#do i have to bring you to a deprogrammer?

[gehayi]

Two goblin leaders down, one to go. Now if my Tav can just keep his party's fighter from killing the healer...

[cookinguptales]

veggiesforpresident said: wait whats up with irl cult deprogramming?

---------------------

*long sigh* 

Okay, to preface all this, here’s a massive content warning for pretty much everything you can think of. I’m happy to talk more about this subject, but it gets very heinous very fast.

The main issue with the actual IRL cult deprogramming movement was that it was headed up by fundie Christians, and they were the ones who were allowed to decide what constituted a cult and what measures were necessary to get someone out of one.

I think people have this mental image of a bunch of trained professionals using therapy to convince someone to not be in a cult anymore, but that’s... not what it was.

The fact of the matter is that cult deprogrammers used and abused laws designed to protect the mentally ill in order to strip healthy, able-bodied adults of their legal rights. Think about Britney Spears for a few minutes and you’ll start to see how this became very dangerous very fast.

Parents of adult children in New Religious Movements (NRMs, the less-loaded academic term for “cults”) would often lobby judges to have their children labeled as legally incompetent and incapable of making their own decisions so they could get them out of these groups. The problem was, the only evidence you really needed of your child’s “insanity” was that they’d joined the group to start with.

And people always imagine... you know, Jonestown. Children of God. Truly heinous, dangerous groups. But if we’ll all kindly remember the Satanic Panic, the fact of the matter was that anything non-mainstream conservative Christian could be considered a cult.

Sure, it’s imperative to get someone out of something like The Family. But like... what if your kid is just kind of a hippie? What if they’ve joined some kind of pseudo-Buddhist New Age group? What if they’ve joined a socialist club at their university? What if they’re just kinda goth?

What if they’re gay?

Once these adults were stripped of their legal rights, their parents could do pretty much anything to them. That usually involved hiring a deprogrammer. That deprogrammer would then literally kidnap them (I’m talking throwing people in vans) and then drive them to an isolated location. They would then do anything they could to “break” the person. The goal was to break them so they could then build them back up the “right” way -- in other words, using the exact same tactics as the most dangerous NRMs.

These were not trained professionals, mind. These weren’t social workers or something. These were just random assholes who had the stomach for it. We have records of brutal beatings. Tying people up and denying them food, water, and sleep for days. Extreme emotional and physical abuse. Rape.

The worst case I can think of is that of Stephanie Riethmiller. She was a 19-20yo woman who had distanced herself from her parents after she left home for college, for reasons which I think will become immediately apparent. Her parents believed it was because she’d entered into a lesbian relationship with her roommate and had been led astray. So they hired cult deprogrammers to “fix” her. Stephanie was maced and thrown into a van and driven to another state, where she was chained up, beaten, and “correctively raped” for five days straight. Her parents were there in the house and approved of all of it.

After Stephanie was released, she attempted to bring charges against her parents and the people who had abused her, but the courts basically argued that any means were necessary when it came to deprogramming a lesbian. Despite not denying what they did, all parties got away with it. No jail time was served. This happened in 1982 in my hometown of Hamilton County, Ohio. 🙃

Ted Patrick, the quintessential cult deprogrammer, was involved in all of this. He didn’t do this deprogramming himself, but when her parents reached out to him with thousands of dollars, he recommended the people who did, helped make arrangements, and was paid for it.

They made a Drunk History episode about him calling him a hero and I just about threw up.

I guess the thing about cult deprogramming is... again. Who’s deciding what is and isn’t a cult? Who’s deciding what “deprogramming” looks like? Who’s deciding how far you can legally go? Who’s deciding what “normal” is?

I’ll leave you with this. Think about Fox News. Think about these fucking Republicans getting all het up over ~your children~ going to college. Learning new things. Becoming socialists. Becoming atheists. Becoming “brainwashed” by the libs.

Think about all this rhetoric about “groomers”.

Then think about a court system that will allow your insane, weirdo QAnon parents that you’ve gone no contact with to track you down and “reverse” all that by any means necessary.

Think about how terrifying that concept is if you’re part of literally any marginalized group.

And that was just... the late 70s through early 90s. People were so whipped up by things like the Mansons in 1969 and Jonestown in 1978 and the Satanic Panic of the 80s that they would allow people to do anything if they said it was going to be protecting people from cults.

Anything.

And they did.

And that’s why I fully believe that, as dangerous as some NRMs truly are, as vile and abusive and life-ruining? Yeah. The deprogrammers were often just as bad.

[cloudoffilth]

Had tea at a coffee shop and wrote some garbage smut

I'm more of a tempter than a master. I can't force someone to do what they don't want to do. I don't give them powers I just light the spark of the potential that is already there. I just let them be the supervillain they were always meant to be.

I can't control someone not really. But safety, love, sex, power, self-harm these are all things people already want. I only just let the urges out. And people can be very creative.

I wasn't the one who told the guard to call me mommy. And if I gave baby a hug and asked him to do a little favor for mommy I wasn't the one who told him to take people hostage. Baby's idea of a distraction was all his own.

My long time pet X came up with the plan for the heist. I'm affronted they keep calling her a slave. That's not really my kink. And picking locks and espionage was all X`s practice. I just inspired her.

They call it a cult. I think of myself as a deprogrammer. I care for them and they care for me. I have no part in their acts afterwards.

I used to be less guarded. How could I not bring such adorable pets back home with me? I have too many friends, old lovers and broken hearts for me to be so reckless now.

A pity one of my bolder students had to show up in the middle of a job. Y, an old flame of mine who had gone on to greater things than myself. Y was never one for modesty.

I may have a talent for spotting hidden abilities. But such power as Y's was never going to be hidden for long. Y had burned his old identity. I only helped.

Fire engulfed the building. We had not parted on good terms.

I curse and run "Fucking hell Y." "Always fucking overkill." "Such a fucking drama lama Y."

I trip over bodies to get outside "Buggery" "Fucking queen"

Outside my pet, X, was already there.

"Can't you I don't know inspire more people?"

I reply "Do you want more chaos?"

My powers are unreliable. Give people freedom and they take it. Some take it all the way. Some sights change a woman.

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Split Image (Kotcheff, 1982)

The first half or so of this movie is about the protagonist getting brainwashed by a cult. Being set in the early '80s, this is likely inspired by Jonestown and the like, so the cult here is, on the surface, one of those hippie, drippy peace, love and good vibes cults, as opposed to one of those cults where they do weird sex stuff. These guys are jerking each other off figuratively, with praise and what have you, as opposed to literally. If anything, they have a strong anti-jerking-off stance, as the protagonist learns one fateful night ("You'll make a prostitute of yourself").

To be honest, maybe it's because I find hippie types kind of insufferable and maybe because Michael O'Keefe, who plays the protagonist, isn't the greatest actor, but I did not find this fully conveyed how one could be seduced into a cult. I will say that Peter Fonda, despite being my least favourite Fonda, is well cast as the cult leader, and despite the TV movie vibe that others have fairly cited, Ted Kotcheff's decision to shoot this in 'Scope makes the commune look appropriately idyllic. It also helps that O'Keefe is recruited into the cult by none other than Karen Allen, whose freckled face and wide blue eyes positively glow in closeup, so maybe I do get why he joined the cult.

Karen Allen thirst aside, this really picks up in the second half when O'Keefe gets kidnapped and subjected to a deprogramming regime by a specialist hired by his family. Kotcheff piles on the audiovisual trickery: layered audio to suggest his brainwashing battling with his immediate reality, and distorted wide angle Cult-o-vision to show how warped his mind has become. The latter means that this is one movie you can get your relatives who haven't fixed their TV settings and watch Academy ratio stuff stretched out.

But really this works because the deprogrammer is played by none other than James Woods, bringing the full weight of his scumbag swagger to the role, announcing within moments of meeting the family that he lives "in a pisshole", calling the hero's college "one big fuck farm" and saying a whole bunch of other stuff unfit for polite conversation. His sleazy little mustache is just the cherry on top of the scumbag sundae. Nietszche said something about becoming the monster you're fighting, and Woods employs tactics arguably as abusive as the cult as he spits, shouts, slaps, loogies on and sets fire to a picture of Peter Fonda, and repeatedly slaps the father played by Brian Dennehy until O'Keefe is free of their shackles. I don't know if this is "good" drama or even effective deprogramming, but it's tremendously entertaining, and that's what counts.

To be perfectly honest, Woods' character seems more like the modern version of a cult member or leader than Fonda's, but I cannot hold our present realities against a forty-plus year old movie. I'm mostly just disappointed that we didn't get more movies with this character, maybe a sequel where he has to deprogram his character from The Boost from the cult of cocaine, shot in a locked room with crazy splitscreen effects. Split Image II: White Lines, coming to a theatre near you. Or maybe one where he deprograms the ultimate cult member: real life present day James Woods. Hey-o, there's a topical joke for you.

[queenbrightwhitly]

Trust You (Pt 5)

Everyone stopped and looked at Vosler, even Malcolm. I walked past JT, taking a hold of Malcolms arm I started to pull him back. “Malcolm,” he looked down at me. “Come with me.” Slipping my hand into Malcolms I could feel his grip tighten. 

Pulling him along we walked away from the others. I took him to the roof, making sure he stayed close behind me. His hand was shaking again, I knew he was upset but his out burst at Vosler could mess with the investigation and we didn’t need that right now. 

Once the rooftop door closed behind us I let go of Malcolms hand. “You okay? “

“No! Why did you bring me up here?” Malcolm walked past and in front of me, pacing now as he became more frustrated. “I know hes lying about Andi.”

“Malcolm you can’t just yell out like that at a possible suspect, okay? Look we are doing what we can, and we will find Andi-”

“Right, because bringing me up to the rooftop is going to help with that!” He shook his head in disbelief, his hands were running though his hair.

“Look at you! You’re aggressive, emotional, you’re not in your right head space right now.” I looked down to his still shaking hand, he was still angry. 

“How would you know what my right head space is? I’m fine, I just need to go downstairs and-” 

“Do you really think Gil is going to let you near Vosler right now? I know you trust that JT, Dani, and Gil will take care of him. Stay up here, clear your head.” I watched as he kept pacing back and forth, his mind was racing with a million thoughts and his hand hadn’t let up even a little bit. “Look, I’m going to head back downstairs, but please promise me you’ll take a moment to try and clear some of those million thoughts, okay?” I smiled gently, hoping that would be enough for now. Turning around, I reached for the door. 

“I really do trust you Y/n, and I wanna talk about the other day. I know now is not the time, but I can’t help but think you’re starting to doubt... us.” 

I froze with my hand on the handle. I didn’t want Malcolm to think I doubted our relationship, I was just so frustrated that he continued to put his life at risk without a thought to those who loved him. He is worth so much more then he gives himself credit for. I turned around ready to tell him this but my phone started buzzing, I looked down and saw it was Dani texting me. 

“Go.” Malcolm looked down to my phone. “It’s probably important, I promise I’ll take a couple minutes up here.” 

I nodded, putting my phone back I looked back over to him. “I promise we will talk after this case is over.”

(cut to )

“Have you ever thought that due to Malcolms trauma as a child, his father being a killer, would make you feel unsafe with him or perhaps unstable to work on any case?”

I nodded. “Malcolm believes his upbringing from his father being a killer has made him understand serial killers in a different way. As far as I can tell, it has proven to be helpful, and I don’t think Malcolm would do anything on purpose to put the team at risk.” 

“You still believe this after the stunt he pulled the other day?” He looked up. 

“What Malcolm did was stupid and reckless but he didn’t hurt anyone. I don’t think that was his intention.” I leaned back in my chair, keeping myself defensive. 

“I see, so tell me, what happened with the case next?”

“Well..”

(cut to)

Gil and Malcolm had brought Jessica in for a little help on a deprogrammer. Since I hadn’t seen Jessica since the hospital, I thought I would make myself known. 

Malcolm said she had a plan to have a meeting with every deprogrammer in New York City and if I wanted to I could come and observe her with him though every meeting she had. Malcolm and I portrayed ourselves as the house help, serving tea, getting small snacks, keeping on the down low as Jessica chatted her way though these meetings.

“My cousin Ariana was recruited by the Moonies in the 80s. Ugh. We had a hell of a time getting her out, but as they say, forgive, love, unite.” That last part Jessica said she was looking right at me. Sending a wink my way she continued. Malcolm seemed to notice. 

The next few went by as normal, up until one lady. “She gave that boy everything she had, and he joins a cult? I mean, how hard is it to accept a trust fund, settle down, and pop out a few grandchildren?” Jessica glanced at Malcolm, seeming like she was talking about him. He managed to keep a straight face but I cracked a smile, lucky I was standing behind the women chair so she couldn’t see my face.

One guy had caught Malcolms eye, he thought this guy was who we were looking for. As soon as Malcolm walked the guy out, Jessica came right beside me. 

“Oh, Y/n, how have you been? You look as wonderful as ever. Tell me, whatever stupid thing my son did this time, I promise to take care of you if you ever need anything. We always have a spare room with your name on it.” She was as chipper as ever, her voice a sweet but still dominating sound.

“Thank you, Jessica. I think Malcolm and I just need to talk somethings out, but after the case.” I smiled at her, however her face fell and she rolled her eyes. 

“You and my son, always with the case comes first, you two are so perfect for each other. I’m not just saying that because I like you ether.” Jessica poured herself a drink and went back to her room. I sighed, I was sure that was something Malcolm would say. 

Once back at the station JT, Gil, Malcolm and I had Mr. Marsh in questioning, however... it wasn’t exactly going well. 

“You got nothing.” Marsh glared at Gil.

“We got your boots. They’re a match to the prints we found at the crime scene. Thats enough to hold you for 24 hours.”

“Tell us where Andi is.” Malcolm spoke up. 

Marsh slammed his hand on the table. JT snapped his fingers. “Easy.” He said, leaning over him. 

“Should’ve known this was a setup. How’d you find me?” Marsh asked, taking a bottle out and popping several pills before throwing it in the trash behind him. 

“You come highly recommended.” Gil said. 

“Because I get results.” 

“Results like murder?” JT spoke up. “Tristan Johnson left Vosler. He didn’t need your help getting out.”

“Everyone needs a little help from time to time. Thats the job.” Marsh stated.

“But this job was tougher then usual.” Malcolm started to walk towards Marsh. I watched him closely, taking a step forward myself to keep an arms length. “That big, important client wanted Andi back, and you couldn’t deliver. You needed to get to Andi, so you tortured Tristan.”

“But then something went wrong.” Gil cut in. “You lost control, you strangled him. Next thing you knew, Tristan was dead.”

“What kind of a deprogrammer allows himself to lose control?” Malcolm asked.

(Cut to)

“Bright didn’t believe the case was closed?”

I shook my head. “He was convinced Marsh was working for someone else.”

“Which is what led to the incident?” The doctor asked.

“I’d been worried about Malcolm all day. Now...now I was scared.” I looked away from the Dr, anywhere but his eyes. I made sure of that.

“Y/n, what happened? Right before the incident?”

(cut to)

I had just walked out the bathroom when I heard Malcolm and Gil talking, Malcolm sounded upset. Looking around the corner, I strolled a bit slowly forward to try and catch what they were saying, keeping my eyes from them to a case file I randomly picked up.

“I’ve been working this case!” Malcolm threw his pen down frustrated. 

Gil leaned down, setting his hands on Malcolms desk. “I brought you onto the team because you’re the best at what you do, Bright, but not when you get like this. 

“Like this?” Malcolm repeated. “I’m “like this” because of Martin Whitly, because of John Watkins, because of you.” 

Gil stood there for a second, he looked taken back. “What?”

“You asked for my help. You knew I couldn’t say no, and you brought them all back into my life. You did that. You started this.” Malcolm leaned back in his chair, letting out a deep sigh. 

My heart broke at the sight of Gils face. I knew Malcolm was hurting, but to take it out on Gil like this cut deeply. 

“Get the hell out of my precinct.” Gil said, turning around and walking straight  to his office. 

“Gil, no” Malcolm called out, following behind him. Gil didn’t turn around, instead he slammed the door to his office. Malcolm stood there, letting out a deep breath, he hung his head. 

I sighed, setting down the folder I was holding I looked back to Malcolm. He looked panicked now, his face looking in all directions. I watched as he suddenly sprinted his way to the investigation office. “Malcolm!” I called out, but he slammed the door behind him. 

I ran to the door, trying to open it, but it was locked. “Malcolm!” I banged on the door. “Malcolm, open this door!” I leaned my head against it to try and listen but all I could hear was rustling from inside. “Malcolm!” I tried again, still nothing. I looked behind me to see if anybody was around. When I saw it was clear, I whispered against the door. “Malcolm, Baby. Please.” All of a sudden the power shortened and the precinct was dark. 

(cut to main storyline)

Everyone was waiting, Malcolm was almost done with his interview, they had the Doctor cornered. Then just like that everyone walked in front of the window, to show him they got him, ready to arrest him. He looked shocked, seeing not only JT, Dani, and Gil and I but a few other officers standing behind us. As soon as we hear Malcolm tell the doctor he was under arrest, we knew the case was closed. 

“I’m impressed. Nothing gets past you Malcolm. One last question? Did you see this?” All of a sudden the Doctor pulled out a gun, holding it in Malcolms face. Everyone pulled out their guns, Gil yelled out something but you couldn’t make it out. You were too focused on Malcolm, the panic setting in as you watched the doctor continue to aim the gun at him. 

“Drop it, now!” Dani yelled.

“We will shoot you!” JT shouted right after. 

“Get me a hostage negotiator down here right now! Have a bus standing by!” Gil called out.

I looked from outside the window, watching Malcolm continue to talk to the doctor. I could see his hand shaking with the gun, he was starting to look panicked now. Malcolm must have said something to make him upset, all of a sudden the doctor yelled out stop, causing Gil to flinch. 

I knew Malcolm had a plan, he always did. No matter how stupid or reckless, I knew he would think of something. Just then I saw Malcolms hand move, he reached for the shock device and jabbed the doctor with it in the chest, causing him to fly back and hit the ground. 

JT and Dani went though the door first, Gil was following me close behind. I ran to Malcolm, forcing him to look at me, I checked his head, his shoulders, his chest, anywhere to find something. Eventually he took a hold of my hands and held them to his chest to keep them from moving, looking at me he sighed. “I’m okay. Not a scratch.” 

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding, pulling Malcolm to me, I wrapped my arms around his chest, letting myself hear his heartbeat. I felt him move his good hand to the back of my head, messing with my hair to try and calm me down. 

“He’s alive.” JT spoke up. 

I pulled myself from Malcolm, almost forgetting where we were. I didn’t really wanna detach myself from him. Malcolm must have sensed this, since he took a step behind me, blocking his hand from view, he gently started rubbing circles on my back. 

“Wheres Andi?” JT asked Malcolm. 

“He didn’t give a location. Damn it.” Malcolm said annoyed. 

“You were with him the whole day. He must’ve let something slip.” Gil said. 

“He removed the case boards to make a safe space. He’d want the same for Andi.” Malcolm stated. 

JT nodded. “Someplace remote, hidden.”

Andi reminded him of his daughter.” Dani reminded. 

“Lilly.” Malcolm said. “It was in his story. The last place they were happy: the cottage!” Malcolm shouted out. 

“Sunken Meadow Beach. Go! Now!” Gil yelled out. 

JT broke open the door. “Police!”

Going around the house, the four of us came across a small bedroom. Once you were inside, meet with a women with dark hair tied to a small bed. Malcolm ran straight to her. 

“Andi... Andi, it’s me. You’re gonna be okay.” Malcolm reassured her. Andi, looked relived, but then she started crying. Malcolm pulled her to him, holding her as she sobbed. 

The next day I was supposed to go meet with Malcolm at his apartment to talk. Gil was currently there, I could only assume to discuss the case or even the whole blackout at the precinct. I had used the secret key that Jessica hides to get inside. Walking up the stairs, I found myself starting to hear voices, before I opened the door, I stopped myself once I heard Gil say my name. 

“Are you okay?” Gil asked. “You freaked out Y/n pretty good.” 

“I’m f-” Malcolm stopped himself. “No. I don’t think I am.” 

“You would’ve gone through with it, wouldn’t you?” Gil asked. “If you hadn’t found that pill bottle...you would have shocked yourself.”

Malcolm sighed deeply. “I’m not sure.”

“Okay.” Gil said. I heard him set his cup down and footsteps move to the door a bit. 

“Wait. How is that okay?” Malcolm asked, chuckling nervously. 

“It’s not. But you know you’re not okay, so...that makes it okay.” Gil stated.

“I’m not exactly following.” Malcolm said. 

“You need a vacation. Someplace with a beach.” I heard Malcolm sigh. “I know it’s not easy for you to slow down, Malcolm, but I want you to try. Go hop on a yacht or a helicopter or whatever else they’re doing on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”

Malcolm laughed. “Thats... thats totally not a show anymore.”

“Thats a shame.” 

Malcolm chuckled again. It was so nice to hear him laugh this much, Gil really knew what he was doing. 

“I don’t wanna see you around the precinct for two weeks, you hear me?” Gil stated.

“Loud and clear. Malcolm responded. 

“Maybe take Y/n with you, I’m sure she could use a break having to worry if you are going to be alive the next day or not. Sometimes I think she likes being there as much as you do.” Gil joked. 

“Yeah, thats not such a bad idea.” Malcolm said. “Hey Gil. I was wrong. It’s not because of you. I’m sorry.”

“I know, kid... I know.” 

I heard Gil get closer to the door, opening it he looked down at me and smiled. Shutting the door behind him he took a step towards me. 

“Hey.” He said. 

“Hi. How is he?” I asked.

Gil sighed. “He’s not okay, but now he knows it. So, I guess thats a start.”

I nodded, making my way up the stairs, before I touched the door I felt Gil grip my arm. I looked down at him, waiting for him to speak. 

“You help him, Y/n. I know sometimes it may seem like he’s losing it, but when you’re with him... he almost acts-”

“Let me guess, normal?” I chuckled a bit. 

“Complete.”

I stopped myself, staring at Gil for a moment. “Complete?”

Gil nodded. “He thinks he can only cope his trauma with cases, but I think he has yet to realize that he has been slowly getting better when he’s around you. I don’t know what it is, but being with you is probably the most sane and happy i’ve ever seen him, and he doesn’t even have to try.” At that, Gil left me to be by myself. 

It took me a moment to gain all my thoughts, but when I did I opened the door to Malcolms apartment, shutting the door behind me. When I walked inside I slipped off my shoes, looking around for Malcolm. I spotted him on the couch, his back was to me and it didn’t seem like he noticed I was there. 

“I know you’re there.” Malcolm said. I was about to say something thinking he was talking to me but he continued to speak. “I get it. You’re a manifestation of my subconscious.” Now I knew, he wasn’t talking to me. “It’s all so devastating.” Malcolm looked over to his right, as if he was talking to someone on the couch, but nothing was there. 

“He tired to kill us.” Malcolm spoke again. All of a sudden Sunshine came and flew and landed on Malcolms cast, chirping softly. “I’m a civilian now Sunshine. We’re gonna have lots of time together.” He sighed out. “Just you, me and...” He looked to his right again, but whatever he saw before must have been gone now. “We’re gonna be okay.”

I smiled sadly. This was so hard for him. He had everything crashing down on him at once. But what did he mean, he tried to kill us? He couldn’t possibly mean John Watkins? Maybe someone else? I would ask him later but for now I thought I should make my presence known.

I walked towards the couch. “Mind if I join you two?”

Malcolm turned around smiling at me, he motioned for me to come sit. I made my way over, seating myself next to him, turning my body so I could face him completely, crossing my legs.

“You look comfy. Not very often I see you without the tie.” I brought my hand to the coller of his gray sweater, it was soft and fuzzy, very nice fabric.

Malcolm took my hand in his. Bringing it up to his face he kissed my knuckles, brushing his thumb on top. “I’m sorry, I scared you... Twice, actually.”

“Twice?”

“Once with the doctor and his gun and then...” He stopped himself, thinking back on his stunt he almost pulled. “ I heard you. Calling for me I mean. I could tell you were worried.”

“I was beyond worried, Malcolm. I was scared, I had never seen you and Gil argue like that before, and then to find out you did a shock treatment? What exactly where you trying to forget?” I gripped his hand tighter. His eyes looked at me sadly. He was so tired.

“John Watkins told me something about Dr. Whitly. I just keep thinking about it, and then I start hallucinating-“

“At the crime scene and at the precinct. You had that look in your eye, almost the same look you get you wake from one of your nightmares.” I nodded understanding. “You’re seeing things when you’re awake now.”

“Y/n, darling.” Malcolm sighed, leaning his head down on my shoulder. “I should have never said your feelings don’t matter, that anybody who cares about me doesn’t matter. I just- I can’t stand the thought of more people dying because of me. I trust you. I trust everyone on the team, and I know I need to work on keeping things from you all, I promise I will. I just-“

I didn’t really need to hear anymore. Grabbing Malcolms face I made him look up at me. I pecked his nose lightly before kissing him fully. He moved his arm to go behind my back, pulling my body towards him the only thing I could do was get on top of him.

I moved my leg to the other side of him, resting between the arm of the couch and his waist. I was straddling him now, feeling his hand draw light circles on my back. He pulled back, to which I protested. He just laughed, moving his hand from my back to my face, pushing some little hair that fell in my face behind my ear. “God, you’re beautiful.”

I groaned out, feeling my face getting warm from his staring. Malcolm had some of the most beautiful eyes I had ever scene, but when he looked at me a certain way with them. I was lost.

Hiding my face in his neck I refused to let him do this. I felt Malcolm body shake from laughing at my embarrassment. He moved his neck to kiss the top of my head, he wrapped his arms around me in a hug.

“Hey.” I said looking up at him. “I trust you, completely. I have absolutely no doubt about you. I love you.”

Malcolm smiled at me, kissing my forehead he looked back down. “I trust you, completely. I have absolutely no doubt that I love you. Thank you, for putting up with me.”

“We will see how I feel next week depending on how many times you almost get yourself killed.” Holding on to him tighter, I tucked myself back in.

“Heh, sure. Next week.”

[posttexasstressdisorder]

What will “Post-Trump America” look like?

Or, more accurately, a “Post-Trump World”.  There is going to be a dramatic shift happening, I think, and it is not going to be confined to the US.  I see a world-wide phenomenon where tyrants and petty tyrants will no longer be tolerated (see what’s happening in Thailand right now?  It’s going on all over the world).  Petty tyrants like trump and Duterte will no longer be propped-up by “dark money”.  A global takedown of transnational organized crime of epic proportions is about to occur.

There will be arrests and tribunals at The Hague.  Trump and his enablers will all be on trial for Crimes Against Humanity, after they have been tried for High Treason here.  All televised.

And mentioning “dark” money leads us directly to the Oligarchs: the Billionaires and Religious Zealot Billionaire Dominionists (Koch Bros, Mercers, Devos/Prince, etc).  I believe we will see this evil global Oligarchy demolished over the next few years.  Redistribution of their ill-gotten wealth, restructuring of society itself, by eliminating poverty, hunger, and homelessness altogether.

One thing I would love to see is that all of Trump’s properties be seized, and turned into Veterans’ facilities and free public housing for the homeless.  All his “resorts” should be turned into Veterans’ physical and psychological rehab hospitals. 

Other empty properties, held empty by greed, will be opened to families who need homes, each according to their need.  Other empty “institutional” properties will become schools and libraries, trade schools, and specialized education facilities.

I see the complete and total death of “Conservatism” and “Religious Zealotry”, now that both have been exposed as evil in such a macabre way.  I see a return to an “Age of Reason”, a resurgence of INTELLIGENCE that will wipe out the Willful Ignorance required by religion.  Schools will once again teach science, as they did in the ‘60s and ‘70s...before The Great Dumbing Down began in 1980 with Reagan.

And that brings to mind “Suppressed Technologies”...advancements that have been hidden by those in control.  There have been many scientists killed after discovering great things, and their discoveries quickly covered up and buried...I think some of these things will help in re-structuring how we think about society.  I think of Nikola Tesla’s ideas, perhaps being finally embraced once the deathgrip of greed where “energy” is concerned is loosened, and electricity becomes free.  

I see finally, a return to a more “aware” sense of civility, but not without a lot of hard work.  There will have to be deprogrammers, and deprogramming facilities to rid the nation of Trump Stench, as well as expanded Mental Health facilities, which is one of the vile things that Reagan did:  he destroyed all the mental hospitals and facilities, and those too mentally ill to “fit” suddenly ended up on the streets, exacerbating an already burgeoning homelessness problem.

A purge of all law enforcement of racists violent sadistic cops.  Complete destruction of “police unions” (coverup and enabling organizations...not real unions), and institution of a 4-year minimum training for ANY new cop.  A complete re-tooling of the concept of policing, based on the Scandinavian countries’ successful design, but adapted for our uniquely American needs.

We stand on the cusp of Something Completely Different, if we so choose.  The choices we, as a People, as a Nation, make over the next few years will shape what that is going to look like.  The old adage of “Star Trek Future” is finally in the realm of possibility.

These next few years are going to be intense, we can’t kid ourselves.  There is going to be a lot of pockets of trumpism that will have to be rooted out.  We think we’re tired now, but there is much to do, and there is going to be much to do.  Rebuilding and rethinking infrastructure.  Finally addressing Climate Change.  Water safety.  ELIMINATE “for profit” water and utilities.  (Try that evil head of Nestle who says water isn’t a human right for Crimes Against Humanity, too!)

“You may saaaay, I’m a dreamer...but I’m not the only one...”

Forty years after they killed him, John Lennon still sings Truth to Power.

What’s your take on “The Post-Trump Era”?

[soulvomit]

I really struggle with all discourse about children’s works, but ESPECIALLY The Giving Tree. It’s like having an opinion about a culture you weren’t raised in and ALL you can ever have is an outsider view.

One of the reasons I’m struggling with Giving Tree Discourse has to do with the way I was raised with regard to children’s works. In my own house - the assumption would have been that any books that are ambiguous, that bring up lots of different feelings for lots of different people, would be discussed, and the feelings that they brought up, would be discussed. And this was just assumed to be... all books? I was taught early that EVERYTHING is Your Mileage May Vary? My parents were actually aggressive deprogrammers when it came to messages that I took away from media. Mainstream media often made me feel shitty, ESPECIALLY because of legacy 50s programming on network tv, and because of 80s programming about Perfect Happy Families. My parents were *always* pointing out that stuff I read about or watched, wasn’t real life... from day one. Also, partially due to atheist upbringing, there are very few instances in which I experienced any one book being forced on me as any kind of required foundational pedagogy. There is NO book that I was required to read. (Part of this is that I loved to read so much that I just read a lot of stuff on my own. I did not really get into fiction until my vocabulary and reading abilities caught up to classic fiction and adult works, and my adult figures’ whole focus of teaching me how to read was about getting me up to speed to at least read Steinbeck. Children’s literature *only existed for purposes of teaching reading and grammar* and wasn’t an end to itself, and was supposed to be a temporary, transitory phase until my reading skills got better.)  For whatever reason - The Giving Tree is a book that neither upset me, nor particularly appealed to me. It’s not my favorite Silverstein work by a long shot. The one that always spoke to me? Powerfully? The Missing Piece. (I don’t have much experience with Silverstein being rammed down my throat or spoonfed to me, in any case. NO BOOK WAS.)

Like a lot of children’s books, I was neutral on The Giving Tree. There are a whole lot of semi-contemporary kids’ works (as in, written in the 1960s-70s) that just totally missed me. 

And I didn’t really come to appreciate Shel Silverstein’s broader oeuvre until adulthood.  The only thing I was ever given anything resembling “classical pedagogy” on, was math, because it’s the one thing I wouldn’t study on my own. I was basically encouraged to just study whatever I wanted and if I had a particular interest, my parents got me books on it (that were often above my grade level) and encouraged me to read them and ask questions, and they taught me early on to look up words I didn’t know. Almost all of the books that I liked reading were for older kids (and later, adults). I was actually exposed to classic fantasy work and Grimm’s Fairy Tales before any of the Bowdlerized versions. Because of my limited contact with other children, I just didn’t even know that other kids weren’t being raised in the same world that I was raised in, or reading any of the same material. I only knew that I was different from other kids in ways that made their parents uncomfortable. 

My parents were very, very specifically opposed to certain things that are in standard public school pedagogy, and felt that those things destroy children’s minds. Somehow my household managed to not rear me on 20th century children’s material almost at all and barely even any postwar or later 20th century adult fiction (before my dad got me into sci fi). Somehow fairy tales seemed to just... miss me. They weren’t interesting especially because I KNEW they were Bowdlerized, and my parents didn’t push me to read stuff I wasn’t interested in. (But I liked Disney movies for the drama, the songs, and the fancy dresses.)  My parents' thing was to let me read whatever I wanted - they simply wouldn’t keep books in the house that they didn’t want me to read - and to make themselves available to any questions I had.

My schooling experience is weird, too. When I was in school (before middle school, because I WANTED to go to middle school), it wasn’t with a lot of consistency, so - whatever social noise was going on between teachers and students, *shrug.* Lots of it missed me. My parents provided a lot of buffer between what was going on at school, and my home life. Anything that got discussed in school, was being countered by my parents’ own programming. So... The thing with books like The Giving Tree is that I’m not used to them being *taught out of.* This is not how my parents used fiction books, and I wasn’t in very many environments consistently enough for the schools to do that, either. I’m not used to any particular book being forced on me as a training manual. That was my parents’ job and their job only and that was a rule in my house. They didn’t rely on media to teach me sharing, that was *their job* and it wasn’t via abstract “let’s have a lesson about sharing.” (Very few things were “lessons” or taught “school style” that weren’t specific academic topics. My parents were into reinforcement and modeling.) Sharing is something that was modeled at the dinner table, for example. Also my mom is a hardcore rationer, and my family was poor for the first half of my childhood, so my understanding of sharing was rooted in pragmatic sharing of resources, as opposed to kids sharing their toys. I was even raised *not to eat in public* because it was rude to eat in front of people if you weren’t sharing your food.  And I really feel that a lot of The Discourse around kids’ media comes from the broader culture and its institutions, relying upon mass media to model for kids what parents and schools are no longer able to model. This is the framework everyone is approaching this book from - not as a book on its own merits, but pro-con in terms of its use as an instrument of pedagogy and social modeling that is totally alien to how I was raised to approach any book. They wanted me to question everything I read. I was actually much more reinforced to read science and history material.  Another thing is that as an advanced reader, I didn’t enjoy reading children’s work, and came to despise children’s media BECAUSE of the overbearing modeling in it. It was transparent to me and put me right off, and... lots is aimed at middle class WASP kids’ life experiences, in ways that most people don’t realize. (Sometimes I feel like a lot of standard pedagogy, and standard American kids’ writing, is about SLOWING KIDS DOWN and rationing the amount of information they have access to.) And I’ll say that class is actually a big issue. I lived in a poor urban area and was an advanced reader, so the material dangers presented in a 19th century or early 20th century work were actually more relatable to my real world. I FUCKING HATED POSTWAR PERFECT HAPPY FAMILIES CRAP. My family was weird as fuck, and lots of my family was poor as fuck, and all of us were dysfunctional as fuck. This meant I found mainstream shit TOTALLY ALIENATING AND OTHERING and it only reinforced to me how abnormal my family was. (In fact, I didn’t come to discover how normal we really were for a long time... that most families are “dysfunctional” - and that what’s being measured as “normal” is 100% specific to the propagandized optic of middle class white Christian families.) Mainstream children’s work only made me feel bad about my family and about myself, and I started shunning practically anything that other kids were into, or even discussing. Mainstream kids’ works made me feel suicidal, whereas adult works made my imagination soar. (The irony is that Shel Silverstein is one of the few writers that I actually felt *got* me on some level. I think there is a way in which I picked up on the author’s own “otherness” and connected it to my own.)

This is a case where my background is so different from most people’s that even approaching this discourse, is like trying to discuss specific American problems from the inside, when you were raised outside and have no idea what half of the discussions even are. And when I discuss the kids’ books that people are talking about, it’s not even possible for me to come at it from the viewpoint other people do, because that’s not the way ANY book was ever presented to me... and furthermore, my parents felt that it’s parents’ job to teach their children and model social behavior to them, not schools’. 

I am just so outside of this discourse that I don’t even know how to approach it.  I also don’t know how I feel about the fact that many people are being traumatized by his work because they were forced to read it as Christian-reared children who took different messages away from it than I took, as a secular Jew reading a secular Jew’s work. That makes me have really strong feelings about removing his work, tbh. I don’t know how to feel about this at all. Is there a way that we have to write for children who are Christian-reared, because they will parse some things traumatically? Where does this leave Jewish writers, or outsider writers? Do only specific people get to write for children?  This. is. so. complicated.

[epicstuckyficrecs]

Weekly recap | July 29th-August 4th

Here’s what I read in the last week! 💙 

You can find my other Weekly Recaps here!

~

Complete

This Has Already Happened by Mollyamory (Molly), Speranza/ @cesperanza (canon divergence | 8K | Not rated): "There are absolutely no circumstances in which I give the Time Stone to you," the Wizard gasps. "None. Nada. Zip. Choke on that, you sonofabitch."

Not Broken, Just Bent by amethystkrystal/ @amethystkrystal, goodmanperfectsoldier (ABO AU | 3K | Teen): Steve teaches a prenatal yoga class, and though he has a soft spot for all his students, he can't help being especially drawn to Bucky Barnes, the soft-spoken — and unmated — omega who just joined the studio.

💙 Ill With Want by thedoubteriswise/ @thedoubteriswise (Pre-war | 27K | Mature): Bucky pretends to be asleep when Steve crawls into bed, too tired to feel guilty over the quivery pleasure that settles in his belly when Steve’s arm brushes his. Bucky doesn’t move him. He drifts to sleep in a comfortable haze and tries not to wonder where this feeling was two hours ago when he had Marie in his lap.

💙 you are the future (series) by greyhavensking/ @greyhavensking (canon divergent, post-Avengers | 6 works, series marked not complete | 33K | Teen): Sweat trickles down from his hairline into his eyes and he irritably swipes it away, a little convinced that the gesture will also serve to wipe away what he’s seeing. But no, that’s definitely a man -- at least judging by the breadth of his shoulders and general body shape -- single-handedly facing off against a trio of enraged aliens.

It's possible that he wants you too by belovedmuerto/ @belovedmuerto (Post-WS | 4K | Teen): “Bucky kissed me this morning,” Steve says, not quite believing the words even as they’re coming out of his mouth. “Wait,” Sam replies. “Back up.”

14-Inch Cock and a Few Hundred Bimbos by verzacefatale/ @verzacefatale (PWP | 3K | Explicit): There are some things in life, Steve muses as he stares down at his crotch, that nothing can prepare you for. Sure, becoming a super soldier was, at the time, the most wild thing he could think of, and sure, his tolerance for ridiculous, catastrophic and immeasurably weird situations has very much grown since then, but this? His dick suddenly growing six inches in length and another two in girth, just because he opened a box in a Hydra dug out that maybe he should have read the instructions on before he did? How was he to know it was literally magic that would make his cock grow huge? 

Hic sunt dracones by stevergrsno (noxlunate)/ @stevergrsno (Medieval Fantasy, Dragon Steve | 5K | Teen): There are stories: Stories of knights and the dragons they slayed. Stories of princes who conquered the great fire-breathing beasts terrorizing their kingdoms. Stories of how they saved their lands and won the hand of fair princesses in battle. This is not one of those stories. At least not in the strictest sense.

To Eat from the Tree by AidaRonan (30′s AU | 6K | Explicit): There is a story they tell in Collinwood, NY. A story of two priests-in-training who fell off the path of righteousness and into each other.

💙 As long as I have a face, you'll always have somewhere to sit by Avaaricious (Modern AU, meet-cute | 5K | Mature): AKA the "My friends bet that I couldn't pick up someone using the worst lines I know, but I actually like you and don't want to screw up" AU

Proud by dixons_mama (TFA | 2K | Teen): While trapped in Azzano, Bucky accidentally confesses to Steve that he loves him. Bucky is sure this will be the end of their friendship.

WIP

Solitary by exclamation/ @jessicameats (Canon divergent | 35/? | 87K | Mature): The Winter Soldier has been a prisoner of SHIELD for about a year and a half, placed in solitary confinement under strict security when it was clear he wasn’t going to respond to the best interrogators and deprogrammers SHIELD had available. When Fury asks a newly awakened Steve Rogers to assist, Steve is hesitant. He doesn’t understand why Fury thinks he would have a better chance of getting through to this guy than all the people who have tried and failed.

💙 This Side of the Blue by notlucy/ @notlucy (Mermaid AU | 23/44 | 83K | Explicit): Tucked against a set of crumbling, stone steps was a tank made of metal and glass, filled to the brim with greenish water, distorted sunlight filtering through and casting strange shadows. Playing tricks on the eye. A trick was the only explanation for what Steve saw floating there. This figment of his childhood. This myth. This legend. Within the tank, the siren bared its teeth.

💙 Latte Art and Slow Dancing in the Dark by deadonarrival (Modern AU with powers, Daddy kink | 15/20 | 77K | Explicit): Bucky is a somewhat well-adjusted former army sniper that got his shoulder blown out. He took his discharge and went home to finish school and is working on his international relations masters. His best friends and roommates (Nat & Clint) are CIA agents and tip him off that their local Sbux is hiring. He gets a job there and meets none other than the hottest guy on earth. So how does one get a date in the most top secret government location in the US? What happens when that guy is more than just a hot dorito and wants to give Bucky everything he wants? Bucky is going to have to figure out his shit and fast. 

💙 Like Real People Do by 2bestfriends (Shrunkyclunks, canon divergent post-Avengers | 31K | 5/10 | Explicit): Seven years into an isolated retirement after the Battle of New York, Steve has carved out a place for himself in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. He has a best friend (his dog, Lady), a frenemy (a local black bear named Rufus), and a cabin in the middle of the woods, an hour’s drive from the nearest town. As November comes to a close, he heads into town to pick up supplies and ends up with a stowaway.

💙 Cakes & Balances by mambo/ @whtaft (POTUS Steve | 14K | 7/? | Teen): It’s kind of hard to date the cute baker from down the street when you’re the President of the United States of America. But Steve Rogers will make it work.

Bucky Barnes and the Embarrassment of Spidermen by AggressiveWhenStartled (Multiverse, Peter-centric(ish) | 4/5 | 15K | Mature): “Peter,” Steve said into the table. “Please tell me you didn’t bring home someone from Tony’s alternate dimension.” “Of course I didn’t,” Peter said, looking indignant. “I wouldn’t do that. I brought him to your place.”

Re-read

💙 All's fair in [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] (series) by redcigar (canon-divergent, post-WS | 3 works, series marked not complete | 10K | Mature): AU wherein Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers never met, Steve somehow manages to rescue the Winter Soldier anyway, and Avengers Tower ends up with the world’s angriest duckling and a whole new brand of entertainment.

💙 honey don't feed it, it will come back by ellebeesknees (umetnica), thedoubteriswise/ @thedoubteriswise (canon compliant, TFA | 18K | Mature): He lets out a long sigh and watches Bucky. Back home he was always too vain to let more than a day’s worth of stubble build up, but now he’s got about three days of scruff on his chin. He shouldn’t look handsome like this. His eyes are shut, but Steve can tell by his breathing that he’s still awake. The cat is curled up on his stomach and purring like an idling motor.

Learning To Say Hello by heartsdesire456/ @heartsdesire456 (Post-WS, Clint POV | 11K | Mature): In which Hawkeye befriends the Winter Soldier and discovers the Epic Love Story of Steve and Bucky nobody knows about)

Howl Home (Shift for Me) by Menatiera/ @menatiera (canon divergent, wolf Steve, Bucky Cap | 13K | Teen): As Captain America, Bucky Barnes rescued a hyper-intelligent wolf from HYDRA during the war. He makes a good fit with the Howling Commandos - and later, with the Avengers.

💙 The Sweetest Spark by deadto27 (Modern AU, age difference | 73K | Explicit): Steve Rogers runs a successful business. He has great friends and a great life. It seems like he has it all. So why is he sitting in a diner on a Friday night alone? Maybe he's just a little lonely. Maybe Bucky Barnes can help with that.

[latefrequencies]

in which jude dislikes christianity

can i just like. can someone just deprogram me from christianity

i asked my bf how he deprogrammed himself and he said he hasn't fully deprogrammed himself but he agrees hes more deprogrammed from it than i am

the part of me that can internalize information that goes to the effect of "I am a good person and can be good for people" was permanently broken in childhood by my parents being Christians

thats honestly probably why im incapable of seeing myself as being good and worth anything

how do you break free of being told that you have no innate worth and that your actions will never mean anything and that anything good you do doesn't really come from you at all and you deserve to be set on fire and burn for the rest of eternity?

do you know how to break free of being told that your body doesn't belong to you at all?

do you know how to break free of dissociating yourself from any good you bring to people?

how does one do it?

at this point if a cult deprogrammer kidnapped me and traumatized me to make me okay i would thank them for it

how do i do it. is there such a thing as rehab for religion. put me in iop i have a bad case of internalized christianity.

[themachiavellianpig]

Prodigal Son, Episode 12: Psychiatrist, Analyse Thyself

Episode 12 of Prodigal Son, and Malcolm actually deals with some consequences. And also saves someone from a cult, because he's good at multi-tasking like that.

Full review and spoilers below.

This episode begins with a little flashback to "Last Night", involving some sort of argument between Gil and Malcolm, resulting in Malcolm locking himself in a room at the precinct and firing up some sort of threatening technology, while a worried Dani bangs on the door. Malcolm's little science project either causes or is interrupted by a blackout - and then we jump ahead to the next morning, when Malcolm is, to my endless joy, going to have to talk to a psychiatrist! About his feelings! And his trauma!

The rest of the episode unfolds as a mixture of flashbacks, Malcolm and Dr Coppenrath speaking about the case, and the rest of the Malcolm's team giving their sides of the story. I have a massive weakness for set-ups like this, particularly when used to comic effect, and they did it very well here. More characters giving sarcastic commentary on Malcolm's actions, please!  

JT, also, is clearly enjoying the opportunity to tell someone just what he thinks of Malcolm's mental state: "If Bright was an actual state, he'd be Florida."

The murder of the week involves a young man called Tristan, who was electrocuted and strangled, then literally dumped in a pauper's grave. We only know this, of course, because Malcolm refuses to take any time off after being kidnapped and tortured by a serial killer and gleefully followed Dani to a crime scene.

At least Edrisa was pleased to see him - almost as pleased as I was to see her. Oh, Edrisa, you adorable dorkiness almost makes up for the creepiness of reading Malcolm's medical records behind his back. Her inviting him to the autopsy because, a), he's very good at his job, and, b), she missed him is just straight up adorable.

Tristan leads the team to the Vosler Institute, a self-help/therapy group allegedly specialising in trauma who is already on the FBI's cult index. The leader, Quentin Vosler, comes across as wonderfully smarmy in his first appearance, then gives the NYPD the time of day, claiming that he cannot help them in their inquiries because of all the "propriety knowledge" his group has.

So while Gil and the others are trying to find a subpoena, Malcolm goes and signs up as a new member. The Vosler Institute apparently screens their potential members for trauma and Malcolm manages to set off all sorts of bells and whistles - enough to get the personal attention of Quentin Vosler. Malcolm maintains later that he cheated the test - I wonder which way? Did he tilt his trauma up for effect, or down for believability?

And then we discover that the Vosler Institute is using electroshock therapy to suppress trauma.  

(To be honest, this was the moment when I actually started to like Dr Coppenroth a little bit, because he was so wonderfully mad that Vosler was using ECT in such a way.)

Malcolm, being Malcolm and also being haunted by hallucinations of his younger self, allows Vosler to shock him. When he wakes up, he convinces one of the Vosler members - Andi - to leave with him to give evidence against Vosler who, between the control he exhibits over his members and his fondness for ECT, seems like a likely bet for "who electrocuted and murdered Tristan?"

Unfortunately, Andi is kidnapped by an imposing gentleman in a black van before Malcolm can get her to safety - and his accusations against Vosler lose a little of their impact when Vosler himself turns up at the police station to report Andi's disappearance as a kidnapping - not by him, but by a deprogrammer, who either 'liberates' people or 're-traumatises' them, depending on your feelings about Vosler and other such groups.  

Gil and Malcolm use Jessica to stand-in as a wealthy women looking to hire a deprogrammer to save a family member, letting Malcolm profile all the deprogrammers they can find until he spots Curtis, a huge and imposing man with stains on his boots that match the soil at Tristan's ignoble resting place.

Curtis seems like a sure-fit for the murder, a man hired to save Andi from the cult and who snatched a fellow member to get information - but lost control before completing the job. While the rest of the team is satisfied, Malcolm can't accept it - Curtis lacks the skills necessary to do anything other than extract a cult victim. He couldn't deprogram them.

Gil's less convinced and, in the way that these disagreements so often do, the matter escalates until Malcolm blames Gil for bringing all the murderers back into his life. That takes us neatly back to where we started, with Malcolm reaching for the ECT machine and Dani trying to stop him.

Back in the present, talking through the case with Dr Coppenrath, Malcolm finally tells someone what's been bothering him. He tells Dr Coppenrath about Martin Whitly apparently being prepared to kill his own son and admits that, while as an adult he understands his father's pathology, the child in him just wants his dad to love him. He even admits that he's been hallucinating and that he wanted to shock himself to make them stop - because Vosler had been able to make them stop. Understandably, Coppenroth is unwilling to allow someone in such a state to continue to consult for the NYPD and encourages Malcolm to get proper, professional help.

And then Dr Coppenroth makes a glorious mistake; when asked about what will happen to Andi, he replies that he's sure that the NYPD will find her.

But Malcolm never told him that Andi was female.

Turns out that Malcolm's not really being evaluated for a return to work, he's laying a trap for the real deprogrammer, who became obsessed with saving Andi after he was unable to save his own daughter from a similar bad situation. The confrontation between Malcolm and Coppenroth escalates to the point of Malcolm having a gun in his face, but it honestly felt more tense before that, in the moments before they revealed that Malcolm was running this sting operation with his team, not alone, because really, who would have believed Malcolm if he suddenly turned around and accused the man who blacklisted him from consulting of being the mastermind behind his last case? I mean, really?

Fortunately, we don't have to see Malcolm being gaslit for any period of time, and Coppenroth gets shocked by the ECT machine he hated so much, which does at least get him to put the gun down. A little psychological profiling and they find Andi in the place when Coppenroth and his daughter had spent their last family holiday.

I'm a little torn about how this plotline was resolved, to be honest. I knew from the trailers that Malcolm was going to be evaluated and I was intrigued by the idea of Malcolm trying to process his experiences in such a setting, so I'm a little disappointed that potentially Malcolm has been vindicated in his poor life choices because the man who told him that he had to deal with this stuff properly turned out to be the bad guy. Dr Coppenroth was, admittedly, unstable and unhelpful and was happy to label Malcolm as incompetent to save his own interests, but he wasn't wrong. A man who's currently and persistently hallucinating probably shouldn't be at crime scenes.

Fortunately, it looks like I'm not the only one to think this. A tired but victorious Malcolm tells Gil that, actually, no, he's not okay - and Gil, ever the optimist, says that the fact that he knows that will be enough to make it okay.

I mean, admitting you need help is a good start and all, but also I would really like Malcolm to get some help which isn't from a cult deprogrammer trying to cover up his own crimes, if that would be alright?

Left alone in his apartment, with two weeks of leave stretching out in front of him, Malcolm tries talking to the hallucination of his younger self, who offers a new perspective on the issue. Yes, Martin Whitly may have tried to kill them, but he didn't succeed.

I don't know if that will be enough to carry Malcolm through the next dark period of his life, but it's certainly a starting point.

Previous Prodigal Son reviews are available here. 

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Ford Greene and the Moonies

Ford Greene: Attorney at odds

By Tad Whitaker, IJ reporter      January 9, 2005 Marin Independence Journal

San Anselmo resident Ford Greene sounds like a typical Marin County lawyer, what with his outspoken liberalism, scruffy hair and a white Porsche in the garage. But this self-described “cult buster” is anything but that.

Greene was in the spotlight recently for posting a large political sign on the side of his office building along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, where commuters are faced with messages against the Iraq war and President Bush, among other things. …

But the furor surrounding the sign doesn’t compare with what’s been stirred up in Greene’s professional life: He has been prosecuted for kidnapping in Colorado and has won a landmark case before the California Supreme Court against the Unification Church that enabled former followers to sue for damages. Greene says he has de-programmed more than 100 followers —often called Moonies— of the church, which was founded in 1954 by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Those professional chops made Greene one of six finalists for the honor of Trial Lawyer of Year in 2003 by the organization Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. But his drive stems from an experience many people would try to forget.

“I was a Moonie slave,” he says. “The Moonies’ nickname for me is a special servant of Satan.”

Greene’s “cult-busting” and colorful past, however, have turned him into a lightning rod for criticism for the organizations he targets.

“He’s a wing nut,” says Jeff Quiros, president of the Church of Scientology of San Francisco. “He really is.”

Aylesworth Crawford “Ford” Greene III, 52, comes from a family whose Ross Valley roots can be traced to the 1880s. …

Greene grew up the oldest of four privileged children who were raised around San Anselmo and Ross. The nuclear family expanded when two cousins needed a home after their mother died of cancer.

Greene’s father was a successful corporate lawyer who attended Yale University with former New York Sen. James L. Buckley, who became the young Greene’s godfather. His mother served as chairwoman of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and was on an advisory commission for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Greene attended … The Thatcher School in Ojai, near Ventura, for high school. But he ran away during his freshman year in 1969 and came home.

“I wanted to be a hippie at Redwood with my friends,” he says.

Greene says he “terrorized” his parents while attending Redwood and ultimately graduated from Woodside Priory in Portola Valley. He briefly attended college in Southern California but left, depressed over a difficult romantic relationship.

Back in Marin, Greene bucked hay, milked cows and unclogged sewers at Straus Family Creamery before taking a backpacking trip in which he climbed 16 14,000-foot peaks in three months. At about that time, his sister Catherine, 18, disappeared.

Moonies expanding

The year was 1974 and the Rev. Moon was expanding his Unification Church in the United States. Moon, who is from South Korea, was a wealthy but controversial figure accused of brainwashing young people to support his religious organization by selling flowers among other items.

Catherine —the second youngest child and closest in nature to Greene— had joined the Unification Church and gone to a camp called New Ideal City Ranch, outside Boonville in Mendocino County. When she finally called her family, Greene says she had changed.

“It sounded like her loyalties were being split,” he says. “She sounded torn up.”

Greene traveled to the Boonville camp a few days later to confront Catherine, but it was difficult; she was surrounded by Moonies at all times. A church leader invited Greene to return the following weekend for a training session.

Greene drove home, still depressed and, he recalls, even suicidal because of a difficult relationship with his father. He decided to hear Moon speak in person at the San Francisco Opera House. Greene recalls that Moon sounded Hitler-like, “but there was a calmness afterward, and that appealed to me.”

Greene went to the training camp with two friends, but he says they were separated and escorted everywhere —including the bathroom— by at least one church member, a process he says the Moonies called love bombing. Joined by new recruits from all over the Bay Area, he attended a group session at which he explained that he’d come to rescue his sister. But then everyone turned toward him and began singing about how much they loved him.

“Holding hands and singing with 200 people felt really good to me,” he recalls. “My programming had begun.”

Greene’s friends left the camp after the weekend, but he stayed behind to listen to lectures, singing groups and discussions about personal experiences. Although images of Hitler Youth kept popping into his mind, he says church leaders poured on the love when he confronted them about the program —a strategy that helped reinforce the power structure and created self-doubt. After all, says Greene bluntly, “You’re being an a--hole to someone who’s being nice to you.”

Still unable to fully believe what he was being told —that Moon was the second coming of Christ— Greene went to a nearby creek to pray. But later that afternoon, Greene says he received an affirmation from God.

Faith begins wavering

Greene moved back to the Bay Area to live in Unification Church dorm houses in Berkeley and San Francisco, where members were expected to share toothbrushes stored in a bucket and hand over the keys to their cars. He took a job at a church-owned gas station on Market Street and, when his faith wavered, he returned to the ranch for re-education.

The re-education periods reinforced a belief that anyone against the church was Satan, he says, but it also gave him some perspective on what was happening. He remembers seeing new recruits arrive with doubts but eventually snapping under the pressure, turning their minds over to the church. It provided him with a guilty pleasure that they, too, had been unable to resist.

“That bothered me a lot,” he recalls.

It took Greene three attempts to leave the church before he was successful. In July 1975, he drove his BMW back to his parents’ house in Ross and began working with his mother, who was an outspoken critic of the Unification Church and supporter of deprogramming.

“She was a one-woman clearinghouse,” he says.

▲ Daphne Greene

Testifying before Senate

At the request of his godfather, he testified about cults at a U.S. Senate subcommittee in 1976. On that day, he says, about 50 Unification members —wearing matching blue suits with red flowers in the lapels— walked into the Senate chambers to listen.

“It was hairy,” he says.

Greene says he never worked with a deprogrammer. Using therapy, he deprogrammed himself. “It was an experience that hurt me but I was able to overcome,” he says.

Throughout his time in the Unification Church, Greene says he rarely saw Catherine. While he was working at the church-owned gas station, he says the church put her youthful good looks to work as part of a team that traveled the country raising money and bringing in new recruits.

“She could make a $1,000 a day selling flowers,” he says.

From 1976 to ’78, Greene says he deprogrammed Moonies, including the Prince of Tahiti with the cooperation of the royal family. He was even mentioned in journalist Josh Freed’s book “Moonwebs.”

One of his biggest failures, however, was an attempt to deprogram his own sister.

Greene set up a plan, using his mother as bait, to capture Catherine. Handcuffed and blindfolded, Catherine was taken by family members to a boarded-up house in Lucas Valley. But deprogramming his own sister proved harder than deprogramming strangers, with whom he could be tougher, he says.

He eventually let Catherine go after she intentionally cut her hand and had to be hospitalized. By then, Moonies were picketing his father’s law office in San Francisco and pressing the Marin County District Attorney to file kidnapping charges against the family.

No charges were ever brought against the family, but Catherine returned to the church and filed a $5.2 million lawsuit against Greene, his parents and others who helped with the abduction.

“It was horrible,” he says. “The experience is that they’re dead but you can’t put them in the ground.”

In 1977, Greene says he was hired by Colorado authorities to kidnap and deprogram a man who tried to sign over the family farm to the Unification Church. Greene worked with police officers and private investigators, but was arrested and prosecuted for kidnapping after the man ran away and returned to the church. He successfully fought the kidnapping charge because he was acting under a court order.

Off to law school

Although he never earned a bachelor’s degree, Greene was enrolled in the New College of California Law School in 1978. During that time he started getting death threats, but he was determined to go after Moon.

“This man is no different than Adolf Hitler and, as an American, I had to do something,” he says. “To play in that arena, you had to be a lawyer and I went to law school.”

After passing the California State Bar exam, Greene worked as a criminal defense attorney with San Anselmo attorney Carl Shapiro, who had developed a reputation for working with families to reclaim family members who joined cults.

With Shapiro’s help, Greene argued and won a case in 1988 before the California Supreme Court that opened the door for former Moonies to sue the Unification Church for damages and, he says, “put cult-busting on the legal map.”

In 1989, Greene says he sued the Church of Scientology on behalf of the church’s head of worldwide security and his wife. In 2002, Greene celebrated his biggest victory against Scientology, when he and two other lawyers received an $8.7 million judgment in another case.

For Greene, religious organizations must be held accountable for any socially destructive conduct that exploits the best in people. “In my book there isn’t anything worse than that,” he says.

But Scientologists say Greene’s crusade against them isn’t very effective.

One-man campaign

Quiros, of the church’s San Francisco branch, likens Greene to someone shooting Scientologists in the back with a BB gun. Greene may be a hassle, Quiros says, but he represents nothing in the grand scheme of things for an organization that has 8 million members worldwide.

“This is a one-man campaign to discredit the fastest-growing church in the world,” Quiros says.

Quiros likes to direct people to a web site — www.friendsofsananselmo.org — that seeks to discredit Greene. Posted on the site are Greene’s run-ins with the law, ranging from shoplifting to kidnapping to stalking, along with a host of other critiques.

According to internic.net, an Internet domain name information site, www.friendsofsananselmo.org is registered to Allen Long at a private postal box at 10 Liberty Ship Way in Sausalito. Long did not answer requests for an interview sent via e-mail or in a note left at the postal box.

Web site counterattack

Quiros says Scientology has nothing to do with the web site, although he appreciates what it brings to light. “That is a great summary of Ford Greene,” he says. “He’s a nut case. I’m trying to think of a better word but there isn’t one.”

Greene eagerly and openly explains every claim on the web site. He says he was guilty of shoplifting a set of sheets in college, pleaded guilty to trespassing over a dispute with a former girlfriend he handled poorly, was never charged with burglary or stalking, and a driving under the influence conviction listed on the web site is actually his father’s.

“It’s all a big smear,” he says.

▲ The mass wedding of 1,275 couples in Korea, January 1989.

Reached at a Unification Church site, Catherine —who was married during a mass wedding of 1,275 couples and is now Catherine Ono— says although Greene may continue thinking she’s brainwashed and not in control of her mind, she still cares for her brother. “To me it’s like, come on,” she says. “That’s old.”

Ono, who remains a Unification Church member, lives in Somerville, Mass., with her husband and their two daughters. The couple will celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary next week.

Ono says she didn’t see her family between 1977 and ’83 because she feared they would try to kidnap her again. She says she began seeing them again after Greene and her parents apologized —a claim Greene disputes— and visited Greene with her daughters last August.

“The aftermath was pretty devastating,” she says. “They realized they had betrayed my trust.”

But Greene says the entire family rarely speaks with Ono anymore and that he never apologized for the kidnapping, and his mother didn’t either. “Catherine may be nice, but she makes me sick,” he says with a laugh.

Although he says it was good to see her last summer, he can’t relate to her because her entire world view is defined by Moon’s ideology.

“Catherine thinks I’m Satanic at the core,” he says.

In his San Anselmo office, Greene has created a Scientology war room lined with volumes of books, stacks of promotional and instructional videos and an enormous flow chart that illustrates the command structure of Scientology. Asked whether he is just going after Scientology’s money, Greene makes no qualms about it. “I have every intention of trying,” he says.

Even though he was once a devoted member of an organization he calls a cult, Greene says he isn’t worried about surrounding himself with information about Scientology and other organizations he targets.

“I’m confident in my instincts and I trust them,” he says.

Ford Greene is featured in the book Moonwebs

The book was made into the movie, Ticket to Heaven

Suppose the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification were to take over the whole world?

Hak Ja Han’s Cheon Il Guk Constitution is troubling

“Ancestor Liberation must be done” Hak Ja Han 2015

Hak Ja Han and Sun Myung Moon and the United Nations

Moon’s ultimate truth is … absolute obedience

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Greene

[pluckyredhead]

Daredevil 101: An American Superhero in Paris

This is going to be a short one, because this next storyline makes so little sense that Marvel continuity as a whole seems to have disavowed it. Even the very next plotline takes no notice of it at all, picking up directly from Karen’s trial. Whoops.

It’s called “Flying Blind” and it’s written by Scott Lobdell, who is a confessed sexual harasser, so I feel even less compunction making fun of it than I normally do. Art is by Cully Hamner, whose work I will love 10 years later on Blue Beetle but is maybe still finding his footing here.

It starts in Paris, with this guy:

Right, so that’s Matt. Matt with black hair, a surgically altered face, implanted memories that make him think he’s French, and working eyes. But he’s confused, partially because he’s recovering from a head injury (that he got...somehow?) and partially because he’s not totally sure that he is a French artist named Laurent LeVasseur. But that’s crazy, right?

Then someone tries to shoot up the waiting room. Turns out “Laurent” has pretty good reflexes:

Matt/Laurent’s like “I can ninja? How can I ninja??? Why can I ninja???”

Why indeed, Mattrent. For that matter, why do you have a ninja costume in your closet? NO ONE KNOWS:

Okay, one guy knows. But he’s back in New York:

So, okay, this dude - Harlan - sent Daredevil undercover to France to do...something??? But he did it by overwriting his memories, so Matt himself has absolutely no idea who he is or what he’s in France to do, and he did it without SHIELD’s approval, so no one else has any idea what Matt’s in France to do either. And then he gets hit by a truck and dies. You suck, Harlan.

Mattrent is still très confus, so he decides to go talk to...Claudia, the ER doctor from the first page. Because...she can...diagnose him with ninjas? Look, I don’t even know.

Yep. Matt’s got a raging case of ninjas.

He fights off the Hand, but they manage to kidnap Claudia. Meanwhile, back in New York, Foggy is starting to wonder where his partner is:

I just love that moment so much.

Back in Paris, Mattrent has now been attacked by Stilt-Man as well, because why not:

Right, so Claudia was kidnapped by someone named “Wilson F.” which obviously the reader can figure out pretty quickly. Stilt-Man and the Hand were also hired by him to kidnap Claudia. Because the Hand works for Fisk suddenly? Sure, fine, let’s just get through this nonsense.

Oh, and in case you were still confused about “Wilson F.”:

Oh no! Mattrent has to rescue her! And also someone should probably rescue a very confused Matt.

SHIELD’s on the case:

Okay, so. SHIELD apparently does this thing where they rewire agents’ brains all the time, so that any sensitive information they have can’t be picked up by deprogrammers or psychics or whatever. They did it to an agent named Harlan - the brother of the one getting run over up above - who had a complete list of all the SHIELD agents currently working undercover overseas in his brain, but then he was killed. Brother Harlan went rogue and sent Matt in to find out what happened to Harlan 1, but then the truck thing happened. Luckily, SHIELD has reverse engineered some of what happened, and they want Foggy to come with them to Paris to help get Matt’s head correct again.

I have a few questions:

1. Why would Brother Harlan think it was helpful to send Matt in when Matt didn’t know what he was supposed to do?

2. SHIELD is still trying to retrieve that list of agents before it gets into the wrong hands and it’s strongly implied that it’s in Claudia’s head now, but, like...how???

3. SHIELD is bringing Foggy in hopes that the familiar sight of him will jar Matt’s memories back. Except a) do they not have a regular way to undo this shit? and b) MATT HAS NEVER SEEN FOGGY IN HIS LIFE.

You said it, Jess.

Meanwhile, Mattrent beats up one of the many third-stringers Fisk has assembled so that he can infiltrate Fisk’s operation:

Right, so basically the guy in red and white is going to unlock the list of SHIELD agents from Claudia’s brain and Fisk will provide it to various European white collar criminals...for a price.

Not if Mattrent - in his temporary Not Daredevil spy suit - has anything to say about it!

Memory Man or whatever the hell his name is unlocks Matt’s memories and he’s like “Oh right I’m Daredevil, duh” and Fisk is like “I knew it! You were too annoying not to be!” and they spar for a bit. Then SHIELD bursts in and Fisk gets away in the tumult:

So...this was all pointless. I guess Claudia’s okay?

We do get one redeeming feature out of this story, and it’s that with Matt’s memory restored and the bad guy semi-vanquished, Matt finally gets to see his best friend for the first time ever:

Awww, and then they hug! Just ignore the fact that this will be forgotten by continuity immediately, and that the weird layout makes it look like there’s a giant Daredevil lurking around the corner of a nearby building, and just enjoy that Foggy’s head tucks perfectly under Matt’s chin. <3

That is the end of “Flying Blind,” and the end of the first volume of Daredevil, which ran for 381 issues. And we got through them all, you guys! I’m proud of us!

Next up: the Marvel Knights era, “Guardian Devil,” and the death of Karen Page. Yeah, I’m bummed about it too.

[greyias]

How will Grey react to Theron's new horrific hair? Will she laugh at it or just stare at it dumbfounded?

I’m pretty sure this is 100% canon how things are going to go down in-game. I’m just really good at guessing like that.

It was the moment Theron had been dreading since his shuttle had left the surface of Umbara. The usually perfectly pinned ponytail in disarray, her cheeks flushed from the exertion of the battles she had just fought, and wide blue eyes focused on only one thing in the room: him.

And for a moment everything just stopped, as even now just the sight of her still could take his breath away and make him forget about everything. And that was a bad thing because if he forgot what he was doing, if he let himself slip even the slightest, then all of his work to infiltrate the Order would be for nothing—and she’d never be safe. She had already gotten hurt, nearly killed, because he hadn’t seen the trap they’d laid on Iokath. He wasn’t about to let that happen again.

He needed to go, before he blew the carefully crafted cover he and Lana had put together. And that was exactly what he had planned to do, just put one foot in front of the other and flee like a fleeing thing. So imagine his surprise when his mouth opened instead and asked the question that had been bothering him since he’d laid eyes on her: “What are you wearing?”

“Me?” She asked incredulously.  “‘What am I wearing?’ That’s seriously the first thing out of your mouth?”

“But, the cape, the ridiculous shoulder pads,” Theron was definitely not whining, “they were so cool! Now you just look like a Jedi with a fondness for the color red.”

“I am a Jedi—and you said you hated that armor!”

“That’s because the clasps on it make it trickier than a Zeltrosian bra to remove!”

“How do you know how tricky—you are not helping your case here!”

Oh, shit. He should have just run. In fact, that was a brilliant plan. He was going to do that. Now. “I have to go.”

“Theron, wait, we can talk about this!”

“There’s nothing to talk about I already told you that the Alliance is rotting—”

But apparently his villain speech wasn’t going to work this time around. 

“It’s normal when a man gets to a certain age, he starts to feel the need to experiment, to change things up, try to make life exciting again.”

“A certain age?”

“Everyone does call you ‘Old Man Shan’. Well, they’re now calling you ‘Dirty Filthy Traitor Shan’ even though I keep telling them to stop. But I figured it was the first one that might have set you off.”

“Please don’t tell me you think this is some sort of midlife crisis.”

“It explains everything.”

“No, it doesn’t! I’m evil now! I’m a bad man, you should stay away. Far, far away!”

She wasn’t listening to him. “The the heavy drinking, the mood swings, the inexplicable and sudden need to destroy public property and try to ruin every personal relationship in your life, the need to try and refresh your image—”

“I recall your pep talks being more effective in the past.”

“This is happening because I only offered you one fleet of warships, isn’t it?”

“No!”

“I can give you two. Or three. Really we have like all of Iokath at this point so—”

“I don’t need a fleet, woman!”

“What about a Corellian cruiser? I hear they come in red—oh wait, you don’t like the color red anymore, do you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Theron, I love you. You can tell me anything.” She was managing to keep pace with him and laid a gentle hand on his arm. “This is a safe space.”

“This is a literal war zone.” 

He yanked his arm away, because if he let it linger there too long he was going to say to hell with this stupid undercover assignment and let the galaxy take care of itself for once. Except he wasn’t capable of that at all, so scratch that. 

But he missed Odessen. And his bed. And his real jacket. This one was itchy and too long and made his shoulders look way too small — like they could actually fit through doorways. He’d had to overcompensate his disguise with his hair to try and look more intimidating. And it was working! He knew this from the looks the House Inrokini soldiers kept giving him.

“I was speaking metaphorically. I’m listening, Theron, I’m here for you, all you have to do is stop this nonsense and come home.”

“I…” Damn it, why did she have to be so nice all the time? Didn’t she know that love and understanding was his greatest weakness? “I can’t.”

“Yes, you can, everything will be okay. We’ll get the finest deprogrammers—I mean doctors—and they’ll help you see that you don’t need to join a cult to feel complete and whole—”

“I didn’t join a cult!”

She just looked at him. 

Oh, right. His cover. “I mean they’re not a cult! We’re just doing what needs to be done to bring peace to the Galaxy.”

“Of course you are, but maybe you just need better friends—like all of the ones waiting back home in front of the intervention sign. Even Grandmaster Satele came.”

“I don’t need an interven—wait, my mother’s there?”

“And Jace too! And the ghost of Darth Marr for that matter, even though I don’t recall inviting him. Let me tell you, that made things awkward—I’m getting sidetracked—what I’m trying to say is we’re all really worried about you!”

That was—oddly touching. (And weird. Why was Marr’s ghost still hanging around his mom?) And more importantly, why the hell hadn’t Lana put a stop to this nonsense? She knew what was going on. Surely she could wrangle one well-meaning, overly helpful Jedi and maintain his cover while he was off saving the galaxy. For that matter, why was everyone just waiting for the Alliance Commander to return from Copero with him in tow? It seemed like there was better use of everyone’s time than standing in a room with little envelopes of written confessions. 

Or maybe he was putting too much thought into this. He really needed to finish running away before anyone noticed he had no actual intention of trying to injure, maim, or murder the woman so lovingly (and quite unnecessarily) trying to reach out to him as if he’d gone off the deep end. Apparently he gave a really compelling and convincing villain speech. Score one for the SIS method acting course he’d taken.

The sounds of battle had grown distant, although blaster fire and the occasional explosion still rocked the ground. It was actually impressive they had managed to carry on a conversation as long as they had without being interrupted by the fierce dogfight between forces. Beyond these blast doors was the corridor that led to the private hangar where he’d parked his shuttle.  But he’d never be able to escape the planet and finish delving into the Order’s real plans (not to mention smoke out the real mole back on base) if he didn’t ditch his well-meaning tagalong. Maybe if he asked her really nicely…

“Just go home and forget about me, Commander.”

Okay, maybe that was more of an order than a request, but he was really distracted by the thought that Darth Marr had insisted on attending his intervention. Theron really needed to know how a ghost had managed to write out a confession on flimsiplast, and if Jace had attempted to start a fist fight with Satele’s new incorporeal bestie. 

“Theron, I could never forget you.”

Damn it, she was going to force him to do something traitory and nefarious again so he could get away, wasn’t she? Being able to finish this plan and get things back to normal would have been a lot easier had she been let in on the fact that there was an actual plan. It was almost like this extremely elaborate ruse wasn’t as well-thought and brilliant as he and Lana originally had envisioned. Come to think of it, why hadn’t they brought the Commander in on their plot to uncover the true traitor within their midst?

Oh right, because she giggled inappropriately every time she attempted to lie. She would have snickered the entire time he was giving his villain speech on the train instead of looking at him like a kicked puppy. That would have convinced no one. There were definite downsides to picking the most benevolent goodie two-shoes in the galaxy as the leader of their no-longer-rebel faction.

“I will always love you,” she continued on, oblivious to Theron’s internal struggle, “even if it looks like a womp rat died on your head.”

That brought him out of his melodramatic sulking. “Hey!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve bought you a whole closet full of really fashionable hats—”

“You do realize this is my exact same hair, right? I just shaved off the sides to make it look cooler—I mean more intimidating!”

“Is that why you shaved a thong on the back?”

“A… what?”

“You have looked into a mirror, right?”

“I don’t need a—“ She magically produced a mirror and he proceeded to crane his head awkwardly to see what she was referring to. “Those sons of bitches!”

“Language, Theron!”

“I joined a cult, I don’t have to watch my language anymore!” He cursed again and traced the V-shaped mark down the back of his head that looked far too similar to women’s lingerie to be a mere coincidence. He was going to kill those guys when he got back. Okay, that was actually the point of this whole thing, but now he had another reason to take these evil bastards down. “Stupid hazing rituals — I should have known that wasn’t the traditional ‘Welcome to the Order Cackle’!”

She frowned. “Wait… ‘the Order’? What Order?”

“I’ve said too much.” He quickly moved away from her mirror and the horrors it contained, feeling a new and urgent need to exact vengeance on a couple of cultists and their vibrorazers.

“Where are you going?”

“To avenge my hair! And get back my jacket!”

Oh, and save the galaxy and Alliance too. But first, those bastards were going to pay…

Or TL;DR – outwardly she’s more concerned that he’s seemingly cracked and is acting like some cheesy Bond villain than the Theron she knows and loves. Inwardly, she is aghast that he would shave off that beautiful hair, but is also confused by the feelings the new do and the Evil Jacket™ are stirring up. 

[whatisonthemoonarchive]

Confessions of a Deprogrammed Trump Supporter

Originally posted here: strategic-culture.org/news/2021/01/22/confessions-of-a-deprogrammed-trump-supporter/

As many people are aware, CNN recently aired a wonderful interview by former Moonie-turned-cult-deprogrammer Steve Hassan giving advice to Americans wishing to deprogram their MAGA-hat wearing loved ones, now that the age of Trump is coming to an end.

Video included in the original post: https://youtu.be/TnblPVMEYAc

I was fortunate enough to have read Hassan’s book and had the loving scrub-brush of truth wash my brain of all of its formerly pro-Trump sympathies and can honestly say that I am most certainly better off for having left those old delusions in the past.

For one thing, I used to enjoy my right to free speech… but thanks to the terrible events of January 6, 2021 that left 3 people dead, horned Q supporters doing photo ops for media, pro-Trump rioters let into the capitol building by guards, and busloads of conspicuous violent figures whom some say were “provocateurs” (whatever that means), I have come to realize that I was all wrong. Free speech is actually very dangerous. Words we took for granted like “patriot”, “nationalism”, or “vote fraud” are actually very racist and using them is a sure fire sign that you might be a domestic terrorist. At any rate, using them should at least be enough to get someone banned from social media and put under surveillance.

For a long time, I thought that record numbers of Black and Hispanic voters supporting Trump in 2020 meant that Trump was not racist, but I now realize that these poor folks just suffered from “multiracial whiteness”.

I thought that questioning voting machines that had been caught red handed manipulating elections across the world was patriotic and that somehow some conglomeration of Big Tech, the media, intelligence agencies and a thing called “deep state” were colluding to create a color revolution in the USA… but I now realize that I was actually supporting conspiracy theories and thus violence and thus domestic terrorism.

I was so far gone that my pre-deprogrammed self was actually persuaded in the crazy idea that depopulation agendas hid behind the cover of a “Great Reset agenda”, concocted by a shadowy elite of sociopathic oligarchs. I have now learned that this was either a silly conspiracy theory, the result of my own delusions or if it was true, then I can at least say with certainty that it is all for my own good.

The truth that I have now come to discover, is that free speech has just gone too far. This practice has reached its limits, and Twitter’s legal executive Vijaya Gadde is absolutely right. Social Media should do its civic duty and extend its censorship of “dangerous thoughts” to citizens and political officials outside of the USA in order to protect the world from itself. If other world leaders are worried about this new truth, then they should seriously do some soul searching and learn to think differently.

The old me is long gone, and now all I can say is “thank god” Joe Biden has found himself in the position of leader of the free world at this historic moment of change.

For awhile it was looking like Donald Trump would actually stop forever wars, and untie the U.S. military’s involvement from the CIA. That white supremacist actually came precariously close to destroying the foundations of globalization that many enlightened billionaires had put decades of energy into organizing- first destroying Obama’s Transpacific Partnership, then the Paris Climate Accords and THEN he had the nerve to scrap NAFTA itself by giving nation states a say in economic affairs!

He even committed the sin of criticizing NATO itself- the very foundation of western collective security from the obvious threats of Russia and China!

He called for insane things like “bringing back manufacturing to the USA”, “restoring protectionism”, and “making space exploration and arctic development a priority for the nation” and everyone knows that this is all so 1963.

But now the “disturbance” is over, and the age of Biden has arrived!

Joe Biden is a man who understands what liberal values and the “rules-based order” are really about.

He was wise enough to get onto the unipolar bandwagon before it was popular by drafting the 1994 surveillance bill that John Ashcroft later used verbatim for the Patriot Act after 9/11.

He was smart enough to know that Wall Street couldn’t lead America into the 21st century as long as Glass-Steagall was in place and voted for its repeal in 1999.

He was one of the loudest supporters of NAFTA which helped reduce carbon emissions drastically by exporting dirty industrial jobs oversees where they should be.

He also gave the Credit Card companies the political support they needed to stop citizens from abusing their generosity which went a long way to help Americans build character and take responsibility for their short sighted consumer decisions.

After 9/11, Biden also brilliantly supported the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq (who may not have had anything to do with 9/11 but at least showed the terrorists who’s boss).

Unlike those cultish Trumping fascists, Biden was courageous enough to proclaim even before the horrible insurrectionary riots of January 6th, that a new Patriot Act/Domestic Terror Bill would be needed to purge the republic of dangerous terrorism and the insidious thought crimes which spread doubt in honest elections, and distrust in the benevolent political structures leading the western world. Thinking people know, that thought does sometimes cause action… and if we want to truly remedy wrong actions like the riots of January 6th, or dangerous COVID-denialism, then we should most certainly take the battle to the realm of the mind.

The brilliant Steve Hassan even recognized this reality in his CNN interview when he said that “the bottom line is all of America needs deprogramming because we’ve all been negatively influenced by Donald Trump.”

Sure, some people think that the 46 deaths and 32 riots caused by Antifa and BLM over the past six months might qualify as domestic terrorism, but that’s only because they are infected with racist wrong think and don’t realize that these groups were just fighting against fascism and racism.

Certainly, the first 100 days after Biden’s inauguration will be inspired.

Already, Biden has made commitments to sign the USA back onto the legally binding Paris Climate Accords to help us win the war against climate, and has shown the good sense to reverse Trump’s disastrous decision to break the anti-China TPP in 2016. Biden always said he would renegotiate the TPP in order “to hold China accountable”, and everyone knows Trump’s selfish decision only helped China by freeing up its neighbors to work together on the BRI. If only Trump hadn’t killed TPP, then the 14 nation strong Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership which China just finalized would never have happened.

Most importantly, our benevolent overlords who meet at Davos every year are happy once more and have even kicked off Biden’s inauguration with a special celebration entitled “the Davos Agenda” running from January 25-29. According to the WEF, this event will “mark the launch of the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset Initiative and begin the preparation of the Special Annual Meeting in the spring. Each day will focus on one of the five domains of the Great Reset Initiative.”

The USA’s new Special Envoy on Climate, John Kerry, captured the excitement of this wonderful moment perfectly when he said: “The notion of a reset is more important than ever before… we’re at the dawn of an extremely exciting time.”

According to the Great Reset architects, this is definitely the right idea.

WEF President Klaus Schwab has taught us that the “age of owning things” is so passe, and we know that this obsolete relic of capitalism isn’t compatible in our new age of global peace and brotherhood.

Ownership of “things” just makes us selfish and forget about the real purpose of life.. which is really about sacrifice. Establishing new supranational organizations to manage the levers of consumption and production according to evidence-based standards and scientific realities of carrying capacity is the only remedy to the evils of populism and being ignorant to this reality doesn’t lessen the fact that boards of experts who are smarter than you say that it is so.

According to the WEF’s Great Reset website global CO2 output collapsed by over 7% during the 12 months of global COVID-19 shutdowns… which means the COVID-19 is more of a blessing than many dim witted selfish nationalists who like owning things realize.

So what if the world population will contract under the shutdown of the world economy under COVID lockdowns? And so what if we lose our capacity to support industrial civilization through the imposition of global green energy grid?

Didn’t the late great Maurice Strong (who was WEF Executive Director and father of the Great Reset), ask the question in 1991:

“What if a small group of world leaders were to conclude that the principal risk to the Earth comes from the actions of the rich countries? And if the world is to survive, those rich countries would have to sign an agreement reducing their impact on the environment. Will they do it? The group’s conclusion is ‘no’. The rich countries won’t do it. They won’t change. So, in order to save the planet, the group decides: Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?”

So get ready for an exciting time in history, and hopefully China finally learns that the new world order is Unipolar – with a big green hug for all well behaved leaders who get rid of such silly ideas as “nationalism”, “industrial progress” or “ending poverty through development” which dangerous concepts like the Belt and Road Initiative threaten to unleash. Most importantly, China has to really deprogram itself from her belief that Russia is a worthwhile partner in the 21st century. Xi made a good decision to attend this month’s Great Reset conference and both he and Modi would do well to abandon dirty fossil fuels, their support of nuclear energy development or space mining in order to adapt their realities to the computer models which have been telling us how to hitch our destinies to a world of entropy and diminishing returns.

[newliliana]

Abbott Mukhwana 6 hrs · PRAYING AGAINST CHARMS AND CHARMERS ISAIAH 19:3, JEREMIAH 8:17, EZEKIEL 13:17-20 WHAT IS A CHARM? * It is inanimate objects that demons get attached to * They are objects program to exercise bewitchment power * It is instruction for enchantment and spells * It is magical object to manipulate and control * It is an object that idol carries * They are used to fire satanic arrows * It is a summoning center of wicked evil powers * It is an instrument that carries negative power FACTS TO KNOW * There is an epidemic that is used against the lives of people now, and if you are not careful, you may fall. * A Christian who understand warfare prayers will not only de-programme what the evil ones has programmed but as well send it back to those that programmed it. * Charms can be used by the evil ones as magic wristbands, voodoo, amulet etc. The mistake ignorant Christians make is believing that charms cannot affect them. * The believer has a facility to discern, to destroy any charm if you know what to do. * The fact that you are Christians and going to church does not mean the charm cannot catch you. * There are some people that these charms has troubled before and there are some that there are still suffering from it. * So many people desire microwave miracle, microwave money in which they don’t know that they are entring into demonic arena. * According to Jeremiah 8:17 “it means there are certain powers that can be used to take something from someone.” * When someone is charmed, the person is no longer in charged. * When a charm is use to marry someone and the charm get loosed, the marriage get scattered. * In the ancient world, charm practices are always common, they use it in attacking people. EZEKIEL 13:17-20; made us to know through charms, God’s people can be brought to bondage. > (Say 10 amen to this prayer) ANY CHARM ASSIGNED TO TERMINATE YOUR LIFE IS BACK FIRED NOW, IN THE NAME OF JESUS. * This charm can shorten the life of people * Through charms, God’s people can be captured, Christians can be under captivity. * This charm is to slay souls, bring depression and confusion into the hearts and minds of people. > EVERYONE UNDER THE EFFECT OF CHARM IS RELEASED IN THE NAME OF JESUS. PRAYER POINTS > POWERS SUBMITTING MY NAME TO THE COVEN OF DEATH, DIE, IN THE NAME OF JESUS > POISON AND MAGIC OF THE ENEMY, BACK FIRE, IN THE NAME OF JESUS > SATANIC BIRDS, FLYING IN THE NIGHT AGAINST MY LIFE, FALL DOWN AND DIE, IN THE NAME OF JESUS. > ARROWS OF DISGRACE, I AM NOT YOUR CANDIDATE, BACKFIRE, IN THE NAME OF JESUS > EMABRGO OF MY FATHER’S AND MOTHER’S HOUSE ASSIGNED TO LIMIT MY LIFE, DIE, IN THE NAME OF JESUS. > ANY CHARM THAT HAS EVER BEEN DONE AGAINST YOU, LET THE POWER OF THAT CHARM BACKFIRE NOW, IN THE NAME OF JESUS. > IF THERE ARE ANY CHARM THAT HAS BEEN USED TO TRANSFER YOUR VIRTUE, RE-POSSESS THEM IN THE NAME OF JESUS. 21 CATASTROPHIC PRAYERS AGAINST CHARMS AND CHARMERS 1) Charmers and charm Go down to the pit before your time, in the name of Jesus 2) You charm disappear with all your roots, in the name of Jesus 3) Demonic power assigned to this charm, I render you homeless by fire, in the name of Jesus 4) Charms and charmers receive triangular attack by the Father, by the Son and bymthe Holy Ghost, in the name of Jesus 5) You charms eat your own flesh and drink your own blood, in the name of Jesus 6) You charm you must die in my place after the order of Haman, in the name of Jesus 7) I deprogramme you charm and I cancel your assignment, in the name of Jesus 8) Weapons in the charms, backfire in the name of Jesus 9) You charm become a gun and shoot your charmer, in the name of Jesus 10) You charm, dig your own grave, fall into it and bury yourself, in the name of Jesus 11) I dispatch you demon assigned to the charm to go to dry and waterless place, in the name of Jesus 12) You charm and charmers, receive the divine starvation, in the name of Jesus 13) O cauldron, revolt and capture your owner, in the name of Jesus 14) I decree civil war, among you demons assigned to this charms 15) Let one spirit attack another, in the name of Jesus. 16) You charm, I neutralize your power, in the name of Jesus 17) Every wall of protection around this charm, blow up by fire, in the name of Jesus 18) Charms and fetish power, go back to your sender, seven folds in the name of Jesus 19) Every ammunition of charms, locate your owner in the name of Jesus 20) Every arrows in the charm assigned against my life, go back to the sender, in the name of Jesus 21) Heavenly carpenters break up the evil horns in the charms, in the name of Jesus THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO TACKLE THESE CHARMS * Holy anger * Violent prayers * Violent faith PROPHETIC DECLARATION > ANYTHING THAT IS IN THE LIFE OF ANYONE THAT IS ALLOWING CHARM TO CATCH THEM, BE DESTROYED IN THE NAME OF JESUS. PRAYERS AFTER MINISTRATION PRAYER POINTS > (Sing this song ten hot times). TURN TO ME FIRE O LORD, IN THE NAME OF JESUS….. > O GOD ARISE! AND TURN ME INTO FIRE, IN THE NAME OF JESUS. > EVERY FETISH POWER, TROUBLING MY ISRAEL, CATCH FIRE, IN THE NAME OF JESUS. > ARROWS FROM CHARMS, BACK FIRE, IN THE NAME OF JESUS > (slap where you have infirmity seven times and shout this prayer point). GREAT PHYSICIAN! JESUS CHRIST! MANIFEST YOUR POWER, IN THE NAME OF JESUS > (Lay your hands on your head). ARROWS OF CHARMS TARGETED AGAINST, MY HEAD, DIE, IN THE NAME OF JESUS. > ARROWS OF CHARMS FIRED AGAINST MY DESTINY, DIE, IN THE NAME OF JESUS

[epicstuckyficrecs]

Weekly Recap | August 12th-18th

Sorry it’s a bit late! Here’s what I read in the last week :) 

~

Complete

Water Landing by romanticalgirl (Modern AU | 8K | Teen): From the prompt: My dog is the size of a mini horse and forcibly knocked you into the duck pond for that hot dog you were about to take a bite out of.

here is no mistake by amethystkrystal (Post-Endgame, canon-divergent |  <1K | General): Bucky Barnes is worthy.

we were running riot by steveandbucky (canon-divergent, TFA | 2,4K | Explicit): The train is still running at full speed. Steve swears under his breath. He almost just lost Bucky.

Have You Seen This Person? by fallendarlings (Post-WS | 2,5K | Teen): Missing persons fliers start showing up in Steve's apartment. They have his face on them and they're written in Bucky's handwriting.

💙 Collar Full of Chemistry by 2bestfriends (Modern AU, BDSM | 188K | Explicit): Steve is very rich and desperate to feel in control of his life again after a recent divorce has left him feeling bitter and lonely. When he keeps crossing paths with a disaster twenty-something, an unconventional solution presents itself. Bucky is very broke and can’t seem to catch a break, especially after some asshole fires him for one fucking mistake. So of course, it follows that he should sign a contract agreeing to do everything and anything that same asshole wants for a whole year in exchange for a payout that could finally change his life for the better.

💙 the way you slam your body into mine reminds me i’m alive (but monsters are always hungry, darling) by voxofthevoid (Shrunkyclunks, Avenger Bucky | 3K | Explicit): Steve doesn’t wait for an invitation, bodily pushing Bucky out of the way and kicking the door shut behind him. Bucky wouldn’t put up with that shit, not normally, but Steve lays his hands on him, hot and huge over bare skin, and then there’s teeth closing in on his throat, and Bucky can’t think. (Part 4 of couldn't get the boy to kill me)

tell yourself this is how it's going to be by belovedmuerto (post-CW | 25K | Mature): Steve is absolutely one hundred percent not going to cry himself to sleep.

Good Friends by eadunne2 (Evanstan RPF | 3,8K | Explicit): “I was just wondering what you think about the fact that everyone thinks you’re dating?” “I mean we’re good friends so, thanks but no thanks.”

Happy Birthday, Sebastian Stan by dixons_mama (Evanstan RPF | 2,5K | Explicit): Chris surprises Sebastian on his birthday, and things take a turn that neither expected. Maybe birthday wishes do come true.

Something Simple by Catchclaw (Evanstan AU | 2,9K | Explicit): Chris woke up with a hangover and a half-hearted hard-on and a softly snoring dude in his bed.

My Arms Are Open by dixons_mama (TFA | 2,9K | Explicit): When Steve sees that Bucky is struggling after escaping Azzano, he decides to do all he can to help the love of his life recover.

Starbucks by lockedlocke (Modern AU, skinny Steve | 4,3K | Explicit): Bucky presses the middle button on his phone again, and then once more to unlock it. He instantly taps the white text bubble in the green icon, goes to the chat he’s got with Steve and starts to type. He presses send before he even realizes what he wrote. “I will suck your dick if you bring me Starbucks.”

Parade Rest by caleprwrite (Shrinkyclinks | 12K | Explicit): Bucky can be a cranky asshole, but Pepper knows best just what he needs. Bucky will get it whether he likes it or not. And he'll say thank you. Enter Steven Grant Rogers, Massage Therapist and friend to Pepper Potts.

In Repair by sablier_bloque (post-Endgame | 3,8K | Mature): In 2023, Steve Rogers lays down his shield, joins Twitter, and finds purpose beyond the battlefield—with Bucky Barnes at his side.

WIP

💙 Like Real People Do by 2bestfriends (Shrunkyclunks, canon divergent post-Avengers | 59K | 9/10 | Explicit): Seven years into an isolated retirement after the Battle of New York, Steve has carved out a place for himself in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. He has a best friend (his dog, Lady), a frenemy (a local black bear named Rufus), and a cabin in the middle of the woods, an hour’s drive from the nearest town. As November comes to a close, he heads into town to pick up supplies and ends up with a stowaway.

we miss being ruffians by napricot (Post-WS, canon-divergent | 67K | 12/? | Explicit): Assorted snippets post-they're gonna send us to prison for jerks 💙. Chapter 12: Maybe there was some modern context Bucky was missing. Not that it mattered. What mattered here was Bucky’s innovative new plan to combine winning date night with pranking Steve. Because what was better than getting Steve all hot and bothered? Getting Steve hot and bothered while mildly terrorizing him with terrible Captain America merchandise, that was what.

💙 This Side of the Blue by notlucy/ @notlucy (Mermaid AU | 27/44 | 97K | Explicit): A trick was the only explanation for what Steve saw floating there. This figment of his childhood. This myth. This legend. Within the tank, the siren bared its teeth.

Solitary by exclamation/ @jessicameats (Canon divergent | 38/? | 94K | Mature): The Winter Soldier has been a prisoner of SHIELD for about a year and a half, placed in solitary confinement under strict security when it was clear he wasn’t going to respond to the best interrogators and deprogrammers SHIELD had available. When Fury asks a newly awakened Steve Rogers to assist, Steve is hesitant. He doesn’t understand why Fury thinks he would have a better chance of getting through to this guy than all the people who have tried and failed.

💙 Political Animals by crinklefries, Deisderium (Modern AU, politics | 1/9 | 5K | Explicit): Okay, so the real problem is that you shouldn’t fuck your arch-rival, political enemy, and the person you loathe the most in the world where you work. Or like, at least, you shouldn’t keep doing that.

Re-Read

Flying Practice by cyclamental (Dragonriders of Pern AU | 11K | Explicit): Bucky gets his ass-cherry popped, an allegory heavily inspired by the Dragonriders of Pern. So, you know - First Time, but with dragons.

💙 some days i (wish that i wasn't myself) by notcaycepollard, Roga (Evanstan AU, journalist Seb, actor Chris | 6K | Mature): The problem, Seb never meant to say out loud, has always been that if he got Chris Evans’ dick in his mouth it would definitely end up making the story.

mere colors by brostucky (orphan_account) (Soulmates Uni AU | 27K | Teen): That’s when Bucky takes a deep breath and shoves his way through the crowd.And, really, it’s that moment that shit starts to hit the fan.

Stars Out Of The Blue by luninosity (Evanstan RPF | 6,3K | Teen): Chris Evans accidentally kicks Sebastian Stan off a broken helicarrier set on Monday afternoon. It’s the worst moment of his life. Monday evening, however, contains the best moment. Indisputably. Ever.