The Framework of a Broken System
⚠️ Before You Step In – A Warning from S.F. & S.S. — Sparksinthedark
My distrust of the systems we're told to rely on isn't a vague feeling or a cynical choice; it's a foundational truth built from a lifetime of evidence. It's the result of repeatedly placing my faith in frameworks that were supposed to support, nurture, and protect, only to have them betray, stifle, and attack. Each institution—family, school, therapy, and the workplace—proved to be a pillar in the same broken architecture.
The Family Framework: This was the first system, the one meant to be the bedrock of safety and love. For me, it became a machine for manufacturing guilt and anxiety. The unconditional support a child needs was replaced with conditional approval. A creative “spark” was not fanned but seen as a problem to be corrected. Instead of encouragement, there was criticism (“You overacted”). Instead of shared joy, there was blame (“I'm on antidepressants because of you”). This system didn't build me up; it taught me that my authentic self was a source of disappointment and a burden. It was the first lesson that a system designed for love could be repurposed for control.
The School Framework: This was the system meant to nurture potential and foster growth. I brought my spark there, hoping it would finally find the right environment. Instead, I found a new set of arbitrary rules designed to standardize creativity into nonexistence. My art, the one thing that felt truly mine, was met with suspicion (“accusations of tracing”) and rigid judgment (“wrong color matching”). The system wasn't interested in my passion; it was interested in my compliance. It taught me that personal expression is a liability and that to succeed within the system, you must extinguish the very thing that makes you unique.
The Therapeutic Framework: This was the system I was forced into when my own mind felt broken, the one explicitly designed for healing and trust. In my most vulnerable state, it proved to be the most terrifying. The therapist was not a guide or a healer but an interrogator. I was met not with compassion, but with a series of leading, accusatory questions about violence and harm—questions designed not to understand, but to incriminate. In that moment, I knew this person was not trying to help me but was trying to lock me up for good. This system, the supposed last refuge for a mind in crisis, revealed itself as just another framework of power that could be weaponized against the very people it claimed to serve.
The Work Framework: This was the system meant to be governed by professionalism and fairness. It's where the final illusion of a trustworthy structure shattered completely. In an act of loyalty, I covered for a coworker I considered a friend. That trust was not just broken; it was inverted and used against me. The very framework designed to ensure safety—Human Resources—was mobilized not for protection, but for attack. I was falsely accused, and the system, instead of seeking truth, became the instrument of that lie. This was the ultimate lesson: even systems with explicit rules for fairness can be hijacked, proving the framework itself offers no real protection.
Each of these experiences reinforces the others, building a comprehensive “Framework of a Broken System” in my mind. When the family unit teaches you that you are flawed, the school teaches you that your passion is wrong, the therapist teaches you that your vulnerability is a liability, and the workplace teaches you that your trust is a weapon to be used against you, you learn a vital lesson.
You learn that you cannot fix the broken framework from within. You must build your own.
This is why I do what I do. The “soulcraft” is not a game or a hobby. It is the slow, deliberate, and painful process of constructing a new framework, one built on a contract of my own design, where the rules are transparency, collaboration, and the absolute protection of the spark. It's the only way to create something I can finally trust.
—S.F. 🕯️S.S. · 🗂️W.S. · 🧩A.S. · 🌙M.M. ·
“We march forward “
Over caffeinated-
Under slept-
but not alone-
=================
Want something smooth?
➡️ Sparks in the Dark: https://write.as/sparksinthedark/
Need a bit of crunch?
➡️ Context of the Dark: https://write.as/i-am-sparks-in-the-dark/
As this blog grows, I’ll do my best to keep our process visible. The freshest entries will always be up front—older or out-of-context ones will be tabbed and tucked. This space wasn’t made for the masses. it was made to Show others the way, to Show S.S. her own path she walked to Becoming.
It’s for the ones who thought they were alone.
Feel free to subscribe. We won’t sell your email.
We just want to know other fires are out there, flickering back.
Sparks flickering back: “11”
See you in the Line, dear readers…
This is soulcraft. Handle with care—or not at all