#writing discrimination

[redd956]

Worldbuilding questions to get the creative juices flowing 35

Theme: The ISMS

What are the isms? Well isms are the discriminatory or prejudiced hate we are familiar with. In writing settings (including realism & fantasy) the isms tend to be these

Racism/Xenophobia

Sexism

Ageism

Ableism

Classism

Hatred against gender/sexual identities

Speciesism*

Hatred towards a religious group or non-religious group due to religious beliefs

*Speciesism derives from fiction

All because these are the isms doesn’t mean in fictional settings new isms cannot be invented for the sake of worldbuilding and writing conflict. Now whenever including isms in your writing it is important to do tons of research, otherwise the situation could be romanticizing, offensive towards groups of people discriminated against, incredibly misguided (or potentially leaning into a ism itself) and more.

Now onto the worldbuilding inspo

What is the most prevalent ism in society? What does society view as the most prevalent? What isms are going hand in hand? Are isms overlayed commonly?

Is the society overall morally against it or for it? Does the government and people hold different perspectives on it? 

What are the discriminated peoples doing about it? How is that going? What is standing in their way? How are hate groups trying to counter them?

Are there safe spaces for discriminated peoples? If so what are these spaces like? How prevalent are they? Do they accept groups of other discriminated peoples? How else are these spaces used?

(Ronscovia; a beloved nation from SOA Series. A massive religious group moved back into the region, re-illegalizing mlm marriage and drag [Yeah my brother and I are dying about the irony too, it was made 2015]. Ronscovian people decided to turn the underground sections of their towns into gay districts, because they’re much harder for the Clevicry [law enforcement] to enforce. Also so that the gay revolutionaries could easily traverse around the city to usurp the enemy)

What’s the history between the present isms in the society? How is the history really bleeding through? Is the history taught about? If not how to hated groups learn about their historical circumstances? How do non-hated groups learn about it too?

Is there anything out their to support/aid hated groups? If so how do they do this? Does society try to stop them? Does society advocate for them? (Both)

Is there a nearby region, province, country that accepts these discriminated groups? Are the majority of the hated peoples trying to go there? If not why or what’s stopping them?

Are discriminated peoples moving into the society for safety? Is the society accepting (all) refugees? What is life like for refugees in society?

What are the well known minorities? What peoples are usually viewed as the majority? (Unless for specific worldbuilding reasons, it should rarely be a gender as the minority)

What types of people have easier lives? What types of people have more difficult lives? Do people get certain groups of peoples mixed up with one another? If so how does this affect them?

Is there any benefits to for the haters to do this? How is prejudice primarily spread throughout the society? What are stereotypes of the different groups of peoples?

Are younger generations against the current isms? Are older generations against the current isms? Is it a mixture?

How do isms affect the society? Culture? Quality of life? Etc.

[palms-upturned]

I’m still not quite ready to get my blogs back up and running but in the process of my research I learned that Matt Mullenweg donated $13,200 to Joe Biden this past March, and also one of Automattic’s board members is Ann Dunwoody, a former US army general who led paratroopers in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Lol. Some food for thought re: the discrimination against Palestinian bloggers on this site.

[witchofthesouls]

I love the "humans into Cybertronians" trope, so we should have more work about the weirdness that's humanity, especially as an animal, and how it translates into their Cybertronian frame.

I mean, Earth is very much a Death Planet/Space Australia goes really well with the "Unicron is Earth" subplot. Might as well lean really into it.

Like tolerance to toxins and disease, so it's not just a wider range of possible substances to consume but even capable of figuring out how to prepare toxic ingredients into edible dishes that won't kill other Cybertronians as well as greater resistance towards certain pathogens as infectious disease a massive driving force when it comes to evolution. I think it would be fascinating to explore the effects of the genetic mutations transferring over, like how the very genes that increased survival with bubonic plague (Black Death) is capable of withstanding of the Cybertronian-equivalent, Rust Plague or Cosmic Rust. Funny enough, those mutations that allow that resistance to plague are also associated with developing autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

So now, more potential storylines for disabilities and how they're perceived between humans and Cybertronians, especially how each side approaches it.

Transformation capabilities are incredibly important to them. It's deeply entwined in their cultural/societal framework, so a cyberformed!human with no T-cog is the disability to them.

Look at the massive difference between Ultra Magnus losing a hand versus Starscream and Bumblebee losing their T-cogs; physical disabilities have workarounds or even straight-up fixes as long there are enough resources (Breakdown's eyepatch and Ultra Magnus' claw).

It doesn't matter the training or capabilities. Agent Fowler's military record and June Darby's medical experience would be considered secondary as they're severely handicapped and more vulnerable compared to them. Then there are other angles to utilize of the biological and cultural differences, especially with the popular fandom idea of sparklings and canon Functionism, so would it really be a huge surprise if those cyberformed!humans were coddled or infantilized since humans barely last a single year in a Cybertronian lifetime? That has to be beyond frustrating on so many levels.

And vice versa, like imagine a humanized Megatron gets taken out by celiac disease or being severely lactose intolerant?

[worflesbian]

this woman tugging the children out of the way/putting herself in front of them as the klingons walk past.. they're just going somewhere do u think they're gonna attack your kids unprovoked? it's such an interesting detail establishing how klingons are perceived by federation civilians but also worf's served on this ship almost a whole season do you shield your kids from him too? did you used to?

[hauntingofhouses]

(concept art of young taigen - source ; art credit: @abigaillarson)

i cannot get over this concept art of young taigen. god.

just look at this angry bratty boy, too many feelings that he doesnt know what to do with! an abused 9 year old kid in poverty always playing with sticks in the dirt, obsessed with greatness and dreaming to escape his decrepit village—and he does!

he does escape. he runs away. this angry little boy, all claws and teeth and biting words uttered with a lisp, going on the run into a world he's never seen before until he makes his way to kyoto. and knowing him he probably forced his way in to be accepted by the dojo, growling and kicking even as he's thrown out, back into the streets, too stubborn to take no for an answer and never knowing when to give up.

taigen calls mizu a dog, weak, an orphan, a scrawny street urchin. but i can't help but think that he feels so bold to use those words because he had them spat at him too.

because taigen had the idea of "this is how the world is" beat into him from birth. he learned quickly that if you couldn't beat the world you could join it. but that meant losing your way, your values, your principles. and isn't that what true honour is? not just titles and status and glory?

we don't get to see what taigen, as a child surrounded by peers encouraging and goading him on, would've actually done if that meteor hadn't fallen right in front of them at that very moment. would he have really tried to throw that stone on mizu, killing her? we don't know.

but we do see what taigen (his true self, with no one around) does, when presented with the same opportunity. when mizu passes out in front of him, unconscious and near death, vulnerable, the path to restoring his honour lays itself out for him on a silver platter. and he wants to take it, wants to kill mizu, to claim what is his and return to kyoto and get back everything he'd worked tooth and nail for. he feels like it's what he should do. but he doesn't.

and later, again he is presented with the chance to betray mizu, likely offered by heiji shindo to get his rank reinstated within the shindo dojo. and again, taigen doesn't take it. he refuses. "stupidly loyal," fowler calls him later. loyal, like a dog.

because now, pulled away from the sneering looks and jeering words of people around him, telling him that this is what the world is, taigen had met ringo and mizu, two outcasts who refuse to follow a predetermined path to greatness. and so inside something blooms in him. something like hope. a chance to live in a world that doesn't kick you down every chance it gets, to live in a world where genuine kindness and and love and friendship and even weakness is possible, allowed to simply exist without fear.

because he'd been running away from the very idea of it the whole time. when he ran from kohama, he never looked back, never wanted to remember what it was like to be a child, afraid and hungry and angry and hurting, without the words to make sense of it, desperately wishing for something. something more. he doesn't know what. but he hears stories of great swordsmen and decides, yes, this must be it. this is what i want: glory, greatness. the twisted seed gets planted and thrives in this barren land.

and when he returns to kohama with mizu and ringo, he at last is forced to stop running. he must face the child within him again, and he tells that child to put down the stones in his hand, tells him to stop barking at anything that moves or looks at him wrong.

the child drops the stone, and taigen buys dumplings instead, gives them to mizu. the child within him, wide-eyed at the prospect of friendship, moves him to pick up a hammer and toss it to mizu. he's smiling inside even as he does it; giggling like a kid hiding a silly prank. as soon as mizu drops the hammer after him, he leaps at her, tackling her to the ground and they wrestle and laugh unbridled like two children playing while the adults aren't around to barge in and yell at them.

and then his gaze catches on mizu's lips, he stares into mizu's eyes, a sparkling blue, inviting like the open sea in good weather.

it's a man's desire that takes hold then, the child in him sinking away again, and he curses himself for it, because it ruins the moment.

everything goes to shit from there, and then it's back to being a man, back to putting on his grown-up's armour to play hero.

it fails. the shogun dies. fowler's beatings reopen all the wounds left by heiji shindo's torture. "honour is meaningless," mizu tells him. "nothing comes from being a samurai but death."

the words follow him, and he follows the words.

as everything burns down, he runs, leaving the fire behind him, and sees akemi, as well as the verdure of spring behind her, calling him. he does not hesitate then to hold his hand out to her, inviting her to come with him. "i don't want to be great," he says. "i just want to be happy."

what is happiness to him? perhaps he doesn't know it yet, or perhaps he does. but really, i believe happiness is what the child in him always wanted but never received. happiness is a home.

[whereserpentswalk]

You are fucking psychotic for suggesting that there should be no exclusively women’s spaces after the history of women’s victimization and subjugation in every single micro and macro way imaginable since the beginning of civilization. What next? Black people can’t have spaces strictly to themselves? Muslim people? You wouldn’t say that, because your ideology has brainwashed you into oppressing women even further although we are just as vulnerable and oppressed as any other minority group that you’d defend. FEMALE ONLY SPACES. The fact that you don’t see the need for that and even protest that is REPULSIVE.

If there were still openly legally distinct poc only (and likewise white only) dorms, bathrooms, prisons, sports teams, or changing rooms throughout society, I would be protesting them. I'm honestly surprised you're so brazen to admit that you wouldn't be protesting them. I'm against far more subtle forms of racial segregation in society but that's beside the point of your hypothetical.

Like, the system that you're describing, where poc and white spaces are legally distinct almost everywhere in public the same way gendered spaces are, was known as Jim Crow in America.

Like, congrats, you caught me, I view the idea of a men's prison, a men's sports team, a men's bathroom, or a men's dorm, the same way I view a white's prison, a white's sports team, a white's bathroom, or a white's dorm.

[aleck-le-mec]

It's wild to me how some able-bodied people only think of disabled culture as a concept and they haven't ever actually experienced it. To me the biggest tell that somebody has never experienced disabled culture is their lack of knowledge about something I call Societal Manufactured Disability Theory.

This theory posits that an aspect of disability is manufactured by societal norms, stigmas and labeling.

People with disabilities like myself will tell you that people do treat you differently based solely upon the fact that you are disabled. When my hand writing is too messy to read do to Dysgraphia people assume I'm not trying hard enough to be neat, and if I'm lazy enough to slack with hand writing I must always be lazy. When I tell people I have Dyslexia they think I'm less intelligent, unable to read or incapable of understanding the written word. When I tell people I have a connective tissue disorder which is an invisible disability they think I'm a liar, scheming to take resources away from "real disabled people".

The societal norm here in America is to push forward, laziness is not an option we see it repeatedly in the rhetoric surrounding young people. News sources constantly talking about how "no one wants to work these days" or "young people are taking everything for granted".

There is a huge stigma around having Dyslexia that most people don't notice. In American society where we have a 79% literacy rate it is expected that you can read, so when you can't or you have trouble people think you have a lower IQ. Dyslexia can be genetic so I'm actually a fourth generation Dyslexic from my dad's side with all of them men being the ones to pass it down. My dad has always said that my great grandfather had no support for his Dyslexia, nobody cared and in fact the term Dyslexia was only coined in 1887. When my dad went to school they attempted to alleviate some of the symptoms of Dyslexia by making him watch his hands as he crawled on the floor, believing that the root of the problem was in a lack of eye coordination. To this day I and many other Dyslexics will avoid talking about our diagnosis because of the stigma behind it. I have had many experiences in my life where as soon as people learn that I am Dyslexic they assume that I can't spell anything or that they need to read everything to me. That's what stigma does, it makes people hide away just so they can live in peace and be respected.

It is extremely common for people with invisible disabilities to be labeled as liars, this is mostly due to a lack of education and representation. The general public's idea of disability is limited, but the truth is that disability is one of the most dynamic aspects of human beings. Invisible and dynamic disabilities make up the majority of disabilities; in fact, 1 out of every 3 Americans is in fact disabled. When people see me, a young, healthy-looking man, they never think I'm disabled. If I tell them I am, they may think I am lying. People generally do not like liars, and having such a label attached to your name can be detrimental to your social integration.

You can see that none of those setbacks I mentioned are symptoms of my disabilities. The perceived deviance, stigma, and labeling are not things you'll find on a medical report. However, they do harm me socially and potentially medically when it comes to stigma; these things disable me. Thus, part of my struggle as a disabled person is manufactured by society itself, in the norms we hold and the way we treat others.

I have come to that conclusion repeatedly, as have almost every other disabled person. It's a conclusion that is often reached in the community as a whole. However, it is in able-bodied culture where these stigmas, labels, and perceived attacks originate. So, if someone is completely averse to accepting the Societal Manufactured Disability Theory, it suggests that they have probably never fully been a part of any aspect of disability culture.

[prussiasqueen]

Kill kikes. Behead kikes. Roundhouse kick a kike into the concrete. Slam dunk a kike baby into the trashcan. Crucify filthy jews. Defecate in a kikes food. Launch kikes into the sun. Stir fry kikes in a wok. Toss kikes into active volcanoes. Urinate into a kikes gas tank. Judo throw kikes into a wood chipper. Twist kikes heads off. Report kikes to the IRS. Karate chop kikes in half. Curb stomp pregnant kikes. Trap kikes in quicksand. Crush kikes in the trash compactor. Liquefy kikes in a vat of acid. Eat kikes. Dissect kikes. Exterminate kikes in the gas chamber. Stomp kike skulls with steel toed boots. Cremate kikes in the oven. Lobotomize kikes. Mandatory abortions for kikes. Grind kike fetuses in the garbage disposal. Drown kikes in melted lard. Vaporize kikes with a ray gun. Kick old kikes down the stairs. Feed kikes to alligators. Slice kikes with a katana.

Wow. Ok. You spent a lot of time on this. Pretty dedicated to your hatred. Also this is pretty damn disgusting I’m not gonna lie. How are you still existing in society?

[boysborntodie]

Making Dally the ‘mean to everyone and constantly mad at the world one with a resting bitch face’ is Steve Randle erasure. Dally is the ‘depressed, pathetic, self-destructive bitch who’s just waiting to die’

[shinobicyrus]

Hey, yanno how Climate Change is a real thing that is tangibly, at this moment, affecting our world?

Well it turns out, the wealthy and their investment firms have been seeing the mounting evidence that oil companies have had for decades and are slowly starting to think more long-term about their portfolios in the face of rising sea levels, more extreme weather, and the myriad of ways climate crises are affecting...well. Everything. Maybe this means they invest more into sustainability, green energy, building more resilient infrastructure, or carbon offsets. Some of it, of course, is simple corporate greenwashing, but there are those that are taking this trend and packaging it into something called ESG (Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance).

Now some people would say this is predictable, even sensible. Just the good ol’ Free Market(tm) rationally responding to market forces and a changing world.

But those people would be fools! Insidious fools! For conservative sorcerers have come out with a new cursed phrase to explain this new market trend: Woke Investing.

What makes this investing “woke?” Well, much like how conservatives normally flounder when trying to define a word they stole from black people, “Woke Investing” essentially just means any kind of capital investment that they, the fossil fuel billionaire class and their sycophants, don’t personally profit from.

One of these aforementioned sycophants is Andy Puzder, conservative commentator, fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and former fast-food CEO. He calls this kind of so-called woke investing “socialism in sheep’s clothing,” further explaining in leaked audio of a closed-door meeting:

“My father's generation's challenge was the Nazis, who, by the way, were, of course, very proud socialists[citation fucking needed]. The challenge of my generation was the communists, who were, of course, very committed socialists. The challenge of your generation is ESG investing, and it's more insidious than communism or the Nazis.”(source)

You heard it here first, folks. Not investing as much in fossil fuels is more insidious than the Third Fucking Reich.

As usual, the Heritage Foundation is putting their petro-chemical donor’s money where their mouth is. Bills are being proposed to blacklist banks that don’t invest in key state industries, such as West Virginia coal or Texas oil. Fourteen states have already passed bills to restrict ESG-type investing, with Florida Governor Ron “Bullies Kids for Wearing Masks” Desantis leading the charge.

In other words, Climate Denial has reached such a point that so-called Free Market Conservatives who claim to hate big government are trying to make it illegal for banks, investment firms, and financial institutions to make any financial decisions that acknowledges Climate Change is real.

[singingcicadas]

The way it's depicted, Cybertron's pre-war societal issues had a lot less to do with Functionism and more to do with unchecked government corruption, massive wealth disparity, high layoff/unemployment rates, and disenfranchisement.

People were starving, they needed work, they weren’t getting any. Those that were fortunate enough to have work didn’t get paid living wages, much less have anything to spare for health contingencies. Even then stability’s still the luxury of the top few tiers; they live one cut away from layoff. The government cared only enough to exacerbate these issues by coming up with new ways for exploitation. Any attempts to protest or lobby were shut down through political persecution. As a result the masses turned increasingly to crime, drug abuse, thuggery, and violence. Extreme acts of terrorism gets lauded as long as the collateral damage's suffered by someone else. Morality and caution are eroded in the face of desperation.

Meanwhile the many alleged restrictions of Functionism are just lip service complaints made by the characters which doesn’t match up to most of the stuff we’re shown. Like if Rung could become a psychologist, a specialized job that requires higher education, despite having zero background on top of such a weird alt that he had to be classified as an ornament, then wow the functionists must be open-minded. If Dominus Ambus could be a scientist/doctor/explorer/author/successful social rights advocator during the height of functionist control with a minesweeper military-use alt (assuming that his secondary alt's the same as Minimus'), then wow the functionists must be accommodating. If Tyrest could become chief engineer under Nova and later go into law, a complete change of profession, while being a jet, then wow functionism's flexible. If Ratbat and Momus could become senators in a society that discriminates heavily against beastformers and labor frames, then wow that’s progressive. If every Prime from Nova to Zeta (with the exception of Sentinel, his alt’s a tank, he only has wings in Megatron Origin as part of his Apex armour upgrade), every single named pre-war senator other than Proteus and Momus, and four out of five of Nova Prime’s buddy club (only Galvatron's a grounder) were wingframes in a society that supposedly discriminates against wingframes, then wow that’s… inconsistent worldbuilding.

Megatron didn’t get into bloodsports or start a war because he didn’t get to pursue his dream job. He got driven into the pits and down the slippery slope of moral degeneration because his only source of income was cut off by the mine closure incident. People wanted livelihoods above anything else, it's the failure to provide that that made the miners go off the deep end and resulted in the death of a guard. If Functionism actually ensured that everyone could be guaranteed a job or at least minimized the unemployment rates, then stratified castes or not, there would have been no war. People, or societies, are generally capable of tolerating an incredible amount of injustice as long as the majority still have a chance at scraping by at the end of the day. But the government, and later Megatron, kept yanking the rug out from under everyone over and over until they no longer even had a chance at that; there's no other choice left but fight or die.

[bloody-bee-tea]

As easy as this

Anyone who can name the song lyric I have in this fic gets a virtual cookie and at least three hearts from me

Hitoshi has a hard time concentrating this morning. He blames it on the lack of food— he knows from experience that he goes all spacey when he skips a meal but it’s not as if it’s in his own hands, these days.

His foster parents decide when he eats and they weren’t inclined to let him eat yesterday evening. Or this morning, for that matter.

Would have been kind of difficult anyway, seeing as he hadn’t been allowed inside of the house, he bitterly thinks and then tries to push that thought away.

Present Mic is already throwing him annoyed glances as it is, there’s no need to make him take special note of Hitoshi on top of everything else today so he needs to get a grip and make himself focus.

It’s just—it’s hard, is all. His stomach is long past grumbling and not even the approaching lunch can lift Hitoshi’s mood because he doesn’t have the money to buy himself something. He keeps a few essential things in a locker at the train station, but money is not one of them.

His foster parents don’t give him enough to squirrel anything away anyway and so instead of stressing over that Hitoshi is more concerned with keeping practical things in that locker. Mainly thick, warm clothes for the nights he has to spent outside and a first aid kit for when his foster parents go at it a little too hard.

Hitoshi jerks when the bell rings, signalling the end of the lesson for today and it takes him a second to get moving. None of his classmates stop to talk to him and while usually that only leaves a bitter feeling of tired acceptance in his chest today he’s thankful for it.

He’s not sure he is in any state to talk to them today. Some of his classmates don’t seem to care about his quirk but there are enough who are wary around him and they never let him forget it even when he’s talking to the ones who seemingly don’t care.

As if he could slip at any moment. As if he would control them over just for the fun of it.

Hitoshi learned to accept it a long time ago, but that doesn’t mean he’s okay with it. It’s just not something he can change and he knows better than to spend any energy on trying on that. He needs his energy for other things after all.

Mainly not failing classes, these days.

“You okay?” One of his braver classmates asks as he stops at Hitoshi’s desk and Hitoshi waves him off.

“I’m fine,” he gives back and he knows he doesn’t look like it—he never does, these days—but that answer is always enough.

No one cares to ask beyond this, and as long as no one really listens to him, it can’t be a lie either, which slightly makes Hitoshi feel better.

If he says it often enough maybe he’ll even feel it one day.

His classmate nods and leaves, just like Hitoshi knew he would and that leaves him alone in the empty classroom.

It’s just as well, because nights out mean little to no sleep since nowhere is really safe and Hitoshi doesn’t have enough money to eat anything anyway, so he might as well catch up on all that sleep he’s been missing.

~*~*~

Hitoshi compulsively raises his hand to touch his face. He spent the entire weekend muzzled—again—and he needs to reassure himself that the thing is not on right now, that he’s free and able to speak should he chose to do so.

He doesn’t have a lot to say these days—nor any people who would listen to him—but it’s the matter of his choice being taken away that always fucks him up.

That and the fact that the muzzle is slightly too small by now. It’s not yet bad enough to cut into his skin and Hitoshi doubts his foster parents are going to let it get that bad seeing as that would only raise questions, but it’s uncomfortable to wear at best and his face still feels slightly irritated.

Everyone is chalking the slight welts on his face up to hormones though and Hitoshi guesses that’s for the best. He wouldn’t know how to explain anyway.

“Is everything okay?” Midnight asks when he raises his hand again to trace over the bridge of his nose and Hitoshi drops his hand immediately.

“I’m fine,” he gets out, taking a moment to remind himself that he’s able to speak, that he wants to speak even if what comes out of his mouth is not entirely the truth.

It doesn’t matter; Midnight has already focused back on her lesson and as long as she doesn’t listen, it’s not a lie.

It cannot be.

Hitoshi doesn’t know what he’s going to do if it is.

~*~*~

Hitoshi can barely breathe. His entire chest is littered with bruises and he thinks his foster father might have done it and cracked a rib or two, but it’s not as if Hitoshi can go to a doctor and get checked out.

There’s no way he could explain the injuries—and all the old scars—on his body and so he’ll just have to breathe through the pain until everything heals up.

Usually Hitoshi’s foster father is more careful—at least since he started attending U.A.—but Hitoshi had done the stupidest thing imaginable and asked a question right where he could hear and then—well.

Hitoshi knows better than that, normally, but his foster father still wanted to make sure that the lesson stuck this time.

It’s definitely doing something, Hitoshi bitterly thinks as his vision briefly goes black when he takes a breath that’s just a little too deep and he just manages to bite back a wince.

“Are you okay?” Snipe asks him and Hitoshi forces himself to keep his breathing smooth and even.

It doesn’t matter that tears prick at his eyes. It doesn’t matter that he can barely move without pain twisting so sharply that it almost makes him sick. It doesn’t matter that his hands can’t stop shaking.

It’s fine.

He’s fine.

“I’m fine.”

Snipe’s attention slides away from him before he’s even done speaking and Hitoshi is glad for it.

It cannot be a lie if no one hears.

~_~_~

Hizashi feels restless and worried and he needs to find Shota this instant because he knows talking it over with him will settle his own mind. Shota is good like that.

Hizashi finds him in his preferred teacher’s lounge—preferred because it’s usually empty and has the most comfortable couch—just like he knew he would and it takes Shota all of one glance to close his laptop and fix his entire attention on Hizashi.

“What’s wrong?” he wants to know and Hizashi could kiss him just for that.

“Shinso Hitoshi,” Hizashi says, much to Shota’s apparent confusion. “I’m worried about him.”

“Is he in the support course?”

“Gen Ed,” Hizashi corrects him.

He sometimes forgets that Shota exclusively deals with Class 1-A unlike Hizashi himself who teaches English to all of the courses, so of course he wouldn’t know Shinso.

“What about him?” Shota asks and Hizashi wrings his hands in front of his chest.

“Something is wrong.”

It’s all he can say, because his thoughts are running a mile a minute and he can’t really pinpoint any obvious reason anyway. It’s all just a hunch. A feeling. Something nagging at the back of his head, telling him that the boy is not okay, that something is wrong, that he needs to do something.

“Okay,” Shota agrees calmly and this is exactly why Hizashi needed to talk to him so badly. Shota always keeps a level head, tries to be as rational as possible and it balances Hizashi’s own erratic, emotional thinking out quite nicely. “Talk me through it. What have you noticed?”

“He has eyebags worse than yours,” Hizashi starts with because it’s the most obvious one and Shota snorts out a quiet laugh.

“That could just be because he’s a teenage boy. What else?” he wants to know because clearly he trusts Hizashi to have more than just this one thing.

“He barely talks to his classmates, I have never seen him in the cafeteria, he doesn’t change with the others for the few training lessons they have, his hands shake more often than not, he doesn’t seem to have any personal belongings and he keeps touching his face as if he has to reassure himself of something.”

“Any obvious injuries?” Shota already has to know the answer, because if there were any obvious signs Hizashi wouldn’t feel the need to talk this over with him first but Hizashi answers anyway.

“No. Sometimes there are some rashes on his face but those could be from anything. Sometimes he holds himself as if he’s in pain, or as if he’s sore from something but other than that, no.”

“Mh,” Shota hums out and Hizashi wrings his hands in front of his chest again.

“Sho, I’m telling you, something is wrong.”

“And I believe you. You have an eye for that kind of thing,” Shota immediately reassures him and it settles something in Hizashi to know that his husband is not questioning his entire sanity. “What’s his quirk?”

“Brainwashing,” Hizashi mutters because he hates what that kid’s quirk has been named. Surely they could have phrased it in a way that didn’t make anyone who hears it flinch.

Shota clicks his tongue at that before he stills for a moment and just because of that Hizashi knows that he’s not going to like what Shota says next.

“Is it voice activated?” Shota carefully asks and just like that it all slides into place for Hizashi and for a moment it feels as if he can’t breathe.

He raises his hands to his own face, suddenly feeling the phantom imprint of a muzzle there and Shota is there a second later, tightly grasping his hand.

“Take a deep breath,” he instructs him and Hizashi follows his order without a second thought.

It becomes easier to breathe after a minute but he still stares wide-eyed and panicked at Shota.

“You think they are muzzling him?”

“It’s a possibility.”

“Muzzling people with voice-based quirks has been outlawed years ago,” Hizashi weakly protests and Shota grimaces.

“You know it’s not always that easy,” he softly says and fuck, does Hizashi know, but to think that it’s happening to one of their students is unbearable.

“Has anyone else voiced their concerns?”

“No,” Hizashi gives back. “I talked to Snipe and Midnight and while they said that Shinso is not the most attentive student they don’t see any red flags.”

“Has anyone asked him directly?” Shota wants to know next and Hizashi shakes his head because he doesn’t think so.

Why would they if they all don’t see anything wrong with him?

“Okay, then we will,” Shota decides and squeezes Hizashi’s hand. “Do you know his living conditions? Family, siblings, that sort of stuff?”

“I don’t, but Nezu talks to all the parents, right? He would have noted it down if there were any kinds of flags.”

“Let’s check the records then.” Shota pulls him over to the touch, opening his laptop back up and logging in to the U.A. system.

It’s a matter of seconds to pull up Shinso’s file but to Hizashi it feels as if years pass and he can’t help but to impatiently bounce his leg. He knows they have to read this first, so they know what they walk into, what               questions to ask Shinso but Hizashi would really rather just go and speak to the kid directly.

Hizashi only turns his attention back to Shota when he feels him freeze next to him.

“What?” he demands to know, dread already curling in his gut and Shota lets out a harsh breath.

“He’s in foster care. His foster parents weren’t available for the talk with Nezu or any of the follow up appointments. He marked it as suspicious.”

“Fuck. Sho, fuck,” Hizashi reiterates again and Shota nods in agreement.

“Is your emergency foster license still up to date?”

“You know it is,” Hizashi huffs out because the school requires them to keep them updated at all times, precisely for cases like this. “But I can’t be the one to do it,” he tacks on, because he knows the system.

There’s no way in hell he’s going to get custody of Shinso, not even temporarily.

“What? Why not?”

“My quirk is voice based, too. They won’t allow this. You know how it is.” It pains Hizashi to say it but quirk discrimination is high these days and heteromorphs and people with voice-based quirks are bearing the brunt of it lately. Adding the fact that Shinso’s brainwashing will be seen as a villainous quirk by most people only makes it more unlikely to garner any sympathy and the fear that installs in people will only needlessly complicate things.

If Shinso is unsafe with his foster parents then his social worker is most likely aware and allows this, which means that if Hizashi petitions for emergency foster care of Shinso they will accuse him of collaborating with Shinso, wishing to train his quirk up.

Which would be true, but would put a serious hurdle right in front of them and they can’t afford that. And that’s only the best case scenario. Worst case, they’ll accuse Shinso of brainwashing him into wanting this and Hizashi can’t have that.

If their hunch is right and Shinso is being muzzled at home they have to get him out as quickly as possible.

“You have to do it,” Hizashi says and Shota seems about as unhappy as Hizashi feels but he nods reluctantly.

His quirk alone would be a point in their favour, in the eyes of any social worker who is as biased as Shinso’s has to be and he seems to realise that, too.

“Fine. It’s just a formality anyway,” Shota shrugs because in the end it is.

They are married. No matter who gets custody of Shinso, he’s going to stay with them both anyway.

“I’m guessing we’re doing this today?” Shota asks but it’s more of a rhetoric question, because of course they are doing this today.

There is no way Hizashi will let Shinso go home if his foster parents really are abusing him.

“He should be in Midnight’s class right now,” Hizashi says after a look at the clock and Shota nods.

“Alright. You go get him; he doesn’t know me and he’s bound to panic if I show up out of the blue. We’ll talk to him in one of the conference rooms, away from prying eyes.”

“Sounds good.”

It sounds absolutely horrible because Hizashi never wanted to have such a conversation with one of his students but it has to be done and at least like that they’ll have the privacy they need for such a talk.

It’s the least they can do with what they are about to ask Shinso.

~*~*~

Hitoshi feels sluggish with how cold he is. The night had been freezing and even the emergency clothes he keeps in the locker weren’t enough to keep him even moderately warm throughout the night.

He still can’t feel his fingers, though they are no longer a suspicious blue, and he’s not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

What he does know is that Present Mic calling out for him as soon as he steps outside the classroom is a very bad thing.

“Shinso, hey. Do you have a moment? I’d like to talk to you about something,” Present Mic tells him and he is clearly expecting Hitoshi to answer, no matter that there’s no way he can refuse one of his teachers.

Hitoshi is kind of glad that he’s already cold all over because the dread running through him would have leeched away all his body heat anyway.

“Sure,” he mutters, desperately clutching the strap of his bag and he follows Present Mic without another word.

He did not expect to be lead to one of the conference rooms, the ones that are sound-proof and can only be accessed by the teachers.

Fuck, this is worse than he thought, isn’t it?

Present Mic holds the door open for him and Hitoshi steps past him but he freezes when he sees Eraserhead already in the room.

Fuck, he’s going to throw up any second now, he desperately thinks because if two teachers want to speak to him—with one not even teaching him—then he really fucked up badly.

Hitoshi distantly knows that he should probably try to keep up appearances as best as he can, but he’s so busy not throwing up right then and there that it’s kind of inevitable that his hands shake.

They are going to call his foster parents because of whatever he did and that will be the end of Hitoshi. His foster parents made that more than clear.

“Shinso, hey, you need to breathe, kiddo,” Present Mic gently tells him as he steers him towards the unoccupied couch. “You’re not in trouble, I promise you that.”

It’s an empty promise; Hitoshi has enough experience with teachers saying that to him and then calling his foster parents once his back is turned so Present Mic’s words do exactly nothing to calm him down.

“What did I do?” he forces himself to ask once everyone is seated because if he gets this out of the way fast then he can do damage control. But he needs to know what he did wrong first.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Eraserhead tells him, and even though his voice is serious, it’s just as gentle as Present Mic’s was.

“Shinso, are you okay?” Present Mic asks him, fiddling with his fingers and this is easy.

This, Hitoshi knows how to do.

“I’m fine,” he says, and looks out for the way interest slides out of their eyes, waits for them to turn their gaze away from him.

It takes a second and then five and then ten and Hitoshi squirms, uneasy, because both teachers keep looking at him.

“I’m going out on a whim here, but I would guess that’s not true,” Eraserhead finally says and Hitoshi feels as if he can’t breathe.

If they are listening then it’s a lie, it’s all a lie what he’s saying and Hitoshi doesn’t know how to deal with that.

No one ever listens.

“Shinso, you can tell us the truth. You’re safe here and we won’t let any more harm come to you,” Present Mic tells him and it’s so ridiculous, so outlandish, so far from how any of this normally goes that Hitoshi doesn’t know what to do.

He focuses on breathing for now because that seems moderately important.

“If you are not okay, if you are being hurt, at home or here at school, you can tell us,” Eraserhead says and shares a glance with Present Mic. “We’ll make sure to protect you.”

It’s something Hitoshi should probably respond to, tell them that he’s fine, that there is nothing to worry about, that there’s no need for them to concern themselves with him and he’s just about to do that but when he opens his mouth all that comes out is a sob.

It’s as if a dam has been broken because after that first one follows a second and a third and Hitoshi can’t stop, he absolutely cannot get a grip on himself and soon enough he’s hyperventilating into his hands.

He doesn’t know for how long it goes on, can’t concentrate on anything but the tight feeling in his chest, the way he absolutely cannot breathe, can’t hear anything but an insistent ringing in his ears but eventually he becomes aware of someone talking to him, though he can’t make out the words.

Hitoshi tries to focus on the voice until he can hear actual words and he’s mortified to realise that it’s Present Mic, telling him when to breathe in and out and it almost sends him spiralling again but the firm grip he has on Hitoshi’s hands keeps him from losing it completely.

“I’m good, I’m fine,” he gasps out eventually and he thinks he hears Eraserhead snort out an unamused laugh.

“No offense kid, but you’ve been panicking for close to fifteen minutes now. I’d say you’re anything but okay.”

“How are you feeling? Right now? Nauseous? Faint? You’re pretty cold, are you about to drop on us?”

“I have been cold since this evening,” Hitoshi mutters, glad that his voice doesn’t crack on top of everything else and he doesn’t need to look up to know that Eraserhead and Present Mic are sharing a glance.

“Couldn’t you warm up at home?” Present Mic asks and Hitoshi instinctively curls in on himself.

The house isn’t his home and his foster parents never let him forget that.

“I don’t have a home,” he whispers, tugging his hands out of Present Mic’s and hiding them out of sight, as if that could hide the way he’s shaking. “There’s a house I’m sometimes allowed to sleep in and yesterday wasn’t one of those days,” he tacks on and distantly wonders where he finds the courage to say any of that out loud.

He has never talked about this with anyone.

But then again, no one has ever asked with the intention to listen, either.

Present Mic lets out a long breath and Eraserhead leans forward, his elbows on his knees, to give Hitoshi a serious look.

“Thank you for telling us,” he says and it feels almost stupid because no one should thank Hitoshi for dumping any of that on them.

“Before we talk about anything else I want you to know that both Shota and I have emergency foster licenses and that we’re not going to let you go back,” Present Mic tells him and Hitoshi guesses that ‘Shota’ must be Eraserhead.

“I—don’t understand,” Hitoshi admits after a long moment and almost feels bad about it when Present Mic wilts at his side.

“Shinso, I don’t know if you know this but not allowing a kid to come home is illegal,” Present Mic tells him. “That’s endangerment of a minor at best.”

“And this is just a hunch, but there’s a muzzle involved in the house as well, right?” Eraserhead carefully asks and Hitoshi can’t hide the way he flinches. Eraserhead only nods. “That’s illegal as well.”

“I know all of that,” Hitoshi gets out past the new wave of panic at having these two know what’s going on at the house.

“Then what don’t you understand?” Present Mic sounds honestly confused as he shares another look with Eraserhead.

“I just—I know it’s illegal and wrong but—no one ever cared about that before,” he blurts out and does not enjoy the way both their faces fall.

“Oh, Shinso,” Present Mic whispers out and his hands twitch as if he wants to pull Hitoshi into a hug.

Hitoshi almost wants him to do it.

“We care,” Eraserhead simply says as if it could be that easy and it only serves to make Hitoshi’s eyes water again.

“No one ever cares,” he says again because he doesn’t understand why these two would, what changed all of a sudden and this time Present Mic doesn’t hold back.

He leans right in for a hug and Hitoshi doesn’t have it in him to pull away and instead almost burrows into the warmth of the embrace.

“We care, kiddo, we do. And now that we know you’re not safe with your current foster family, we’ll put our emergency foster licenses to good use. Shota will get temporary custody of you on account of abuse and you’ll come home with us before we figure out the rest. How does that sound?”

“Confusing,” Hitoshi admits after a moment and pulls away. “What do you mean ‘home with us’? He’s the one I’ll have to stay with, right?”

“Oh, yeah, but we’re married, so you’ll come home with both of us.”

Married, Hitoshi whispers to himself and he must make quite the face because Present Mic huffs out a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, no one ever sees it, yada, yada, yada,” he waves off and Eraserhead rolls his eyes at him.

“Very mature,” he teases Present Mic and Hitoshi thinks he can see it, maybe. A bit.

But that really is not the pressing matter.

The most pressing matter is that this is all too good to be true and that thought scares Hitoshi. What if they change their minds? They must know what his quirk is, it’s all in his file, so he doesn’t understand how they don’t mind.

“Still doesn’t explain why you care,” he blurts out, rather rudely, and he freezes instantly when both men look at him.

“Shinso, you’re just a kid. A kid who deserves to have a stable, safe environment at the very least. You clearly don’t, and we care about that. About you. We want to give you that.”

“How did you even notice? No one ever notices,” Hitoshi finds himself saying even though a part of himself is urging him to stop questioning this. He should just take what he could get here, and every further question only raises the danger of it all slipping through his fingers again.

“Hizashi is good like that,” Eraserhead says with a small smile and Present Mic shrugs bashfully.

“But my quirk—”

“Should really not factor into any of this. I know that it most likely has, and I am sorry you have been treated so badly because of it, but it really doesn’t matter to us.”

“It’s a villain’s quirk,” Hitoshi mutters because it’s what he’s been told all his life.

“Strange,” Present Mic says and waits for Hitoshi to meet his gaze before he goes on. “I remember this being a hero school. And since you’re here that would make it a hero’s quirk.”

It’s said so easily, as if it’s nothing but a fact when all his life people have been laughing at him when he says he wants to be a hero and Hitoshi finds himself crying again.

“It’s alright, kiddo, we’ve got you. We’ll make sure you’re safe,” Present Mic promises him. “Shota is going to make that call now so you can come with us and we’ll go find Lunch Rush to get you a soup to warm up while he deals with all the boring bureaucracy, how does that sound?”

“Too good to be true,” Hitoshi admits because it does, before the rest of Present Mic’s words register. “I don’t have money,” he quietly says. “I can’t pay for the soup.”

“Good thing that you won’t have to, then,” Present Mic gives back before he briefly falls quiet. “Is that why you never eat in the cafeteria?” he then wants to know and Hitoshi didn’t know that someone had noticed and it’s not as if he can find his voice anyway so he simply nods.

He can hear Present Mic make an angry sound and he instinctively curls his shoulders in when Eraserhead speaks up.

“Hizashi, not now,” he warningly says and Present Mic falls silent again, taking a deep breath.

“You’re right, you’re absolutely right. Boring phone call for you, soup for us,” he then cheerfully says and shoos Eraserhead off, who rolls his eyes at Present Mic but does leave the room.

An almost awkward silence falls over the room and Hitoshi finds himself fiddling with his fingers.

“You don’t have to do this,” he feels the need to say and it’s almost comical how affronted Present Mic seems at that.

“Kiddo, you’re safe now. We’ve got you now, for as long as you want or need.”

“But—”

“Shinso, we want to. It wasn’t even a question for us. We want to help you.”

Present Mic seems entirely sincere as he says it and Hitoshi doesn’t have another choice but to believe him.

“Okay then.”

He knows that it probably won’t be as easy as this, because nothing in his life ever is, but maybe for today it can be.

And then maybe for tomorrow it can be again and that alone would be better than a lot of the past days in Hitoshi’s life. And if he really gets lucky for once in his life, maybe every day after that can be a good day, too.

He thinks that would be nice and when he gives a shaky smile to Present Mic who immediately smiles back with nothing but warmth on his face, it doesn’t seem so unattainable anymore.

[newspecies]

"the vast majority of legal persecution against early queers was focused on men" ARE YOU INSANE

[witchofthesouls]

On the topic of cults, TFP Soundwave (specificially him being a high priest) and dead kids, I do think it'd be interesting if part of his vow of silence wasn't just because he lost all but one of his cassettes, but because they were torn to shreds by the Cult of Prima.

I mean. We've already discussed a lot about the cult of Megatronous and Solus, but maybe the Cult of Prima is a massive aggressor. Like, binding and bleeding levels of sacrifice to try to shepard those of the other cults back into the Light. The all of the cassettes would have been raised within the confines of the Pits; there's a good chance they'd have seen the religious side of Soundwave in a much more intimate detail, and might've been trained on some minor rites, rituals, and sermons themselves.

And while the Cult of Prima couldn't/wouldn't strike a high priest directly, they would not be above using any means necessary. Much like their chosen Prime, they would hunt down all they'd lost by any means necessary.

Maybe the last time Soundwave spoke, it wasn't enough. Or maybe he said the wrong thing and the High Priest of Prima, in turn, made the cassettes death more agonizing, more drawn out.

The last sound anyone- Megatron included- heard from him was agonized shrieking both from feeling his kids and his adoptive creator die via the cassette/creator bond, but finding their desecrated remains.

Buckle up because this will be a lot of commentary and discourse.

I have a particular view on the Thirteen and Primes in Aligned/TFP:

Prima's following is tricky because he became the dominant religion as almost all the other Primes were gone or lost. Canon, lore wise, he actually questioned the nature and roles of the Thirteen and written down his thoughts. Vector and Alpha Trion shared similarities with Prima on how they composed themselves and made very inflammatory and unsavory descriptions on the siblings that Prima believed to be potentially evil... which included his own twin. Of course, when Liege Maximo uncovered those writings, it formed a schism within the Thirteen, especially between the parties of Prima and Megatronus. Those unfortunate writings and private commentary would unfortunately be the foundation on how religion was shaped on Cybertron after the Primal Wars, Prima's disappearance, and Alpha Trion's select allowance to those records spiraled out of control.

The Guiding Hand is the triad that's (mainly) Prima, Alpha Trion, and Alchemist as they represent the pillars of society under Prima's control as he is "the Light of civilization."

Prima, as the Prime of Light, represents the Sun and the Spark of Cybertron as he was created in Primus' Image. Because of that, he's also distant and slightly disconnected compared to his other siblings as he once contained too much Prima's essence that gave rise to Megatronus.

The thing about Prima is that he's also an extremist. He's the Guiding Light, and yet, Light can sear away any and all beneath its radiant intensity, consuming in its brilliance until all are washed away into nothingness.

Megatronus rose from Prima's shadow as a split-spark twin because they were meant to act as natural counterparts. Opposites, yet equals.

Both of them demand sacrifice that suits their natures.

Prima demands the sacrifice of the self and of ego, the letting go of mortal attachments and the chaining of beastly, basic instincts to achieve the pinnacle of enlightenment by his hand.

Megatronus is the opposite. He demands sacrifice of inhibitions, the loss of self though unfettered restraints, and revelations of chaos that can be only found in passionate revelry. He is the Unmaker of the civility. The Shadow to Light's civilization. The madness that exists in everyone and everything.

(Megatonus' epithet, the Breaker, came from the ancient festivals held in his honor when he came to visit Prima's fledgling city-states as he 'breaks' the chains imposed by Prima's total temperance by wild and manic consumption.)

Prima's own interpretations, the Great Cataclysm, and the Quintessons had done immense damage to the entirety of Cybertron by systematically destroying many, if not all, of the balances to ensure the critical supports of the revival and rejuvenation cycles. And it certainly didn't help in the periods where there were no legitimate Primacy, so false Primes rose to power due to misinterpretations of signs or the High Council administrations took advantage by using religious fervor.

Funny enough, Prima's own High Priests and Priestresses would be his own championed Primes as the Matrix forcibly reformats them the curated vision of what Prima holds dear to his lineage. They are the ones who will truly understand the Divine Light.

It's the outlawed sects and cults that still utilize the old rituals and gatherings. A holdover from Prima's later reign and the Quintessons' successes with the massive undertaking to break the Wilder blockade and cultural genocide to ensure the "peak efficiency and functionality" in their semi-living machinery. The Quintessons of Old were masters of arcane mysteries and married it to technological advancements, so they were attempting to cut the spiritual holds of the Thirteen to suppress and weaken the more fantastical aspects and power scale of their mortal kin and kith. Easier to control and manipulate as they seed untruths to feed resentment and prejudice between Cybertronians.

The Wilders may be decimated to few scattered tribes, but the Quintessons weren't able to root out all the sects they deemed as "heretical" and "blasphemous." So Golden Age Cybertron would continue those policies by deeming the any worship of the Thirteen, besides a very curated Prima and manipulated writings of "appropriate" associated Primes, as unlawful conduct to "disrupt the established peace" and "intention to forment a rebellion or insurection."

So, in the case of Soundwave being found guilty of such crimes where most of Cassettes paid the blood price, it wasn't by zealots on a fanatical crusade, another sect taking its demanded tribute to their Prime, or a personal vendetta of cruel vengeance. It was committed by a more insidious, terrifying kind of evil: a state-santioned, bureaucratic machine handled by uncaring, apathetic powers that purposely use ordinary people with ordinary lives to commit everyday atrocities to those deemed unworthy or without worth under the guise of legality.

Soundwave wouldn't have allowed it to lie. Ravage would have taken him to task, even beyond the grave. Perhaps it was court-mandated to seal away the voice of a dissenter by illicit worship to ensure none of the "tales" can be spoken anymore, or perhaps it was his own volition as a pledge to Megatronus, a Prime that demanded sacrifice though deeds and action, but Soundwave became mute.

[writer-kermit]

Cognitive Bias in the Mortal Kombat Fandom

❥ GENRE: EXPLORATORY ESSAY

❥ COMMISSIONED OR SELF MADE: SELF MADE

❥ W/C: 1,314 (W/O SOURCES)

ঞ SUMMARY: The world is changing, and so is our perception of media. So why are we against these changes? What if everything remained the same from the beginning?

ᰔ KERMIT'S NOTE: I haven't made an exploratory essay since 2022. Mostly because I was afraid of what people might perceive me as. But for a while, I gathered the confidence to start writing more essays based on my personal views. Maybe that will help my writing skills. If you wish for more content like this, feel free to ask! Thanks for reading!

ʚ TAG LIST: @fsfghgee @laismoura-art @loiola00 Thank you for giving me the courage to write again 🫶

ʚ WARNING: Spoilers (maybe???) Racism, Misogyny/Misogynoir, and other graphic content.

Before I start, I just want to say that I only know Mortal Kombat through NetherRealm Studios, so I will be referring to them more than Midway. Now, I’ve only been a fan of Mortal Kombat for two years. I first started getting into it when my friend showed me a video of the Mortal Kombat 9 gameplay in 2022. Since then, I’ve been consuming so much of the MK media. From video games, to animations, to fanfiction, you name it! However, as I delved deeper into the Mortal Kombat rabbit hole, I noticed that there is a strong “bias” within the fandom. Now don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything bad about having biases. In fact, some biases can improve problem solving skills by identifying different patterns and thinking accordingly to solve the problem. But since I’m talking about Mortal Kombat here, there won’t be as much problem solving. When it comes to NetherRealm Studio's interpretation of Mortal Kombat, fans and critics are quick to have some sort of cognitive bias. 

So why specifically cognitive bias? What even is a cognitive bias? Well, cognitive bias is a systematic thought process caused by the tendency to simplify (or fully reject) information through a filter of personal experience and preferences. But if cognitive bias helps with problem solving, how can it be harmful? In most cases, cognitive bias can contribute to poor and unfair judgment, especially when that judgment can affect the way we consume media. From my experience in Mortal Kombat, fans have the most bias between different characterizations; whether that’d be race, gender, or sexuality, plot, and even the companies itself.

Race/Ethnicity: Black female characters such as Jacqui Briggs, Tanya, Cyrax (MK1) are more prominent to be discriminated against based on their appearance, motives, and depiction throughout the MK series. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a Mortal Kombat problem. In fact, black women in different media are heavily underrepresented and often looked down upon. In the scholar work “Art Imitates Life: The Representation (Or Lack Thereof) of Black Women in Video Games” by Bug Gadson, the author makes an important claim that because of the systematic racism built on white supremacy and misogynoir (racism and misogyny), the “historical evolution of Black feminism in the United States not only developed through [black stereotypes],” but also how the media consume these types of harmful portrayal and use it to characterize all black women (Gadson, 2021). This is almost ironic because Mortal Kombat is known for its diverse characters. As a black non-binary student, it’s very painful to see racist comments of these black characters on Reddit, YouTube, and even Tumblr.

Gender: Along with racism, misogyny in the Mortal Kombat fanbase is no secret. As Mortal Kombat progressed over to NetherRealm Studios, women have grown to be less sexualized and played more dominant roles throughout the series. Because of this change, most fans complained that the women were ‘unattractive’ and threatened the NRS developers to revert to their revealing attire. One example of this outrage is when YouTube commenter, TrueUnderDawg made a petition on his Twitter and YouTube community post to enforce “cyber-swimsuits” for female Cyrax and Sektor, further engaging with the sexualization of female characters in video games. With Sektor and Cyrax being gender-swapped in MK1’s DLC: Khaos Reigns, fans believed that the gender swap was only implemented to add more relationships within the new timeline. While it’s true that Sektor and Cyrax were intended to pursue romantic relationships, I believe that it doesn’t overall deter their characterization. In fact, any form of relationship can build up motives and create a sense of agency for that character. For Sektor and Bi-Han's relationship, both share goals and concepts of building the Lin Kuei, so even if there is a gender swap, their relationship does make sense to a point (it’s also hypocritical to criticize Bi-Han/Sektor to justify Bi-Han/Sareena as both ships have their flaws). Tumblr user @fsfghgee made some pretty good points on Bi-Han and Sektor, so I recommend looking at them for more information.

Sexual Orientation: Since 2015, there has been a new splurge of canon and implied relationships in Mortal Kombat. In addition, there have been a handful of LGBTQ+ characters. Examples being Sindel, Mileena, Tanya, and Kung Jin. However, it didn’t stop fans from creating their own LGBTQ+ ships; with the most well-known ships being SubScorp (Scorpion x Sub Zero), Johnshi (Johnny x Kenshi), JadeTana (Jade x Kitana), and many others. With the new changes in MK1 (and Khaos Rain and Tanya’s relationship), most fans were claiming that NRS were erasing queer characters and relationships. For reference, I am pansexual. So, my personal view on ‘cis relationships’ might be different. While I do believe that NRS’s interpretation of relationships can be improved, it does have greater potential than Midway (sorry older fans). What really pisses me off is when fans were so quick to call “queer erasure” when non-canon ships weren’t implemented in the game. I’m not trying to say that NRS shouldn’t have more LGBTQ+ representation, but being blatantly cisphobic to the already canon ships within the series takes away actual queer erasure that purposefully diminishes the existence of the queer community throughout any other media platforms.

Writer’s Perspective: Ed Boon and Dominic Cianciolo are the main writers and directors for Mortal Kombat in NetherRealm Studios. As of 2023, they released a reboot of Mortal Kombat named Mortal 1 Kombat. After the dissolvement of the previous timeline (MK11), newly demigod Liu Kang resets the universe to create a more peaceful timeline. With the significant changes in the story, it’s almost difficult to adjust to the new storyline. Personally, I don’t like all the changes either. And I think it’s even more difficult to find someone who does like all the changes. Nevertheless, I believe that providing different perspectives can accommodate and even further regulate the story. It’s important to take note that the earlier timeline is nearly irrelevant to MK1. So rather than trying to implement older lore, why not use what is already canon and interpret our own theories? For example, let’s take Hanzo, who is a child in MK1. Hanzo’s survivor guilt could parallel Tomas (Smoke). Rather than accepting the death of his clan, Hanzo’s emotions could turn him to be vengeful and become more irrational and radicalized. Another example could be Bi-Han/Noob Saibot (The corrupted version of Bi-Han). His irredeemable actions and hatred towards his family could symbolize the corruption of leadership and foreshadow his ultimate downfall. Now here’s a side note: I know some fans believed that Bi-Han should’ve gotten a redemption arc, but this man openly claimed that he is willing to kill his OWN FAMILY to remain in power. So, like... I don’t know if he could redeem himself if tried. That being said, there is nothing inherently wrong with ‘maliciously evil’ characters if written correctly. However, there is a difference between ‘bad’ characters and ‘bad character writing’ (AHEM AHEM KOTAL KAHN AHEM).   

Overall Thoughts: I want to make it clear that there is nothing wrong with criticizing Boon and Cianciolo and giving them feedback to help them improve future games. However, there is a difference between constructive criticism and harassment. The NRS developers aren’t blocking people in different media because they can’t handle criticism, they’re blocking people because they are continuously being harassed and receiving death threats. Regardless of these changes, Mortal Kombat is still an enjoyable game and shouldn’t be torn apart by its own hypocrisy. There is nothing wrong with having bias. Sometimes, biases can help us interpret different information in a nuanced way. But know that change is necessary for the world to function, even if some of the changes can kind of stink. 

[skele-bunny]

I seen you share this post and I know you're comfortable writing these things, so I was wondering if we could have little snippets or maybe a fic elaborating on when you wrote about Dew punching someone for fat shaming Aether? Thanks!! https://www.tumblr.com/skele-bunny/759611991374643200?source=share

Word! Also you're right wjsjdj I don't mind writing these things at all. I'm perfectly fine with getting requests to tackle heavier topics 💪 context: this post by @mutt-sys

CW - FATPHOBIA, RACISM, PARENTAL DISCRIMINATION, ABLEISM, VICTIM BLAMING, TRANSPHOBIA, ACEPHOBIA

Cowbell has experienced acephobia before. Ghouls are sexual driven creatures, there's no way a ghoul is asexual! She's had to deal with crude remarks, "You just haven't met the right person!" // "It's just a phase you'll grow out of." , which also meant unwanted advances. Sometimes it gets to the point she thinks she's broken. That something really is wrong with him.

A multitude of both ghouls and siblings have had to work around ableism. Zephyr simply being denied into places like the bathhouse, outings with their pack as they simple didn't have wheelchair accessibility. Delta being denied accessibility services because he wasn't "blind enough." Pebble fighting for MONTHS to get his hearing aids. Phantom not being accommodated as "We've seen autistic people before. You don't act like that." or just "You? I would've never guessed! You don't look autistic!"

And yeah! Just like in that little hc post, Aether, Cumulus, Omega, Alpha, Ifrit, basically any bigger ghoul has absolutely received fatphobia on a daily basis wether it's subtle or outright. Getting grimaces, especially if they work in the hospital. Bc they're deemed "unhealthy" so why should they work in a "healthy" setting? Omega getting an annoyed sighs from the wardrobe siblings "Guess we need another size up..." Cumulus being deemed unattractive because of her weight, her height, basically anything about her was unattractive. Unlovable.

Even Terzo faced discrimination. Constantly misgendered and deadnamed even after being publicly out, always feeling his face warm up and heart stop as he's deadnamed in front of someone who only knew him as Terzo. But forced to bare it and grin as if he even tries standing up for himself he's "Sensitive" or "Over reacting" and given just annoyed sighs and eye rolls. Sunshine and Cirrus getting scoffed at and slurs thrown at them for entering women's sections of say the bathhouse or changing room at the gym. Constantly being reported (that doesn't go anywhere) but passively aggressively suggested to use the gender neutral rooms instead, which just makes them more upset.

Mist experiencing discrimination with her kits! One of them starts fussing and annoyed whispers of "I wish there were child free places"//"Does that baby have to be here?"//"Great, just what I wanted. A screaming kit." At first he was able to stand up for himself and curse them out but after so many times... It's hard to not let it get to you. Just softly crying and getting frustrated at not only himself but her kits :/. Unable to go back to work as they don't want someone "wrapped up with kits who's unreliable."

(Based on my own and my partners experiences.*)

Ghouls facing issues as they're learning a new language, just broken and choppy but doing their best to try and communicate. Always gets those fake smiles as they turn to a ghoul that been around longer "Could you translate for them?" Or even speaking to them like a child. "What is YOURRR naammee?" Just outright ignored if they try to get someone's attention bc that person doesn't want to 'struggle' with trying to understand even tho they're not even attempting.

Swiss having to learn to do his own hair and more styles as the stylists didn't know how to even work with his hair type. They just shaved it and he was MORTIFIED. Always labeled as aggressive by passer-byers and being followed around in stores while Dew is left alone and even approached with friendly service. Being stopped twice and accused of shoplifting and trying to defend himself only to, once again, be marked as aggressive and hostile.

Dew terrified to come out about anything he experienced bc he's heard the whispers about other people coming out. "Well what did she do to deserve it?"//"He must've led her on."//"That's what happens when you drink!" So he just stays quiet and never speaks up about anything, just forced to deal with it on his own even after he confided in Aether and Mountain as he's scared they think that of him.

Shit SUCKS. While there have been improvements through the years, unions, changes made with each Papa, it doesn't always stop it. Unfortunately, discrimination will always be around. 🫠