mmmaesthetic:

pomegranate-salad:

garrodactyl:

pomegranate-salad:

Hey guys ! We’re doing something a little different this month
because instead of separating analysis and opinion (well, as much as I can) I’m
doing a single piece about this month’s issue. Those of you who’ve followed me
for a while probably know why, but I simply didn’t feel confident I could do an
“objective” analysis of the elements of the issue while having such strong
feelings about it. So anyway, thoughts and spoilers under the cut. And just a reminder, if you’d like to help me not be broke, you can make a small donation here.

Keep reading

So as someone else who’s dealt with this (surprise, I was Baphomet here), I agree with most of this analysis but not all of it? I think some of these beats were handled poorly, but I had zero issues with how it ended.

So I’m gonna rehash a thing that happened to me in the past. CW abuse.

The first time I drank away from home was with my high school ex. We were both 17 and a box of Franzia in and it was New Year’s Eve and she hit me. Several times. Every time, I’d tell her to stop and try to walk away, and then she’d say she loved me, call me back, and, like a drunk teenager I’d come back, and then she’d giggle and hit me again. For the longest time I excused it as just us being dumb kids, but I think I’m only now realizing how fucked up it all was?

Anyway, to me, Morrigan has always been that moment. I hate you, no wait I love you, come back so I can hate you some more, isn’t this a fun game we’re playing?

Badb is the hating, Annie is the thing-that-is-called-loving-that-isn’t, and the Macha is that third part, the part that thinks it’s all a joke (haha, you don’t REALLY think I’m abusive, do you? It’s not like I [INSERT ACTION HERE]).

I have no issue with the fact that Morrigan apparently always thought this was a game, and I don’t necessarily agree with Pom’s take here (at least as it applies to my life). I think that, if someone views a relationship as a place to exert power over another, “gamelike” thinking is an entirely accurate descriptor. I don’t think she thought, or cared, that she was causing harm, because in her mind, she and Baphomet were playing a game together. Baphomet never thought it was a game, of course, but Morrigan always did, and used that fact to take pleasure in abuse and minimize whatever doubts she may have had about it along the way.

I agree with Pom’s take re: pacing. We spent so long away from the goths, only to return as if nothing has happened. If you’re not going to devote space to exploring the long downslide that lead to this issue, at least heavily imply what went down in the interim. I can’t imagine spending that long in the dark is good for either of their psyches.

I think to me, the end of this issue was two things, and though I felt catharsis from it I wish the intended message was a little clearer here. On the one hand, it’s possible that Morrigan, in that moment, genuinely realized that yes, she was an abuser, and attempted to undo what she’d done the only way she knew how (which, I think, is a common fantasy of someone on the receiving end of abuse: your partner heroically admitting they’re wrong and that they fully intended to care for you all along). On the other hand, it’s entirely possible that Morrigan wanted to play the martyr, and this, I think, is the more sinister & cynical take on it: resurrecting Baph was in its own way an act of abuse. By doing this, all of her gaslighting takes on a new weight- she sacrificed herself for him, after all, so she can’t have been wrong about him, right? She leaves him second-guessing forever, robs him of the satisfaction of ending things on his terms, and she gets to go out like she’s always wanted, in a blaze of bloody crows at midnight in a train station. I think the answer is a little of both of these.

In sum, I liked this issue a lot, and it was true to my experience, but I can absolutely see how others wouldn’t feel the same way.

Thanks for your analysis as usual, @pomegranate-salad ; I look forward to your Seeds of Thought almost as much as I look forward to the actual WicDiv issue releases.

Another excellent take on the issue. I did also consider sacrificing herself as an ultimate act of abuse (as it also applies to my experience), since it’s very common after all for abusers to threaten to commit suicide in order to control their victim by using their guilt. But i really think this meaning should have be a lot clearer if it was intended. As @garrodactyl said, this still comes off as victory for Baphomet, which i think is not where the storyline was heading.
Thank you for your addition (and sharing a personal story), i think it matters to have several voices on this issue.

Yeah I kinda wanna chime in on this, I agree with a lot of Pom’s take but I’ve also viewed an abusive relationship develop over time. My mom remarried and for a long time my stepdad was emotionally abusive, he’d shout and throw tantrums at any kind of small argument–”clean up your stuff” became a screaming match, followed by screeching tires. As my bio dad abandoned me, this was pretty psychologically hurtful to everyone. However as time passed my mom’s depression got much worse, she started drinking, and became emotionally abusive as well. This isn’t every case of abuse but I see Morrigan/Baph as being dysfunctional in the beginning, and becomes more abusive the longer they’re gods and the more imperial the gods become. These are two people that should’ve just broken up and stayed that way, or could maybe change if godhood weren’t in the way. I think the sequence of Morrigan turning into a literal bird and clawing at her face is to show that like Amaterasu or Sakhmet, godhood makes people act in ways they normally wouldn’t and enhances their worst traits. Not that this excuses their behavior, but I can’t see characters behaving this way if they weren’t gods. I’ve seen normal people become abusers not out of malice or intent but their own problems. This isn’t an excuse for behavior but not all abusers are intentionally malicious. A lot of them are totally convinced they are 100% right, feel justified in lashing out and hurting others because of their own pain. My mom, for example, would frequently scream that all her problems were because she had me. Later she’d tell me she didn’t remember even saying that. I’m still working through it–in vino veritas is a saying that’s hard to combat, especially when your mother slurs it at you in defense–so my judgement is clouded by this perspective, as is anyone’s. Unlike Amaterasu or Woden, who are used to communicate a general message about white women/white men and privilege; I think Morrigan/Baph’s situation is specific to them. I don’t see Baph living as a “victory” at all, I didn’t feel super happy at the end of the issue or like he’d triumphed. I’m glad he’s alive but this isn’t the same “woo hoo!” victory feeling I had after, say, some action beats in Rising Action. It’s just a big, fucked up situation. Ultimately I think everyone involved or reacting to abusive relationships has a different take and will react to this storyline differently, and I don’t think any responses are bad or wrong. IMO I thought this issue was great, I thought the flashbacks/fightscene was fine and not too ham-fisted. I read it as Baph thinking about this stuff as he’s fighting. I also really liked the effectiveness of the pages and pages of black panels. If the reader is annoyed at the wasted space, I think that’s kind of the point, as it makes you feel something close to what Minervananke is feeling. In that case I think it’s kind of great. I dunno, there’s something about this issue–Morrigan’s creepy claw-arm, her disturbing victory smile, the bird face, the Badb reaction shot–that I keep thinking about over and over. Again though this is just my opinion based on my personal experience and what I’ve seen, I want to add that obviously not every abusive relationship or abuser is the same as what I’ve experienced, and I don’t want to devalue anyone else’s experience or be dismissive.