I wanted to start a little thing, where I would put a headcannon or two about the Zones/the Four/Culture, etc. and people could add some more to it! Idk if it’ll work, but I think it’d be fun.
Zone 4 is littered with abnormal and mutated creatures from the Maple Plazas surrounding it. People tend to stay as far away from Zone 4 as possible, which made rumours spread about the Four being allies and friends with those creatures.
Speaking as a psych survivor that wants there to be better treatment for people with highly stigmatized disorders like my own, what are things that I can do within my community to help?
hey anon!
First thing I want to say is that you are absolutely the expert on your own experiences. Your own instincts, wisdom, and past experiences are such a valuable resource, and whatever ways you choose to show up in community is important and valued. Ways of helping that make me feel connected to community might not be what you want, and that's totally okay.
A great step can be to look at what's already there in your local community. Is there a consumer/survivor/mental health advocacy group in your location? Is there peer support groups or peer respite? Are there any policy campaigns that resonate with you? Some helpful resources to find out if advocacy is going on in your community can be to go to Hearing Voices Groups, other local support groups, or even NAMI groups. (I dislike NAMI as an organization, but the support groups can sometimes be a way to find other mad/mentally ill/neurodivergent people in your area who are doing cool things.) If there is advocacy happening already in your community that feels important to you, that can be a great way to get involved. Other advocacy campaigns that aren't directly related to mental health can be great resources--things like harm reduction organizations, other justice and advocacy organizations, other disability organizations like Centers for Independent Living.
Another thing that's been super helpful for me is just getting access to more education about how to help people in crisis, and going to a lot of trainings on peer support, noncarceral suicide prevention, conflict resolution, things like that. I love the pay-what-you-can webinars that Project LETS offers. IDHA also has tons of amazing resources and training courses, but they do cost more. Most states also have peer specialist training courses--I think a lot of these courses kind of suck in terms of content, but getting certified as a peer specialist can open the door to some volunteer and job opportunities, if that's what you're interested in.
Something else that I think can be really important is just educating ourselves and building relationships with people in our community. Learning about mad mapping, knowing your rights for hospitalization, practicing coping skills, meeting your neighbors, cooking for people --really just investing into support systems can help people learn ways of helping each other and meeting our needs that don't require us to interact with fucked up systems. If we build relationships and have those social connections in place, it can help us be more prepared to care for each other through distress and crisis, and make sure that everyone's basic needs are being met. I love the book Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha for thinking through some of the ways we can build community and care for eachother as disabled people. Also, spending time identifying my own needs, asking for help, and sharing aspects of my own story with people in my community has helped me connect to other people who have those same needs, and I think sometimes can help challenge some of the stigma we face by being really authentic with each other.
This is definitely not a comprehensive list, and is just a small snapshot of some of the things that have been meaningful to me! My values and passions are more centered in building community alternatives to the current mental health system rather than trying to reform the mental health system, but there are absolutely groups out there that are more focused on changing policies. There's so many ways, big and small, that I can think of for getting involved in radical mental health work in your community, and I would love it if people could add on things that they're doing or that they're passionate about!!
I’m really glad that Aaron’s self-immolation for Palestine is getting attention, but on November 8th there was also a Congolese man who did the same thing for the genocide happening in the DRC. From what I read in the article above, his fate and identity are unknown but I think his story should be getting equal amount of traction and I haven’t really seen anyone talking about it on Tumblr specifically yet.
You guys are commenting on the fics you read right? You’re at least leaving kudos on the Astarion smut and the pairs that have less than 20 fics for them too? You’re bookmarking stories you really like that are still being updated and ones that haven’t been touched in over a year right?
You know that even the smallest interactions are like cocaine to fic writers right? You understand how important a string of emoji hearts left behind on chapter at three am is right?? Right????
You’re treating AO3 like a community and not a content factory….right?
On this Shabbos and as Hanukkah draws near (Dec 7th), I'd like to share this article, one of the only guides I've been able to find on where to buy candles for Shabbos/Hanukkah/etc that don't support the Jewish National Fund. For those unfamiliar with the JNF, it is a Zionist organization formed in 1901 to buy land for Jewish settlement, and among other things has been responsible for much of the ecological "development" (read: colonialism) of Palestine. One of its main efforts is in soliciting money from diaspora Jews to fund the Zionist project, and many of the larger brands of Judicia donate a portion of their proceeds to it. As Hanukkah candles begin appearing in stores, you might check the box and note a JNF logo on the side.
This is a list of candle companies that specifically do not donate a part of their proceeds to the JNF, one of the only articles of its kind I've never been able to find. The companies listed aren't all necessarily anti-Zionist or don't donate to Israel in other ways - I'd recommend researching bigger names like Manischewitz, for example - but Narrow Bridges Candles IS anti-zionist and explicitly supports and promotes BDS. I've bought from them before, they make beautiful beeswax candles of all kinds, and would highly recommend you get your holiday candles here if it's financially doable.
Good Shabbos and have a safe and beautiful Hanukkah, when you remember the miracle of the eight nights remember also the people of Gaza and the scarcity there.
Selina becoming Batwoman: Good AU. I like it. Cool.
But there's already a Batwoman.
So when Selina and Bruce marry: Bruce becomes Catman.
The entire Batfamily rebrands.
Dick becomes Calico. The multicolored patterns remind him of the original bright Robin colors.
Kate becomes the Lioness.
Bette joins her as Lionette (a play on the word Lionet, a word for a baby lion)
Cass becomes the Black Panther. No ones sure how but she gets even more stealthy.
Tim becomes the Abyssian. (Reference to the Brown Color, like the Drake suit, and how they're supposedly the smartest breed of domestic cat)
Jason becomes the Blue Tiger. It's a cryptid, and no one's sure it ever existed, much like how no one's sure how Jason came back to life. There's some mythology to it, which I think ties in to Jason having some magic.
Damian becomes Leopard. The perfect predator, an opportunistic hunter that strikes from the shadows. (Plus they look like kitties...)
Babs becomes the Catseye. She sees everything, in an almost supernatural way, to outsiders.
Duke becomes Snow Leopard. 1. It's a Leopard, signifying his love for Robin in the first place. And the bright white is similar to his bright yellow, both a juxtaposition to the Batfam (Catfam)'s darkness. It also stands out in another way. Snow Leopards live in the icy tundra, much different than the greenery and savannas of other big cats. Similar to Duke's powers being a stark contrast.
Steph becomes the Pink Panther, but still wears Purple. She pretends she thinks its pink. Just to be silly, and annoy goons.
country bumpkin merlin not knowing anything about city life and accidentally courting arthur without knowing
merlin, watching gwen give lancelot her favor: why do you do that
gwen, heart eyes at lance and not paying that much attention to the conversation: so he knows i’m rooting for him
merlin, with an Idea: ah.
gwaine, lover of chaos, pisser offer of nobles and royals alike, ultimate wingman: merlin…you have such lonely lips. shall i introduce them to mine?
merlin, unaware of the game gwaine is playing: so you can steal my breath away? i think not, scoundrel
arthur, crushing his goblet in his hand:
merlin: arthur’s been in a bad mood recently :( i should cheer him up
merlin, remembering when arthur was put out when merlin brought morgana flowers and not him: i know just the thing
merlin, bringing a bouquet of carnations, roses, and tulips and setting them on arthur’s table while he’s eating breakfast: good morning, sire
arthur, trained on flower language in hopes that one day when he was to take a queen he could woo her easily, trying not to audibly choke on his sausage as he reads merlin’s declaration of love sitting in front of him:
arthur, who recently found out about merlin’s magic and was trying to find a way to bring it up, catching him in the act and watching merlin panic to explain himself:
merlin, Freaking: and i swear to you arthur, i have only ever used it for you. my magic is yours. my life is yours. i am yours. i would never do anything to harm you. i have protected you for years and will continue to do so at your side if you’ll have me
arthur, already believing them to be courting, desperately trying to figure out if that was a proposal for marriage or not but tired of being confused and deciding fuck it: here.
merlin, taking it: i…uh…huh?
arthur, watching merlin with hawk eyes and trying to figure out what he’s thinking and feeling: it’s my mothers sigil
merlin, confused as FUCK but is focusing on the fact that arthur is handing him something of his mother rather than a death sentence: my…my lord?
arthur, realizing how scared merlin’s must be about him finding out about his magic and trying to comfort him while also proposing, killing two birds with one stone: i will always keep you at my side, merlin, so long as we both shall live. if you’ll allow me.
merlin, almost collapsing with relief and tearing up, smiling at arthur as if he had parted the storm clouds to allow sun to shine down on them in that moment: of course…of course, arthur. always and forever.
merlin, watching the castle staff rush this way and that: wow. this banquet must be incredibly important
sir leon the long suffering, day one ride or die, one of the original merthur shippers: banquet? merlin, this is for your wedding
merlin, overworked and exhausted: my WHAT? to WHO??
leon, regretting everything he’s ever done in his life that led him to this moment: to…arthur?
merlin, over joyed but also absolutely befuddled: i’m getting married to ARTHUR?????
leon: you two have been courting for the past year or so, have you not?
merlin: i’ve been COURTING ARTHUR?????? FOR A YEAR?????????