#moral corruption

[isakast]

Corruption of Morality

I feel like this is such an underwritten genre. I write as a hobby, and whilst I don't intent to make writing a career I do one day hope to publish one of my books. Morality corruption is such an interesting topic to me, because what do you mean it's always someone influencing a character for the better?

In media we see so many villain redemption stories, but not many stories where the main character becomes tainted with ideologies and morals from 'worse sources'. It is something that we see all the time in real life as well!

I absolutely love writing about vampires, where a character gets turned and you see them gradually losing everything that made them 'them' until they are virtually a completely different person is just so interesting to me, you get to see their deterioration and get to see the struggles they go through with this too.

If any other writers or readers have recommendations for any sort of media (whether this be fanfics, books, shows or films etc) that addresses this particular sub plot, PLEASEEEE share because I will devour anything to do with this >:)

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/rafah-evacuation-israel-biden-administration-antony-blinken-jake-sullivan-hamas-3e3c85f7

By: The Editorial Board

Published: May 22, 2024

Remember Rafah? For months, the Biden Administration bitterly opposed an Israeli invasion of Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza. The mantra was that Israel had “no credible plan” to evacuate the city’s 1.3 million civilians. Yet the Israelis went ahead anyway, and two weeks later they have safely evacuated an estimated 950,000 people.

This was supposed to be impossible. Rafah became a red line for Mr. Biden on the logic that there was no way to conduct a major operation with all those civilians present. That was the justification for the President’s arms embargo. “We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” he said.

Even as the evacuation got under way, Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated that Israel had “no credible plan.” National security adviser Jake Sullivan added, “We still believe it would be a mistake to launch a major military operation into the heart of Rafah.” When the evacuation began to work, the Biden team moved on to criticizing Israeli readiness for the “day after” the main fighting, as if success in Rafah were a foregone conclusion.

Finally on Tuesday, the Administration claimed credit. “It’s fair to say that the Israelis have updated their plans. They’ve incorporated many of the concerns that we have expressed,” a senior U.S. official told reporters. He also said the Rafah operation might create “opportunities for getting the hostage deal back on track.”

The maneuvering has costs. “This Administration never supports anything we do until we do it,” a senior Israeli official told us early this month. To win Mr. Biden’s consent, the Israelis first had to advance and succeed. But the delay his opposition caused has dragged out the war to all but Hamas’s detriment.

Rafah remains critical to any day-after plan, since nothing can work if Hamas governs territory with military battalions and controls the Egyptian border. Israel has already discovered 50 tunnels crossing from Rafah into Egypt for smuggling. Once troops finish clearing a buffer zone along the border, Israel can cut off Hamas from Egypt, a key to strangling whatever insurgency may follow.

It’s reasonable to ask what force will control Gaza in the future. But no one else will fight and die to defeat Hamas for Israel, or even to resist it as a civilian power. Certainly not the feeble Palestinian Authority, which wants a power-sharing deal with Hamas in Gaza because otherwise it knows it would be slaughtered.

Though Israeli liberals won’t like to hear it, Israel probably will need to fill the vacuum in Gaza for a time. Though Israeli right-wingers won’t like to hear it, the purpose would be to make way for local governance. The politics, there and here, explain why it has been easier to pretend there’s no plan at all.

==

Apparently, evacuating 950,000 people before conducting a military operation is somehow a "genocide."

It's worth pointing out that the Exodus in the bible involved upwards of two million people. Obviously, this was fiction, but here's a mass migration on a comparable scale, and while the fictional one gets written into a holy book, the real world one goes largely unacknowledged.

[batwingsrosa]

„You can’t like this fictional character because they‘re morally corrupt/ evil-“

Yes i can.

You know why?

Because they are a fictional character.

And i am allowed to like a fictional character.

Die mad about it.

[banditjanet]

Look me in the eyes and tell me Prowl’s autistic ass WOULDNT play the shit outta Minecraft

Chicken Jockey 🐓🏇

And then Prowl paid him keep quiet

[supernovatx]

Obviously “America is Great Again” is a fantastic critique of capitalism and American propaganda, which would be enough to make it an incredible scene on its own. It’s a great song and a great demonstration of the show’s themes, and it’s really well done.

But there’s a tragic layer to that song that really elevates it for me, and that’s because it’s specifically MacNamara singing it.

MacNamara first is introduced to seem like a stereotypical patriotic army guy in the scene where he knocks Paul out. However, he then subverts that in the next scene where we learn his true morals, namely that he believes in love and humanity as his higher purpose and he will put that above the orders of his country if they conflict. He chooses to let Paul live because of that, and when Paul asks if he can save Emma, MacNamara gives him his gun and tells him to go. We learn, as does Paul, that despite his appearance and general vibes, he is a genuinely good person who wants to help and is willing to put his moral code above his patriotism.

But when he gets apotheosized, he becomes the complete opposite. Suddenly his loyalty is to his country only, and his own moral code is erased in service of that, which causes contradictions between the lyrics of AIGA and his thoughts in the scene with Paul. “You can’t run because our borders are closed” when he was helping Paul escape in a helicopter as a human; “Americans should fit a mold” when he didn’t at all fit the “douchey army patriot” mold he was presented with; “There’s only room for right and wrong” when he clearly is able to choose between his own morality and his orders, indicating a more complex outlook instead of a binary. He becomes the stereotype he was subverting, and in doing so he becomes someone that the real MacNamara would have hated. That’s the tragedy of that song, and of the whole show really, is that the people who become part of the hive mind lose their true selves and are only able to act in their stereotypical roles, even if that’s nothing like how they actually were as humans.

There’s also something to be said here about how the us war machine and capitalism corrupts people and makes them into something they would never have been otherwise through a forced loss of personhood but I can’t figure out how to phrase that so

[specshroom]

BLOOD IN THE WATER꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷

"How much longer?"

Your current patron meekly asks from his seat behind you.

"Not much longer."

You curtly reassure him.

You should be used to these tourists and their consistent whines but it never seems to get less pathetic. You suppose you shouldn't blame them considering the position they've gotten themselves into, although a bigger part of you just couldn't muster up sympathy for people who are dumb enough to find themselves in the middle of a monster infested lake with a complete stranger at the oar.

That thought breaks you form your daydream and you take a moment to stare at the deceptively clam waters below. You stop your slow rows, bring the gondola to a steady halt and turn to your patron.

"This is your stop."

You fasten the large oar to the hull and step towards the man so that you can look down at him properly.

He looks around at the open water, the mist is so thick he can barely see a few feet Infront of his face much less any semblance of land. He looks back up at you and hesitates before speaking,

"I...payed for the full trip."

You shake your head solomly,

"I only said I could get you on the lake...which I did."

You gesture around to the lake that you both are very much on.

"If you want to get to the other side, that's a seperate trip."

You hold your hand out, clearly indicating what you want. The man's eyebrows scrunch, his eyes go from wide with fear to a heated glare and his hands grip the travel bag he's been cradling.

"You can't do that! We agreed!"

He yells and you quickly cover his mouth with your hand as ripples break in the water all around the gondola. As if he just remembered where he is, the man freezes and lets out a little whimper when he hears tiny splashes in the water right next to him. The small boat rocks side to side as the water vibrates, sounding out the life that dwells beneath it.

The water settles after a few moments of silence and you stand again and look down at the quivering man.

"What choice do you have?"

The tourist heaves out a defeated breathe and digs in his bag to retrieve a sack of coins for the rest of the trip. He hands it to you with an icy glare.

"Is that enough for you?"

He hisses, a little quiver remains in his voice.

You give him a look and continue to count your coins. If you're being honest, you expected more from him. The disappointment must show on your face because he looks just about ready to swing at you before you let out a loud whistle.

Just then several claws burst out of the water and grab him. He shrieks as wet scaly hands cling to his shirt. One by one three heads pop out of the water to leer at his now pale face, drained of any colour once his wide eyes meet the inky black orbs of the creatures holding him down. They bare their sharp teeth as talons sink into his skin making him unable to struggle lest they dig further.

His panicked eyes can only follow you as you start plucking valuables from his pockets and rummaging through his belongings.

From the corner of his eye he can see more of these creatures circling the gondola. Waiting.

You sit down with a huff, slightly rocking the boat as you count and inspect your new plunder.

After a few moments you hear low growls that simmer into whines, you peer up at the multiple black eyes staring at you, waiting for the go ahead. The man's blood is already seeping into their claws and they're practically drooling.

You take pity on the poor creatures and with no more than a final glance at the man you let out another whistle and he's instantly pulled from the boat into the water without time to scream. You huff as the water splashes you, as eager as they are it was a pretty good deal you struck with the creatures, you get the valuables and they get dinner.

As you watch the merfolk fight over their thrashing meal you feel a tug on your sleeve. One of the creatures looks up at you from the surface with intrigue. You give them a questioning look and in response they bring themselves higher over the hull to rather boldly nuzzle at your neck.

You huff in amusement and waste no time grabbing their jaw and kissing their cold but soft lips, caressing their wet cheek with your warm hand. They croon at the warm touch and lick into your mouth.

Another one surfaces the water to place kisses on your neck with a few cheeky nibbles as they cling to your clothes to try and bring your body closer.

You fully indulge in the benefits of your agreement with these creatures as the water around you turns crimson.

꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷

Some more of this!

[edorazzi]

Page 56 of my Miraculous Mentor AU comic A Matter of Trust! In which the Butterfly's constructs are crumbling to pieces, and Ladybug might have to put the last Miraculous into the hands of the enemy... 😱🤲

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Weekly updates each Sunday! You can also read ahead early on Patreon, and/or buy me a Ko-fi if you'd like to support my work! 💖

[anghraine]

It's interesting (if often frustrating) to see the renewed Orc Discourse after the last few episodes of ROP. I've seen arguments that orcs have to be personifications of evil rather than people as such or else the ethics of our heroes' approach to them becomes much more fraught. Tolkien's work, as written, seems an odd choice to me for not wrangling with difficult questions, and of course, more diehard fans are going to immediately bring up Shagrat and Gorbag.

If you haven't read LOTR recently, Shagrat and Gorbag are two orcs who briefly have a conversation about how they're being screwed over by Sauron but have no other real options, about their opinions of mistakes that have been made, that they think Sauron himself has made one, but it's not safe to discuss because Sauron has spies in their own ranks. They reminisce about better times when they had more freedom and fantasize about a future when they can go elsewhere and set up a small-scale banditry operation rather than being involved in this huge-scale war. Eventually, however, they end up turning on each other.

Basically any time that someone brings up the "humanity" of this conversation, someone else will point out that they're still bad people. They're not at all guilty about what they're part of. They just resent the dangers to themselves, the pressure from above, failures of competence, the surveillance they're under, and their lack of realistic alternative options. The dream of another life mentioned in the conversation is still one of preying on innocent people, just on a much smaller and more immediate scale, etc.

I think this misses the reason it keeps getting brought up, though. The point is not that Shagrat and Gorbag are good people. The point is that they are people.

There's something very normal and recognizable about their resentment of their superiors, their fears of reprisal and betrayal that ultimately are realized, their dislike of this kind of industrial war machine that erases their individual work and contributions, the tinge of wistfulness in their hope of escape into a different kind of life. Their dialect is deliberately "common"—and there's a lot more to say about that and the fact that it's another commoner, Sam, who outwits them—but one of the main effects is to make them sound familiar and ordinary. And it's interesting that one of the points they specifically raise is that they're not going to get better treatment from "the good guys" so they can't defect, either.

This is self-interested, yes, but it's not the self-interest of some mystical being or spirit or whatnot, but of people.

Tolkien's later remarks tend to back this up. He said that female orcs do exist, but are rarely seen in the story because the characters only interact with the all-male warrior class of orcs. Whatever female orcs "do," it isn't going to war. Maybe they do a lot of the agricultural work that is apparently happening in distant parts of Mordor, maybe they are chiefly responsible for young orcs, maybe both and/or something else, we don't know. But we know they're out there and we know that they reproduce sexually and we know that they're not part of the orcish warrior class.

Regardless of all the problems with this, the idea that orcs have a gender-restricted warrior class at all and we're just not seeing any of their other classes because of where the story is set doesn't sound like automatons of evil. It sounds like an actual culture of people that we only see along the fringes.

And this whole matter of "but if they're people, we have to think about ethics, so they can't be people" is a weird circular argument that cannot account for what's in LOTR or for much of what Tolkien said afterwards. Yes, he struggled with The Problem of Orcs and how to reconcile it with his world building and his ethical system, but "maybe they're not people" is ultimately not a workable solution as far as LOTR goes and can't even account for much of the later evolution of his ideas, including explicit statements in his letters.

And in the end, the real response that comes to mind to that circular argument is "maybe you should think about ethics more."

[isakast]

Discover: Remade (New Work!!!)

I am ecstatic to share that I am working on a writing project that will be shared with the public! For a long time, I have been writing, but it has always been something personal to me, something I'm hesitant to share, my works are literally my children and for a while releasing them felt scary, but I have decided to embrace this now :)

Discover: Remade is a story centred around vampirism and addresses themes such as individuality Vs co-dependency (as well as how this can shift, and not just in romantic relations but familial and platonic too), moral corruption, superiority complexes, as well as a light grumpy x sunshine trope (although please be aware that this is NOT first and foremost a romance story, the romance is a part of it, but the story is more so the themes is represents and the questions around morality it raises).

Discover: Remade will include very dark material and graphic depictions of violence, the narration is inherently biased so please be cautioned about this. It may not be suitable to all audiences.

Soon I will share with you the main 6 characters the story is centred around, but for now, this is all. I am SO EXCITED to begin telling the world about this <3.

[cherrystonefemme]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64569322

[applesapplesappless]

a lot of people (at least on tiktok) try to make it out as if lights manipulation totally corrupted misa but she literally doesnt easily do things she doesnt wanna do even if he asks. she insists that they have dates every week and that he calls her despite the danger. she gets really whiny when he says they cant see each other or call often and she sees him in public multiple times even after being instructed not to because it would endanger the both of them because she simply felt like going to see him. and she threatened to kill any other girl she sees him with. she was also grateful to rem for threatening to kill light so hed let her stick around (for solely manipulative purposes ofc shed never kill light lmao)

the reason she so eagerly murders people for light isnt because his manipulation has totally consumed her and made her unable to protest against anything he asks. its because she literally doesnt care about murdering people lol which we see from the fact she murders people before even meeting him and offers to kill her innocent friend right after meeting him to his surprise because he hadnt even tried manipulating her yet.

[goldengirlgalaxy]

An Assassin Child and His Ghost Sword

For whatever reason, Danny has become a magical sword and been thrown through time and space, eventually landing in a completely different world far in the past.

In all honesty, being a magic sword isn't the worst thing ever, to the point he's basically using it as an extended vacation. Whenever he's alone he sleeps, whenever he has a wielder, he gives them advice and extra abilities and the like. If he gets bored in one area, he's able to move himself to another.

However, Danny ended up screwing up somewhere down the line. See, he has the ability to only work for those who are 'worthy' (basically a catch all term for the people Danny likes or can at the very least be civil with). If someone 'unworthy' picks him up, he'll curse them.

Unfortunately, after a long string of unworthy people, everyone now believes Danny is solely a cursed blade, his ability to bless others forgotten when he finally goes down in the history books.

Then when Danny finally come to the modern age, he ends up being found by one Damian Al Ghul.

Damian is all by himself for one reason or another (running from the League, disagreement with the Bats, etc.) when he finds Danny. And frankly, what kid wouldn't want a magical, talking sword that grants incredible powers, especially when you've been trained in how to actually wield them. He doesn't really have a plan, so he decides to just travel around trying to find a place he belongs.

Danny likes the kid and decides to look after him since he's all by himself. He helps the kid travel around the world, teaches him how the world works, helps him with any moral issues that being raised by assassins brings, etc.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world is wondering who this small, wandering child with the sword is.

[philosophybits]

Morals themselves remain subject to all sorts of corruption as long as we are without that clue and supreme norm by which to appraise them correctly.

Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

[weekdaysend]

The brain rot was tooo bad at work and I just had to draw them before my shift ended. They make me wanna hurl ♥️

[regaliaafterdark]

I'm scared, but also curious. What will happen if I let go?

It depends.

If you're strong-willed, you might get a little aroused. Perhaps you might cum once or twice and be able to control yourself. Perhaps you'd be able to come back before you ruin yourself. Before you become addicted.

But of course, you're not strong-willed. You're weak. Your mind is frail and easy to mold. You are simply... Helpless.

So what would happen if you let go?

You'd break. Your worth as a person would decrease over time. Your need to become a servant to lust would overcome your sense of morality and taint your purity.

Total moral degeneration.

Pure addiction to pleasure.

There'd be no going back. You would be ruined forever. You would become nothing but a slave to cock. An object meant to be used and abused to one's heart content.

It's dangerous to let go. That's why you should be careful while attending my class.

You never know what deep-seated, primal desire might awaken within you. What kind of depraved notion might cause you to rub yourself silly and shake your hips in desperation as you can't help but edge and cum to the thought of one dirty thing or another.

Oh, and to think it all started because you were curious.

If only you'd be able to go back in time and warn yourself.

If only to ensure sure you got corrupted way, way earlier.

🌹

[edorazzi]

Page 44 of my Miraculous Mentor AU comic A Matter of Trust! In which there's more than one kind of "true love", and Felix has a lot to say about Richard's declaration... 💜🧨

Index | Start | Prev | Next

Weekly updates each Sunday! You can also read ahead early on Patreon, and/or buy me a Ko-fi if you'd like to support my work! 💖