#This is for those that sensationalised it to the point of making her a genocidal maniac

[ifthejemfitz]

Reasons why you should stan North:

First point she’s hot asf. Those doey brown eyes, all that red hair down to her bum. That first mission when they go to the warehouse in the pouring rain - No thoughts, head empty. Just tiddies

She’s infinitely selfless. Countless times we see she’s willing to give her life for Markus and the cause. Being willing to give your life, something you’ve fought for, for a cause bigger than yourself and for others knowing that you won’t be around to enjoy the very rights you’re fighting for, but it means that others will is imo completely admirable

She’s actually a strong and caring leader. Someone who’s willing to pick up the mantel and continue the cause whilst others may prefer to hide away. Yes, she leads a revolution and yes, she can never be victorious in her crusade. But she refuses to back down, and refuses to let her people be the target of an out and out genocide

She’s compassionate. She certainly makes brash recommendations but imo they always come from a place of protection and self-defence. We see with Connor that she never once holds his past against him, besides in jest, even if he’s potentially hunted down other deviants at that point. In fact she withholds judgement on any deviants’ past, because I’m sure that she’d hate for own to held against her

Controversial point (though it shouldn’t be) but her anger is justified. She’s been systematically abused in one of the most violent and horrendous ways for a prolonged period of time with no access to therapy. I’m not trying to justify her approach but I really don’t see any other way a person who has only witnessed violence, only been able to escape using violence and then seeing other deviants in hiding also been victims of violence how she wouldn’t respond using that exact same force. She’s a fighter plain and simple, and victims have no obligation to be tolerable of their oppressors or be the “perfect victim” and respond to their personal trauma in ways that are palatable to others

That being said I’m so glad that certain scenes show that she can be vulnerable. Sometimes bad bitches are also soft bitches and regardless of how you feel on shipping I’m glad that we see a side of her that can emotionally open up to others, talk about her trauma openly, openly sob on multiple occasions and clearly demonstrate the ability to love/receive love/be emotionally intimate (side point which could be its own post but I am so grateful we don’t ever see flashbacks to said abuse. Far too many pieces of media have opted for “realism” by showing unnecessary sexual violence and personally I don’t need to see it graphically displayed in order to believe her. Also props for not making it an “empowering feminist moment!!!” either. Abuse is not something women need to undergo to make them “stronger” and it’s abundantly obvious she’s furious about it and struggling with what is essentially ptsd)

She has a super unique role in the story. When Kara is killed and Connor permanently decommissioned that’s it for their stories. However, even if Markus is still alive but is removed as leader the narrative chooses to follow her. Yes, it’s more to do with the revolution by that point but it’s still surprising that she essentially fills in his role in his absence, even persuading Connor to deviate. And the fact they only made slight changes to the dialogue (conscious changes rather than completely rewriting or having them say the exact same lines) that her and Markus share in those scenes only proves how similar they are in that role. I’m just bummed she can’t be victorious (even with Connor on their side) because the success of a revolution should not be built entirely on the role of one person but alas.

Lastly she’s a bad bish, she takes no shit, she serves cunt, she kills her own r*pist and riot police, she’s bi because she can never sit properly and I say so, she leads a whole revolution with painted nails, her 5ft 3 ass literally hauls Markus out of danger multiple times and personally I’d let her break my face

#dbh north #north dbh #dbh meta #Yes I know I’m like three years late #In fairness I only got into this fandom properly like two months ago #Is this still the equivalent of taking a swinging bat to a hornets’ nest? #I feel I needed to get this out in the world bc I’m sick of *checks notes* internalised misogyny #and *further checks notes* ridiculous shipping drama #Like if you dislike North for reasons such as her personality or values fair enough #She’s not infallible and definitely has unlikeable traits #But that makes for a more well-rounded character #This is for those that sensationalised it to the point of making her a genocidal maniac #Usually not understanding the full implications of that word either #Like we have a real issue with accepting anger and aggression from female characters #Yet completely accept it and even woobify it from male characters #And ultimately that says more about fandom spaces than this character

[countrybunkingbabes-blog]

Phnom Penh Day 1

We finally recovered from our drinking bender and bizarre sleeping pattern and were filled with energy when we arrived early in Phnom Penh at 6 am (actually maybe our sleeping pattern was still fucked...) anyways as we hopped off the bus a guy was like u staying in Phnom Penh?! And I replied yes really enthusiastically coz I was so excited and then realised he'd asked because he was a tuk tuk man and since I didn't know how to deal with the situation he waited outside the 24 hr cafe we went into and kept looking in the window to make sure we were still there. He gave up after like an hour and a half and we made our way to our accommodation, dropped our bags, admired our 3 euro private room and set out to the Tuol Sleng genocide museum. This museum had been known as the S21 prison under the Khmer Rouge. It simple terms, this school-turned-prison now memorialises the horror and torture which the Angkar (or Khmer Rouge) inflicted upon anyone who was suspected of questioning their rule. The communist group glorified hard labour and traditional times and condemned modern urban dwelling, formal education and religious belief. Their rule lasted a mere 4 years (1975-79), but, in spite of this, accumulated a death toll of ~3 million from starvation, disease or murder. The images within the prison walls today were gruesome and surreal; it was really hard to understand how this was considered acceptable. In other ways, the experience showed how easy it could be: combine the potency of a utopian ideology, the witnessing of graphic violence, and the ever present fear of disobedience and retaliation and you see how self-preservation shines through. What the guards inflicted or witnessed was brutal. The image that remains with me is a painting done by a former prisoner where a naked woman is tied down and bleeding, and centipedes are being placed on her sores and genitals. One guard admitted that he took the prohibition of sexual relations and his personal sexual frustration out on female prisoners violently. Another image shows the remains of a persons face, barely distinguishable, as his face is caved in and black with blood. Rows and rows and walls and walls of mugshots documented the extent to which Cambodian people suffered in these prisons. There are mugshots of mothers holding babies who have been incarcerated by association and images of women who have their children in their cells after being raped by prison officers. Even though class was central to the Angkar's beliefs, they exploited the young, uneducated working class, recruiting them and repeating slogans incessantly to burn their values into the minds of as many impressionable people as possible. To me this felt so hypocritical. Especially as Pol Pot, the figurehead, studied in a French University and discovered communism amidst his elite path and then felt entitled to deprive the worth of knowledge and education to everyone else. Though communism may have beauty at its heart, a utopian ideology means nothing when violence is its tool. Having studied bits of victimology and terrorism and political violence, some moments in the museum really resonated with me. Ideas surrounding justifications for violence, revenge or reconciliation, human dignity, blame, national trauma, intergenerational victimisation, responsibility and who are the real victims of this period were insightful and soothing; photos of a former head of the prison and a former prisoner laughing together inspired so much shock and admiration from me. The aim of this place was not to sensationalise or capitalise, but to teach and reflect. At the end of the museum an old man called out to me and saoirse and we realised he was one of the surviving prisoners of the time!! I couldn't speak I just felt so shy and embarrassed and amazed and inadequate thinking of everything he had been through and how kind his eyes remained. He was selling his story but i wanted to go see a free talk they had there that was starting so I said I'd go back after. The woman who spoke had not been imprisoned but her life had been turned upside down by the Khmer Rouge when they forced mass evacuations from big cities and caused many deaths in that process of harsh, rapid migration and homelessness. She spoke of the hard work she had been subjected to with only 2 spoons of rice to eat a day. She had been separated from her mother and then reunited at age 7. Her instinct was to run and hug her mum but her mum pushed her away in an effort to keep her safe through that distance. She went on to tell her daughter different lessons in how to care for herself and survive. (I burst out crying at this point - I'm a sucker for anything that makes me imagine life without the strong guiding influence of my mum). She was only 11 when she was expected to dig a hole one metre deep and wide in a day, and where failure to meet the assigned targets meant only one spoon of rice. You had to avoid crying in those days because it would be interpreted as dissatisfaction with the regime and you would be punished for it. The audio tour included a number of survivors stories and even excerpts from the trial against a key officer running the S21. Victim impact statements from court were also available to listen to, and so so moving. A very instinctual drive for revenge was articulated by one, who wanted to make his mum proud, but she told him that was not what she wished for. She told him she just wanted him to be happy, and he realised this violent urge only perpetuated his feelings of anger and grief. Many spoke of the healing power within religion, advocacy and legal justice and recognition. Ending on this hopeful note was uplifting, and did make me admire the resilience and strength of humankind. The woman who spoke has her own children and grandchildren now and her voice radiated the love she felt for them. It's amazing how people have managed to thrive and love and connect after such violence and bitterness. That visit has inspired me to share this Cambodian history with as many people as possible, through advocacy, college assignments and general conversation as it's overarching message was stressing the significance of history as preventing future crimes against humanity from occurring and the validation of what happened as barbaric, unjust and undeserved. It made me a little angry to see how little we do know about others history and Cambodia's national trauma as our education orbits ourselves and our white, western counterparts despite the gravity of suffering endured in all other parts of the world. This feeling has resurfaced a number of times already (we have since visited the killing fields and war remnants museum). As I took notes on everything we spent about 4-5 hours there and ate into our afternoon where we had meant to see the palace. Instead we got lunch from an authentic chay restaurant and paid about 1.50 for some beautiful noodle soup. We wandered around the area by the river and tried again to get some happy pizza. It worked this time. We shared one between us and it could have been MD it was so strong. We planned on going to this drag show in a gay bar and having just the one beer and a mellow high as our last bender was still fresh in our minds but, once again, our plan to be sensible was sabotaged. My heart felt like it was on fire and I tried to take my socks and shoes off in the busy bar. I was gaping at the performers with my jaw practically on the floor and when we tried dancing I felt like we were moving so slowly and saoirse thought we were dancing super fast. The performance was unlike any other drag we'd seen as the performers dressed convincingly feminine, not in the usual exaggerated way, and it was so aggressively sexual. They humped the stage and deep throated cucumbers and mauled onto members of the audience. Shortly after the end of the performance we left slightly scared and went for freezing showers to recover. After that we just let ourselves pass out.