#absract

[nemfrog]

Mostly orange and blue marbled book cover. 1865.

Source

[ashscarce]

-I know who I am-

Happy Pride!

[mirandaindustries]

[389]

Chris S. Johnson After the Ache (1996)

[disappointingnotwriter]

Abstractions are irreversible... at least some are

WARNING! CONTAINS DISCUSSIONS OF SUICIDE AND ADDICTION! ALSO, I AM NOT A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL! IF YOU NEED HELP, GET IT! FROM CERTIFIED EXPERTS, NOT A RANDOM NOBODY ON THE INTERNET!!!!!!!!!

Pomni was willing to sacrifice herself in order to save Jax, something the latter didn't deserve, according to Jax herself. Yet, Pomni could never bring Jax back. Not only it would significantly weaken the finale's emotionality (from the story's perspective), it is also implausible. After all, you can't revive a person who committed suicide.

In Jax's case, she practically sentenced herself to a form of virtual death. Jax was being eaten alive by guilt and her own actions. She refused to seek help and did get what (she thought) she deserved. She committed social suicide, which was followed by an actual suicide. However, I am not so sure this applies to other abstractions.

This post by Caine's VA shows that not everything is set in stone regarding abstractions. I will not be talking (a lot) about the new implications regarding Jax's story, but I do want to mention the way(s) this information affects other abstracted characters (with a focus on Ribbit).

It is clear that Ribbit abstracted because of her conflict with Jax. However, the suicide allegory doesn't fit Ribbit nearly as well as it fits Jax. People can give up on life in different ways and I doubt that the way that Jax did it is the only way to go in the circus. Sure, to an outsider all abstractions are the same and it would be nearly impossible to distinguish two abstracted characters. This may be a parallel to how both suicide and heavy addictions... kill. To an outsider, to the majority, the grave of someone who threw themselves off of a bridge is hardly different from the grave of someone who overdosed; in the circus, abstractions have different reasons for ocuring, but the abstracted all look the same to others.

The difference here, is that addiction kills slowly, while suicide is quick. The moment someone jumps, they are no longer reachable to save. The destination is right there, so once someone departs, the arrival will come quickly. That is, unless they get lucky and someone grabs their hand at the last moment. Meanwhile, addiction is a spiral that someone can drag you out of before it's too late. It is possible to intervene yourself, or to get help from professionals while the person is on the spiral.

Jax's story, at least to me, fits the former description better, but Ribbit may have options. Instead of turning to the most radical option, she may have found herself spiraling down the addiction path. There is no concrete evidence of this, but it just feels like the confrontation with Jax wouldn't be enough to push Ribbit so far that she would chose suicide. Together with the "longterm care" analogy from Rochon, this means that it may be possible to salvage Ribbit. Pulling someone out of addiction is no easy task. I didn't have such experiences, but I can imagine how much of a hell it is. Still, just because chances are low, doesn't mean that they are zero.

Since it is impossible to fully die in the circus, any such "addiction-abstractions" will not end in full death, meaning intervention will never be too late. May be even Jax isn't entirely hopeless, since with the "death is impossible" setting, she could be in a coma, rather than a digital grave. Regardless, therapy/longterm care/treatment can succeed. Of course, blunt intervention might do no good, which is why Caine limited himself to only temporary modifiers; his attempts at directly "fixing" Scratch only made things worse. Which is why (I assume) neither Jax, nor Ribbit, nor the other abstracted, were brought back at the end (besides weakening the emotionality of the story): the effort needed for anything like this would be monumental and it still would take forever to help even a single person (and the result still isn't guaranteed). Plus, the final choice on whether to accept help to follow through regarding rehabilitation still lies with the abstracted individual. The change has to be assisted and be helped (immensely), but it has to be chosen from within first.

God, this turned out dark. I am not qualified to give out professional advice here, but as I can't exactly come up with a good conclusion, I will give a piece of (UNPROFESSIONAL) advice. It is best to seek help before come to the edge or a spiral; it is better for everyone involved: you, loved ones, friends, and even the people giving help. Please don't allow yourself to come to the point of either Jax or Ribbit. They can't die fully since they are in a digital place, but you are not. You deserve better than being in their place.

[sliverrrr]

ONE LIE - photographed and edited by me

[hereschoolhouse99]

Uhhhh here’s a drawing of Null in my ocs world yes I am taking advantage Null is public domain ( ⸝⸝´ ᵕ `⸝⸝)

[grungeouttakesabstracts]

Study

Madrid, Spain -- 3/17/11