#Fundamental Analysis in Depth | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

esotericalchemist · 4 months ago

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𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐢𝐨 + 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬

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Scorpio energy is intense, transformative, and deeply introspective, driven by the powerful influences of Mars and Pluto. Unlike signs that prefer the surface, Scorpio in each House dives into the depths, urging us to confront hidden truths and embrace transformation. By exploring its journey through the Houses, we uncover how this potent energy pushes us to confront fears, seek empowerment, and engage in profound change across various life areas. This journey reveals the unique ways Scorpio inspires resilience, depth, and the courage to face life’s mysteries, guiding us toward a life of authenticity, emotional strength, and profound self-awareness.

𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Aries rising, Scorpio governs the 8th house, the house of transformation, shared resources, intimacy, and emotional depth. With Scorpio ruling this house, Aries risings approach matters of intimacy, financial partnership, and emotional transformation with intensity and a desire for control. They may experience a profound need to explore life’s hidden aspects, often seeking relationships and experiences that offer deep emotional and psychological insights. Scorpio’s influence here suggests that Aries risings may encounter powerful transformative experiences in life, learning to balance their natural assertiveness with Scorpio’s demand for emotional depth and understanding. They may approach shared resources and intimate relationships with a cautious yet determined mindset, often seeking to understand and master the subtler forces that drive both themselves and others.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 8th-house energy of intensity and control flows directly into the self. The native has a strong, magnetic presence and projects a powerful, confident aura. They often confront life with courage and assertiveness, and they may exude an intensity that draws others to them. They are deeply driven to understand themselves and others on a fundamental level, and they approach life’s challenges head-on, unafraid of transformation.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 8th-house energy channels into finances and values. The native approaches money and resources with determination and control, often seeking financial independence and security. They are likely to have a passionate approach to material stability and may be drawn to financial endeavors that involve risk or deep analysis. They value resources that can contribute to their personal transformation and growth.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in the 3rd house, the Scorpionic 8th-house energy is expressed through communication and close relationships. The native may have an intense, probing communication style, often seeking to understand others at a deep level. They may approach conversations with a directness that can be both compelling and challenging, and they are likely drawn to discussions that explore deeper, hidden aspects of life.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 8th-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may have a powerful influence within their family or household, often bringing a strong sense of protection and intensity to family matters. They might experience transformative events in their family life, and they may seek emotional depth and security within their home.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 8th-house energy channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native approaches romance and creativity with intensity, often seeking relationships and creative outlets that allow for personal transformation. They may be drawn to passionate, even turbulent, romantic connections and are likely to be highly driven in expressing themselves creatively and authentically.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 8th-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native approaches work with a powerful, determined attitude, often excelling in roles that require precision, focus, and resilience. They may be drawn to professions involving psychology, research, or healing, and they bring a transformational approach to everyday tasks, valuing routines that support both physical and emotional strength.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 8th-house energy of intensity and control flows into partnerships. The native may seek partners who are passionate and emotionally committed, often looking for relationships that allow for deep transformation and growth. They value loyalty and depth in partnerships, and they approach close relationships with a strong, protective attitude, often seeking partners who are as dedicated and resilient as they are.

Mars in the 8th House: With Mars in its own 8th house, the Scorpionic energy of transformation, passion, and control is intensely expressed in matters of intimacy and shared resources. The native has a powerful drive to explore the mysteries of life and to experience personal transformation through deep emotional bonds. They may be naturally drawn to the occult, psychology, or healing work, and they are likely to confront life’s challenges with resilience and a fearless attitude toward change.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 8th-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may have an intense curiosity for subjects that involve life’s mysteries, philosophy, or metaphysics, often seeking knowledge that offers deep insight into human nature. They may approach learning and travel with passion and may seek transformative experiences through exploration and higher education.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 8th-house energy flows into career and public life. The native is likely to have a powerful, determined approach to their career, often pursuing ambitious goals that allow for influence or transformation. They may be drawn to careers involving finance, psychology, law enforcement, or any field that allows them to explore depth and complexity, and they may be known for their resilience and strategic approach to achieving success.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 8th-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may be drawn to friends or groups that share their interest in transformation, psychology, or social reform. They may bring intensity to group projects or social causes, often valuing friendships that allow for emotional honesty and shared purpose. They are likely to be influential within their social circles, bringing focus and determination to collective goals.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic 8th-house energy of transformation and mystery takes on a more introspective, spiritual quality. The native may be drawn to solitary pursuits involving healing, meditation, or inner transformation. They may work behind the scenes or in spiritual settings, often seeking to understand and transform their inner world, and they may find strength and purpose through spiritual exploration.

𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Taurus rising, Scorpio governs the 7th house, the house of close relationships, marriage, and partnerships. With Scorpio ruling this house, Taurus risings approach committed relationships with a deep need for intimacy, loyalty, and emotional connection. They may be drawn to partners who are passionate, intense, and transformative, often seeking relationships that allow for profound emotional growth and depth. Scorpio’s influence suggests that Taurus risings view relationships as transformative experiences, ones that push them to explore the depths of emotional intimacy, vulnerability, and trust. They may be both protective and private in relationships, expecting loyalty and honesty from their partners, and they may tend to attract intense, magnetic individuals who bring a sense of purpose or change into their lives.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 7th-house energy of intensity and power flows directly into the self. The native presents themselves with a strong, magnetic presence and projects a natural authority and determination. They may approach relationships with passion and may be seen as both protective and deeply committed to their partners, often confronting relationship challenges head-on with courage and resilience.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 7th-house energy channels into finances and values. The native may approach shared finances in relationships with determination, seeking stability and control over financial matters. They value loyalty and honesty in their partnerships and are likely to work hard to build secure financial foundations, especially in marriage or business relationships where shared resources are involved.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in the 3rd house, the Scorpionic 7th-house energy is expressed through communication and close relationships. The native may have a powerful communication style, often approaching conversations with directness and intensity. They bring depth to their words and may seek intellectual intimacy in their relationships, often bonding deeply through meaningful discussions or shared intellectual pursuits.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 7th-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may be protective of their family and home life, bringing a sense of passion and intensity to family relationships. They may seek a partner who values emotional depth in the home, often building a household that feels secure, private, and transformative, a place for healing and shared growth.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 7th-house energy of intensity channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native may have a passionate approach to romance and self-expression, often seeking partners who appreciate loyalty and depth in love. They approach romantic relationships with intensity and authenticity, often preferring relationships that feel transformative and meaningful rather than casual.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 7th-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native may seek out partnerships in the workplace, often bringing passion and determination to work relationships. They approach collaboration with a focus on shared goals and mutual support, valuing loyalty and reliability in colleagues and partners. They may be drawn to work in healing, therapy, or research fields that involve close, transformative partnerships.

Mars in the 7th House: With Mars in its own 7th house, the Scorpionic energy of passion, loyalty, and intensity is deeply expressed in partnerships. The native may be highly protective and committed in relationships, valuing trust and deep emotional bonds. They often seek transformative partnerships that push them to grow, and they may attract intense, magnetic partners who bring out their own inner strength and resilience.

Mars in the 8th House: The Scorpionic 7th-house energy of depth and transformation channels into shared resources, intimacy, and personal growth. The native may be deeply invested in understanding the mysteries of life and may seek partnerships that allow for shared spiritual or psychological exploration. They may approach intimacy with a sense of emotional courage and depth, often drawn to partners who help them transform or heal.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 7th-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may be drawn to partners with whom they can explore philosophical or spiritual questions, often valuing deep, meaningful discussions and shared cultural or spiritual experiences. They approach relationships with an open mind, seeking transformation through shared exploration and intellectual discovery.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 7th-house energy flows into career and public life. The native may be drawn to partnerships that support their ambitions and professional goals, often seeking business or life partners who help them achieve success. They may have a powerful presence in their career, bringing determination and strategic insight to their professional relationships.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 7th-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may value friendships and social connections that are supportive and loyal, often seeking a sense of deep connection within their social circles. They approach friendships and group projects with a sense of purpose, drawn to causes that require courage and resilience and valuing allies who are as dedicated and passionate as they are.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic 7th-house energy of depth and transformation takes on a more introspective, spiritual quality. The native may be drawn to relationships that allow for spiritual or emotional healing, often preferring partners who support their inner growth. They may value privacy in relationships, finding strength in quiet intimacy, and are likely to approach relationships with a depth that is both subtle and transformative.

𝐆𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Gemini rising, Scorpio governs the 6th house, the house of daily routines, health, work environment, and service. With Scorpio ruling this house, Gemini risings approach their daily routines, work, and health with an intense, focused, and sometimes transformative energy. They tend to put deep focus and commitment into their tasks, valuing work that allows for investigation, strategy, or healing. Scorpio’s influence here suggests that Gemini risings may experience powerful personal transformations through their daily habits or work environments. They may be naturally drawn to uncovering hidden aspects of health and wellness, or they might excel in careers that require depth and focus, such as research, psychology, or crisis management. Scorpio ruling the 6th house encourages them to find purpose and resilience in their daily routines, often pushing them to tackle challenges with dedication and an investigative mindset.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 6th-house energy of intensity and control flows directly into the self. The native projects a strong, focused presence and approaches daily life with a purposeful drive. They may tackle daily challenges with courage and are likely to be highly independent, often pushing themselves to master their work and health with resilience and self-discipline.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 6th-house energy channels into finances and values. The native may approach financial matters with a strategic and focused mindset, often valuing stability and control in their resources. They bring intensity and determination to their work, often seeing income as a reflection of their hard work and dedication. They value security and may be highly resourceful in managing finances.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in the 3rd house, the Scorpionic 6th-house energy is expressed through communication and close relationships. The native may communicate with a direct, penetrating style and could be drawn to work that involves research, investigation, or analytical thinking. They bring intensity to their conversations and may value intellectual connections with colleagues, often working well in roles that involve strategy and precision.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 6th-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may approach domestic responsibilities with a strong sense of purpose and protection, often valuing stability and control within the household. They may be intensely committed to family matters and could find transformative experiences within their home life or health routines.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 6th-house energy of focus and transformation channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native may approach creative projects and hobbies with intensity and a desire for depth, often choosing activities that allow them to explore their inner world. They might also be drawn to romantic relationships that feel transformative, valuing partners who share their passion and resilience.

Mars in the 6th House: With Mars in its own 6th house, the Scorpionic energy of discipline, resilience, and control is strongly expressed in daily routines, work, and health. The native may be highly motivated in their work, often taking on challenging tasks with a determined approach. They value routine and may approach health with an investigative attitude, often exploring alternative or transformative wellness practices.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 6th-house energy of dedication and focus flows into partnerships. The native may be drawn to partnerships that support their work or daily routines. They may approach close relationships with a strong sense of commitment and are likely to seek a partner who values loyalty and mutual support, especially in everyday matters or shared goals.

Mars in the 8th House: The Scorpionic 6th-house energy of intensity and transformation channels into shared resources, intimacy, and personal growth. The native may approach work or health matters with a focus on depth and transformation, often delving into subjects related to psychology, healing, or crisis management. They might be drawn to professions that allow them to work with others’ resources or support others through times of change.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 6th-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may find purpose in work that involves research, investigation, or the exploration of deep truths. They might be drawn to studying topics like psychology, spirituality, or transformative philosophies, often seeking ways to apply these insights to their work and daily life.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 6th-house energy flows into career and public life. The native may be drawn to a profession that allows them to work with intensity and focus, often excelling in roles that require discipline and resilience. They may have a strong, determined approach to career advancement and may be known for their strategic thinking, particularly in fields that involve research, analysis, or managing crises.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 6th-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may bring intensity and dedication to group work, often valuing friendships that support their professional and personal goals. They may be drawn to causes that promote transformation or social improvement and may value friends who share their depth and commitment to shared goals.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic 6th-house energy of discipline and healing takes on a more introspective, spiritual quality. The native may be drawn to work that involves behind-the-scenes efforts or solitary practices, often valuing privacy in their routines. They may find fulfillment in exploring psychological or spiritual dimensions of health and may pursue transformative practices in solitude.

𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Cancer rising, Scorpio governs the 5th house, the house of romance, creativity, self-expression, and joy. With Scorpio ruling this house, Cancer risings approach romance and creativity with a deep need for emotional intensity, authenticity, and passion. They often seek love relationships that are transformative, loyal, and profoundly impactful. Scorpio’s influence suggests that Cancer risings may pour great energy into their creative pursuits, often using art, hobbies, or other forms of self-expression as a way to explore and process deep emotions. They may find joy in experiences that allow them to explore life’s mysteries, and they’re often drawn to passionate, meaningful romances rather than casual flings. Scorpio ruling the 5th house encourages Cancer risings to seek experiences that bring personal transformation, whether in love, art, or the pursuit of pleasure.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 5th-house energy of intensity and passion flows directly into the self. The native projects a strong, magnetic presence and may have an intense, determined approach to life. They approach love and creativity with raw authenticity and courage, often wearing their emotions openly. Their passion and charisma attract others, and they may approach life’s challenges head-on, seeking meaningful connections and experiences.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 5th-house energy channels into finances and values. The native may approach financial matters with a strong focus on building stability to support their creative and romantic life. They are likely to value meaningful possessions and may invest in items or experiences that reflect their deep passions and artistic pursuits. Financial security may allow them to explore their love for art, romance, or other fulfilling activities.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in the 3rd house, the Scorpionic 5th-house energy is expressed through communication and close relationships. The native has a persuasive, intense communication style, often using words as a way to express their passions. They may enjoy writing or speaking about meaningful subjects, especially those that allow them to explore emotional or psychological depths. Their communication in romantic and creative endeavors is likely direct and impactful.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 5th-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may channel their creative energy into their home, making it a place of emotional intensity and depth. They may approach family life with passion and may create a home that reflects their values, perhaps incorporating art or objects that carry personal significance. They may also nurture creative talents in family members or children, fostering an environment that values emotional authenticity.

Mars in the 5th House: With Mars in its own 5th house, the Scorpionic energy of passion, creativity, and intensity is strongly expressed in romance, self-expression, and creative pursuits. The native has a magnetic presence in love and is likely to be drawn to intense, transformative romantic experiences. They may pour great energy into their art or hobbies, often approaching creative projects with fierce dedication and a desire for deep personal expression.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 5th-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native may approach creative work with discipline and commitment, often finding joy in careers that allow them to express their passions. They could also be drawn to service roles that have a transformative effect on others, bringing intensity and purpose to their work life. Health routines may support their active, driven approach to self-expression and pleasure.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 5th-house energy of passion and transformation flows into partnerships. The native may seek romantic relationships that allow for emotional depth and growth, often valuing partners who bring both loyalty and intensity to the connection. They are drawn to romantic partners who appreciate honesty and emotional authenticity, and they may approach committed relationships with dedication and purpose.

Mars in the 8th House: The Scorpionic 5th-house energy channels into shared resources, intimacy, and personal growth. The native may explore the depths of intimacy and transformation within romantic relationships, often valuing partners with whom they can share both physical and emotional connection. They approach love and pleasure with intensity, often using romance as a path to explore and understand their own psyche.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 5th-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may be drawn to creative or romantic pursuits that expand their understanding of the world, often seeking relationships or artistic experiences that provide personal growth. They may feel fulfilled by travel, philosophical study, or exploring cultures that allow them to express their passions in new and transformative ways.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 5th-house energy flows into career and public life. The native may find a career in creative fields or in professions that involve intense passion, such as art, psychology, or performance. They may be known for their dedication to their creative or romantic pursuits, and their public image may reflect their commitment to meaningful, transformative work.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 5th-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may bring creativity and passion into group settings, often seeking friends who share their intense interests or artistic pursuits. They are likely to feel fulfilled by group activities that involve creativity, and they may use their influence to inspire others within their social circles to explore deeper, transformative experiences.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic 5th-house energy of creativity and romance takes on a more introspective, spiritual quality. The native may feel drawn to private creative pursuits, often finding solace in art or spirituality as a means of self-expression. They may experience quiet but powerful transformations through romance or art, often approaching these aspects of life with a sense of mystery and depth.

𝐋𝐞𝐨 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Leo rising, Scorpio governs the 4th house, the house of home, family, emotional security, and personal foundations. With Scorpio ruling this house, Leo risings tend to experience family and home life with deep emotional intensity and a strong need for privacy. They may be drawn to creating a home environment that feels safe and transformative, often treating their home as a sanctuary where they can retreat from the world. Scorpio’s influence suggests that family matters, roots, and emotional life may involve transformative experiences, sometimes involving secrets or complex emotional dynamics. Leo risings often approach family relationships with loyalty and protectiveness, and they may bring their powerful will and determination to create a secure, resilient foundation for themselves and their loved ones. Scorpio ruling the 4th house encourages Leo risings to understand and process their emotional depths within the privacy of their home and to use their inner life as a source of strength and regeneration.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 4th-house energy of intensity and control flows directly into the self. The native presents themselves with a strong, powerful aura, often projecting confidence and resilience. They approach family matters with determination and may be deeply protective of their loved ones. Their strong presence influences their home life, and they may be seen as the pillar of strength in family dynamics.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 4th-house energy channels into finances and values. The native may place great importance on building financial stability to support their family and home. They approach material security with focus and commitment, often working hard to ensure that they can provide a solid, protected foundation for themselves and their loved ones. They may value investments that offer both financial security and emotional comfort.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in the 3rd house, the Scorpionic 4th-house energy is expressed through communication and close relationships. The native may communicate with intensity and assertiveness, especially when it comes to family matters or personal beliefs. They may feel deeply about their family roots and heritage and may bond closely with siblings, often playing a protective role in their relationships.

Mars in the 4th House: With Mars in its own 4th house, the Scorpionic energy of transformation, protection, and intensity is strongly expressed in home and family life. The native is likely to be deeply protective of their home and family, often approaching domestic matters with determination and resilience. They may create a private, transformative space at home and can be seen as a powerful, grounding force within their family dynamics.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 4th-house energy of intensity channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native may pour their passion into creative pursuits or projects related to home or family. They are likely to be dedicated to their children, if they have them, and may approach romantic relationships with a desire for emotional depth and authenticity, often seeking partners who appreciate their private, introspective side.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 4th-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native may feel motivated to create a secure and harmonious environment at work, often bringing dedication and resilience to their professional life. They may also channel their passion for stability and security into routines that support both their emotional and physical health, valuing wellness practices that nurture their inner foundation.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 4th-house energy of loyalty and emotional depth flows into partnerships. The native may seek committed, loyal partners who value emotional intimacy. They approach relationships with dedication and may view marriage or partnership as a means of creating a stable, transformative foundation. They are likely to value honesty and resilience in partners, often forming relationships that contribute to their inner security.

Mars in the 8th House: The Scorpionic 4th-house energy channels into shared resources, intimacy, and personal growth. The native may experience transformation through family matters or shared resources, often seeking a deep emotional connection with close family members. They are drawn to the mysteries of life, finding strength in exploring their roots and heritage, and may undergo inner transformation through family or inheritance matters.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 4th-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may have a philosophical approach to family life, valuing deeper understanding and spiritual exploration. They may be drawn to studying topics related to family heritage, psychology, or even past-life beliefs, using knowledge as a foundation for emotional strength and growth.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 4th-house energy flows into career and public life. The native may be drawn to careers that allow them to protect or transform others, and they may be known for their commitment and resilience. They bring a strong sense of purpose to their professional life, often striving to create a legacy that supports and benefits their family and community, and they may be seen as a leader in their field.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 4th-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may feel a protective bond with friends or social causes that resonate with their values. They may be deeply involved in organizations that support family, emotional healing, or transformation, bringing their intensity and dedication to group projects and social causes that align with their desire for security and emotional growth.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic 4th-house energy of protection and introspection takes on a more spiritual, private quality. The native may seek solitude or spiritual practices to strengthen their inner foundation, often using quiet time for reflection and emotional renewal. They may find comfort in spiritual exploration and may channel their desire for emotional security into helping others heal on a subtle, unseen level.

𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐨 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Virgo rising, Scorpio governs the 3rd house, the house of communication, intellect, siblings, and local environment. With Scorpio ruling this house, Virgo risings approach communication and learning with depth, focus, and a desire to uncover hidden truths. They may be naturally drawn to investigating complex subjects or exploring psychological and occult topics. In relationships with siblings or close friends, they value loyalty and honesty and are often seen as deeply supportive yet private. Scorpio’s influence suggests that Virgo risings may feel an urge to penetrate beneath the surface of things, often seeking profound insights in their everyday interactions. They may approach their local environment with a sense of protectiveness, valuing emotional depth in close relationships. Scorpio ruling the 3rd house encourages Virgo risings to cultivate their investigative and perceptive qualities, using these to develop both intellectual strength and emotional understanding.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 3rd-house energy of intensity and perception flows directly into the self. The native has a powerful presence and often communicates with directness and authority. They approach life with a sense of purpose, and their interactions carry a certain depth. Their approach to conversation is assertive, often probing, and they tend to make an impactful impression on others.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 3rd-house energy channels into finances and values. The native may be strategic and careful with their resources, valuing financial security and self-sufficiency. They may bring a strong sense of purpose to earning and managing resources, often viewing money as a means to support their intellectual pursuits and close relationships.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in its own 3rd house, the Scorpionic energy of intensity, investigation, and curiosity is strongly expressed in communication and learning. The native has a powerful, penetrating communication style, often speaking with precision and depth. They may have a talent for research, psychology, or any field requiring investigative skills, and their relationships with siblings or neighbors may be intense and marked by loyalty.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 3rd-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may have a strong desire to protect their home and family, often communicating assertively within family dynamics. They may have deep conversations with family members and are likely to create a household where intense emotional discussions are welcome. Their private life may be marked by a need for loyalty and emotional security.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 3rd-house energy of depth channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native may approach creative projects and romantic relationships with intensity and purpose, often expressing their ideas with passion. They value romantic partners and creative pursuits that challenge them intellectually, and they may enjoy hobbies that involve strategy, like games or puzzles, where their investigative nature can thrive.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 3rd-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native may be intensely focused on their work and health routines, often valuing a disciplined and methodical approach to daily tasks. They are likely drawn to roles that involve problem-solving, analysis, or research and may enjoy contributing to meaningful, transformative work environments.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 3rd-house energy of loyalty and depth flows into partnerships. The native may seek partnerships with individuals who share their intellectual passions, and they may be drawn to deep conversations in relationships. They value loyalty and emotional honesty in close partnerships, and they bring a probing, direct approach to resolving issues with others.

Mars in the 8th House: The Scorpionic 3rd-house energy channels into shared resources, intimacy, and personal growth. The native may use their communication skills to explore psychological or spiritual depths, often seeking transformative conversations with close friends or family members. They approach shared resources and deep relationships with an intense desire for trust, honesty, and mutual respect.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 3rd-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may have a strong passion for learning about hidden truths, psychology, or metaphysics. They may seek out experiences that broaden their perspective and often enjoy exploring complex subjects with others. They approach learning with an intense curiosity and may use travel as a way to gain deeper insights.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 3rd-house energy flows into career and public life. The native may pursue a career that allows them to communicate powerfully, such as law, psychology, or research. They bring a determined, strategic approach to their profession, often approaching their public image with depth and commitment. They are likely known for their dedication and focused work ethic.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 3rd-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may bring intensity and depth to friendships and group activities, often valuing loyal, intellectually stimulating relationships. They may work well in groups focused on transformation, healing, or social change, and they often communicate with a sense of purpose, aiming to inspire or protect their community.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic 3rd-house energy of intensity and insight takes on a more introspective, spiritual quality. The native may be drawn to exploring their subconscious through writing, meditation, or introspection. They may communicate in subtle, yet profound ways and may find comfort in private or solitary intellectual pursuits that allow them to process and transform their inner world.

𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Libra rising, Scorpio governs the 2nd house, the house of personal resources, values, income, and self-worth. With Scorpio ruling this house, Libra risings approach finances and material stability with intensity, focus, and a deep desire for security. They may see money and resources as a form of empowerment, using financial control as a way to feel safe and self-sufficient. Scorpio’s influence suggests that Libra risings often have strong values regarding financial loyalty and integrity and may be willing to go to great lengths to protect what is valuable to them. They may also approach self-worth with depth, seeking transformation and empowerment in their sense of value and often discovering hidden strengths and resilience through their relationship with money and resources. Scorpio ruling the 2nd house encourages Libra risings to cultivate inner and outer security, transforming their relationship with resources into one of strength and purpose.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 2nd-house energy of resilience and strength flows directly into the self. The native projects confidence and determination, often approaching life with intensity and purpose. They are likely protective of their values and have a strong sense of self-worth, often driven to achieve financial independence and personal empowerment.

Mars in the 2nd House: With Mars in its own 2nd house, the Scorpionic energy of control, power, and determination is strongly expressed in finances and self-worth. The native is likely to approach money matters with strategy and intensity, often building financial security through careful planning and resilience. They value financial independence and are deeply invested in securing resources that bring them both material stability and personal empowerment.

Mars in the 3rd House: The Scorpionic 2nd-house energy channels into communication and close relationships. The native may be persuasive and intense in their communication, often speaking with conviction about their values. They may be drawn to learning and discussing topics around wealth-building or personal empowerment and may be protective of their ideas and close relationships.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 2nd-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may be highly invested in building a secure, stable home, often viewing family resources as essential to their emotional security. They may approach family matters with a protective, determined attitude, and they often strive to create a home life that reflects their deepest values.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 2nd-house energy of depth and intensity channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native may invest financially in creative projects or romantic pursuits that resonate with their values. They may bring a passionate approach to self-expression, often driven to channel their values through art, romance, or creative endeavors that feel transformative and meaningful.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 2nd-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native may be strategic and disciplined about their work habits and health routines, often valuing work that supports their financial stability. They may approach their job or health with a deep sense of purpose, often seeking roles that allow them to build security while being of service to others.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 2nd-house energy of loyalty and value flows into partnerships. The native may seek committed partners who share similar values around money, loyalty, and security. They often approach relationships with a deep sense of purpose, valuing partners who support and respect their financial goals and self-worth.

Mars in the 8th House: The Scorpionic 2nd-house energy channels into shared resources, intimacy, and personal growth. The native may value shared financial resources in relationships and approach intimate bonds with intensity and commitment. They are likely drawn to exploring the psychological depths of self-worth, often undergoing transformation in their approach to money, values, and trust.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 2nd-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may approach their beliefs and philosophies with a strong, value-driven perspective, often valuing experiences that deepen their sense of self-worth and security. They might be drawn to studying subjects like psychology, finance, or philosophy, seeking to understand and transform their values on a deeper level.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 2nd-house energy flows into career and public life. The native may be drawn to a career that involves finance, investigation, or roles where strategy and determination are essential. They may build a public reputation for being financially savvy or resilient and often work hard to ensure their career aligns with their values, seeking both public respect and material stability.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 2nd-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may bring a strategic, purposeful approach to friendships and social causes, often valuing alliances that support their financial and personal growth. They may be involved in social projects related to wealth distribution, empowerment, or security, often working with others to achieve goals that benefit the group.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic 2nd-house energy of strength and resourcefulness takes on a more introspective, spiritual quality. The native may explore self-worth and financial independence through quiet, private, or spiritual practices. They may value inner resilience and are likely drawn to developing a strong foundation of self-worth, often finding strength in solitude and contemplation.

𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐢𝐨 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Scorpio rising, Scorpio itself governs the 1st house, the house of self, identity, appearance, and life approach. With Scorpio ruling this house, Scorpio risings are known for their powerful presence, natural charisma, and intense, mysterious aura. They often approach life with a desire for transformation, seeking depth in their experiences and interactions. Scorpio’s influence gives them a strong, magnetic personality, often marked by resilience, intensity, and a keen ability to sense underlying truths in any situation. Scorpio risings may have a penetrating gaze, a sharp mind, and an intuitive understanding of others’ motives. They tend to approach life and self-expression with secrecy, control, and self-awareness, often valuing privacy and guarding their true nature until they feel a deep sense of trust. Scorpio ruling the 1st house encourages Scorpio risings to embrace their unique intensity and transformative spirit, using it as a source of strength and authenticity.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic energy of intensity, strength, and resilience is amplified in the self. The native has a strong, assertive presence, often approaching life head-on with courage and purpose. They exude magnetism and are deeply self-motivated, embodying the archetype of the warrior. Their directness and power can be both alluring and intimidating, and they often channel their energy toward self-improvement and personal transformation.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 1st-house energy channels into finances and values. The native approaches money and resources with determination and is likely to work hard to achieve financial independence. They value security and self-sufficiency and may view material resources as a source of empowerment. They are drawn to investments or resources that hold long-term value, often managing their finances strategically.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in the 3rd house, the Scorpionic 1st-house energy is expressed through communication and close relationships. The native communicates with intensity and purpose, often expressing themselves in a direct and persuasive manner. They may have strong opinions and are skilled at getting to the heart of any matter. Close relationships with siblings or neighbors can be intense, and they may value intellectual connections that feel deep and meaningful.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 1st-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may be deeply protective of their family and home, often valuing privacy and security within their domestic life. They may approach family matters with intensity and determination, creating a home environment that reflects their desire for emotional depth and stability. They may also experience transformative experiences within the family setting.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 1st-house energy of passion and depth channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native approaches love and creativity with intensity and authenticity, often seeking romantic relationships that feel transformative. They may invest great energy in creative projects, and their self-expression is often powerful and magnetic. They are drawn to romantic and artistic pursuits that offer emotional depth and connection.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 1st-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native may approach work and health with focus and discipline, often valuing routines that support their physical and emotional resilience. They are likely drawn to professions that require dedication, such as research, healing, or service work, and they bring an unwavering commitment to both their health and work environments.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 1st-house energy of loyalty and transformation flows into partnerships. The native may approach relationships with intensity and passion, valuing loyalty, honesty, and emotional depth in their connections. They are likely drawn to partners who can match their intensity and who value intimacy and growth. Their partnerships may be deeply transformative, often revealing hidden aspects of themselves and encouraging personal evolution.

Mars in the 8th House: With Mars in its own 8th house, the Scorpionic energy of transformation, power, and depth is intensely expressed in matters of intimacy, shared resources, and spiritual growth. The native has a natural affinity for exploring life’s mysteries and may be drawn to subjects like psychology, mysticism, or the occult. They approach intimacy with intensity, often seeking connections that offer both passion and personal transformation.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 1st-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may approach philosophical questions with intensity and is likely drawn to exploring spiritual or transformative subjects. They value experiences that broaden their perspective, often finding meaning in travel, study, or philosophical pursuits. They may also bring their intensity into intellectual discussions, seeking truth and deeper understanding.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 1st-house energy flows into career and public life. The native may pursue a career that allows them to express their resilience and strategic thinking. They are known for their dedication to their profession and may build a reputation as someone who is intense, determined, and capable of overcoming obstacles. They are often drawn to roles involving leadership, investigation, or crisis management.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 1st-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may bring intensity and dedication to friendships and group activities, often valuing loyalty and deep connections within social circles. They may feel strongly about social causes and may work to influence or transform their community. They approach group goals with a sense of purpose and commitment, often playing a leadership role in social causes.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic 1st-house energy of transformation and introspection takes on a more spiritual, introspective quality. The native may seek solitude to explore their inner world, often using time alone to understand their deeper motivations. They may be drawn to spiritual or psychological healing practices and may find fulfillment in helping others in unseen or behind-the-scenes ways.

𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Sagittarius rising, Scorpio governs the 12th house, the house of spirituality, solitude, dreams, subconscious fears, and transcendence. With Scorpio ruling this house, Sagittarius risings have a profound, sometimes hidden depth, often drawn to exploring the mysteries of the subconscious mind and spiritual transformation. They may be naturally introspective, with a need to understand life’s deeper, unseen layers, often seeking insight through spiritual practices or meditation. Scorpio’s influence suggests that Sagittarius risings may encounter inner transformation through solitude, deep self-exploration, and spiritual surrender, as Scorpio here calls for an acceptance of life’s mysteries and a willingness to face their own hidden emotions and fears. This placement can also signify powerful intuitive and healing abilities that come through embracing their inner world. Scorpio ruling the 12th house encourages Sagittarius risings to balance their outer expansiveness with a rich inner life, uncovering strength and healing through spiritual awareness and inner transformation.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 12th-house energy of mystery and depth flows directly into the self. The native has a magnetic, intense presence and often combines their adventurous Sagittarius spirit with Scorpio’s determination and resilience. They may have a deep well of inner strength and approach life with a boldness that’s supported by a quiet, spiritual confidence. Their personality can be both inspiring and enigmatic, reflecting a life path that encourages them to explore and understand their own inner world.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 12th-house energy channels into finances and values. The native may approach resources with a strategic, focused mindset, often valuing self-sufficiency. They may experience transformations in their financial life, possibly finding security through hidden resources, investments, or by using their intuition in financial matters. They might also value spiritual pursuits and view inner wealth as a source of power.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in the 3rd house, the Scorpionic 12th-house energy is expressed through communication and close relationships. The native has a penetrating, insightful way of expressing themselves, often drawn to discussing deep or hidden subjects. They may be fascinated by psychology or mysticism and bring intensity to their interactions with siblings and close friends. They may also be protective and intuitive in their communication, often sensing what others are feeling before they speak.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 12th-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may seek a private, emotionally intense home life, valuing family bonds that allow for depth and transformation. They may feel a profound connection to their roots or ancestry and may be deeply affected by their family environment, sometimes experiencing transformation through family dynamics.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 12th-house energy channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native approaches romance and creativity with passion and depth, often seeking meaningful connections that allow for emotional transformation. They may have a hidden, private creative side and may express themselves artistically through introspective or mystical themes, possibly using art as a form of healing or emotional release.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 12th-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native may find purpose in work that involves helping others in transformative ways, such as healing, counseling, or spiritual practices. They might also have a disciplined approach to health, seeking inner balance through wellness practices that support their physical and spiritual needs, possibly through introspective activities like meditation or yoga.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 12th-house energy of loyalty and emotional depth flows into partnerships. The native may seek partners who value emotional intensity and transformation. They may be drawn to relationships that offer both emotional depth and spiritual growth. Their partnerships may help them confront hidden fears or past issues, often leading to personal growth through love and commitment.

Mars in the 8th House: The Scorpionic 12th-house energy channels into shared resources, intimacy, and transformation. The native may be naturally drawn to exploring the mysteries of life, often finding meaning in the unseen, such as psychology, healing, or spiritual work. They approach intimacy and shared resources with caution and depth, valuing trust and honesty and often undergoing inner transformation through these connections.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 12th-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may find spiritual significance in travel or learning about foreign cultures. They approach philosophical questions with intensity and curiosity, often seeking truth in spiritual practices or studies that reveal life’s deeper mysteries. Their travel experiences or studies may offer profound insights and lead to transformative changes in their beliefs.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 12th-house energy flows into career and public life. The native may be drawn to professions that allow them to work behind the scenes, possibly in healing, psychology, or spiritual practices. They bring depth and focus to their work, often taking on roles that require resilience and sensitivity. Their public image may reflect a quiet strength, and they may be known for their dedication and ability to support others in transformative ways.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 12th-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may be drawn to friendships or social causes that are emotionally meaningful, often preferring friends who share their interests in spiritual growth or social transformation. They bring a depth of purpose to group activities and are likely to support causes that help others heal or overcome hidden struggles.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic energy of spirituality, transformation, and healing is intensely expressed in the inner life. The native has a strong drive for spiritual exploration and may work on developing their intuitive abilities or exploring the subconscious. They may feel a calling to help others in quiet or hidden ways and may undergo significant personal transformations in solitude, often finding healing and strength in introspective practices like meditation, dreamwork, or healing arts.

𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Capricorn rising, Scorpio governs the 11th house, the house of friendships, social networks, and long-term goals. With Scorpio ruling this house, Capricorn risings often approach friendships and group affiliations with loyalty, depth, and selectiveness. They value friendships that offer emotional substance and may have a small but close-knit circle of friends they trust deeply. In group dynamics, they often play a behind-the-scenes or strategic role, preferring to focus on meaningful contributions rather than surface-level socializing. Scorpio’s influence here suggests that Capricorn risings seek transformative, impactful connections in their social life, and they are often drawn to ambitious, long-term goals that allow for personal or collective growth. They may have a powerful drive to achieve goals that bring profound changes or that contribute to society in some lasting way. Scorpio ruling the 11th house encourages Capricorn risings to approach friendships and aspirations with depth, loyalty, and a vision for meaningful impact.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 11th-house energy of loyalty and intensity flows directly into the self. The native has a powerful, driven personality and often takes a proactive role in group settings. They approach friendships with confidence and bring a strong sense of purpose to their social interactions. Their personal charisma and assertiveness can make them a natural leader or influencer within their social circles.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 11th-house energy channels into finances and values. The native may approach long-term financial goals with a strategic, transformative mindset. They may be drawn to investments or savings plans that support their long-term aspirations. They value financial independence as a means of achieving their goals, often working hard to build resources that allow them to contribute meaningfully to group causes or personal aspirations.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in the 3rd house, the Scorpionic 11th-house energy is expressed through communication and close relationships. The native communicates with intensity and purpose, often drawn to networking or group projects that involve deep, meaningful discussions. They may have a persuasive way of speaking and tend to seek intellectual connection within their social circle, valuing friends who challenge them mentally.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 11th-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may work toward long-term goals that create security for their family and may even view their family as a support network for their ambitions. They approach family connections with loyalty and may prefer family members as close friends. They value a stable home life that allows them to pursue transformative goals outside the home.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 11th-house energy of intensity and loyalty channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native may take an intense approach to creative projects and might work well in creative groups, particularly those focused on transformation or deep themes. They value friendships that allow for creative expression and may pursue romantic relationships that align with their long-term aspirations and ideals.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 11th-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native may work hard toward social or humanitarian causes in a professional capacity, often drawn to roles that require resilience and dedication. They approach work with a sense of purpose and may be motivated by goals that benefit their community or fulfill long-term visions of change or improvement.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 11th-house energy of loyalty and connection flows into partnerships. The native may seek committed partners who share their social ideals and aspirations. They value partnerships that offer both emotional depth and mutual goals and may approach close relationships with intensity and purpose, often choosing partners who are supportive of their long-term vision.

Mars in the 8th House: The Scorpionic 11th-house energy channels into shared resources, intimacy, and personal transformation. The native may be drawn to social or group work that involves transformative themes, such as psychology, healing, or financial planning. They approach shared resources with caution and may value friendships or alliances that allow for mutual growth and depth, often seeking friends who are reliable and trustworthy in times of change.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 11th-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may work toward long-term educational or philosophical goals, often valuing friends and mentors who support their spiritual or intellectual growth. They are likely to bring intensity to their philosophical pursuits and may enjoy group travel or studies that involve transformative or cross-cultural experiences.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 11th-house energy flows into career and public life. The native may pursue ambitious goals in their career, often working toward a professional role that allows them to influence or contribute to their community in a lasting way. They may be respected for their drive and resilience, and their public image may reflect their commitment to group causes or social progress.

Mars in the 11th House: With Mars in its own 11th house, the Scorpionic energy of loyalty, intensity, and transformation is strongly expressed in friendships, social networks, and long-term aspirations. The native may be a powerful influence within social circles and may pursue goals that allow them to make a meaningful impact. They are likely known for their commitment and loyalty within groups and are drawn to friends who share their deep sense of purpose.

Mars in the 12th House: The Scorpionic 11th-house energy of transformation and loyalty takes on a more introspective, spiritual quality. The native may pursue social or group causes quietly, often working behind the scenes to achieve long-term goals. They may be drawn to spiritual or healing practices that serve a collective purpose, and they might form friendships within spiritual or support communities. They are deeply motivated by a desire to contribute to society in unseen yet impactful ways.

𝐀𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Aquarius rising, Scorpio governs the 10th house, the house of career, public standing, and life direction. With Scorpio ruling this house, Aquarius risings approach their career with intensity, ambition, and a focus on making a lasting impact. They may be drawn to professions that allow them to transform or influence society, often feeling a sense of purpose in their work that goes beyond personal ambition. Scorpio’s influence here suggests that Aquarius risings are strategic in their career choices and tend to be deeply dedicated to their professional goals, often pursuing roles that allow them to engage in meaningful, impactful work. They may be drawn to careers in psychology, research, law, finance, or fields where depth, insight, and resilience are valuable. Scorpio ruling the 10th house encourages Aquarius risings to approach their public life with purpose and a sense of mission, often using their career as a platform for profound social change.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 10th-house energy of intensity and ambition flows directly into the self. The native projects confidence and a powerful presence, often pursuing life with boldness and determination. They approach their career with an independent spirit, often bringing a magnetic energy that others find compelling. Their drive for public success is evident in their personality, and they are likely to be seen as assertive and purposeful in their professional life.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 10th-house energy channels into finances and values. The native may view financial security as a foundation for achieving their career goals and may work strategically to build wealth. They approach money matters with a disciplined, determined mindset, often valuing resources that support their ambitions. They may be drawn to careers that offer both financial reward and a sense of purpose.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in the 3rd house, the Scorpionic 10th-house energy is expressed through communication and close relationships. The native communicates with intensity and focus, often bringing strategic thinking into their career. They may excel in roles that involve research, persuasion, or investigation, and they approach professional interactions with directness. Their ability to communicate complex ideas clearly can be a powerful asset in their career.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 10th-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may balance career with a strong commitment to family, often seeking to create a stable, protected home life that supports their ambitions. They may approach their professional life with a desire to create security for their family and are likely to bring resilience and loyalty to both home and work life.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 10th-house energy of passion and ambition channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native may pursue a career that involves creativity, risk-taking, or expression of their unique talents. They are likely to approach self-expression with intensity and may enjoy professions that allow them to engage deeply with their interests. They may also pursue romantic connections that align with their life goals.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 10th-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native approaches work with dedication and a sense of purpose, often driven to perform at their best in their professional life. They may work in fields involving transformation, healing, or research and bring a resilient, strategic approach to their everyday responsibilities. Health routines are often disciplined, supporting their focus on long-term goals.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 10th-house energy of ambition and transformation flows into partnerships. The native may seek partners who share or support their career aspirations, often valuing loyalty and dedication in relationships. They may form professional alliances that help them achieve their goals, and they often value romantic or business partners who encourage them to pursue their public ambitions with resilience and passion.

Mars in the 8th House: The Scorpionic 10th-house energy channels into shared resources, intimacy, and transformation. The native may be drawn to careers that involve finance, psychology, or transformational work, often finding purpose in roles where they can work deeply with others’ resources or help people through intense situations. They approach shared resources with caution and purpose, often viewing their professional life as a vehicle for transformation, both for themselves and others.

Mars in the 9th House: The Scorpionic 10th-house energy is expressed through philosophy, travel, and higher learning. The native may approach their career with a desire to influence or educate, often seeking roles that allow them to explore philosophical or ethical issues. They may be drawn to work that allows them to expand their worldview, whether through travel, higher learning, or cultural involvement, and they often approach their career with a purpose rooted in higher ideals.

Mars in the 10th House: With Mars in its own 10th house, the Scorpionic energy of intensity, strategy, and transformation is strongly expressed in career and public life. The native is likely to be highly driven and ambitious, often pursuing professional success with resilience and focus. They may excel in roles that allow them to lead or transform, and they bring an intense commitment to their work. They are likely to be respected for their dedication and may be known for their powerful presence in their field.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 10th-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may approach social connections strategically, often forming alliances that support their career aspirations. They may be drawn to social causes or group activities that align with their public goals and often use their influence within groups to work toward meaningful change. They value friendships that are loyal and supportive of their professional ambitions.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic 10th-house energy of ambition and transformation takes on a more introspective, spiritual quality. The native may work in a field that involves helping others in unseen or behind-the-scenes ways, such as counseling, healing, or spiritual guidance. They may prefer to work privately or in a more secluded setting, finding fulfillment in careers that allow them to make a quiet yet powerful impact on others.

𝐏𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

For Pisces rising, Scorpio governs the 9th house, the house of philosophy, spirituality, higher education, and long-distance travel. With Scorpio ruling this house, Pisces risings approach their search for truth with intensity, passion, and a profound need for transformation. They are drawn to exploring the mysteries of life and often seek spiritual or philosophical paths that offer depth and self-discovery. Scorpio’s influence here suggests that Pisces risings may be highly intuitive and may experience transformative insights while studying, traveling, or engaging with spiritual practices. They often prefer belief systems that encourage inner transformation and may gravitate toward teachings that explore life’s hidden or mystical aspects, such as psychology, metaphysics, or the occult. Scorpio ruling the 9th house encourages Pisces risings to seek experiences that deepen their understanding of the world, viewing life as a journey of inner growth and exploration.

Mars through the Houses:

Mars in the 1st House: With Mars in the 1st house, the Scorpionic 9th-house energy of depth and exploration flows directly into the self. The native presents themselves with a purposeful, magnetic presence and may be known for their spiritual curiosity and desire for personal growth. They approach life’s challenges with resilience and are likely to feel that their journey is both an inner and outer adventure, blending Pisces’ intuition with Scorpio’s focus and intensity.

Mars in the 2nd House: The Scorpionic 9th-house energy channels into finances and values. The native may view financial stability as essential to their ability to explore higher truths and experiences, and they approach money with a strategic mindset. They may invest in educational pursuits, travel, or spiritual growth, valuing experiences that enrich their understanding of life and contribute to personal transformation.

Mars in the 3rd House: With Mars in the 3rd house, the Scorpionic 9th-house energy is expressed through communication and close relationships. The native is likely to have an intense, persuasive communication style and may be drawn to discussing philosophical or spiritual topics with others. They seek intellectual depth in friendships and are likely to have meaningful conversations that inspire new perspectives or encourage self-reflection.

Mars in the 4th House: The Scorpionic 9th-house energy finds expression in the home and family environment. The native may create a home environment that is spiritually enriching or serves as a place of learning and exploration. They may seek to explore family heritage, perhaps drawn to ancestral wisdom or philosophies that deepen their sense of self. Home is both a retreat and a foundation for spiritual growth.

Mars in the 5th House: The Scorpionic 9th-house energy of passion and depth channels into creativity, romance, and self-expression. The native may approach creativity and love with intensity and may enjoy exploring philosophical or spiritual themes in art or relationships. They may be drawn to romantic partners who encourage their philosophical or spiritual growth, and they express themselves in ways that resonate with depth and meaning.

Mars in the 6th House: The Scorpionic 9th-house energy flows into daily routines, work, and health. The native may bring a purposeful, spiritual approach to their work, often valuing careers that allow for personal growth or transformation. They may approach daily life with a desire for meaningful contribution, often choosing health routines or work roles that align with their spiritual values or help others find healing.

Mars in the 7th House: The Scorpionic 9th-house energy of loyalty and depth flows into partnerships. The native may seek partners who support their quest for meaning and truth, often desiring a partner who shares or respects their spiritual or philosophical beliefs. They approach relationships with dedication and often value a partner who encourages them to explore life’s mysteries and grow through shared wisdom.

Mars in the 8th House: The Scorpionic 9th-house energy channels into shared resources, intimacy, and transformation. The native may be drawn to exploring deep spiritual or psychological truths, often seeking intimate relationships that encourage growth and self-discovery. They approach shared experiences and resources with caution and intensity, often finding themselves in transformative partnerships or bonds that change their worldview.

Mars in the 9th House: With Mars in its own 9th house, the Scorpionic energy of intensity, passion, and transformation is strongly expressed in philosophy, spirituality, and higher learning. The native is driven to explore life’s profound mysteries, often bringing an investigative approach to their studies. They may be passionate about philosophy, psychology, metaphysics, or travel and often feel compelled to share their knowledge and insights with others.

Mars in the 10th House: The Scorpionic 9th-house energy flows into career and public life. The native may be drawn to a career that allows them to influence others through teaching, counseling, or spiritual guidance. They approach their public life with purpose and intensity, often pursuing a career that aligns with their philosophical beliefs or allows them to bring transformation to society. They may be known for their dedication and commitment to their field.

Mars in the 11th House: The Scorpionic 9th-house energy channels into social networks and group involvement. The native may bring their philosophical or spiritual insights into group settings, often sharing knowledge or contributing to causes they believe in. They value friendships that inspire growth and change, often drawn to like-minded people who share their interest in transformation, spirituality, or deep intellectual pursuits.

Mars in the 12th House: With Mars in the 12th house, the Scorpionic 9th-house energy of spiritual growth and transformation takes on a more introspective, mystical quality. The native may pursue spiritual practices or studies in solitude, often finding wisdom through quiet reflection or meditation. They may feel drawn to the unseen dimensions of life, often exploring spiritual or mystical topics as a path to self-understanding and enlightenment.

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t00muchheart · 1 year ago

Text

LITERALLY

Read this for @deancoded-deangirl and I made a visual for our emotions

Thanks for the pain @urne-buriall

#when i say fanfic can be good art this is what i’m thinking of btw #i cry every time #i performed in depth analysis last time i read this #it is so good #the themes! the writing! the epigraphs!#i thjnk it fundamentally changed how i view cas and dean as individuals #spirit of the west #spn #supernatural

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txttletale · 4 months ago

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hey what DO you watch on youtube? seems like you'd have some neat recommendations :3

i really loathe the like super-highly edited sound effect post-mrbeast slop most of youtube is now so i mostly like stuff that's like... calm and sedate. stuff i've been watching lately in no particular order:

northernlion vods and clips. he's an OG. i especially like his react court series, i must have watched all of them like five times.

speaking of OGs i've been watching zero puncutation (now fully ramblomatic) for like ten years and if anything it's only gotten better. best game review content on the internet. been really enjoying his more recent, slightly longer and more thoughtful 'extra punctuation/semi-ramblomatic' series too.

any austin's skyrim unemployment rate videos. instant classics to me, it's just a guy going around in skyrim trying to figure out the unemployment rate in every town. it's a very dry kind of humour, he plays it admirably straight, and it's weirdly calming.

kitten arcader's foot the bill videos. in a kind of similar vein, he watches the saw movies and then produces an itemized bill for everything jigsaw needed to buy to make his traps. it's kind of like... if cinemasins was fundamentally curious instead of fundamentally incurious, it scratches a similar sort of nitpicky detail-oriented quantifying itch but without inimical to the concept of art.

shuffle up and play. it's a magic the gathering play series that has enough editing that the gamestate is actually legible but not enough editing (or at least, not enough obtrusive in-your-face editing) that its annoying. i also like that they reguilarly play non-edh formats like cube and pauper.

spice8rack. i'm pretty picky about video essays but spice8rack has very obviously actually read books and has interesting things to say about the topics it discusses (mostly magic: the gathering). sometimes it has a kind of grating Theater Kid Energy but the fact that it actually meaningfully structures essays and analysis to earn the silly long runtimes is a rare delight from a video essayist.

jenny nicholson is a long-time favourite and another permanent fixture in my rotation. she's just extremely, remarkably funny which makes her the only 'basically just summarizing a thing' youtuber i think is worth the time of day.

i watch some sketch comedy, mainly wizards with guns and aunty donna, who both consistently put out really funny stuff that's kind of ITYSL-adjacent in its barefaced absurdism and contenmpt for concepts like "stopping a joke at the logical punchline". i also really like alasdair beckett-king and binging the old clickhole backlog for short-form comedy on youtube.

wolfeyvgc is right on the edge of the level of editing i find tolerable but as a long-time fan of multiple esports he Has It, he's absolutelyt fantastic at t elling the narrative of a tournament, explaining plays clearly, and generally making competitive pokemon esports thrilling and interesting ti someone (me) who#s never played it and doesn't care about pkoemon that much

i religously watch every elliespectacular/dathings YTP, the absolute best in the game right now, top tier snetence mixing and really good at actually setting up and paying off jokes in a way it feels like a lot of ytp doesn't. verytallbart is also pretty good.

trapperdapper is a channel i recently binged, it's a really fucking funny parody of minecraft challenge content that veers slowly from obvious angles of parody into pure absurdism with tons of blink-and-you'll miss it subtle visual gags.

too much future is a great youtube series where the two guys from just king things/homestuck made this world play through every fallout game and analyze them in that context. extremely funny and also just top-tier very sharp analysis. really good

another one of the rare good video essayists is jan misali. they're really funny and will go into topics that kind of seem narrow or strange to begin with in such depth and make them so interesting that it's consistently astonishing.

oh and finally sarah z makes pretty good videos. 'the narcissist scare' is an absolutely brilliant deconstruction of one of the most annoying pop-psych phenomena of the last couple years. and remarkably well script supervised i think did anyone else watch it and think 'wow the script supervisor on this must have been, a mind geniuse'

ok i think that's all i've been watching lately. hope you like whcihever of these recs you check out :)

#ask #Anonymous

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glitter-stained · 1 month ago

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Damasio, The Trolley Problem and Batman: Under the Hood

Okay so @bestangelofall asked me to elaborate on what I meant by "Damasio's theories on emotions in moral decision-making add another level of depth to the analysis of UTH as a moral dilemma" and I thought this deserved its own post so let's talk about this.

So, idk where everyone is at here (philosophy was mandatory in highschool in my country but apparently that's not the case everywhere so i genuinely have no clue what's common knowledge here, i don't want to like state the obvious but also we should recap some stuff. Also if I'm mentioning a philosopher's or scientist's name without detailing, that means it's just a passing thought/recommendation if you want to read more on the topic.)

First thing first is I've seen said, about jason and the no killing rule, that "killing is always bad that's not up for debate". And I would like to say, that's factually untrue. Like, no matter which side of the debate you are on, there is very much a debate. Historically a big thing even. So if that's not something you're open to hear about, if you're convinced your position is the only correct one and even considering other options is wrong and/or a waste of time... I recommend stopping here, because this only going to make you upset, and you have better stuff to do with your life than getting upset over an essay. In any case please stay civil and remember that this post is not about me debating ethics with the whole bat-tumblr, it's me describing a debate other people have been voicing for a long time, explaining the position Damasio's neuropsychology and philosophy holds in this debate, and analyzing the ethics discussed in Batman: Under the Red Hood in that light. So while I might talk about my personal position in here (because I have an opinion in this debate), this isn't a philosophy post; this is a literature analysis that just so happens to exist within the context of a neuropsychological position on a philosophical debate. Do not try to convince me that my philosophy of ethics is wrong, because that's not the point, that's not what the post is about, I find it very frustrating and you will be blocked. I don't have the energy to defend my personal opinions against everybody who disagrees with me.

Now, let's start with Bruce. Bruce, in Under The Hood and wrt the no kill rule (not necessarily all of his ethics, i'm talking specifically about the no kill rule), is defending a deontological position. Deontology is a philosophy of ethics coined by christian🧷 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant. The philosophy of ethics asks this question: what does it mean to do a good action? And deontology answers "it means to do things following a set of principles". Basically Kant describes what are "absolute imperatives" which are rules that hold inherent moral values: some things are fundamentally wrong and others are bad. Batman's no-kill rule is thus a categorical imperative: "Though Shall not Kill"🧷, it is always wrong to kill. (Note that I am not saying Bruce is kantian just because he has a deontology: Kant explained the concept of deontological ethics, and then went up to theorize his own very specific and odd brand of deontology, which banned anything that if generalized would cause the collapse of society as well as, inexplicably, masturbation. Bruce is not Kantian, he's just, regarding the no kill rule, deontological. Batman is still allowed to wank, don't worry.)

In this debate, deontological ethics are often pit up against teleological ethics, the most famous group of which being consequentialism, the most famous of consequentialisms being utilitarism. As the name indicates, consequentialist theories posit that the intended consequences of your actions determine if those actions were good or not. Utilitarism claims that to do good, your actions should aim to maximise happiness for the most people possible. So Jason, when he says "one should kill the Joker to prevent the thousands of victims he is going to harm if one does not kill him", is holding a utilitarian position.

The debate between deontology and utilitarism has held many forms, some fantastical and some with more realistic approaches to real life like "say you're hiding from soldiers and you're holding a baby that's gonna start crying, alerting the soldiers and getting everyone in your hideout massacred. Do you muffle the baby, knowing it will suffocate and kill it?" or "say there's a plague going on and people are dying and the hospital does not have enough ventilators, do you take the one off of the comatose patient with under 0.01% chance of ever waking up to give it to another patient? What about 1%?", etc, etc. The most famous derivative of this dilemma, of course, being the infamous trolley problem.

This is what is meant when we say "the UTH confrontation is a trolley problem." The final confrontation at the warehouse is a variation, a derivative of the utilitarian dilemma that goes as follows: "if someone was trying to kill someone in front of you, and that murder would prevent the murder of thousands, should you try to stop that murder or let it happen?"

Now, here's a question: why are there so many derivatives of the trolley problem? Why do philosophers spend time pondering different versions of the same question instead of solving it?

My opinion (and the one of much, much smarter people whose name i forgot oops) is that both systems fail at giving us a satisfying, clean-cut reply. Now, most people have a clean-cut answer to the trolley problem as presented here: me personally, I lean more towards utilitarianism, and I found it logical to pull the lever. But altering the exact situation makes me change my answer, and there is very often a point where people, no matter their deontological or utilitarian velleities, change their answer. And that's interesting to examine.

So let's talk about deontology. Now my first gripe with deontology it's that it posits a set of rules as absolute and I find that often quite arbitrary. 🧷 Like, it feels a little like mathematical axioms, you know? We build a whole worldview on the assumption that these rules are inherently correct and the best configuration because it feels like it makes sense, and accidentally close our mind to the world of non-euclidian ethics. In practice, here are some situations in which a deontologist might change their mind: self-defense killing, for example, is often cited as "an exception to the rule", making that rule de facto non-universal; and disqualifying it as an absolute imperative. Strangely enough, people will often try to solve the trolley problem by deciding to kill themselves by jumping on the tracks 🧷 which is actually a utilitarian solution: whether you're pulling the lever or you're jumping on the tracks, you are choosing to kill one person to stop the people from being run over. Why does it matter if it's you or someone else you're killing? You're still killing someone. Another situation where people may change their answer would be, like "what if you needed to save your children but to do so you had to kill the ceo of united healthcare?" Note that these are only examples for killing, but the biggest issue is that deontology preaches actions are always either good or wrong, and the issue with that lack of nuance is best illustrated with the kantian problem regarding the morality of lying: let's say it's the holocaust and a family of jews is hiding in your house. Let's say a nazi knocks on your door and asks if there are people hiding in your house. You know if you tell the truth, the jews in your house will be deported. In that situation, is it morally correct to lie? Now, Kant lived before the Holocaust, but in his time there was a similar version of this problem that had been verbalised (this formulation is the best-known derivative of this problem btw, I didn't invent it) and Kant's answer, I kid you not, was still "no it is not morally acceptable to lie in that situation".

And of course, there are variations of that problem that play with the definition of killing- what defines the act of killing and can the other circumstances (like if there's a person you need to save) alter that definition? => Conclusion: there is a lot more nuance to moral actions than what a purely deontological frame claims, and pushing deontology to its limits leads to situations that would feel absurd to us.

Now let's take utilitarianism to its own limits. Say you live in a world where healthcare has never been better. Now say this system is so because there is a whole small caste of people who have been cloned and genetically optimized and conditioned since birth so that their organs could be harvested at any given moment to heal someone. Let's say this system is so performant it has optimised this world's humanity's general well-being and health, leading to an undeniable, unparalleled positive net-worth for humanity. Here's the question: is this world a utopia or a dystopia? Aka, is raising a caste of people as organ cattle morally acceptable in that situation? (Note: Because people's limits on utilitarianism vary greatly from one person to another, I chose the most extreme example I could remember, but of course there are far more nuanced ones. Again, I wasn't the one to come up with this example. If you're looking for examples of this in fiction, i think the limits of utilitarianism are explored pretty interestingly in the videogame The Last of Us).

=> Conclusion: there is a lot more nuance to moral actions than what a purely utilitarian frame claims, and pushing utilitarism to its limits leads to situations that would feel absurd to us.

This leads us back to Under the Hood. Now because UTH includes a scathing criticism of Batman's no kill rule deontology, but Jason is also presented as a villain in this one, my analysis of the whole comic is based on the confrontation between both of these philosophies and their failures, culminating in a trolley dilemma type situation. So this is why it makes sense to have Bruce get mad at Jason for killing Captain Nazi in self-defense: rejecting self-defense, even against nazis, is the logical absurd conclusion of deontology. Winick is simply taking Bruce's no-kill rule to the limit.

And that's part of what gets me about Jason killing goons (aside from the willis todd thing that should definitely have been addressed in such a plot point.) It's that it feels to me like Jason's philosophy is presented as wrong because it leads to unacceptable decisions, but killing goons is not the logical absurd conclusion of utilitarianism. It's a. a side-effect of Jason's plot against Bruce and/or, depending on how charitable you are to either Jason's intelligence or his morals, b. a miscalculation. Assuming Jason's actions in killing goons are a reflection of his moral code (which is already a great assumption, because people not following their own morals is actually the norm, we are not paragons of virtue), then this means that 1) he has calculated that those goons dying would induce an increase in general global human happiness and thus 2) based on this premise, he follows the utilitarian framework and thus believes it's moral to kill the goons. It's the association of (1) and (2) that leads to an absurd and blatantly immoral consequence, but since the premise (1) is a clear miscalculation, the fact that (1) & (2) leads to something wrong does not count as a valid criticism of (2): to put it differently, since the premise is wrong, the conclusion being wrong does not give me any additional info on the value of the reasoning. This is a little like saying "Since 1+ 3= 5 and 2+2=4, then 1+3+2+2 = 9". The conclusion is wrong, but because the first part (1+3=5) is false, the conclusion being wrong does not mean that the second part (2+2 =4) is wrong. So that's what frustrates me so much when people bring up Jason killing goons as a gotcha for criticizing his utilitarian philosophy, because it is not!! It looks like it from afar but it isn't, which is so frustrating because, as stated previously, there are indeed real limits to utilitarianism that could have been explored instead to truly level the moral playing field between Jason and Bruce.

Now that all of this is said and done, let's talk about what in utilitarianism and deontology makes them flawed and, you guessed it, talk some about neuropsychology (and how that leads to what's imo maybe the most interesting thing about the philosophy in Under the Hood.)

In Green Arrow (2001), in an arc also written by Judd Winick, Mia Dearden meets a tortured man who begs her to kill him to save Star City (which is being massacred), and she kills him, then starts to cry and begs Ollie for confirmation that this was the right thing to do. Does this make Mia a utilitarian? If so, then why did she doubt and cry? Is she instead a deontologist, who made a mistake?

In any case, the reason why Mia's decision was so difficult for her to make and live with, and the reason why all of these trolley-adjacent dilemmas are so hard, is pretty clear. Mia's actions were driven by fear and empathy. It's harder to tolerate sacrificing our own child to avoid killing, it's harder to decide to sacrifice a child than an adult, a world where people are raised to harvest their organs feels horrible because these are real humans we can have empathy towards and putting ourselves in their shoes is terrifying... So we have two "perfectly logical" rational systems toppled by our emotions. But which is wrong: should we try to shut down our empathy and emotions so as to always be righteous? Are they a parasite stopping us from being true moral beings?

Classically, we (at least in my culture in western civilization) have historically separated emotions from cognition (cognition being the domain of thought, reasoning, intelligence, etc.) Descartes, for example, was a philosopher who highlighted a dualist separation of emotion and rationality. For a long time this was the position in psychology, with even nowadays some people who think normal psychologists are for helping with emotions and neuropsychologists are for helping with cognition.(I will fight these people with a stick.) Anyway, that position was the predominant one in psychology up until Damasio (not the famous writer, the neuropsychologist) wrote a book named Descartes' Error. (A fundamental of neuropsychology and a classic that conjugates neurology, psychology and philosophy: what more could you ask for?)

Damasio's book's title speaks for itself: you cannot separate emotion from intelligence. For centuries we have considered emotions to be parasitic towards reasoning, (which even had implications on social themes and constructs through the centuries 📌): you're being emotional, you're letting emotions cloud your judgement, you're emotionally compromised, you're not thinking clearly... (Which is pretty pertinent to consider from the angle of A Death in the Family, because this is literally the reproach Bruce makes to Jason). Damasio based the book on the Damasio couple's (him and his wife) study of Phineas Gage, a very, very famous case of frontal syndrome (damage to the part of the brain just behind the forehead associated with executive functions issues, behavioural issues and emotional regulation). The couple's research on Gage lead Damasio, in his book, to this conclusion: emotions are as much of a part of reasoning and moral decision-making as "cold cognition" (non emotional functioning). Think of it differently: emotional intelligence is a skill. Emotions are tools. On an evolutionary level, it is good that we as people have this skill to try and figure out what others might think and do. That's useful. Of course, that doesn't mean that struggling with empathy makes you immoral, but we people who struggle with empathy have stories of moments where that issue has made us hurt someone's feelings on accident, and it made us sad, because we didn't want to hurt their feelings. On an evolutionary level (and this is where social Darwinism fundamentally fails) humanity has been able to evolve in group and in a transgenerational group (passing knowledge from our ancestors long after their death, belonging to a community spread over a time longer than our lifetime) thanks to social cognition (see Tomasello's position on the evolution of language for more detail on that), and emotions, and "emotional intelligence" is a fundamental part of how that great system works across the ages.

And that's what makes Batman: Under the Hood brilliant on that regard. If I have to make a hypothesis on the state of Winick's knowledge on that stuff, I would say I'm pretty sure he knew about the utilitarism vs deontology issue; much harder to say about the Damasio part, but whether he's well-read in neuropsychology classics or just followed a similar line of reasoning, this is a phenomenally fun framework to consider UTH under.

Because UTH, and Jason's character for the matter, refuse to disregard emotions. Bruce says "we mustn't let ourselves get clouded by our emotions" and Jason, says "maybe you should." I don't necessarily think he has an ethical philosophy framework for that, I still do believe he's a utilitarian, but he's very emotion-driven and struggling to understand a mindframe that doesn't give the same space to emotions in decision-making. And as such, Jason says "it should matter. If the emotion was there, if you loved me so much, then it should matter in your decision of whether or not to let the Joker die, that it wasn't just a random person that he killed, but that he killed your son."

And Bruce is very much doubling down on this mindset of "I must be stronger than my feelings". He is an emotionally repressed character. He says "You don't understand. I don't think you've ever understood", and it's true, Jason can't seem to understand Bruce's position, there's something very "if that person doesn't show love in my perspective and understanding of what love is then they do not love me" about his character that I really appreciate. But Bruce certainly doesn't understand either, because while Jason is constantly asking Bruce for an explanation, for a "why do you not see things the way I do" that could never satisfy him, Bruce doesn't necessarily try to see things the way Jason does. And that's logical, since Jason is a 16 years old having a mental breakdown, and Bruce is a grown man carrying on the mission he has devoted himself to for years, the foundation he has built his life over. He can't allow himself to doubt, and why would he? He's the adult, he's the hero, he is, honestly, a pretty stubborn and set-in-his-ways character. So, instead of rising to the demand of emotional decision-making, Bruce doubles down on trying to ignore his feelings. And Jason, and the story doesn't let him. Bludheaven explodes. This induces extremely intense feelings in Bruce (his son just got exploded), which Jason didn't allow him to deal with, to handle with action or do anything about; Jason says no you stay right there, with me, with those emotions you're living right now, and you're making a decision. And there's the fact Bruce had a mini-heart attack just before thinking Jason was dead again. And there's the fact he mourned Jason for so long, and Stephanie just died, and Tim, Cass and Oracle all left, and the Joker is right there, and Jason puts a gun in his hands (like the gun that killed his parents)... All of that makes it impossible for Bruce to disregard his emotions. The same way Jason, who was spilling utilitarian rhetoric the whole time, is suddenly not talking about the Joker's mass murder victims but about he himself. The same way Jason acts against his own morals in Lost Days by sparing the Joker so they can have this confrontation later. That's part of why it's so important to me that Jason is crying in that confrontation.

Bruce's action at the end of the story can be understood two ways:

-he decides to maim/kill Jason to stop the insupportable influx of emotions, and him turning around is his refusal to look at his decision (looking away as a symbol of shame): Bruce has lost, in so that he cannot escape the dilemma, he succumbs to his emotions and acts against his morals.

-the batarang slicing Jason's throat is an accident: he is trying to find a way out of the dilemma, a solution that lets him save his principles, but his emotions cloud his judgement (maybe his hand trembles? Maybe his vision is blurry?). In any case, he kills his son, and it being an accident doesn't absolve him: his emotions hold more weight than his decision and he ends up acting against his morals anyway.

It's a very old story: a deontologist and a utilitarian try to solve the trolley problem, and everyone still loses. And who's laughing? The nihilist, of course. To him, nothing has sense, and so nothing matters. He's wrong though, always has been. That's the lesson I'm taking from Damasio's work. That's the prism through which I'm comparing empathy to ethics in Levinas' work and agape in Compté-Sponsville's intro to philosophy through.

It should matter. It's so essential that it matters. Love, emotions, empathy: those are fundamental in moral evaluation and decision making. They are a feature, not a bug. And the tragedy is when we try to force ourselves to make them not matter.

Anyway so that was my analysis of why Damasio's position on ethics is so fun to take in account when analysing UTH, hope you found this fun!

#dc #jason todd #dc comics #red hood #under the red hood #anti batman #anti bruce wayne #(< for filtering)#jason todd meta #neuropsychology meta #now with the philosophy extension!!#once again having very intense thoughts about Under The Hood #me talking about the “killing goons” part: this comic is so infuriating #me talking about the final confrontation: this is the greatest comic ever 😭😭#winick stop toying with my emotions challenge #anyway I put a couple of pins on some of the ideas in there don't worry about it #also i was told that color coding helped with clarity so hopefully that's still the case!

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no1onepiecefan · 8 days ago

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zoro & luffy and the historical doctrine of the divine right of kings.

the divine right of kings, the idea that a monarch's 'right to rule is derived from divine authority.' the idea that kings are chosen by god. while not to the letter because i don't know the concept well enough, the idea of luffy, a god, picking zoro, a king, is something i find impossibly fitting.

initially, to frame the analysis, the only strawhat that luffy ever sought after and wittingly picked with foresight is zoro. luffy chose zoro with only the knowledge of his name, like something unconscious within him needed to. furthermore follows zoro's uncharacteristic acceptance to join luffy, like something innate clicked within him too.

then, fundamentally, zoro only unlocked supreme king haki at the approximate time luffy became sun god nika, on the same night. to zoro nothing is more simple than the knowledge luffy is his king, yet suddenly, the subject of his worship became something more. zoro became a supreme king happily, because there is something a king can still follow. he can still be unquestionably loyal, harmoniously devoted to his captain, because his captain newly transformed into something even more than a monarch; a god.

the idea of the divine right of kings often goes hand in hand with the concept that a monarch's actions are the will of god, that they are acting out the intentions of a higher being, and their actions are justified this way, "by the grace of god." and while i definitely won't speak for real life applications of this notion, the idea that zoro acts out the will of his god is shockingly accurate. zoro is the strawhat's swordsman, he is their blade. zoro is the execution of the strawhat's intentions, he is the consequence that follows luffy's actions. zoro does act out the intentions of a higher being; each battle he faces is as a result of luffy, for the betterment of them, and to reach closer to their dreams.

then, even more, the divine right of kings says that a king will not answer to any human, assembly, etc. the only body in which said monarch would listen to would be their god, otherwise they are unanswered, untameable. and gosh, that's one of the fundamentals to zoro's character; that he only answers to luffy. near every other character pre-timeskip questions zoro's devotion, why and how, every fan marvels at how only luffy could make zoro into a worshipper. zoro only answers to luffy, he is only content following his direction.

lastly is their inhuman connection. hypothetically, a god picking a king would give the two respective entities an unparalleled understanding. that divine authority must have certain faith in the figure they enacted, their goals must align so uncannily, and their trust must be unwavering. zoro and luffy's bond is unearthly, it was instant. the day they met one another, zoro stopped an axe from meeting luffy's head while luffy stood unflinching. the depth of zoro and luffy's relationship is unfathomable, intrinsic and terrifying. they are soulmates, completely aligned, and that is a requirement of the historical doctrine. for a king to be chosen by a god, they must be aligned just the same, and zoro & luffy are.

#one piece #one piece analysis #one piece meta #roronoa zoro #monkey d. luffy #monkey d luffy #zolu #luzo #but not necessarily if you don’t like! platonic or romantic

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sporesgalaxy · 1 year ago

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me when the ship fic is not also an in-depth thesis with multiple cited sources proposing an analysis of one or both characters' psyches down to the most fundamental level

#SORRY I STARTED OUT WITH ACE OF TOURNEY FANFICTION. AS IF ITS MY FUCKING FAULT #adddna #'why dont YOU just write the character analysis' I HAUVE COVIDDDDD. IM TOO SLEEPY RIGHT NOW. I NEED SOMEONE ELSE TO BE INSANE FOR ME SO BAD #'is this about--' YES ITS ABOUT ZORO AND SANJI OKAY FUCKING WHATEVER .#•••

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bumbled-bees · 8 days ago

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Lily’s Surface-Level Analysis: A Shallow Approach to Media

Lily’s media critiques are often shallow, reactionary, and plagued by her fundamental incuriosity and black-and-white thinking. Rather than engage with deeper themes, allegory, or metaphor, Lily tends to take everything at face value. This refusal to explore nuance not only weakens her media analysis but also reflects her broader pattern of impulsiveness and her need for clear-cut narratives where she’s always right.

Incuriosity and the Demand for Simplicity

Lily’s incuriosity is one of her most defining traits. She’s openly hostile to recommendations from her audience, dismisses ideas that challenge her perspective, and refuses to put in the effort to understand concepts that aren’t immediately obvious. This mental laziness extends heavily into her media analysis, where she consistently refuses to dig beneath the surface.

She’s shown time and time again that she’s uninterested in doing the work to engage with complex narratives — unless they’re spoon-fed to her in the most direct, unambiguous terms. If a story requires thoughtful interpretation or subtlety, Lily will reject it as “poorly written” rather than admit she overlooked key themes.

Misunderstanding Metaphor

A prime example of this is her infamous take on Steven Universe, where she criticized the series for “locking Ruby and Sapphire inside Garnet,” arguing that it erased their relationship. This fundamentally misunderstands the entire point of Garnet’s character — that Garnet is the relationship. The show’s creators didn’t "lock them away"; they used Garnet to symbolize the stability, love, and partnership between Ruby and Sapphire.

Lily’s inability (or unwillingness) to grasp this metaphor speaks volumes about her approach to media. Rather than engaging with the emotional depth and symbolism, she dismissed it outright because it wasn’t spelled out for her.

Black-and-White Thinking and Binary Judgments

This shallow thinking also ties into Lily’s intense black-and-white worldview. For her, stories must be explicit and direct — anything that requires interpretation risks being twisted into something “bad.” She’s deeply uncomfortable with ambiguity, which limits her ability to analyze complex narratives.

If a creator attempts to convey themes through subtext, Lily often assumes they’re being “cowardly” or “lazy.” She demands that stories explicitly state their messages and avoids narratives that require patience, thought, or introspection. This leads her to label media as “bad” simply because it doesn’t align with her narrow expectations.

Her fixation on absolutes further weakens her critiques. If a creator compromises with studio executives, Lily will dismiss their work as inherently corrupt or “selling out.” She’s openly stated that she has “no sympathy” for creators who face pushback from their studios, claiming they should “just fight harder” — a statement that reveals how little she understands real-world creative industries.

Impulsiveness and Superficial Analysis

Lily’s impulsive nature — her tendency to act without thinking or planning — also shapes her shallow media critiques. Much like her frequent lies and contradictions, her media takes are driven by gut reactions rather than careful thought.

This was especially evident during her Dragon Age video series, where she skipped through key dialogue, ignored lore, and then confidently declared the series poorly written — despite missing crucial information that would’ve explained the very things she criticized. Instead of admitting fault, she doubled down, presenting her shallow interpretation as if it were objective truth.

Her impulsive style means she’s often unwilling to revisit her initial conclusions. Once she’s decided something is “bad,” she rarely reflects or revises her stance — even when presented with evidence that she misunderstood the material.

Control and Refusal to Learn

Lily’s refusal to engage deeply with media is also tied to her need for control. Just as she manipulates conversations, cuts off critics, and deletes inconvenient evidence, her media critiques are an attempt to dominate the narrative. By presenting herself as an authority while ignoring key details, she ensures her audience can’t challenge her without directly calling her out — something she actively discourages.

She also actively dissuades her viewers from seeking out additional perspectives, framing her own takes as the only valid interpretation. This echoes her tendency to erase conflicting narratives in her personal life — like her shifting stories about Stockholm or her manipulation of events to paint herself as a perpetual victim.

The Result: Shallow, Performative Criticism

Lily’s incuriosity, binary thinking, and need for control culminate in media “critiques” that are ultimately performative rather than insightful. Instead of exploring themes, dissecting symbolism, or considering alternative perspectives, she relies on surface-level reactions designed to reinforce her own biases.

Her fans — conditioned to take her word as gospel — rarely push back, further encouraging Lily’s lazy analysis. And when those who do understand the material criticize her, she dismisses them as “obsessive stalkers” or deliberately misrepresents their arguments to avoid accountability.

In the end, Lily’s shallow critiques reveal far more about her own flaws than they do about the media she discusses. They reflect her refusal to challenge herself, her desperate need for control, and her unwavering belief that her first impression is always correct — no matter how ill-informed or incomplete it may be.

#lily orchard #cd-call #lily orchard analysis #lily orchard critical

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sagevalleymusings · 26 days ago

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An Overly In-depth Analysis of Spinning Silver Many Years Late

`When I first started writing this in 2022, I had recently finished reading Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver for the first time. I wanted to remember a particular quote in the book, and stumbled upon some reviews from 2019, when the paperback was released.

The quote I was looking for: You will never be a Staryk Queen until you make a hundred winters in one day, seal the crack in the mountain, and make the white tree bloom.

The reviews:

…read Temeraire and Uprooted at least ten times, but couldn’t reread this. The relationships between the two main men and two main women are abusive. Certainly, there’s trauma involved, but it’s not a woman’s job to heal men’s trauma through sacrificing themselves…

…I adored Uprooted (had some issues, but still loved it completely), however Spinning Silver just felt off – not as magical, terrible “romances”, too many POVs, etc. All in all, it just wasn’t as gripping. I liked Miryem’s character, but the other two protagonists were very bland “strong female characters…”

I hate this. I hate this so much. I hate this enough that I’m going to write an excessively long post defending Spinning Silver for three years. For everyone that doesn’t want to read a masters-student dissertation of an essay or who hasn’t read the book yet and wants to go into this spoiler free, here’s the TL:DR version. There are no romances in this book. The two reviewers above are trying to apply the enemies to lovers tropes they loved so much in Uprooted to a grimm fairy tale about politics, feminism, and Jewish persecution. There are no romances in this book. This is hard to grasp, because two of the main characters are married, and that marriage is a major part of the plot, but no one in those marriages including the men wanted the marriage in the first place. To call it “abusive” is to read modern expectations onto a historical political marriage that, while not inaccurate, fundamentally misunderstands the point and the context in which the story takes place.

Also, I would recommend the audio book, if you have trouble with multiple points of view. They are all in first person, and although it starts out with just two, we add more and more POV until there’s 5 or 6 total. The reader Lisa Flanagan does an excellent job distinguishing POVs which will make this aspect of it easier. Read the book, particularly the audiobook. But if you are reading this book looking for romance, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s still one of the best if not the best re-imagined fairy tale I’ve ever read. Here’s an excessively long post about why.

The Introduction

The very first thing we’re introduced to is Miryem as our narrator explaining that stories aren’t about “how they tell it” but getting out of paying your debts. So how do “they” tell it? The introductory story is about a girl having sex out of wedlock who is left in the lurch because the “lord, prince, rich man’s son” has a duty.

It’s about saving yourself for marriage. Even in how “they” tell it, who the man is doesn’t matter and no one is in love. Your duty to your family comes first.

This story is not about romance. The story this story is subverting is not about romance. Even in how “they” tell it, romance isn’t a good thing.

In actual fairy tales, not Disney princess stories, romance often has nothing to do with it. These are stories for little children to get them to obey their parents. Rumpelstilskin is about ingenuity and perseverance. Even in a story like Cinderella, the romance is entirely incidental - the story is about hard work, strength through adversity, and moral superiority. The marriage itself isn’t romantic in the sense that the two main characters fall in love. These stories are older than the modern concept of love. For authors with a strong sense of familial duty and nationalism, writing about something as subversive as romantic love would go against their goals.

This is the setting that Spinning Silver takes place in. It’s a modern fairy tale set in a regency era. The fairy tale Miryem tells in our introduction paints romance as a bad thing. You marry out of duty.

But Miryem from the start tells us that filial duty isn’t what the stories are really about. They’re really about paying your debts. Within the first 2 minutes of this book, it’s already told us three times that this story isn’t about romance. Once in the setting of a fairy tale about filial duty, once in the denial of how they tell it, and once in the revelation of the real interpretation.

The Power of Threes

The power of repetition and specifically of threes comes up over and over again in the book. In many cultures across the world, three has special significance. From the fairy tale side of it, Rumpelstilskin itself contains layers of threes within threes. Rumpelstilskin makes a bargain for the miller’s daughter on the third night. The queen has three days to guess Rumpelstilskin’s name, and guesses three names each day.

It’s likely that these repetitions of threes in fairy tales come from the Christian backdrop they were written in, which at times focuses on the third path in the middle of two binaries, or the significance of building power, though it’s difficult to make any sweeping, central claims about why three is significant because fairy tales are so widespread across countries, time, and religion. But it’s important that Novik is writing this from a Lithuanian Jewish perspective, so there’s a subtle shift in the interpretation and meaning of the rule of threes. I’m not Jewish, so what specifically this is as grounded in Novik’s ancestry is something I can’t be clear on.

During my research, one explanation that seems to resonate with the symbolism of this book is a Chabad interpretation. From chabad.org: The number three symbolizes a harmony that includes and synthesizes two opposites. The unity symbolized by the number three isn’t accomplished by getting rid of number two, the entity that caused the discord, and reverting to the unity symbolized by number one. Rather, three merges the two to create a new entity, one that harmoniously includes both opposites.

Lithuanian Judaism is majority non-Hasidic, so this is just one tangentially-related explanation of the importance of threes. I’m sure there’s other interpretations I’m missing because I can’t possibly begin to know where to look. But I like this explanation for grounding the story because I think it fits well with the symmetry of our protagonists and their husbands (or lack thereof), and the way the story is building to their creating something new.

So when the very first thing we are shown within the first two minutes of the book is a thrice denial of romance, we need to take Naomi Novik seriously when she says that the book is about getting out of paying your debts. Or, at the very least, this is what Miryem thinks the book is about. The way in which the characters grow and change does reveal some of the original cynicism in this thesis, but ultimately this is a story about what we owe each other, and how that debt comes for us if we don’t pay it. And on top of that, Miryem describes the love interest of the miller’s daughter as “lord, prince, rich man’s son” (3 possibilities). Who this love interest is doesn’t matter in the slightest.

All this to say that within the first two minutes of the book, if you are still reading this expecting a romance, you aren’t listening to the author.

Jewish Heritage

Also within the first few minutes of the book, we learn that Miryem is a Jewish moneylender in a fantasy version of Russian-occupied Lithuania some time in the Middle Ages. I’m not going to get too deep into this. I am, as I said, not Jewish, and these characterisations edge very close, on purpose, to deeply anti-Semitic tropes. But understanding what Novik is saying about her heritage and her family’s persecution is critically important to understanding the book.

Naomi Novik is a second-generation American. She’s Lithuanian Jewish on her father’s side, and Polish Catholic on her mother’s side. In many ways, Spinning Silver has been treated as a spiritual successor to Uprooted. Uprooted is set in a fantasy version of Poland, Spinning Silver is set in a fantasy version of Lithuania. Both stories are about Novik’s heritage, and the stories from her ancestors. Spinning Silver is a lot more obvious about this, but there’s a non-zero amount of Catholicism in the way the Dragon structures his magic, and in the older folk magic that lives in the trees.

Spinning Silver is much more explicit, and Novik has said as much, that Miryem’s family is supposed to reflect her father’s family and his experience as a Lithuanian Jew.

Our book takes place in a fantasy version of Lithuania in 1816. That’s a very specific date I’ve picked out for a book that otherwise appears to be ‘the ambiguous past.’ How did I come to that conclusion?

I did a little bit of research to try and determine when and this is what I came up with: Lithuania didn’t exist until the 13th century. Lithuania didn’t have a tsar on the throne until Russian imperialism in the late 1700s. Restrictions on Jews’ ability to work in craft or trade began around 1100 in Europe, and began to wane around 1850. In Lithuania, this fluctuated depending on the specific time period, so we can a little further narrow the timing down to after the mid 1600s but before the 1850s, probably during early Russian imperialism. Leadership is religious, either Eastern Orthodox or Catholic, who at the time believed that charging interest was sinful, so employed members of other religions, specifically Jews, to do their money lending for them. Because of the association with sinful, dirty work, and previous oppression as a religious minority, this led to a significant rise in anti-Semitism, coming to a head with a series of Jewish pogroms in Russia from (officially) 1821-1906, leading millions to flee and thousands of deaths. So we can narrow our estimation down to about 80 years, between 1820-1900.

Then my historian partner started reading it with me and exclaimed, "is that a reference to the Year Without A Summer" so actually 1816, but you can also see how easy it is to narrow that date down even as an amateur just by examining the exact flavor of anti-Semitism in the text. Which is why, even after I learned about the year Without A Summer, I left my aimless searching in.

Most audience members probably don’t know this much detail about history, but Spinning Silver is very clearly written with an audience understanding of this history in mind. We’re supposed to see the rise in anti-Semitism throughout the book which adds a layer of tension because at any moment, the politics in the wider world and rising anti-Semitism might catch up to our protaginists, and Miryem and her entire family could be killed.

That’s it, book over. Anti-Semitism sweeps through, destroys everything it touches, and none of the clever problem-solving of any of our heroines matters. It’s over.

This dark possibility looms over the story like a storm cloud the entire time. The most explicit reference is when Miryem uses the tunnel her grandfather dug.

“I pulled it up easily, and there was a ladder there waiting for me to climb down. Waiting for many people to climb down, here close to the synagogue, in case one day men came through the wall of the quarter with torches and axes, the way they had in the west where my grandfather’s grandmother had been a girl.”

The fear of persecution isn’t just something of the past. It is something that people in this community are actively thinking about and planning contingencies for.

We’re five pages in and I’ve barely gotten through the first five minutes of the book. I could do this for literally the rest of the book if I wanted to - five minutes later, Miryem as narrator starts talking about a festival at the turn of the seasons between Autumn and Winter, which she calls “their festival” and resents the townspeople for it because they’re spending money they borrowed from Panov Mandelstam on it. Meanwhile, Panov Mandelstam is lighting a candle for the third day of their own festival, when a cold wind sweeps in and blows the candles out. Her father tells them it’s a sign for bed time instead of relighting them, because they’re almost out of oil. Panov Mandelstam is reduced to whittling candles out of wood because, “there isn’t going to be any miracle of light in our house.” I didn’t catch this the first time around, because I’m an ignorant goyim I wasn’t thinking about this book as an explicitly Jewish fairytale. But Novik is obviously making a reference to Channukkah, and the fact that Panov Mandeltam doesn’t relight the candles for Channukkah is powerfully unsettling. And then on the eigth day, Miryem takes up her father’s work and collects the money he’s been neglecting, and there is light in their house for Channukkah after all, but the miracle is hard work, not magic. The entire book is like that, layers upon layers of meaning with every sentence. Subtle clues before the curtain is pulled back. I want to teach a seminar using only this book on the definition of “show, don’t tell.”

Good and Evil

But at some point I’m going to have to move on, and so let’s talk about trauma, poverty, and morals.

Novik introduces the townsfolk as Miryem sees them, but not all the townsfolk. Each person introduced by name winds up coming back later, enacting some kind of harm. But it seems to me that this harm is foreshadowed in each instance.

First, we’re introduced to Oleg. Oleg’s wife is described as being Oleg’s “squirrelly, nervous wife.” This isn’t the only time it occurs to me to wonder if Oleg beats his wife, but I think the description is intentional. Oleg eventually tries to murder Miryem, for explicitly anti-Semetic reasons, but I think this violence is foreshadowed in the way we see him interact, in brief flashes, with his wife and son, and how they’re always described as being a little withdrawn, a little afraid of Oleg, and not very sad that he’s gone, except in the part where this is going to be a financial burden on the family.

Next introduced is Kajus. Kajus who had borrowed two gold pieces to establish himself as a krupnik brewer (the krupnik he brews would lead to Da’s alcoholism). His solution to Miryem banging on their doors is to offer her a drink. Clearly getting people hooked and indebted to him is a tactic he’s used to success more than once.

The last person introduced in this sequence is Lyudmila. Again, we are given a set of three. Lyudmila is different. Lyudmila never borrowed money. She doesn’t have a direct reason for despising the Mandelstams. Or at least, she shouldn’t. And yet, her distain jumps off the page. Lyudmila is the quiet, insidious voice spreading lies and rumors about the Jewish family in town. Her violence is not explicit. But it is the same.

The last person we’re introduced to, given an entire separate section to his own, is Gorek.

Good and Evil part 2 - is Wanda’s Da an evil character?

Gorek, who’s better known for the rest of the book as Wanda’s Da, is also introduced to us first as a borrower trying to get out of paying his debts. Gorek is a violent drunk. This is established repeatedly. Gorek is not a good man.

But is he evil? Certainly he seems to be the antagonist of Wanda’s story, and there’s no love lost when he dies. But I think it’s interesting that even Gorek, in many respects, is sympathetic. He’s not very different from any of the other men in this town. Oleg is violent. Kajus profits off the many people in the town that drink their troubles away. Gorek is not uniquely awful even if he is particularly awful. And even for Gorek, the text takes pains to remind us that he buried his wife and five children. His life is hard. Their plot of land is sat next to a tree where nothing will grow. How much rye did they waste before they learned that lesson? And when Mama was alive, they had enough to eat in the winter, but only because she was very, very careful to divide everything up. On his own, Gorek couldn’t make that math add up, even before he started drinking his troubles away. Gorek is facing a life where unless something drastic changes, he and his children will slowly starve to death, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

So he sells his daughter for one jug of krupnik a week. Gorek has made his bed; he doesn’t want to keep living. He’s drinking himself into the grave he dug for his wife. But in the meantime he does still need to take care of his children.

I don’t say this to forgive his actions; I do think Gorek’s actions are unforgivable. Some people cannot be redeemed, they can only be defeated, and Gorek is one of those people. But at the end of the book, Wanda and Sergei and Stepon still bury him when they go back to Pavys, next to the rest of their deceased family.

Gorek is a product of his environment, and that environment is cruel and cold. The people it produces are by and large cruel and cold. No one in the town bothers to bury Gorek. No one stops him from hitting his wife and children. There’s nothing at all strange, according to the rest of the town, about his selling his daughter for drink.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Gorek is not evil, but I also think that this book is taking pains to present with sympathy the kind of environment which creates people like Gorek. Like our Staryk king, who was entirely prepared to force himself onto Miryem even though neither one of them wanted it. Like Mirnatius, who did not himself commit any acts of violence, but who was perfectly willing to benefit from the violence being committed with his face. The world is cold and cruel, and it is very, very easy to become cold and cruel from it.

The Power of Threes revisited: Miryem’s magic

Even Miryem says that she’s had to be cold and cruel to be their family’s moneylender. We don’t see very much of this. But she does after all agree to have someone work in her house for essentially no pay. We don’t necessarily realize it, because it comes at our own turning point, but Miryem has to learn empathy just as much as her Staryk king does. When she agrees to allow Flek and Tsop and Shofer to help her with her trials.

I read Novik’s new anthology Buried Deep and Other Stories and in that collection she says it’s a line from the Staryk king about Miryem’s magic that made her want to expand what was originally a short story into a full book. “A power claimed and challenged and thrice carried out is true; the proving makes it so.”

Fairy tales are about hard work. This line from the Staryk king isn’t just a way of constructing magic, it’s just literally true. If I get a job as an accountant, despite not knowing anything about accounting, and I don’t fail, then by the end I will be an accountant. I love this, that the magic in Spinning Silver is just hard work.

Miryem’s magic is another rule of threes. The Staryk king challenges her to turn silver into gold three times, to make the magic true, and she does it – with mundane means, through ordinary hard work, but it’s done. She barters freedom for a day by turning three storehouses to gold, and she does that too – with wit and hard work, but it’s done. The Staryk king challenges her that she’ll never be a Staryk queen, unless she can do three feats of high magic, and she does each one. Or rather, each one gets done, and Miryem has a hand in it. But the first feat of high magic requires the assistance of one other person. The second – the assistance of three. Much like each trial before it grew in magnitude – first 6 coins, then 60, then 600 – so too do all three stories grow in magnitude. It would stand to reason then that the third test of magic would require at least three upon three people. But Miryem is not the only protagonist in this story.

Circling back to Romance: Arranged Marriage is Bad That’s Obviously The Point

In addition to the rule of threes woven repeatedly in Miryem’s story, the entire story itself is a Triptych. One story is the story of the girl who could turn silver into gold. One story is the story of the children who find themselves lost in the woods and stumble onto a witch’s house full of rich food. One story is the story of the duke’s misfit daughter who marries a prince. They are all of them different fairy tales. And at the end of the story, they all come crashing into each other. The white tree belongs to Wanda’s story, bought with six lives.

Three sets of three people in each story

There are many, many examples of threes woven throughout this story, but it was only three years into writing this essay that I realized that the marriages themselves are a set of three as well. After all, only Irina and Miryem get married, right?

But Wanda is offered a marriage proposal. In a story with less magic, Wanda would have married Lukas, and been yet another generation of poor, miserable women that died in childbirth. But Wanda says no, a thing entirely unheard of in this era. Women didn’t say no to marriages arranged by their fathers.

And at the end of the story, Wanda is still unwed, with absolutely no indication that this will ever change. Wanda’s agency, this rejection of marriage, is treated with the same weight as the marriages themselves. Saying no is just as valuable as Irina’s political marriage, or courting for a year and a day and marrying for love, as Miryem eventually does.

And Miryem does marry for love. She originally has no choice in the matter, but that contract is rendered void when the Staryk king is forced to let her go. We don’t see the year’s worth of courting because it’s not relevant to the story because this is not a romance but I really don’t want to lose this point because I think Wanda’s story sometimes gets forgotten precisely because it doesn’t have a marriage. But Novik is explicit about this through Wanda’s story. Irina had no choice, not really. So it never occurred to her to say yes or no. She kills the man who sought to marry her – Chernobog wanted to marry Irina, not Mirnatius. Irina murders her would-be husband, Miryem divorces hers, and Wanda says no. Yes, the arranged marriages in this book are abusive – Novik knows that and tears them down one by one and rebuilds them into something with far more agency, that our women protagonists chose.

The Story

So we’ve come all this way and learned that Spinning Silver is not a romance, not really. The married couples in the story do come to love each other, after a fashion. But that love blooming was not the point. The point was…

Well it was about getting out of paying your debts, wasn’t it? Novik told us very explicitly that it was about getting out of paying your debts right on the first page. It’s not how they told it. But she knew.

Miryem spends the entire book making her fortune from nothing. Wanda takes over the work from her. Stepon takes over after Wanda. The debt that the town owed to Josef was a major thread over and over again throughout the whole story. Oleg tries to kill Miryem over it. The Staryk king seeks Miryem’s hand because of it. Raquel had been sick because their dowry had been spent. Wanda comes to their house to pay off the debt. Nearly everything in the book can be traced back to the debt against Josef Mandelstam.

And then, in Chapter 25, Josef sends Wanda with many letters to the people of the town forgiving all the remaining debt that was owed. The people of Pavys get out of paying their debt.

But… how do they get out of it? Not through any trickery of their own, not really. There is a stated implication that fear was a big part of it. Sending Wanda with letters of forgiveness would mean that they would not be harried or harmed while they were wrapping up affairs in the town. But Josef also doesn’t need the money. They have a home of their own, many hands to make light the work, blessings from the Sunlit Tsar to establish their place in the world, and blessings from the Staryk king that will ensure their safety even through a hard winter. They want for nothing, so they do not seek to reclaim what is theirs.

And in a way they got all those blessings through paying their debts, but in a way they did not. The Staryk way of paying their debts teaches us something very important about what a debt really is. The Staryks don’t keep debts. They make fair trade. And if they can’t make fair trade, there is no deal. Or at least, they say they make fair trade. They didn’t trade for the gold they steal from the Sunlit world, though I suspect they would argue that the pain that is caused to the people of that world is trade for their putting a monster on the throne. And Miryem rightly points out that they had been raiding for gold and raping the people of Lithvas long before Chernobog sat on the throne. They make fair trade. But only with those they view as their equals.

But the Sunlit world is even worse. The Tsar doesn’t make fair trade. He spends magic like water and steals the lives of people that didn’t bargain with him to pay for it. In the Sunlit world, people take as much as they can with as little return as they can get away with. Not everyone, of course. But it is of particular note here that in this story, Jews are vilified particularly because they ask for fair trade in return. And the people they loan money to don’t want to give it to them.

But fair trade can only go so far. The Staryk king is trying to make a road back to his kingdom, and he can’t, because there is nothing of winter that they can find in the warm summer day. And he cannot take Stepon’s white tree seed, because it was bought with six lives, and given to Stepon alone, and there is nothing that the Staryk king can barter with that would measure against a mother’s love. But Stepon wants to see the white tree grown, so they find a way to plant it. Irina digs hard soil in apology, and the Mandelstams sing a hymn to encourage growth, and although none of this was done for the Staryk king, he still uses the work to create his road.

Sometimes, fair trade isn’t enough, and one must trust that it is to the benefit of all to aid each other.

The truest way of getting out of paying your debts… is to abolish the concept of debt.

That’s right, motherfuckers, eat your kings and burn the banks to the ground, love is the anti-capitalist manifesto we made along the way!

This section was going to be a little bit of a joke, but the more I think about it, the more it really isn’t. Miryem’s magic makes wealth meaningless in its magnitude. Wanda’s magic is having food and shelter to spare. And Irina’s magic is having just leadership that rules for the people, not for power. Novik’s fairytale ending is collectivism. She tells us three times, through three stories of hardship. And it isn’t even about becoming a princess, because Wanda marries no one, and lives in a magical house that seems to always have everything they need. So long as they do what they can to take care of it.

The real magic is community. Doing for yourself what you can, and reaching your hand to another when you can spare, so that they might do the same. And so long as we all do that together, the darkness cannot come in to feast.

#disk horse #media analysis #naomi novik #spinning silver #literary analysis #okay this one's long even for me #also it took three years to write #five thousand words #nine sources #and two pages of notes

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grison-in-space · 8 months ago

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look computational psychiatry is a concept with a certain amount of cursed energy trailing behind it, but I'm really getting my ass chapped about a fundamental flaw in large scale data analysis that I've been complaining about for years. Here's what's bugging me:

When you're trying to understand a system as complex as behavioral tendencies, you cannot substitute large amounts of "low quality" data (data correlating more weakly with a trait of interest, say, or data that only measures one of several potential interacting factors that combine to create outcomes) for "high quality" data that inquiries more deeply about the system.

The reason for that is this: when we're trying to analyze data as scientists, we leave things we're not directly interrogating as randomized as possible on the assumption that either there is no main effect of those things on our data, or that balancing and randomizing those things will drown out whatever those effects are.

But the problem is this: sometimes there are not only strong effects in the data you haven't considered, but also they correlate: either with one of the main effects you do know about, or simply with one another.

This means that there is structure in your data. And you can't see it, which means that you can't account for it. Which means whatever your findings are, they won't generalize the moment you switch to a new population structured differently. Worse, you are incredibly vulnerable to sampling bias because the moment your sample fails to reflect the structure of the population you're up shit creek without a paddle. Twin studies are notoriously prone to this because white and middle to upper class twins are vastly more likely to be identified and recruited for them, because those are the people who respond to study queries and are easy to get hold of. GWAS data, also extremely prone to this issue. Anything you train machine learning datasets like ChatGPT on, where you're compiling unbelievably big datasets to try to "train out" the noise.

These approaches presuppose that sampling depth is enough to "drown out" any other conflicting main effects or interactions. What it actually typically does is obscure the impact of meaningful causative agents (hidden behind conflicting correlation factors you can't control for) and overstate the value of whatever significant main effects do manage to survive and fall out, even if they explain a pitiably small proportion of the variation in the population.

It's a natural response to the wondrous power afforded by modern advances in computing, but it's not a great way to understand a complex natural world.

#sciblr #big data #complaints #this is a small meeting with a lot of clinical focus which is making me even more irritated natch #see also similar complaints when samples are systematically filtered

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raayllum · 7 months ago

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Been also thinking about the line between "the text wasn't meant to be interpreted this way but it's a solid reading / line of critique (with caveats)" (#1) versus "the text wasn't meant to be interpreted this way and doing so actively worsens the story they're trying to tell" (#2).

Going to do some TDP specific examples.

But basically: When your in-depth reading takes away from the Surface Level reading rather than providing contribution, that's usually a good sign you're going into a story with 1) an expectation or reading that was never promised or 2) are weakening the story through a typically unfounded analysis.

A TDP specific example is the relationship between Viren and Harrow. Canonically, textually, they had a brotherly relationship, both in the dialogue that Viren conveys ("I think of you as my brother" / "You're my brother") and in their persistent parallel framing with Callum and Ezran.

However, that doesn't stop many fans (myself included) from reading a romantic and sexual attraction between Viren and Harrow, especially in their youth. Not only do they just have the vibes, parallels to other couples, and subtext, Viren very much places Harrow's importance in his life in a way that's usually reserved for lovers. Viren having been in love (or ongoing) just makes sense. That doesn't mean any of us are expecting TDP to ever make it Canon — like I said, it's canonically very much Not that — but it does add a layer to Viren always wanting to 1) matter to Harrow as much as he does, and 2) his frustration and severance with Harrow because he wasn't getting the acceptance and affection that he wanted.

This is what I would consider #1 avenue: it doesn't take away from their dynamic, and to me adds a layer, but it allows the text to stand as is. Viren wants Harrow's love and attention in the gradual and then sharp deterioration of their dynamic. All I'm changing is a little bit of the why per my personal reading.

Meanwhile, if I went the route of "Yeah I know canon shows Harrow appreciating, taking Viren into account, and smiling at / loving him, but I don't think Harrow cared at all and he was just a bad friend to Viren for years" then... Yeah I could read it that way — it's not as though Harrow or Viren were hardly perfect friends to each other, and Harrow's discard of Viren is harsh (even if it was a long time coming in a lot of ways) — but what does that leave me with? Frustration, maybe; a poor view of Harrow; immense sympathy towards Viren? At best, I'd maybe resent how Viren learns the lessons Harrow was trying to teach him by paying for it with his life; at worst, I'd think the narrative was being fundamentally unfair to Viren without recognizing that his previous modes of self sacrifice were always couched in ego, shirking the immediate consequences of being saved, or that he was routinely willing to sacrifice everyone around him first, including his own children.

This is where we get into area #2, and I see it happen all the time with TDP, whether it's from the series not portraying monarchies as a bad thing or the ever persistent "issue" of dark magic. Quite frankly, it's silly to walk into TDP post-S1 expecting dark magic to be anything beyond — given all the current textual evidence — "morally complicated" magic at best. Yes it can be used for good things, but that doesn't automatically make it good, and while we could spin logistical wheels for ages, the Point the story is Making with dark magic is about power, desperation, love, self-destruction, violation, and agency, and how all those things can overlap or counteract each other. Toting out "well I think dark magic is blanket statement Okay and Good actually" misses all of that, and actively makes your reading and experience with TDP worse. The surface level reading is important to take into account when examining a piece of media, otherwise it can lead to a very warped view and effect your ability to be well founded in your reading of the text.

That doesn't mean you can't desire a more morally neutral form of dark magic — plenty of fantasy series and stories have it, and some I adore (like "the legend of Zelda" — but it does mean accepting the story is never going to broadly speaking do that, and it's Okay that it won't. I'd be silly if I walked into LOZ expecting them to get into the ethics of its form of (non) dark magic of using monsters for spell parts because it's 1) a game mechanic and 2) it's not interested in the ethics of it, and no amount of me saying "well it should be" will change that, nor is it a Story Flaw that it doesn't.

This is all to say that I think asking "Why would the writers do this?" is one of the most useful, if basic, questions to ask when it comes to analysis and when figuring out whether your viewpoint is falling into avenue #1 of being grounded, or avenue #2 of veering towards warped territory.

For example, if I take Rayla not being by Callum's side when he's struggling over the pearl reveal in 6x06 as an indicator she doesn't care about him, I'm doing a deep dive that ignores all the very Surface Level emphasized scenes of Rayla caring about and supporting Callum a whole lot. I could make the claim she doesn't care based on that scene, but it wouldn't be well founded because it's ignoring miles of other much more prevalent, consistent scenes of her being there for him; it's not a well founded claim.

For something less obvious, let's look at 5x08. While Callum could've given Finnegrin the wrong spell on purpose, as some fans have thoughtfully proposed, as a sneaky wink for die hard fans... why would the authors do that? What does the story gain from that reading or intention? Well, it makes it seem like Callum was less desperate in his dealings with Finnegrin, which makes him doing dark magic afterwards come off worse. It also lessens the battle Callum has throughout that episode for feeling in control and recognizing that he can't always be. It's a reading that, in my opinion, not only strays away from the surface level reading, but is one removes elements from the text that the text would otherwise be stronger for having. In comparison, after all, if Callum gave his version of the right spell without thinking it through, he did so entirely out of desperation, which better affirms just how desperate and worn down he had to be to do dark magic, and is another instance in the episode of him feeling very much out of control (especially since we don't see the 3rd with dark magic on screen, so otherwise, we'd only have him punching Finnegrin as an example and nothing else).

Same thing with the old (now debunked) theory of Callum's bio dad being elven in nature. It's an interesting idea, exploring the implications and backstory and how'd grapple with it, but it'd weaken what canon is actively striving for, which is that Callum's magic use is special precisely because he's an ordinary human who's gained primal magic, and having elven ancestry would counteract that. It doesn't mean that the idea isn't a Good one or that it's not fun to explore in fanon, but there's a lot of reasons the story isn't (or decided not to) have it be canon, because it was stronger for the story they Wanted to tell for it not to be.

Sometimes, as fans this means acknowledging that what we want or prefer in a story is just blatantly not what's being set up, because the story is going to do things regardless of what we want or personally like. That doesn't mean those decisions are bad, and it also doesn't mean those elements or decisions or constructions are beyond critique, but it does mean to ask yourself some key questions:

Is there anything my reading is missing? (ie. if TDP shouldn't have monarchs and that's the critical focus, we lose the messages about leadership, family, and legacy that are engaged with through the vessel of hereditary monarchy)

Why might the story or scene go in certain directions? Are there story constraints (time, tone, etc) they have to abide by?

Am I expecting the story to ascribe to my worldview or preference, and am I open to things that don't do that? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Is my in-depth takeaway aligned with a surface level reading? Are both readings working together, or are they opposed? What other surface level readings might be plausible here for a casual viewer?

Even if this is not personally compelling and/or believable to me, does my personal takeaway match up with the characters' responses to it? Why or why not? (Think every Disney movie where they fall in love in 3 days. Realistic? No. Does it matter within the context of the story? Also no)

Again, this is not to say that 1) what the casual takeaway Is is an objective singular monolith (it isn't) or 2) if the casual takeaway and your interpretation is at odds that you're wrong. But through context clues, we can usually narrow it down as to what the story intends, and that if our interpretations do veer heavily to examine why and to manage expectations accordingly.

Anyways hopefully this all made sense Viren x Harrow forever

#the english major strikes again #tdp #tdp meta #the dragon prince #analysis series #analysis

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gold-dust-angel · 2 years ago

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Hmm so it turns out many people consider Ava a bad protagonist and find her annoying??? And that the show is slow??? And that it endorses disability erasure???

I hardly ever fall in love with main leads especially 'the chosen one' types and yet Ava was so easy to get behind and even relatable and I love her so much. And god I wish the show was even slower and it had more episodes like I wanted to see the dynamics between the sisters in depth, Ava and Bea's relationship progressing, little lost moments, their quiet times, their training sessions, them joking around and being normal idk. It still went by too fast?

And I might be wrong here but to me it wasn't disability erasure. Ava's disability is very much a part of her throughout. It's why she spends half the season running away because she hasn't lived yet. It's why she can't give up the halo either. It's why she can't drain the halo too much or can't fight as good as other warrior nuns (minus not being trained yet of course). It's her deepest fear. And it is so fundamental to her and Bea's relationship too like Bea touching her after that fight with Crimson, Bea reassuring her, Bea understanding her fears and hesitance....her disability is a very much constant presence throughout the narrative even though under the surface and ahhhhh I want to scream so bad rn.

I'm straight up not having a good day today and then finding out about these shitty opinions about this beloved sunshine of a character—

Are people allowed to have opinions I don't agree with? Yes.

Do I want to hit them on the head with a stick despite? Also Yes.

Now I'm wondering am I biased because I've read way too many fics and post analysis' and therefore see more depth than there was? Does it even matter?

#do I even need an answer to that last question?#don't mind me #i'm uselessly ranting because I'm sad #my opinions define my love for any media #others opinions can go to hell #ava silva is beloved #bea's darling baby #bea i love you too #sister beatrice #ava silva #save warrior nun #warrior nun #avatrice #ava x beatrice

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emblemxeno · 26 days ago

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Honestly, the thing that pisses me off the most about Fates's story discourse over 3H story discourse is people stretch themselves to find depth in 3H that doesn't exist, while dismissing Fates outright and assuming it has no depth. All entirely rooted out of the fact Fates is a good story with a bad first impression, while 3H is a bad story with a good first impression, and to most viewers, that's all that matters as opposed to the actual critical analysis of the work itself.

Like, look, I get it. A fun fact: Fates's story in the West was actually better received than IF was in Japan, as while Fates ultimately had a few proud troopers (usually at college-level analysis) who understood what was actually being said, IF apparently botched the script given by Kibayashi badly enough (including much of subtext in Japanese making very little sense on top of poor diction, in the language all about poor diction and subtext) that Treehouse had to clean-up and fix as much as they could while working with the flaws, which is why they were super heavy on people reading into the subtext to get Kibayashi's vision. I get why people make that mistake and assume because the impression is bad it's all bad, we've seen that with so many works of fiction in the past!

But what gets me is when somebody dismisses perfectly good content with tons of depth, meaning and value solely based on first impressions, while giving a pass to anything with a good first impression even when the logic and rhetoric does not follow through. And like, I get why people do this. First impressions matter a lot and is defaulted in being a survival strategy, where you often can't verify what somebody is like except by the immediate first glance of judgement; what separates us between "us" versus "them". And I get why people do this with IRL people, it's why I work so hard to give a good first impression… but fucking honestly, a lot of these stories are fiction, with the information searchable online. You can read about fundamentally crucial plot points and the truth behind the work just from looking up the information online! Video games aren't reality, and thus don't need to actually require the first impression rule… but for most people, it does anyways, and causes people to dismiss perfectly valid or solid content solely not based on the quality it has, but based on bad first impressions in works either unintentionally (FE Fates, Ayane Matsunaga in Persona 4, etc.), or maliciously misrepresented due to author bias (SMT Law, Leon Kuwata in DR1, etc.). What causes me to get so annoyed is when people dismiss what the author has to say or go full on "death of the author" like the author or narrative's input or opinion doesn't matter. It does. You cannot divorce context from the author's ideas and thesis and make it what you want, you've created a fanfiction then! And then you have so many FE fans just assume Fates has no depth whatsoever and that people have to justify to like it, even when it very clearly does in its main text that people reject because it's not a good first impression… it's a vicious cycle rooted in initial fans' disappointment of it not being Edgelord/Villain FE4 like they hoped and instead being... very empathetic and not afraid to have a protagonist (especially male one) have emotions and not afraid to share weakness or cry. And what infuriates me is that when you present evidence that proves the first impression wrong… many people double down and don't actually correct themselves based on the information! That's what infuriates me, as it's a failure to be a good person or care about doing the right thing!

It annoys me as much as it does as somebody who's worked with Autistic kids and is Autistic, and I know the pain of feeling like your insights are rejected based on first impressions than the actual truth of the matter. People need to accept that whatever interpretations of canon they have on a story is irrelevant versus the express purpose of the text, as stated by the devs, because without having the truth, how can one hope to be a good person? "Follow your own justice" with your eyes blind and ears deaf to the consequences of your actions? No, that's when people get hurt, and I get especially vocal because Fates – especially Conquest – has a downright brilliant story that's layered underneath a ton of bad first impressions, and while I get the rule of making judgements based on presentation, that's still not a reason to dismiss the context or spread blatant misinformation or misrepresentation on what is actually happening in the story. If you cannot expressly or accurately talk about the context of what happens in the story divorced from your own headcanons and actually sourced arguments from the text and author's Word of God, you're not qualified to actually talk about it. End of story.

Like, I don't know about what others think, but if I'm giving a bad first impression and say a bunch of things, and then are presented with evidence said bad first impression is wrong… I immediately apologize to the person or thing I've offended, delete anything that I've said that was incorrect about it and firmly stand by them over said first impressions. It's not hard, and it doesn't make you lesser for admitting you were operating on faulty information. What does make you lesser is when you reject that evidence or truth to double down and not actually focus on doing the right thing by correcting your information! I genuinely don't understand it, because it's like somebody being tried at court, evidence comes up that clears their name, and the jury rejects it because, oh I dunno, they're something like a non-offending person with pedophilic disorder (just an example of how a stigmatized group can bias people by conviction via public opinion, and that is ALL I'll say about that land mine), or a communist in the 1950s/anarchist in the 1920s. It doesn't make any sense!

Obviously, bad first impressions shouldn't be dismissed entirely, especially when it turns out to be true... and most of the time, they do! If something stinks of awfulness, chances are it is awful. But the thing that really aggravates me is how much people don't realize they're misrepresenting something that isn't even bad, just poorly understood and continuously misrepresented. There are works that give a bad impression that are bad and works that give a good impression that are good. But I always found it frustrating how people chose the one with good impressions but bad intent or logic over the one one bad impressions but good intent or logic, even when that's not remotely the truth nor is it accurate to the context or subtext. And personally, I'd happily sooner look past something with a bad impression that is actually good, versus something with a good impression that is actually bad. This is what frustrates me about how 3H is given a pass while Fates gets shit when if you actually analyze the text from a college-level reading ability, you begin to see it's the reverse; Fates is downright genius if you actually interlayer the context and subtext, while 3H just flat-out falls apart.

I will say, though, it certainly didn't do favors for my faith in people's ability to read and appreciate canon text. I already have tons of faith in humanity; stuff like the above makes me honestly lack faith in people's ability to be rational or intelligent about context. All I will say is if people like Odovakar's abysmal Fates analysis (asking anonymously so look it up) were given to a college-level course, he'd fail straight out of that exam.

I wish I can go more in-depth like this post deserves, because you make a lot of good points. It's just a lot all at once haha.

What I will say is that while I slightly disagree with the idea that audience reaction has no relevance, this discussion does remind me of what I'm studying in uni right now, things like structuralism vs post structuralism.

What we deal with when it comes to the FE fandom is heavy, heavy doses of post-structuralist (acknowledgement of multiple valid interpretations) analysis that is spun as structuralist (one true meaning that is stable and predictable).

Ultimately, where the best literary and analytical thought comes from is the recognition of both author circumstances and the resulting text product having an impact on an individual's perception of the product.

I dislike 3H's story based on this "equation"; a significant amount of lore that serves little to the plot, characters' entire beings are undercut by the whims of the player insert, and no deep or thought provoking theme beyond whatever each route wants to serve to you leading to the game lacking a strong core (this is within the product) + the devs and writers literally admitting that their product 'gained a life on its own', that there was no one person who knew everything in the plot, and no one in the room telling them to fucking stop (author circumstances) = my perception of the story being that it's a dreadful mess that doesn't know what it wants to be beyond a lore simulator with cute characters who you teach and have tea with.

That's my personalized reaction backed up by subjective analytical thought, as well as sourced facts/circumstances and standard literary criticism. Now I can't expect every single person to go through those steps, but as you said, it's as if the first impression and surface level shit supersedes all of the muck that is under 3H's story, whereas with Fates, the first impression is so irrevocably bad to most people that almost fucking nobody is willing to even entertain that it may have a good story without first coating their sentiments with irony, sarcasm, or timid apologies in advance.

It's so utterly transparent, and so utterly unpopular to point out, because that's the type of gunked up social contract that the community has created and perpetuated. Breaking that resigns someone to mockery, shame, or plain confusion.

But like you, I care immensely about things past first impressions and how things are presented. Why else would I talk about these games years past they've released.

Anyway, thanks for the ask. I never heard of the Japanese reaction to IF being worse than the Western reaction to Fates. I will admit, it's hard to swallow, but I recognize that it's because of the culture I'm inundated with and involved in, so my bias in is full force. Really, all I know was the shit that was completely changed, added, or removed from the JP script to the localized one, but were I to look into it more, I bet I'd see what you're talking about regarding the text in its native language.

#fire emblem discourse #fire emblem fates

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lakesbian · 1 year ago

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i was pondering some Thoughts about how people sometimes refer to worm as a "found family" story (& how this is sometimes mocked), how in-text alec explicitly says that the undersiders are the closest thing rachel has to family, how taylor tells them "you're my family, in a way," how the found family trope works in general, etc.

access to financial support, housing, medical care, And So On, is primarily attached to the institution of the family. the material necessities provided by membership to a nuclear family are why it's so common for people to reconcile with or keep in touch with family members they wouldn't if there was no material value attached to that relationship. the cultural prioritization of the nuclear family is how we get people offering "well, they're family" as an explanation for remaining associated with someone they wouldn't otherwise care about (or would even actively be trying to escape from, but this post is more about just Social Incompatibility in families than the outright abuse that the structure enables), with the expectation that the explanation is considered to make inherent sense.

aside from the found family trope demonstrating a lack of imagination about non-familial ways important relationships can take shape/demonstrating an inability to see relationships as truly important or deep unless they mimic the nuclear family, i think a lot of what appeals about the found family trope is a character dynamic that provides the same support, security, and undying love/depth of connection that the idealized nuclear family is purported to--and that does so as an escape from and superior replacement to the original blood family.

and what's interesting about the undersiders is that they're extremely not that. they're terrible at communicating. many of them don't get on with each other very well. they're oftentimes even actively shitty to each other: everyone but taylor towards rachel, brian towards alec (and aisha, but she's actually related to him), taylor towards alec and aisha. but there's still repeated in-text acknowledgement of a supposed familial dynamic between them! i think they're a "found family" in the sense that their group imitates the general role of the nuclear family--a small unit of people who (are supposed to) function as each other's fundamental supports in a world that, at large, does not care about any individual member, and who (are supposed to) do so regardless of any internal conflicts or lack of compatibility.

like, this is not a particularly articulate analysis of the nuclear family Whatsoever, but i don't think it's inaccurate to say that the compelling thing about the undersiders is that they are a "found family," but specifically in the sense that a lot of their dysfunctions are reminiscent of those found in typical, real-life familial bonds--people who wouldn't necessarily be getting along otherwise, or are even actively sorta bad for each other, forming very deep & intimate connections simply because they're materially forced to spend a lot of time together and have each others backs when there's no guarantee anyone else will.

for example: alec and aisha call taylor + brian 'team mom and dad' in a mocking manner not to indicate that they're kind/caring, but to indicate that they're being condescending micro-managing assholes...who aisha and alec are going to unquestionably listen to anyway, because they're a team, right? and you have to listen to your team leaders. i am onto an Observation here i think. deeply compelled by the idea of a ""found family"" where all of the similarities to an actual nuclear family are, despite being what drives the intimacy, also blatantly fucking dysfunctional

#worm spoilers #parahumans #wormblr #ive connected the dots. you havent connected shit

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regulusrules · 11 months ago

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Yo, I saw your post about orientalism in relation to the "hollywood middle-east" tiktok!

How can a rando and university dropout get into and learn more about? Any literature or other content to recommend?

Hi!! Wow, you have no idea how you just pressed a button. I'll unleash 5+ years on you. And I'll even add for you open-sourced works that you can access as much as I can!

1. Videos

I often find this is the best medium nowadays to learn anything! I'll share with you some of the best that deal with the topic in different frames

• This is a video of Edward Said talking about his book, Orientalism. Said is the Palestinian- American critic who first introduced the term Orientalism, and is the father of postcolonial studies as a critical literary theory. In this book, you’ll find an in-depth analysis of the concept and a deconstruction of western stereotypes. It’s very simple and he explains everything in a very easy manner.

• How Islam Saved Western Civilization. A more than brilliant lecture by Professor Roy Casagranda. This, in my opinion, is one of the best lectures that gives credit to this great civilization, and takes you on a journey to understand where did it all start from.

• What’s better than a well-researched, general overview Crash Course about Islam by John Green? This is not necessarily on orientalism but for people to know more about the fundamental basis of Islam and its pillars. I love the whole playlist that they have done about the religion, so definitely refer to it if you're looking to understand more about the historical background! Also, I can’t possibly mention this Crash Course series without mentioning ... ↓

• The Medieval Islamicate World. Arguably my favourite CC video of all times. Hank Green gives you a great thorough depiction of the Islamic civilization when it rose. He also discusses the scientific and literary advancements that happened in that age, which most people have no clue about! And honestly, just his excitement while explaining the astrolabe. These two truly enlightened so many people with the videos they've made. Thanks, @sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog

2. Documentaries

• This is an AMAZING documentary called Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Villifies A People by the genius American media critic Jack Shaheen. He literally analysed more than 1000 movies and handpicked some to showcase the terribly false stereotypes in western depiction of Arab/Muslim cultures. It's the best way to go into the subject, because you'll find him analysing works you're familiar with like Aladdin and all sorts.

• Spain’s Islamic Legacy. I cannot let this opportunity go to waste since one of my main scopes is studying feminist Andalusian history. There are literal gems to be known about this period of time, when religious coexistence is documented to have actually existed. This documentary offers a needed break from eurocentric perspectives, a great bird-view of the Islamic civilization in Europe and its remaining legacy (that western history tries so hard to erase).

• When the Moors Ruled in Europe. This is one of the richest documentaries that covers most of the veiled history of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). Bettany Hughes discusses some of the prominent rulers, the brilliance of architecture in the Arab Muslim world, their originality and contributions to poetry and music, their innovative inventions and scientific development, and lastly, La Reconquista; the eventual fall and erasure of this grand civilization by western rulers.

3. Books

• Rethinking Orientalism by Reina Lewis. Lewis brilliantly breaks the prevailing stereotype of the “Harem”, yk, this stupid thought westerns projected about arab women being shut inside one room, not allowed to go anywhere from it, enslaved and without liberty, just left there for the sexual desires of the male figures, subjugated and silenced. It's a great read because it also takes the account of five different women living in the middle east.

• Nocturnal Poetics by Ferial Ghazoul. A great comparative text to understand the influence and outreach of The Thousand and One Nights. She applies a modern critical methodology to explore this classic literary masterpiece.

• The Question of Palestine by Edward Said. Since it's absolutely relevant, this is a great book if you're looking to understand more about the Palestinian situation and a great way to actually see the perspective of Palestinians themselves, not what we think they think.

• Arab-American Women's Writing and Performance by S.S. Sabry. One of my favourite feminist dealings with the idea of the orient and how western depictions demeaned arab women by objectifying them and degrading them to objects of sexual desire, like Scheherazade's characterization: how she was made into a sensual seducer, but not the literate, brilliantly smart woman of wisdom she was in the eastern retellings. The book also discusses the idea of identity and people who live on the hyphen (between two cultures), which is a very crucial aspect to understand arabs who are born/living in western countries.

• The Story of the Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole. This is a great book if you're trying to understand the influence of Islamic culture on Europe. It debunks this idea that Muslims are senseless, barbaric people who needed "civilizing" and instead showcases their brilliant civilization that was much advanced than any of Europe in the time Europe was labelled by the Dark Ages. (btw, did you know that arabic was the language of knowledge at that time? Because anyone who was looking to study advanced sciences, maths, philosophy, astronomy etc, had to know arabic because arabic-speaking countries were the center of knowledge and scientific advancements. Insane, right!)

• Convivencia and Medieval Spain. This is a collection of essays that delve further into the idea of “Convivencia”, which is what we call for religious coexistence. There's one essay in particular that's great called Were Women Part of Convivencia? which debunks all false western stereotypical images of women being less in Islamic belief. It also highlights how arab women have always been extremely cultured and literate. (They practiced medicine, studied their desired subjects, were writers of poetry and prose when women in Europe couldn't even keep their surnames when they married.)

4. Novels / Epistolaries

• Granada by Radwa Ashour. This is one of my favourite novels of all time, because Ashour brilliantly showcases Andalusian history and documents the injustices and massacres that happened to Muslims then. It covers the cultural erasure of Granada, and is also a story of human connection and beautiful family dynamics that utterly touches your soul.

• Dreams of Trespass by Fatma Mernissi. This is wonderful short read written in autobiographical form. It deconstructs the idea of the Harem in a postcolonial feminist lens of the French colonization of Morocco.

• Scheherazade Goes West by Fatma Mernissi. Mernissi brilliantly showcases the sexualisation of female figures by western depictions. It's very telling, really, and a very important reference to understand how the west often depicts middle-eastern women by boxing them into either the erotic, sensual beings or the oppressed, black-veiled beings. It helps you understand the actual real image of arab women out there (who are not just muslims btw; christian, jew, atheist, etc women do exist, and they do count).

• Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. This is a feminist travel epistolary of a British woman which covers the misconceptions that western people, specifically male travelers, had recorded and transmitted about the religion, traditions and treatment of women in Constantinople, Turkey. It is also a very insightful sapphic text that explores her own engagement with women there, which debunks the idea that there are no queer people in the middle east.

---------------------

With all of these, you'll get an insight about the real arab / islamic world. Not the one of fanaticism and barbarity that is often mediated, but the actual one that is based on the fundamental essences of peace, love, and acceptance.

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cheeekycharchar · 2 years ago

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"Shame and guilt have followed humanity since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden."

Good Omens; a story of an Angel that can't accept love because of shame and a Demon that can't accept forgiveness because of guilt.

"It'd be funny if we both got it wrong, eh? If I did the good thing and you did the bad one."

An in-depth analysis of an Angel suffering from shame and a Demon wracked with guilt.

Let's dive deeper below the cut!

[Now I'm going to lay down a lot of facts, definitions and minimal psychological babble and I want you, as the reader, to view this through your GO nerd glasses. Also, I want to express that I am not a therapist or religious in any way- this was all done as academic research for the fandom's sake cause I can't shut my brain up. I tried to organize it the best I could. ..sorry it's so long but I swear it's worth the read through! ;)]

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• Shame is the painful emotion you have when you perceive that you are not good enough in some way. Entirely self imposed and only known to you, shame can be an unpleasant self-conscious feeling often associated with negative self-evaluation. When shame is chronic, it makes you believe that you are fundamentally flawed, defective, dishonorable, immoral, or improper.

• Guilt is a negative feeling of worry or unhappiness that you get because you have done something wrong. It's a moral emotion that occurs when a person believes or realizes- accurately or not- that they have compromised their own standards of conduct or have violated universal moral standards and bear significant responsibility for it. When guilt is chronic, it can be a toxic emotion that could cause a person to take on unjust responsibility if things around them go wrong. They are quick to accept that everything is their fault even though it isn't.

While guilt is about wrong actions, shame is about being wrong as a person.

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In academic psychology, shame is associated with avoiding failure and its consequences while guilt is connected with forgiving and improving one's self, along with making amends.

Guilt and Shame are often confused for each other but there’s a big difference between the two. Guilt can help you understand how your actions impact others, but shame is an inward-facing emotion that reflects how you feel about yourself. (And I do realize that Aziraphale may, at times, feel guilt and Crowley can also feel a sense of shame. But the main motivation behind majority of their characterizations and actions throughout the series are both coming from these two different feelings.)

Guilt can help you move forward while shame keeps you stuck in the past. [such as the "We could have been.. us." and "You go too fast for me." scenes] And the only way to rid themselves of these negative emotions is through recovery with unconditional love and forgiveness.

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• How Aziraphale represents the concept of shame •

Shame tricks you into believing that you aren't good. That you are worthless. Not that you've done something bad, but that you are bad. Ever since Aziraphale gave away his flaming sword, he started to question himself. But it wasn't until he outright lies to his fellow Angel's about the true fate of Job's children that he truly believes he has fallen- that he violated God's word and lied (again). He believes there must be something truly wrong with who he is as an Angel. He's a flawed creation of God and he feels a dreaded sense of deep shame from this.

Feelings of shame can also present itself in different types such as, Chronic Shame (negative emotions all the time that you aren't good enough), Performance Shame (feeling as though you are inferior compared to others) and Shame from Unrequited Love (this is a feeling of not being good enough for another person T^T).

Shame is a harmful, negative emotion that when internalized enough can result in an overly harsh evaluation of oneself.

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Next, let's take a closer look at what defines shame and how it operates through Aziraphale:

• Being Defensive is a way to avoid taking responsibility for our behavior.

"I don't need you." "And the feeling is mutual!"

• Perfectionism is the unrealistic desire to be perfect and is often a defense against shame. If we’re perfect, no one can criticize us; no one can shame us. We keep up a front that looks good to the world. We may spend a lot of time attending to our dress and looks.

"I do have standards."

• Apologizing constantly. Shame can prompt us to be overly apologetic and compliant.

"I did the 'I was wrong' dance in…"

• Procrastination can occur from a deep hidden shame. If we consider pursuing something and it doesn’t turn out well, we might be paralyzed by that feeling. If we never try, then we don’t have to face possible failure and subsequent shame.

"You go too fast for me, Crowley.."

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Next are the four category behaviors resulting from shame:

• The Hot Response These are things you do when you feel ashamed and defensive, such as lashing out in anger or attacking the other person to deflect attention from yourself.

"I don't even like you!" [always resorts to being defensive in any argument]

• Behaviors to Cope With or Conceal the Shame These behaviors include doing things to make yourself feel small, trying to avoid being the center of attention, or not sharing your thoughts or feelings. Concealing yourself is a method of self-protection.

[always awkward and can't speak openly around other Angels]

• Safety Behaviors to Avoid Shame or Being Discovered This category of shame behaviors might be things like apologizing, crying, or avoiding conflict. People who have a tendency toward being emotional or avoiding conflict may be more likely to engage in safety behaviors.

"Why? What's wrong? I mean.. if there is something wrong.."

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The Impact of Feeling Shame:

• Makes you feel like you are flawed or there is something wrong with you

"I'm like you now. A demon. I'm a fallen angel.." • Can lead to social withdrawal

[spends most of his time in the bookshop alone] • May cause you to become defensive and shame others in return "I'm an angel! And you're a demon!" • May cause you to inflate your ego to hide the belief that you don’t have value

"Well, I am a great deal holier than thou. That's the whole point." • May leave you feeling empty, lonely, or worn out

"But I thought you said it wasn't [lonely]?" • May lead to lowered self-esteem

"I'm.. soft." • May make it harder for you to trust other people

"Obviously, you're lying. You're a demon. That's what you do." • May lead to perfectionism or overachievement to try and counteract your feelings of shame

"If I can just reach the right people and resolve all of this-" "That's not going to happen! How could somebody as clever as you be so stupid!?" • May cause you to engage in people pleasing

"Doing good again, Angel? "Oh, hardly counts. Purely for selfish reasons." • May cause you to avoid talking because you are afraid to say the wrong thing

[trying to explain to Metatron in S1 without revealing too much] • May cause compulsive or excessive behaviors like overworking, excessive cleaning, or having too high of standards in general

[non stop research all day and night to look for the antichrist by himself]

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• How Crowley represents the concept of guilt •

Guilt is what you feel after committing a specified or perceived offence/crime/bad action. It's typically attached to a feeling you experience when you do something wrong on purpose or accidentally and can regret that action. Guilt can be morally ambiguous.

"Well, maybe there is something to be said for.. shades of grey?" "..Shades of dark grey."

Signs of guilt are unique but these are the most common (again there are many but these I thought related to Crowley the best):

• Low self-esteem

*sighs* "Don't bother..."

• Excessive attempts at reparation [Crowley always trying to secretly help humanity when he can]

• Being unable to meet someone’s gaze

[Covering his eyes not only hides his snake eyes but also his guilty feelings]

• Anxiety "We are fucked!" [and we all know TV!Crowley is 100% more anxiety ridden than Book!Crowley is lol]

• Trouble sleeping [Sleeps too long (100 year nap from book). Or can't get comfortable sleeping (from S1 deleted scene)]

• Depressed mood

"What's even the point.. everything seems.. pointless.."

• Avoidance of people, places, or events linked to the cause of guilt "I'm not going to be joining their team and neither should you!" [doesn't want to return to Heaven or Hell and is "on his own side" to avoid them further] • Shifts in energy levels [can be giddy/jumpy one second to morose/moody the next, etc]

• Emotional outbursts

"I'm just so angry!"

• Appetite changes

[took up drinking alcohol even though its unnatural to]

• Making amends [spends every moment since Eden trying to secretly do good despite the hellish consequences]

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Defense mechanisms against feeling guilty can become an overriding aspect of one's personality. (These are also related to trauma response.)

• Displacement is a defensive tool that may take the form of blaming the victim or taking your feelings out on others.

"You know what you've done. You've disappointed me."

• Projection is sharing the unacceptable feelings/qualities onto others, thereby being less alone with it.

"But that sounds.." "Lonely?"

• Self-harm may be used as an alternative to compensating from one's past transgression. Not just physical self-harm but not allowing yourself to enjoy opportunities or benefits as a result of uncompensated guilty feelings.

[always holding himself back for 6k years from saying what he truly feels and won't allow himself to be with Aziraphale the way he really wants]

• Repression is subconsciously blocking or forgetting harmful/traumatic memories. "Right.. looking at where the furniture isn't.." [doesn't remember his time in Heaven in detail- whether from trauma response or just had his memory wiped]

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Behavioral responses to guilt can be associated with the moral of their character. Feelings of guilt can prompt virtuous behavior.

"You shouldn't test them to destruction.."

People who feel guilty may be more likely to: • Exercise restraint [holds his true feelings back for Aziraphale for centuries]

• Avoid self-indulgence [only really has his car and plants in the end]

• Exhibit less prejudice [is more open and accepting of other's sins - such as helping during the Scottish bodysnatching scenes]

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Guilt can prompt reparatory behaviors (actions to make amends) to help alleviate these negative emotions. People tend to engage in these reparatory behaviors toward the persons they wronged. Some religions theorize that forgiveness of sin (even those committed by accident or ignorance) is exclusively through repentance.

Crowley, being the wily serpent that tempted Eve to eat the forbidden apple of knowledge and subsequently getting her and Adam kicked out of paradise on Earth- and thusly creating the first sin of humanity. Right away, Crowley feels guilt from this.

After all, he was just told to stir up some trouble and had no idea the consequences of his first temptation on the future generations of human existence. Ignorantly doing something considered wrong and getting exiled.. this mistake would forever haunt him. He knows the pain and trauma from unwittingly doing something insignificant and being punished severely for it (such as asking questions or eating an apple) yet he accidentally made the first of God's new creatures "fall" in their own way from Eden. It's because of this guilt that Crowley spends the next 6000 years secretly rebelling against Hell to help humanity in any way he can to redeem himself.

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That's why their first conversation (post Fall from Heaven) on the wall of Eden was SO important to their relationship with each other and themselves.

"Oh, I do hope I didn't do the wrong thing." "It'd be funny if we both got it wrong. If I did the good thing and you did the bad one." "No. No! It wouldn't be funny at all!"

I think the reason Crowley always seems to be one step ahead of Aziraphale (in more ways than one) is because, in a sense, guilt is easier to resolve from than shame.

If you acknowledge your mistake and the person chooses to take the steps to improve and change for the better, then they can recover from those negative feelings. They can work through the guilt by repairing the transgression or learning from it.

Whereas shame can only intensify inwardly and be harder to face because your mind is telling you that you are the bad thing, that you are the mistake. This makes it harder to overcome. And the only way to truly recover from shame is unconditional love and forgiveness- for yourself.

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“Instead of your shame, you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion, they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land, they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs.” (Isaiah 61:7)

And in S2.. we can see they both hold regret for their actions at the end of episode 6. If you look at every choice, ever misstep, every argument and their occasional confusion in understanding one another, you can see how Aziraphale was written with shame as a main part of his personality and Crowley written with guilt.

Two feelings that are often confused for one another but differ slightly in their own ways. The motivation behind every word they utter and every action they make throughout the series is built on the foundation of these two fundamentally negative and often traumatizing feelings.

There is a possibility to recover from shame and guilt and I have a feeling that S3's plot line will be all about recovery.

And that's what the concept of that Second Coming storyline might be all about. The New Testament says, "In Jesus Christ, God took upon Himself the sins of the world and died on the cross to pay mankind's debt" (Rom 6:23). "Those who repent and accept Christ's sacrifice for their sins, will be redeemed by God and thus not guilty before Him. They will be granted eternal life which will take effect after the Second Coming of Christ" (1 Thess 4:13–18).

A second chance. Forgiveness and Recovery from Sin.

And what is the story of Adam and Eve if not about humanity's Original Sin?

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Remember, after all is said and done, the antidote for shame is love, and guilt is cured through forgiveness.

Two things a certain Angel and Demon struggle with accepting from each other but are more than willing to give to one another.

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[…There! I made myself sad again, lol. Thank you for reading this far! Sorry it was crazy long but I really enjoyed putting this all together into semi-comprehensible words (though stupid tumblr made me delete a bunch of pictures I had as examples…). Also, on a final side note- if you are ever experiencing overwhelming shame or guilt in anyway (which can result in depression or worse if not dealt with) please make sure you reach out to someone or seek professional help in some way. Take care, everyone! ^-^]

#Good Omens #Good Omens meta #Good Omens theories #Good Omens speculations #ineffable husbands #ineffable idiots #Crowley #Aziraphale #sorry it's so long.. it was longer #and had more pictures #but stupid tumblr restricted me lol #give me season 3 or give me death #good omens analysis #Neil Gaiman #Terry Pratchett #david tennant #michael sheen #I THINK I CRACKED THE CODE lol

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