#how many divisions do you have?

[thebluestbluewords]

I think about so much stupid omegaverse worldbuilding all the time and sometimes I can’t keep it all in my brain anymore, so:

Celia, as it turns out, is an alpha. 

"I'm not sorry about it," the tiny child who is living in Evie's house says. "I refuse to let you box me in based on your preconceived notions about what a female alpha is supposed to look like." 

Evie reaches up to rest her fingers on the bridge of her nose, in a gesture that is both incredibly patient, and a victory in and of itself. Evie's mother never allowed her to touch her face, and that fact that she's comfortable doing so now is a win. 

Mal would never be happy that her girlfriend is exasperated, but it is funny. Objectively. 

"I know that," Evie says, oh-so-patiently. "We are not trying to stifle your self-expression, Celia." 

Celia props her fists on her skinny hips. She's been in Auradon for all of two months, and she's already put on a bit of much-needed weight. She's still skinny as a rail, but her sister Freddie has been in Auradon for close to two years, and she's also built as tall and thin as their father.  The Facilier girls don't look much like each other, but they both look like their dad, in their own ways. 

"Well, it sure feels like it." Celia says, all of fourteen and angry about it. 

Evie stares her down. "We are not. I promise you, on my mother's life, we are not trying to stifle you. We don't like it any more than you do, but there are certain expectations here in Auradon about what an alpha does. I know it's stupid, and you can know that it's stupid, but you are not allowed to join the men's wrestling team just because they added a line to their poster about accepting men and alphas." 

"You'd let Mal join." Celia grumbles. “She’s an alpha and not a boy and you’d let her do it.”

Evie lifts one delicate eyebrow at her. "I don't let Mal do anything. She does what she wants, and damn any consequences. But you, my child, are a minor who has been entrusted by the kingdom of Auradon into my care, and part of that trust is that I actually have to care for you." 

"If you really cared, you'd like me beat up the boys." 

"Celia," Evie says patiently. "Sweetheart. Can you be honest with me for a second?" 

"I'm always honest." Celia lies sweetly, through a deeply insincere expression of innocence. 

"Great. Fine. Now that we've established that nobody is lying," Evie says, turning towards Mal as she says this, so that she's well aware she's included here as well, "I am going to ask you a question. Do you really want to join the men's wrestling team, or do you just want to beat up some Auradon idiots?" 

#my fic #if you do not like omegaverse this is not For You please keep scrolling #I just have a lot of thoughts about putting binary gender divisions on a world that doesn’t really follow that #and like how upset I was as a teenager who was not allowed to do some things because I was in the category of Girl #and like #how extra bullshit gendered divisions would be if you feel more strongly about your omegaverse bonus designation than your Recognized Gende #anyway hello I have many more thoughts about this (not deep and not trying to engage meaningfully with actual issues) #mostly just like #trying to make a world that feels believable and not just adding assbabies for no reason #omegaverse is truly one of my favorite tropes and I know about all of the flaws I have heard them so much but I’m having fun damnit

[the-physicality]

why would they schedule the canada game at the same time as the march madness final?

#it's literally so mean to me specifically #and it's not like the breaks are long enough in either one for me to flip back and forth #:( i'm gonna end up watching mm sorry #the thing about basketball is it's all action all the time #like you don't sit around waiting for people to score #like how it is in soccer and hockey #like i am rooting for south carolina for a variety of reasons #even tho it also goes against my bracket #also what is with the IIHF website being shitty to navigate and also listing things in military time #i used to be good at doing the math and calculating wsl times have made me worse at 24 to 12 hour times #please don't yell at me for being a dumb american i took ap calc #and listen i know now that you just scroll down to get to the live scores #but a few too many times i have ended up in a different division's women's worlds #this wouldn't be a problem if ESPN would buy the rights to this tourney #bc then they wouldn't program over mm #eyeroll anyways

[fideidefenswhore]

"The end of Anne Boleyn marks the more sinister transformation in Henry's kingship which underlay his solemn protestations of spiritual headship and godly reform. Nobody could now call him to account in the sacred or secular realm, and although it goes too far to say that his will was law, since some respect was still due to the judicial process, the legal travesty of Anne's trial and execution shows what his unchecked authority could achieve. It also illustrated the forces which Henry had unleashed by breaking with Rome. From this point onwards, political division would be matched by a level of ideological division previously unknown. Anne had been backed by those who supported religious reform and sneered at papal pretension; her fall was hastened by the efforts of those whose loyalties lay with Princess Mary and the Catholic past. Cromwell had slipped adeptly (and temporarily) from the former group to the latter, and such political reinventions were to remain common, but many continued to be fired by strong religious convictions, allowing religious division to exacerbate political tensions to a dangerous extent." (Henry VIII, Lucy Wooding)

+

"For all Henry's protestations of the contrary, the atmosphere at his court in his final years was almost as unsettled and claustrophobic as during the Wars of the Roses. John Husee answered the charge that he no longer sent reports of state affairs to the Lisles by explaining, 'I thereby might put myself in danger of my life...for there is divers here that hath been punished for reading and copying with publishing abroad of news; yea, some of them are at this hour in the Tower.' Civil order was maintained, but only because Henry sold the bulk of the confiscated monastic lands at rock-bottom prices to willing purchasers to create a whole new class of property-owners with a vested interest in the status quo. Spies and informers stalked the country, safe-conducts were needed to travel abroad and the posts were intercepted-- no one felt completely safe." (Hunting the Falcon, Fox&Guy).

#yeah...this was the watershed moment #this is why these three are the tudor historians i tend to reccomend the most; they have the clearest vision of tudor politics imo #it wasn't the gm which was the turning point that made court divisions worse than ever before. it was may 1536- which made this a reality #things that make you go hmmm. #and i do agree with fox/guy here but i think they argued this better with different examples in different sections #(the atmosphere which led to rebellion; etc. #the Lisle quote is a good piece to support this argument #but spies and informers in the country and safe conducts needed is...slippery #this was also the case during his father's reign. and edward iv's. and many abroad. so . like... ) #and i do think the 'almost' is also key here. i wouldn't agree with this at certain points . or 'as much' which has been argued. #bcus for all the conflict hviii did avoid civil war. so... #it isn't to say all was or would be rosy had anne remained queen either. but it is to say as wooding argued... #that this shattered his image and credibility and no one escaped. like...i think it's just interesting to think about #how the exeter conspiracy would've shaped out in the context of the boleyn faction's survival. and how interesting it is #that all their enemies perished at the expense of this man's paranoia . that they had to face the fate they believed their own #enemies deserved...the same scaffold. the same terror . #also some of the jury who condemned them facing execution soon themselves #all just very indicative of how cutthroat courtier ambition was #you could hack and hack and hack away at all the vines but it still might not prevent them from growing back and strangling you instead

[keeps-ache]

don't know why but when i get bumped or hit softly and say 'ow' despite it not hurting i've started adding 'my feelings' shortly after lol

#just me hi #ow. #my feelings #i think it's funny lol #i have no idea why i started doing it but i can't stop now so 👍 #/also like a year or two ago i would walk back into rooms and say Hello to everyone who just saw me in there #now i say Hello all the time hfsh #/also been forgetting So many words recently hhhhh #do you want to remember the word division? how about honors? scrupulous? well you may not. that will be 4.99 now #//Oh and i've Finally finished the floorplan for the lab from n0t a z1p f1le :D #only took me................................ #............................................................................. #a long time lol :DD #but i got it done and yeayyyyyyy :DDD #//and now i must make refs #not because i Must but because it is absolutely imperative to my plots. do you understand me here #my contrivances need the supplements so i'm going to goooo :33 #/right after i commit some acts of hygiene.... sigh.....................

[chicago-geniza]

Hey @horrid-little-pedant I can make you a Boy Scouts/international Scouting movement imperialism/colonialism/not-so-crypto-fascism syllabus if you’d like but for a first tantalizing taste here is:

Fig 1) Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts and the Scouting movement, on the swastika symbol, from his 1917 sequel to the classic manual Scouting For Boys, entitled Young Knights of The Empire. Its companion book, for Girl Guides/Girl Scouts, authored by his sister Agnes, was called How Girls Can Help Build Up the Empire. The Baden-Powell family, prominent British military aristocrats, were instrumental in the British colonial expansion re: South Africa. Baden-Powell’s inspiration for the Boy Scouts was the Mafeking Cadet Corps, a group of child soldiers formed by Lord Edward Cecil shortly before the Siege of Mafeking that secured Robert’s place in annals of imperial military history. His niece Betty later became--I am choking and wheezing and coughing up a hairball getting this phrase out--Scoutmaster for the. Girl Guides of North Rhodesia. Do not even get me STARTED on, uh. The Peace Light of Bethlehem (tl;dr it’s a program inaugurated in Austria circa 1986 nominally to help ~handicapped children, but of course. In 2005. The International Commissioner of Austria symbolically passed the Peace Light to a delegation of Scouts and Guides from the Palestinian National Authority, comma, just after the Oslo Accords. And then in 2007 a delegation of Guides and Scouts from Austria, Germany, France, Jordan, Israel, and the PNA--by the way, all but Jordan and Israel are part of the Catholic international Scouting branch that generally, depending on region, ‘pledges allegiance’ to “[country], God, Church, and Christian Europe”--they symbolically lit the ~*~Peace Light together. In. Bethlehem. Scouting is the most fucked-up Bad Internationalism movement in the world.)

Fig 2) The Rodlo symbol was designed by a woman who was part of the Polish minority population in Germany, she went to a Sokol (also Scouting!!!) gymnasium, she got a scholarship to study with Wladyslaw Skyoczylas and other modernist naive folk-revival painters at the school of fine arts in Warsaw, she survived the war, she got into this bizarre movement of neo-pagan anti-clerical pan-Slavist ‘nationalism’ that confirms every single thing I said in my undergrad thesis, she wants to take these symbols back from Hitler and stress the uniqueness of the Polish-German border regions that are neither like, fashy Catholic nationalist Poland nor fashy-flavor Germany, unfortunately that’s not how history or visual semantics work. She says it’s ‘rod’ plus ‘godlo’ (pretend it’s a liquid l) but it’s rodnoverie, we know what you’re about, Joasia--or rather, if you have to give a paragraph-long disclaimer every time you present your lovingly-rendered symbol, you gotta just let it go once it reaches critical mass and recognize that that your defensive disclaimers come across as “my t-shirt is raising a lot of questions that are answered by the shirt.” Anyway. This Harcerstwo troupe named after...the Harcerstwo movement that became a WWII paramilitary and subsequently Catholic anticommunist movement adopted it as their symbol. They’re from a small town in the Katowice region and they are. Well. If you don’t want everyone to think you’re fascists then maybe don’t be a paramilitary organization with a Hitler Youth lite flag (if you put the Rodlo on the Polish flag...it’s...it scans as the swastika on the...they know! They’re not oblivious, they do 500 WWII memorial actions per year!). And don’t have your scouts swear fealty in military fatigues while doing the seig heil to the Slavic Hitlerjugend flag in the woods. Ya dig. Their website is like “why are our enrollments declining :(” 

idk man maybe your town’s teens want to smoke weed under the bridge and not be put through boot camp after school 

#NISHT REBAGELN #i have so much autism about scouting and it is extremely embarrassing but if you have questions about it. i have Answers #also did you know the UU church got in a huge fight with boy scouts of america #and boy scouts of america got in a huge fight with baden-powell about being allowed to say god #i do not need to explain the context of the PNA & the oslo accords for tumblr user horrid-little-pedant but can if other people are not awar #*aware. Scouting: Bad Internationalism #OH. wanna hear about the officially recognized Boy Scouts Displaced Persons DIvision after WWII dissolved c. 1950 #or Mury: Harcerki Troupe of Ravensbruck #did you know krupskaya once used komsomol and 'boyskautizm' as synonyms and that #ok i got distracted but again. rudyard kipling. he just tweeted it out. there are also 800000 examples in this book about Helping Police #and how scouts are like bees: serve their Queen & DISPOSE OF THE UNEMPLOYED #also baden-powell's sister agnes was great friends with marconi you know the long-distance radio transmission inventor who #joined the italian fascist party in 1923 like years before mussolini came to power and #used his authority as director of the science institute to mark all jewish applicants' papers with an E (italian word for jew starts with E) #& none were admitted during his tenure. before this became state policy & before this pressure was even. you know. subtly dispersed by #mussolini. just of his own initiative! #he has so many quotes praising fascism i couldn't fit them in one document #the british monarchy & aristocracy will see continental european fascism and especially german & go 'Tell Me More...' #the polish nobility AND endecja will see various permutations of fascism & say 'tell me more...' for different reasons #the polish intelligentsia will see ITALIAN fascism & say 'tell me more [eyes emoji] while condemning german fascism bc one has #better aesthetics #meanwhile stefania zahorska & bruno schulz are having stress-induced heart disease #pilsudski wants to be england so bad it makes him look stupid. & dmowski hates england & germany on paper but also #wants to be them so bad it makes them look stupid if he can do it with the slavophile side of the slavophile vs. westernizer debate #comma american industry and isolationism comma good old WWI 'ethnographic borders' comma #and solve The Jewish Question (threat)

[samthecookielord]

are you perhaps.. getting into professor layton?

(if you are that's awesome I also love prof layton!!)

I am playing the first game with my friends and seeing how it pans out! I'm having a nice time so far :]

I'm not a very brain thinky person lol so this sure is an interesting challenge (its very funny when my wild guesses or weird reasonings for solutions turn out right though) but most of my enjoyment comes from sharing funny jokes about the experience with my friends and rotating funny little loveable guys in my brain! So hopefully there'll be a lot of that!

If i like the first game enough, I'll probably get to the others!

#asks #in a ummmmmmm triangle puzzle......i forgot the name already........... #spoilers for an early puzzle in tags #the one where its like 'how many times do you have to dip your pen in ink to write all these triangles' #i just started drawing the pattern on top and counting how many it took #and ignored the remaining triamgles in between until the end whrre i just counted them all as one more #which became 7 and i was surprosed to see that i was right #and then they were like Yea! You Use Basic Division! and i was like I WAS MWANT TO USE WHAT NOW?

[naivesilver]

hmmmmm 24 for Eugene? because he has been on my mind lately and I care him 😌

WHAT a way to start this rodeo 💗💗💗💗 you're so right, by the way - it's always a good time to ponder over the square boy. I've been guilty of it too, these past weeks u.u

Spotify wrapped game: send me a number from 1-100, optionally with a ship or character, for a moodboard based on the song it corresponds to!

24. Whistle, Daughter, Whistle - Peggy Seeger

#bewilderedmoth #ask meme #thousand problems verse #court of misfits #sometimes I pity eugene you know #in the chaos and sorrow that are his friends it's easy to ignore him but he DOES have some issues #this song didn't look like a good fit at the beginning but tbh it has something of him #it's mostly about a mother trying to get her daughter to stop thinking about love and to instead focus on a practical fruitful life #and like...we know eugene's parents do love him but they don't understand many of his choices #I think it would be interesting to dwelve in how this clashes with his trauma #and how coppelia might See him as a whole and not as a division between the ef and the cursed world #crying tho I kept scrolling through pics of people in love for this and thinking 'wow manifesting this for him for real' #like girl you're the one in charge of his character arc #who are you manifesting it towards

[theghostofashton]

.

#what truly is wild to me about the discourse that happens every pride month #is why some people feel so emboldened to weigh in on how someone else identifies they feel like it's up to them to be like #hey you're valid or hey you're not and here's why #like.........what #as long as they are not harming anyone how someone identifies is genuinely none of my business #their relationship w gender and sexuality is theirs not mine and the audacity of people to think they get to insert their opinion is just #very weird to me idk #everyone's journey is their own and everyone deserves the space to explore things without unsolicited opinions lol #also like maybe it's just the anxiety in me but i do not get how people are so comfortable harassing others about their identities #like if you don't understand the labels or pronouns someone else uses that's.....not their problem lol #there's plenty i still don't fully understand and it's my responsibility to learn #i just like idk #i truly don't get why things have devolved into people harassing others for reason feeling emboldened to decide what is valid and what isn't #making things more divisive and uncomfortable just........so many reality checks are needed lol

[tojiswhore-nanamisslut]

All of my friends that are working big law are so miserable we are all out here constantly on the verge of breaking down (but not having the time to do so) what an awful profession

#really idk if i have any law students following me or people who are considering big law #but advice 1 is to just not do it #get into compliance or in house work if you can do JD-preferred jobs #if you really are sent on big law then advice 2 is to REALLY do research into that firm #have one on one meetings with employees (especially junior associates) to see what their workload is like #ask questions about billable hour requirements and minimums #everyone I know has 0 time for themselves and the pressure is immense #make sure the team/division youre in has enough people #this includes lawyers and support staff (paralegals secretaries etc #ask how many clients there are and how many partners manage them #how many senior and mid-level associates do they have #these are all questions i didnt know or even have the luxury to ask #i would have taken the job regardless but like the pressure is IMMENSE #the anxiety and stress are too much at times and i barely have time for my friends #many of my other big law friends (at different firms in different practice groups too mind you) feel similarly #it's just rough and people say its gonna be tough but they never tell you just how bad it is #anyways #i wish i was working in a cafe or a bookstore instead #posts

[accessible-art]

Hey, would you consider taking down this post: https://www.tumblr.com/accessible-art/733352422469156864

The phrase "from the river to the sea" is an antisemitic phrase. That phrase is about the forceful expulsion of Jews from every land and into the sea to die off. It is very unfortunate that it's being used unwittingly by well meaning people to rally support for Palestine and their suffering (which we should do! Please don't misunderstand). That phrase is too loaded.

hello there anon, i am going to word this as gently as i can. i myself am jewish, and i will not be taking down the post as i fundamentally disagree that "from the river to the sea" is antisemitic. the saying is not to do with expelling jews from anywhere, much less killing us all. it is referring to the fact that israel is a settler colonial state on land that palestinians (of all religions - including jews) have inhabited for thousands of years. from the river to the sea is a reaffirmation of this land-history and a call to action against the ethnic cleansing, genocide, and erasure that palestinians have faced under israeli apartheid/governance. saying that the restoration of palestinian land to the palestinian people would result in jewish genocide is a baseless projection. do not get me wrong, there are absolutely people using the pro-palestine movement as a mask for their antisemitism, but this phrase did not originate with them. the reason this phrase is so divisive is the same reason "landback" is so divisive. settler-colonialism is so pervasive in the west that the idea of indigenous people seeking sovereignty over their land without violently dispossessing all others who live on the land is unfathomable, no matter how many times indigenous people have made it clear that they have no desire to do so. to put it bluntly, that phrase is only "too loaded" if you do not recognize palestinians as indigenous to their land, at which point whatever support you're "rallying" would be rendered useless.

you are welcome to unfollow us if this explanation does not satisfy you, but we will not be taking down our pro-palestine content.

~ mod elya

#ask #not art #mod elya

[psychronia]

I've been rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender because why not and I'm losing my mind at Zuko's proper introduction. I don't know if it's hindsight, shifting characterizations, or just me not watching this in a long time, but this was amazing.

We start off showing he's an impatient and very angry kid. Reasonable, and the sort of flaw we might expect to see in a villain. Kinda funny that he expects to go up against an adult and fully 4-Element realized Avatar, but the kid is desperate and Iroh clearly expects his nephew to get the banishment-denial kicked out of him.

What's important here, though, is Zuko's introduction to the Southern Water Tribe.

Here, we have a very intimidating entrance where his entire ship just sails through the ice right up to the village's front door. It's quite ominous and this is our first proper introduction to how the Fire Nation interacts with a foreign people.

Sokka charges, I'm assuming fully prepared to die, and Zuko casually knocks him out of the way. Okay, so clearly the Water Tribe are entirely outgunned.

He asks "Where are you hiding him?" and the people of the Water Tribe go silent. I assume they're either just too scared to talk or actually protecting Aang.

Whatever the case, it's important to note that the Southern Water Tribe know the terror the Fire Nation can inflict. We have a whole episode dedicated to tracking down a division of raiders. Sokka was able to not only identify the ash-mixed snow as signs of an incoming attack, but estimate how many ships the amount of ash measures to. These are a people who have experience being terrorized and are probably expecting something terrible to happen.

And then, after they don't answer, Zuko grabs Gran-Gran. There was a horror sting to it, and everything the tribe knows about the Fire Nation suggests that Zuko is about to threaten or straight up hurt her to get answers. Classic "terrorize the elderly" bad guy stuff.

And then...

He goes "He's (the Avatar) be about this age and is a master of all four elements!?" and lets her go.

And all of a sudden, the tension that was built up is shattered as Zuko went "I know, I'll give them a reference for the person I'm looking for because clearly they're confused and I wasn't specific enough."

This went from a show of villainy to a show of Zuko being totally socially awkward and misreading the situation entirely. Not helping is that when he does try to menace them a moment later, his fire is slow and angled quite safely.

It still worked on the Water Tribe because they're understandably scared, but all I could think of is that this was the equivalent of a playground bully trying to make someone flinch with that fake-out lunge thing.

Because the fact-and something we'll come to learn-is that Zuko is TERRIBLE at being a Fire Nation oppressor. He's capable of doing morally dubious things and is a competent fighter. But he's lousy at terrorizing people and cruelty-that's kind of the point of his banishment.

And while we can see the story paint this picture of Zuko's true character as the story goes on with hints of good and conflicting loyalties, here we get to see just how bad he is at being "the bad guys".

#avatar the last airbender #atla #you're not an imperialistic conqueror you're a BABY #a BABY BEAN #diffused tension #bad at being bad #can you imagine how horrible this would have played out if Azula was the one that came? #psychronia

[lorethebookworm]

* takes a break from chewing the walls and banging her head on the table while listening to the entirety of the Hazbin hotel's soundtrack*

OOOHHH let me tell you one thing that pisses me off so much but that I'm also obsessed with because it shoves in your face how completely and utterly lost in their bullshit the angels are

OKAY SO ,you know that scene where charlie is pleading her case in the court ?

When the angels agree to keep watching what angel dust will do charlie is so relieved that she shouts "Fuck yeah!" and EVERYONE IMMEDIATELY GIVES HER THE STINK EYE.

Meanwhile do you know how many times Adam swears during that scene? I WON'T COUNT IT BUT IT'S PROBABLY A WHOLE FUCKING LOT

Does ANYONE even pause for a second when he does it? Do they have ANY reaction whatsoever? NO

They are so deeply convinced that the division between angels and demons is fair and right that they would never question an angel , not even when ANGELS go on MURDER SPREES FOR FUN

So obviously when Charlie swears it's wrong , it's a clear demonstration that she is one of THEM , one of those sinful creatures who belong in hell forever.

When Adam swears it's just Adam being Adam. Is he mean and obnoxious? Yes , but he's an angel. Is he a sadistic bitch ? Yes , but he's an angel. Is he a perverted asshole who swears like a sailor ? YES, BUT HE IS AN ANGEL. And that fact alone makes him powerful and worthy and good.

Okay I'm done now *goes back in her cave to rewatch all the episodes *

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel charlie #charlie morningstar #hazbin hotel adam #hazbin hotel welcome to heaven #hazbin hotel ep 6 #hazbin hotel amazon prime #hell is forever #vaggie #angel dust #husk #hazbin hotel husk #hazbin hotel vaggie #hazbin hotel emily #hazbin hotel alastor #lucifer morningstar #lucifer

[astrow1zar6]

Astro observations of people who had to grow up too soon- 24

Scorpio moons: they usually come from a very intense household and tend to have a very intense relationship with the mother. I’ve seen in a lot of cases Scorpio moon mothers really end up betraying their trust in one way or another which can be the start of their trust issues. Everyone I met with this placement was exposed to a lot of crazy shit early that forced them to grow up earlier then they’d like. The mother is usually very manipulative and smothering. Which is a big reason why they become so secretive. I’ve also seen a lot were shamed for their sensitive natures from a very young age which caused them to have such a nonchalant emotionless exterior.

Cap moons and rising: oh boy, these people are the ones who definitely raised themselves. Could’ve even help raise their own parents as well.. I notice cap moons and risings are always put with extremely immature irresponsible parents (especially the mother) most people with these placements are the eldest child and had to look over their siblings. And if they aren’t the eldest they probably still had to take on the role and responsibilities of the oldest child. I’ve also noticed that their dads tend to be assent from their lives for a period of time. Whether they want to or not they are always put in the position of the provider and breadwinner for their families. This exposure caused them to be wise beyond their years. They also usually grow up in poverty or in very poor conditions.

Saturn in 4th house: my heart goes out to these folks. Your household was probably very cold and unloving. Especially on your mothers side. Usually the mothers go thru a lot of mental stuff while raising them that causes them to be very un nurturing and cold towards the child. These people normally grow up believing that they are hard to love because of this☹️ family could be very avoidant of emotions causing the native to become very avoidant in their future relationships. As cold and sad as their home life normally is it’s usually difficult for these people to escape their homes.. they almost feel like they have this huge weight to keep their families afloat which can cause a lot of distress. Their childhoods felt more like being in a prison.

12th house placements/stellium: these people are usually rejected from their social circles early on in life. These are usually the kids that are picked last for activities in school or that kid everyone talks over when they have something important to say (ESPECIALLY mercury in 12th house) these people were treated as wallflowers a lot by their peers and families. This isolation caused extreme loneliness from a very young age. People are always making assumptions about them that are so far from the truth, this can cause them to feel like no one will be able to understand them. The rejection they suffered early caused them to become so empathetic towards others it’s amazing how emotionally intelligent these people can be.

Pisces mars: these people I notice can be big victims of bullying.These people have trouble asserting themselves normally (unless you have a lot of fire in your chart) which can cause them to attract bullies. Their sensitive nature is usually seen as weakness to more stronger types so they usually become a big target to many. People just really enjoy letting their anger out on them because they believe they won’t do anything & sometimes it’s true.. y’all need to learn how to stand up for yourselves!! Being passive will not make it go away!

Scorpio suns: I notice most Scorpio suns end up being the black sheep of their families. Usually their born with a completely different personality from the rest of the family or completely different morals. Whatever it may be they usually have something very different about them that causes a division between them and their families. Scorpios are usually that cousin that shows up to social events once in a blue moon that no one really knows anything about or what’s going on in their life. Even in other social situations they can be seen as the black sheep, always saying really out of pocket taboo stuff that makes people distance themselves. They are very authentic people and I believe people get rubbed the wrong way by that. That they can’t tame these people.

Lilith conjunct the asc: speaking of people that other feel need to be tamed here comes the queen of outcasts. I’ve only met women with this placement so I’ll speak on the women I’ve known. They are usually people that grow up with less shame than most, they grow up so naturally authentic it scares people. It is very hard to shame these people which is why I believe so many people try to shame them. They have such a powerful aura that it can be a big threat to people. So it usually results in people (mostly women or feminine energies) outcasting them from social situations or trying to make them feel insecure or acting out of jealousy. They attract soooo much jealousy it’s insane. These people whoever can attract the opposite sex like a moth to a flame which is why I believe many women get so mad.. like how can she attract so many people being so wild??? their raw energy is their superpower. However although they attract the opposite sex with no effort their dating life is anything but easy. I notice they are usually always in third party situations or the men they date never really want to commit to them:( this causes them to be independent very early because they believe they can’t trust others or people just want them for their intent.

I apologize for my late posts depression has been kicking my but lately but planning to get back to my daily posts per usual 🥰

#astro observations #astrologist #astrology #astro community #astro notes #astroblr

[writingwithcolor]

How can non-Jewish writers include Jewish characters in supernatural stories without erasing their religion in the process?

Anonymous asked:

I have a short story planned revolving around the supernatural with a Jewish character named Danielle (who uses they/them pronouns). Danielle will be one of a trio who will be solving the mystery of two brides' deaths on the day of their wedding. My concern with this is the possibility of accidentally invalidating Danielle's religion by focusing on a secular view of the afterlife. At the same time, I don't want to assume that Jewish people can't exist in paranormal stories, nor do I want to use cultural elements that don't belong to me. So, how do I make sure that Danielle is included in the plot without erasing their Jewishness?

Okay so to start with I think we need to ask a question about the premise: what is a secular afterlife? I’m not asking this to nitpick or be petty, but to offer you expanded ways of thinking through this issue and maybe others as well.

A Secular Afterlife

What is a secular afterlife? To begin with, I get what you mean. The idea of an afterlife we see in pop culture entities like ghost media owes more to a mixture of 19th-century spiritualist tropes drawn from titillating gothic novels than to anything preached from the pulpit of an organized house of worship. Yet those tropes--the ominous knocking noises from beyond, the spectral presences on daguerrotype prints, the sudden chill and the eerie glow, all of those rely on the idea of there being something beyond this life, some continuation of the spirit when the body has ceased to breathe. For that, you need to discount the ideas that the consciousness has moved on to another physical body and is currently living elsewhere, and that it was never separate from the body and has now ceased to exist. Can we say that this is secular?

More so: Gothic literature, as the name suggests, draws heavily on Catholic imagery, even when it avoids explicit references to Catholicism. Aside from the architectural imagery, Catholic religious symbols permeate the genre, as well as the larger horror and supernatural media genres that grew from it: Dracula flinches from a crucifix, priests expel demons from human bodies, Marley’s Ghost haunts Ebenezer Scrooge in chains. The concepts of heaven and hell, and nonhuman beings who dwell in those places, are critical to making the narratives work. 

The basis also draws from a biblical story, that of the Witch of Endor. The main tropes of Victorian spiritualism are present: Saul never sees the ghost of Samuel, only the Witch of Endor is able to see “A divine being rising” from wherever he rises from, and her vague description, “I see an old man rising, wearing a robe,” evokes the cold readings of charlatan mediums into the present (Indeed, some rabbinic sources commenting on this assert that this is exactly what was going on).

While neither of these views of its origin define the genre as the sole property of Catholicism--or of Judaism for that matter--it would be hard exactly to categorize them as secular.

A Jewish Perspective on ghosts

However, it’s not the case that ghost media is incompatible with Jewishness, assuming that it doesn’t commit to a view of heaven and hell duality that specifically embraces a Christian spiritual framework. 

Jewish theology is noncommittal on the subject of the afterlife. The idea of a division between body and soul in the first place is found in ancient Egypt, for instance, earlier than the earliest Jewish texts. In Jewish text it’s present in narratives like the creation story, in which God crafts a human body out of earth and then breathes life into it once it’s complete. It also appears in our liturgy: the blessings prescribed to be recited at the beginning of the day juxtapose Elohai Neshama, a blessing for the soul, with Asher Yatzar, expressing gratitude for the body, recited by many after successfully using the bathroom. 

Yet it’s not clear that this life-force is something separate than the body that lives beyond it, until the apparition of the Witch of Endor. The words we use to describe it, whatever it is, evoke the process of breathing rather than that of eternal life: either ruach (spirit, or wind) or neshama (soul, or breath): neither is a commitment to the idea that it does--or that it doesn’t--go somewhere else when the body returns to the earth. 

Jewish folklore, however, leans into the idea of ghosts and other spiritual beings inhabiting the earthly plane (and others). Perhaps most famous is the 1937 movie The Dybbuk, in which a young scholar engaging in kabbalistic practices calls upon dark forces to unite him and his fated love, only to find himself possessing her body as a dybbuk. It appears that he is about to be successfully exorcized, but ultimately when his soul leaves her body, hers does as well. 

More relevantly to your story, a Jewish folktale inspired the movie The Corpse Bride. In the folktale version, a newly-engaged man jokingly recites the legal formula he will soon recite at his wedding, and places his ring on the finger of a nearby corpse--a reference to a time when antisemitic violence is said to have gotten worse not only at Jewish and Christian holidays as it does still to this day, but around Jewish weddings as well. The murdered bride stands up, a corpse reanimated complete with consciousness, and demands that the bridegroom honor his legal obligation. 

In the movie, the bride gives up her demand willingly: her claim on him is emotional rather than legal, and she finally accepts that he has an emotional connection with another person, that he doesn’t love her. In the folk tale, the dead woman takes him to court to decide whether their marriage is legal, since he spoke the legal words to her in front of witnesses as is required, and the court rules that the dead do not have the right to make legal demands on the living. In this version, the moral of the story is that a legal formula is an obligation; that when he jokingly bound himself to the corpse, he not only disrespected the dead but also the legal framework that structures society, and by so doing risked being obligated to keep his side of a contract he never intended to enact. 

This speaks to the ways that a Jewish outlook can differ from a Christian-influenced “secular” one. Christian-influenced cultural ideas can often focus around feeling the right thing, while Jewish stories will often center on doing the right thing. Does the Corpse Bride leave because she realizes she is not the one he loves? Because she--or he--learned a valuable lesson? Or because she loses her court case? It’s not that the boy’s emotions are irrelevant to the story--the tension, the suspense, the horror of the story takes place primarily within the boy’s emotional landscape--but emotions on their own are not a solution. The question “should he marry her” can be answered emotionally, but “has he married her” can only be answered by a legal expert, and once it has been the deceased bride may not have changed her emotional attachment to him, but she no longer has legal standing to pursue her claim. 

Centering legal rectitude over emotional catharsis isn’t a requirement for having Jewish characters in your story, but it’s worth thinking about what is and isn’t universal, what is and isn’t actually all that secular. 

Meanwhile, back at the topic:

Where does any of this place Danielle?

Well, unless you’re positing a universe in which Christian or other deities or cosmologies are confirmed to exist (See Jewish characters in a universe with author-created fictional pantheons for more on that topic), there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be perfectly fine interacting with whatever the setting you’re building throws at them. 

My wishlist for this character and setting runs more to the general things to consider when writing fantasy settings with Jewish characters: 

Don’t confirm or imply that Jesus is a divine being. That means no supernatural items like splinters of the cross, grails, nails, veils, etc. There’s nothing particularly powerful or empowering about this one guy who lived and died like so many others.

Don’t show God’s body and especially not God’s face, or confirm that any other gods or deities exist, whether that’s Jesus, Aphrodite, or Anubis, or someone you made up for the context. 

Don’t put Danielle in a position where they’re going to play into an antisemitic trope like child murder, blood drinking, world domination, or financial greed. If you have to, name it and let Danielle express discomfort with or distaste for those actions both because Jewish values explicitly oppose all of those things but also because Danielle as a Jewish character would be painfully aware of these stereotypes as present and historical excuses for antisemitic violence. 

Do consider what Danielle’s personal practice might look like. What does Danielle do on Shabbat? What do they eat or refrain from eating? What are their memories of Jewish holidays and how is their current holiday observance different than their childhood? I know I say “Jewishness is diverse” on every ask, but it is, and these questions--which also underscore how very much Judaism is rooted in one’s actions during this life--will help you develop how Judaism actually functions to inform Danielle’s character, even if you don’t spell out the answers to each of these questions in text. 

Do let Danielle find joy, comfort, and identity in their Jewishness not just in contrast with Christianity but simply because it’s part of the wholeness of their character. I know the primary representation of Jewishness is a snappy one-liner in a Christmas episode followed by the Jewish character joining in the Christmas spirit, blue edition, but make room for Jewishness to inform how Danielle approaches the events of your story, or why they decide to get or stay involved.  

-Meir

Hi it’s Shira with some Jewish ghost story recs written from inside–

When The Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb (deliriously good queer YA Jewish paranormal, mainstream enough that it’s got a good chance of being at your local library and won all kinds of awards)

The Dyke and the Dybbuk by Ellen Galford (sorry for the slur, warning for a paragraph of biphobia in the book but it’s an older book. I read this right before my divorce so my memories are super fuzzy but it’s about this modern day lesbian who gets possessed by the ghost of a different lesbian from hundreds of years earlier in Jewish history.) Nine of Swords Reversed by Xan West z’L of blessed memory - another queer Jewish paranormal.

The general plot is that two partners are struggling with how to be honest with each other about the effect disability is having on them. It’s got a very warm and fuzzy cozy vibe but kink culture is central to the worldbuilding so if that isn’t your vibe I didn’t want you to go in unaware.

The Dybbuk in Love by Sonya Taaffe. I don’t remember the details but I remember loving it, it’s m/f and romance between possessor and possessed.

I wrote a really short one called A Man of Taste where a gentile vampire woman and a Jewish ghost/dybbuk get together.

~S

#Jewish #Judaism #supernatural #supernatural beings #settings #fantasy #ghosts #asks

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to Royal Guards

Royals have multiple layers of servants but there is no set of servants most important that their protection. Royalty are never without some kind of protection and palaces are usually guarded to the teeth. So how do we write royal security. This is for @jamie-ties-writing

Recruitment

Royal guards aren't just any person plucked from the street and put into a uniform. They are usually recruited from within the royal army, from within particular regiments across the army (a mixture of calvary, naval, artillery, infantry). The Royal Guard is usually made of of multiple regiments, not just a single one. These regiments would share and rotate duties. The British Royal family are currently guarded by the Coldstream Regiment, Welsh Guards, Grenadier Guards among others. Royal guards will be selected for their skill, sometimes their birth (they may be chosen if they rank higher socially) and of course, loyalty to the Crown. Royal guards were intended to be a show of force, strength, Majesty so they were usually impressive specimens meant to instill some power to their monarch.

Duties

A royal guard's first order of business is the protection of the family. They may have sentry duty around the palace, guarding doors or patrolling palace grounds or corridors. A Royal Guard may be assigned to one member only but most likely they will rotate through the family as needed. Of course, a royal can request a guard to always be assigned to them if they want. They may escort their charge of the day to their engagements. If assigned a certain royal to protect, they would tail them throughout the day. A royal guard may even perform ceremonial duties such as the changing of the guard or riding in coronations or state funerals. A royal guard is expected to remain vigilant but never speak of what they see, they are meant to keep an ear out for threats but never repeat whatever is said, they are expected at all times to uphold a professional countenance and respect protocol. They will be expected to give their lives if needed, and be loyal to the last.

Rank

Royal guards are a military division and rank is a part of their lives. Their supreme commander would he the monarch first but there would be an appointed commander. Depending on how you want to write Royal Guards, each regiment would have it's own captain and leaders. Of course, not all regiments may adhere to the same ranks but this would be a basic outline for you to follow.

Colonel: Colonels actually have no duties, they are more an honourary figurehead. Many members of the royal family would have a regiment to be colonel of. This usually requires nothing more than a ceremonial role, the wearing of the uniform while inspecting the troops for example.

Captain: The Commander of the regiment. They would undertake managerial duties, issuing commands from the monarch, assigning duties, approving the induction of new guards into the Household Division. The Captain would decide who would guard which member of the royal family.

Lieutenant: The Second in command. They will assume command if the Captain is not available. They would take on a large portion of duties and aid the Captain.

Sergeant: The sergeant would be next in command.

Guardsman: The lowest rank. They will have the least experience but usually the most duties. They would be the ones patrolling and standing sentry.

Uniform

Of course, no royal guard is complete without their uniform. Royal guards would have to stand out, especially in ceremonial duties. This uniform would be distinctive, not only because it is a great honour for anybody to be named to the guard but also as mentioned above, to add a layer of might to those they protect.

Notable Royal Guard Units

Dahomey Mino (the inspiration of Black Panther's Dora Milaje)

The Praetorian Guard

The Imperial Guard of Napoleon

The Imperial German Bodyguard

Varangian Guard

Swiss Guards

The Kheshig

The Janissary

The Imperial Guards of Tsarist Russia

The Cossack Guard

Guardia Real

Coldstream Guards

Irish Guards

Welsh Guards

Grenadier Guards

Medjay of Ancient Egypt

Al-Ḥars al-Malakī as-Suʿūdī

Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince

Thahan Raksa Phra Ong

#Fantasy Guide to Royal guards #Royal guards #Royals #Royalty guide #Fantasy Guide #Writing reference #Writing resources #Writing advice #Writing resources writing reference #writing #writeblr #writing resources #writing reference #writing advice #writer #ask answered questions #spilled words #ask answered #writers