#but saying it's bad is irrespective of whether you liked it or not! it's the system.

[theclassicsreader]

they should invent a grad school that isn't bad

[theastrohub]

friendship synastry 👯‍♀️

@astrobaeza observations vol. 3

in conversations and the use of synastry, it’s often associated with romantic relationships. however, while love is a central theme in life, friendship is equally, if not more, significant. after all, the strongest relationships often begin as friendships or platonic connections. even though you don’t typically consider astrology when forming organic friendships, examining your friends' charts alongside your own can offer insights into how you can better complement each other's lives.

*disclaimer: these are my opinions. if you have a different take, share them in the comments please and thank youu.

to compliment this post, I am now offering friendship synastry readings for $40! this service will provide you an outline of the compatibility between you and (1) friendship of your choice, karmic aspects, the purpose of the relationship and how to strengthen your bonds and be a better friend. PM me for a sample reading, only 5 slots are open for right now!

here are some observations I had:

彡 their planets in your 1st house 一 love at first sight. first house synastry amongst friends is like the friend you made your first day of junior high and became the godparent to your child since you are that locked in. I say love at first sight because much like it, you guys were probably very drawn to each other immediately and maybe became inseparable. this makes for a powerful bond where they strengthen your self image and identity, helping you become more confident in self expression. everything flows quite easily whether it be communication, vitality, beauty, and/or harmony. this is one of the best synastry placements in my opinion as it's the most open-ended and the pros outweigh the cons.

彡 their planets in your 2nd house 一 the hype-man / woman friend. the friend who you go to for outfit and makeup opinions, the one you give your haul to when buying new things. the person that can really boost your confidence (and also make you feel really bad about yourself). the friendship is focused on money - making but especially spending it. you guys love to go out to eat, try new things, and be a tad bit boujee together. this is also someone who shapes your mindset as this is probably a friendship on shared values (if it's healthy) - **they have a direct impact on how you feel about yourself. if your self image is unstable, this synastry can be detrimental to your wellbeing so be careful.

彡 their planets in your 3rd house 一 the yappers. there is a mutual love of talking specifically to one another. your minds are on the same page as is your intellect and it makes for a lovely bond on shared interests. according to my poll, most of you guys are mercury-dominant. my mercury-dominant readers, find you a friend you share 3rd house synastry with!! this will make you feel more comfortable in your innate self-expression and have better quality of friendships.

彡 their planets in your 4th house 一 the my friends are my family placement. this friendship dynamic makes for someone who feels very safe with you. the bond, irrespective of what you guys do together, is built on a foundation of trust and reliability. you guys most likely are very close, maybe your families are very close or familiar with one another. you guys spend time at each other's homes hanging out a lot, maybe you have sleepovers. you are familiar with one another's cultures, maybe this is a friendship on shared backgrounds or cultures.

ex 1: lilo and stitch share 4th and 11th synastry. they care for each other like family <3

彡 their planets in your 5th house 一 girls just wanna have fun! you guys do everything together and see each other as the fun friend or the goodtime friend. this can be bad but for the most part the pros outweigh the cons. you lovee each other's company and seek each other out whenever you're about to go do something fun. this is the friendship where you share your dating life with, maybe go out to meet people with or talk about love matters with. you might have more dating options being friends with them. they can show you something you are missing when it comes to matters of casual dating and encourage you to put yourself out there more. this synastry also indicates a relationship where your kids might be very close with them as well, or view them as a prolific " cool aunty/uncle" figure.

彡 their planets in your 6th house 一 workout buddies. you guys most likely workout together, share new diet fads and weight-loss tips together and keep each other healthy. maybe one or both of you are athletic or athletes and you inspire each other to really sweat. there is a lot of wisdom to be shared here in matters of work and routine and they can illuminate something you are missing or aspire to do for your job. this friendship dynamic is centered around being of service in practical matters that will help long term. the friend who either uplevels or diminishes your lifestyle.

彡 their planets in your 7th house 一 the friend who's a significant other. since seventh house synastry in romance is considered ideal for "marriage", this is the friendship that truly fulfills your platonic love languages. when your bf or gf is being annoying, they are right there ready to love on you! just joking, but in its best, this synastry really serves as an example of how you want to be loved in a romantic partnership. this is the friend you talk about deep romantic commitments with and your ideal partner, your relationship problems, and have right by your side when taking that big step in getting married. this friendship is centered around the more serious aspects of life like marriage, if you want to start a business, long-term partnerships. the friend you might trust to do business with or manage your business. friends I've had this synastry with I go to for help with the real stuff. members of the opposite gender that I've had this synastry with I've ended up crushing on or vice versa. at its worst, this can result in a friend who openly dislikes you and may even bully you.

彡 their planets in your 8th house 一 the friend who's damn near a significant other. someone who transforms you, for good or for worse. much like 11th house, they show you how to manage your money and resources and to take pride in them. someone you can trust with heavy stuff, the person you go to when you need to cry or vent. this is the friend that will keep you in check because they really do care about you and your emotional well-being. the friend you talk about your s3x life with or lack theorof -- the friendship where nothing is weird. a negative manifestation is someone who tries to control you and your resources, is way too obsessed with you and overpowers your autonomy. can cross major boundaries without you realizing.

ex2: Blair and Serena share 4th and 8th house synastry. their intense friendship is characterized by major transformations and sharing of ahem resources (men and clothes lol)

彡 their planets in your 9th house 一 philosophical friendship. you guys come from the same religious or spiritual background, have a connection through shared belief systems, may be the friend you met in high-school or university or through some form of formal learning. the friend that traveling with can shape how you view the world or the friend that wants to travel with you. someone who expands or limits your belief system about yourself and the world. you love sharing ideas and having deep conversations with them as they are receptive to these talks.

彡 their planets in your 10th house 一 you achieve new social standings together. they might love being seen with you, love going to important places. they might expand your reputation or lead you to alignment in matters of your career and legacy. on the flipside, they can harm your public reputation. you most likely have similar ambitions and this friendship keeps one another on the straight and narrow. this is a little bit more stale, but good for ambitious individuals. you guys strategize together, plan for the future, and can even build an empire through continuously bouncing ideas off of one another. they are very supportive of your professional ambitions and want to see you accomplish your biggest goals and be there every step of the way.

彡 their planets in your 11th house 一 you achieve goals together. this is for people who value dependable, stable friendships centered around longevity and shared vision for the future. like instead of a power-couple you're a power friendship duo. someone who can help you make money, someone you love socializing specifically networking with, the friend that shows up for you time and time again. the visionary friend that supports your craziest theories and dreams. the friend you introduce to your other friend groups without fear of overlap or not fitting in.

彡 their planets in your 12th house 一 spiritual friendship. they see you for who you are, and who you might not even see yourself to be. they highlight traits that you want to embody more of, and can really almost gentle parent you in new directions. this dynamic can result in a mentor style friendship and can grow into a deep bond that transcends mundane things. I've seen this synastry in friendships where one person guides the other into a new religion or way of living life as a whole. they can heal any wounds to your subconscious mind and help you process anything that's cumbersome mentally. this can be very beautiful, and develop into an unconditional bond, where they are there for you through thick and thin. on the flip side, they can be someone who is elusive and seeks to secretly harm you under the guise of friendship.

pt 2 coming soon.

thank you for reading 💋

@astrobaeza

for more: [ paidservices ₊ masterlist ₊ tips ] // gif by @bffspo + @gossipgirlfanblog

[fairuzfan]

I think what really frustrates me about accusations of antisemitism when we say certain crimes are committed by the Israeli government towards Palestinians is that there is this base assumption that the individual identities of the people in the Israeli state are subject to individualization and identification but then we come across Hamas and all the resistance movements and people automatically categorize them as "good" or "bad" who either are "supported" or "not supported" by Palestinians. Aside from the fact that there are diverse political opinions within Palestine, people always seem to separate Hamas as a uniquely terrible group that only seeks to inflict violence irrespective of their current status of people under occupation not knowing how to change their circumstances and not afforded any contextualization.

When Palestinians talk about certain crimes against us perpetuated by the state of Israel we're told "that's libel" because our oppressors draw their identification as a nation-state as a "Jewish" state. In the same breath they condemn Hamas for killing Israelis and being uniquely antisemitic and not because they're actually fighting for any liberation. Forget the larger political context — the situation in which this exists is irrelevant in the short term analysis of how Hamas is "A Terror Organization".

Hamas is a result of circumstance. They wouldn't exist if the occupation didn't exist. You can't deny that hamas is the direct result of israel, and not because of the incendiary things that came out about who funded hamas or whatever — they are, at their core, a resistance movement against a colonial force.

And yeah, there are Palestinians that have said they don't like Hamas I guess but that... doesn't really matter to people who aren't Palestinian. The reasons they don't like Hamas are within their context of occupational circumstances. You can't just take quotes of Palestinians saying they don't like Hamas and frame it outside of their circumstance as a people living under an occupation. It would be dishonest not to mention that the greatest threat Palestinians face is the occupation. We (Palestinians) all acknowledge that. The differences in political opinion within Palestinian society aren't applicable to Israelis and non-Palestinians because you are not affected by Palestinian society in the same way that Palestinians are affected by Israeli and USAmerican society.

Israelis literally debate in open courts about whether or not to shoot unarmed Palestinians who hold rocks. There are no such discussions in Palestinian society. There are no systems really that can allow for Palestinians to feel like they actually have a political representative. Fatah, or the PA, is just a blatant puppet of the Israeli government. No one trusts them lol. So which avenues are we supposed to turn to when we are shot even as we peacefully protest? If our avenues rely on Israelis to decide that for us, then is that liberation? Is that freedom?

There is just a deep, deep dishonesty in people's treatment of defining what a state represents vs an individual and its almost always weaponized against Palestinians when we talk about the violence we experience and how we counter it.

[laegolas]

right now one of my beloved fandoms has devolved into infighting and drama that we've seen time and time again over some truly meaningless shit. And I'm not blaming any one individual or ship - we collectively do not do enough to educate people about online boundaries.

so here is some unsolicited advice from a Fandom Elder in hopes of eventually jumping off this hamster wheel:

if you see something you do not like or agree with, simply do not engage. ignore it. block the poster if you have to. snide comments are not necessary. the more you engage with something on an algorithmically driven feed, the more it will be put in front of you. the findability heuristic does not care whether attention is positive or negative, it only knows that you clicked. I promise you will see less of the stuff you dislike when you stop saying you dislike it.

for the love of god please drop this idea of 'policing' fandom. this implies a social hierarchy within the community. fandom is not a singular entity, it is a collective. you can only ever control your own experience.

just because you personally dislike a character/ship/interpretation, doesn't mean its morally bad. you do not have to find a reason to dislike something. just accept it doesn't tick the boxes for you and move on.

do not assume in bad faith. more often than not, people misstep due to ignorance, not malice. the internet is full of people from different countries/ages/backgrounds/experiences/identities. you can provide a polite alternative perspective, but whether that is taken onboard is 100% to do with the poster's intentions/perspective, and not anything you can say. you will never change a stranger's mind about deeply held beliefs.

stop feeding the trolls. if you get messages/anons you do not agree with or are attacking you/your fandom/ship/etc you do not have to publish it. if you do, you're giving them precisely what they want: attention. also, these trolls are never the representation of the majority.

play in your own sandbox. do not make moral treatises on why your sandbox is better than someone else's sandbox. if you spend all your time worrying about what someone else is doing, you have no time left for your own sandcastles.

Get comfortable with death of the author. we have unprecedented access to the writers/directors/crew/actors of our favourite media, and they have that same kind of access to us. but what you're engaging in is fiction and storytelling, not a director's positivist, socially-devoid, historically-accurate thesis on an event. the director's interpretation of a story is exactly that: an interpretation. Hell, even if it's a single writer who also edited who also published an extremely indie book, you can still take something different away than what the author originally intended.

canon is NOT the One Truth. some people ship/headcanon/meta irrespective of canon - some people ship/headcanon/meta in spite of it. sure, it'd be nice to see some of your fantasies play out on the screen/page, but that's not the point of fandom.

if you absolutely have to say a negative word about a character/ship (which you really, really do not), do not tag that character/ship. you are inviting the voice and criticism of people who have the opposite opinion of you.

Remember that engaging with hate or drama is always going to leave you feeling worse, no matter your intentions. at the end of the day, these are stories. none of it is real. there are no stakes. no one is committing any crimes.

Remember why you got into that story, that show, that movie, or that book - remember what you loved and what you wanted to share in. choose that instead.

[bestworstcase]

Quick question: When and how did you start realizing that fandom tends to be hostile or anti-analysis? Was it just something that happened overtime?

i mean. have you ever made a textually-supported point contradicted by popular fanon? people seethe

but it’s also just sort of baked into what fandom is. the whole concept of ‘headcanon’ is inherently antitextual—things held to be true irrespective of the text—and the whole point of fanworks is to engage transformatively with the text. fandom is explicitly not a community oriented around textual analysis, and while analytical readings can (and do) support and enrich transformative works, they are also just not what fandom is about.

so within fandom receptivity to textual analysis is generally lukewarm and varies widely depending on how closely it happens to align with the fanon, and in my experience fandom has a particular difficulty parsing character analysis outside the blorbo framework (ie liking / disliking / personally identifying with a character).

there is in particular a tendency for analytical readings to get parsed in fandom spaces as critical of the story or the characters being discussed; for example i’ve had explicitly positive character analysis of mine (as in, posts where i directly state my appreciation for or enjoyment of the thing i’m talking about) get reblogged and tagged ‘anti-whatever’ because the thing i’m talking about is, like, a character flaw. or something bad that a character did that caused conflict in the narrative.

and i think that really gets to the heart of the, like, cultural divide between transformative fandom and analytical engagement, because in fandom spaces if you say, for instance, “yang has a hot temper she works hard to keep in check” that is generally going to be understood as a value judgment (either a positive remark on her maturity and emotional discipline or a complaint about her expressions of anger) whereas in an analytical context it’s just an observation that needs to be evaluated in terms of whether the text supports it or not.

the consequence of that is that if i write analytically about the role of anger in yang’s character arc—which is a facet of her that i personally really enjoy and think is done quite well—and if that breaks containment and travels outside of my immediate circle of followers (who presumably follow me because they like reading my analysis and who obv know what i’m about) then odds are it’ll land in front of someone who goes “UGH not ANOTHER person picking on yang for bEiNg AnGrY, she’s got good reasons to be mad when she gets mad and also she doesn’t get mad NEARLY as often as these assholes think” (which is true) (yang almost never loses her temper and she’s very quick to check herself on those occasions; and when she chooses to let it out she’s always justified)—because anger is culturally perceived as bad and the social norm in most fan spaces is that you don’t write lengthy posts focused on a character’s flaws (or ‘flaws’) unless you just think they suck.

(<- this isn’t a hypothetical btw. like i’ve gotten blocked over my yangposting being interpreted in exactly this way grbfksj)

the funny part is that while my analysis intermittently makes people SPITTING MAD, the fanfic i write (which follows from my analysis!) doesn’t. i’m sure there’s plenty of people who don’t like my fanfic, but if i write a character in a way that contradicts the popular fanon what happens is folks will comment stuff like “this is such a cool unique take on this character” brfhkg. and that’s primarily why i think it’s a cultural thing, where textual analysis—with its strict grounding in textual evidence and dismissal of ideas that can’t be supported by the text—gets people’s hackles up bc it’s a) examining the text at an emotional remove and thus hard to parse in a social environment where the primary mode of engagement is driven by emotional attachment to specific characters, and b) often perceived as telling people their headcanons are wrong, which is rude.

(sometimes headcanons ARE wrong, in the sense of being textually refuted. that is the entire point of headcanon. i think the experience of fandom is much improved by keeping this in mind. analysis is never a threat to headcanon because headcanon is supposed to be transformative. equally, headcanon is irrelevant to analysis because analysis is strictly concerned with the text.)

more broadly i just find fandom culture to be interesting in and of itself. so in addition to participating in fandom directly i also lurk a lot and pay attention to cross-fandom phenomena (e.g. migratory sapphic and slash shippers) and read discussions about fandom and that sort of thing. and i think approaching fandom from that perspective, it’s sort of a what it says on the tin situation; fandom is transformative by definition, ‘fuck canon’ is an ubiquitous meme, fanon… exists at all as a concept and is widely celebrated as superior to canon, AUs are terrifically popular, “fix-it” fics are terrifically popular, etc etc.

so i don’t think my view here is even unusual necessarily except insofar as i articulate it in a very precise (and perhaps pedantic) way. like the average person in fandom is probably aware that playing in the sandbox is different from constructing a lego set and that people in the sandbox are, as a general rule, not all that keen to make sand castles in strict accordance with the lego instructions. because it’s sand. lmao

[theuniversitychallengereview]

The Best Way To Save £1.5b?

Labour have significantly reduced the eligibility for the pensioners' winter fuel allowance. This article in the Guardian summarises the issue quite succintly, pasted below.

What is the benefit, and how is it changing?

Introduced in 1997 by the then-chancellor, Gordon Brown, the winter fuel payment was intended to help older people with their heating costs during the colder months. Paid annually in autumn, it is £200 or £300, depending on age, and had always been universal – paid to everyone, irrespective of income or wealth.

But in a speech to the Commons in July, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced that from now on the payment would be given only to older people who received pension credit, meaning only the very poorest pensioners. This is expected to reduce the number who get the money from more than 11 million to about 1.5 million.

Regardless of if this is the right decision (and it seems like a poor one in terms of political expediency because of the relatively small fiscal benefit whether or not it is the correct one, and it does seem like a pretty bad one to me too), it has highlighted our tribalism in a very stark way.

The list is pretty much endless (and I know that I am being annoying by going on about the Tories like this. I saw a Fringe show a few weeks ago where the entire premise was 'Tories bad', and it felt a bit old hat. Like, we've already done all of the 'Tories bad' content. We did it when they were in charge. And I know the effects of their horrible governance have a long tail but shall we move on now? They are in charge no longer. But I only mention it in this case to make a comparison, so I'm sure you can forgive me).

But as soon as Labour are in charge, people who made no mention of (or at least didn't place blame on the Tory government for) child poverty or rising energy costs during the Tory years have suddenly grown a heart? Or are benefits only acceptable when they go to old people, rather than the regular poor? (Even if some of the old people are poor too).

Equally, there will be plenty of people who campaigned against the Tory bullshit who are being completely silent on the fuel allowance issue. Its just harder to spot the absence of something than it is to spot the something itself.

The problem, then, is that to many people it literally doesn't matter what someone is doing or saying. It only matters who is saying or doing it.

If the Tories announced this policy then the people who are up in arms now would be silent. And the people who are silent would be up in arms. It seems to me that the tribalism is worse on the right - but that's probably in part because my own bias is to the left.

Sign up for The University Challenge Review

But in order to actually prove that this is happening, I would need to both post the tweets I am talking about, and then search through the profiles of the people making those tweets to check that they hadn't been up in arms about any of the Tory policies.

Because otherwise I could just be basing this all on the general vibe of my Twitter feed, which is of course exactly what I am doing. All of this is just how it feels to me, given the posts that I am being shown by Elon Musk's engagement-farming algorithm.

Actually, I have found a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Farage is a opportunistic populist who is first on the list of people you'd expect to be complaining about the actions of a Labour government, regardless of what those actions are. But when you contrast this with the Reform parties tax policy, which was designed to disproportionately benefit the rich, it smacks even more as opportunism.

My constituent Jim O'Dwyer flew 31 missions as a rear bomber in WW2. Today Labour will vote to take away his winter fuel payment. This is a disgrace. pic.twitter.com/hl1vzG7JJt— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) September 10, 2024

I'm rambling now, but I think the upshot is the fact that there is a clear difference in the way people are reacting to the ending of the winter fuel allowance than they do to the slashing of other kinds of benefits.

The WFA was a universal benefit, given to everyone over a certain age, regardless of income. But how many of those in favour of this would also be in favour of other benefits being similarly applied? How many would be in favour of regulating the energy companies so that everyone's bills are more than £300 less?

So what do we need to do, because treating politics like sport isn't conducive to societal improvement. A Celtic fan could never decide to support Rangers for a day, but a Tory supporter should be able to agree with a Labour policy, and vice-versa. But like the 'Tories bad' comedy show I saw, we all know this already.

But if we can figure out a way to retain this miraculous and newfound compassion for the elderly and extend it to other vulnerable groups maybe we'll be a bit better off by the time the next election comes around.

Didn't mean to write a 1000 word political treatise there, sorry. Let's move onto the episode which saw Wadham, Oxford taking on St Cath's, Cambridge. The first Oxbridge derby of the series (and the first of two in the first round).

Here's your first starter for ten.

Worden kicks things off for Wadham with Motte-and-Bailey castle. They don't manage any bonuses, although Bellamy is very unfortunate not to get the points for giving A Funny Thing Happened To Me On The Way To The Forum rather than A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.

Billore took the second starter, and they managed a single bonus this time, on physicists who appeared in the film Oppenheimer, guessing Richard Feynman for every answer and getting lucky on the third. Another for Billore extended their lead, before Bellamy won some picture bonuses with a replacement starter. They recognised Penzance and Aberystwyth to go 65 points clear.

Sardesai then got St Cath's off the mark with e, and Moharir kept up their momentum with the Phillipines. Their resident Canadian made it two on the bounce with Marsalis on the next starter, and they were only 10 points back going into the music round.

No one got the music starter, which continued the general low-scoring nature of the match so far. Indeed the teams would end with a combined score of 300, 65 points fewer than any other match so far.

Fluorescent Phosphorescence

Jarvis is unfortunate to lose five points with her first buzz of the evening, guessing fluorescence moments before the word is mentioned in the question. Billore is unable to pick up the points, guessing phosphoric rather than phosphoresence, but he grabs the next starter to put Wadham firmly in control.

He joins Jarvis in the negative when he guesses Shanghai as one of the destinations linked by the world's busiest air route. Sardesai is able to capitalise with Seoul and St Cath's win a bonus set on discountinued colours of crayola crayons, which was a big hit on Twitter.

Another minus five from Billore is picked up by Moharir, and St Cath's almost miss a bonus on Radiohead despite the clue of Karma Police. On first viewing I did think they'd missed it, but it was thrown in as a guess at the last second, fortunately.

Once again they find themselves 10 points behind, but once again it proves a bridge too far, and this time it is Bellamy who shuts the door.

Myers loses 5 points by buzzing with fresco, after the word fresco had been given in the question, and you fancied that was the end of St Cath's chances.St Cath's 120 - 180 Wadham

A compelling episode, if it was low-scoring. Wadham will have to do better if they are to compete with any of the teams who have won the previous matches.

Join me next week for a match between the two winning-est institutions in UC history, as Imperial take on Manchester.

[flecks-of-stardust]

expanding on the shipping thing, especially since i made that shipping tagging request recently, like. i don't have an issue with shipping, whatever that... even really means, because to be honest i don't even fully know what people use it to mean. like seriously, when someone says they're a 'shipper' i literally do not understand what exactly they're referring to, because there are so many ways you can 'ship' something.

romantic relationships between characters can be interesting and incredibly so. artihunter, as an example from rain world, has a lot of interesting directions you can take narratively, irrespective of whether you take it in a romantic direction or in a platonic direction or a familial direction or what have you. the tragedy of loving someone you know you're going to lose; having to confront the idea that despite all your flaws, someone still loves you for who you are; mourning and grieving and ultimately moving on with someone who just Gets It at your side; etc etc etc, artihunter can be so interesting, and it's nice to see when artists tap into that. and the same can be said about a lot of other ships probably, rain world or otherwise.

and this isn't to say that shipping—romantic, platonic, whatever, but let's be real we're mostly talking romantic here—that isn't narratively weighty, ie stuff that's just 'these two characters are invested in each other lives and there's nothing more to it,' that's not Bad. that's not boring. sometimes that too can have narrative weight, and i like it. like, i'm not opposed to shipping, if that's how it comes off sometimes. i just like stories, ones that explore concepts and themes, regardless of what the medium may be. if it's told from the perspective of characters who are romantically invested in each other, sure, cool. i am okay with that. just in general, shipping doesn't have to have. like. story, or narrative significance or whatever to be 'good.'

i just. i don't fucking care for a lot of it. it's not interesting to Me. before i started mass blocking ship tags i would see a lot of art that was kind of just the same thing over and over again, like character A doing some classic romantic thing with character B and it's. that's it. it's not new and there's no story and the point of it is that these two characters are romantically interested in each other and i don't. care. i really, really don't. some people enjoy it! it's really interesting to other people! and that's fine! i can't say i haven't occasionally looked at ship art and smiled at the characters being cute. it was made with care and passion and it shows.

my problem with ship content in general is the oversaturation of ship content in fandom. i can't say how much there is since i have so many tags blocked, but i'd be willing to bet that it's at least 50% of all content made for a particular piece of media. which... is disheartening, you know. especially as an aromantic person. i have to sift through so fucking much shit that doesn't interest me and has no relevance to me to find something that's actually interesting. to an extent it makes me kind of bitter because it feels like most people just run to make romantic headcanons of the characters for the sake of shipping, and then devote their time into doing just that. that's probably a gross exaggeration of how a lot of people are, but at times that's really how it feels. there's so much fandom content, so much community content, that just... is not relevant to me at all. it gets alienating.

i don't really have a point to make with this post, a lot of this is just me rambling because i'm up way too late, but. i dunno. just thoughts. i don't actually mind shipping. i just wish more of the ship content i could see has more. story weight to it i guess. because then i actually have something to be invested in.

it makes me sad having all these tags blocked, honestly. i miss out on so much art. which is part of the problem. do you get it?

[tadpolesonalgae]

ive seen the argument that rhys killed the winter court children thrown around so much but thank you for saying that bc i was starting to think i read it wrong. kallias only agrees to help the night court when it's made clear that rhys didnt kill the children and that amarantha had another mind reader. and they even become allies because kallias and viviane are at some celebration at the housw of wind later in the books right? if it had been rhys none of that would happen.

there are a lot of reasons you can not like rhysand he was always meant to be a morally grey character (imo sjm made him too nice actually) but im always confused when people keep using this reason because it might be the only one he was proven innocent

i loved the story dont get me wrong but reader in that is closer to hybern than to rhysand like the whole thing with the ic is that they all did terrible things but with a reason and she's just a bitch for a lack of a better word

i also felt both az and rhys were justified in how they treated her, i mean it was tough to read but she went way too far in how she was talking about elain, calling her all type of misogynistic names just because azriel and her are together so ofc azriel lost it on her (and not even that badly like he meant everything he said and none of those were lies) and then ofc the last straw for rhys was her threatening to dig up the archeron dad, that's a disgusting thing to do and rhys doesnt play about feyre. also if she has had this personality for centuries i can only imagine the list of shit the ic has against her

id love to read more of this story but i think it's pretty clear she's a villain, not even morally grey like the ic. i do love villain stories though so im excited lol

I mean, with the Winter Court situation, I’m pretty sure that’s what happened? 🫣 I don’t have the books on me at the moment so I can’t check but I agree it would be weird if Kalias and Viviane came over for the solstice with the death of a dozen children between them, so I’m inclined to believe Rhys wasn’t the one who committed that particular crime for Amarantha 🫠😭

And with Rhys being morally grey, I feel like it gets a little confusing because we don’t really get to see what he’s like as a character without Feyre? I feel like he probably took a bit of a (positive) turn now that he has his mate if that makes sense? Also the fact he isn’t under the pressure of maintaining a mask so thoroughly has probably contributed to who he’s become? I’d really like to get a scene though where the morally grey part bleeds through, perhaps if someone’s threatened in a future book? 👀

Either way, he’s a fictional character (to many’s upset 😔) so I suppose his personal ethics aren’t a particular point of contention when held against some problems occurring in our world 😕

‘i loved the story dont get me wrong but reader in that is closer to hybern than to rhysand’

You do not have to worry about a thing, she is fully intended to be easily and actively dislikable though I don’t think it’s an issue if some people take her side since this is a work of fiction 🧡💛

However, I am really interested in seeing what sides people take when it comes to what she does and her motivations, as well as what she holds dear and who she’s loyal to when it comes down to it! I’ll be curious if anyone will feel her actions might be more easily justifiable or at the very least understandable once more of her past is dug up? Whether people feel a bad deed is always a bad deed irrespective of circumstance, or whether the context and environment surrounding an action should be taken into consideration before passing judgement :)

‘calling her all type of misogynistic names just because azriel and her are together so ofc azriel lost it on her’

To be perfectly honest with you, I really enjoyed getting to write the parts because of how inappropriate they were given the situation 🤦😭 Her trying to convince Az to be with her and then insulting the person he claims to be in love with ���

‘and then ofc the last straw for rhys was her threatening to dig up the archeron dad, that's a disgusting thing to do and rhys doesnt play about feyre.’

I mean, not only is she a prominent figure in society, but she also has some pretty intense power readily disposable, and she doesn’t really act like she’s responsible enough to handle it (but we’ll inevitably examine those parts, too, because it would be weird if she just came into all that power without any sort of accountability or understanding of death and life, right? 👀)

‘id love to read more of this story but i think it's pretty clear she's a villain, not even morally grey like the ic. i do love villain stories though so im excited lol’

Honestly I’m still figuring out what’s going to happen in the end? She’s going to get with Az, but I’m indecisive on whether it’ll be a clean ending or not? I feel like if it is going to be like that, there’s a line that she won’t be able to cross, whereas it might be quite interesting to see how people try to reconcile her actions while still keeping in line with their own morals?

Also witnessing through her actions what sort of person she’s become and what situations have led up to that (and whether there are other people partially responsible for the things that have happened)

Either way, I think it’ll be exciting to figure these things out! There’s still so much of the story yet to be decided on, so it’s going to take some time for a next part to come together! And thank you so much for writing in!! I absolutely adore getting to read thoughts like this, it makes me so happy to know you’re invested to this level 🧡💛

[shammah8]

*𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇*

Life will produce for you a harvest of what you say.

Of all the natural gifts given to us by God, the ability to speak or use words is the greatest. That’s what controls and determines everything else about your life.

You’re what you say; your words locate you and determine your destiny.

Your words bring into your life the things you talk about, whether good or bad.

📖Proverbs 18:21 NIV

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Whether you live or die, depends on your mouth, the words you speak.

The Lord Jesus affirmed the same thing. He said, “…by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37 NIV).

You can’t consistently speak vain, inoperative or faithless words and expect progress.

In the same way, you can’t speak faith-filled words consistently and live an ordinary life.

The words you speak are a true measure of your spirituality.

It makes no difference what others might think or say about you; what matters are the words that come out of your mouth every day, irrespective of who you may be talking to: God, men, yourself, circumstances, or nature.

Be sure you always, speak gracious, faith-filled, and spirit-building words.

Tame your tongue.

The Apostle James likened the tongue to the rudder of a great ship that the captain uses to navigate the ship aright, irrespective of the fierce winds driving against it (James 3:4-5).

With your words, you can keep yourself in health, in faith, in success, and in the transcendent life.

Don’t talk fear, lack or your inabilities.

Talk the Word!

Consciously put the Word on your lips.

Isn’t it wonderful that with your tongue, you can disallow sickness, disease, infirmity, and weakness from your body?

Always speak health and strength to your body.

Many are sick, weak, broke and suffering today because of their careless talking through the years.

Get your tongue under control and have your life under control!

Use your tongue to come out of trouble, depression, sickness, pain, poverty, and frustration.

Today, where you are, and what you are in life, are the result of your words. If the result isn’t such that you’re pleased with, you can consciously begin to chart a new course, and decide what the next five or ten years will be like for you. If the results are already wonderful, you can walk in greater glory and higher levels of success if you use your tongue right.

Jesus said you shall have what you say. Therefore, use your tongue to beautify your life (Mark 11:23).

[watermel123]

If It Feels Uncomfortable To Talk About, Then We Probably Should Be Talking About It… 

As the old saying goes, ‘Opinions are like arseholes, everybody has one…’. And whether you agree with everybody’s opinion or not, the fact of the matter is that everybody is entitled to one. 

In an ideal world, we’d all get along and everything would be sunshine and rainbows. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Everyone has an opinion about everything, from capital punishment and abortions, to the devastating conflict along the Gaza strip. Such topics are seen as being hugely controversial, which is why when it comes down to actually voicing these opinions, many people are more inclined to not say anything at all.

Why is that the case? 

Sure, conversations on whether or not you should vaccinate your child, for example, could spark a little heat - but is that necessarily a bad thing? 

Some of the most ‘uncomfortable topics’ are also the most important, and while others may not always like what we have to say, we shouldn’t silence ourselves in order to get their approval. 

Being passionate about a serious issue means that you also might not like what other people have to say, especially if their opinion doesn’t align with your own. And just as you want your voice to be heard, it’s equally as important to listen to others as it serves as the perfect opportunity to become educated on something that you may not be aware of. 

It’s not just our everyday conversations, either. Even bloggers avoid bringing up certain topics because they’d rather not deal with the backlash of negative comments. Instead, they’re writing about groundbreaking stuff like… “10 Things To Add To Your Morning Routine”, or “12 Clothing Items You Need To Own”. No shade to lifestyle bloggers, but wouldn’t you rather write about things that actually matter? Don’t you want to rock the boat even a little bit?

Making your voice heard keeps the conversation going, and believe it or not - these conversations can spark change, especially if enough people are talking about it, and sometimes it’s important to not hold yourself back. Sometimes it’s right to talk about the stuff that feels wrong or ‘taboo’. 

Challenge the consensus

That’s not to say that everything that comes pouring out of your mouth should be controversial, but simply having the courage or the minerals to stand up for what you believe in and what you feel is right can’t be a bad thing. 

Like I said earlier, talking about uncomfortable topics doesn’t have to end in an argument. It’s actually a great chance to educate yourself and other people. Not only that, but it keeps conversations interesting.

Don’t be scared to rub people up the wrong way. Listen, people are going to judge you or misinterpret what you have to say anyway, so you may as well just talk about what you want to. Nowadays, people get riled up because you don’t share their love for pineapple on a pizza.

Obviously we can’t compare pizza toppings to political discourse, but you get the point.

The opposite of courage isn’t cowardice, it’s conformity… 

Perhaps you’ve heard about the Asch conformity experiments, but if not, it’s an experiment that was carried out in the 50’s which revealed how individuals would willingly go along with the majority of a group, irrespective of whether the majority is right or not. 

Just because most people don’t want to discuss certain things, doesn’t mean that they are right for not doing so. Being scared of others’ reactions is one thing, but don’t you find that it could also have a lot to do with the fact that human beings are mostly rather dull? 

Our right to freedom of speech seems to be dwindling day by day as there’s an increasing fear to not offend anyone or cause any harm - which is fair, no-one ever intentionally wants to hurt another person’s feelings, unless they’re a complete arsehole. But what if there was a social media platform that actually allowed you to speak about whatever the hell you want in a safe way, and encouraged you to debate freely? That’s where Watermel comes in.

Watermel wants you to provoke, poke, and rock the boat and say what you have to say without fear of being judged. The brains behind the people at Watermel believe that the most taboo topics are not only the most interesting to discuss, sparking some of the most fascinating conversations, but also ignite a catalyst that could actually change the world for the better.

You can download Watermel on both iOS and Android, and it’s completely free to sign up. Get whatever it is that you need to get off your chest and share it with others today.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.watermel.online

[thejesusmaninred]

"Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit." From Mark 3: 23-30.

Now Jesus explains how certain parties...certain parties come to be involved in exorcisms in just Seven Days.

Impure spirits are persons who keep licking at religion like dogs licking sores never finding one bit of solace. Further, they are characterized as being rude, lawless, malicious, ignorant, listless, useless, and do not even pretend to notice what is happening in the world around them.

So long as the wicked and the righteous, devils and angels, saints and sloppies inhabit the same planet, there will be a contest between religion, the real life God made and His Gospel Torah which explains how to live it.

Satan embodies this contest. Satan is not a real being, that is ridiculous. The word means "purposeful wrong turns":

"The familiar noun שטן (satan) means adversary and in the Bible this word mostly does not denote some archetypal Evil One. Instead our noun refers to anyone or anything (including the Angel of the Lord) that aims to prevent something or someone else from its or his proper or intended course, irrespective of whether that course is good or bad, or whether the opposition is good or bad.

The derived verb שטן (satan) means to be an adversary; to obstruct or lay in the way. Noun שטנה (sitna) denotes a kind of written or formal notice that aims to stop a certain proceeding; something like a modern Cease And Desist notice.

It's unclear where our noun comes from, but candidates are: the verb שוט (sut), to swerve or fall away, or the verb שטה (sata), to turn aside. It may even have something to do with the verb שתן (shatan), to urinate."

Satan is a piss boy. It is the role of the Holy Spirit to bind the piss boy, civlize him, bring him to his senses and turn his house back over to him. An exorcism is not complete until there is complete harmonal unity within the seat of the mind about who not what is in control:

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan?

 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 

26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 

27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 

28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 

29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

The Values in Gematria are:

v. 23: Jesus began to speak in parables. Parables are magic spells that convince demons to leave. Parables teach us to think about the self as if it were someone else so we can decode it.

The Number is ז‎חט‎‎ט‎, zaht, "oneness with the identity."

v. 24-25: If a kindom is divided, if a house is divided. The Jewish concept of the Self is based on the delusion that somehow infinity can undergo division. It can if one thinks it can; we are always of our own independent minds, there is no way to stop doing that. To join with Ha Shem, the mind must stop. This requires a method and one of them is to turn the mind the right way:

"The verb פלג (palag) means to split or divide. This root appears to be mostly associated with canals (digging them or dividing lands with them) and the verb occurs a mere three times in the Bible: in Genesis 10:25, Job 38:25 and Psalm 55:9. This verb's derivatives are:

The masculine noun פלג (peleg), meaning channel or canal (Isaiah 30:25, Lamentations 3:48).

The feminine noun פלגה (pelagga), meaning stream (Job 20:17) or division (Judges 5:15).

The highly similar feminine noun פלגה (pelugga), meaning division (2 Chronicles 35:5 only).

The feminine noun מפלגה (miplagga), also meaning division (2 Chronicles 35:12 only)."

The Number is 5018, ןיח‎, "rest" AKA meditation is the only way to find Ha Shem, the Holy Spirit and still remain in the body. Notice the etymology says it is like being immersed in a channel or a stream. For me it was like a dam opened and sunlight spilled out and engulfed me, others might experience this in some other way.

v. 26: Satan opposes himself. The Number is 2569, ב‎הוט‎ ‎‎, "hot."

Hotness is almost always spoken of positively unless one is a legend in one's own mind:

The verb חמם (hamam) means to be hot or warm, and that usually in the physical sense (Exodus 16:21, Haggai 1:6). Sometimes it's used to describe a non-physical heat: determination (Psalm 39:3), non-sexual excitation (Isaiah 57:5), and sexual-excitation (of animals only - Genesis 30:38).

Its derivations are:

The masculine noun חם (hom), meaning heat (Genesis 8:22, Jeremiah 17:8).

The adjective חם (ham), meaning hot (Joshua 9:12, Job 37:17).

The feminine noun חמה (hamma), meaning heat, typically of the sun (Psalm 19:6). In poetic passages, this word is used as substitute for the word שמש (shemesh), meaning sun (Isaiah 24:23, Job 30:28).

The masculine noun חמן (hamman) and its plural form חמנים (hammanim), denoting small pillars used in idolatrous worship (Leviticus 26:30, Isaiah 27:9)."

v. 27: In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house without tying him up.

Tying up refers to the Devarim.

From Deut. 11:18:

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads."

The Number is 3730, לז‎ל‎, "for nothing."

Some things in life are forbidden:

The particle לא (lo') or לוא (lo') is the Hebrew primary particle of prohibition. There are some others (a set perhaps comparable to the English "not", "un-", "dis-" etc.). It's the Hebrew non-negotiable "no-that-means-no", which obviously occurs all over the Bible, from Genesis 2:5 to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21, and up to Malachi 4:1.

On rare occasions our particle becomes a noun meaning nothing or nought (Job 6:21), and often it occurs combined with other particles:

בלא (belo) literally means "in not", and may be translated with without (Jeremiah 22:13), not through (Job 30:28), outside of (Leviticus 15:25), before (Job 15:32).

הלא (helo) appears to reflect a rhetorical question, inviting an affirmative answer: is/are not? (Genesis 13:19, Deuteronomy 3:11, 1 Kings 11:41).

ולא (wlo) combines the particle of conjunction with our particle of negation: and not, or: and if not, etc. (2 Samuel 13:26, Obadiah 1:16).

ללא (lelo) literally means (in the elegant words of BDB Theological Dictionary): "in the condition of no" (2 Chronicles 13:9, Job 26:2, Isaiah 65:1).]

v. 28: Truly I tell you people can be forgiven... on the condition of withdrawal, complete remission, God says sin can be forgiven.

The Number is 4992, ב‎דטט‎ ‎ ‎, in DTT, there is no religion.

There is no such thing as religion so long as man's house, his ethics, morals, beliefs, and commitments remain divided.

To prove it exists, that it is real, I press on the governments of this planet and their populations to read the Script and do what it says without arguing or hesitating. So far this has been immensely frustrating and a total disappointment.

=

v. 29: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. To sign the Name of God to an act of immorality or what is not legal cannot be forgiven as it misleads the people and divides the house. Similarly, leaving law enforcement to the birds as the Biden White House has done in the matter of the Repubican Party and its excommunicable offenses is not forgiveable. Too many people have died, others wish they had.

The Number is 8053, ףןג‎, millet, "one's own rules rather than rule of law." Personal laws are forbidden. We have allowed a large number of people to make their own rules and nothing is working...

v. 30: He said this because: The Number is 3565, גה‎‎וה‎, geha, "they were turning back from the Law."

So blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is incurred when one is in a position or authority and one decides for whatever reason, not to do one's duty causing loss of life, limb, and prosperity from the land. Any threat to national security and self-definition in a civil society is blasphemy against God.

[lustfulchaldea]

Johanna, what did you do to Himeko and Anne Bonney?

"Hime...ko? You mean good Lady Osakabehime? Her...and Anne Bon-"

Johanna's face quickly changes shade rapidly, as though panicked and alarmed at the realization of what this question must mean.

"...You know about that? I've no idea how it came to be public knowledge...or if you know more than you ought. Regardless...It wasn't anything bad, I must assure you."

"I brought salvation to a pair of souls in desperate need of it. It is my duty as Popess, albeit a fictional one, to do so...especially when they lust so! I could not rebuke them..."

Her smile is calm and innocent, but her eyes betray the desire burning to life within her as she recalls the memory. Perhaps there is a reason that she is, of all Servants, the ONLY one that there is explicit warnings about

-

"I see..."

GLLLRKGLRKGLRKGLRKGLRKGLRKGLRKGLRKGLRKGLRK-!

She pummels her hips forward, irrespective of the loud choking noises ringing out from between her legs.

"Your sins are truly vast, Archer..."

She is just doing her duty, after all. Granting those in need absolution in the job of a Popess.

"Worry not. I shall cleanse you of your sin."

Even if that means swabbing their gullets with your fat, veiny, swollen cocklog.

"Hlllrkr?!~ Nnnnh!~ Mhhhhohhhhhrrr...!~"

She's moaning into that cock, lips pressed against the base every time it gets close enough. This is pure, lustful desperation. It may have something to do with the thick rivulets of jism leaking from between her soft thighs, her sopping cunt packed way too full of the stuff to keep it all in as she squats as sluttily as possible between Johanna's legs.

"Dhhahhhdddhhhyyy...!~"

Or the fact that her fat chest, swollen bigger than most women's heads in Chaldea, was painted with thick, off-white nutbatter, so thoroughly swamped in the stuff that the stench of sex will be rolling off her for days, a message to all those that might approach her that Anne Bonny is currently someone's cockholster, whether she's in their presence or not.

Maybe even her wide hips, leading back into an ass so massive and soft, so pale and jiggly, that it turns her whorish daisy dukes into a thong, and mashes against her heels as she sucks her Daddy off in a squat.

Now that they'd gone this far into Anne's 'salvation', she was addicted. What was the purpose of this slutty body if not to bring happiness to God's Chosen Stud, Pope Joan?

She was happy this cock had cleansed her of any other notions.

She, at first, had resisted. (How stupid of her.) When you sneak into a Ruler's room solely to steal her valuables, her precious 'pope jewels' that Anne was so sure she had that she hadn't even bothered checking, and she grips you by the skull the moment you pass her bed, her fat tree-trunk of a shaft so musky that it smells like sex multipled fifty times over...You're going to get a bit fussy when she starts trying to use you like a hole.

But Anne was not the only person that Johanna had...used. The only person that had lost.

"Nnnghhhnaaaa...~"

Over on the floor, lying on her back, eyes glassy as she looked up at the sky...Osakabehime was not fairing much better. Her soft, indolent hipmeat bucked and clapped every 20 seconds, discharging thick popess-cum from her hole as she smiled deliriously.

"Daddy...cleansed me...Nnnnh!~"

She cannot say anything else, and her voice is very much inaudible. But she doesn't want to. She was Johanna's first pocketpussy, and had been summoned to the Ruler's room for a chat about video games. The woman had been getting into them, and wanted Hime's advice on different ones to try.

Though, Hime understood why Johanna had claimed and bred her instead. Hime's soft, jiggly NEETbody was too much for her Daddy, and the sin of Lust permeated it. So she just had to grip Hime by the hair-handles and fuck her throat senseless, until the NEET came her brains out and fell unconscious, permitting herself to be saved by Johanna no matter where she was.

She is a good Popess, after all, and not a brutal fuckstud. Even as she's pummeling Anne's throat, and the Archer is quickly growing insane to the point of devotional worship...Johanna is saving her.

It's the Lord's will that Anne and Osakabehime became her personal cuntsleeves.

Nothing more~.

[luvrxbunny]

hello bunny! may i ask about your opinion on women who smoke? I'm a smoker and people here always tell me to stop smoking because a woman smoking is not considered to be very womanly of her and it's degrading (idk how to explain it in english) but i always thought that it gave character to a person. i don't really care which gender smokes but for some reason they always consider it as a representation of a bad person. smoking doesn't make you a bad person idk why people think that and i always see so many degrading comments on the matter it's really sad. sorry for the rambling, i just think smoking is a habit anyone can take irrespective of whether they're a bad person or not. anyways happy new years hope you have a nice day ^_^

BOOOOOO THATS STRAIGHT UP SEXIST.

now ofc i’m biased because i smoke but in general it just feels like sexism. how can smoking be girly or boyish 💀

anyways— if you do anything with a girly mentality, it’s girly. if you do it with a boyish mentality, it’s boyish.

i’ve heard ppl say things like that before but i just really don’t care cus like.. wtf are u talking abt 🥱

it just is so stupid imo ANYONE CAN SMOKE

[pavithraaaaaaa]

I came across this post where it said ‘Arranged marriages have lately become a Hoe Rehabilitation Program’. And it kinda haunts me to face how the world works in reality. How people get married when they are still stuck with their exes. Deception in any form is deception. Physically or emotionally. Doesn’t matter if you’re in an arranged marriage or love relationship or to-be-married-soon-fiancé. There’s no definition for cheating. Only excuses. Cuz once you say yes to someone, irrespective of whatever the situation might be, whether willing or forced, the moment you nod your head, you’re signing up for a commitment and you have to honour it from that moment onwards. If you cannot and will not, then do not oblige to any kind of commitment. Say no, run away or kill yourself wtv but never cheat. What’s the point in being ‘married’ or ‘in love’ or ‘engaged (arranged or love,doesn’t matter) for a few months before we tie the knot’ if you’re gonna trek and try it out with other people in the meantime ?

And that was when I realised how one bad, foolish, thinking with your dick/cunt but not your brain before stepping a step can ruin your entire mental health, crumble your healing phase like a misstep in a delicate game of jenga, bring your self esteem to rock bottom, give unnecessary false hopes and the kind of guilt that will haunt you for life. Also, always be very careful and responsible when whatever you’re doing not just involves another person’s heart and life in it, but most importantly yours. Never trade your peace, morals and self respect for anything and anyone in life. Not even for love. It isn’t worth it.

[owl-liberation-now]

hot take: the binge format isn't responsible for this, these fandoms are simply examples of survivorship bias. in the uk, our tv seasons are traditionally only six episodes and the best of these are annual rewatch experiences because they're beautiful and brilliant and life changing. the sad fact is that TV as a medium has historically and continues to be today a commodity for commodity's sake that's designed to be consumed once and then thrown away (remember how early doctor who is almost all lost because bbc destroyed their own archives and this is before home archiving exists).

that isn't to say the material conditions of consumption don't alter the art, I mean, pre-1990s TV had to enforce an entirely episodic quality because there was no real way to expect viewers to engage with the text as a serial. and in the 90s we had the start of the mytharc centric shows with long running seasonal arc but mostly episodic shifts, which also had the downside of them not paying off all the time because they had to keep building and building. and in the 2000s with the advent of boxsets the mystery/ending resolution hook basically resulted in a lot of shows that strung people along and ultimately failed to deliver. Now with streaming, we have the inverse of this phenomenon: shows that have a hook cliffhanger pacing beat that makes you need to finish the whole thing in one but ultimately resolve as a nothingburger when you've finished digesting it. sidenote: with longer US TV standard seasons you have to factor in that single writers will be assigned single episodes, which can lead to either a greater versatility of writing (good) or half the episodes being mid or filler or largely out of character / tone (bad). for UK seasons, less episodes mean that there's usually a single writer or writing team (often the showrunners) writing every episode, which can lead to them being incredibly intentional with really incisive character psychology (good) or just sorta bland and samey (bad).

tl;dr it's reductive to say tv is bad because of the binge model, this is not a new problem and binge shows are predominantly shitty because most art under capitalism is predominantly shitty and intended as a single serving product. that's not to say incredible shit doesn't slip through all the time (our flag means death, baby reindeer, fotc, BoJack, tuca and Bertie, peep show, Derry girls, the wonder years, my so called life, the royle family, Daria, freaks and geeks, there's this cartoon called one piece, man like mobeen, him n her, Steven universe, spaced, fleabag, cowboy bebop, it turns out the terror actually fucks sicko mode you should check that shit out, avatar the last airbender, why am I writing tv shows?? I guess to point out that all of these have different scheduling and production schemas but are all imo a net good on the art world) but the good ones are good irrespective of whether they're 24 episodes or 10 episodes or a 4 episode miniseries or what. anyway go pirate the aquaman three part hbo animated special that shit was funny and cartoony and well animated and ROCKED. and no one watched it and now it's been ghosted bc hbo suck.

this this this

[idigitizellp21]

Finding Balance: Overcoming Guilt As A Working Mother

In the last decade, we can see an increasing number of married women moving into the workforce in a few months after childbirth. Working mothers often grapple with an elusive work-life balance, feeling the weight of time as they try to fulfill both career aspirations and family commitments. 

The stress of feeling like they should always be elsewhere irrespective of whether they are at work or home which leads to feelings of guilt and overwhelm. We will explore the complexities of maternal guilt and offer strategies to reclaim a sense of balance.

Let’s begin by discussing about the Working Mom Dilemma:

Pressure of Dual Roles: In Amy Westervelt’s book “ Forget Having it All” it encapsulates the struggles many mothers face. She mentions that society expects women to work like they don’t have children and raise children as if they don’t work. 

This creates a cycle of guilt, where mothers feel inadequate regardless of their choices.  Working mothers often feel the pressure of fulfilling both professional and parental responsibilities. For instance, a mother may need to prepare for an important meeting while also ensuring her children are ready for school, leading to feelings of being overwhelmed and inadequate in both roles.

Time Constraints: The Limited availability of time creates a constant struggle. Many mothers find themselves torn between work commitments and family activities, such as attending school events. For instance, you might yourself be sneaking away from work to attend your child’s exhibition while in the middle of checking your emails which ultimately leads to the feeling of failure. 

Guilt and Self Expectation: Working mothers frequently experience guilt about their choices, whether it’s working late or missing a family event. For instance, a mother might feel guilt for choosing to work overtime instead of spending time with her children which leads to feelings of inadequacy and impacts her overall well-being.

Strategies to overcome a working mothers guilt:

1. Ask for Help: Many Mothers struggle with the idea of asking for help. However, seeking support can relieve stress and create a network of mutual assistance. Connect with neighbors, family or other parents to share responsibilities like carpooling or organizing playdates.

2. Forgive Yourself: The first and most important step to guilt is self-forgiveness. Acknowledge that every decision you make has a reason behind it. When the guilt arises, it is important to replace negative self-talk with affirmations of your choices. For example, if you feel bad about working late, remind yourself that you are providing for your family.

3. Revisit your Values: Identify what truly matters to you. If family time tops your list, make conscious efforts to prioritize it. Say no to non-essential commitments and involve your children in daily tasks, turning chores into quality time. For instance, cook dinner together once a week to bond and create memories.

4. Embrace “Good Enough”: Striving for perfection is unrealistic. Embrace the concept of being a good enough parent. Mothers should focus on being present and connected with their children rather than trying to meet every societal expectation. Engaging in meaningful conversations, even if brief, can foster a strong parent-child bond without overwhelming yourself.

Maternal Guilt is often socially accepted, creating an environment where working mothers feel they must justify their choices. Research shows that children of working mothers can thrive, yet societal norms continue to pressure women into feeling guilty about balancing work and family. It is essential to challenge these expectations for the well-being of both mothers and families. 

The journey to overcoming guilt as a working mother is ongoing but attainable. By implementing these strategies and fostering a culture that recognises the complexities of motherhood, we can pave the way for healthier, more balanced lives. It is important to remember that mothers are never alone in this struggle and finding your version of balance is not only possible but it’s necessary. By prioritizing self-compassion and support, working mothers can reclaim their well being, ensuring a positive environment for both themselves and their families.

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The journey of a working mother is a delicate balance between career aspirations and familial responsibilities. The societal pressure to excel in both roles often leads to feelings of guilt, inadequacy, and overwhelm. By understanding the root causes of maternal guilt and implementing practical strategies, working mothers can reclaim their well-being and create a harmonious work-life balance.

It’s crucial to recognize that societal expectations can exacerbate maternal guilt. By challenging these norms and fostering a supportive environment, we can empower working mothers to thrive without compromise. Remember, it’s okay to not be perfect, and seeking support is a sign of strength, not weakness.

– Urveez Kakalia and Krupa Abraham