#don't make me tap the Post+ analysis sign

[threewaysdivided]

Hey! Listen!

@staff, @support, not to tell you how to do your jobs but can you please implement some kind of auto-flagging system for these ding-dang bots? They're everywhere.

Even just a piece of back-end automation set to highlight any accounts that mass-follow other blogs without liking/ reblogging/ commenting/ otherwise-interacting for examination would probably save you time on waiting for our manual reports and us from having to report them.

Frankly, it's getting to be a Bit Much™.

[mariaelenaariente]

Astro Observations - Placements I Adore

The pictures used are not mine Have your chart analyzed by me Learn natal astrology

Sagittarius placements - I have to admit I have a soft spot for all the mutable placements out there, but Sag... especially Moon and/or Mercury/Mars... y'all are insanely intuitive (big plus if you ask me), courageous, open minded (unless the native is unevolved and choosing the "I'm the only one who knows the truth so let me impose it on you" path), and just generally such a great vibe. I've always strugged to put my admiration for this energy into words because it's just... so great ugh

1st/7th/10th/11th house Venus - these people are generally so well-liked it's crazy. They have just the right type of natural charm about them that draws people in, and I'm here for it. They're charismatic, generally social and outgoing, and perceived in such a romantic light by the public.

Taurus and Leo placements - if you have both Taurus and Leo placements in your chart you've won the astrological lottery as long as I'm concerned. These two signs are each the culmination of something special - for Taurus, it's good taste, appreciation of nature, and food, animal love, fragrances. For Leo, it's creativity, joy, life, loyalty, and general warm infatuation with life - does this make sense to anybody else?

1st/4th/7th/10th house Mars or Saturn - Yes this energy isn't easy and needs a lot of attention and mastering from the native, so seeing it in full force, especially in someone who fully mastered it, is rare. BUT! An angular Mars or Saturn is so powerful and incredibly fascinating to observe. Tapping into this energy, if you happen to have it in your birth chart, is a game changer. EDIT: You need to consider your whole chart when trying to master this energy. If you wish to hear my input, I have an affordable one-question chart analysis available.

8th house Venus or Jupiter - They attract support and help with such ease. They get whatever they wish for. Others will easily show up for them whenever they need and they easily benefit from the people in their life (not in a manipulating type of way).

12th house Moon - another tough placement, however - once the native gets in touch with this energy and learns to use it for their benefit and spiritual growth, there's no stopping them. Possibly the most intuitive, spiritual, healing placement I have ever observed. They're in touch with their subconscious which makes any type of work on themselves much smoother.

Gemini placements - if you actually believe Geminis to be two-faced, you don't know what you're missing out on. The chameleons of the zodiac, these placements can talk their way out or into pretty much anything. They'll mirror your own energy back to you so maybe if you can't stand them it's time to do some inner work.

Prominent Neptune - dreamy, ethereal, spiritual, intuitive, poetic, and artistic - what more can I say?

Cancer Mercury - They'll intuitively know what you need and show up for you. They'll also destroy your life and burn your house to the ground if you cross them. Love that for them.

Virgo Sun - Virgos are underrated. I'm tired of all the neat-freak stereotypes, they carry such strong intellectual energy. They can easily get on top of most situations by simply following their instincts. They'll give you awesome advice based on the many rabbit holes they've gone through in the past five days online. They'll be there for you when you need them. Also, there's a strong sexual energy here I rarely see anyone talk about, so I could make a post about it if anyone's interested.

[qqueenofhades]

AHAHA! YOUR GOOD OMENS S2 META AND FIC HAVE MADE ME SCREAM AND THANK YOU FOR WRITING AND SHARING!!!

YOUR ANALYSIS IS SPOT ON AND EVEN MADE ME REALIZE NEW THINGS THAT TWIST MY HEART EVEN MORE!! I AM IN AGONY AND LOVE IT HERE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!

I must ask because I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the matter (although feel free to ignore this if you don’t want to/don’t think there’s anything to it) (and also if perhaps you spoke about it in your meta post and I unfortunately missed it): What do you think of the recurring theme of Aziraphale and “Forgiveness/Forgiving people”?

I’m guessing most everyone remembers “May you be forgiven” from the bandstand scene from season 1, and season 2 opens with Aziraphale “forgiving” Maggie’s debt (which I believe he later tells Crowley is for “only selfish reasons of course” and is quite happy about it.) He also mentions he’s quite good at forgiveness… and then I’m forced to think of reminded of the “I forgive you” at the end. I think it’s interesting that he says “I” at this moment… and can’t help but wonder if this is a heat of the moment aspect or something that taps into something much… deeper. Subconscious perhaps. Also the idea of what exactly he is forgiving. Is it really “forgiveness” for a kiss or… forgiveness for something else????

I want to scream into the woods for YEARS

Anyways!! Just curious!! Thank you again for sharing your thoughts and insights, I love to see them!!!

Aha, thank you so much! And yes, GOD YES, I absolutely DO HAVE THOUGHTS (TM) about Aziraphale and Forgiveness. It is one of the things that I could have gotten to in my previous meta, but didn't, in the interest of it not being twice as long as it was. But. Yes.

I think we're meant to read the theme in two senses: one, about Aziraphale's struggle with his identity as an angel, and two, about Aziraphale's struggle with his queerness (in this case, queer being his attraction to a male-presenting demon, but gender isn't at all the thing that's keeping them apart; it's definitely the demon part). Aziraphale likes forgiving people because he's an angel, but as he says re: Maggie, it is selfish. It is a quick and easy way for Aziraphale to demonstrate Goodness, it requires very little sacrifice from him, and he can do it whether or not the person in question wants it (in re: the Final Fifteen, where he just twists the knife further after the kiss). In the case of Maggie, it will get him slavish gratitude, he feels Good, he assumes the other person feels Good too -- success all around!

Except of course, Aziraphale is doing the kind of (inadvertently) hurtful weaponizing that we often talk about in regard to the cultural expectation that you have to Forgive people who have badly hurt you, usually your parents. Consider all the advice that you "need" to forgive them, it's on you to forgive them, you're a bad person if you don't -- even though in the case of toxic or abusive parents/family, they usually don't demonstrate any remorse at all. As discussed in my earlier meta, this is especially, painfully pertinent to Aziraphale because a) Heaven is the toxic family/partner, and b) they have, indeed, not demonstrated any remorse at all. Instead, they only keep tightening the noose, emotionally manipulating and gaslighting him even more, and otherwise showing no signs of ever letting up. They want Aziraphale to apologize for what he is, what he does, what he loves -- they want him to ask them for forgiveness, and they'll make a show of granting it, but only with serious strings attached. They've already convinced him to come back to heaven, only for him to realize they haven't changed at all and still want to unleash the Apocalypse. Aziraphale's own forgiveness, despite his best intentions, is still toxic and performative because this is where he learned how to do it, and Heaven's forgiveness of any kind is only ever an emotional manipulation. So he's doing it as an emotional manipulation of his own, even if he doesn't really mean to. Etc. etc. children of abusive families having to unlearn a shitton of toxic traits/emotional reflexes, and Aziraphale is still very tied to it.

As for his "forgiveness" of Crowley after the kiss, there's a few things going on there. First, he's panicking, he doesn't know what to do, he's terrified of actually, fully choosing Crowley at that moment and therefore openly defying Heaven, and so he just reaches for it as a security blanket. He thinks it'll comfort Crowley by somehow magically telling him, "I don't hold that against you and I know why you did it, I want you too but I can't admit that," but while this might be what Aziraphale means, it's not at all what he communicates. Instead it comes off as condescending, sanctimonious, No Homo, and seemingly ultimate proof to Crowley that Aziraphale doesn't return his feelings and views the kiss as some kind of sacrilege that he, the Bad Old Demon Attempting Fleshly Temptation would otherwise be blamed for -- unless, of course, O Holy Aziraphale is so good as to forgive him for doing it. No wonder Crowley tells him not to bother. Everything that is encapsulated by that statement, and what it means for their relationship, is everything he cannot stand.

I also think we're supposed to read it in light of the also-previously-discussed metaphor for religion, queerness, and what religion, especially fundamentalist organized religion, does to queer people. In so many cases, any explicit queerness, or attempt to act on that queerness, in a religious framework, is met with this exact kind of pitying condescension: "I'll pray for you" or "I forgive you for your unseemly queer desires, as long as you repent," or "love the sinner, hate the sin" or other pious platitudes that don't represent any real acceptance and only serve to increase the hurt (not least because "love" is always in very short supply). So for Aziraphale to say that to Crowley, even if that's not really what he means, is the ultimate gut punch. It's not a coincidence that he's offered what he thinks is the best plan -- Heaven! Them as angels together! Returning to serve the terrible system in the fanciful idea they can make it Better! -- and Crowley rejects that unsatisfying and impossible framework in favor of that desperate, wild, angry kiss. It's the antithesis of what Aziraphale is offering, but he can't accept what Crowley's offering instead because it likewise is so far beyond anything he has comprehended or feels ready to take, and... ouch.

Anyway, I also don't think it's a coincidence that the next time we see them in s3 (/stares pointedly at Amazon), Aziraphale will be the one in the position of needing forgiveness -- real forgiveness -- from Crowley, and both of them damn well know it. And how they get there, and how they negotiate to the point where they reach it, will be the emotional key of that final act, and for their happy ever after.

[nyxreads]

The reason why Azriel saved Eris is because he knew Gwyn is safe and can survive it.

“You’d know if she’d died,” Azriel said, pausing his work and looking up at Cassian. He tapped his brother’s chest with a scarred hand. “Right here—you’d know, Cass.”

It seems to me that deep down he can feel his bond with Gwyn. He's calm during the time Cassian was hysterical because Azriel doesnt only trust his mate but also feels she's well and alive.

Maybe the bond didn't snap when he first rescued Gwyn but it was showed on the extra scene.

Something sparked in Azriel’s chest, but he only nodded his thanks and left. He could picture it, though, as he ascended the stairs back to the House proper. How Gwyn’s teal eyes might light upon seeing the necklace. For whatever reason . . . he could see it. But Azriel tucked away the thought, consciously erasing the slight smile it brought to his face. Buried the image down deep, where it glowed quietly.

It makes more sense than Azriel saving Elain because they have no choice. Azriel was the only one available to save Elain.

Funny, because I made one parallel about who Azriel is pertaining to in that sentence before, here if you like to check it out

Plus, how well and alive Gw*n was during the bloodrite? Oh, I'm gonna show you incase you forgot:

Gwyn still on the other side with an arrow through her thigh. Down. Too close to the males closing in— “CUT IT!” Gwyn roared. “Get up,” Nesta ground out. “Get up.” The priestess tried. She made it to her feet, but she’d never cross the bridge in time.

Gwyn still seemed to be running, then leaping into the open air, only that rope around her middle to keep her from death as she began to plunge—

Each pull had Nesta panting against the pain until Gwyn cleared the cliff edge, grimacing as the arrow through her thigh touched the ground. It had been a clean shot, but blood soaked her leg. Her face was already pale.

but the priestess still limped. Her face had grown ashen

It began snowing again around midday, and Gwyn’s steps grew staggered. Her breathing too labored. Soon Nesta and Emerie were half-carrying her between them.

“We would live,” Emerie said carefully. “I’d love nothing more than to wipe the smirks off the lips of the males in my village, but not at this cost. Not if it costs us you, Gwyn. We need you to live.” // Ch 68

Gwyn’s leg was bleeding again, her face ghostly white. None of them spoke.

Gwyn was a half-dead weight at her back. The blood loss had made her so weak it seemed she could barely hold on. // Ch 69

Meanwhile, between all the scenes Azriel showed no sign of "bond" telling him his "mate" is almost half dead. He's too busy saving Eris.

And, Azriel's chapter happened between chapter 58 and 59, here is the proof (@obviouslyelriel) , and some analysis made by @wingedblooms. I suggest you read these posts because it totally made sense and based on canon texts.

If Azriel and Gw*n are mates and the bond snapped during the Bonus Chapter, wouldn't he feel that Gw*n's already too weak? Wouldn't he react with rage and rescue his mate rather than Eris? Wouldn't he pursue Gw*n?

If that bonus chapter is a hint of them being mates wouldn't we read development between these two? The bloodrite was the perfect scene to show us where Az cpuld drop everything and go and save Gw*n because if they're truly mates nothing mattered but her safety. But we got nothing.

What did we even get after the bloodrite?

Gwyn, despite the Rite, had returned to living in the library. // Ch 80

The bonus chapter you all love to cling to is not enough basis because we barely even see the proof of the bond in the actual book. Also here's @merymoonbeam 's answer to that bonus chapter that actually made more sense than Az and Gw*n being mates.

And don't forget that almost 7pages in Az chapter is about him AND Elain, the remaining five with Gw*n happened because: His shadows had not warned him. It was too late to bank without appearing like he was running. Canon.

The other scene happened because: with every intention of returning it to the shop in the Palace of Thread and Jewels. But when he returned from the cabin in the mountains, he didn’t go to the market square. Instead, he found himself at the library beneath the House of Wind, standing before Clotho as the clock chimed seven in the evening.

If you're gonna consider it, Elain and Azriel have more mate materials in the actual bookS.

And again. Azriel was the first one to noticed Elain is missing. He is the one who initiated to rescue him no matter what happens to him. He made sure she's well before letting her go after the rescue. I don't see the "he's the only one available" when literally there's her sisters. You see, if you look at it closely, the bloodrite happened to : show Valkryies strength and their friendship, their backstory, AND romantically Cassian's reaction as a mate.

The rescue scene with Elain is the one that screams they possibly have a bond, see this: (by @viennasneverland )

And please, this will be the last time I'm gonna answer anon from other side of the fandom. As I said before, you can discuss all your "theories" on your side. There's no point on bringing it on our side and trying to make us see your point. Gw*n and Az for you might have a possible bond BUT in canon there's actually alot of seeds for Elriel. There's no point discussing your opinion with us if you're not even considering what's written in the actual books. If you wanted to have another discussion about this, then I suggest read the books because what I'm gonna answer to you is also from there.

[orange-orchard-system]

I keep getting asks about discourse even though I have said many times before that this not a place where I like to hold discourse. I don't plan to change that, but since people can't leave it alone, I'll give a rundown on some of our general Discourse Perspectives and Rules™ so I can just tap the sign if anyone else comes into our inbox or something screaming at us over any other/more discourse in the future.

I don't take call-outs or other accusations seriously unless they have reasonable proof for everything. This means that: the proof must not be easily disputable; it must not be offensive or harmful due to a misunderstanding, finding its way out of the audience it was intended for, or simple mistake due to perspective at the time it was made/said; it must not be something taken out of context. I also don't consider minor mistakes or a simple difference in opinion on minor issues something that justifies a giant call-out or cancelation, especially in cases where they can just be taken up with the op privately (or even just on a reblog chain); the call-out itself must be an appropriate reaction to any offense. Calling for a full "cancelation" of someone over a single post the op didn't mean to hurt anyone with (just as an example) is not what we'd consider appropriate.

On a related note, no, "this person has done XYZ which is bad but I'm not gonna elaborate on the how or why" is not enough for us to give a shit about whatever discourse you're yapping about. Either elaborate with sources, direct quotes, and an explanation, or leave us alone.

If we ever do speak about a call-out, us asking questions and questioning what we may see as weak points doesn't mean we're "defending" whoever the call-out is about. It just means I want clarification and/or think the call-out is being a little unfair, not that I think criticism of the person in question is necessarily unwarranted. My opinions on call-outs and my opinions on who those call-outs are about are two separate things. I can say I think something is taken out of context while agreeing that it wasn't very good in context (as just one example).

This is because call-outs and discourse – however normal they've become in modern internet times – can still be very serious things. I will engage with serious things like this with a critical eye, because I don't want to come to a rash decision that could hurt people. I consider myself decent at textual analysis, and I'm going to implement my skills at that to whatever call-outs or "why are you supporting X" messages I happen across. If I end up dismissing something based on the conclusion I draw, that does not necessarily mean I think the accused did nothing wrong, but rather that what was brought before me to accuse them does not hold up.

Just because we reblog from or talk to someone doesn't mean we agree with them on every discourse opinion they may have. In fact, we may disagree with and criticize their views, perhaps even openly – we've done it before.

Trying to explain our thoughts on every little discourse point is not worth the time or effort to us. If you can't find our public opinion on something, assume we either have a private opinion and have thought it over amongst ourselves, or don't feel we know enough to say something on it or form an Official Opinion™ (assuming we know anything at all). Discourse is not one of our hobbies, and we don't intend to make it one.

On a related note, stop assuming that everyone on the internet is fully and wholly informed on every single discourse argument going on at all times. I have a life outside of Tumblr and try not to make myself miserably overwhelmed by all the horrible things in the world; you cannot possibly expect me to understand what the hell you're talking about if you come onto my blog and start randomly accusing people of just generally being horrible with no context or explanation. I am not omniscient, I am just someone blogging on the internet.

Might add onto this in the future if we feel the need to, but I think this establishes most of our bases. Part of me can't believe this is necessary, but it's Tumblr, so better safe than sorry when it comes to discourse. Especially considering people have already tried to start shit with us many times in the past. Good to have a sign to tap for when it inevitably happens again.

[millennialmoviereviews]

I am a recovering elitist. What that means is I have spent a lot of time and energy getting angry about shit nobody cares about.

I was that Well, Actually fan for So Long. I used to describe myself as a slave to canon. And this is because, during my teens and early 20s, critical analysis and "Correct" characterization was something I felt like I could have control over, because I had "canon" to back up my claims, so when people argued with me about an opinion I had, I could just lean back and tap the sign and say "Nope, it says so right here on page 22 of Issue #138" and feel that knowledge, in some way, made me superior to other fans who had interpreted the story differently than I had.

At one point, I had become such a canon purist that I left a rude comment (not crass, but unnecessary) on someone else's artwork. It probably wasn't the first time I did, but it was the first time a mutual called me out on it. I said something wasn't canon and I didn't understand fanart that did this certain trope, and they said 'why does that matter?' I made a big long (separate) post about how I, personally, didn't like when people credited creators for representation that didn't exist in canon by pretending these characters exist that way. Very passionate. Very vulnerable. They replied "That sounds really personal but that has nothing to do with [artist's] work."

Just Like That, I realized that's how I'd been treating everything I interacted with. Like I was the center of the universe, and everything in the path of my consumption was meant to cater to me, personally. I thanked my mutual, I removed my comment on the post, I sent the artist an ask to apologize for my selfishness (which they were very gracious about), and I have tried to stay aware of my interactions with media ever since.

Because aside from it being rude to address every piece of media (especially media created for free, by strangers) as if it was meant to be designed specifically to your tastes, it's also very limiting to your own creativity to seal yourself in a bubble and reject any ideas that challenge the ones you already have.

I'm in my 30s, now, and I have met wonderful fans and friends that had vastly different takes, perspectives, ideas, and interpretations than I do. My work has never been better, I've never been happier, and I find it's much easier to find, make, and keep friends and have fun when you allow yourself to simply Enjoy things.

When you don't have to be Right about something subjective, it allows you to view a piece of art from all angles. It allows you to be curious, and be interested, and find new things you might not have come up with on your own.

When I was younger, and more insecure, I thought of art as a solitary practice. It's not! It's best when it's collaborative. You will find such joy in creation and development when you share your ideas and learn to have ideas shared with you. When you learn to sit at a metaphorical table and swap ideas with people -- from mundane, realistic headcanons to absolutely absurd and goofy thoughts -- it's so much easier and more enjoyable to find golden threads by going out and playing in the mud with friends than it is holed up on a pedestal alone.

I have slipped on my ego many times, and I will continue to do that, but recovering isn't about being perfect right away, it's about putting in the effort. If you struggle with ideas that challenge your comfort character/series headcanons, I hope that you let yourself try to enjoy different ideas. You don't have to adopt them, you don't have to change your mind, but we also don't need to take conflicting ideas as personal attacks. There is plenty of room in the sandbox.

Remember: Fandom is a shared space, full of all different people, who are all going to take different things away from the material. It's not a bad thing! Our varied perspectives, our favored tropes, our personal creativities, these are collaborative qualities we can use to make each other better at exploring and expressing. These are ways we can connect with and share ourselves with each other.

All this to say, life gets so much better when you can acknowledge interpretations as a labor of love. Even if they're not your interpretation, even if that interpretation isn't your flavor, someone out there loves something enough to invest time into the exploration of it, and we shouldn't be vilifying each other for that.

If you, too, are an artist of any kind, I offer a personal challenge:

Take the time to ask yourself why you do or do not like something, really try to understand and analyze where that response comes from, and what brought it about. It will teach you so much, and you can then use that knowledge to communicate and evoke those feelings more effectively your own work!

[scripttorture]

One of the central characters in a fantasy story I'm writing has torture as part of her backstory. She was captured by an evil race, and one individual in particular put her through a "training" regime designed to turn her into a useful/trustworthy slave. Specifically the goals of the training were:

- destroy her sense of self / agency

- overwrite her ingrained response of healing herself when injured (she has magical healing powers)

- an affectionate or worshipful disposition towards her captors

- immediate obedience to any command

I feel like both physical and psychological torture / mental conditioning are probably appropriate, though I'm leaning away from including sexual abuse. I honestly don't know much about torture at all and the only things that come to mind as producing a result similar to what I'm looking for are the Game of Thrones torture sequence and the use of obdience collars in the Codex Alera book series. The latter is very interesting to me because it is a magical device that inflicts pain in reaction to disobedience but also inflicts pleasure to reward obedience.

I guess I'm just wondering if you have any advice for what kinds of methods would be good to include in a process designed to produce obedience, rather than torture for its own sake or to extract information, as well as if there are any common pitfalls I should try to avoid in writing about such a thing.

The training itself won't be in the book, but I need to be familiar with it for backstory purposes because later in the story this character encounters her torturer again, and is subjected to some further abuse before she finally overcomes her fear and kills him.

Alright well I’m going to be straight up with you: the scenario you’ve presented is a very common torture apologist trope. It’s incredibly unrealistic. And it’s unrealistic in ways that support torture by claiming it can be ‘useful’.

 Which probably means that you’re new to the blog and haven’t heard me give this talk before. That’s OK, we all learn sometime and it’s not my intention to shame you for the fact you’re not as obsessed with this stuff as I am or couldn’t afford to shell out for the books.

 Torture does not produce obedience. The best evidence we have right now suggests it encourages active resistance.

 If you got a lot of your inspiration from Game of Thrones then frankly I’m not surprised you came up with apologia. The torture in that series is incredibly badly handled. And a big part of the point of running this blog is that most people are getting their information on torture from shows like that. Which happens because the research is inaccessible and hasn’t been popularised the way fictional tropes (sometimes fictional tropes literally started by torturers) have been popularised.

 The important thing is what you choose to do now.

 I’m going to break down the problems here and make some suggestions for what you could do instead.

 Firstly: there is no torture or abuse that will guarantee obedience. Pain does not make people meek or compliant or willing to follow commands.

 Torture survivors are not broken.

 They are not ‘controlled’ by their torturers and the suggestion that they are is used in the real world to bar real survivors from treatment. It is also used to bar them from entering safe countries and to argue that they shouldn’t be allowed visas or passports.

 The best statistics we have for any sort of compliance under torture come from analysis of historical French data where torture was used to try and force confessions (something we know torture can sometimes do).

 The ‘success’ rate averaged at 10%. Under torture 90% of people will not comply long enough to sign their name.

 Secondly: torture does not and can not ‘make’ a victim feel ‘worshipful’ towards their torturer. The suggestion is kind of like asking if someone can tap dance immediately after removing the bones from their legs.

 Torturers have no control over a victim’s emotions. They have no control over their symptoms. They have no control over their beliefs.

 And there is no such thing as a torture that can change someone’s mind in a way torturers can control.

 Once again, this fictional trope is used by politicians and the media to justify marginalising real torture survivors.

 I have read hundreds, possibly thousands, of accounts from torture survivors. I’ve read historic and modern accounts. I’ve read accounts from all sort of people from all over the globe. I have never seen a survivor say anything positive about their torturers. I have never seen anything close to toleration.

 A lot of survivors are blisteringly angry at their torturers. A lot of them feel overwhelming levels of spite and some report literally putting themselves at risk of death in order to spite their torturers. And yes, a lot of them are afraid too. None of these emotions are mutually exclusive.

 Affection is impossible. We are not wired that way.

 Thirdly: I understand that ‘evil races’ are a long standing fantasy trope but it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention the racism inherent in that idea. That some people are ‘born bad’.

 I’d strongly suggest you look up the Black, Indian and First Nations people that I know are on this site critiquing these kinds of fantasy tropes. Because they will be able to explain it better then I can.

 Fourthly: the term ‘psychological torture’ is a pretty common dog whistle for torture apologia.

 Most of the time tortures that people dub ‘psychological’ are things with real, physical effects that lead to lasting injury and death. They just don’t tend to leave obvious external scars. I use Rejali’s term ‘clean torture’ for these techniques. Researchers distinguish them from scarring tortures because they are harder to detect and prove in court.

 The majority of survivors today will have experienced clean torture. They will have no obvious physical scars. But they will still be disabled. They’re ‘just’ less likely to see any form of justice for it.

 Fifthly: torture is a terrible training method because it decreases a person’s ability to learn.

 Torture causes memory problems. It also often causes lasting physical injuries that make performing basic tasks more difficult. And it causes a lot of serious psychological problems which make performing basic tasks more difficult.

 A trained person who was never tortured will always out perform someone whose training involved torture.

 I probably sound quite angry here.

 I write fantasy and I also write about torture a lot. But I can’t imagine that it’s just flavour for a fantasy world or some artefact of the past. Torture is a real, present threat in the country that I grew up in. If I was to return now I could, literally, be tortured and executed.

 If you want to include torture in your world, in your story then you are committing to telling someone else’s story. You are representing an incredibly marginalised group of people and you are presenting that representation to a third group, one that has never had contact with real torture survivors.

 Are you comfortable with the idea of telling your peers that survivors are still controlled by ‘the enemy’? That they’re passive? That they don’t have the capacity to make their own decisions?

 Are you comfortable knowing that the popularity of this message keeps millions of genocide survivors in refugee camps, blocked from citizenship, aid and safety?

 I understand feeling attached to a story and a character. And I understand that this information is hard to find. Hell I’m probably going to end up with the only English copy of one of the pivotal textbooks because I’m shelling out to get it translated.

 You say you want to write a torture survivor. With respect I don’t think you know what a torture survivor looks like.

 I think the most helpful, and kindest, thing I can do here is describe what torture does to people. Because I can’t tell you whether that’s something you want to write. I could try and rebuild this scenario for you (and if you decide you’re interested in that after reading all of this and all the links then I suggest looking through the blog tags for ICURE, torture as training, Black Widow and Overwatch.) But I think you need to decide whether you actually want to write a torture survivor first.

 Here’s a post on the most common torture apologia tropes.

 Here’s the post on the types of memory problems torture commonly causes. I strongly recommend picking at least one.

 Remember that this would never go away. Improvement and recovery in torture survivors means learning to live with symptoms. The symptoms themselves are permanent.

 It’s a hundred different alarms set up on their phone to try and make up for the forgetfulness that makes them miss appointments. It’s the little bottle of perfume in their pocket to bring themselves back to reality when they get intrusive memories at work.

 Here’s a post on the other common symptoms.

 You want something in the range of 3-5 of those, though more are likely if your character is held for years. Each of them should be severe. Every single symptom should have a large, negative, impact on the character’s daily life.

 Do you know anyone with chronic pain? It warps their world. Work can become impossible. Basic household tasks like getting dressed, cooking, cleaning the dishes are done through gritted teeth or not at all. Hobbies and ‘fun’ activities dwindle as they struggle to find a way to do them that doesn’t hurt. Interaction with other people, even loved ones, can easily become barbed.

 Because the pain makes everything more difficult. It means everything takes more energy, more effort. Which means that things fall by the wayside, whether that’s by a pile of mouldering dishes in the sink or snapping at a child. It means tears and the social judgement that follows them. It means the world narrowing as it gets harder to go out.

 Do you see what I mean? Every part of life.

 That’s an example for one symptom. You need to work out at least four. Then figure out how they interact. Then figure out what the character can do to make her life better.

 With chronic pain that can mean painkillers but it’s always more then that. It’s re-learning how to do things; how to put on trousers without aggravating the bad knee, how to sew with one hand. It means learning to cut down on what they do and it means learning a new sort of flexibility; accepting that there are days when the pain is too much.

 It can mean having the same conversation about disability over and over again. With family, with friends, with colleagues. ‘I can’t do that.’ ‘I can do that sometimes but not always.’ ‘That will hurt me.’ ‘I can’t use that chair.’ ‘I can’t get my arms that high above my shoulders.’ ‘I need help with this.’

 And that sometimes means learning a kind of patience that is really barely held back rage. Or perhaps I’m projecting a little with this last one.

 If you’ve never met a torture survivor, if you’ve never looked at a survivor’s work, then all this is difficult. You’re trying to imagine something from first principals with nothing to fall back on.

 So let’s bring some survivors into the discussion here. Some reality.

 Who’s listened to Fela? How about Bobi Wine?

 Fela Kuti was the father of modern Afro beats music. He was tortured multiple times and during one attack, which destroyed his home, his mother was murdered by the military. When he got out of jail Fela marched her funeral procession past the biggest barracks in Nigeria’s biggest city. He wrote two songs about this attack and he doubled down on his opposition to the military government.

 Fela’s music started causing riots.

 You can read what I have to say about him here. You can listen to his music on youtube.

 Here’s an interview with Bobi Wine, which was conducted shortly after he was tortured in Uganda. He talked about how he was determined to go back and continue fighting. Which he did. He even ran against the president.

 I’ve also got a short piece on Searle who was a cartoonist captured by the Japanese during World War 2. His drawings of what happened in To the Kwai and Back are worth seeing. Especially if you want to write atrocities on this scale. They will show you the scale and how to focus on the small, human elements despite that overwhelming scale.

 Alleg’s The Question is pretty much a must, it’s one of the most thorough accounts from the Franco-Algerian war.

 Monroe’s A Darkling Plain is also a must, it’s a series of interviews with survivors of various different conflicts and atrocities. Some are torture survivors. Some are not. It is essential reading because it shows the variety in survivors as well as giving a sense of their lives beyond the symptoms.

 Finally Amnesty International has literally hundreds of interviews and studies available for free online.

 The most important decision for any story with regards to torture is whether it should be there at all.

 So much of this topic is intimidating and so much of it is difficult to write. Not just in the ‘oh this is horribly effecting’ sense but in the ‘I have twelve things to juggle in this simple scene’ sense.

 Ask yourself what torture adds to this character and this story. What does this backstory actually give this character?

 Because if the point is to have her vulnerable and then ultimately triumphing violently over her attackers I don’t think you want a torture scenario. You could get the same thing from a bad guy trying to drug her and having the kidnapping fail when she fights him off, clumsy but effective nonetheless.

 And she could still come out of something like that traumatised.

 Right now I really don’t see this adding anything but torture apologia to your story.

 Handling torture well in a story means accepting that it can’t be the same story without it. It means watching the characters and narrative warp under the weight of it. It means lasting effects, for all the characters and for the world itself.

 I believe you are capable of writing that if you want to, pet. But this ain’t it.

Edit: I’m having trouble seeing the beginning of the answer here. Can anyone let me know if there are formatting issues again please? The first word in the htmal is ‘Alright’ but what I’m seeing on tumblr starts 8 paragraphs in.

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Disclaimer

[nightswithkookmin]

JIKOOK MMA 2020- COMMENTARY

Disclaimer: This is a commentary, not an expert analysis. I am not a ballerina. LTRS.

Let's all agree right here, right now, that if ever a moment deserve to be immortalized for all eternity, that it is this moment right here: the moment Jungkook lifts Jimin off the ground- it is the most super iconic IT moment of the year as far as shipping goes. Damn, was it beautiful. Goddamn!

Personally, I had so many flashbacks of unchartered fantasies, hopes and dreams- the least delusional of which is JK saying with a deep voice, after lifting JM off the ground, 'would you marry me please' and Jimin, shook out of his wits would respond in Satoori, 'we are already married, you idiot. Now put me down!' Lol.

What? A girl can dream... Leave me alone. Lol

A lot has been said of this dance and so I won't rumble on for long. I'm just gonna focus on the moments that stood out for me:

The first of which would be the build up to that performance- BigHit, you sneaky conglomerate bastard! Lol.

Y'all saw what they did there right? For weeks I have been bombarded with questions about the seemingly 'tensions' between Jikook- everyone was slipping me the 'something is up with Jikook' pill but chilee, I look at them and all I could see was Jikook up in their shenanigans. Lol

I think I mentioned this in a previous post? Anywho. I think the thing that most of us was experiencing with Jikook was the unnecessary 'limited' interactions between them in the recent content we had been getting post Jimin's birthday but regardless, there were still moments of them 'giving themselves away' like in the Grammy reaction video when Jimin instinctively turned to JK in his moment of excitement.

His hesitation was worrying though, because normally he wouldn't- they wouldn't, hesitate to hug the person that they want to hug in their moments of emotional outbursts unless something was hindering them.

Ergo, I felt, if he was hesitating, then clearly it meant there was something holding him back or stressing their dynamic- I think I've definitely talked about this right? Instinctual reactions and all that jazz?

It didn't feel like he was having problems with Kook though, honestly. Because, in spite of all these little inconsistent moments of 'tensions' between them, Jimin for the most part has been giving me the vibe he is falling in love all over again with Kook- Dont ask me why. Lol. This is just gonna be one of those statements I make in passing. Take note of it though, I'll talk about it again soon.

But from the little I've seen post Jimin's birthday, that's the vibe I'm getting. If you believe Jimin is in love with Kook and you have an idea of when he started falling in love with Kook in their love Journey, then I think you'd catch the signs too? If not, never mind. Lol.

Every now and then, I see him go through this phase- in my opinion. I can't wait to talk about it. And yes, it is what I meant when I said Jikook's dynamics seem to have flipped again lately. Time to turn on the crazy. Lol.

These minimum interactions between Jikook however, to me, felt more as if they were being 'monitored' or asked to 'tone things down' by the company or something rather than that they were having actual issues in their relationship- know what I mean?

For the love of me, I couldn't figure out why the company would ask them to tone things down... Until the blackswan performance.

I feel somehow that the lack of content and moments between Jikook in recent times, coupled with the seemingly faux tensions between them prior to their performance at the MMAs, without question, contributed to the wow factor of their performance. In my opinion- but stay with me.

BigHit ain't slick. Lol.

It's so on brand for them though, isn't it? Demand and supply and all that jazz. Chilee. Scarcity inflates the value of a product. I mean we've seen JK lift and carry Jimin in their dance performances several times now yet we can't deny this came as a shock and surprise for us all because we had zero idea what was 'going on between Jikook' behind the cameras- straight up Jedi mind trick. Lol.

Not to say the performance itself wasn't spectacular in of its own. I'd be mad damn liar and a fool if I peddled that nonsense anywhere. Lol.

I just want to point out how BigHit utilizes and taps Jikook's brand and magic in their business model, as this provides a stark contrast against BTS's marketing strategy for their self produced Album Be.

I tried explaining in my LGO analysis, how that project was a personal project of BTS' as a group and how as a group they had their own perception of brand and what sells- or who sells amongst them, as such they weren't going to and didn't star Jikook in that project as front and center.

Contrasting that project to this project, which is more of a BigHit piloted project rather than a personal project of the group's, you can see how Jikook's brand stands out and how it is being highlighted or even exploited for maximum return.

This is what I mean when I say Jikook is a brand. A powerful brand at that and that BigHit has a stake in their brand.

Jikook once again, overshadowed and dare I say, over powered BTS's own brand in that Blackswan performance- chileee, that performance was so Jikookcentric I forgot the others were even there. Lol.

I mean I saw NamJin jump in the foreground somewhere... I'm gonna get canceled am I not? Lmho.

VHope were powerful too. But I couldn't help but notice how neither of those individuals could have sold it the way JK did, had they been in his shoes. V and Hobi both have stamina and presence, yet for some reason I just can't picture either of them lifting Jimin up and spinning him the way JK did and does- not that they can't...

It's just, they take the spotlight too. Jimin is captivating when he dances- or does anything quiet frankly. And usually, he shines under the spotlight when there is undivided attention on him.

When he is paired with Hobi, V or even Suga, very often they act as distractions as they tend to compete with him for the viewer's attention and as such they don't necessarily compliment him. In my opinion.

Often too, when he is paired with RM or Jin, he tends to outshine them and make them look like rookies- Namjin... bless their hearts. Lol.

Kookie is the only member in the group that I feel compliments Jimin- well. Not that he isn't a great dancer too like Hobi or V, it's just whenever he is paired with Jimin in a performance he has the tendency to waive his spotlight and cede it to Jimin by letting go off his own shine and spotlight as well as his competitive spirit so Jimin can be highlighted.

It's why he is the perfect partner for Jimin and the perfect choice for this role in their duet. I think. He pulled it off guys. He PULLED IT OFF-chef's kiss JK. Chef's fucking kiss! Lol.

JK often talks about how he prefers to 'be behind the cameras,' how he often films the members but doesn't like being filmed or being in the spotlight and you see this in his GCFs where he takes the back bench and allows Jimin or even the others to dally in front of the camera.

I don't know if he is aware he does this in his dance too- because for the longest time critics often commented on his stage presence or lack of it there off- their words not mine...

Frankly, I never saw it that way. Because, paired with any other member, he squares up. Chilee. Lmho.

It's one thing to look great next to your partner, it's another to look great together next to eachother and Jikook looked great together in that moment- just exquisite and outstandingly beautiful.

The point of the black swan dance as RM had said in their blackswan Film reaction video, is not to highlight all seven but one- Jimin and that is exactly what JK did on that stage.

Jimin I felt wasn't as intense as he often is in his solo performances. He is brutal in the way he captures attention when he performs alone on a stage. His aura is demanding and alluring and if you can tear your eyes away from him when he is in the height of his performances then- share your magic formula you lucky bastard. Free us all from Jimin's hold. HELP! Lol.

But for some reason, in this performance, he wasn't lost in himself in the moment. It took me a while to understand what was happening-he was equally relinquishing his shine so Kook could share the spotlight with him- please, leave me here to die.

They each compete against the members when they perform with them on a stage, but they never seem to compete against eachother. They move in awareness of eachother and lift eachother up. They enhance eachother's presence and when they collide it's harmonious. This is what we mean when we say Jikook compliment eachother- nobody is doing it like them.

They were both powerful in their strides, graceful in their descent. They did it. They killed it.

Signed,

GOLDY

[orionsangel86]

re: the groping, it's not gay imo, just an aggressive way to assert dominance. jared clearly isn't all there, and i'm sorry, but any grown man who thinks getting that physical with his friends is just 'good fun'...well, isn't very grown at all. which we knew anyway. remember that crew member who was talking about it? how j2 have fun ruining takes and meanwhile everyone else has to work overtime? ugh. i don't like that side of them at all. entitled pricks.

okay woaaah, lets ease up on the negativity there nonny.

Okay look, with the whole gay joke thing, yeah if you want my totally honest opinion? I don’t think that when Jared does it, it’s some sign that he is gay for his co-stars at all. I don’t like the groping thing. It’s not a “prank”. It’s downright sexual harassment and it makes me uncomfortable. Now, if Misha is cool with it, fine. I’m not gonna go lecture Misha about how he should probably report his costars for unwanted touching. There seems to be a mentality between the three of them where they don’t have the same kind of boundaries that most normal people do, and I don’t know if that’s just because they are all so extremely close and see each other like brothers - not that I think any actual brothers would legit grope each other either - or whatever. Hence me saying it baffles me. 

Like I said in my original reblog to that post, the only other time I have heard of men actually groping each other is apparently during rugby matches - unsure about other sports - but what goes on in a scrum is apparently quite shocking - not that I have any first hand experience but the behaviour is purely to put off your competitors so you can win the scrum or whatever the terminology is. 

When Jensen does it, it’s never with the same malice as Jared. I think the few times we’ve actually seen that behaviour from him - which is rare - it’s less a grope and more of a tap or a stroke - I think that whilst he is influenced by Jared’s behaviour, he is still much more reserved with it, and I get the impression that he only ever does it with Misha and only when he thinks Misha would be okay with it. Jensen genuinely knows when to stop, whereas Jared doesn’t. That’s the big difference between them. Do I think that Jensen acts out of some repressed desire to reach out and touch Misha though? Yes I do. Most definitely. That’s the other big difference. Jared does it purely to fuck with Misha, Jensen does it to satisfy an urge in himself. So maybe there is an element of “gay” to what Jensen is doing. I don’t really know, its just an opinion based on observation and a leaning towards cockles ideology I suppose, hence my analysis is biased. But his behaviour is different to Jared’s.

Nevertheless I still don’t like it, and yes I remember that crew members story and yes I think it is really unprofessional for your actors to constantly mess up takes on purpose and fuck things up, yes I do think it is arrogant and inconsiderate to the people that have to clean up after them and work super late because of it. Yes, everything I hear about what goes on on the set of Supernatural makes me shudder and if I ever did end up working in the industry (highly unlikely now) then the Supernatural set sounds like a nightmare I’d want to avoid.

Is this all extremely controversial and will probably lead to people being grumpy with me? Probably. The fact is nonny, “entitled pricks” is a bit harsh, well, a lot harsh actually. Whilst I somewhat agree with your sentiment, in that their behaviour is problematic, people tend to get jumpy when you criticise their faves. Maybe try to phrase your ask differently next time.