually know that things are going downhill, are really stuck in this extremely mind-numbing fatalist mindset (climate change is gonna kill us all anyway, haha) which makes you hopeless and desperate. And being hopeless and desperate also makes you vulnerable to all kinds of manipulation and radicalisation - because the offer you a perspective. Or meaning.

If you think about the trad-wife and redpill stuff or generally christian nationalism but also any movement that instrumentalises history with ideological narratives, you notice that their narratives place periods of stability way back in time in periods that match aspects of their idelogy e.g. their fetishisation of the 1950s. Then they come up with some horrible bad evil enemy that destroyed that paradise and created the 'degenerate' misery we live in now. Authoritarians and ideologues and cults have always done this. It's part of constructing the mutual enemy.

Beause this way, they can create their illusion of this kind of mythical, unreachable utopia (the past) that fascists love and attach all kinds of conditions to reaching that - with no pressure for them to ever actually deliver: women staying at home, racial segregation, christian hegemony, eugenics, absolute exclusion of gay and trans identities etc. This doesn't just have the benefit of pushing their politics on a confused youth (though that's a big benefit) - it also helps them hide from young people that these last 15 years, they literally created the chaos that these kids are living in. They sowed this situation and right now, with the radicalisation of the youth, they are reaping the rewards.

And the thing is, we can blame the Tiktok or whatever but I also think it is important that we let younger people know and feel that what's happening right now - is just not normal and not sustainable.

And yes, we need to let go of the naive illusion that "the kid are going to save the world". We should never have had that. But I also don't think a radical heel-turn vilifying all of Gen Z is going to help anyone or do justice to the situation.

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frigidwife · 4 months ago

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i would like to ask ur opinion on this bc u are one of maybe 5-6 iwtv blogs that i trust and i don't know if i am simply biased but i think u are very thoughtful and fair in ur analysis of iwtv. because even among self-proclaimed louis lovers/understanders, i have seen the idea that louis "could not and would not" save claudia from the fire, or choose her over armand, or that louis was also abusive to claudia if not the Most abusive, or that he "let" lestat/armand destroy her. and i agree that louis failed claudia in some ways (though saying that feels much too vague at this point) and that liking characters doesn't mean apologizing for their flaws and i understand the reflex to spotlight claudia's mistreatment as many fans are so quick to dismiss her importance. but i think people get so caught up in emphasizing claudia's tragedy that they end up falling into victim-blaming rhetoric and ironically de-legitimizing really important aspects of her character and impact. so i wanted to ask though, how do you think louis actually did fail claudia? and should we call claudia's death louis' failure?

ty for valuing my opinion 🥹 i agree w you completely people emphasize claudia's tragedy at total expense of her personality...which sucks bc i love her personality...i think louis actually primarily failed claudia in the exact way that every single parent fails their child. if you've read frankenstein it's about the inherent monstrosity of creation--inherent hubris of creating something whether it's a creature, a work of art (the novel itself!), or a child (shelley's miscarriages and her relationship with her parents haunt the novel). you create something that is a part of you and a mirror of you, you confer your expectations as naturally as breathing, even with the best of intentions, but now the creature/novel/child exists outside of you, outside of your body and your imagination, autonomous, with desires and effects you couldn't have dreamt of, and there is something terrifying and painful in that chasm even in the best of conditions. and this is more broadly true of loving anyone. and in that sense i don't think louis's turning of claudia is really more selfish than having a child ever is. it's not an aberrant or evil desire. so that's one layer.

and then the next layer is the conditions. louis cannot stop seeing claudia as his daughter, even if he calls her sister. she'll always be his daughter. and again this is an almost fundamental condition of being a parent. even if ur parents make an effort--and louis is making an effort--to see you as equals, that foundation is underlying it and can't come undone. the problem is that normally, even if maybe you're always a baby to your mom deep down, you're also functionally an adult in the real world. but claudia is an adult who is constantly belittled and condescended to and treated as a child from all corners. so she goes from louis who can't see her as her own person because he cant stop being her parent to an outside world that can't see her as her own person bc it's structured to deny children's autonomy, and girls' in particular, and especially black girls'. AND THEN the abuse. “you chose lestat over her again and again” i think people take daniel as word of god a lot even when the show has demonstrated that daniel is less than careful talking and thinking about abuse, when it comes to both louis and claudia. Louis chooses to take lestat back, can’t kill him for good, chooses to commit to armand, tells her to put up with the coven’s abuse. those are choices that hurt claudia terribly. but they also exist in the context of abuse. over two decades of debilitating destroying violence and then a new man who tracks him down and dangles his and claudia’s life over him as penalty from the jump. louis is constantly calculating risk based on what they’ve experienced and the same way claudia’s trauma drives her into the waiting arms of a cult, louis’s means he sees enduring as his strongest means of survival . and even from before that from keeping his family afloat under jim crow —performance, self sacrifice at the expense of closeness with grace and paul; using “weakness to rise”. so when louis tells claudia to endure its bc he cannot imagine a way out. which is a failure sure and something claudia can and does resent him deeply for but is entirely and categorically different from what lestat and armand inflict on her . his “choosing armand” is never really about him liking armand particularly it’s him deciding he knows what’s best for both of them—again seeing claudia as his child—to the extent that he won’t even tell her about armand knowing their secret.

this isn’t selfless it’s foolish it’s prideful but the story very clearly is not Louis picking a man over his daughter. (claudia calls out what he wants in a companion in 2.01—“if he can’t call you pretty and take you ballroom dancing” Armand won’t even light his cigarette). i think people have constructed this narrative which funnily enough is the exact same one armand uses to gaslight louis with in 2.05 ("you threw around her name for cover, but you always went back to talking about him" or something like that). Which is really obviously a victim blaming narrative lol like the amount of joke posts that r essentially saying Maybe if louis wasn’t so cock hungry his daughter wouldn’t be dead. Okay?? i think its absolutely fucking insane to call her death louis's particular failure when she was lynched. by armand

and you can tell by episode 6 claudia has realized louis isn’t picking armand over her. her frustration with him is with this martyrdom that she never asked for or wanted, that clearly isn’t “you and me” either. Like you cannot tell me she believes “imagine me without the burden of her” means louis is happy and relieved to see her go Bc she’s not stupid and she’s seen him happy before. If she really thought he meant something like that she wouldn’t behave towards him as she does in the rest of ep 6 and doing the trial. completely ignoring her personality

there is also a hopefully really small subset of people who think pointing out how patriarchy works Is gender essentialism who posit louis as the primary perpetrator of misogynoir in order to justify their fundamental queer human right to call lestat femme . and then expect pats on the back for acknowledging #intersectionality . which is. absurd.

#sorry for talking so much about frankenstein

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bestworstcase · 6 months ago

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How likely is it do you think that there are/have been Grimm-based cults? I can't imagine there's Never been Grimm cults, and I'm particularly interested in the idea of there being Grimm cults or even just organizations who Actually Understand the Grimm and safely live alongside them. I think it's such a fascinating idea, I'm very tempted to come up with a mysterious faction that respects/admires the Grimm (like how people did/do respect forces of nature in religion) and (mostly) safely lives alongside them. Any thoughts?

two obvious paths. whether the second is viable depends on how well you trust my basic reading of the grimm as sapient beings who reflect back what they’re given—dark mirrors—but the first is textually sound without any extrapolation required.

#1: the grimm as gods of war

these are the salient facts:

the grimm follow groups of bandits around to scavenge in the wake of their raids

criminals in mistral sometimes use captive grimm to execute members of rival gangs

grimm are more strongly drawn by violent anger and hatred than by sadness, fear, or other negative emotions.

it’s possible (per ‘before the dawn’) for one side of a conflict to "ally" with the grimm in battle if the other side is, er, tastier

ok. imagine you have a region where most of the people live in small nomadic groups—perhaps a steppe or a desert, their subsistence base is herding—with smatterings of fortified towns and villages around the edges of the region where there’s arable land enough to support a larger sedentary population. the nomadic groups can’t produce their own weapons/armor (mines, smelters, and forges aren’t portable), so they’ll need to either raid or trade with the towns for that. and conflicts between these nomadic groups over territory and other resources are inevitable.

how do the grimm figure in this region?

well a) the grimm are going to be following the nomadic groups around, with more warlike groups attracting more grimm, and b) grimm will fight alongside people against a common enemy if their "allies" are calmer or otherwise less appealing.

this is like… a perfect storm for the nomadic groups to start venerating "their" grimm as war-gods, in tandem with fostering warrior-cultures that prize tranquility or joy and mercy in battle; there is no honor in hatred or rage or taking pleasure in killing (our grimm turn against those warriors who lose themselves to bloodlust), so a good warrior must be calm, decisive, and swift, and never prolong a fight unnecessarily. but it’s also beneficial to make one’s enemies fearful and angry, or provoke them into hatred.

all it takes is one or two warriors who kept a cool head in battle noticing that the grimm ignored them to go after another warrior who went berserk and then interpreting this as a moral judgment. historically, we know grimm were thought to be the vengeful or corrupted spirits of animals, or animals possessed by demons; both are understandings that encourage this sort of thinking. these are animal spirits that cannot rest because someone killed them without giving due respect, and now they seek to punish those who commit such wrongs… so we’d better take care to treat our adversaries in battle and the animals we hunt with honor and mercy.

and oh, we should pay our respects to the grimm, too. perhaps make some offerings. they eat the corpses of the slain after a battle, so… a) we mustn’t be wasteful when we hunt, it isn’t respectful, and b) we should consider the grimm in our funeral customs.

this is a very basic. BASIC human impulse. humans will try to propitiate the fucking sky because we’re so good at pattern recognition and also anthropomorphizing things that we’ll find patterns and read meaning into the most random coincidences. take that and add it to the fact that it legitimately is possible to form alliances with grimm… fgrhjsv

under these conditions grimm-worship probably tends to look something like:

warrior cultures that prize moderation, calmness, efficiency, and clever mockery or intimidation of the enemy in battle,

funeral customs that ritualize feeding the dead to grimm, and/or ritual sacrifice of captured enemies,

grimm viewed as battlefield psychopomps and/or patron spirits of warriors, whether as a class or as individuals or both, and

incorporation of grimm-like designs or motifs into armor and clothing of warriors, to intimidate enemies.

with wide variation in the details and elaborations. the reason for this common set of foundational practices is that religion is practical. it’s not arbitrary. it isn’t pretend. prayer and ritual are things people do because it works, or it’s believed to work, and the right methods are figured out through trial and error long before they coagulate into tradition. so with something like grimm, whose behavior really can be meaningfully influenced, similar patterns will emerge across different cultures because whether a given practice does or doesn’t work is a) more than random chance or coincidence, and b) extremely easy to identify because if it doesn’t work the grimm will attack you.

& #2, the grimm as nature gods

these are my presuppositions, based on extrapolation from the text:

the grimm have a physiological need for aura, which they can get by siphoning; they eat their prey in order to extract aura from the remains.

grimm attraction to emotions is akin to our attraction to the aroma and taste of food; strong emotions herald deep auras or excite aura so it’s more "nutritious" for the grimm, so they hunt by following emotion.

because aura/soul separates from the body at death, siphoning aura from a living person is much more efficient than killing and eating; grimm will prefer to be fed aura by someone alive over hunting if possible.

because aura can be channeled outward through tools, clothing, etc, it can also be channeled into a repository and stored for a while; this seems to be how the grimm lures in arrowfell work.

grimm are intelligent, emotional, social creatures who can learn to recognize certain groups of people as 'safe' or as friends/allies, without salem.

grimm reflect back the emotional energy they’re given; they’re not "attracted" to anger or pain per se, they just mirror it. bristle and draw your weapon at a grimm, and the grimm will charge at you. remain calm and retreat slowly, and the grimm will keep its distance too.

if all of these presuppositions are true, you can propitiate grimm by saturating an object with aura and leaving that out for the grimm on the regular. i imagine that organic/living things that naturally have aura would work best for this purpose; sacrificing an animal or a portion of your harvest is intuitive, and if fervent religious belief alone isn’t enough to infuse something with aura, then priests or religious officials whose auras have been unlocked and trained will do the trick.

if aura-saturated offerings aren’t possible, then you’d need someone with aura training to channel aura to the grimm through, like, a stick, or bare-handed if they were brave enough or confident enough. this is a more uncomfortable option (like physically) but we have a canonical example of a character doing it: she found it disconcerting, but not painful, and it’s implied that the grimm didn’t attack her at any point during. so a) it probably doesn’t do any more harm than having one’s defensive aura break, and b) stopping the flow of aura to the grimm by moving away won’t provoke the grimm to attack.

as unpleasant the prospect might seem, if it clearly worked to reduce or eliminate grimm attacks on the community, people would do this. people would absolutely do this. the big hurdle lies in discovering that this is possible—like you’d need someone to willingly approach a grimm, lay a hand on it, and channel aura into it without knowing what will happen, and the kind of person who would even think to TRY that is very rare—but once it was known? religious belief motivates people do all sorts of unpleasant, uncomfortable, or even outright painful and harmful things to themselves. fasting. self-flagellation. hermitage.

like… waves hands. if it’s a known thing in a community that grimm won’t attack anyone if a few people go into the wilderness every morning to stand there and pour aura into grimm who pass by until they’re tapped out for the day, lots of people will be fully willing and able to do that. far more than are willing and able to become huntsmen: it’s not dangerous or difficult, it’s just going to tire you out on your assigned days. and if you have say, a village of a hundred people of whom ten are able to do it, you can rotate so no individual has to do it more often than thrice a month. NBD.

and if nothing else except the emotional mirroring thing is true, then you can… more or less propitiate grimm by doing whatever, because in this case what makes propitiation effective is community belief that it works: if you and everyone else around you believes that wearing pendants carved in the likeness of grimm and pouring a libation of wine outside the village gates to entreat the grimm for safe passage through the wilds is effective in making the grimm leave you alone, then no one’s going to panic or raise the alarm upon seeing a grimm wandering around in the barley field, and the grimm won’t freak out either.

if you believe that a grimm is a being that can be appeased and you cross paths with one in the woods, you’re going to do what you believe will keep you safe; for a huntsman, that’s "draw a weapon and attack," but for you that might be "hold up your grimm pendant and recite a prayer to politely wish it well and ask for its blessing in return," which—if the grimm just reflect your emotional energy back at you—will probably make the grimm pause and look at you for a moment before continuing on, which confirms and reinforces your belief that this is the correct way to deal with grimm. This Is How Religion Works.

so all that to say, as long as i’m correct about at least one of these presuppositions—the one with the strongest textual evidence, no less—then propitiating the grimm will reduce their aggression dramatically if not stop it altogether. and if that’s the case then i’d imagine grimm-worship is quite common and also varied in more remote regions where human-grimm encounters are frequent.

the shape of that worship will evolve out of how people in a given community figured out that you can do this with grimm. if one person tries a certain thing and it works, and then more people try the same thing and it works for them to, then that is going to become known as the Thing That Works and it will be gradually refined and elaborated on from generation to generation. and on the other side of the mountains they might be doing the same process but with a completely different thing that also worked the first time.

so you might have a village making huge ritual productions of preparing a feast for the grimm with a portion of the harvest, orchestrated by a coterie of priests who fill the offerings with aura… and in the hinterlands a few hundred miles away you might have a group of nomadic herders who leave the bones of every sheep they eat for the grimm and also have elaborate coming-of-age rituals where you go into the wilderness to prove yourself to the grimm by baring your soul… and up north on the coast you might have a whaling town where sailors pray to something like the leviathan or the feilong as a sea-god because their ancestors happened to stumble into a symbiotic relationship with a giant grimm that preys on whales and realized these little guys in boats make better hunting partners than they do snacks. etc.

basically if you accept a presupposition that the grimm aren’t "soulless evil monsters whose sole purpose is to kill humans" and consider them as beings that have some rhyme or reason as to when they’re aggressive and when they’re not, and the rhyme or reason is something humans/faunus could plausibly figure out how to accommodate and/or influence, there are a lot of ways to build a grimm cult. ’cause religion is at its core humans trying to understand the world so we can keep ourselves safe, healthy, and comfortable; worshipping grimm is just a cultural framework for a threat management program.

think about it in those terms, and take however you think grimm work and ask "what could people Do to lower the risk of grimm attacking them?" and "what might people Do that doesn’t really have an effect but seems like it maybe does?" and then start to elaborate from there with "okay, what stories do people tell to explain why they do these things and how they learned to do these things? how do they conceive of the grimm and their relationship to grimm? how does this shape the social and moral values of this religion?" etc.

praxis comes first, belief second. and the praxis develops through trial and error with the basic goal of "how can we make the grimm leave us alone?" so things that clearly don’t work will be discarded. (with ‘clearly don’t work’ meaning "we did this and grimm immediately attacked us"; people will tend to take "we did this and grimm didn’t attack us for two months" to mean "it worked! we should do it every other month!")

#and that’s how you build a religion :)#worship is practical! it’s meant to be effective! humans are really bad at distinguishing correlation from causation so we #develop irrational belief systems based on coincidence and our bonkers pattern recognition #which is why all religions ever are So Weird. WE’RE weird.#but it’s practical nevertheless. people do it because it works or it seems to work and the belief systems are just us #telling stories about ourselves #to explain why we do stuff because ''it works'' isn’t satisfying. we ALL have the toddler urge to go BUT WHY??#and then we come up with a better story. scientists do this also they just invented a process that #puts up guardrails against the universal human reflex to go ''well i put a bucket outside hoping it would rain and it did rain. therefore #putting buckets outside makes it rain.'' lmfao

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 9 months ago

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By: Logan Lancing

Published: Feb 28, 2024

People who have escaped cults all tell a similar story. That story starts with a desire to belong, coupled with a desire for purpose. Strong familial and social bonds are generally preferable to shaky relationships, isolation, and the feeling of being an outcast. Likewise, feeling like one’s life lacks any meaning or purpose is a recipe for anxiety, depression, or even madness. If you talk to people who have escaped cults, they all tell you that they didn’t set out to join a cult—the cult set out to prey on them, offering to fill the voids that we must all grapple with, to varying degrees, throughout our lives. The cult offers inclusion, affirmation, and a secret cult knowledge of life’s purpose. All one must do is take the leap of faith.

Cults are incredibly effective for a variety of reasons, most of which is their ability to lead initiates deeper into the cult, even when those initiates start to sense that the “inclusion,” “affirmation,” and “purpose” offered to them comes with some very nasty conditions and ultimatums. Cult survivors describe how difficult it is to stop placing one foot in front of the other when the cult has total control of one’s physical, social, and emotional environments. Cults work tirelessly to control all information entering an initiate’s eyes and ears. Cults control the books you can read, the news you can watch, the organizations you can trust, the experts you must listen to, and the people you confide in. The cult environment is one of endless propaganda designed to be so effective that one loses control of their own thoughts; loses control over the voice in their head.

Once an initiate finds themselves in the cult’s totalizing environment (see Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism by Robert Jay Lifton) the cult lifts the veil of love, affirmation, and inclusion and reveals a cycle of psychological abuse designed to drag the initiate deeper into the cult’s doctrine. This abuse is justified through a language of purity—initiates must let go of all the bad influences and contamination of their former lives, revealing their deepest secrets through ritual confessions. The point is to strip the initiate down, leaving them totally vulnerable and exposed. Only then can the cult rebuild the initiate in the cult’s image.

Cult survivors will tell you that they often didn’t know they were in a cult until someone pierced the cult’s totalizing environment with a message from the outside; a tether to a long-lost reality; an invitation to step back into the real world. The Queering of the American Child is one such tether, and I hope parents nationwide will receive the message loud and clear: Education is in the grip of a religious cult—the Queer Cult.

Now, I don’t mean “queer” as in “gay” or “lesbian” or “bisexual.” I mean “queer” as it is defined in the academic literature of the Queer Cult’s doctrine: Queer Theory.

Unlike gay identity, which, though deliberately proclaimed in an act of affirmation, is nonetheless rooted in the positive fact of object-choice, queer identity need not be grounded in any positive truth or in any stable reality. As the very word implies, “queer” does not name some natural kind or refer to some determinate object; it acquires its meaning from its oppositional relation to the norm. Queer is by definition whatever is at odds with the normal, the legitimate, the dominant. There is nothing in particular to which it necessarily refers. It is an identity without an essence.[1] (Halperin, 1995, p. 62, italics in original)

Our children are “experiencing the queer,” as Queer Educational Activist Kevin Kumashiro explains in his 2009 book, Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice (2nd edition). Specifically, our children are experiencing the “queer” because they have been purposefully placed in a state of psychological crisis. “Crisis,” Kumashiro says, “should be expected in the process of learning, by both the student and the teacher. Like queer activism, queer teaching always works through crisis…the goal is to continue teaching and learning through crisis—to continue experiencing the queer.”[2] (Kumashiro, 2009, p. 55)

The Queer Cult has total control of our national discourse as it relates to sex, “gender,” and sexuality. Our children are fed a steady diet of cult doctrine through mainstream media, social media, popular culture, the psychiatrists they consult, and the doctors their parents trust. Not least of which, our children attend schools that universally push the idea that children can be “born in the wrong body.” America’s children learn that they have “gender identities” that might not match their “sex assigned at birth.” A Medical Industrial Complex waits in the wings with irreversible puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and “gender affirming” surgeries.

The social and emotional pressures to conform to the Queer Cult’s corrupted understanding of reality are hard to bear. Most people know that “radical gender ideology” is insane, but they go along with it because they don’t want to be considered a “bad person,” “on the wrong side of history,” or worst of all, a “conservative.” The cult’s moral extortion racket is designed to drag us deeper into their agenda; deeper into what Queer Activist Michael Warner calls a “queer planet.”[3] However strong the pressure may be, we must remain tethered to reality—not only for ourselves, but especially for our children. As we say in the book,

[Queer Activists] believe they can arrest the steering wheel of History and drive us all off the ledge. Under normal circumstances, all of this nonsense would be cause for endless mockery and laughter. Unfortunately, Queer Activists have proved to be remarkably effective. Today, they already have one hand on the wheel, and our kids are in the car.[4]

In The Queering of the American Child you will learn what Queer Theory is, where it comes from, how it got into schools, and what it’s attempting to do with your children. You will learn that Queer Theory has nothing to do with helping gay kids, and nothing to do with helping troubled children feel “included” in a healthy set of societal norms. Letting the cultists speak for themselves, Dr. James Lindsay and I bring in hundreds of citations to lay bare the Queer Cult’s agenda. Our schools are initiating children into the Queer Cult through psychological manipulation and child abuse. What you read will shock you, and that’s a good thing. Welcome back to reality.

youtube

References

[1] Halperin, D. M. (1995). Saint Foucault: Towards a gay hagiography. Oxford University Press. (p. 61) [2] Kumashiro, K. K. (2009). Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice (2nd ed.). Routledge. (p. 55) [3] Warner, M. (1991). Introduction: Fear of a queer planet. Social Text, (29), 3–17. [4] Lancing, L. and Lindsay, J (2024) The Queering of the American Child: How A New School Religious Cult Poisons the Minds and Bodies of Normal Kids. New Discourses. (p. 65)

#Logan Lancing #James Lindsay #The Queering of the American Mind #queer theory #gender identity ideology #gender ideology #gender cult #queer gnosticism #liberation #queer liberation #cult survivor #religion is a mental illness #Youtube

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lolipopchainscw · 3 days ago

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( dilraba dilmurat, 32, cis woman, she/her ) — Look who it is! If you take a look at our database, you’ll find that DOTTIE ALIMJAN is an ACTRESS that works in SECTOR 9 (formerly sector 1). According to the file, they’re a mutant with the power of MYCOKINESIS and MIASMA EMISSION. That must be why they’re SPIRITED and CONTROLLING. If you ask me, they remind me of the moxie of a vintage comic strip, a red ribbon looped through a high ponytail, a veneered smile, and a nasally laugh . They are affiliated with RUST & RUIN. ( beanie, 25+, EST, she/her )

basic information:

character name: Dorothy Alimjan

nickname (s): Dottie

face claim: Dilraba Dilmurat

mutation status: Gen II

birthday: March 17th

sexuality: heterosexual

moral alignment: chaotic neutral

occupation: amateur actress, ring girl

work sector: sector 9

affiliation: rust & ruin

3 positive traits: spirited, competitive, romantic

3 negative traits: controlling, jealous, validation-seeking

biography (optional): Dottie is an aspiring actress whose memorable roles include: a low-budget toothpaste commercial, a reality television appearance where a shaken can of soda burst up her nose (earning her the temporary meme status of ‘Snot Rocket Girl), and a terrible soap opera that’s gained cult classic status (“General Lovers on the Boulevard”). Originally directionless apart from vague aspirations of obtaining celebrity status, she was assigned to Sector 1 upon working age. She toiled as a Scavenger, sending applications to Sector 9 whenever she was eligible. Eventually, she had either proved herself through community theater or had badged the establishment enough that her career change and living conditions were formally approved.

questionnaire:

how do they feel about living in sol city? have they always lived there or did they travel from another settlement?

Dottie has always lived in Sol City. She holds a slight grudge against the establishment due to her previous, unglamorous occupation as a Scavenger. However, it’s where she met the man she’s currently obsessed with. It also makes for a humbling, crowd-pleasing origin story for a future superstar like herself, so she can’t be too upset over how things turned out.

do they trust the council’s leadership? why or why not?

Dottie is wary of the amount of control the council has over its population. She feels that when the time comes, exchanges of power will be made into a very dramatic affair. Even if their world became better, could you trust the selfish hearts of men to relinquish even a fraction of their power? She understands the all-consuming urge to claw your way to the top of society – and more importantly, keep your rank at all costs.

if they chose their sector and profession, why did they make that choice? if they didn’t, why not? were they happy with their assignment or not?

Originally directionless, she felt like an alien in a world of people with natural talents. Dottie had naively assumed that wherever she was assigned, it would match their assessment of her personality and skills. The possibilities infiltrated her daydreams: perhaps she’d be a nurse who wrangled doctors into vicious love triangles or a beloved professor who looked gorgeous in a pencil skirt and blazer. The assignment to Sector 1 demoralized her. She decided that the best way to prove everyone wrong would be to claw her way to stardom. While toiling as a Scavenger, she used her downtime to study trendy online magazines, take the word of socialites as gospel, and has poured her blood, sweat, and body glitter into proving she belonged among the talented entertainers of Sector 9.

what’s one object that they always keep on their person?

Her purse is full of crap, but she usually keeps a heart-shaped compact mirror in her arsenal of beauty supplies.

(mutant only section)

what is your character’s ability (or abilities)?

Mycokinesis: the ability to generate and manipulate fungus Miasma Emission: her lesser ability, the power to breathe out toxic gasses

are they gen i or gen ii?

Gen II

what can your character do? what are their strengths?

Mycokinesis: Dottie loves ‘mushies’, but the nitty-gritty workings of her mutation are the bane of her existence. She is not pleased to explain how her body produces spores, often secreted through: aspirated water droplets, sweat, tears, and her body’s natural oils. If she wipes her hand on an object, it will be overgrown with mushrooms within a day. At one point, the pile of tissues overflowing the dustbin when she contracted a bad flu had mutated. An adorable, semi-sentient mushroom emerged, and she sent panicked messages to her sisters that she had created a “nose baby”. Dottie cannot create living fungus consciously, so the harmless coagulation of mycelium that lives in her purse like a pet chihuahua was merely the perfect storm of premeditated conditions.

Dottie has studied mycology to understand which strains of fungus have properties that benefit her. Among her personal interests, she has taken extensive notes on every known mushroom considered to be an aphrodisiac. Extensive research has gone into mushrooms that can be consumed for clear skin and oftentimes, she grows new strains in her living-room-turned-lab.

The easiest application of her power is creating fungal structures and emitting spores that act as sleep aids. However, she is quite creative with how she makes the most of her ability. Other applications require more conditions and concentration.

Dottie has not practiced her miasma emission often due to the danger it poses to the people around her. She has managed to dampen its toxicity, so that its effects are similar to carbon monoxide poisoning and more survivable. As a side effect, teeming with poisonous spores and gasses has made her hardy against many poisonous compounds.

what can’t they do? what are their weaknesses?

Common problems she runs into are the tightrope act between creating a mild aphrodisiac versus a hallucinogenic drug that causes liver damage. For example, she once wanted her boyfriend to win against a fixed boxing match. She had breathed out harmful spores into a rivaling athlete’s protein powder with the intent of giving muscle aches and a low-grade fever. The opposing athlete had to be rushed to emergency care for severe vomiting and multiple organ damage – oopsies!

Dottie cannot create mushrooms from fiction, such as legendary ‘immortality mushrooms’ in fairytales. Altering structures can give the fungus that appearance, such as creating glowing fungus from bioluminescent strains or large, Alice in Wonderland style mushrooms as landing pads to fall on. But, these properties need some root in reality for her to exaggerate them to her needs. She can mix multiple properties together by creating a hybrid strain, but those can be volatile without practice. Case in point: that time she secretly and accidentally ruined a boxer’s whole career. It is best to assume anything she has created is at least mildly poisonous until proven otherwise. You could either get skin irritation or die of liver failure – this isn’t a gamble where the odds are in your favor.

Dottie is also dependent on the environment to some degree; she flourishes in dampness and humidity. She struggles to grow fungus in areas deprived of moisture, and any created structures will usually crack, weaken, and fail to multiply.

Her miasma emission is a lesser ability. If breathed out in an indoor space, it can be overcome by ventilation and increased air flow. Outdoor spaces are a more difficult place to use this ability, as if she’s not directly in front of someone the miasma will spread out and not build into an effective concentration.

is there anything else you’d like to specify about them?

She oversprays this universe’s version of Aquolina Pink Sugar :(

#armatask #armaintro #ch:dottie

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tired-fandom-ndn · 2 years ago

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Sorry to keep going on about this but I have anti-vaxx parents so it's important to me, but homeopathic groups are so fucking predatory. They specifically target people who are justifiably wary of the medical system (mainly women of color, especially black women) and people who are either chronically or terminally ill and desperate for something that makes them feel in control of their illness.

They push bullshit "traditional medicines" and use all the right buzzwords to make people scared of both medical professionals and standard Western medicine and then they push themselves as the "safe" and "natural" alternative. They employ cult tactics to make people scared of the world so that they don't feel like there's anyone they can trust except [insert "wellness" company].

They leap at any bit of fear, any tiny medical complication or bad experience, and they use that as their opening to dig into people's heads. The best case scenario for a lot of the victims of these groups is going fucking bankrupt because they spent thousands on what is essentially water that had a leaf in it for a very brief moment, but a lot of people end up dying because they put their trust in these scams. People try to use crystals and colloidal silver to treat their cancer, get "chakra" massages for their heart conditions, drink pennyroyal tea to induce "natural" abortions.

A lot of these groups also end up turning into actual cults, which is a whole other can of worms. The founders of these companies become controlling, violent, turn themselves into religious figures. Then suddenly people in the group find themselves transferring their "ascended" leader's mummified corpse across state lines in the car trunk.

And then the victims get blamed for it, mocked and harassed. And I get it but I'm also the child of someone who is neck deep in that mindset and I've seen much how fear is the driving force. And the more and more misinformation and disinformation becomes common not just online but also on the news and on tv, the more people end up falling into these groups.

You can argue that people who fall for those things are just idiots who don't know how to do research, but the simple fact is that search engines? News sites? Youtube? Social media entirely? Those are becoming increasingly dominated by "wellness" cults and anti-science nonsense and it's getting harder and harder to pull people out of that spiral. Especially right now, with how fucking terribly the US government at least has handled covid; people know they can't fully trust government agencies to take care of their health, and these predatory groups are just giving them explanations for that distrust, even if those explanations are wrong.

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magimark1 · 2 months ago

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CeraVe: The Skincare Brand Trusted by Dermatologists

CeraVe has become one of the most popular skincare brands globally, known for its dermatologist-developed formulas that target a variety of skin concerns. Whether you're dealing with dryness, acne, sensitive skin, or aging concerns, CeraVe offers effective solutions that are affordable and accessible. In this blog, we’ll explore what makes CeraVe stand out, its key ingredients, and the benefits of incorporating it into your skincare routine.

1. The Origins of CeraVe

CeraVe was created in 2005 by dermatologists who sought to develop products that would not only treat common skin issues but also restore the skin’s natural barrier. The brand focuses on ceramides, which are fatty molecules found naturally in the skin that help keep it hydrated and protected. CeraVe’s unique formulations are designed to replenish these ceramides, which are often depleted due to environmental factors, aging, or certain skin conditions.

The brand’s mission is simple: to deliver skincare that’s backed by science and suitable for all skin types, including sensitive and eczema-prone skin. CeraVe has grown significantly over the years and is now available in over 40 countries, making high-quality skincare accessible to a broad audience.

2. Why CeraVe Stands Out: The Importance of Ceramides

One of the main reasons CeraVe has gained so much popularity is its use of ceramides—specifically, three essential ceramides (1, 3, and 6-II)—that work together to restore and maintain the skin’s protective barrier. Ceramides make up about 50% of the skin’s composition, and when the skin loses ceramides, it can become dry, irritated, and more prone to external damage.

CeraVe’s formulas are packed with these essential ceramides, which help lock in moisture, protect against environmental aggressors, and keep the skin looking healthy and hydrated. This makes the brand particularly effective for people with eczema, psoriasis, and other dry skin conditions, as well as those seeking anti-aging solutions.

3. Key Ingredients in CeraVe Products

Beyond ceramides, CeraVe incorporates a variety of powerful ingredients known for their skin-enhancing benefits. Some of the key ingredients you’ll find in CeraVe products include:

Hyaluronic Acid: A superstar hydrating ingredient that can hold 1,000 times its weight in water. It helps to deeply moisturize the skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Niacinamide: A form of vitamin B3 that has anti-inflammatory properties, helping to calm irritated skin, reduce redness, and improve the skin’s barrier function. It’s also effective in brightening the skin and fading hyperpigmentation.

Salicylic Acid: Known for its exfoliating properties, salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid (BHA) that helps to remove dead skin cells, clear pores, and treat acne. CeraVe’s salicylic acid products are particularly popular for those with oily or acne-prone skin.

MVE Delivery Technology: CeraVe’s unique MultiVesicular Emulsion (MVE) technology ensures that the key ingredients are slowly released over time, providing long-lasting hydration and making the products more effective throughout the day.

4. Top CeraVe Products for Every Skin Type

Whether you have dry, oily, sensitive, or combination skin, CeraVe has products tailored to meet your skincare needs. Here are some of the brand’s top products that have become cult favorites:

CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser: This gentle, non-foaming cleanser is ideal for dry and sensitive skin. It effectively removes dirt and makeup without stripping the skin’s natural moisture, leaving it soft and hydrated.

CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser: Perfect for normal to oily skin, this foaming cleanser contains niacinamide and ceramides to clean the skin without disrupting its protective barrier.

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream: One of the brand’s bestsellers, this rich cream provides deep hydration and is ideal for dry to very dry skin. It’s particularly effective for eczema-prone skin, thanks to its high ceramide content.

CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30: This daytime moisturizer contains broad-spectrum SPF 30 to protect the skin from sun damage while providing hydration. It’s non-comedogenic, making it suitable for acne-prone skin.

CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser: Designed for rough and bumpy skin, this cleanser contains salicylic acid to gently exfoliate and smooth the skin’s texture, while still being hydrating enough to avoid irritation.

CeraVe Eye Repair Cream: Formulated with ceramides and hyaluronic acid, this eye cream helps to reduce puffiness and dark circles while keeping the delicate under-eye area moisturized.

5. CeraVe and Sensitive Skin: Why It’s So Popular Among Dermatologists

One of the reasons dermatologists frequently recommend CeraVe is because it’s designed with sensitive skin in mind. The brand avoids harsh ingredients, such as fragrances and parabens, that can irritate the skin. This makes CeraVe suitable for a wide range of skin types, including those with conditions like rosacea, eczema, and acne.

CeraVe’s products are also non-comedogenic, meaning they won’t clog pores, making them safe for people with acne-prone skin. The gentle formulas ensure that even those with highly reactive skin can use the products without experiencing irritation or breakouts.

6. Building a Skincare Routine with CeraVe

Incorporating CeraVe into your skincare routine is simple, and the brand offers products for every step, from cleansing to moisturizing to sun protection. Here’s an example of a basic skincare routine using CeraVe products:

Morning Routine:

Cleanser: Start with the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser or Hydrating Cleanser, depending on your skin type.

Moisturizer: Apply the CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 30 to keep your skin hydrated and protected from the sun.

Evening Routine:

Cleanser: Use the same cleanser from your morning routine.

Moisturizer: After cleansing, apply the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream or CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion to lock in hydration overnight.

Special Treatment: If you’re dealing with acne or textured skin, incorporate the CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser or SA Lotion to gently exfoliate and improve skin texture.

7. CeraVe’s Global Popularity and Affordability

One of CeraVe’s most significant advantages is its affordability. Unlike many other dermatologist-recommended brands, CeraVe is reasonably priced, making it accessible to a broad audience. This affordability doesn’t compromise quality, as CeraVe is often considered on par with more expensive skincare brands in terms of effectiveness.

The brand’s global availability has also contributed to its popularity, with CeraVe products found in pharmacies, supermarkets, and online retailers in numerous countries. This widespread accessibility has made it a go-to option for individuals seeking high-quality skincare without breaking the bank.

Conclusion

cerave has earned its place as a skincare staple thanks to its scientifically-backed formulas, dermatologist approval, and ability to cater to all skin types. Whether you’re dealing with dryness, sensitivity, or acne, CeraVe offers gentle yet effective solutions that help restore the skin’s natural barrier and maintain overall skin health.

#cerave

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agape-philo-sophia · 5 months ago

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➝ Order Followers – The Servants of Evil❗.

Those of us who have less conditioning — who don’t obey the chain of authority; who have less attachment to falsity — recognize that the so-called “authorities” in our way of life are stupid and idiotic in their actions. We have truer, higher and realer conscious awareness and self-development making us more authentic and capable of recognizing the authority of truth — of what is right, good, true and moral. The “authorities” and their supporters are falser, lower, and unrealer selves; unaware and unconsciously living, doing wrongs as though they were right; or transforming what’s right into a wrong.

ORDER-FOLLOWING IS NOT A VIRTUE!

Conscience is the internal guiding system humanity is blessed with having. It is literally your compass to living in the Right. Police and Military side swipe their consciences by following orders from their masters. Police make all kinds of justifications and excuses as to why they follow through with immoral orders but there is no legitimate excuse. Justifications for burying the conscience are null and void. As it is the conscience itself that will direct us toward what is moral, right, justified, and true. The Ancient Mystery traditions considered the conscience the home dwelling of the Higher self. To sell your soul means to disobey your conscience.

The immorality of government is obvious once we start being honest with ourselves. It’s very clear to see that not only politcians are not to be trusted but also the foundation of government itsself even if the politicians were to be trusted is wrong. The foundation namely consists of violence, incarceration and theft. Theft is theft, also when government does it. When someone or some entity claims you MUST pay them money or you will be incarceted and means you are a slave. Back in the days they took 100% of slaves labour now it’s about 30%. Even if it’s used for collective purposes doesn’t make it any less of an act of theft.

The Dark Occultists aren't the ones creating the chaos and suffering, they're just giving the orders, manipulating minds. Every evil perpetrated in the world is done by those who are obeying the orders. And it all comes down to Moral Relativism. When you believe that morality is just a mental construct and that we get to make up what is or isn't moral based on personal beliefs, whims, preferences, likes and dislikes, then you have no Conscience. A lack of conscience also comes with a lack of self-respect. If a police officer or solider has no conscience or self-respect, they will have no problem doing as they're told and engaging in the daily imposition upon the Rights of others.

Conscience is the definitive knowledge of the difference between Morally Right Behavior and Morally Wrong Behavior. The exercise of Conscience is choosing to do what is Right regardless of what someone tells you to do, regardless of consequence. When you are following someone else's dictates, regardless of what is Right, you CANNOT exercise Conscience. It's impossible. When you have no Conscience, your actions are inevitably going to cause harm to others. Therefore, ALL order-followers are bad people. All police are bad people, all military are bad people. I'm not saying that some of them don't mean well or don't have good intentions, but intentions mean nothing if your world view is damaged, you conscience is broken, and your actions are wrong.

The only good cops and soldiers are the ones who have truly begun to respect themselves and brought their conscience online, who refuse to obey the commands that they know are wrong and refuse to enforce "laws" that infringe upon the Rights of others. In other words, they've become moral beings, they've quit their cult, and begun speaking out in courage, unapologetically.

"It is the greatest absurdity to suppose it in the power of one, or of any number of men... to renounce their essential natural rights, or the means of preserving those rights. If men, through fear, fraud or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up an essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right of freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave." – Samuel Adams, 'Chief Conspirator' of the American Revolution

It doesn't matter how good you think you are, how nice you are to others, or what seemingly noble cause you believe you are serving. Good intentions are meaningless if your actions are not in line with Morality. If you're obeying someone else's order – even if that order is to feed the homeless – you are not exercising conscience. If you're not exercising conscience then you ARE a bad person. Period. I'm not saying you have to be perfect, because no one can be perfect, but you have to get out of the "me me me, I only care about me and mine, and I won't do anything that brings consequences down on me no matter how Right it is" mentality. That's Satanism.

Stop being an order-follower and stop supporting their behavior. Stop glorifying them as heroes. Instead, start understanding Objective Morality and Natural Law, and teach it to the order-followers you know and meet. Their ignorance IS your responsibility. Their ignorance, their wrong behavior in the world, and our support of it is what keeps all of us enslaved.

Government has a monopoly on violence. If you would act like the government you would be arrested. What grands government the right to be above the people and to rule other people. It’s an illusion of self proclaimed control. Just a group of thugs with their minions in blue who are the modern day houseslaves that rather inslave their own brothers and sisters for a paycheck than actually become conscious and start thinking for themselves. It’s really pathetic and pittyfull. The level of unconsciousness is so severe that they think what they actually are doing is a virtue and they see themselves as brave people. Nothing could be further from the Truth. Following orders is not a virtue at all. It means you’re deeply asleep to a world of immorality and chaos.

Man-made "laws" will always be disobeyed by criminals, and good people will always do what is Right regardless of what a "law" says, because they understand that there is no such thing as "authority." Therefore, the entire point of "laws" is not to maintain peace and order but to control those who do believe in it. In other words, "laws" are for obedient slaves, for order-followers. For someone to want a "law" made about something, that means there's no real knowledge present within them. They have confusion regarding right and wrong, and want to make it up and have it imposed on society.

You could say that most man-made "laws" are just a form of sorcery. They may call it "legislation" and "law books," but without euphemising, it's really sorcery and spell grimoires. It's Lesser Magick, or Black Magick, because it's using words, intent and energy to create change in conformity with the selfish will of the ruling class and its lawmakers. Teaching Natural Law, on the other hand, would be a form of High Magick, because it's using words, intent and energy to create change in conformity with the Will of Creation.

Apart from the immoral actions they commit everyday by stealing from their brothers and sisters for their big boss government and incarcerating their own brothers and sisters for victimless crimes because some words of a piece of paper says so that has been written by their slavemasters they are actually very much being mocked by the people behind the government who have set up this system of control. Many of the pole ice off eye seers are being covered in dark occult symbols.

Terrorists dressed in fancy clothes with pseudo weaponry forcing the man made law down people’s throats and stealing and harming people with unrightful violence all over the world where in many countries. oke its understandable that they try to calm the peace of rioteers but you dont do that with violence. Police shouldnt be with protests because they make rioteers out of peaceful protestors when they start to taunt them and intimidate them with their costumes and often very authoritarian behaviour, wich they get training in and theyre expected of to behave in this way.

Ofcourse also them can be themselves but they have to abide by the man made law wich is immoral and relative in many ways and is different everywhere on the earth and everywhere there comes more violence from the police and also the people rioting in many countries is often because of government interference or against the government. Government does nothing but trying to control violence for the betterment of their agenda’s of control and control because thats where they are steering towards for totalitarian control and that is definitely not something you want i can assure you because I am out of the mind control programs (or at least many of them but still having to deal with the programs themselves all around you and yes it’s designed that way.

The police has also a big say on the centralisation of protection because in the end that’s what a non psychopathic cop wants to do for joining the cops but that’s also a powerful reason why people still believe in the pole ice. Because they might think that’s all the police does. This concerns naive and ignorant people that ignore all the negativ and unrightful and immoral actions the order followers pursue. They have to because those are the pillars of the entity that is controlling them and telling them what to do with the hyrarchical pyramid shaped organisation and protocols and information accessability. They’re out of alignment with Natural Law and/or the Universal one’s whatever you would like to call it everyone who is inner knowing and understands the logics of the universe and what it’s made of and what life itsself’s building blocks are of reason. Because then you get the understanding that the universe and this planet’s purpose is to live free truthful and with Love as foundation. They know not what inheritent rights are. Your natural right is basically everthing as long it doesnt bring harm to other sovereign beings.

That’s it you know and if you are breaking those you’re fooling yourself and become addicted eventually to the Ego that consists of the wanting for suffering so people can have attention from others and self pitty. They have given up on their true dreams and Passions and talents and basically are too passive or too active in things that dont really matter and are distracted by mindless sports games and videogames and going out and get wasted kind of dissuations of Truth by the Ego of pleasure. Not many truly want to understand the matter of the fact, the objectivity of Truth that this universe and planet and dimensions consist of because not everything is relative and unknowable and that’s beauty of it you have to find these powers in yourself and connect with the higher mind wich is the Neo-Cortex and have the left and right brain hemispheres in balance. Intellectually merged with creativity is true intelligence but many do not know this and tend to be in unbalance by one of the halves of the brains and this also shapes their worldview and way of being in a deep way.

Statism is a religion. The believe in a corporate organisation that has taken over the control of the people to do what they plan. And believe me they got plans. If you can connect the dots of what is going on in the long run in the past and in the future its all very obvious and people still making fun of people talking and discussing and recognizing the Truth in these games they play and how they manipulate the minds of the masses into ways of thinking and choose between options they both have given you as if you may not think outside of the box unless its for financial ways and they can make money off of your taxmoney then suddenly you can work with them.

Theyre taking so much of our money. With that money still intact in our wallets we can do alot of things we would normally give the government for doing what we dont know they pay and you just get thrown in the collecetive money box and they decide where they use it for it doesnt really have a worth. Everyone should make up for themselves wich organisations they support with their money or they start their own business without government interference but in the times we live in that is still a hard thing to do because we’re still under all these legislations and rules and buracrocy it’s unbelievable how deep they have spun their webs to back their fundamentals of control over the people

Every single one. Taking care of their family doesn't mean they're a good person. At what cost to the Rights and lives of others are they taking care of them? The Nazi soldiers took care of their families all while following orders to terrorize and murder innocent people. Finding and caging "criminals" because that's your job doesn't make you a good person because that's just order-following. Just because you yourself may not directly harm other people or steal from them doesn't make you a good person, either. You can be kind, loving, thoughtful, and considerate all day, but if you don't exercise conscience (and put conscience above man's "laws") then you're only continuing to support the control system. By doing that you are ensuring that other people's lives remain in duress.

No spiritually awake and moral person can be an order-follower. No spiritually awake and moral person believes in the legitimacy of "authority" or continues to support and condone its "laws" and violence. A truly awake and moral person understands their sovereignty under Natural Law and lives by principle, truth and right action.

We need to stop instilling into our children this mentality of order-following, teaching them that it's a virtue. What you're teaching them is that being a SLAVE is virtuous. How many times have you or someone you know told a child "do as you're told?" Is that teaching them to critically think and make moral choices? Or is it teaching them to obey unquestioningly?

Children are not our property. We do not own them. We are their stewards. Our job is to RAISE their consciousness to be Sovereign, Moral Beings. Instead, we instill in them our own broken worldview which perpetuates the conditions we're in. Then many of them grow up to be like those thugs in the image above, violently harassing and infringing on the Rights of others because someone they perceive as "authority" told them to, never exercising Conscience.

Again, this is what brings tyranny and evil into our world far more than the one's giving the orders. No one can legitimately abdicate their responsibility for their actions. Every single one of these psychological children have the most moral culpability because they are the one's doing the wrong behavior, violently enforcing arbitrary and immoral "laws" and assaulting and killing innocent people. Stop supporting dominator culture. Inform order-followers and get them to engage their conscience. We need the numbers to overcome these conditions. Freedom can only manifest when aggregate society aligns itself with Natural Law.

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loudmouthbrowngirl · 1 year ago

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#TriggerWarning Trauma Conversations of Deep and Personal Natures

I come from a place of deep trauma. Deep sexual violence, cult and gang conditioning as well as religious abuse. I've experienced and survived all of it.

I have over 30 years of knowledge about my body and what I like and don't like. I know who I can trust and who I cannot trust with my body and I know that there's no one on the planet that is going to give you the kind of consideration I am when it comes to having these conversations because people understand consent but they don't understand sexual ethics.

When I say people, I mostly mean men who jump at the word yes but don't themselves, often consider the implications of sexual activity or the consequences of their actions.

Men are not trained to be spiritually connected to their bodies - unless they go out of their way to learn - the way that women are. For all that women have lost, our spiritual connection to our vessels is the one thing that we've managed to hold onto.

Not all of us are born women by the same definition as other women, and I've learned to understand how beautiful a transition that can be for some, while the same or similar journies are a living Hell for others.

I understand that I am a new person in the circle of non-binary folks, but I also understand how to communicate because other non-binary folks who came before me paved the way. I'm keenly aware of my effect on people. I know I fucking terrify them because I just shit my shit outright and I'm not afraid of their reaction, but this also means sometimes my truth bombs cause hurt feelings. I never mean to, but often it's because I don't communicate the words "I don't want to be around you," very well.

I know this about myself and as I'm learning I'm teaching other folks who are on similar journeys to me.

So if you'd like to continue with me, talking about sexual violence and domestic abuse then please continue following and feel free to ask me anything about anything you read here or elsewhere about moi.

Sending all my love,

Devon J Hall

#mental health #self love #featured #trauma #love #politics #written while stoned

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domesticatedpigeonsoup · 3 years ago

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over analysing the fuck out of sally face characters hair colours

this is going to be long one

Sally - his hair is blue, which is very fitting for him because it represents many aspects of him. such as freedom and confidence that sal shows proving that he does not care about others opinion on him, he is free of worry about judgement of people around him and is confidently himself. sensitivity, loyalty and trust is shown in his care of other, always helping with out payback, and giving emotional support with out being asked, also his ability to befriend and charm almost everyone he comes in contact with. he genuinely cares about everyone around him and doesn't judge people and believes that there is good in everyone, which also gives him quality of faith. he shows wisdom, imagination, resilience in how he has dealt with hardships happening around him. Also the quote "They care and want to contribute to everything they are a part of. Relationships are important to blues." can be attributed to sal's character. there is more to say but I'm going to move on

Travis - i believe that his natural hair colour in not blonde, it seems to be popular hc that he bleaches his hair. my personal hc is that he does it to look less like his father, whom he resents. but i also don't think his natural hair is just brown, i want to believe it's something more interesting. i hc that his natural hair is green due to some interpretations of the colour, such as jealousy and envy which he, in my opinion, feels towards sal and his friends for having a "normal" life, at least as normal it could be in Nockfell. green also could mean rot and decay, which travis might feel in his unloving household, as if his dreams and joy are rotting away and he himself is slowly decaying, especially combined with that green could also mean lack of joy, which would be hard to expierince in travis' conditions. green could also be tied in how he feels about his homosexuality, because it can mean disgust which comes from his long lasting beliefs that being gay is wrong and disgusting, installed in him by his religious father. resentment can also be shown through green, which travis definitely feels for his father after all he's went through, and travis killing kenneth with a green dagger, a knife of resentment, is very poetic to me. on a more positive note, green means growth and rebirth, which travis showed through betraying the church and his father, by being an informant for ash and in the end killing his father and sacrificing himself, and through his death, his character was redeemed and reborn. I also want to give some analysis of his bleached, yellow hair, because yellows means betrayal, and travis did betray the church and his father, cowardice, travis definitely being afraid of his father and what he could do to him, mental illness, travis' traumas and what they probably caused. (i think it is obvious that travis is my favourite)

larry/lisa - their hair is brown, which is a natural colour and might seem like much can’t be said about it (being honest i think none of these colours had intentional meaning) but it still represents the Johnsons well. Both of them are simple and down to earth, people around them can always depend on both (for help with maintenance task around Addinson Apartments or sal needing larry’s help with taking down the cult) people with brown personality can be described as sensual, warm and supportive, qualities that both lisa and larry show from out first introduction to them, also the colour can represent humor, that both have plenty of. Brown can mean relating to the protection and support of the family unit, larry protecting sal when they thought they were caught in their teachers appatment. Also lisa’s qualities of being hard working can be seen in brown.

henry fisher - not going to say a lot about him but, his blue hair can mean melancholy/sadness and grief over death of his wife. Sometimes blue in a person can be seen as unreliability, which henry seems to be due to his alcoholism. light blue means healing, that henry went through during the game, especially after marrying lisa.

diane fisher - everything we know about her is vague, due to all information being from memories of her son and husband, and we don’t know how reliable, so this is going to be super short. sal remembers diane as a warm and happy person. In some places yellow can mean courage, like diane’s self sacrifice to save sally.

#sally face #sal fisher #sally face headcanons #travis phelps #sf travis #travis sally face #kenneth phelps #devours of god #larry johnson #larry face #larry sally face #lisa johnson #lisa fisher #lisa sally face #henry fisher #diane fisher

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primrose-path-of-dalliance · 4 years ago

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psa: trent ikithon is not as competent and powerful as he makes himself seem.

(cw: discussion of abuse)

i'm not sure how to get into this in a way that's natural, so i hope you don't mind if i go for the straightforward route.

trent ikithon is an abuser. that means his tactics all center around—and rely upon—making vulnerable people believe that he has far more power than he actually does. and when it comes to our pov, the m9's pov, ikithon is trying his damnedest to accomplish the same.

now, i don't know everything that's in matt mercer's head when he has played or characterized trent ikithon. i'm sure there's some depth to his motivations and intelligence, and i don't doubt that ikithon ideologically believes in strengthening the empire. but this is not relevant to the abuse tactics i want to discuss.

because the reality is this: abusers do what they do because they enjoy victimizing and controlling the vulnerable.

that's why you get abusers like archivist zeenoth who are attracted to positions of authority. those positions facilitate structural imbalances of power between them and their potential victims. trent ikithon, too, is doing the same thing—as an archmage of the cerberus assembly, he is exploiting the authority of his position to gain victims for abusing. he is not doing what he does because he's a brilliant mastermind focused on a goal. if he was, he wouldn't abuse his students.

think about it in terms of effectiveness. no matter what people like ikithon try to assert, his volstrucker are not in any way stronger or more capable from his 'tutelage'. caduceus clay roasted the man in his own dining room for this lie. what the volstrucker are are an organization of ruthless, skilled spies built from deeply abused and damaged people. they aren't healthy; they aren't stable. caleb widogast spent eleven years in a sanatorium because he was one of many recruits who broke under the abuse (see EGtW), and then five years as a solitary, paranoia-ridden mess in a filthy coat. he spent months trying not to self-sabotage his growing friendships and had a panic attack as soon as he left ophelia mardun's mansion in shadycreek (e27, 2:55:21). he has ptsd from using fire magic to burn people to death—considering his statement on executing traitors to the empire as a trainee (e18, 2:48:12), it was probably an everyday part of the job.

even the minority of volstrucker that do get through the training stage aren’t functioning well. only a few episodes ago, we watched astrid finish a conversation with caleb and then duck into an alleyway so she could curl up and have a five-minute breakdown before putting the composed mask back on (e126, 1:50:47). abuse makes being alive harder; good luck being a sustainable espionage program at that point.

so that's one lie. how about another?

at the dinner in ikithon's tower, ikithon implied that he has guided every step of caleb's path to recovery and ever-growing power. that caleb's plans to murder ikithon are exactly what he wants; that he even arranged his escape from the vergessen sanatorium (e110, 2:52:58).

i think enough people have recognized that ikithon's first claim is utter bullshit, considering that caleb and the m9 had just arrived from a random island on which they hosted a cult gathering festooned with phalluses. but the implication that he arranged for caleb's escape from the sanatorium was just that: an implication. he never says outright that he did so. he only couched what he knew in gaslighting platitudes and handed over the holy symbol of the cleric that healed him. you won't sense a lie that hasn't been spoken. he let caleb and the m9 make their assumptions, and the assumption worked in his favor.

let's consider the actual circumstances of caleb's escape (e18, beginning 2:51:54). a fellow inmate of the sanatorium who was a cleric suddenly grabbed him and healed him of his madness before returning to her own ravings. caleb then pretended he was still insane for two weeks before killing a guard, stealing the amulet that kept him hidden, and fleeing. how would any of these events work in trent ikithon's favor? the number of absurd assumptions here are off the charts.

first, you would have to believe that a cleric could permanently heal a man who'd been insane and probably experimented on for eleven years.

second, you would have to assume that this man would still be competent enough to pass general scrutiny and break out.

third, you would have to believe that he'd totally survive on his own without any resources whatsoever,

after eleven years of being institutionalized,

while first beginning deep in the pearlbow wilderness—

all without raising the suspicion of this apparently still hypercompetent ex-patient that his escape was too easy.

and fourth, you would have to believe that this man would actually accomplish something in your interests instead of, say, dying or remaining a vagrant beggar forever.

if this was all on purpose, then trent ikithon is really an idiot.

another truth: caleb was not special. both liam and caleb have said so (talks for e88, beginning 28:00; & e110, 29:06), with the examples of other volstrucker supporting this. all of them are talented mages and good at spycraft! they have to be to graduate in the first place! ikithon's assertions that caleb was extra special (e110, 2:52:11)? also a lie—specifically, a great tactic for convincing a victim of abuse not to think about it further. of course they're being hurt again. of course they're being targeted again. not to mention how abusers selectively compliment in order to confuse the people they’re hurting (relevant here: e88, 3:28:25). caleb having an unhealthy amount of hubris and thus open to being diagnosed with protagonist disease doesn’t help.

ikithon would have easily deduced the details of what happened and obtained the holy symbol after an investigation of the break-out. not too hard to piece things together if you simply ask about unusual events prior to the escape and learn that he'd had an altercation with another patient two weeks ago—and oh yes, that patient used to be a blasphemous cleric.

caleb widogast basically reappeared next door healthier, much more powerful, and more capable than ever. ikithon doesn’t have control over caleb’s entire past and future—but he wants him to believe he does. it’s a gaslighting attempt to make caleb question his own accomplishments and attribute them to ikithon so that ikithon can regain some control over his ex-student.

another truth: trent ikithon is already on thin fucking ice. no one in the cerberus assembly likes each other, of course, but a consistent point was made again and again that everyone deeply dislikes ikithon. he's stayed because he made himself useful, but he could and would get taken care of should he be a detriment instead (see e88, 3:19:27; & e97, 3:19:32).

any sort of thorough investigation into the volstrucker and the vergessen sanatorium would reveal exactly how fragile all of his agents are and how frequently he fails in conditioning his recruits. ikithon gets the pick of the crop when it comes to nationalistic, talented students that enter the soltryce academy. to find out that he drives a significant number of them insane? well, that's a pure waste of unrealized potential. and for what—a program of spies who are paranoid enough and opportunistic enough to turn on each other if prodded the right way?

and now... trent ikithon, as part of the traitorous beacon research, has been under heavy investigation from two fronts: the augen trust and the cobalt soul (e125, 2:31:10). and he has been getting very nervous recently (e125, 2:41:42).

the final truth i want to point out: trent ikithon is just as control-obsessed as any other abuser. we got the most obvious example of this yet from e128—his pursuit of the m9 to nicodranas and tidepeak tower. think about the circumstances again.

he was apparently so curious and so annoyed by caleb rebuffing all of his attempts at ‘conversation’ that he made his excuses before teleporting directly to nicodranas,

through a circle implied to be arranged diplomatically between the empire and the clovis concord,

with a plan to break into the lavish chateau, one of the most high-profile locations of the city, to potentially kidnap or kill everyone,

including the famous and beloved ruby of the sea.

he then chased the m9 and their families to the equally high-profile tidepeak tower on the open quay, all of which is owned by yussa errenis, an archmage himself who’s learned far more about local politics than he ever wanted to know,

intimidated his “man”servant,

and broke in.

and they did all of this possibly with some very confused members of the zhelezo following right behind them.

other people have gone through the potential political consequences of this more thoroughly than me, so suffice to say that trent ikithon has gotten himself into some deep shit. you can’t negotiate or magic yourself out of being witnessed by hundreds of people breaking into the tower of an archmage who is infamous among the locals for being a bitchy recluse.

if he was smart, and clever, and a brilliant mastermind, he wouldn’t have done any of that. what he could have done: continue to handle caleb from an ominous distance through spells like sending. allege to the cerberus assembly and king dwendal that the break-in was an underhanded cobalt soul mission because of beauregard’s association with the m9. or just straight-up say that the m9 broke into his facilities because they have a vendetta against him and have them at least investigated the next time the empire can hold onto them for a second.

but he didn’t do any of those much more clever possibilities. he acted impulsively and rashly and may well be on the way to a lot of trouble now. all because ikithon just could not handle caleb being saucy.

with all this in mind, i want to go back to one last detail: astrid and eadwulf. because these two would suffer terrible consequences if they ran away—allegedly.

because i want to ask... what exactly could ikithon do to them?

they’ve already killed their own parents. so far, we’ve had no sign either that they have anyone else important to them in his reach besides each other. they have nothing tying themselves to him besides years of abuse and the crimes they’ve committed as volstrucker. they might want some power of their own, sure, perhaps they want to kill him while they’re still close. but we certainly know that eadwulf and astrid are not invested in the volstruckers as it stands. they doubt ikithon. and they already have their own amulets.

so what else could make them so terrified by the idea of leaving with the m9 except the way that trent ikithon has abused them and convinced them that he’s powerful enough and capable enough to catch up to them?

don’t be fooled. he hosted the most embarrassing excuse for a dining-with-the-enemy scene (seriously, i hope someone reading this cringed the entire time as well from all the long pauses and terrible topic transitions) and then teleported away to flee caduceus clay’s scalding tea. no retort, no blackmail. he acted recklessly in nicodranas and appropriately pushed two of his own volstrucker to betray him, losing his one opportunity to capture the m9′s family there. and now ikithon is between a rock and a hard place in terms of political standing, with a spy network he has openly encouraged to turn against him.

there is no terror waiting in the wings anymore, no more strings he can pull. just an abuser playing up his own grandeur. at this point, the only thing he hasn’t reached his limit in yet is his high-level spell slots.

#cr #critical role #cr meta #trent ikithon #caleb widogast #astrid #eadwulf #abuse #gaslighting mention #prim post #prim says some things #long post #he's a horrible and despicable person who's #used his power to commit massive harm don't get me wrong #but don't fall for overestimating him- he wants you to

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findingjoynweirdstuff · 3 years ago

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Dream SMP Recap (June 9/2021) - New Citizens

Ponk has a chat with Sam, Fundy and Purpled officially join Las Nevadas, and Ranboo receives an update message from the Council.

---

VOD LINKS:

Ponk

Fundy

Purpled

Ranboo

---

- Ponk continues building the bridge in his new valley

- He returns to Foolish’s summer home and finds the countersuit Puffy left. He reads it. Many of the claims he doesn’t think are actually against the law of the land. He insists he wasn’t quoting Roadtrip during his Banquet speech, but rather an old man

- Ponk will have the best lawyers (he also may pay the jury off but don’t tell anyone). He’s amused that Puffy would work with BadBoyHalo and call Ponk the ‘dirty Eggpire supporter’

- He finishes reading the lore suit and greets Purpled in chat, telling him that he’s getting sued by Puffy

- Sam logs on and Ponk takes him over to the valley. They’ve had their differences, but Ponk is in need of a good lawyer. Sam suggests Tubbo, but Tubbo is expensive and intimidating

- Ponk points out that Sam will be the only one in the jury with an elevated IQ like his own. Sam hasn’t been officially selected for the jury yet, and they might think he’s biased, having cut off Ponk’s arm (Sam says he did it for good reason)

- They reach the valley and Sam approves of Ponk’s bridge

Sam: “You can see Kinoko Kingdom from here.”

Ponk: “(gagging sound) No, you can see Niki’s place! Niki’s communist cult! It’s great! We’re gonna set up a nice trade agreement, and (mumbling) then we’ll burn Kinoko Kingdom down to the groun-- I mean, then we’ll have nice trade deals with everyone, you know?”

- Ponk is bitter about losing his arm and Sam blames it on him for stealing the keycards

Ponk: “Sam...just so you know, just so you know...You can come to me after...after everything. I will still support you, Sam, okay? You’ll have a place to stay, because, all the wrong you’ve done is gonna catch up behind you, you know? All the wrong that you’ve done--”

Sam: “I haven’t really done anything wrong.”

Ponk: “Haven’t you? Haven’t you?!”

Sam: “No, I think I’m a good guy.”

Ponk: “You think you’re a good person?”

Sam: “I don’t know, you don’t think I’m a good person?”

Ponk: “I mean -- my opinions are biased.”

- Ponk asks Sam to walk and talk with him on the way back to Spawn. Sam’s spoken with Purpled recently

- They visit the animal sanctuary and Sam suggests they steal the strider. Ponk tells him stealing is bad. Sam wants to let it out. They play with the strider a bit

- Ponk explains his conflict with Puffy in general terms

Sam: “Look, I have a random crossbow from one of those guys that we killed.”

Ponk: “You said that so casually...life is precious, you know.”

- Ponk asks about the bank. He’s free to work. Sam says it’s up to Hannah. The two discuss the bank system

- Ponk hasn’t seen Technoblade in a while. Sam thinks he must be overthrowing governments in a far off land or something

- Ponk offers to trade with Sam for two stacks of redstone blocks. He asks how much for his arm back. Sam says he destroyed it. Ponk is upset that Sam didn’t keep it, but Sam says it was too mangled

- Sam trades some gold for the redstone

- They fight a raid together and capture a Ravager

- The two continue to chat for a while

- Fundy stands by his bed. He had a great sleep! He dreamt about a Windows update and he’s looking...a little sleepy?

- He checks the to-do list. Today’s the day. He grabs some things for the road. Fundy decides he’ll go alone. He doesn’t want to risk losing his snow fox friend

- He says hi to his Aunt Panisha (a salmon in the river) as he sets off, asking her to wish him luck

- Fundy reaches Las Nevadas wonders where Quackity’s office is. After some deduction, he heads to the Needle and spots Quackity going up the elevator

- After some hesitation, Fundy goes up the elevator too and comes face-to-face with Quackity, who sees him and asks if he’s okay. Fundy says he’s doing fine, he had a weird sleep and may have woke up outside the window

- Fundy tells him that he took his advice and bettered himself. They sit at the table and Fundy shows him his new diet. Quackity says he’s proud of him

- Fundy mentions that last time they spoke, he suggested they play cards and back at home, he didn’t sleep because he was waiting for Quackity to come over...and then he didn’t

- Quackity explains he just had a bunch of paperwork to do

- Fundy spots some slime blocks bunched at the side of the room and asks what that’s about. Quackity says it’s “a friend” of his, that he’s probably asleep

- Quackity gets Charlie to emerge from the slime

Charlie: “Hey, Fundy from L’manburg!”

- He was in the middle of his gloop-morphosis. Fundy is confused at how he knows who he is. Charlie digs into the floor and gets Fundy to greet him, slurping up some slime

- Quackity tells Charlie he needs to speak with Fundy. Charlie says he can “sell it” and starts telling Fundy he looks like he wants to gamble. Fundy asks Quackity why he’s talking like this, and Quackity says he must have learned it from TV

- Fundy finds out that Charlie is incredibly old and asks Charlie about how he knew he was from L’manburg. Charlie declares them best friends

- Fundy tells Quackity that he’s changed, that he’s a better man. Quackity thinks it’s great, but he doesn’t want Fundy to portray a false version of himself

- Charlie looks at Fundy close-up and says he hasn’t changed

- Quackity doesn’t want Fundy to join under these conditions. Fundy insists he’s fine, he isn’t portraying a false version of himself

- Fundy’s lived in that cottage for way too long. All these nightmares are because of him interacting with people and he’s ruining it for them -- but ever since he’s improved himself and become more healthy, he hasn’t had those nightmares

- Quackity has thought about it a lot, and Fundy’s work in L’manburg was exceptional. He thinks Las Nevadas will be a stepping stone to Fundy’s success

- Charlie gets Fundy to smell him and asks him what it’s like to dream. Fundy sniffs and maybe swallows a piece of Charlie. Charlie tells him one day he’ll be whole again

- Quackity passes Charlie a bone of one of their “mutual friends” in L’manburg and asks Charlie to analyze it

- Quackity and Fundy leave Charlie in the Needle and go back down. Quackity brings him downstairs, where he tells Fundy there’s no going back. He wants to make sure Fundy can trust him and hands Fundy a book to sign:

---

All persons naturalized in Las Nevadas, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of Las Nevadas and the land wherein they reside.

The signing of this document subjects you to the rights and duties of the nation:

TAXES. Residents are required to pay a jurisdictional and financial charge to the nation to fund future projects and development of the nation. Failure to pay could result in the extinction of your permanent residence and possibly death.

MILITARY PARTICIPATION. One of your duties as a resident of Las Nevadas is the complete protection of the nation. You’re required to participate in any wars, conflicts, or disputes of the nation, in favor of Las Nevadas.

LAND. One of your rights as a resident of Las Nevadas is a self assigned plot of land, approved by the proper authorities, to develop productive businesses, homes, entertainment centers, etc.

GAMBLING. Gambling is defined as staking of something of value, with consciousness of risk and hope of gain, on the outcome of a game. Gambling is completely legal in Las Nevadas, but subject to constantly changing regulations.

THE LV LEGAL SYSTEM ---------------------------- Las Nevadas and any disputes within the nation will be settled in the Las Nevadas court (TBA), with the presence of the conflicted parties, and the proper authorities.

FALURE TO RESPECT THE CONSTITUTION AND THE DUTIES WHICH ARE ASSIGNED TO THIS RESIDENCE WILL RESULT IN THE IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF CITIZENSHIP, AND, IF GUILTY OF A CRIME AGAINST THE NATION, YOU ARE SUBJECT TO

DEATH.

SIGNED . . .

QUACKITY

FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF LAS NEVADAS

---

- Fundy is nervous and hesitates

Quackity: “Fundy, I -- You’re like a brother to me. We’ve gone through so much. But I still have to protect my nation...surely you can understand that.”

Fundy: “No, I -- I can. Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah, um...it’s strong...You really believe in this nation, right? It’s like your child--”

Quackity: “Fundy...this is all I have left...if this nation dies, I die along with it.”

- Fundy signs the document with his full legal name:

Fun Jonatahan Micahel Vincent Georgina James Sus Dy

- He signs the book, gives it to Quackity and asks that if he ever reads it, to not call Fundy by his legal name

- Quackity welcomes Fundy to Las Nevadas as an official citizen!

- Charlie has control over the piece of slime inside Fundy. He tells Charlie not to do that

- Quackity asks Charlie if he has a name. They decide to call him “Meat” for now, but Charlie tells Quackity in “secret” (very loudly) that he isn’t actually meat...he is slime from the ground

- Quackity suggests they call him Slime From the Ground. He then says he is bones

- He leads the other two to the edge of Las Nevadas’ road and points out that they have a big issue: Tubbo’s outpost nearby. Quackity suspects that Tubbo may be planning some dangerous strategy against the country

- Quackity gives Slime some armor to put on

Slime: “Ready for war...don’t take my music discs!”

Fundy and Quackity: “Wh -- what did you just say?”

- Quackity has an informational video he can show Fundy later. They investigate the outpost. He reminds Fundy about the military protection portion of the document

- Quackity remembers the Butcher Army and asks how much experience Fundy has with the military. Fundy was part of every single one that’s existed

- Quackity suggests they build their own version of the outpost

- Slime starts breaking Tubbo’s windows. Quackity encourages it and tells Slime it’s called “griefing,” handing him dirt to spread around the place

- Quackity finds the two Totems of Undying they have at the outpost and asks if they should take them. He then says they should test them. He doesn’t know what they do

- Fundy isn’t sure they should, or what Tubbo’s intentions are. Quackity decides to leave them unless Tubbo retaliates for the griefing

- They notice the bridge and Quackity suggests a tollbooth

- Quackity explains the concept of taxes to Slime, who’s been watching Purpled recently. Purpled hasn’t done much, just farmed

- They start building the tollbooth and Fundy brings up how medieval castles used to have boiling oil above the gates that they could use if there were people they didn’t like, and they could do something similar

- Slime starts throwing slime and Fundy can feel it (and it doesn’t feel good)

- Quackity asks for the bone he gave back, but Slime can’t tell the difference between all the bones

- Quackity remembers how when L’manburg exploded, Fundy and Niki came up to him and said it was a good day...what was that about?

Fundy: “The way I saw it was, during that time, everyone was trying to divide each other, right. Everyone was trying to divide each other...every one was either left or right and there was no in between. There was no...People always wanted to separate themselves and make war and destroy everything that was loved. When L’manburg was a thing, I cared about L’manburg, and then it got destroyed, right, and eventually, my hope at that moment was...that people just like, accepted that they shouldn’t--”

Quackity: “But you betrayed the nation...Fundy, the thing I’m getting at is, I don’t know your excuse or your thinking behind that...that will not happen again at this nation. No betrayals, no backstabbing. Not here. Understand?”

Slime: “What’s backstabbing?”

- Quackity and Fundy try to teach Slime how to backstab, then how to work the tollbooth against Tubbo

- Slime starts putting buttons on the walls. Quackity tells him not to, as it gives him bad memories

- Slime asks Fundy again what it’s like to dream. Fundy doesn’t want to talk about it, but Quackity notes that he’s been vague about it

- Fundy explains that every time something big happens in this place, he has dreams where he can sort of see what happens before it does. It’s like gazing into the future, except he loses details before it happens

- Quackity presses him on it. Let’s say they have a big war coming up, he takes Tubbo’s totems and Fundy sleeps and tells him what happens next so that they can prepare?

- Fundy doesn’t think that’s a good idea. Quackity doesn’t understand how real these things are

- What if they build an entire building for Fundy so that he can have these dreams comfortably? It’s just a possibility...

- Slime’s gloop-morphosis isn’t “complete” yet

- Quackity asks if Fundy knows Foolish. Fundy remembers one time he blew up a little bit of Foolish’s house and he finds out Foolish lives in Las Nevadas

- Quackity asks how long ago this was. Fundy says it happened a long time ago, but Slime corrects him

Quackity: “Just know, Fundy...he doesn’t know how to lie.”

- Quackity leaves to get diamonds and Fundy confronts Slime alone, asking him how he knows things. He tells Slime that in certain situations, it’s helpful to keep quiet on certain things for the benefit of other people

- They move on and Fundy teaches Slime a bit about fun and hobbies

- Quackity returns and they notice many squid in the nearby river. Quackity goes down and starts killing “cod” (salmon). Fundy corrects him that they aren’t cod, but to Quackity fish is fish. Fundy looks away while Quackity kills them

- They suggest Fundy be the food-gatherer. Fundy suggests a diet of fruit and plants

Slime: “What’s wrong with salmon? Your father loved them!”

- Quackity asks Fundy to elaborate on his father, if he came from a fishing family. Fundy asks Slime again about how he knows. Slime continually refers back to people “turning to dust.”

- They ask about what Slime knows about them, then about Slime’s favorite memory. He digs a whole in the ground and waits for a bit

- They teach Slime about humor

Slime: “Two people walk into a bar. One is green, one is red. The green one is shaped -- is a bigger guy, and the red one is a smaller guy. To get to the bar, both got off a train. The train the red guy was on was going west at 40 miles an hour for 60 miles. The train the other guy was on did not serve lunch. They both walked into a bar, and 500 years later they were still just dust in the ground. At the end of it all, they were just still dust, and none of it mattered.”

- Slime tells another joke about a chicken turning into dust.

Quackity: “How long do you think it’ll take for me to turn to dust?

Slime: “I...I’ll make sure you never turn to dust, Quackity from Las Nevadas!”

- Quackity asks about Fundy’s father

Slime: “The sooty guy?”

- Quackity and Slime ask Fundy -- shouldn’t he know? Slime says Fundy can ask Wilbur about his history himself

Quackity: “Your dad’s alive, Fundy?”

- Fundy tells Quackity about how Phil came to him with some interesting news, that Wilbur is actually alive. Quackity ask when was the last time Fundy’s seen Wilbur. Fundy hasn’t seen him alive again yet

Quackity: “What’s your relationship with Wilbur?”

Fundy: “It’s...it’s complicated, man. It’s very complicated.”

Quackity: “Because...there’s an issue.”

- Fundy wants to talk to Wilbur about a lot of things. Quackity brings Fundy over to the headquarters and breaks the news that Wilbur came to see Quackity

Fundy: “...He saw you? He went on his way to see you, and -- and he’s not shown up to me to, you know -- why, why?”

- Quackity shows Fundy the “mark” Wilbur made. Wilbur asked to join Las Nevadas, and Quackity said no. He shows Fundy the name: Fort Big. Tommy and Wilbur are working together

- Quackity is just warning Fundy. He hopes this won’t get in the way of Fundy supporting the nation. Fundy just doesn’t know why Wilbur didn’t come to him, but he went to Quackity.

Fundy: “Did he talk about me?”

- Quackity thinks he did, but he doesn’t remember what

- Fundy says goodbye to Slime and Quackity, heading off to settle down on his own. He stands at his plot of land, wondering if he’ll have to fight Wilbur

- Purpled is at his old base by the ruins of L’manburg. Life is good. He has DogChamp, he’s been fishing, no human contact

- He has something to attend to and goes to the cliffside nearby, finding Slime. He asks why Slime’s been watching him, who told Slime to spy. Slime avoids answering

- Purpled figures it’s Quackity and asks Slime more about how long he’s been above the ground, what he knows. Slime refers to him as “Purpled From a UFO” and Purpled shows Slime that his UFO has been destroyed by Quackity

- Purpled leaves Slime and visits the ruins. He notices Slime following him and tells him to leave again

- Slime traps himself in Dream’s honeymoon suite and Purpled continues down the path, looking at all the builds. He visits the Socializing Club and checks beneath the floor -- the trap he made all those months ago is still there. He wonders if anyone remembers these things

- Slime slimes his way out of the trap and Purpled visits L’manburg. He was just a pawn, there was no “Purpled in L’manburg” or “Purpled in Pogtopia” or “Purpled on Dream SMP’s side.” There was just no Purpled

- He returns to his house, gets DogChamp, puts him into a hidden chamber elsewhere. He stores his valuables...and rigs the entire place with TNT

He sets it off and it goes

- Slime talks to Purpled again. Purpled asks if Quackity is still interested in a new resident

- Purpled asks Slime to trust him as he retrieves DogChamp, and he gets Slime to lead him to Las Nevadas

- He makes it there and goes into the casino. Quackity doesn’t know what he has planned. He comes out to find Quackity there. Quackity takes him up to the top of the Needle

- Purpled makes it clear he only cares about the opportunity for himself, not for Quackity. He doesn’t stand for what Quackity does, doesn’t think there will ever be a time that he’ll respect Quackity as a person

- Quackity tells him they all change in some way or another. When he first became Vice President, he saw the best in everyone

Quackity: “I don’t really see the good in people anymore...but I do see opportunity.”

- Quackity tells Purpled that if they succeed with the nation, the two of them will be going down in history. Purpled starts to come around to thinking that maybe they are on the same page

- Quackity had a citizenship document he meant for Purpled to sign, but he’s willing to gamble on it without

Quackity: “Welcome to Las Nevadas, Purpled.”

- He gives Purpled the document either way and tells him he has a right to a plot of land. Quackity will have a business meeting with all the residents soon

- Purpled asks for land behind the casino. He has an idea for something. Quackity agrees to give it to him

- Purpled leaves and speaks to himself with DogChamp at the stage. Things will be looking different around here real soon

- Ranboo goes to the mailbox he set up with the Council and checks it, finding a new update in the book along with a Netherite Axe labelled “axe of the end” in Enderman.

The update reads:

---

Hello. We have been observing the happenings around the server and we come bearing not news but rather a warning for you. We know that you like to stand idle and not engage in any kind of acts of violence and we respect you for that.

However, we also know that there are people that you care about and you need to understand that in order to take care of those people you are no longer able to just stand idle. You need to take a more active role again. We have given you something that can help with that. Use it carefully.

We respect your wishes. - The Council

---

- Ranboo takes the axe. He planned to work on Tubbo’s outpost, make it seem like more of a shop than an outpost

- He goes to the outpost and finds the griefing, cleaning it up

- As some protective measures, he leaves signs:

---

Hello! Whoever put a bunch of dirt everywhere, Dont!

This is going to be a new cookie shop! We dont have cookies yet

Please leave it alone! Or violence will be used.

---

- He continues working on the outpost and Techno logs on. Ranboo goes over to the new tollbooth and pays the toll of one bone

Techno: ranboo have you unlocked teleportation yet

Ranboo: not yet i dont think

Ranboo: let me try

Ranboo: yeah no

Techno: can you hurry up

Techno: asking for a friend

- Ranboo explores around Las Nevadas and makes a to-do list

- He makes a hidey hole in the strip club and strips some logs. He gets tempted to steal a Netherite block

His to-do list reads:

---

TO DO LIST FOR LAS NEVADAS: 1. Figure out what to get inside of. 2. Figure out what the hollow buildings are 3. Figure out why there are so many horses 4. Figure out who runs this place 5. Figure out what the black pillars are for

---

- He returns home and speaks with Tubbo in VC

---

Upcoming events remain the same.

#dream smp #dream smp recaps #long posts

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catgirlxox · 3 years ago

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A Deconstruction of The Flame Keeper’s Circle & The Audience’s Common Complaints | Catgirl

As the title states, I’ve been reminded of a couple complaints made about this episode that stem from a large portion of the audience’s general disliking of the way both Ben and Julie were handled during the run of Ultimate Alien. In fact, I recently read a "review" of “The Flame Keeper's Circle,” or, more of a parody, actually, since a review would actually have some kind of substance to it and not just...a slew of insults thrown at a show you claim to like. It's almost like you're looking for something to be mad at, but anyway.

One of those was the OP actually asking someone to (probably joking, but anyway) explain "how Ben's mind works" to them.

And I was like, gladly!

According to the comments under the review, it seems like the general audience didn't really like this episode all that much when it first aired. Which, I bring up because, I on the other hand, actually did. And for a reason: because it proves my previous defence points right.

There's a lot of talk about Ben coming off as a “jerk” or a “douchebag”...but, in a situation such as the one presented within “The Flame Keeper’s Circle,” I would argue he did exactly what he should have done. So that's where I beg to differ.

This episode puts Ben in a position where he, once again, needs to deal with the overlap of a romantic relationship and his priorities as a superhero. The only reason there is conflict here is because they are both important to him.

A bad boyfriend would only care about himself, but Ben clearly cares about not only the safety of his (clearly, quite naive) girlfriend, but also the safety of the rest of the earth. Which, as I’m going to be stating several times, should be something expected of him considering everything else within the series that establishes who he is as a character.

So, on the topic of things that are important, ask yourselves, why would Ben prioritize going along with Julie's idea of joining a cult more than keeping her, and the rest of the world, safe when he realizes the trouble she could potentially be getting herself into?

Throughout the episode, and the fandom’s discussions from what I’ve seen, there is so much focus on "oh, he laughed at her idea so he's a douchebag and therefore a bad boyfriend" and not enough focus on the fact that he's not blindly following an alleged “good cause” because he isn't naive and that's in character based on everything we know about him as a character.

Context matters. And this kind of thing only further makes me question the people who want to cry "inconsistent" writing or characterization because he's acting the way he's been conditioned to.

Arguably from the age of ten, Ben's been dealing with situations where he needed to fight to survive and decide who to trust. Sometimes he trusted the wrong person, which wasn't done out of any other reason besides wanting to help and do the "right thing."

For example, Michael Morningstar in the episode “All That Glitters,” who fooled Ben and his team into thinking he was innocent all while abusing school girls for their life energy and almost killing Ben's cousin.

Or, Simian in “Birds of a Feather," who fooled Ben into thinking he was royalty and into helping him steal something that would aid the Highbreed in their mass murder plot.

In that way, Ben and Julie could have related in this situation because they were both trusting people in the interest of doing something “good.” Both Michael and Simian made Ben believe that they had something in common, or a common goal they could work together to reach. But, he trusted them blinded by his ambition and drive to save the world. Much like Julie is blinded by the promise of being a part of a group trying to make the world a better place.

As such, Ben has made the mistake before, so he's extra weary of how things could go very wrong. He's not against his girlfriend just to be a “jerk” - he's been through things like this before, and we’ve seen him go through those things.

Furthermore, the situation in which Julie is trusting The Flame Keeper’s Circle involves her indirectly agreeing to work with Vilgax. Who, as anyone familiar with Ben should know, is one of if not Ben’s biggest, and more importantly, most dangerous enemy.

Again, she, at the beginning didn’t know that he was involved, or what Ben had gone through already to make him act the way he does in this situation, but she does know what his job entails at this point in the series. She should probably infer that he’s suspicious for a good reason, as should the audience.

Not trusting people blindly is something he learned from being the leader of his team, while trying to protect the earth, namely from the Highbreed invasion back in Alien Force when he was putting together a stronger team. It would only make sense for him to then apply that to a situation in which his significant other gets roped into that which he fights against.

Speaking of fighting against, that brings me to another odd criticism of the writing of this episode. It’s no surprise that the flawed belief of Ben coming off as an alleged “sociopath” is brought up again, considering this episode takes place after The Ultimate Kevin arc. And yes, I realize the problematic connotations of using that term as a borderline insult as part of the issue here. But that aside, in this episode, the fact that he begins to fight Vilgax in his apparent “weakened” state is what is being attributed to that description.

Besides the fact that defending Vilgax is questionable in itself, he’s never needed water to survive for the many times he actually tried to kill Ben. I can’t find a solid answer from a writer that knows for certain if his need for water is genuine except for one who is only assuming that is the case when he’s in this state.

But regardless, (since he clearly survived long enough to morph with Dagon and become a bigger threat to the earth later on) we are still defending Vilgax the LITERAL INTERGALACTIC WARLORD.

Y’know, the guy who’s only in this position because of his own immoral actions? Who absolutely would not hesitate to take advantage of his opponent's weakened state in order to further get away with his immoral actions? Such as he is in this very episode, taking advantage of the people wrongfully worshiping him?

If we are trying to imply that Ben is “just as bad as Vilgax,” then I would assume you’d easily find the flaw in that being Ben’s motivation for incapacitating a dangerous offender who is, at the moment, manipulating naive humans to work for him and help him continue get away with his immoral actions. Which is, needless to say, not the same as Vilgax, at all.

Again, you’d think that’d be obvious.

The Flame Keeper’s Circle’s mission is to end human suffering and find a solution to certain issues happening across the globe with the help of alien technology that is much more advanced than what everyday people are used to. And, while the end goal seems like a good cause, even something Ben as a superhero would be all for, the means through which they attempt to get there aren’t a good idea, at all.

A lot of people find it hard to navigate the use of technology considered advanced by human standards in the real world, so you can only imagine the various things that could go wrong if those kinds of people were suddenly exposed to something much more powerful. In short, a lot could go wrong.

Again, Ben has been in that exact position as soon as he was armed with the Omnitrix. Which is exactly why he’d see the flaw in what these people are trying to do, and therefore not be convinced that it’s such a good idea to allow them to continue, much less endorse it.

This is why I love when the writers actually allow Ben to speak for himself instead of cutting him off for drama or plot. Once he actually gets a word in, or more accurately, has his moment of heroic monologue, he makes himself very clear and, I think, only further proves what I’m trying to say about him.

Here he is, explaining exactly what I’ve been trying to highlight throughout this body of work:

Ben: “Even if Dagon was real, using alien technology to accelerate a planet’s natural development won’t bring utopia, it’ll bring disaster. It’s happened before. Why do you think the Plumbers have those laws? But even that’s not the point, because that isn’t Dagon! His name is Vilgax. He’s not a hero, he’s a selfish, evil warlord who’s using you. And if you let him get in his ship, he’s going to fly off and start an interstellar civil war.”

It’s not that only he can use alien technology to save the world, it’s that his status as a hero proves that he knows what he’s doing, unlike these businessmen in fancy robes leading a cult for profit.

That is not what I would have assumed reasonable people would consider “douchebag behaviour.” That’s actually smart, and going back to my first point, exactly what he should be doing in a situation like this.

The actual episode does end off on a positive note for both Ben and Julie, which is omitted from the review and most of the comments I have read from others on the topic. And, I bring it up because it’s actually vital to wrap up everything brought up within this episode that I have just expanded on. Not only because they make up and seem to understand each other’s perspective after all is said and done, but because they both agree to be open to further discussion on the topic, as Ben offers to go out for dinner.

Which, needless to point out I hope, but once again, is not “douchebag behaviour.”

#new essay to make up for all the drama lately #enjoy ben 10 protection squad <3 #ben 10 #ben tennyson #ben 10 ultimate alien #the flame keeper's circle #benlie #julie yamamoto #ben 10 uaf #essay files #and yes new essay title format cuz reasons :P

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coffeeman777 · 3 years ago

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"if you don't love me by worshipping me and having total faith in me then ill hurt you/you're worthless without me/you're so lucky I'm willing to forgive you/you don't deserve anything/it's painful but it's for your own good/you can't rely on your own understanding so you'll have to listen to everything I tell you" is literally the type of shit all my abusers have told me and yet Christians present a God with that exact same attitude and act like I have any reason to trust Him. You guys claim that it's "different" because "humans are sinful but God is ACTUALLY good", but for all my searching and Bible study I've never found anything to convince me that He's any different than my father, grandfather, or any other abusive man in my life. In the Old Testament I read stories of Him lashing out in rage when people didn't fan his giant ego and it's not an image I can ever forget. If God wants people to trust Him and love Him maybe He should stop acting exactly like every single abuser and cult leader on the planet.

Heya.

First, I want to say that I'm sorry you were abused. The things humans do to other humans are sometimes unspeakably evil, and no one should have to experience those kinds of things. My heart goes out to you.

Now, let's get into the stuff about God.

It seems to me like your emotions may be coloring your perception a little bit. The way you begin with God saying, "Worship and love me or I'm going to hurt you" isn't accurate. If any Christians in your experience have painted God that way, they're wrong. The Bible certainly doesn't deliver that message. The truth is that all of us are hellbound, not because we refuse to love and worship God, but because we have all freely done evil things knowing full-well that what we've done is wrong. No human alive today or throughout all history, except Jesus, can say that they've never done evil. God is perfect in all ways; His central defining character traits are justice and holiness. Evil cannot stand in His presence. God must punish all evil, or else He Himself would be guilty of evil. When Adam and Eve sinned and the Fall happened, all humankind became subject to sin. To satisfy His justice, God must destroy us. But things aren't that simple. God loves us, more than we could ever know. He doesn't want to destroy us, He wants to save us. And so, at His own great expense, God came to us in the form of Jesus and went to the very outermost edges of the possible to redeem us. We are called to repentance and faith in Jesus to be saved from the consequences of our own evil. The Gospel isn't "love God or burn," its "surrender and receive a full pardon for your crimes." Loving and worshipping God are natural products of a human heart saved by God's grace, not demanded tribute from an egotistical deity.

And speaking of what you call God's "giant ego," God isn't arrogant or egocentric; it's simply the truth that He is perfect and worthy of all praise. In our fallen condition, we think that anyone receiving worship must be arrogant, because we recognize that all humans are fallen and imperfect and no human deserves worship. But God doesn't fit into that category.

In the Old Testament, we read the history of Israel wherein we learn that they were chosen out of all humankind to have God's presence with them in a unique way. That has to be the filter through which we see the stories that we read about God's judgment of sin. Recall what I mentioned above about God not being able to permit evil in His presence; when God permits His tangible, visible presence to be among fallen humans, who then deliberately commit acts of evil against His explicit warning, He is entirely right to judge them. God has said that He has no desire to judge or punish us, but He won't fail to do it if we give Him no choice.

Much of the judgment in the OT took place after many years, many sins, and many warnings. And often, even after mass wickedness over many years, God relents from judgment with only a single act of repentance (consider Jonah and the city of Ninevah).

The Scripture is replete with attestations of God's forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. And I can offer my own testimony as well: I am the son of a pastor, the grandson of a pastor, and the great-grandson of a pastor. I was raised in the Church and knew all about God, who He is, and what He desires from us from a very young age. Knowing all that, I still rebelled. I became as evil as humans get. I spent years in this state. Many times and in may ways, the Lord gently called to me, and I continually ignored Him. I couldn't have done more to offend Him. And yet, He still called to me, and eventually He brought me home. God owed me nothing. The only reason He saved me was because He loved me.

So, I want to encourage you to continue studying the Scriptures and try to see past your pains and preconceived notions, and try to really understand the message. We are all sinners, all guilty, all deserve judgment. God deeply desires to save us, and will save us if only we surrender.

Be blessed!

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