Abuse has a goal behind it, and a lot of the time, it's about changing the victims behavior. If someone screams at you for not doing X activity, eventually you learn to do X activity. If someone hits you when you defy them, eventually you learn not to defy them. If someone abuses you frequently enough, and you begin to break down to their will... It is possible to reach a point where it may seem like you're not being abused anymore.
They don't yell anymore because you stay quiet and do what you're told. They don't threaten you anymore because you don't voice even the slightest disagreement or need. What used to be screaming fighting arguments have become lectures at your expense. They may even praise you for doing what they want you to. And all those mundane moments - breakfast, the rare kind act - stand out more. Your perception of the relationship skews even more. It's all normal now.
And it's still abuse. It's just reached its end goal - wearing you down so badly that they don't need to overtly abuse you anymore to get what they want. All they need to do is make a joke, or complain to guilt you, or tell you want to do/not to do, etc. etc. The fact that's all it takes now doesn't make what's happening to you less severe - if anything, it means you're in much, much more danger than you could realize.
It's abuse. It's horrific. It's just not obvious anymore... and that's terrifying. You deserve so, so much better. You deserve to truly be safe - not to have your wellbeing held behind fearful compliance. That's not safety. That's not love. That's abuse. It being psychological doesn't make it less dangerous.
I've never been in a spirit halloween and I want to so bad! I know its dumb, but the fact that I've been raised with idea that a tacky seasonal store is a sign of the devil makes it spicy I swear.
“I could make him better” well I could take him shopping at a Spirit Halloween and kiss him with my apostate lips in the makeup aisle while you think we’re doing homework
characters who arent canonically gay but whose behavior just makes no sense unless you read them as gay
Yeah I don't reccomend.
Yo anyone else developing a phobia of asking for help since all the people who are willing to help you require your allegiance to an abusive cult to acknowledge your existence 😎
Have you guys seen the golden cow its pretty cool. probably even cooler than God
Thank you for this
how long does it take zuko to convince his staff that he isn’t gonna slap, punch, beat, banish, or otherwise assault them?
that they aren’t about to lose their job (or life) over a spilled cup or broken vase?
that he’s not trying to trick them when he says they can relax the ornate and complex flattery each time they leave the room?
that he means it when he bans corporal punishment in the palace (and out of it) and that they really can come to him if someone forgets that rule?
that they haven’t upset him or wronged him when he asks to take his meal without the full serving staff of twenty watching him?
zuko is sensitive, even when he tries not to be, and watching these people be so afraid of him would break his heart. but that also means we gets to see it when they begin to open up to him.
firelord zuko who’s feeding the turtleduks when a toddler comes running over. she almost topples into the water but zuko sweeps her up before she’s in any danger. he holds her in his lap and shows her how to feed them gently. when the mother comes careening out screaming for her child she stops short at the sight of zuko and collapses into a bow, head to the floor. she begs forgiveness but zuko shakes his head, and offers his hand for her to stand. he hands over her daughter, asks the girl’s name. his guard calls him back into meetings so he leaves with a smile and a bow to both of them. it’s the first time a child hasn’t been afraid of zuko here in the fire nation, and he smiles all week
firelord zuko who spends months trying to win over the kitchen staff enough the let him make his own tea. they refuse at first (as much as one is allowed to) and stand on principle. but zuko is patient, so patient, so he begins to visit the kitchens once a week. he tells the head chef he’s going to come, it’s not a surprise. and he just thanks the staff, asks their names, maybe mentions an earth nation dish he had that’s native to a region who’s dignitaries are coming. once he’s been a few times he asks about their lives. simple things, never much more than yes or no answers; he doesn’t want to force them into speaking more than they’re comfortable just because he is their firelord. but 10 months in, and he finally convinces the guards, tasters, and head chef he can make his own tea. the head chef still insists on checking the tea as it comes in (special shipment from the jasmine dragon of course) because he’s been working in the palace for a long time and he’s seen many leaders but zuko is the first firelord he’s actually wanted to serve. and he’s seen this 18 year old kid trying so damn hard to help the palace and nation heal, tying so hard to win favor with his dishwashers, that he wants to keep safe. he may not prepare the tea, but not a leaf gets to the firelord that isn’t personally checked by him.
and in a couple years, the permeating sense of fear and dread begins to leech out of the palace. maybe the maids start humming in the corridors, maybe the washer women laugh and talk as they go about their business, maybe the royal dressers don’t flinch at the scars all across their young leaders skin anymore
maybe the country is being run by a smart, kind, genuine young man who works tirelessly to restore their honor as people of the fire nation. zuko brings music, art, poetry, dancing and life back to the fire nation. he teaches the wisdom he learned from the sun warriors and old masters: fire isn’t just hate and death. it can be life, light, a sun blazing inside you and he fosters that light in his people. so they can shed the last 100 years of hatred together and foster a new nation of peace
questioning your gender for the longest time only to realize that it's something that most people sort of "have" and that your ideas of what your gender might be/might've been were just gender expressions; THEN questioning whether those expressions ARE your gender or not because some people are GNC but not everyone is and for some people, expression and identity ARE linked, so you wonder if yours is/are, too, only to finally conclude. Nope. No gender. 0%. Cart empty.
Hey folks, reminder that if you ever got suckered into a cult, it wasn't because there was anything wrong with you. You didn't sign up to be hurt. You didn't misinform yourself on purpose. You were taken advantage of by someone who exploited your vulnerabilities. Getting into a cult is like getting into any other abusive relationship - it's not the victim/survivor's fault.
I'm a queer nerd with religous trauma, let's be friends! Icon by @haxxydraws
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