#the economics of the perceived person

[wisteria-lodge]

So my problem with most ‘get to know your character’ questioneers is that they’re full of questions that just aren’t that important (what color eyes do they have) too hard to answer right away (what is their greatest fear) or are just impossible to answer (what is their favorite movie.)  Like no one has one single favorite movie. And even if they do the answer changes.

If I’m doing this exercise, I want 7-10 questions to get the character feeling real in my head. So I thought I’d share the ones that get me (and my students) good results: 

What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/resturant)

What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private)

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)

Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory) 

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.) 

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.)

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.)

Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.)

What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.) 

What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.) 

#writing #teaching #character questions #character building

[transmutationisms]

I have always been wary of the psychiatric industry, but its only very recently that i started to read anti-psychiatric works. Your blog is the first time i saw that the "chemical imbalances causing mental illness" is a myth, and honestly its something im having a hard time wrapping my head around.

Is it that mood regulation struggles, labelled as a mental illnesses, has more to do with outside factors instead of the person "just being that way"? Is it therefore unlikely for someone to have struggles with mood regulation if they cant identify any external causes that would cause them to be, for example, extremely agoraphobic or to have anger management issues? Im asking this for myself mainly, cause i always had intense agoraphobia no matter how i often go outside my home (in fact it was worse when i was a teen and i was outside the house in even more back then). I cant think of any reason for me to be like this than chemical imbalances in my brain.

the specific 'chemical imbalance' myth i was talking about in this post is the idea that depression is caused by low serotonin, and that therefore SSRIs—serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, ie drugs that cause a higher level of serotonin in the brain—ought to cure or at least ameliorate depression. this conjecture is belied by the fact that SSRIs don't, at a population level, reliably perform better than placebo.

although a neurobiological cause of 'mental illness' has long been the holy grail of psychiatry, the serotonin imbalance myth is far from the only hypothesis that psychiatrists and neuroscientists have proposed. so, a critique of the serotonin myth is not synonymous with, or generalisable to, a critique of every neurobiological mechanism purported to explain psychiatric diagnoses. you may be interested to know, though, that genomics and neuroscience have not identified a biological cause of any psychiatric diagnosis (p. 851).

all human experiences are biologically instantiated, including in the brain and wider nervous system. we are embodied beings. however, it is a leap to assume that such instantiation is automatically equivalent to a causal explanation or disease etiology. in other words, to deny that psychiatric diagnoses are known to be biologically caused does not mean we deny that thoughts and thought patterns express in the physical matter of neuroanatomy. this is a major philosophical sticking point to keep in mind whenever you're looking at something like, eg, a study that purports to show 'brain differences' in those assigned a certain psychiatric diagnosis. another thing to consider is whether these papers are plagued with methodological issues or financial conflicts of interest.

i can't possibly tell you why you exhibit agoraphobia. however, when i talk about social, economic, and environmental factors that may contribute to the patterns of behaviour labelled as 'mental illness', i'm talking about much more than the individual choice to leave your house. since phobias are 'anxiety disorders', i might start by probing into questions like: is the world you live in safe? do you perceive it as safe? do you or your community face existential threats that may confront you more obviously when you go outside? are you nervous around other people, and if so, might that be connected to fears (well-founded or not) about interpersonal violence and harm? do you think any of these anxieties may be connected to the hostility and inaccessible design of the social environment and economic conditions?

human behaviour and thought varies. some of those variations may be totally benign; others may be helpful or harmful to the person living with them. it would be weird if every single one of the 8 billion people on earth experienced precisely the same amount of anxiety about any situation, no? all of this is to say: yeah, it's entirely possible you have been, for one reason or another (genetic, neuroanatomical, social, &c) predisposed to experience high, even debilitating levels of anxiety when leaving your home. most human characteristics develop from a tangle of social, environmental, material causes—ie, from a combination of 'nature' and 'nurture'. what doesn't follow, though, is the claim that there is therefore a discrete, 'diseased' element of your brain or brain functioning that can simply be cured or eliminated through psychiatric intervention.

it is a critical point of anti-psychiatry to challenge psychiatric and neuroscientific claims to neurobiological determinism where psychiatric diagnoses are concerned. this is for many reasons, including: a) that these claims have not been demonstrated to actually be true [see above]; b) that they rob pathologised people of agency and self-determination [see: you're too sick to know you're sick, and the doctor will fix you now]; c) that they are often pushed by pharmaceutical companies with financial interests, or grant-funded researchers with... financial interests; d) that they are politically seductive in various eugenic, hereditarian discourses that seek to eliminate the biologically 'unfit' element from society.

#psychiatry

[cemeterything]

was thinking about this earlier but the dynamic of cannibalism being associated with high society and the culinary elite (hannibal comes to mind specifically) while also simultaneously being associated with the socially isolated and economically impoverished (as in texas chainsaw massacre) is so interesting to me i want to read 10 million books on why it happens so much in media....

i can only speak from a place of personal opinion and general knowledge, because i haven't read that many papers or in-depth studies on cannibalism, but i think it often comes down to an interesection between the themes of the story you're telling and class structures and divisions. cannibalism is a compelling form of narrative symbolism because it's undeniably impactful and hard to ignore. when portrayed as a practice associated with the culinary and social upper class, it might be used as a critique of the rich and powerful and their lack of ethics and willingness to consume and destroy others for their own self-interest by showing them literally preying on and consuming their victims, or a horror story/cautionary tale about how having everything can lead you to never be satisfied and turn to increasingly extreme measures to feel like life is worth living, or a dark fantasy of indulgence and excess. when associated with the poor, marginalized and isolated, it's often based in bigotry and harmful stereotypes of the "primitive" "inhuman" "savage" "other", however it might also function as a revenge fantasy where the most oppressed and exploited members of society turn on their oppressors and take "eating the rich" to its most literal extreme, exposing the fragility of class divisions and pointing out that those in positions of social and economic power are hardly the mythic titans their propaganda tries to make them out to be, but ultimately just as mortal and made of flesh and blood as any other human being, and not immune to being dragged down from their position at the top of the food chain and torn to pieces by the crowd (as well as reminding the audience of their own fragile mortality and precarious position in the social order, and the humanity we all share in common - however cannibalism often divides the perpetrators from both their victims and the audience, so this is rarer than the other interpretations mentioned).

cannibalism and power often go hand in hand. cannibalism has historically been used as both a means of displaying your power over defeated opponents and delivering a final, humiliating blow to their image by consuming their flesh, and a means of othering and dehumanizing your opponent by portraying them as the cannibalistic monster.

both the very rich and very poor also tend to be perceived as more distant from the people who make and consume these stories, making them easier to project fiction onto and transform into symbols and narrative devices (or, in the worst cases, dehumanize) than those who occupy the same social spheres as the creator. they can be held at an arm's length without discomfort and, depending on the target audience, may be a source of fascination due to the differences in their lived experiences. it adds to the fantasy, and makes any inaccuracies, exaggerations and fabrications feel more plausible because the majority of the audience probably don't have any personal experiences of being in those positions to draw on.

#cannibalism #classism #like this is literally just my interpretation based on my knowledge of media studies literary analysis and sociology #i cant say with any certainty whether its a True and Accurate assessment

[aagneauu]

High value habits to elevate yourself 🥂✨

When the term "high value" is mentioned, we often think of things related exclusively to economic wealth, but being a high-value person is an attitude, an attribute founded on habits and a wealthy mentality. So today I wanted to mention a few habits that I personally perceive as something a person with strong standards apply on their lives. ✨

Sorry if there's any grammar mistakes, English isn't my first language :b

1. Long-term mentality ✦

Enjoying yourself is very important, but when we only think about the things that give us temporary pleasure, is often very likely that we forget to take care about our future stability. For example, if you want to travel, the smart thing to do would be to save the money in order to be able to afford it, but how many times we just feel the urge to waste money on unnecessary stuff just to get that brief satisfaction, that bad habit will take us far from our goals. This rule can be applied on almost every aspect, and if you're able to stick to your goals and take decisions according to them, trust me, you'll get very far.

2. Invest ✦

Stop wasting and start investing; your money, your time and your energy. In terms of money, you obviously can spend some of it on pretty stuff, but instead of wasting your whole salary on things you want, a smarter move would be to use part of that money to invest it on something that potentially can give us another income, maybe there's a valuable peace of jewelry or clothing that not only we could use, but to sell and trade in the future, or even if you have enough money saved, you can invest in a property, to not only live in it, but to rent it. Our time and energy works in the same way, we could be wasting our time and energy with people that don't give us nothing we can learn from, and you're worth way more than that. Find people and habits that not only make you feel good and appreciated, but that will leave you something interesting for your personal growth, and remember, better alone than in a bad company.

3. Details matter ✦

How we talk, how we decide to present ourselves to the world, our values, the effort we put on what we make. Every little detail says something about us. For example, something as simple as spraying perfume before we go out makes a difference, or if you study, the amount of time and effort you decide to put on certain classes. Socially, what you decide to say, and to develop the hability to stay quiet when necessary. Maybe you think that those little things don't make a huge difference at the long-term, but when you see how your life can change drastically with every little step you take, you learn to pay attention to it.

4. Patience ✦

It is a strong word, it is even harder to apply to our lives sometimes. Being patient not only with people, but with our circumstances. Sometimes things that we don't like happens, and we don't even understand why because we thought that we did everything right, but everything happens for a reason, it's like a fruit, you could take it out of the tree earlier because you're hungry, but it isn't that mature and tasty, but if you just wait, resist the hunger, the fruit will be way better. That applies to money, emotional growth and life changes. Learn to understand that sometimes, pain will be the sign to something better than your current situation.

5. Stop following the crowd ✦

Set standards and learn what is good for you, if you just rely on others to decide what is best for you, or even worse; you know something is bad for you and still do it for others, then expect low quality experiences. People time to time will call you boring or even extreme just because you decide to be loyal to your values. If something that everyone is doing seems beneficial, do it, but because it gives you something valuable, not because of the crowd. You can apply this rule to everything; friends, money, and other experiences. The amount ot peace and comfort that you can get with this transformation is a huge life upgrade.

This were some topics that come to mind when the "high value" term is mentioned. And remember, no one is perfect and every little thing makes us unique. Life is a long journey that you can decide to upgrade with every little move.

Hope u enjoyed! ♡

#girlblogger #fashion #girl blogger #girlblogging #moodboard #luxuries #luxury #aesthetic #luxury aesthetic #luxe #high value mindset #high value woman #high maintenance #it girl #black girl luxury #gaslight gatekeep girlboss #girl boss #girl blogging #luxury lifestyle

[truevedicastrology]

LILITH POSITIONING ACROSS ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS AND HOUSES

LILITH IN ARIES/1ST HOUSE: With a captivating physique, X exudes ambition and competitiveness, yet occasionally appears a bit cheeky. They carry an air of confidence, occasionally perceived as provocative, yet harboring subtle insecurities. Intimidation comes naturally to them, driven by an intense focus on goals. Embracing rebellion, they stand out, and their presence is hard to ignore. X embodies the spirit of someone unafraid to voice opinions, akin to the student who speaks up to the teacher. Their allure extends to a desire for personal transformation, perhaps even considering changes in appearance.

LILITH IN TAURUS/2ND HOUSE: X navigates a world marked by materialism and occasional self-reflection on body image. Issues surrounding food and self-esteem surface, creating a unique journey. Others might envy them for their magnetic charm and allure. Financial boundaries become a grey area, and their choices may not align with traditional moral values. X, with a captivating face and a mesmerizing voice, grapples with a constant hunger for more, never fully satisfied.

LILITH IN GEMINI/3RD HOUSE: Always ahead of the curve, X possesses a way with words that others envy. Sibling dynamics might stir jealousy or comparisons. Sarcasm and clever storytelling are their forte, accompanied by a unique sense of humor. Dark thoughts may cross their mind, and early school experiences shape a somewhat unstable outlook. X sees through people with a sharp tongue, occasionally causing conflicts but showcasing an insightful nature.

LILITH IN CANCER/4TH HOUSE: A nomadic life defines X's experiences, marked by family conflicts and maternal influences. Their journey involves female rivalry, emotional insights, and a quest for a sense of home. X grapples with the complexities of motherhood, either desiring it intensely or feeling the need to avoid it altogether. The influence of a mother figure lingers, leaving traces of rejection.

LILITH IN LEO/5TH HOUSE: X has a taste for unconventional art and may express themselves through creative endeavors. Custody battles and challenges with their own children mark their path. X desires attention, occasionally facing judgment for their self-expression. The stage becomes a platform for rebellion, with a fixation on pleasure and occasional struggles with addictive behaviors.

LILITH IN VIRGO/6TH HOUSE: X approaches life with a critical lens, often seeking recognition for their efforts. Body image becomes a focal point, either through their own scrutiny or the judgment of others. Their service-oriented nature sometimes leads to overcommitment, and they may grapple with extreme views on diet and exercise. The Lilith journey includes experiences with healthcare and a nuanced relationship with hygiene.

LILITH IN LIBRA/7TH HOUSE: X navigates love triangles and occasionally experiences passive-aggressive dynamics. Their charm attracts Lilith-influenced partners, and they may feel incomplete without a significant other. Relationships involve subtle power dynamics, and X might project Lilith qualities onto others. They face challenges such as infidelity and being left for someone else, shaping a complex romantic narrative.

LILITH IN SCORPIO/8TH HOUSE: X exudes power and a touch of mystery. They possess profound psychological insights and occasionally intimidate with their intuition. Privacy is paramount to them, and they may engage in unorthodox behaviors. Fear of exposure lingers, leading to intense reactions from others. X's Lilith journey involves topics like mortality, taxation, and an exploration of intimate relationships.

LILITH IN SAGITTARIUS/9TH HOUSE: X encounters challenges related to religion, education, and socio-economic backgrounds. They may hold strong opinions and rebel against tradition, leading to a sense of being an outcast. X's journey involves a struggle for acceptance and rejection, shaping a unique perspective on cultural dynamics.

LILITH IN CAPRICORN/10TH HOUSE: X becomes a subject of public fascination, carrying an aura of the unconventional. Fear of failure and challenges in professional relationships shape their journey. Lilith dynamics contribute to occasional scrutiny and accusations, adding layers to their professional narrative.

LILITH IN AQUARIUS/11TH HOUSE: X aligns with unique social groups, occasionally facing envy and drama. Friendships involve triangular dynamics and the occasional betrayal. X might avoid conformity and engage in rebellious activities, shaping a distinctive social journey.

#astro notes #astrology #astro observations #astronotes #lilith #lilith conjunct ascendant #lilith 1st house #lilith in the houses #astrology facts #astrology observations #vedic astrology #astro community

[astrojulia]

Our Emotional Pains

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The moon in our natal chart represents our most emotional aspect and the potential pains it may endure, often influenced by childhood experiences. Remember that each individual is unique, and not all aspects listed here may apply to you due to various reasons. However, some tendencies are more likely to occur.

If you experience emotional pain in any area, seeking professional help from a psychologist, therapist, or acupuncturist is recommended. The moon encourages us to seek assistance from others without fear. Additionally, you can find steps to improve self-esteem in my series of posts "here." Always prioritize self-care.

ಇ. Moon in the 1st House: People with the Moon in the 1st house find their emotional identity deeply intertwined with their self-image. They may feel dependent on others' emotional validation to feel good about themselves, regardless of financial status or intelligence. Emotionally, they may experience fluctuations based on how they are perceived by others. To improve, they should focus on inner strength, firm spiritual practices, and being more self-directed.

ಇ. Moon in the 2nd House: For those with the Moon in the 2nd house, emotional security is closely tied to their financial stability. They might feel profoundly affected by financial losses, experiencing emotional turbulence when facing economic challenges. To alleviate this, they need to understand that their worth isn't solely tied to material possessions and recognize that they are supported by the abundance of the universe.

ಇ. Moon in the 3rd House: Individuals with the Moon in the 3rd house have an emotional charge connected to their thoughts and areas of learning, such as education and communication. They may have learned to suppress or avoid their feelings, leading to toxic ways of dealing with emotions. To find balance, they should embrace a healthy approach to feelings and consider seeking support from self-help books or therapeutic resources.

ಇ. Moon in the 4th House: With the Moon in the 4th house, emotional ties to family are strong and may sometimes lead to giving excessive control over one's life to family members. They might have a deep love for their family, even covering up negative emotions stemming from past experiences. Seeking therapy to address buried emotional pain from the past can be essential for their growth.

ಇ. Moon in the 5th House: Individuals with the Moon in the 5th house have a profound emotional connection to children and, if they are mothers, may feel a strong sense of responsibility. Their relationship with their own mother significantly impacts their mothering style, and they may try to compensate for any deficiencies they experienced in their maternal relationship. Therapy can help them work through these complex emotional dynamics.

ಇ. Moon in the 6th House: Those with the Moon in the 6th house feel emotionally connected to their job and might become overly absorbed in it. Imbalances in work-life can manifest physically, often causing digestive issues or stomach discomfort. Learning to set boundaries between your job and personal life and finding emotional fulfillment outside of work is crucial.

ಇ. Moon in the 7th House: Emotionally, people with the Moon in the 7th house find support and security through relationships, which can sometimes lead to dependency on their partners. They may place a lot of emotional responsibility on others, neglecting their own emotional needs. To cultivate healthier relationships, they need to take personal responsibility for their emotions and maintain a sense of individuality within partnerships.

ಇ. Moon in the 8th House: Individuals with the Moon in the 8th house have deep emotional issues tied to their family, particularly their mother. They may have experienced early traumatic events that exposed them to life's darker aspects, leading them to explore taboo or hidden subjects. Self-awareness and self-knowledge are crucial in recognizing and accepting their inner truths.

ಇ. Moon in the 9th House: For those with the Moon in the 9th house, emotional support comes from their philosophical beliefs and convictions. They may have emotional ties to their educational experiences, which can lead to revisiting themes from the past. The relationship with their mother might be seen as wise and influential, but it can also burden them with heavy expectations.

ಇ. Moon in the 10th House: Emotionally, individuals with the Moon in the 10th house are deeply connected to their career and may feel emotionally vulnerable to criticism of their work. They seek to be seen as nurturing figures in their professional roles. Finding emotional fulfillment in their life's mission and recognizing their value beyond their work can be transformative.

ಇ. Moon in the 11th House: People with the Moon in the 11th house place great importance on friendships, seeking emotional support and acceptance from their social circle. They may struggle with feelings of pain and rejection when their need for acceptance isn't met. To build healthier relationships, they need to be authentic and avoid wearing masks to please others.

ಇ. Moon in the 12th House: Individuals with the Moon in the 12th house are highly sensitive to the pain of others, often absorbing emotions from those around them. They may feel guilty for actions that weren't their responsibility. Emotionally, they have a deep desire to protect others and may have experienced emotional entanglements with their mother. Learning to establish emotional boundaries and finding healthy coping mechanisms is vital to their well-being.

The Healing Process

To heal your moon you need to learn to deal with your past, instincts and emotions and this is done with the energy of your sign, the general energy of this healing is:

ಇ. Aries: courage, leadership, drive, motivation to start projects and move forward, even with obstacles.

ಇ. Taurus: care, affection, patience to observe, see it grow, follow its own development process and the growth of others.

ಇ. Gemini: communication, the good word, the kindness, the diplomacy to make contacts, transmit information and exchange opinions with people.

ಇ. Cancer: love, intimacy, protection, warmth and emotional support to feel loved and safe, participating in a family.

ಇ. Leo: joy, spontaneity, vanity, self-esteem so that we can continue to act correctly and be proud of ourselves.

ಇ. Virgo: productivity, love of work, the desire to be useful, to serve, to help ourselves and others.

ಇ. Libra: commitment, bond, engagement with others, sophistication, love of the arts and the delicacy that enchants and captivates the people around.

ಇ. Scorpio: silence, the depth, the mystery, the emotions, the possibility of divesting us and transforming us into better people.

ಇ. Sagittarius: hope, faith in the future, positive energy, interest in going much further to discover that the world is bigger.

ಇ. Capricorn: responsibility, discipline, ethics, wisdom obtained by age, respect for the elderly, willpower.

ಇ. Aquarius: friendship, fraternity, originality, innovation, respect for differences, unconditional love for human beings and nature.

ಇ. Pisces: faith, the connection with a higher dimension, simplicity, detachment, surrender to life.

(CC) AstroJulia Some Rights Reserved

#astrojulia #astrology #witchblr #astroblr #all about astrology #astro community #astro observations #astrology notes #witch community #natal chart #birth chart #moon #aries moon #taurus moon #gemini moon #cancer moon #leo moon #libra moon #virgo moon #scorpio moon #sagittarius moon #capricorn moon #aquarius moon #pisces moon #1st house #2nd house #3rd house #4th house #5th house #6th house

[beguines]

In neoliberal ideology, the self has replaced the group, the community, or wider society as the site for reform and change. This emphasis on the individual has seen the depoliticisation of social and economic inequalities to the point where, in the words of Ulrich Beck, they have been redefined "in terms of an individualization of social risks." Most pertinent to our understanding of the psy-professions in neoliberal society is that "social problems are increasingly perceived in terms of psychological dispositions: as personal inadequacies, guilt feelings, anxieties, conflicts, and neuroses". In this "risk society," "expert" groups such as psychiatrists and psychologists become increasingly important to capitalism in their attempts to scientifically speak to the "risky" behaviour of the individual. This rise of "expert knowledge and expert opinion" in neoliberal society, remarks Turner, means that such discourse is "highly politicized." Thus, as the social state has fallen away with the expansion of neoliberal ideology, the psy-disciplines have come to play a key role in promoting and perpetuating the focus on the risky subject, increasing their moral authority into new areas of jurisdiction, with every individual within a population redefined under a hegemonic psychiatric discourse as "in a permanent condition of vulnerability" to "mental illness."

Bruce M.Z. Cohen, Psychiatric Hegemony: A Marxist Theory of Mental Illness

#bruce m.z. cohen #psychiatric hegemony #psychiatry

[starfelina]

your scout planet

what's a scout planet ?

a scout/guiding planet is the planet that is placed immediately before our natal sun. this particular planet greatly influences our personality, as it outlines the "aura" we give off & the initial impression we give to other people when they first meet us. In addition, this planet can show a remarkable talent that sometimes we don't know we have.

how to find it ?

it's actually very easy to find your scout planet. take a look at your birth chart and find the planet that is placed immediately before your natal sun. this is your scout planet.

for example: your sun is 10° leo. the planet placed immediately before your sun is your mercury at 6° leo. mercury is your scout planet.

SCOUT PLANETS

moon as a scout

(ik that the moon is not a planet , chill)

they are the kind of people that others perceive as moody but at the same time tender, protective, caring and highly emotional. sometimes they can give the impression of a touchy-feely person who is easily misunderstood. In general, these people are like a "psychic sponge" as they absorb the energies and moods of those around them. In positive terms, one would say that they possess empathy, which is one of the most important dimensions of emotional intelligence. they could have a talent for psychology, while usually becoming a giving partner and an excellent family person.

mercury as a scout

this is the most common scout planet ! when mercury is the scout planet of the natal chart, others perceive the person as highly communicative, intelligent, flexible and talkative. In negative expression, the person may indulge in gossip and become TOO talkative or intellectually arrogant, which can annoy others. the person with this scout can be a gifted public speaker, while in several cases thet have a remarkable talent for writing. many journalists and teachers have mercury as their scout planet.

venus as a scout

these people magnetize those around them and win their sympathy with characteristic ease. often, people with venus scout have a nice physical appearance and radiate eroticism. they are known for their kindness, as well as the calmness and harmony they exude. they can be really artistic. professions that suit them are those related to the arts, beauty & decoration.

mars as a scout

mars as a scout planet makes the person seem a little hot-headed to others. of course, at the same time others perceive them as decisive, bold, brave, impulsive, rude and ...sexy! mars radiates sexuality and awakens the passion of others. On top of that, these people give the impression of being highly competitive, without necessarily being…although they usually are! hidden talent: something that has to do with sports & martial arts

jupiter as a scout

these people give off a positive vibe. they are optimistic and kind-hearted. they give the impression of a philosophical soul. in several cases, other people perceive them as very lucky but a bit spoiled. they have a developed sense of justice & they love reading, writing and anything related to expanding their intellectual horizons. they are nature lovers and professionally they could be writers , university professors, travel agents or lawyers.

saturn as a scout

this scout makes the person appear to others as very serious, mature, disciplined, reliable, professionally successful and responsible. they inspire confidence, but others tend to consider them somewhat socially aloof, unlucky, despite their professional reputation & pessimistic. they are famous for their organizational skills and its best for them to deal with economics and the organization and management of a business.

uranus as a scout

here we are dealing with a special, progressive and multi-talented personality. others perceive this person as revolutionary, unconventional and a genius. very conservative people cannot stand him, as they are shocked by his views as well as by his words. the truth is that the person in question has modern and innovative ideas and dislikes massification and compromises. good careers for them: politics, astrology, astronomy and meteorology, as they are fascinated by natural/weather phenomena.

neptune as a scout

this scout makes the person appear to others as abstract, kind-hearted, compassionate, perpetually deep in thought, confused yet intuitive. the truth is that all these are true lol. at the same time, this particular person is multi-dimensional, has an artistic way of thinking, is drawn to metaphysics and spirituality, and constantly seeks to ease the pain of others, especially those whom they judge to have been wronged by life. they could be a gifted artist or even a psychic, doctor, nurse, sailor or even a fisherman as they love the sea.

pluto as a scout

the aura of this person is intense, sometimes dark. some people hate them and the others adore them, no in between. generally, others perceive them as secretive, introverted, mysterious, charming and powerful. they are a lonely person who has learned to survive by relying on their own powers. they ooze sexuality, but it differs from that of mars as a scout. others feel that the pluto scout person will manipulate, subdue and captivate them through the passion they exude and through a ritual of seduction. for that reason, others are afraid of these people . the people in question are incredibly attracted to scientific research, psychology and metaphysics. they could also make an excellent detective.

xoxo, feliné

#asteroid #astro community #astro posts #astrology #astrology observations #vedic astrology #dark astrology #capricorn moon #astroblr #zodiac

[scintillyyy]

a view at perceptions of dick's economic situation at the circus through the years

alright, we start at detective comics #38, the OG introduction. and, nothing is really said either way about what dick's economic station would have been, because really, the only thing it's there to tell us is that dick is an acrobat--which gives him the skills needed to fight crime by batman's side.

of absolute note to me, though, is the fact that his family was famous for their triple spin & what that potentially means for his upbringing. because, if you've been following this journey with me, means a lot. because we have a real life example of that to compare to get an idea of what may have been his childhood. i am of course, talking about the flying concellos && i did find another one and that would be the flying codonas (alfredo codona being the first man to land a triple somersault).

now, let's be clear--dick being the son of famed circus trapeze artists, especially ones who could land a triple, in 1940, means that he grew up the son of stars. they would have been center ring performers, and likely had amenities and pay that reflected that. now i won't deny that as circus performers they were likely 'othered'--there was likely a prejudice against what they perceived circus folk to be, but that does not likely completely reflect the actuality of what they may have had access to as a result of being entertainment stars. because they were othered--but at the same time, if they were famous enough for their skills, they were definitely adjacent to the rich and famous, not just poor, exploited workers. there was a lot of overlap between famous acts, longstanding families, and ownership. after doing...a lot...of reading on the most famous circus stars of the era of the 1920s & 1930s (especially alfredo cordona + his eventual wife lillian leitzel and the flying concellos), i think i've determined a couple of things:

one, these circus stars feel very akin to movie stars wrt their fame. and they were messy as hell. lillian leitzel in particular was a prima donna--she was the first circus star who was able to catapult her worth into luxuries. she was the first star to ever get her own private train car and personal dressing tent and was known to be the prima donna of the circus. she was also known for her temper--her personal maid would sometimes get fired and rehired several times a day. when she married alfredo cordona between acts in chicago, it was considered the royal wedding of the circus world. may wirth, a trick rider, was frequently in the gossip column of newspapers & had many, many admirers. lillian leitzel was voted the most beautiful woman in the world by american soldiers in wwi. like, these people were stars in every sense of the word.

two, these performers were not just meek, exploited poor people. with the right skills, they had power, they had ambition & they had money. they were center stage performers. arthur concello was huge in investing in and modernizing the circus--likely because of the money he made through the years of performing his act.

so frankly detective comics #28, and later batman #32, doesn't really delve into what dick's life experiences may have been on the circus--because that's not the point. the only thing those are their to do is establish dick as an orphan & and acrobat, and thereby skilled and motivated enough to work at batman's side.

but based on the era in which he was created and in comparison to similar acts of the time, it's easy to take a gander. because john & mary being able to perform a triple would have been huge. they'd be center stage acts, high in hierarchy. with mary being a young, attractive woman who could perform a triple, she may have had plenty of admirers & been in the gossip columns of the newspaper. her wedding to john may have been a whole thing to circus fans. i read a lot about those types of acts being invited to perform and star in european shows over the winters at old, respected circuses && they had enough international star power that they drew crowds there based on name alone. i know the impulse is to think that dick would have had no experience with the wealth of bruce's world, but conversely in that day and age and his parent's skillset it's highly likely he would have been exposed to the glitz & glamour of the famous high life. they may have been invited to do private performances for other rich & famous people & rubbed shoulders with them. alfredo cordona was in a few hollywood movies for his skills & arthur concello had connections to hollywood due to brokering the movie 'the greatest show'--is it out of the realm of possibility to believe that john would have had the same opportunities?

anyways, moving on. i find myself extremely intrigued by detective comics #484, which brings dick back to haly's circus. now there's some hilarity here in that dick has no clue if it's possibly the same haly's circus he and his parents worked for, and he meets linda--of the flying graysons! (get her ass for copyright infringement, dick). jk. linda is a very nice girl & it's just a stage name. dick confirms they were circle ring stars & says that haly's was the greatest show on earth (the ringling bros & barnum and bailey about to come for haly...)

now this issue is interesting because while it doesn't necessarily give us an idea of what dick's economic status would have been, it does establish that the flying graysons were famous enough that the evil stepfather conviced haly that by yoinking the name for his family they'd be able to draw in more customers based on name recognition alone & that the name would put him in the headlines/give him headliner credibility for his act and the circus to get sold to a bigger show & that he would be able to "ride the crest of the wave" and become very successful (and presumably rich). which definitely implies that the grayson name is worth something. now haly's circus is shown to be getting by with generous checks from bruce wayne, and i feel like here we start to get what i feel is a fairly consistent incongruency where haly's circus is often shown to be barely getting by (despite their full audiences), yet the flying graysons were famous.

so then on to secret origins #13, which has dick tell joey about his journey to robin, and...briefly goes into his childhood (he started performing with his family at 5), but again the focus is, as always on the acrobatic portion. there's an interesting opaqueness there about what his childhood was like. just acrobatics and loving parents. nothing is ever really suggested with regards to their fame, they're just vaguely famous & circus stars. nobody seems interested in interrogating that.

and then we get to year three & batman #436 and this is the first time we get any sort of nugget as to dick's potential economic status, and it's not bad? his dad references getting world series tickets and dick wants to go to a movie with harry so he can skip out on homework. the average price of movie tickets in the 70s (when this is implied to take place) adjusted for inflation would be equal to about ~11 dollars today and dick clearly doesn't seem to think this is a huge expenditure. i mean, i wouldn't say that they're rich here by any means (unlike the potential implications of his 1940 introduction), but they're clearly comfortable enough to afford small luxuries without worry. which, again, as a named, headlining act doesn't seem too out of the ordinary. as the headliners, they're probably making the most of all the acts, as they're the ones bringing in the crowd. mary is said to be a third generation circus performer, which. to me. implies some success, that the circus family continued on. a lot of the people i mentioned before were ostensibly part of circus families that continued the tradition as that's what they were raised in. alfredo was first brought on stage at 7 months. & i think the fact that dick was a part of a longstanding circus family that would have had deep ties not just to the community but also would have likely been very entwined and friendly with management due to the nature of a long work relationship together. there is a stability there that wouldn't necessarily be seen with. someone new, i guess?

anyways, honestly i feel like year three & later a lonely place of dying are really the stories that try not to stereotype circus life the most. there's no "wow circus people are so othered & weird", they're just normal people who work at a circus & are treated as such. even jack and janet stopping for a photo is treated like "let's show our son that these performers are just people like us under their costumes". which, honestly reads more like that time i was brought to a local haunted walk when i was like 7 and i was in tears because i was so scared and one of the performers took off their mask to show me he was just a normal guy underneath the costume.

devin grayson, of course, retcons this long-standing family history of his mother being part of a circus family in nightwing annual #1 and changes it to his father instead & is very, hm, married to the idea that circus workers are poor in her conceptualization of how she writes dick as evidenced by her interview in "dick grayson, boy wonder" where she says the following:

god. the racism. it's something. and now. i'll say i have no issue with the idea of clarifying dick as not necessarily white. i do have slight issue with the idea that because he was a circus performer, he was poor. because this is the first time someone i think has actually tried to take into account the childhood dick may have experienced, and she definitely inserted her own stereotypical biases into it. and is a bit at odds with how skilled, famous american circus workers who have his parents' skillset were treated back in the time of dick's conception. they traveled in the winter because they were stars and were invited to perform in prestigious european circuses due to their fame. i just. and i will point out that a lot of these famous circus performers were hot blooded and it had nothing to do with race and everything to do with the fact that they were stage divas. idk. obviously, conceptions of circus workers were likely not the greatest in the 90s. they were nowhere near what their fame was in their heyday. clowns were definitely starting to be seen as more creepy and by this point, circuses were far more criticized for their treatment of animals. but i feel like there's a bit of a leap here wrt devin grayson's assumptions of circus life because of the fact that they travel & doesn't do near enough justice to the worth of the skill of dick & dick's parents. because being able to perform a triple & a quadruple would have still been extremely rare and highly valued. so rare it wasn't performed until 1982 & can still hardly be achieved.

https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/13/arts/a-quadruple-for-the-flying-miguel-vazquez.html

this article is a fascinating review of exactly how rare and dangerous it is. & hey, alfredo mention.

batman legends of the dark knight #100 seems to go along with this idea that a circus is a dirty and poor place.

and, like. okay so the graysons are still shown as an act important enough to have their own dressing/prep room, per usual, as expected for their skillset. haly's circus in modern day is usually shown in more modern comics to be a small traveling circus that's not doing...super well--at least in comparison to previously established show selling out lore, but the only thing i really take umbrage with here is that alfred describes it as decrepit. which. i feel like even if haly's is small and maybe not super profitable it should at least be shown as a well kept, nice place & the only reason for that is because if it was practically falling apart, there's no fucking way jack would have won the battle of 'let's bring our son tim to the circus' if it was falling apart. janet would have been out here on beyondthebump all 'help my DH wants to take our son to a circus and it's falling apart, located in a terrible part of town, and looks like it employs murderers, how do i tell him no?' and she would have been met with a chorus of 'stand ur ground girl, do NOT let him endager your baby like that!!'.

anyways, the new 52 also gives us almost nothing to go on either. dick's parents' trailer looks nice enough, indicating they do make enough money with their act to afford a semi nice trailer. john is an asshole, dick is out of character. lovely, thanks new 52. the secret origin is as least much better but does go into how the circus has no money--which, hm. doesn't really tell us anything re: the grayson's economic situation. the circus might be struggling and have to close down soon, but it doesn't mean a lot for what contracted rates they pay their acts. in fact, paying for an act as skilled as the graysons and not getting enough profit in return could be part of their money troubles.

and then finally we end with nightwing 82-83 by tom taylor, with the meili lin thing (and, while meili is nice enough, i must say i still don't like this whole thing because the point of zucco should not have been he had a longstanding grudge against the graysons, gdi-). which, again, all it confirms is that the grayson's were the star attractions and does nothing to interrogate what that might've been. it does focus a lot on the idea of they were free and happy, which. um. sometimes the focus on how happy people are is usually "despite the fact that they don't have x". then again i do feel like i will give tom taylor the fact that he also seemed to have just written the graysons as normal people, but he also doesn't seem interested in interrogating what dick being the son of the star act might have actually meant for him.

honestly, a lot of what i'm finding is that much like tim, dick's childhood is left frustatingly opaque--there's a lot of room for interpretation, honestly. it's not ever really said on paper if they struggled with money growing up. you have writers who have all but confirmed they wrote dick with the understanding that he grew up poor because he worked in a circus, but at the same time does ignore the fact that the grayson's had such a unique and special skillset that it's hard to say that makes sense. & is rooted in stereotypical biases. the only aspect of it that's ever considered is "dick's the son of the skilled, star performers and also has those skills ergo he has the skills to be a vigilante". they're cast in this light of famous & skilled!! but the circus they work for is poor and barely getting by, and you can only assume that because they worked for a poor circus dick was probably also living on the poverty line, wholly dependent on the success of the place they worked for because at times their wages were struggled to be paid (despite the fact that as a contract act, to underpay them would absolutely be a breach of contract). there's no confirmation or in-depth look at his childhood, only vague implications, throwaway lines & stereotypes. they want the grayson's to be probably the most skilled circus act in the world. they don't want to look at what that would realistically mean. because only the acrobatics is the important.

#anyways my deep dive into reading various versions of dick's origin really does show that dc doesn't really care #what his childhood experiences may have been #because they don't matter. only the acrobatics ever have #anyways i do think there's a lot of potential for dick to feel othered in his stories #his family would have been at the top of the hierarchy #he was used to fame but still was unable to fit in to bruce's world

[mengjue]

What's Happening in China? The November 2022 Protests

Hello! I know that there's so much going on in the world right now, so not everyone may be aware of what is happening in China right now. I thought that I would try to write a brief explainer, because the current wave of protests is truly unprecedented in the past 30+ years, and there is a lot of fear over what may happen next. For context, I'm doing this as someone who has a PhD in Asian Studies specialising in contemporary Chinese politics, so I don't know everything but I have researched China for many years.

I'll post some decent links at the end along with some China specialists & journalists I follow on Twitter (yeah I know, but it's still the place for the stuff at the moment). Here are the bullet points for those who just want a brief update:

Xi Jinping's government is still enacting a strict Zero Covid policy enforced by state surveillance and strict lockdowns.

On 24 November a fire in an apartment in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, killed 10. Many blamed strict quarantine policies on preventing evacuation.

Protests followed and have since spread nationwide.

Protesters are taking steps not seen since Tiananmen in 1989, including public chants for Xi and the CCP to step down.

Everyone is currently unsure how the government will respond.

More in-depth discussion and links under the cut:

First a caveat: this is my own analysis/explanation as a Chinese politics specialist. I will include links to read further from other experts and journalists. Also, this will be quite long, so sorry about that!

China's (aka Xi Jinping's) Covid Policy:

The first and most important context: Xi has committed to a strict Zero Covid policy in China, and has refused to change course. Now, other countries have had similar approaches and they undoubtedly saved lives - I was fortunate to live in New Zealand until this year, and Prime Minister Ardern's Zero Covid approach in 2020-2021 helped protect many. The difference is in the style/scope of enforcement, the use of vaccines, and the variant at play. China has stepped up its control on public life over the past 10 years, and has used this to enforce strict quarantine measures without full regard to the impact on people's lives - stories of people not getting food were common. Quarantine has also become a feared situation, as China moves people to facilities often little better than prisons and allegedly without much protection from catching Covid within. A personal friend in Zhengzhou went through national, then provincial, then local quarantines when moving back from NZ, and she has since done her best to avoid going back for her own mental and physical health. Xi has also committed China to its two home-grown vaccines, Sinovac and Sinopharm, both of which have low/dubious efficacy and are considered ineffective against new variants. Finally, with delta and then omicron most of the Zero-Covid countries have modified their approach due to the inability to maintain zero cases. China remains the only country still enacting whole-city eradication lockdowns, and they have become more frequent to the point that several are happening at any given time. The result is a population that is incredibly frustrated and losing hope amidst endless lockdowns and perceived ineffectiveness to address the pandemic.

Other Issues at Play:

Beyond the Covid situation, China is also wrestling with the continued slowdown in its economic growth. While its economic rise and annual GDP growth was nigh meteoric from the 80s to the 00s, it has been slowing over the past ten years, and the government is attempting to manage the transition away from an export-oriented economy to a more fully developed one. However, things are still uncertain, and Covid has taken its toll as it has elsewhere the past couple of years. Youth unemployment in particular is reaching new highs at around 20%, and Xi largely ignored this in his speech at the Party Congress in October (where he entered an unprecedented third term). As a result of the perceived uselessness of China's harsh work culture and its failure to result in a better life, many young Chinese have been promoting 躺平 tǎng píng or "lying flat", aka doing the bare minimum just to get by (similar to the English "quiet quitting"). The combination of economic issues and a botched Covid approach is important, as these directly affect the lives of ordinary middle-class Chinese, and historical it has only been when this occurred that mass movements really took off. The most famous, Tiananmen in 1989, followed China's opening up economic reforms and the dismantling of many economic safety nets allowing for growing inequality. While movements in China often grow to include other topics, having a foundation in something negatively impacting the average Han Chinese person's livelihood is important.

The Spark - 24 Nov 2022 Urumqi Apartment Fire:

The current protests were sparked by a recent fire that broke out in a flat in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang province. (This is the same Xinjiang that is home to the Uighur people, against whom China has enacted a campaign of genocide and cultural destruction.) The fire occurred in the evening and resulted in 10 deaths, which many online blamed on the strict lockdown measures imposed by officials, who prevented people from leaving their homes. It even resulted in a rare public apology by city officials. However, with anger being so high nationwide, in addition to many smaller protests that have occurred over the past two years, this incident has ignited a nationwide movement.

The Protests and Their Significance:

The protests that have broken out over the past couple of days representing the largest and most significant challenge to the leadership since the 1989 Tiananmen movement. Similar to that movement, these protests have occurred at universities and cities across the country, with many students taking part openly. This scale is almost unseen in China, particularly for an anti-government protest. Other than Tiananmen in 1989, the most widespread movements that have occurred have been incidents such as the protest of the 1999 Belgrade bombings or the 2005 and then 2012 anti-Japanese protests, all of which were about anger toward a foreign country.

Beyond the scale the protests are hugely significant in their message as well. Protesters are publicly shouting the phrases "习近平下台 Xí Jìnpíng xiàtái!" and "共产党 下台 Gòngchǎndǎng xiàtái!", which mean "Xi Jinping, step down/resign!" and "CCP, step down/resign!" respectively. To shout a direct slogan for the government to resign is unheard of in China, particularly as Xi has tightened control of civil society. And people are doing this across the country in the thousands, openly and in front of police. This is a major challenge for a leader and party who have prioritised regime stability as a core interest for the majority of their history.

Looking Ahead:

Right now, as of 15:00 Australian Eastern time on Monday, 28 November 2022, the protests are only in their first couple of days and we are unsure as to how the government will respond. Police have already been seen beating protesters and journalists and dragging them away in vehicles. However, in many cases the protests have largely been monitored by police but still permitted to occur. There seems to be uncertainty as to how they want to respond just yet, and as such no unified approach.

Many potential outcomes exist, and I would warn everyone to be careful in overplaying what can be achieved. Most experts I have read are not really expecting this to result in Xi's resignation or regime change - these things are possible, surely, but it is a major task to achieve and the unity & scale of the protest movement remains to be fully seen. The government may retaliate with a hard crackdown as it has done with Tiananmen and other protests throughout the years. It may also quietly revamp some policies without publicly admitting a change in order to both pacify protesters and save face. The CCP often uses mixed tactics, both coopting and suppressing protest movements over the years depending on the situation. Changing from Zero Covid may prove more challenging though, given how much Xi has staked his political reputation on enforcing it.

What is important for everyone online, especially those of us abroad, is to watch out for the misinformation campaign the government will launch to counter these protests. Already twitter is reportedly seeing hundreds of Chinese bot accounts mass post escort advertisements using various city names in order to drown out protest results in the site's search engine. Chinese officials will also likely invoke the standard narrative of Western influence and CIA tactics as the reason behind the protests, as they did during the Hong Kong protests.

Finally, there will be a new surge of misinformation and bad takes from tankies, or leftists who uncritically support authoritarian regimes so long as they are anti-US. An infamous one, the Qiao Collective, has already worked to shift the narrative away from the protests and onto debating the merits of Zero Covid. This is largely similar to pro-Putin leftists attempting the justify his invasion of Ukraine. Always remember that the same values that you use to criticise Western countries should be used to criticise authoritarian regimes as well - opposing US militarism and racism, for example, is not incompatible with opposing China's acts of genocide and state suppression. If you want further info (and some good sardonic humour) on the absurd takes and misinfo from pro-China tankies, I would recommend checking out Brian Hioe in the links below.

Finally, keep in mind that this is a grass-roots protest made by people in China, who are putting their own lives at risk to demonstrate openly like this. There have already been so many acts of bravery by those who just want a better future for themselves and their country, and it is belittling and disingenuous to wave away everything they are doing as being just a "Western front" or a few "fringe extremists".

Links:

BBC live coverage page with links to analysis and articles

ABC (Australia) analysis

South China Morning Post analysis

Experts & Journalists to Check Out:

Brian Hioe - Journalist & China writer, New Bloom Magazine

Bonnie Glaser - China scholar, German Marshall Fund

Vicky Xu - Journalist & researcher, Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Stephen McDonnell - Journalist, BBC

M Taylor Fravel - China scholar, MIT

New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre - NZ's hub of China scholarship (I was fortunate to attend their conferences during my PhD there, they do great work!)

If you've reached the end I hope this helps with understanding what's going on right now! A lot of us who know friends and whanau in China are worried for their safety, so please spread the word and let's hope that there is something of a positive outcome ahead.

#孟珏’s china corner #中国 #上海 #习近平 #习近平下台 #共产党下台 #China #Shanghai #China protests #China protests 2022 #Xi Jinping #Xi Jinping step down #CCP step down #Xi Jinping resign #CCP resign #乌鲁木齐 #Urumqi #Urumqi fire #Urumqi apartment fire

[riality-check]

I genuinely think when Steve and Robin actually started talking he was a cool kid gossip dispenser he was dropping a level of mean facts only a shrimp could perceive I just think that his brand of mean girl was exclusively aimed at people who were directly in front of him and Robin was absolutely thrilled to have unbarred access to this information right in time for her senior year to hit I know she was eagerly awaiting every rest in the brass section’s sheet music to whisper the most obscure gossip to whoever was closest like bitchy trickle down economics

Anon how does it feel to be the funniest and most correct person on this hellsite? Because you are.

Steve absolutely knows everything about everyone, courtesy of being on two different sports teams and being canonically very perceptive. He’s also just really good with people, and I feel like he’s the kind of guy people just naturally feel comfortable enough around to share a little more than they would otherwise.

(That’s also Eddie, to be honest, but this is a Steve post!)

I can totally see Steve and Robin starting to talk at Scoops by Steve offering little fun facts about every customer they used to go to school with.

“Stacy? Yeah, she slept with David two days after breaking up with Carl.”

“Matty Smith earned the nickname Ralph when he puked in Tommy’s parents’ bed freshman year.”

“You didn’t hear about Andrea trying to flirt with Mr. Jones so he’d raise her C+ to a B-?”

Robin pretends to hate it, but she loves the little bits of gossip that Steve gives her. She thinks they’re hilarious, and he lights up with every story about every party he’s been to. It’s endearing. She’s no stranger to gossip, but band kid gossip tends to be pretty insular. She gets to introduce new tidbits into the ecosystem this way!

Idk, I just think Steve and Robin should get to be bitchy with each other more often.

#asked and answered #anon #stobin #platonic with a capital p

[hg-deranged-edition]

Having a lot of Harringrove thoughts over them being each others foils…

Now don’t get me wrong, I adore Harringrove fics where they’re polar opposites and challenge each others comfort zones and preconceived notions. But fics/headcanons where they’re seemingly opposite on the surface but actually incredibly similar people on the inside? THATS MY BREAD AND BUTTER BABE!!! (Bear in mind this post will have a lot of personal headcanons/analysis)

Just. For starters, as an icebreaker, I adore it when they both have abandonment issues. I love how a core trait of theirs makes them react in opposite ways, with Steve desperately clinging onto a person and showering them in love and Billy pushing them away and hurting them. I love how their love languages are the same, with Billy having an unhealthy relationship perceiving protection as love (eg. trying to protect his mom, and Max and Susan to some extent) and Steve doing all the crazy stunts he does to protect the kids.

I love love love how both Steve and Billy care deeply about their appearances and primp themselves up in different ways. They both have an obsession with performing masculinity the right way and pleasing a crowd of people, again in different ways but similar results. Their houses are not homes but they come from different economic backgrounds. They’re both constantly relegated to being the babysitter and they both hate it. Hell their features are polar opposites but everyone focuses on the same things for them (you’ll find a ton of shit talking about their pretty eyes and pretty lips.) They have horrible habits as crutches. They’re obsessed with whether or not they’re lovable. They both have a sapphic bff. If you want to make it weird and fucked up, theres a chance Karen was weird as hell about Steve, too.

This post is just rambling and it doesn’t capture most of my thoughts. This is because I’m trying to open up a discussion please please please please reply to this with your own thoughts and TALJ TO ME!!!

I live in a fantasy world whwre Stranger Things is good

#billy hargrove #harringrove #steve harrington #stranger things #billy x steve #rambles

[crippleprophet]

Is it okay for people with agoraphobia to look and take some of the advice you have for housebound people on here? I'm not really great at picking up nuance so I'm worried that it'd be crossing some boundary or that it's not the intention of the tag

that’s completely okay, i appreciate your desire to be respectful even though i’m sorry you were concerned! i absolutely consider folks with agoraphobia my comrades + community members and i’d be super honored if anything i’ve shared is helpful (+ am always interested in hearing what that was if you’re comfortable!) the rest of this is not anything you need to answer your question, just thoughts i’ve been having on the subject

i haven’t had the opportunity to talk to enough homebound [due to chronic illness / “physical” reasons] people to know if this is a common experience but for me i’ve noticed that similar to chronic illness often carrying depression with it, since becoming homebound i’ve become terrified of leaving the house.

this is definitely influenced by the fact that it’s untenably painful, my photosensitivity (in the UV sense not the epilepsy sense), the ongoing pandemic, the fact that i only left the house to go to the doctor for over a year & i’m afraid of the doctors appointment itself due to medical trauma, etc etc but like. there’s also the very strong pull of habit – i’m an incredibly obsessive & ritualistic person – and what Goffman refers to as “the relief of self-isolation” for marginalized people sheltering from a hostile society, a phrase i read in undergrad 5 1/2 years ago that’s stuck with me ever since for how profoundly it resonates.

i’m not trying to say these are necessarily your or any other person with agoraphobia’s feelings & experiences, more to illustrate how the liberation of all homebound people & shut-ins & hermits is bound up together; any sanist strategy for oppressing agoraphobes can easily be leveraged against me, not least because as a severely underdiagnosed person, the medical establishment does not think there is any “legitimate” “physical” reason for me to be homebound. to respond to this oppression by arguing it’s inapplicable because i’m not crazy would be untrue + a cruel act of lateral violence.

i’ve been reading a lot of butch/femme history recently (i post about that on my main @campgender; followers age 18+ only please) & have found myself entirely reconfiguring my understanding of the queer art of isolation, the incredible ability of our ancestors to hunker down & survive under circumstances unimaginable to the average person. i absolutely don’t want to deny the deep pain – not only the aspects i experience but also the heightened isolation of people without or before internet access + the ways these circumstances / forms of oppression can foster abuse –

but my god, so many 50s butches didn’t leave their homes during daylight hours for years in order to not be hate crimed for their gender presentation, & that’s the folks who were making it to the bars. so many others – “discreet” couples who didn’t want to risk being outed by engaging in queer community; people assigned female who “passed” as men & their partners; butch sex workers & other people with identities perceived as contradictory or unacceptable – existed marginalized by both queer & normative communities.

every time i think substantially about homeboundedness i always get tracy chapman’s “subcity” stuck in my head. obviously my access to housing period is a huge position of privilege, & i’m in the most economically secure position of my adult life so far; the abjection i experience is nowhere near the scale of people in the position of the speaker of the song, who’s implied to be street homeless. but the line “people say it doesn’t exist ‘cause no one would like to admit that there is a city underground” is such a succinct & accurate depiction of living the kind of life society tries to convince itself is impossible. but there truly is a rich genealogy of homeboundedness especially in queer history.

again i hope some of my posts & such are helpful / resonant! wishing you all the best 💓💓

#asks #homebound #agoraphobia #life is in your house too #sanism

[aspecpplarebeautiful]

I have a certain frustration when I talk to my allo friends and family about my anxieties towards growing older. It's hard for everyone right now, I completely understand that. But as soon as I talk to my partnered friends about how they have the benefit of two incomes to afford their one bedroom, their brains shut off and perceive it as me being jealous that I'm single. And maybe I am, but that's besides the point I'm trying to make, and that's that financially the only person I have to rely on is me. Which in practice is good, because you don't want to be financially dependent on someone else. However, it sure would make the one bedroom apartment much more feasible with someone else around.

I have no interest in partnering. I don't want a QPR. I don't want to be forced to put out new roommate listings every time my old one moves out to live with their partners. I want to be just as self sufficient as my friends, but i don't have the same safety nets that they do, financially, socially. Im not trying to say that the experience of being single and struggling is exclusively an aroace one at all, but at the same time it's a uniquely different perspective than I usually see when the subject is talked about? Idk. I'm sure someone has said it better than I can, but it's frustrating!!!

There are a lot of economic advantages to being married that single people do not get. I remember listening to a CBC segment on it a while back, it's not even just things like rent/housing, it's how you're taxed, it's how multiple systems are set up assuming people are paired up, etc. It's a very legitimate issue to be talking about.

I'm with you, Anon. I don't want a partner in any way, and I don't like roommates, and things just keep getting more expensive. It's discouraging.

#vent post

[urbancripple]

Originally wrote this for disability awareness month but since this is apparently disability pride month, I feel like applies:

It’s Disability Awareness Month. The time of year where corporations post about all the ways they support the disabled community while fighting legal action against their inaccessible website. Where people talk about how much they support their disabled relatives while actively voting against their interests and well‐being.

All of that shit aside, I can’t deny how much laws like the ADA have had a positive impact on my life and how much disability representation and media has improved since I was a kid. But, as a wheelchair user, there’s one question I just can’t seem to answer: if we’ve made so much progress, where the fuck is everybody?

Everywhere I go, every store I enter, every bus I ride, every job I’ve had—why am I the only person (below retirement age and that isn’t homeless) in a wheelchair in the whole fucking place? Where the fuck is everybody?

I mean, can you imagine how weird that feels? Imagine if everywhere you went, you were the only man in the place. Seriously, think about it. Go to the gym? No guys. Grocery store? Ladies as far as the eye can see. Job interviews? Bus rides? Swimming pools? Every once and a while you’ll be at a bar and someone will come up to you and say something like “Hey! My cousin’s a man! Do you guys know each other? Yeah, they got in an accident when he was 20. Drunk driver dude‐ed them from the waste down. Crazy stuff.”

It gets so bad that you can put “look for the man” in the delivery instructions when you order pizza at the bar and they always find you. And when you do actually see another man in public, it’s so shocking that you can’t help but stare. What impact would that have on how you perceive yourself? How would you feel whenever you went out in public? Would you feel welcome? Accepted? Safe?

999 out of a 1000 times I go out, I am literally the only person in a wheelchair that doesn’t have a “spare any change?” sign in front of them. It’s boggles my mind how people can talk about “disability awareness” when no one seems to notice that a huge group of disabled people seem to have gone missing from daily public life!

Here’s what I think happened: laws like the ADA made things accessible but they never really made things equitable. It’s like how you can call a chicken “cage free” if you let it walk around, but still keep it indoors. Grab bars, IEPs, and elevators don’t change the job market in a small town. No amount of accessibility is going to cut the price of getting a car modified. If the cheapest apartments in town are too small or too old for a wheelchair user to live in, they might as well not exist.

Ramps and wide doors won’t fix an economic system designed to exclude anyone who doesn’t have access to 5 senses and four limbs. Until we start focusing on economic accessibility instead of just physical accessibility, a large portion of disabled folk are going to remain missing.

#disability #physical disability #disability representation

[gallusrostromegalus]

"-and then the new guys beat the shit out of the Soul King's buddy and dismembered th Soul King for parts to sell as part of an organ harvesting scheme!"

Wait.

"but they messed up and now the only normal exit from Hell is being blocked by God's Ass."

Wait.

Is the title a joke about.... no, I'm taking that thought too far. One thing at a time.

Gallus, is God the elephant?

~**CONGRATULATIONS ON SPOTTING THE OVERARCHING THEME/MAJOR NARRATIVE DEVICE FROM THE SHITTY LITTLE SUMMARIES!!! **~

Your High School Literature teacher would be proud.

--

Ok, it's two steps to the left of "God is literally The Elephant", but that's where it started.

The Fable of The Blind Men and The Elephant actually IS about how no single person can perceive the entirety of any situation- your friend's weird breakup, the nature of God, economics, etc.- and that you need to work with other people to have a damn clue about what you're doing. The Fable (Or rather, my favorite children's book about it), is used as a framing device to structure the plot because I have ADHD and my brain is a flan on a good day, so I need all the structure I can get.

But The Fable is there because the overriding theme is one of how people *thinking* they know what they're doing when they have only a fraction of the information available, feeling like they have to do something alone, and/or failing to communicate fucking anything is the primary cause of disaster, and things only start to improve when the characters start listening to a diversity of opinons and fucking cooperate.

So on one hand, the fact that God's Repairman's Disassembled Corpse is gumming up the wheel of Samsara is the elephant. On the other hand, the elephant is the wheel itself, and the important lesson here is to fucking talk to people about your problems and help each other out.

Also yes. It's a very shitty pun :)

#AEIWAM #An Elephant Is Warm And Mushy #Bleach #Bleach fanfic