#i just feel people are unrealistic about their demands regarding this subject | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thed4rkhand · 4 years ago

Note

Hi! I'm excited for your posts :3 It would be really interesting to read your analysis on Jimin's chart!

So today we’re doing Jimin’s chart and my analysis of it. Let me make it clear right off the bat, that since I’m not a professional astrologer, some things may not match up, further since we’re not super sure of his birth time, it’ll definitely affect the reading. What I can be sure of is that I’ll do my best and I’m completely open to constructive criticism from you all!

Now lets get on with some basic stuff, for those who have not yet read the post with Namjoon’s moon analysis, I’ll again reiterate some principles of Vedic astrology! In the scenario that you’re still confused with all this jargon, feel free to reach out and I’ll be more than happy to help you out.

Starting out, we have to note that while western astrology is usually more advisory in nature, Vedic astrology’s main purpose is to predict. Also, we usually go a sign back from western astrology in Vedic astrology, so according to that for example, if you’re a libra rising, you become a virgo rising in Vedic astrology and so on and so forth. All planets will also shift back a sign, so a Capricorn Mercury will become a Sagittarius Mercury.

Now let’s be aware that the chart may be a bit different, but given the main d1 (Lagna) chart remains the same for about 2 hours, let’s focus on that and the moon chart (rashi chart) for this reading. We can also just look at d9 for strength but not house placements as that can be time sensitive. So, we can take a two hour margin of time discrepancy and still predict accurately.

For this reading, we have taken 13th October 1995 as the day and 10:34pm as the time of birth, with the location set to Busan.

OTHER THAN THIS, LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO DO A BIRTH TIME RECTIFICATION FOR JIMIN LATER ON SO WE CAN GET MORE ACCURATE PREDICTIONS.

Since this is a general chart analysis, we shall be covering topics briefly and discussing the moon, ascendant and sun. For an in depth reading, do pick a smaller and focussed topic as we can honestly keep going on and on about a chart.

THIS READING WILL BE DONE IN 4 PARTS, FOLLOWING THE ASCENDANT, MOON, SUN AND MISCELLANEOUS.

On with the actual reading now-

Right off the bat, we can see Jimin is born into Gemini, with his ascendant at 16’49’, within the Nakshatra of Arda, within the fourth quadrant or pada. His lagna lord, Mercury is retrograde in the 4th house conjunct with sun, in the sign of virgo, where Mercury is naturally exalted as well as Mercury being in its Mooltrikon sign here. Secondly, the lord of Ardra, rahu, is sitting in the 5th house conduct Venus. Further the first house receives aspects from both rahu(north node) and mars. We can keep going but we’ve got a whole chart to cover here.

Now onto explaining what all this means. Being born into gemini makes the natives jovial and social by nature, all while having a very sharp mind. The phrase that comes to mind is ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothes’, not because they’re inherently bad or something, but because people don’t give them enough credit for their genius calculating mind. Throwing the Nakshatra of Ardra into this, I can definitely see the dots connecting slowly. Ardra literally means ‘the fortunate one’. An apparent destructive Nakshatra, given its ruled by the deity Rudra, it has several different aspects to it.

People born in ardra tend to have very extreme emotions and may be prone to anger issues and a habit of destructing anything they deem imperfect. People in this Nakshatra also make great actors due to their ability to mimic others well, a quality that makes them well liked and sociable, often giving them a dual persona of seriousness and goofiness. Such people are extremely affectionate and motherly, And men may display an effeminate quality to them, given that the Nakshatra is female in nature. Further, since rudra is also representative of the half man half woman god, (Ardhnarishwar), such people may have a conflict with wanting to show more and more stereotypically masculine sides to them and thus may engage in extreme dieting or bodybuilding to achieve this.

On a professional front, such people are extremely hardworking and rule abiding, sometimes to the extent of being self destructive. They have a humorous disposition and often hide behind that persona. They also keep a tight circle of friends and often check up on them. Compassionate and coolheaded, such people are often the centre of attention. The tend to multitask very often and find it hard to remain still and let go. lastly, such people and their career usually peaks after the age of 32 (aaahhh whaaat jimin).

lastly, his ascendant is in the last quadrant, which is ruled by Pisces and thus Jupiter. Being in an enemy sign here, people can have body image issues (1st house is our body and mind) and mental destress regarding their capabilities. Such people also love to engage in drinking and are very philanthropic in nature, loving to elevate the unfortunate people in society.

His lagna lord is retrogade in 4th house in virgo, conjunct sun and without aspects. The former indicates that a personal has a constant up and down tussle with their self image, and people often have demeaned them for either their looks or personality. This causes a person to be extremely insecure in themselves, and thus may require constant coddling and words of affirmations. Going four houses away, we can see that his mother is someone who truly shaped him and his persona. Their childhood upbringing plays a big role in them. Their childhood could have been tumultuous, with constant disagreements and obstacles.

They may have problems expressing their emotions or penning down their words, or they might be a very cautious person in terms of what they speak and to whom they speak. Mercury is also exalted here, giving it power, so we see that eventually the native breaks forth of this dilemma in life. They may have a career related to communication (see mercury aspecting 10th house), and they will have a successful career at that. The person may own a lot of real estate with this position. Since its mercury in virgo, such a person may be brilliant with handling technology and may even pursue IT based careers due to the ease of handling gadgets.

Given that here, sun in conjunct, right off the bat, the person must resemble their father a lot in terms of looks. They also have a regal appearance that demands attention. They may be well spoken. Their father was dominating and shaped them into who they are. Since mercury and sun aren’t friends, we can also see that such a person may have anger issues and problems controlling their tongue. This conjunction also forms the renowned Budh-Aditya Yoga, a conjunction that shows extreme smartness in a person. While this doesn’t necessarily have to be academic, such people can be very sharp and grasp things easily, they may even have knowledge on a wide variety of subjects and be extremely curious to learn more. Due to this, a person also become a great communicator, and people enjoy listening to them talk as they hold people’s attention with their unique way of speaking. They can be a great salesperson or politician with such a placement. Studies should come easy, as would reading anything from novels to detailed instructions. There may be a talent for writing stories and one may be good at interpreting symbols, font design or calligraphy.

Now going to rahu and Venus in 5th. This is a great placement honestly, given that Venus, the lord of love, beauty and creativity is sitting in the house of children, past karma, creativity and primary education, in the sign of libra. This would indicate that a native with their Nakshatra lord here would be extremely creative (rahu blows qualities out of proportion), kind of childlike innocence that would attract people who would want to literally ‘nurture’ or mother them, or inversely they could themselves be very motherly to their friends, such people also have good education till primary level (undergraduate level) and also carry a lot of good karma from their past life, which results in gains now.

Further the sign of Libra signifies that their beauty or creativity would be very magnetic, they exude charm and regalness, they tend to attract people like moths and have a very star crossed lovers kind of personality. Given Venus is the lord of 12th and 5th house itself, sitting in its mooltrikon sign of libra, it is extremely powerful here. Such a person may have alien or distinguished ideas, explore new arenas, write about devotion and deep philosophical experiences. They may also be very fond of children and children’s literature.

Given the 12th house is also the house of paranormal and extraterrestrial beings, such a person may be very in tune with their own selves and may regularly take part in activities of the occult like tarot, astrology, magick or occult like practices, or at least they have the natural capacity to do so. They may also be great psychologists with this placement and read people’s minds, with acute sixth sense and empathetic powers. Such a placement may also give clairvoyant abilities to a person. They may have troubles with their left eye, liver and digestive track also.

Rahu in libra makes someone overtly sensual and starry eyed about the world, seeing stuff through rose tinted glasses. Here in the 5th house, this may give an unrealistic image of love and grandeur, cause obsession like love, unrealistic image of self to the world. They may be also seen as a sex symbol of sorts often time, but also have a very cute site to them, as libra is a dual sign itself. Given its the ruler of 9th house here, where retrograde Saturn sits, the person may have many failures in their love life or have a very unsuccessful love life till much older, when Saturn matures at 36 years. further, aqueous gives an affinity for wanting to stand out, attracting people and being attracted to people with unconventional personalities (vmin stans) and of course, being excited about all things foreign. They may have an affinity for writing about unusual and unrelated scenarios or daydreaming about them. They might want to provide comfort to unusual people and nurture them alot, while also wanting to stand out and become unconventional themselves, they hate being blended into the crowd with this position.

As for the mars and rahu aspect to the lagna, it would largely affect the physical and mental state here. Rahu has a tendency to give long, elongated and cat like eyes to people, or very exaggerated features in general, as rahu represents the extremes. These people have unusual but magnetic (rahu is temptation) looks, which only get better and better with age (rahu is the oldest after Saturn). Mars over here gives a ruddy complexion and untidy and unruly hair. It gives a stout athletic body, which is made extremely lean due to his gemini rising. These people have exaggerated Adam’s apple and extremely masculine features (look at his face, at points he looks like he’s a statue with those sharp chiseled features). Mars may give a very sexual look to a person too, making them look more hot than cute usually. The extremely emotive eyes of his are all thanks to ardra Nakshatra, which usually promises that (the eye smile?).

Such people may have very violent thoughts, due to mars. They might also be extremely passionate and would do anything to reach their goal. Rahu here brings a tendency to fall for addictions, such as alcohol and drugs.

So this is part 1 of jimin’s chart, I’ll analyze his sun, moon, miscelnous (house placements, atmakarka, amatyakarka, darakarka, divisional charts and a lot more in that)

Do let me know if you enjoyed reading this and if you have any feedbacks.

47 notes · View notes

readingsbylibramc · 4 years ago

Text

birth chart reading for @sunfiowershrooms

hello! welcome to your reading. I’m gonna give you a quick overview of what I’m going to analyze about your natal chart. feel free to ask me anything if something isn’t clear, of course. you’ll find out your dominants’ influence on your persona, your physical appearance, impression on others and the way you approach the world; your ego, identity, the real you; your reactions, your desires, inner emotions; your way of expressing your feelings, your mind and ideas; your desires and approach to love; your energy tank, instincts and temperament; in-depth analysis of each house with their rulers and analysis of heavy aspects; love life + soulmates/karmic partners interpretation; your relationship with your friends; your family life; your approach to career and work in general + possible jobs suggestion; your style, fashion sense analysis; life purpose and past life description; basic transits’ analysis to describe your current mood and, last but not least, your secret skills, how to make the most out of your soul and manifest what you desire based on your birth chart.

🦋 chart shape, dominants

your chart is a splay shape, meaning that your planets are located randomly in different groups in your chart. people with this type of chart are usually very talented at different things. they can focus their attention on different matters, from family, to work, to love. everything is important for you, and you try to live your life to the fullest. you may be particularly talented at things that require action, it doesn’t matter whether it’s physical or mental. you may be very good at sports, dancing… or maybe you’re good at leading, you could easily be the boss on your work place. since you’re interested in so many things, you could easily be skilled at all of them to be honest. my advice would be to pick the hobby that is most important for you and care about it more than the others. that’s because people with this chart usually tend to do so many things that they may lack precision. it’s better to give all of yourself to what’s important for you.

your dominant planets are venus, jupiter and mercury. you are a very creative person, you may have an eye for aesthetics and you may enjoy the finer things in life, you probably enjoy shopping and following trends. you're also very smart, and you could be quite philosophical as well.

your dominant sign is libra. you're overall a peaceful person, you try to avoid conflicts if possible, even though sometimes you could have a sharp tongue. you're a romantic person, maybe too much. you hold unrealistic expectations of people, hence you often get disappointed when things don't turn out the way you thought. you're able to see both sides of an argument, and that's both good and bad. in fact, you're very objective, and most probably your opinions are right; yet, it may be annoying for people that are venting to you, as you could constantly point out their mistakes, even though you don't do it out of malice.

your dominant element is air. in your life, you adore seeking knowledge of any kind. you may be interested in studying different subjects, from those you study at school like science, maths, literature etc. to more unconventional ones, such as astrology, psychology, criminology and so on. you enjoy interacting with people; even if you’re not that sociable, you’ll still be interested in their point of view and their ideals, as you see it as a way to expand your own mind. you’re also interested in vintage, and you may have a retro aesthetic or just like history in general.

🌎 ascendant in sagittarius, 20° / 3rd decan ruled by jupiter and the sun

you see the world as an adventure. I feel like you typically don’t relate to sagittarius ascendant stereotypes; sag risings are usually very happy-go-lucky, they smile often, but pluto being conjunct to it may change things a bit. you’re more of a loner, you’re not as extroverted as other sagittariuses. you may relate more to scorpio rising, actually. ironically, you often look sad or angry. you have a knack for philosophy, and your favourite is most probably ‘you only live once’. you tame dying before making the amount of experiences you want to have in your life, hence you could even be impulsive sometimes. you’re the type to always be up to crack a joke or anything that can make you and others smile, yet when someone gets against you, it’s over for them. you have quite of a sharp tongue, you’re pretty blunt and straight-forward. in fact, you may often get in troubles due to your impulsiveness, which may be misunderstood. you have an incredible charm to you; it’s not like taurus’ or libra’s, those are more related to physical traits. sagittarius people, on the other hand, are surely very talented at something; maybe, at school you were one of the best students, and everyone recognized it and appreciated you for that; people understand your potential, and you may often receive compliments for your skills. basically, your personality is charismatic. due to pluto being conjunct the ascendant, I feel like you may even struggle too much with pessimism during your first years, but in case you are, you shouldn’t be. jupiter is also your dominant planet, and it’s willing to give you the best of luck if you respect its themes. hence, you need to have faith in the universe and be optimistic. try to look more at the positive sides in life and even in people. physically, sagittarius is all about abundance, hence you may have trouble losing weight. you could have big bones, or at least something bigger on your body that doesn’t make you look like a victoria’s secret’s model. you’re more on the thick side, in fact you probably have a pear/hourglass body shape, with wider hips and/or thick thighs and lower body in general. you could also have wide shoulders, and something big and memorable on your face as well. maybe you have a very distinctive nose, or perhaps your eyes are almond-shaped. your forehead and lips could be pretty wide as well. I’ve also noticed that sagittarius peers have a very lively sparkle in their eyes, even though they may be very dark. it’s like having two/three tiny diamonds at the centre of each of your eyes. last but not least, you may have sharp cheekbones and very dark features, such as dark hair or eyes.

sagittarius ascendant opposite gemini saturn: you may be shy and have self-esteem issues, especially during your early years. because of that, you may often appear as insecure to others, or even unreliable. you have a strong desire to be with someone and commit to them, you despise supertificial bonds, but at the same time you may find yourself being too shy to approach others, especially during your early years. this may apply more to the younger you, actually. you don't feel much comfortable around other people, and others can sense that; your insecurity is exposed to the world, and some may take advantage of that to hurt your feelings. you're afraid of being judged, whether it's for your appearance, or maybe because of your ideals or interests. hence, you end up becoming reserved. this is something that will be solved through growth and time; the older you get, the easier you'll be on yourself. also, thanks to this aspect, you're a responsible person with defined values. to cope with this placement, I'd suggest you to do what makes you feel the best. there are different ways to boost your self-esteem, so maybe you can work on that and then start expressing yourself freely; if you do it without the fear of being judged, you will shine even more.

sagittarius ascendant conjunct sagittarius pluto: this aspect enhances your scorpio rising even more. scorpio, combined with your scorpio sun and pisces moon, makes you look a little bit naive. people may try to take advantage of you, and to defend yourself you tend to become bossy. you’re really competitive, and feel the constant need to prove others’ wrong, even though it’s not the best way to do it. in your life, you could encounter lots of enemies that may try to stop you from transforming yourself. or maybe, your grandfather is an authoritative figure in your life and in your family’s in general, and his influence has a big impact on your life. also, something I’ve noticed about pluto conjunct ascendant individuals is that they may feel unhappy when they’re young. as time goes by, they transform and become as they want, which makes them feel more satisfied with themselves.

🌞 sun in scorpio, 3° / 1st decan ruled by pluto

you're quite of a loner, you prefer spending time alone rather than with others. you're extremely intuitive, and you can read people like a book; they can't lie or keep secrets from you, you'll surely find out. you're pretty charismatic, and paired with your wise intellect it's hard not to agree with your ideas, especially considering that your moon is in pisces. you're basically a leader, a very demanding one. you have high standards regarding everything: clothes, food, goals, people... you're always striving for the best, you don't want to settle down. on the other hand, even though it may take you a while to find someone worth of your affection, once that someone shows up you'll stay with them forever. you're deeply loyal, and also caring in your own way. that's because you value feelings, you can easily smell when someone isn't trustworthy. you're probably very protective of your friends and loved ones in general, sometimes even too much. this could even escalate and become a more serious issue, as scorpio is also the planet of obsession, after all. it's common for you to feel your emotions x2, as they're too intense to handle. you know everything about others, but you don't show off and gossip about it. actually, you keep the info for yourself and use it when you need it.

scorpio sun square capricorn mars: you’re extremely passionate about the things you love, you strive to be perfect at them, and your perfectionist, capricorn nature confirms this. this could make you quite competitive, as your capricorn mars wants to succeed and be always right. I feel like you don’t really enjoy being in the spotlight; you’d rather avoid conflicts, or at least not be the center of them. yet, sometimes it’s hard for you not be aggressive. I don’t think it happens often, but you can be very blunt and rude if someone truly gets on your nerves. this, paired up with your scorpio energy, makes you sort of dramatic. as long as you don’t react like this too often, I don’t think it’s a big issue though.

🌙 moon in pisces, 0° / 1st decan ruled by neptune

hands down my favourite moon sign! you're extremely empathetic and sensitive, you care a lot about others and you treat others' problems as if they were yours, you get totally immersed in them. you have quite a vivid imagination, you're able to idealize and picture anything you want. while this placement gives you an incredible amount of creativity, it can also make you uncomfortable. in fact, you may actually find yourself imagining every detail of every situation, even the worst ones. let's suppose you hear of a rape at the news; you literally start imagining the scene detail by detail, and it makes you extremely uncomfortable. actually, it literally ruins your mood, as it's as if you actually lived that scene. going back to the creativity matter, you have the soul of an artist; you have very enhanced emotions, and you're able to express them through artistic outlets. you could be amazing at writing poetry, books, art, music... also, your particular empathy of human's intellect can also make you an amazing psychologist or actress, as you're able to understand others' feelings and make them your own. you're extremely spiritual, and if you don't feel like that, you just have yet to have your spiritual awakening. you may be able to talk to spirits, for example, or perhaps you have very meaningful dreams. or maybe, you could literally predict the future through them. you're also most probably an avid daydreamer, you tend to get distracted easily because you're too busy thinking about random scenarios in your head. seriously, you could even make a movie out of them. you're also an hopeless romantic, and you dream of finding not just your spouse, but your literal soulmate. to make it simple, you want all of your daydreams to become reality.

🗣 mercury in libra, 15° / 2nd decan ruled by venus and uranus

you're very diplomatic! you always try to be nice and gentle with your words, you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. your tone of voice is extremely soft, sometimes it could even be hard to understand what you say, as you could naturally have a low voice. you're extremely balanced, you have amazing problem-solving skills as you're able to see both side of an argument. it's natural for you to understand what's right and what isn't, and most of the times you're actually right. when you're with someone you're not really close to, you could even be the accommodating type who allows others to speak over your voice, or maybe you let others speak first as a gesture of kindness. I feel like with your jupiter dominance you have very strong opinions, and you're actually particularly proud of them. luckily, this placement makes you able to communicate them with diplomacy. you could often get angry if someone tries to prove you wrong, but aside from that, you try to be very elegant and formal when you speak. you're probably not fond of cursing, or at least you try to appear as mannered as possible with people you're not comfortable around. last but not least, you're such a charismatic, smooth talker that you result very persuasive. you're able to trick people with your words, which appear very diplomatic and calm.

libra mercury conjunct libra venus: this placement confirms your struggles to open yourself to the world. you’re insecure that your thoughts and ideas may be judged negatively by others, hence you just bottle them up with your feelings. this aspect is mostly positive, though! you’re probably a good singer, or at least you have a very calm tone of voice that is pleasant to hear. you’re able to see both sides of an argument, hence you may be good at helping people making up. you could actually be suited for psychology! you may also earn money through your voice and thoughts, so you could be a writer, a journalist, an actress, a singer etc. this placement assures that you may be sociable, or at least that you have great social skills.

libra mercury square cancer jupiter: this placement emphasizes your intellect. your mind is so broad that you can come up with different theories and philosphies, making you a sort of genius. you're probably good at memorizing things, and you could even have a photographic memory. yet, with this aspect, you may have troubles being consistent with your ideas. you may overestimate your needs and thoughts; for example, you may promise yourself to get all As in maths, then you get tired and bored and you end up getting Cs. same goes for your handwriting, for example: you may start writing in the best way possible, then you get lazy and end up writing in a sloppy way just to take notes. you also overthink a lot, and that causes you self-esteem issues. on the other hand, you're very open-minded and objective, as you look at the big picture. you'd do very well as a journalist, for example, or perhaps also as a judge of any kind. you may also be naturally skilled at foreign languages, you can mimic accents pretty well. you're probably also very poetic and / or wise, you're like a teacher for your friends.

❤️ venus in libra, 13° / 2nd decan ruled by venus and uranus

love this placement! you're very romantic: you're not looking for a partner, you're looking for a whole disney prince. you do care about looks when choosing a lover, but not necessarily a conventionally beautiful person. they have to appear perfect to your eyes, and this usually depends on the way they treat you. in fact, you despise vulgar, rude people. people that act like that immediately become unattractive to you. you're also very picky, exactly because you're looking for the perfect lover. you're probably the type to cry at movies. you're also quite of a cliche; you're into roses, romantic dinners, sunsets... anything romantic that you hear about in fairytales. the problem with this placement is that you may overestimate the people you frequent, ending up having different expectations from reality.

libra venus square cancer jupiter: you come off as a very positive, happy-go-lucky person. you're extremely friendly, and this makes you be good at social relationships. you may have lots of friends, or at least you have the potential to make many if you opened up and talked to them. yet, while this energy gives you positive vibes, some people may take advantage of that, as you could easily be mistaken for naive. people can try to dominate you unconsciously (sometimes even on purpose) not only in relationships but even in friendships. aside from that, I don't think this placement causes you many problems. you may have the tendency to procrastinate and not work. you could be quite lazy and get easily distracted, as you're constantly with your head in the cloud. yet, thanks to your capricorn energy, you still manage to find some motivation to do your work.

☄️ mars in capricorn, 29° / 3rd decan ruled by saturn and mercury

you can get scary when you want, especially with your impulsive jupiter dominance. you're a serious competitor, as your mind is very strategic. your ambition makes you want to be the best wherever you are, and you may actually overwork yourself to achieve your goals. establishing your status is important for you. you may not be the type to act instantly, you prefer taking your time to follow a plan. in fact, you probably write down what you have to do in an agenda, or even in your phone's notes app. you have this strong sense of duty, as you feel 100% responsible of your fate. you're sure that, if you don't work hard, you don't deserve success and recognition. in fact, you don't take orders from others, you are your own boss. you could have materialistic tendencies, as wealth is what motivates you the most to work or just take action in general. you may often experience burnouts, as capricorn, especially in mars, brings intense workaholic tendencies.

🏡 houses

your 1st house is in sagittarius. your relationship with your image could be quite complicated; chiron here points out that you’re quite insecure about the way you look. you may struggle with your self-image often, and you may even have a physical scar somewhere on your body or face. pluto conjunct the first house also gives you a very bold, strong presence, and hence you may be even intimidating. yet, you’re also extremely magnetic and charismatic, maybe even sexy. I assume that you struggle to fully embrace your potential, though. especially during your early years, you had a fluctuating self-esteem. you used to find yourself weird and ugly, you didn’t love yourself. luckily, if you work hard on your mentality you'll start being way more optimistic, and as a result you'll be more confident in yourself as well.

your 2nd house is in capricorn, with also neptune, mars, the moon and uranus sitting in this house together. your relationship with money may not be totally stable; you may get distracted easily, and you could lose your money around. you could be quite messy, overall, or in general, this is usually a placement that indicates sudden money loss. this placement also confirms that your self-esteem isn’t stable either; you could be quite insecure, and you may idealize a lot the way you look. for example, you could think that you have an ugly nose when it’s actually the opposite. same goes for your belongings; you may think that you have saved loads of money, you spend them, and then you realize you didn’t really have much. regarding your self-esteem, your imagination and your creativity could surely make you feel better. you may have an artistic hobby, such as acting, drawing, etc. that could earn you compliments and praise, and hence it increases your sense of worth. you could also increase your self-esteem by taking pictures or videos of yourself, for instance. you love challenging your mind, but you're kind of lazy. you'd rather stimulate yourself through your hobbies and interests rather than using school / work, which are quite stressful for you. you need to find something material and concrete to motivate you and make you assertive. you could study just because you need a good grade, or maybe work just to get paid. you don't really do it with interest, as you care more about nurturing your passions than responsibilities. you're not really into conflicts; you'd rather be peaceful with everyone, as you find it a waste time to argue with someone. you're very peaceful, you try to avoid conflicts when you can. this placement makes you crave stability, whether it's financial, in love etc. you must be very stubborn, as taurus is a fixed sign. this placement, paired with your imaginative water energy, makes you settle on making your ideas concrete, and it's very beneficial. it makes you capable of achieving any goals in your life. you're also very artsy, and you may fancy particular art styles. you have a good eye for aesthetics, and you care a lot about the looks of your house, body, clothes etc. you have excellent concentration, and that is another thing that helps you achieve your goals and make your ideas concrete.

your 3rd house is in the sign of pisces. when it comes to speech, you’re most likely more introspective. you may not be much talkative, and most of the time you keep your ideas and thoughts to yourself, but actually it's hard for you to hide them. you may be secretive, but you're easy to read. you learn the best when you’re close to creativity or imagination, you’re very intuitive and hence it's easier for you to learn new topics. while you're very empathetic and you're able to properly convey your thoughts and feelings in your speech, you may also come off as sensitive or even insecure. you may have a quiet voice, and hence you could come off as shy. since neptune, the ruler of this house, is in the 2nd house, I assume that the best way to deal with this issue is gaining more self-esteem. you may be introverted due to your insecurity, and hence dealing with it will be crucial for you to solve this karmic lesson.

your 4th house is in aries. while outside you may appear as very polite, when you feel comfortable you actually become way more fiery. you’re very impulsive in your home environment, you could have actually been some sort of warrior. maybe you used to argue a lot with your parents, perhaps because they were too overprotective. it wasn’t totally peaceful, there were a few events that made you hold a grudge, maybe even subconsciously. it might be regarding a family member, or even a childhood mate. during your childhood, you weren’t much sad, though. it could be that your home environment was a bit intense at times, or maybe one of your parents is absent, emotionally or physically, but it was nothing too serious, as your mars isn't bad aspected at all.

your 5th house is in taurus. you are a very creative, artistic person. you’re able to relax by watching netflix, eating, writing, painting… anything that can be done at home. you’re not the type to hang out too often or party all night, you’re more of a homebody. you could also love sleeping in, just being able to stay in bed all day wearing comfy clothes is a vacation for you. you probably had to grow up sooner than others kids, you seemed much more serious and mature than them. but remember, while this placement gives you a strong sense of duty, it’s also important to nurture your creativity, especially since your placements indicate that you have a very strong imagination. in fact, I see you earning money thanks to your big dreams, you could surely be successful in a creative or artistic career. you could work behind the scenes, you could be a graphic designer, a photographer, a videomaker, a screenwriter, or you may even be a celebrity of any kind. you could also work in the beauty field, such as a mua, a hairdresser or as a stylist.

your 6th house is in gemini, with also saturn placed in this house. in your daily routine, especially at work, you have to communicate a lot. you come in contact with lots of people, or maybe you write stuff like blogs or books. generally, you have a very hectic schedule, as you have different hobbies and appointments that you can’t abandon. your ideal career has to include something that allows you to express your personal taste, ideas and interests. in this way, it won’t feel too heavy to you, and you’ll find pleasure in working. you probably thrive from being efficient not just at work, but also in your daily routine; you probably like having a schedule, a routine of any kind (like a diet or a skincare routine for example). with saturn here you could also be quite delicate , you may get sick easily and you could suffer from anxiety and any kind of throat/breathing disease. you may also have problems with your arms and hands.

your 7th house is in gemini, with also your jupiter sitting there. in a partner, you seek someone intelligent that is able to keep up with your rhythm. you don’t have time to nurture someone, you want them to fully understand you. in fact, you may be more attracted to older partners, as they’re supposed to be more mature. I don’t see many issues arising in your marriage life, it will probably be very peaceful, but it may take you a while to find someone you like. you’re a picky person when it comes to love, you want someone hard-working and responsible with a big brain, yet they should also be quite outgoing and funny. you need mental stimulation, someone that is a constant adventure for you and that is worth exploring. you may meet your future spouse at work, according to your chart. otherwise, you could meet them in a bank, in a restaurant, at a concert, at the mall… also, they could help you gaining more confidence in yourself. there's also a high chance that they're going to be foreign, you may meet abroad or perhaps they're going to travel to your country. you may be a people pleaser but you're overall a very romantic individual.

your 8th house is in cancer. you are a very private individual, you have trust issues and you only share your concerns with people you're sure you can trust. you tend to preserve yourself, even though it’s hard for you to repress your emotions, as they’re too to intense to bottle them up. you absorb people’s feelings like a sponge, there’s no way that you won’t instantly understand their real emotions. overall, you tend to overreact a lot; you have cancer's sensitive energy on one side and 8th house’s mysterious, almost scary vibe. dealing with these emotional burnouts may be stressing to you, as you totally get caught up in them. even if it looks like you get to know other people often, you actually don’t let others know you. you’re the type of person to talk and socialize, especially after your saturn return, but you never reveal your deepest fears and thoughts to strangers. you only open up to people you’re sure you can trust. when you’re angry, you can literally go as far as using violence; you need to let out your emotions by screaming, swearing… anything that can make you feel better. when you don’t get rid of all your negative vibes when angry, you may tend to get physically sick; you could get stomachaches, or maybe even headaches. there’s a secret, sensitive side in you that needs passionate and romantic partners in love. yet, you can’t help but feel more attracted to the ones that may hurt you badly. you’re possibly quite sensitive to entities too, like ghosts, spirits...

your 9th house is in virgo. you have a practical approach to philosophy and your thoughts in general. that is, you’re able to grasp a lot of information that makes you think more on your identity. you’re interested in psychology, and that explains why you decided to get your chart read after all. you were a perfectionist at school, and you probably had amazing grades. you are very justice-driven, you like learning new stuff and being the #1 at pretty much everything you care about. yet, you could be quite bossy at times, as you could come off as a bit too arrogant but you're just very dedicated. the ruler of the 9th house is in the 10th house: you could attract people in your life that are foreign, or perhaps open-minded people that are able to speak more than one language or are bicultural. this placement also indicates that you'll most likely get to work abroad, or perhaps you'll come in contact with people from all over the world, therefore you may have to speak another language or deal with new cultures.

your 10th house is in libra, with also your sun, mercury and venus. you have an eye for aesthetics, and you want to have a reputation for looking classy and mannered. basically a lady, but that knows how to stand up for himself. in your ideal career you need something that makes you express your need for beauty, possibly even justice. you may have a passion for poetry and literature in general, or maybe you could be particularly skilled at fashion. you have a natural talent to match colours with undertones, body shapes, vibes etc., and you could make this particular ability of yours a job. you’re also a charismatic, strong-willed speaker, hence you could also do well as a lawyer, a politician, an activist etc. your ideal career involves arts and aesthetics. you could become an artist, a writer, a poet, an actress, an interior designer, a stylist… this type of things. also, your career and indipendence are most likely to boost your self-esteem. in addition, you may also be able to get very well-paid, you could even be in the spotlight or famous.

your 11th house is in scorpio. you are extremely picky with your friends. you have a few trust issues, probably caused by your karmic issues again, that make you secretive around your friends. you may close yourself in your shell, or maybe you actually know a lot of people, yet you only consider a few of them your friends. most of the time, you may also befriend people that try to take advantage of you. or perhaps, since there’s a possibility that you understand that, you could be the one who leads the group and acts quite bossy. this is something that gets naturally better with time; actually, your friends will be of great help for you to grow up. you may have big dreams for your future, yet you may feel intimidated as they’re very intense, and hence hard to make come true. you need to pay your karmic debts in order to finally feel comfortable with others and have the motivation to achieve your long-term goals.

your 12th house is in sagittarius, with also pluto sitting in this house. you’re particularly interested in religion and higher beliefs, hence meditation would be effective for you. yet, you need to get enough sleep, or you could not be able to fully embrace the spirituality of this placement. you may also be able to have prophetic dreams, or at least they have a strong moral beyond them. venus in this house indicates that you may daydream about the perfect romance. you have strong ideals, you're a very fair person and you expect a lot from people, but you may sometimes be let down from others because of these high standards of yours. you most probably prefer being alone in your free time. you may be introverted, and hence you're surely not the type to attend parties or clubs. you may also have spiritual hobbies, such as yoga, meditation, astrology, tarots, religion, etc.

❤️ love life, soulmates

in love, you attract sagittarius, taurus, virgo, gemini and leo placements. your future spouse will most probably have virgo and leo placements, hence they’ll be very smart, patient and confident, but also very intelligent and a bit selfish. it may be love at first sight, and you may find them very attractive. you could meet them at work or most certainly abroad, there are many indicators in your chart of a foreign spouse. perhaps you could meet them during a vacation, or maybe in any kind of context where you need to speak another language. they may also be your soulmate, and you may dream of them often. your children are most likely going to have taurus placements, therefore they'll be very creative and affectionate, even though quite stubborn and materialistic.

👶🏻 family life

your mother is a very fiery, impulsive person, with a short-temper. she could have even been quite violent with you during your childhood, and she might have a few childish behaviours. deep down, she’s actually kind of insecure with her role as a mother. she may have aries, libra, scorpio or pisces placements in her chart. your father, on the other hand, is more submissive. he’s a peaceful person, even though he most probably has a passive-aggressive behaviour. you could actually have a better relationship with him rather than with your mother, or at least he understands your needs better. he may have libra, leo, virgo, gemini, aries or taurus placements in his chart. if you have siblings, they most probably have aries, pisces, cancer or aquarius placements in their chart. you may have an amazing relationship with them, you may understand each other very deeply and your bond could be quite emotional, even though you may argue from time to time.

📊 career

you could do well at a variety of jobs to be honest! with your gemini in the 6th house you could actually work in different fields before sticking to one career, hence you’re pretty experienced. I certainly see you being successful in your career, you will most likely work alone and you'll most likely be a boss. you're very hard-working, so I can see you having your own business for example. otherwise, you may also do well in an aesthetic field, or even more practical jobs like lawyer, judge, possibly also a therapist or psychologist. and again, you may work abroad, so maybe as a translator, as a teacher etc. you would also make a great singer, actress, writer, model, photographer... you'll basically get to communicate something in an artistic, creative way.

👚 fashion sense, style analysis

you’re very traditional about your clothes, maybe even basic. you’re the type to have lots of essential clothes in your wardrobe, e.g a white shirt, white t-shirt, jeans etc. you love wearing sophisticated, elegant fits. for example, you may be fond of wide leg jeans, or maybe flare trousers, boatneck sweaters, tiny jewellery… things like that, that are always a must have. you may fancy pastel colors, or even neutral shades like black, white, grey, beige etc. you’re also the type to follow fashion trends.

👁 past life, life purpose

in your past life, the focus was on yourself. maybe, you had troubles with self-esteem and identity in general. you had to work hard and finally understand who you were to fulfill your past life purpose. hence, this lifetime your focus will be on the bonds you create with others. even though at first you might feel almost scared to the idea of marriage, especially having mars in the 7th house, this lifetime you're here to develop this matter. after all, you may despise love for your troubled past. with your north node in the 7th house, you're naturally lucky in love. there's nothing to be afraid of, you only need to take small steps and open your heart to someone, putting your worries and insecurities aside.

🤔 major transits analysis / june 21st

last year was probably very rough for you. at least, you’re finally discovering the truth about who you are; you’re finally learning how to love yourself for who you are, without having to change. by the next year, you should be able to feel much more comfortable and confident. even though you may still face some hardships, don’t give up. you’ll come out of it as a stronger person. also, transit uranus in your 4th house is currently opposing your sun in the 10th house. there may be unfortunate and unpredictable events in your family environment, or maybe even regarding your physical house or privacy so beware of that.

🧿 manifest what you want, secret skills

with your water placements, you probably have a 6th sense. you’re able to manifest what you want if you subconsciously predict it, even though it may be hard. you’d have to get in touch with your higher self to do so, and hence I would suggest you to light up some candles and meditate for a bit before manifesting, in this way it will be way more effective. you may manifest something while daydreaming, for example. or perhaps, you can also try listening to your own affirmations while you sleep, as you won’t be consciously aware of that. it’s probably the most effective way.

and this is it! thank you again for booking a reading, hope it resonated with you :)

#astrology

2 notes · View notes

bylerchoseme · 5 years ago

Text

Anna’s love for Elsa (An in depth analysis)

The Next Right Thing was specifically written for Anna to show the audience the intensity of Anna’s love for Elsa. The truth of the matter is there is only darkness for Anna when Elsa isn’t a part of her life. We saw her fall into depression because her star supposedly died. She was ready to surrender herself. There is no life for Anna without Elsa. This bothers people.

Anna being in love with Elsa and wanting to follow her everywhere she goes doesn’t make her Co-Dependent. She needs to be with the love of her life. Co-Dependent is a label used by people that want to avoid the Elsanna ship or don’t want to admit the truth behind why Anna is acting this way. The term is overused and repeated many times. It would be out of character for Anna to leave Elsa alone when she feels something beyond sisterly feelings.

As difficult as it may be for some people to grasp, Anna is coded as being in love with Elsa. If you want to see it, it’s there in front of you. If you don’t want to see it, it’s still there regardless. Her story is being told in a very blatant way. A lot of people are questioning things between Anna and Elsa (more than ever before) and I will respect the integrity of these people by not making their comments public.

For a sisterly dynamic, boundaries need to be met. Anna and Elsa have no filter especially Anna. Disney didn’t even try to hide anything either. Their comment about not listening to fans demands and writing the story they want to tell ties into this too. Over the years Elsanna became very popular and people complained about shipping two sisters. They could have been written lightly in the second film to not give fans more reasons to love Anna and Elsa together romantically. However, the opposite happened.

In Frozen 2, Anna found reasons to touch Elsa. Some Things Never Change is at the beginning of the movie. Anna and Elsa were holding hands shortly during this song and at the end Anna pulled Elsa in for a tight hug. It’s the how she does it that gets to me. She extends her hand like a partner would and looked at her in a particular way. She didn’t hesitate waiting one second before bringing her closer. They appeared to be in a relationship.

Call me crazy but every new scene Anna shared with Elsa further validated how deeply, truly, and irrevocably Anna was in love with Elsa. I’ve never seen a character so willing to go to such lengths for someone and not giving it second thought. Anna teaches us about patience, loyalty, trust, certainty, and determination. She is something else. She is the first character I came across that became a game changer.

The only consistency in all of Frozen is Anna’s love for Elsa. Anna has never (not once) second guessed herself when it came to Elsa. Her feelings for Elsa didn’t change before, during, and after the six years. Elsa was a constant in her life. The writers didn’t ruin this part of Frozen. When we begin to consider everything, Anna hasn’t been out of character when it came to Elsa. She loved her then and now maybe even more.

I didn’t think it was possible for Anna to fall harder for Elsa. She proved me wrong. Her heart has unlimited love for Elsa on an unreachable level. I could even call it ‘the rarest of the rarest love.’ It means exactly as it sounds.Her love for Elsa is unstoppable. We’ve seen how far that love went.

Anna climbed the North mountain for Elsa. She froze for Elsa. She went into fire for Elsa. She did The Next Right Thing for Elsa. She jumped a cliff, put herself in danger with the trolls, and stood on the Dam as the stones were coming at her in memory of Elsa. I know this sounds a bit absurd but let me explain. She fought hard to not survive. She didn’t want to live. She wanted to die and forget her misery.

There isn’t anything Anna wouldn’t do for Elsa. She loves her more than humanely possible. To love someone so much is to love like you’ve never loved someone at all. Elsa is her first, only, and last love. She is absolutely crazy about her. I am not sure if Anna is aware of the degree of her love for Elsa. She doesn’t have to think about it.

Anna’s love for Elsa has been emphasized intensively in both films and the shorts. All of her actions, words, and tone of voice when she says certain words aren’t light. She doesn’t know how to be a sister. That’s not her fault. She wasn’t raised to be a sisterly figure to Elsa. She doesn’t want to be a sister to her even by choice.

A saying I came up with is “Sisters by chance, lovers by choice.” You don’t choose who to love. Love chooses you. It’s almost like Disney wanted reactions out of us in regards to Anna and Elsa to sell their original idea of romantic love interests. We saw right through them. The truth eventually comes out. They should have made Anna and Elsa friends.

Anna climbed the North Mountain for Elsa and they were strangers. She didn’t know anything about her and yet she was willing to fight for her no matter the outcome. How do you go so far for someone you barely even knew or know at the time? What was her motivation? Why did she do this? The answer is simple. I don’t even have to explain anything. Elsa was a mystery. Anna wanted to know that side of her because she wanted to be the first person to let her in while everyone else was scared.

Next thing you know... Anna froze for Elsa. The question about whether or not she knew she would die is somewhat subjective. I guess there is a part of her that didn’t care either way. The point is she gave her life. She died loving Elsa. I know some people like to say she would have eventually unfroze with or without Elsa’s love but the message is true love. A hug broke the spell and brought her back to life. She needed to feel Elsa’s love.

Following Elsa into fire went along the lines of “If you die, we die together.” There wasn’t another option. Anna experienced life and death situations for Elsa. The possibility of dying from fire exposure didn’t cross her mind when Elsa was in trouble. She wanted to save her even if she didn’t make it. Anna’s loyalty to Elsa is everlasting. She will go the distance for her no matter how far or life threatening.

The cliff jump was reckless. She didn’t have any ounce of guilt. She wanted to be where Elsa was and was determined to get there somehow. I watched this sequence a few times and noticed how little she paid attention to reaching the other side. If she didn’t make it, she didn’t make it. If she made it, she made it. Her mind was already dark. She was long gone.

Finally, the dam moment. That’s the final moment of Anna. I keep imagining the stones not missing and hitting her directly. Only when the dam was collapsing did she attempt to fight for her life but when you consider the proximity of the stones when the giants first started throwing them, she wanted to be hit. There wasn’t a response from her at all. That’s how little she cared about living. This is all as a result of Elsa presumed dead. Anna’s story arc was dark. We didn’t see her like this before because she had nothing to lose until she lost everything.

A small part of me wishes the writers followed through with Elsa’s death to show the full impact on Anna coping with the loss of her true love. The story would have changed drastically. I know this would have been too much for a children’s movie but death is inevitable. Elsa dying over the separation makes sense. I have a head-canon about Anna finding Elsa dead. I feel like Elsa should have been washed on shore from the sea and Anna seeing her lifeless body and as she held her singing her solo number. Now of course I don’t want Elsa dead which is why there would be a twist in the story-line.

Anna’s love for Elsa is permanent. If she were to stop loving Elsa, it would be a shock and character assassination. I can’t fathom Anna putting anyone above Elsa. That’s wishful thinking for some people. Whenever I think she could not love her more, she proves me wrong. Elsa gives Anna reasons to keep falling in love with her even though she hurts her. Love isn’t meant to be busy.

Find someone that loves you as much as Anna loves Elsa. To say that’s impossible would be an understatement of the year. No one except Anna is capable of loving a person in such a jaw dropping way. That’s why there are struggles in real life relationships. No ones love for another comes close to Anna’s love for Elsa. I’m not exaggerating. I mean it.

Elsa is very lucky to have Anna. No one can love her like Anna which is why Elsa being in a relationship with anyone else is unrealistic. They can’t give her what Anna does. She is all set. No one can come in between them. Elsa has to stay single.

Another part of me wonders if Anna was the one to die, how would Elsa deal with that? Imagine Anna breaking the dam to fulfill the last right thing and Elsa returning to her sister dead. Elsa learning Anna saved her but had to die in the process would be devastating. She would be faced with a dilemma. Neither deserves to suffer. However, I am imagining different possibilities.

Fate decided Anna had to fall in love with Elsa. Fate is always certain. Things happen for a reason. Anna and Elsa use the word sister or sis so loosely. Just because they say it doesn’t mean that’s how they feel. Actions speak louder than words. Words have to mean something. That’s why the sis and sister label doesn’t translate well.

Anna is usually the first one to initiate something with Elsa. She needs her touch. She needs her closeness. She needs to feel her. She needs it all. I can’t remember a time when Anna didn’t want to be in physical contact with Elsa. She would hold her forever if time were to freeze and let them be.

It takes determination to show up at Elsa’s closed door everyday for 13 years. Anna had hope they would one day come face to face. She tried everything she could to be a constant in Elsa’s life even though a door was blocking them. Love is a powerful force in the world. If you believe in love, anything is possible. She was dedicated. She didn’t leave Elsa behind.

One of the saddest moments is Anna’s last memory of Elsa before she died. She was angry with her. Little did Anna know that might’ve been the last time she saw Elsa alive. Somewhere along the way, Anna forgave her. Staying mad at her for too long isn’t in Anna’s personality. On the bright side...she was able to hug Elsa before her world crashed down.

Anna’s love for Elsa is immerse. She loves her wholeheartedly. She gives so much of her heart to Elsa. If only we could all feel the same love Elsa does whenever Anna does something for her or delivers a heartfelt speech. Fantasy overtook reality in the sense it’s our reality.

Anna’s love for Elsa may have ruined romance for me. In other words, Elsanna is the summary of my relationship. Watching Anna love Elsa makes me not want a romantic partner in real life because it won’t measure up to that. She raised the bar of how a person should be loved.

Elsa ruined Anna for other people. The struggles of being related to Elsa must be complicated for Anna or are they of the same blood? Unless you’re Elsa, the chances of having a successful future with Anna decreases the odds. Is there anyone more compatible for Anna than Elsa? No. They can relate to each other. They have history.

To sum up Anna’s love for Elsa......Frozen 2 was a love letter indeed. It was a love letter because Anna couldn’t deny her love for Elsa. Rather than a typical love letter, it was a love letter come to life. Anna was living in her love for her true love. True love is a constant reminder for Anna and Elsa. Anna should have sang this phrase “Some things stay the same like the love that I feel for her.” This is Anna’s story.

#elsanna #elsa and anna #frozen 2 #frozen

202 notes · View notes

grimoire-of-geekery · 5 years ago

Text

I’m No Angel: An Update and Some Stuff Regarding Pedestals and Pits

Hey guys.

So I’d say I was sorry for not updating more regularly, but honestly, I’m so overwhelmed with everything I’ve been doing and everything that’s been going on in this world that I’m just not able to muster any sort of contrition. I’m a fairly private person by nature, even if I try to be personable and reachable. Sometimes filling out the mental questionnaire about “how are you feeling, what are you up to, who and what matters to you right now” and sharing it is just a lot more exhausting than it probably needs to be.

Some of that is because I run a blog that’s focused on a body of work and interest that is very specific, and I don’t really feel comfortable with posting personal stuff on my professional blog. That’s not what we’re here for. Well, I know that’s what some of you are here for, some of you follow my blog as a way to stay close to me as a person, and y’all know who you are, and you know I really appreciate the support. The rest, however, are here because they found my articles and my books and stuff, and they want to stay connected or involved in the work itself, for their own reasons and in their own ways.

That fact all on its own makes me incredibly happy. I’m a geek, and people who share my love and passion for my geeky subjects are hard to find, because I’m so specifically focused, so it’s wonderful to have people to talk with and share with. And I’m super grateful for the people who have shown support for my creative works, like Pack of Cards and the Clow Book and things like that.

If these are the things which brought you here, then I’m glad, and you have my gratitude. They’re what this blog, my side blogs, and my Patreon are about. I hope you continue to enjoy what I produce, and I hope you continue asking the thoughtful and insightful questions I’ve come to look forward to reading in my inbox and my message feed.

Just, keep in mind, I’m a person. I’ve got personality flaws, I try real hard and don’t always succeed or hit the mark, and I often make mistakes. Nobody is more aware of this than I am, and as a result, I get very nervous any time people start telling stories about me.

And I’m talking good stories or bad ones. The good ones, I feel like I’m pressured to live up to, like I need to start getting used to rarified air and elevated status, which makes me EXTREMELY uncomfortable. That discomfort is compounded by my equal dislike of being vilified or thrown down into a pit via someone’s narrative. The bad stories make me feel like I need to start sharpening weapons and preparing for trouble.

There’s this weird thing that happens with me and friends, which I and those close to me call “Angel or Devil Syndrome.” Throughout my life, a large number of people have followed a pattern where they get close to me, and lift me up onto a pedestal, treating me like their angel of providence or something (rarely with any sort of warning, or discussion or consent on my part). This lasts until they decide I’ve violated their sense of good in some way (again, rarely with any input from me), and then they cast me down into a pit and treat me like the devil. To be fair, some people move straight to demonizing me, and obviously others don’t do this at all, because I’m not really relevant in their life. Unfortunately, both the “angel” treatment and the “devil” treatment are common enough that aside from a few lovely exceptions in my life, I have had to be really wary of who I get close to, and how far I let them in. Because as we know from folklore, the Devil is supposed to be a fallen angel, so either way, I get treated like something I’m not, and often the backlash falls upon my family and friends.

And I’m not okay with that. With any of it.

Like, I realize everyone has the right to like or dislike people, but after nearly forty years of dealing with unearned notoriety and irrational-and-often-seemingly-disingenuous accolades, I can confidently say that not only do I not like people doing this, I also don’t think any of it is healthy.

Just in the last three months, I’ve dealt with two preposterous “rumors” about me and my family, one which could have proven very hurtful to people I care about. And these rumors came from people whose narrative was that they cared about me, and they were trying to “help.”

Rumors and gossip aren’t help. And it’s not as if it’s hard to find out what’s going on with me. I’m not that much of an enigma, guys. I’m pretty much what it says on the tin. I’m often cranky, occasionally snide, I value humor and hope and romance, and I’m prone to strong emotions and fits of something like artistic expression.

I like good people and bad witchy fiction, I’m a lover of music and contemporary/modern fantasy. I’m queer, half-Latino, polyamorous, and not at all a fan of bigotry or nihilistic rhetoric or effete behavior. I prioritize practical results and that which is relevant right now over ambition or ancient history (which I also love in a geeky way, but not in a way which insists it be put on the top of my list).

I think all of this should be apparent, and if it isn’t, I dunno how to make it clearer.

If a person sees these qualities as admirable, great, so long as nobody sees them as supernatural. If a person sees them as contemptible, that’s fine, so long as they don’t make their opinion into a problem for my life or the lives of those I love.

If I were to advise anyone getting close to me, I would say three things: don’t think of me as a paragon, don’t treat me like a monster, and consent is 100% required on all levels, so ask for it before you trespass all over my boundaries.

I don’t feel like any of those are unrealistic, y’know? And I’m at the point in my life where I’m really uninterested in people demanding explanations or trying to poke at me like I owe them answers. Questions, I like. Polite inquiry is the best thing ever. Rumor-mongering, malicious gossip, and drama cycles are not something I want as part of my life anymore. I’m theatrical, but the capes and the sparkly glitter are for fun and mood, not for stealing spotlights or seizing narratives, and if any of you are experiencing a situation where someone is doing either of those things, please please please get away from them. And definitely don’t involve me and mine.

Now, an update, since it seems like people were interested:

I’m still working on my next book, Paper Bones. It’s an uphill struggle, it’s not as easily written as Pack of Cards was.

I’m also working on my Patreon, and helping to maintain our community on Discord, Zoom, Second Life, and other locations.

I’m teaching more classes than I have in a long time, and it’s pretty tiring, though I do find the work to be its own reward.

I’m hanging out with my family and friends I’ve been sheltering with. They make me feel safe and loved.

I’m working on a new podcast, and that’s a struggle all on its own, as I don’t find myself as charismatic as I did the combination of myself and Felix, which is a pretty sore subject right now. In any case, I hope to have at least one episode out this month.

That’s about it. No plans of saving the world or dominating it. I just wanna live my life, do my work, practice my Craft and find joy with my loved ones. Things are scary right now, and I’m committing myself to protecting and nurturing those places and people which love and sustain me, and working to protect other people’s rights to have the same happiness I think we all deserve.

Feel free to ask questions if you’ve got them, any time. I’m happy to help in whatever way I can.

#yes I'm aware of what he said #there are a lot of people who know what happened with us and why I left him #and I'm not surprised he's saying what he's saying

7 notes · View notes

queensconquest · 5 years ago

Text

ANALYZING VIL’S PERFECTIONISM

So I want to talk about the types of perfectionism disorders that Vil suffers from , because it’s extremely important to his character and his acts. It’s an entirely different park than Riddle’s rule abiding , although the demanding certain things of his dormitory can be similar. So sit back and get ready to have an in depth analysis of one aspect of Vil.

Perfectionism is largely definied as having 3 major branches , with 2 display styles for the branches. This is based of the only real perfectionism scale and analysis chart created by 2 renowned psychologists who studied perfectionism for 20+ years. This is known as the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. The three major branches are self-oriented perfectionism , other-oriented perfectionism , and socially-prescribed perfectionism. Vil personally suffers from SELF-ORIENTED PERFECTIONISM to a major degree , and OTHER-ORIENTED PERFECTIONISM to a lesser though NOT minor extent.

SELF-ORIENTED PERFECTIONISM

This is easily the most obvious perfectionism that Vil suffers from , and shown in his MY BRAND story. Self-oriented perfectionism hold THEMSELVES to an extremely high and extremely strict standard. They expect themselves to be perfect at all times , and in their specific field / specialties. They cannot handle NOT being number one , and take any flaws or errors in themselves EXTREMELY BADLY. Given Vil being tied to The Evil Queen , who couldn’t handle not being number one in beaut , Vil clearly shows the same , and in MY BRAND , he frequently reiterates that he IS perfect , OF COURSE he’s perfect. He has to be. Any errors , even if ONLY HE KNOWS will inflict severe damage to his psyche. His lesson chats hint at this as well. He simply cannot handle not being the best at his goals , and Vil is shown to create higher and higher expectations that are getting more and more unrealistic. Vil is already described as flawless , radient , and beautiful , but still chases after Azul to be MORE beautiful to the point even Azul struggles for any ideas.

This particular disorder to such an extent indicates a lack of family nurturing and intimacy , leading it to go unchecked. This isn’t to say it is a bad family , just that it is not personal. Another common byproduct of self-oriented perfectionism disorder is anxiety , but the level can vary. Vil expresses a very low level of it , only showing it in regard to frequently checking his appearance. However , he is extremely prone to potentially suffering sleeplessness on nights he knows of errors , as well as mental breakdowns when he fails to reach his own standards or has a mistake , even if its small and something everyone else will likely forget.

There are a few positive traits those suffering like Vil have. They are often extremely dedicated to their tasks , and tend to be some of the most productive and successful people when it comes to careers. Vil also displays these traits in being an extremely successful dorm head and model. Success often fuels people to raise standards , and thus why Vil keeps raising standards FOR HIMSELF. He gets satisfaction from succeeding , and strives to push himself further. He can’t help himself , it’s all engraved in his brain.

OTHER-ORIENTED PERFECTIONISM

Other-oriented perfectionism is the focus on others being perfect and being critical of others. Now , Vil does display this to a certain extent , but not nearly the same as his self-oriented perfectionism. They expect high things of people around them and are highly critical to those who don’t put enough work in. This is canon for Vil , it’s the one thing listed that he DESPISES , is people willfully neglecting a task and not trying enough. Hence why he is head of Pomefiore , he EXPECTS people to do their best and try their hardest. Vil shows this when he scolds Epel on several occasions and mentions certain comments and etiquette around others.

Now , Vil is UNDERSTANDING , which is why he doesn’t suffer from this quite as much , but still significantly so. What matters to him is people try , and once they are made AWARE of the standards , they should reach those standards. As long as people are giving it their all , he’s willing to help. But if they are intentionally neglecting ? They’re subject to harsh criticism and Vil’s anger. Hence why Vil can come off as uncaring. It’s not that he DOESN’T care , he does , it’s just his FRUSTRATION at them not doing their best to reach their best potential. He cannot stand them not doing what is needed. It also will lead to him not dealing with others that he views as not working to work on themselves.

Another product is the unwillingness to delegate work to others he views as not meeting his standards. It’s what makes Rook so significant. The other dorm heads comment on why they cant grasp why Vil would choose Rook as his right hand given him being...well , rook. It’s because Vil views him as worthy and Rook satisfies Vil’s need for others to work hard. As a result , Vil can and will delegate work to Rook , which is extremely rare for a person.

Not really significant , but it’s interesting as Vil is a minority of people who suffer from this , as mostly women suffer from this.

DISPLAY STYLE

The two display styles are COVERT and OVERT display. Vil is openly an OVERT PERFECTIONIST. He shows a strong preference of order with how we’ve glimpsed him running the Pomefiore dorms , reminding people of etiquette and expecting it to be followed or face a lecture. This ties strongly into his self-oriented perfectionism , as overt displayers also CANNOT handle failure , and will do everything the can to avoid it. This often means avoiding it or crushing any source of it , hence being ‘ queen ‘.

Overt displayers will also often avoid tasks they aren’t especially great at. Vil is , although his self-oriented perfectionism can override this if he feels he NEEDS to. They have a strong need to maintain an image and status , something Vil does despite not having any competition. Yes , all of Pomefiore is considered beautiful , but Vil seems to be viewed as leagues above everyone and doesn’t feel threatened ( at least as we know prior to his arc ) but still HAS to fill an image. And he will not let it be tarnished.

#this got hella long #but im very satisfied #bless anyone who fully reads it #i dont blame you if you dont #〉does the mirror reflect you truly〈 — ⌼ ⌜vil headcanon⌟

5 notes · View notes

mrlnsfrt · 5 years ago

Text

Is This Love?

It is said that once in the old days in an Eastern city a poor old beggar, his body shrunken and sick and covered with sores was sent to one of the great hospitals, and after being there for some days, was taken to the operating room. In those days they did not have anesthesia, as they have now, and the patient could hear all the preparations for the ordeal.

So before the surgeon began his work on this poor old wreck of a human being, he turned to the young medical students who were in attendance and using scholarly Latin, said to them,

"Let's perform an experiment on this worthless body."

He thought his language wouldn't be understood, but this old beggar was once a great scholar himself. Although he had drifted away into liquor and sin, and had gone down the primrose path until he was just a wreck, he still understood Latin. So he lifted himself on one elbow there in the operating room and said, in perfect Latin,

"Yet for this worthless body, Jesus Christ has died.

And so, what might often seem to us like a worthless body, a worthless person, a worthless, shattered, character; has infinite value. Because for this worthless one, this worthless life, Jesus Christ has died. And that puts an infinite worth on every human being. A human being is infinitely valuable, and this includes you.

Is this love?

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. - Romans 5:8 New Living Translation

God’s love for us is beyond our ability to comprehend. I have heard some Christians even criticize those who they perceive to overemphasize God’s love towards us. But I often wonder how can we fail to talk about what the Bible itself emphasizes? The Bible is the story of God desiring to save humans. God initiated the process, God paid the price, God offers us the rewards for free.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23 English Standard Version

So I don’t think it is possible for anyone to ever talk too much about the love of God nor do I believe anyone will ever exhaust this topic. What I do wish to explore in this post is the ramifications the God’s love has and ought to have in the lives of the believers.

Is This Love?

Since God loves me even though I am imperfect. If Jesus died for me while I was still a sinner. How should this impact how I view myself? How much value does my life have? Imperfect as I may be, Jesus thought I was to die for. This should have a profound impact on how I think about myself, how I view myself and on how I feel about myself. After all Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. I wonder how someone who hates herself could manage to love her neighbor.

"The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." - Mark 12:31 New American Standard Bible

Here is another thing that came to mind as I was thinking about God’s great love for me. God cares much more about my heart than He does about my appearance.

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7 New Living Translation

What I find fascinating is how easy it is for us to care much more about our appearance than our hearts/character. After all, everyone can see my appearance and make a snap judgment. Only people who really know me well are aware of the content or quality of my character. But this also causes me to wonder. Why do I care more about the snap judgment of those who know me least, than about what those who know me best think about me.

Allow me to elaborate. My spouse, my kids, my family members, my closest friends, those who are in close contact with me, and/or those who are often in contact with me, have to deal with my character. They have to deal with my heart. My appearance matters less to them. If my tie is not perfectly straight or if part of my hair is a bit out of place, they will not think differently of me, because they have a knowledge of me that goes deeper than my appearance.

When I invest in my character, I am investing in those people who are closest to me, the ones I love most and who love me the most. When I am honest, dependable, loving, forgiving, kind, compassionate, those closest to me benefit the most. Although strangers will also benefit from those qualities. Also, those who admire you for your character, for your heart, will feel much more strongly about you then if their opinion of you was made up mostly due to your appearance.

Is This Love?

I have a daughter, she is 6 years old. I want to empower her. I want her to feel safe and confident in my love for her. I also want her to know that her heart, her character, matter much more than her appearance. I want her to invest her time, thoughts, and energy into developing who she is, and not waste time and money on improving merely her appearance. I don’t mean to say that her appearance does not matter. Appearances do matter, but I like to differentiate between accentuating natural beauty and modifications that end up being the equivalent of lies.

Smile, a smile looks good on you. Care for your body, keep it clean and healthy! You know what’s really good for your skin? Staying well hydrated. It is also great for your hair and eyes and nails. You know what looks great on you? A good night of sleep. Exercise, eating lots of fruits and veggies, all these things contribute to bringing your greatest potential to actuality. You become your better self when you invest in your health. Now I know it takes more effort, it takes more time, it won’t be a quick fix that you can do yourself after a short youtube tutorial.

I can see the appeal of just wanting buying precious metals and hanging them from new holes you perforated on your body. I can see how it is much faster to paint your face than to make the effort to change your lifestyle. I can understand how immediately looking healthier can be more appealing than the long journey to a healthier you. So you can choose to buy the precious metals to hang from your body, you can paint your face, and you can look different. But you are still the same, and at some point you will have to remove those things, and does your identity hold when all those things are removed? Have you learned to accept and love yourself? Or do you feel the need to cover up, hide, mask, distract, in order to have the courage to face the world?

I want my daughter to know that her natural beauty is more than enough. That the color and texture of her hair is just fine. the shape of her eyes, the color of her eyes, the length of her eyelashes, the shape of her nose and chin, are all fine. She is of infinite value. Her value is not connected to her appearance but rather to her character. She is of great value because Jesus died for her. People love her because of who she is. She can be brave, and kind, and refuse to give up, and these qualities add to who she is. These qualities make up who she is, as opposed to cosmetics that cause her to hide and contribute to her becoming unsure and unhappy with her natural self. I want her to be confident in who she is in Jesus and not how well she compares to arbitrary and unrealistic standards of physical beauty.

There’s a recent article by Samantha Murphy Kelly, posted on CNN Business entitled “Plastic surgery inspired by filters and photo editing apps isn't going away.” On this article she discusses how an increasing number of people have an unrealistic obsession with correcting subjective flaws. This article also points out how people continue to make more unnecessary changes to their appearance which may cause them to lose perspective of what they really look like.

Some, like public relations executive Karla Barbosa, are proudly embracing the concept. She recently broadcast her treatment of a gold microinfusion facial -- a procedure that uses small needles to reduce the size of pores and with the intention of making the skin look airbrushed -- to her more than 31,000 followers.

"It's like a real-life filter for your face," she captioned the clip. "Seriously. GLASS SKIN." As Barbosa explained to CNN Business, "If you want to tweak a photo a bit more to feel a bit more confident ... or get a facial or botox filler to make you feel more confident ... that's up to the person and how they feel." - CNN Business

Self-acceptance

In order for me to properly love myself, I need to came to terms with who I am. Not trying to hide, not trying to make superficial changes, but seeing myself for who I am and accepting reality. The challenge is that not only is there a temptation regarding my appearance, there are also many things regarding my character, my heart, who I am at my core that I dislike. When I take time to examine myself it becomes clear to me that I disappoint myself much more often than I could possibly disappoint anyone else. My natural tendency is to refuse to forgive myself, refuse to accept myself, and demand that I improve myself. “I will grab my own bootstraps and lift myself out of this mess.” In this process, which is doomed to fail, I also alienate those around me, I push people away because they too are flawed, they too need to improve and so I push my personal unhappiness upon them, lest they experience joy in their current state of imperfection.

So I turn to self-help books, apps, gadgets, gismos, possessions, substances, surgical procedures and anything else that promises me a quick fix and that will help me feel better or stop caring, even if just briefly. But I do not feel comfortable turning to Jesus. Because when I cannot accept myself, I become almost angry at Him for accepting someone so pitiable as myself. How could anyone love me? And so I begin to doubt even the gospel.

Forgiven much = love much

When I realize who I really am, God’s love grows exponentially. God’s grace becomes even more amazing. When I realize that Jesus died for me, the worst sinner of them all. It changes everything!

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. - 1 Timothy 1:15 New Living Translation

I realize how terrible I am, and that Jesus died for me and suddenly I feel deeper love and appreciation and amazement at God. I feel like singing praises to God. I desire to spend time with Him. I want to pray. I want to study the Bible. I want to share with others.

There is a story found in Luke 7:36-50 that illustrates this. I strongly recommend reading the whole story but main idea is found in verse 47.

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” - Luke 7:47 ESV

The insight I gained from this story is that as we become aware of our sins, our imperfections, all the times we fall short of the glory of God, we also experience greater love for God for His love and willingness to forgive us. When I am hiding my sins and blaming others for my shortcomings I feel like a pretty good person. I feel like it should not be too difficult for God to save me. I compare myself with those around me and feel superior. I build an armor based on works and refuse to truly examine myself. I stop confessing sins because doing so makes me feel vulnerable. I prefer to live a superficial life that looks Christian from a distance, but I refuse to delve into the vulnerability and messiness that true dedication to Christ demands. Looking at myself without the “makeup,” without the “jewelry,” (literal or symbolic) is painfully humbling, but on the other side of it is a deeper more authentic walk with Christ and the true experience of salvation. Not based on anything I do, but wholly dependent on what Christ did and does for me.

Is this love?

Out of this authentic experience with Christ and His great love for me comes a deep desire to serve Him and demonstrate my love for Him.

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. - John 14:15 Berean Literal Bible

Finally, I find myself serving God out of a deep and sincere desire to do so. Not out of fear, not only out of a sense or responsibility and duty, but out of a joyful, grateful, thankful heart. I find myself obeying because I love and not because I fear. I want to do my absolute best, I want to go further, I want o to do more, out of love. I fall in love with Christ and it changes absolutely everything in my life.

Now I face life from a place of deep love for Jesus, ready and willing to love my neighbor as myself. I am finally willing to be vulnerable for the sake of the gospel, because when I am weak, then I am strong.

Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:10 NET Bible

#love #practical #life

3 notes · View notes

yesvac · 6 years ago

Text

hi heres an essay i wrote on why amy santiago and tina belcher are autistic peace out

“Look at her. She’s so... awkward” (“Sheesh!”): An Analysis of Autistic-Coded Characters in Modern Television

Increasingly through the past few years, there has been a rise in quirky, knowledgeable, awkward and lovable characters in modern television. Sheldon Cooper of The Big Bang Theory fails to recognize social contracts, which consistently earns a laugh from the laugh reel from the studio audience. House of House MD is known as one of the most brilliant physicians in his cinematic universe, while also being one of the least empathetic. Sam of Atypical, one of the only explicitly autistic main characters of any show, is kind and loving, but social cues do not come naturally to him, and he finds penguins easier to read than humans. All of these characters share a common coding as characters in television who fit under the autism spectrum (Bethune).

Very rarely do television shows explicitly state that their characters are autistic, which is a problem in and of itself. However, we may analyze the behaviors, speech patterns, repetitions and actions of characters to read their behavior as neurodiverse. Additionally, the fact that there are very little expressly stated autistic characters in mainstream television makes the analysis all the more needed because autistic people deserve to be represented, and characters that display autistic traits should be confirmed as autistic by the programs that they appear on.

Some have initiated analysis of autistic characters in media and have come to the conclusion that the current representation is not sufficient. Brian Bethune believes that the current representation of autistic characters is too often the “autistic savant”, characterized by having intense knowledge about one subject, relating to the concept of autistic special interests (Bethune). Bethune argues that not all autistic people are savants, and that this trend of savant-autistic characters such as House from House MD and Sheldon Cooper of The Big Bang Theory create unrealistic representations of autism that most autistic people do not fit. Because I wish to understand whether or not the representations of autism in television are accurate, in my analysis, I will read what scholars have observed about traits of autistic people, and compare it to the behaviors of the autistic-coded characters I am analyzing.

Additionally, in 2009, Douwe Draaisma wrote on a similar topic, attempting to gather information on representations of autism in media, including tv shows, newspapers, movies, and otherwise (Draaisma). Her study analyzes many famous portrayals of autism, and agrees with Bethune that the savant portrayal of autism is not effectively in that not all autistic people are savants. Draaisma criticizes that “there are two options for an autistic person: either he is mentally handicapped, an egghead reading geek magazines, or he is a savant with mental powers exceeding those of two Cray supercomputers spinning numbers 24 hours a day.” She feels, however, that since the mid-1900s when representations of autism first began in big media, that the representations have been more accurate and happen more often as time goes on.

Scholars seem to agree that the current representation of autism in media is not sufficient and often problematic, but autistic people deserve to have positive representations of themselves in characters. In order to facilitate a greater understanding of how autistic characters can appear in media, I analyzed two shows that I believe possess autistic-coded characters: Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Bob’s Burgers. The characters I will analyze are Tina Belcher, the pre-teen eldest daughter of the Belcher family, and Amy Santiago, an awkward but brilliant young woman with a passion for detective work in the 99th precinct of Brooklyn’s police force. By analyzing these characters, we can decide the best way to represent autistic traits through popular culture. Preliminary analysis suggests that programs portray autistic-coded characters to be awkward, lacking social skills, possessing special interests, and having unique physical repetitions.

Analyzing Content

The foundation for analyzing Amy Santiago from Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Tina Belcher from Bob’s Burgers is because each show portrays these characters with qualities, mannerisms and quirks that allude to neurodiversity. Because there is a lack of direct representation of characters on the autism spectrum, it is important to analyze codification of characters who display autistic qualities and explore the benefits and disadvantages of these characters as contributing to the overall view of autism in media.

These programs were selected mostly because of their similarity in genre (comedy) and audience size and makeup. Both programs are directed towards roughly the same audience of young adults. Both Bob’s Burgers and Brooklyn Nine-Nine ride the line between television for children and television for adults, as Bob’s Burgers often touches on morbid issues and Brooklyn Nine-Nine jokes about serious crime, but both avoid becoming vulgar nighttime Adult Swim television (like Family Guy, Archer, or Big Mouth). Both programs got their start on Fox television, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine is now on NBC.

Bob’s Burgers has been running since 2011 and is now airing its eighth season on Fox. It has been nominated for the Emmy for Best Animated Series seven times consecutively, and has won twice. TV Guide placed it in the top 60 animated shows of all time (Sands). Brooklyn Nine-Nine also has received commendation, racking up several Emmy nominations and winning several Golden Globes for best comedy television series and best actor in a comedy television series (“Golden”). Both shoes are recognized as masterful pieces of comedic media.

I analyzed “Sheesh! Cab, Bob?”, which is episode 6 of season 1 of Bob’s Burgers, as well as “Tina-Rannosaurus Wrecks,” which is episode 7 of season 3 of Bob’s Burgers. I also analyzed “Thanksgiving”, which is episode 13 of season 1 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and “Chasing Amy,” which is the episode 18 of season 4 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I choose these episodes because they each display important parts of the character’s personalities, and the plot of each episode revolves around Tina or Amy respectively.

Awkward Behavior/Lack of Social Skills

Scholars who study autistic individuals have found that autistic people often struggle with social cues. Additionally, it has been proven that those with autism may find it harder to make friends, and when they do, it is often based off a shared similar interest. For example, “friendships of.. higher functioning children and adolescents with autism... often focused on common and circumscribed interests with little social interaction involved” (Orsmond). Therefore, those on the spectrum often come off as awkward and lacking in terms of social situations, because the focus is more on special interests than regard for social interaction.

Throughout each show, both Tina and Amy display a clear lack of understanding on how to function well in social situations. Both characters stand out in their programs as the most ‘awkward’ character. Additionally, both characters often avoid eye contact with peers whilst speaking with them, and often make conversation that most would find not socially acceptable.

TINA

Tina stands out as the character in Bob’s Burgers that has the least social skills, as she often appears awkward and unsure of herself. She says odd things to her friends and family and is known to be “weird” by her peers in school. However, she does not feel self-conscious about her weirdness.

In “Sheesh! Cab, Bob?”, Linda wants Tina to know that the family is allowing her to have an “extra-special” birthday party this year, and that Tina can take some time to think about what she wants. Seemingly already prepared, Tina begins to list off what she wants in a rapid, monotone speaking voice:

I’d like it to be a boy-girl party. With mingling. I want to close the restaurant and invite my whole class over. And I want there to be a DJ and dancing and a smoke machine. And about two hours into the party, I want there to be a moment where I see Jimmy Junior across the room. And we’re pulled towards each other. We meet under the disco ball. And we kiss, until our bodies and souls become one. And it’s my first kiss. And it’s perfect, and I remember it forever.

At the conclusion of her monologue, Gene says “scary,” Louise says “freak!” and Linda says “wow! You really put some thought into it!” Bob’s Burgers ensures that the audience understands Tina’s awkwardness in proximity to the rest of her family. If the show displayed just Tina’s monologue without her family’s reactions, then it could be written off as a behavior the writers intended to be comedic. However, inserting the fact that Tina’s little siblings are comfortable calling her both “scary” and a “freak” lets the audience know that Tina’s behavior and speech patterns are perceived within the Bob’s Burgers universe as slightly absurd. While most characters in Bob’s Burgers are unique, Tina’s sometimes overwhelming passioning personality is seen as freakish and scary by her siblings and those around her. Additionally, even without familial context, the audience can understand that Tina’s form of speaking is not exactly normal; her list of birthday party demands is long and sudden, as if Tina is unleashing a wave upon her family. She has clearly thought about it extensively, and it is not what the audience expects.

Additionally, Tina has trouble with some social aspects that seem normal for other characters and people in general. She seems to harbor a lot of anxiety about lying to others. In the episode “Tina-Rannosaurus Wrecks,” Bob lets Tina drive around a nearly-empty parking lot for the first time, despite being 13 years old. Tina is obviously nervous, and panics behind the wheel. She turns the wheel slightly back and forth, groaning out loud as Bob yells and panics, and she hits the only other parked car in the parking lot.

In this instance, Tina has to lie, according to Bob. But this is no easy feat for her, and it changes her demeanor to one that is awkward and painful both for her and for the others around her. Bob tells her, “so we just have to say I was driving, okay?” Tina, a odd, pained look on her face, replies quickly: “but that’s lying! That’s not right!” Bob replies, “that’s true, Tina. Lying is wrong and you should never do it. Unless [the person you hit] makes you go through insurance, which he is. So we have to lie this one time.” Tina is not having it. She is extremely averse to lying. She compares lying with several other crimes: “What’s next? Perjury? Human trafficking?”

Several studies have been done by scholars on the cognitive abilities of developing autistic young adults and children. The findings often cite the fact that autistic individuals have difficulty perceiving what is a lie and what is not, and also have more trouble telling lies (Li). Tina’s ability to lie is extremely limited, and she has trouble throughout the episode when asked to lie by her father. She groans, blurts out obvious fibs, and makes strained faces.

Figure 1. “Tina-Rannosaurus Rex,” Bob’s Burgers. Bob says to Tina, “Let’s see your ‘everything is okay’ face,” but her aversion to lying makes it extremely difficult for her.

AMY

Amy is also a standout character in Brooklyn Nine-Nine for her awkwardness and lack of understanding of social cues. Gina, another character who works in the building with Amy, often comments on Amy’s similarity to a grandma or a toddler in her interests and social abilities.

There are countless episodes in which Amy is shown to have lacking conversational skills. For example, in “Thanksgiving,” the police squad is sitting in Amy’s apartment before Thanksgiving dinner starts, making fun of Amy’s grandmother-esque decorations and waiting for Captain Holt to arrive. The doorbell rings, and Amy answers it with a smile. Captain Holt greets her with his usual work-friendly attitude, saying, “Happy Thanksgiving. Your apartment was very easy to locate.” Amy, physically showing her happiness with a wide smile and open body language, thanks him, saying, “thank you so much. You look beautiful.” Her eyes dart down and to the side, indicating that she recognized that telling Holt he looked beautiful was not an appropriate comment for Holt’s gender or his position of power in their employment.

To ensure that the audience understands the weirdness of Amy’s speech, Jake Peralta, the main protagonist of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Amy’s love interest, then butts into the conversation: “weirdest conversation ever! Nice work, you two.” Brooklyn Nine-Nine adds in Jake’s perception of Amy’s personality and words to contextualize her conversational skills in proximity to her peers. Both Bob’s Burgers and Brooklyn Nine-Nine include the reaction of other main characters to Tina and Amy’s lacking social skills in order to put the dialogue in perspective.

Obsessions and Special Interests

Scholars studying autistic individuals have established that it is common for those on the spectrum to have a special interest. These special interests are often regarded as “obsessions” from neurotypicals who may not know better. Autism allows those on the spectrum to hyperfocus on a topic or thing, and often, this means that the autistic individual can learn extensively about this topic or thing and become knowledgeable and passionate about it. For example, Rachel Grove studied a group of over 600 autistic adults in the Netherlands, noted whether they had a special interest, and also noted what their special interest was. Sixty-three percent of the sampled autistic adults reported at least one special interest (Grove). Below is a bar graph showing the distribution of the most common special interests by sex.

Figure 2. Special interest topics by sex, observed by Rachel Grove.

By analyzing whether or not Amy Santiago and Tina Belcher display an affinity for special interests, we can decide whether their representation in television as autistic-coded characters is a positive or negative one.

TINA

While Tina is most unique for her awkward personality, she is also recognized for her “obsession” with boys and writing. She writes in her journal extensively, and also writes what she calls “Friend-Fiction” -- a play on “fanfiction” -- stories about her friends, often starring zombies and emphasizes romance.

In “Sheesh!”, Tina sits alone at a table at the back of the restaurant, furiously writing in her diary. Linda engages Bob in conversation about their eldest daughter.

Linda: Tina’s birthday is coming up, and I think we should do something special, since she’s turning 13. This is the year she becomes a woman… Bob, she deserves a special party this year.

Louise: If what it says in her diary is true, then I’d say she needs it. A lot.

Bob: Wait, you read her diary?

Linda: Yeah.

Louise: What I can stomach.

Bob: Why is everyone reading Tina’s diary?

Gene: It’s well written!

Louise: Yeah! She’s better on the page than in person.

There is a lot to unpack from this singular conversation, mostly involving the speech of Tina’s family. For context, both Gene and Louise are younger than Tina. Tina is turning 13, Gene is 11, and Louise is 9 years old. Her siblings are younger than her, yet they feel extremely comfortable invading Tina’s personal spaces and reading her diary. This little detail shows that Tina’s behavior is different than most teenage or pre-teen girls, as she is more open and unashamed of her obsessions. Additionally, Louise’s final line, jabbing at Tina’s social skills establishes her as an awkward person to talk to, which is demonstrated many times throughout the series.

However, Tina possesses special skills and interests, such as skills in writing, that are beyond most kids her age. She spends her spare time, in which her siblings use to have humorous conversation with her parents, to write in her journal. Although the show does not tell us if she’s writing friend-fiction or about her own life, it is important that instead of being a part of the conversation, Tina prefers to write. It is one of her special interests that she pursues actively. Additionally, according to Louise’s speech, she is “better on the page than in person,” which is, face-value just an insult to her sister’s social skills, but in context, we can understand that Tina probably likes writing because it gives her a space where she is in control of the environment and dialogue, and she is not perceived as awkward by her peers.

AMY

Amy is skilled in police work and organization. She is well-known throughout Brooklyn Nine-Nine for being the most meticulous person in terms of bureaucracy. Unfortunately, she is not always this skilled in other realms of life, like cooking.

For example, there are times that Brooklyn Nine-Nine demonstrates how Amy’s unbalanced priorities affect her life negatively. Amy is established by Brooklyn Nine-Nine as an extremely thorough, intelligent and prepared individual, but extremely lacking in some skills, such as cooking, social skills, and dancing -- all of which she is oblivious to. In “Thanksgiving,” Amy is attempting to serve a Thanksgiving to her colleagues, and to impress her Captain. To Amy, hosting Thanksgiving dinner has almost nothing to do with the preparation of the food. Amy’s goal in this party is to bond with Captain Holt, and whether the mashed potatoes are edible or not does not seem to affect that in her mind. Sergeant Jeffords bites into the mashed potatoes sitting on Amy’s table from her Thanksgiving spread. He then immediately shows an expression of disgust, exclaiming, “what’s in these?” Amy, seeming indifferent, lists: “potatoes, butter, a little milk. Oh, and I ran out of salt, so I used baking soda.” Terry, angered that the potatoes are inedible, sarcastically yells, “why wouldn’t you? They’re both white powders! Of course they’re interchangeable!” Amy seems oblivious to his sarcasm and his criticism of her cooking skills. She says, “yeah.” This scene is important because it displays Amy’s dynamic with her peers according to her priorities. Throughout the episode, including in this scene, Amy is shown to be absent-minded and lax in things that her peers feel that she should prioritize, such as cooking dinner. However, the show emphasizes that Amy is not just lazy or dumb-- she is putting all of her effort towards one thing: impressing her superior officer.

Sometimes Amy’s affinity for work (and negligence of non-work activities) is highlighted in a negative way, as it is in “Thanksgiving,” but sometimes Brooklyn Nine-Nine displays her meticulous habits and ambition as an overall positive attribute. In “Chasing Amy,” Amy prepares to take the Sergeant’s exam, a test that will decide her qualification to upgrade from being a detective to being a uniformed Sergeant. She is coping with the stress in an extreme way, and Jake, her significant other, explains why: “it’s always been her plan to be the youngest captain in the history of the NYPD, but if she doesn’t pass this exam, she’s gonna have to wait another three years to take it again and that’ll disrupt her entire life calendar. [That’s a real thing.] It hangs over our bed.” Again, the show emphasizes Amy’s extreme affinity for success and ambition. She works harder and obsesses more emphatically than any other character on the show. Her passion for police work and leadership is so intense that it is better explained as a special interest, something she easily hyper-focuses on.

Physical Repetitions/Stimming

Scholars in autistic behavior report that it is common for those with autism to have urges for physical movements that may be different than neurotypical people. This results in the physical phenomenon known as “stimming.” “Stimming” is when a person on the spectrum releases energy through a certain movement, action or noise (Simpson). It is involuntary and a clear indicator of autism. Although some examples of stimming, such as echolalia (repeated speech), vocal stimming through elevated speech, or using physical stim toys, can be percieved as uncomfortable or unnecessary in the viewpoint of non-autistic individuals, stimming is not necessarily negative, and is often enjoyable and necessary for autistic individuals (Simpson).

Additionally, those with autism may also have physical repetitive behavior that seems odd but is for the specific purpose of calming down or feeling comfortable. These would include things like being in a small, comfortable space or laying on the floor.

TINA

Throughout Bob’s Burgers, Tina displays several physical behaviors that may seem odd from an outside point of view, but are indicators of autism when examined clearly.

For example, Tina likes certain sounds or repetitions that are seemingly random and do not affect the people around her. In “Sheesh! Cab, Bob?” Bob is transitioning from his day job working at Bob’s Burgers to his now night job, driving a taxi around the city. Linda and the kids are bidding him goodbye with advice on how to make money. Tina suggests, “stay away from Route One. It’s bumper-to-bumper all the way to the Interstate.” Bob, raising his eyebrows, questions Tina on how she might know that. Tina explains, “I like traffic updates. I like it when they say ‘bumper-to-bumper.’” Bob presses further, asking “‘bumper-to-bumper?’”, to which Tina throws her head back and sighs.

It’s a silly moment that shows Tina’s awkwardness and affinity for vaguely sensual topics, but also shows her visible and tangible reaction to certain words or phrases. Those with autism often enjoy one word or phrase repeated again and again for comfort reasons as a form of stimming. Just by this moment, we could assume that Tina is experiencing a form of echolalia, and enjoying repeating and hearing one phrase consistently.

Additionally and notably, several times during “Sheesh! Cab, Bob?” Tina either lays down on the floor or hides under a table with her knees close to her chest. This behavior, finding a space that is physically small and comforting, is typical in those with autism (“Sensory”).

AMY

While Amy’s physical behaviors do not exactly align with Tina’s, she holds her own version of involuntary physical reactions. Amy often celebrates by stimming with her entire body, jumping up and down and moving unnaturally. She also often dances in a funny way by herself after completing an achievement.

In “Thanksgiving,” Captain Holt seems to be happy as he accepts Amy’s invitation to her dinner party. Because the audience already knows of Amy’s overwhelming respect for Captain Holt, Amy’s immediate excitement at his acceptance of the invitation is obvious. However, she attempts to hide her excitement with a badly acted blase attitude, saying “cool! Whatever. Yeah, don’t worry about it either way. It’s not a big deal.” However, when she walks out of view of the Captain’s office, she celebrates this victory with a full-bodied and physical celebration, waving her arms in the air and quietly shouting: “yes!” Additionally, towards the end of the episode, Amy celebrates that Captain Holt gave her criticism on her Thanksgiving toast. She yells, “he’s mentoring me! Yes!” She then physically celebrates with jumps, arm movements, and full-bodied excitement. Her arms completely extend, her body contorts with pride and involuntary happiness and movement. She is unable or unwilling to celebrate quietly, as she possesses her unique physical way of expressing overwhelming emotions, as is common in those on the spectrum.

Additionally, Brooklyn Nine-Nine shows that Amy stims with physical repetitions, such as braiding her own hair. At the beginning of “Chasing Amy,” Amy stands rigidly with an expression of determination and anger on her face, her hair braided into dozens of tiny braids all over her head in a messy fashion. She holds a stack of notecards she appears to be studying. Charles questions Jake about why Amy’s hair is looking so weird. “Oh, she obsessively braids her hair when she’s nervous. And she’s super nervous ‘cause she’s taking the Sergeant’s exam today,” Jake states simply. As previously stated, stimming is a habitual release of energy through a certain repeated action, noise or movement; Amy’s hair-braiding is a good example of a movement-based stim, most likely used for comforting herself.

To explain Amy’s condition further, Jake explains that “we’ve also jumped up to a two: creepily singing songs from the Great American Songbook,” and the scene cuts to Jake and Amy’s bed, with Amy sitting up with a reading light over a huge textbook. She is softly singing, “you’re a grand old flag, you’re a high-flying flag…” Then, the camera pans to Jake, who pulls a pillow over his head. For people with autism, stimming can often relieve stress or discomfort. Stimming can be different for each person, but stimming can be physical, vocal, tactile, auditory, and more. Amy’s behavior here could easily be categorized as a vocal stimulation to relieve stress. Throughout the series, Amy is shown to have coping mechanisms that are more tactile and outward than most characters, and her calming habits fit neatly into the category of autistic stimming.

The Question of Representation

It is no question that there are barely any blatantly autistic characters represented on daytime television. This can be detrimental to the development of those with autism simply because of the inferiority complex created when a person never sees someone who is similar to them. While Amy from Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Tina from Bob’s Burgers both display mannerisms that align with those on the spectrum and are heavily coded as being autistic individuals, it would be monumental for Fox and NBC to outright establish them as autistic characters. Tina is a strong willed, confident and realistic portrayal of an autistic teenager, and it would help many adolescents on the spectrum to see themselves on screen as a main character beloved by many. Additionally, Amy being established as autistic would be just as incredible, seeing as there is a severe lack of representation for autistic adults (Prochnow). Because there is a prevalent stereotype for autistic people that they are unable to function independently and need guidance, or have a different “mental age” than their true age, there is a common misconception that autistic people can never be successful, independent and live life to its fullest extent. However, if Amy Santiago was established as a blatantly autistic character, it would show any autistic and neurotypical audience member that autistic people can be successful in their careers and respected for their brilliance.

Additionally, there is a disparity of representation of autistic women in media. While men and boys are often represented, there is little discussion of the fact that women and girls are affected by autism as well, and there is no lack of girls on the spectrum. For autistic girls to see an autistic woman like Amy Santiago who is skilled in her career and married would be an incredibly opportunity to inspire those on the spectrum (Kamal). Additionally, Tina’s self-confidence and ambition would be monumental for young autistic girls who lack a character to relate to on-screen.

While the representation of Tina and Amy’s characters are in no way negative as they stand now, there is much to gain going forward. As previously noted, the representation of characters with autism is often two dimensional and flat, and there is a lack of female characters with autism in popular media. If Fox and NBC have the best interest of their audience in mind, it would be beneficial to canonically and explicitly establish the neurodiversity of Tina Belcher and Amy Santiago in Bob’s Burgers and Brooklyn Nine-Nine respectively.

Works Cited

Bethune, Brian. “Autistic Licence.” Macleans.ca, 13 July 2009, www.macleans.ca/culture/autistic-licence/.

"Chasing Amy." Brooklyn Nine-Nine, written by Matt Lawton, directed by Luke Del Tredici, Fox, 2017.

Draaisma, Douwe. “Stereotypes of Autism.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 27 May 2009, royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2008.0324.

“Golden Globes 2014: The Winners List.” Cable News Network, 13 Jan. 2014, www.cnn.com/2014/01/12/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/2014-golden-globes-winners/index.html.

Grove, Rachel, et al. "Special Interests and Subjective Wellbeing in Autistic Adults." Autism Research, vol. 11, no. 5, 2018, pp. 766-775. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/docview/2047340419?accountid=12598, doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/10.1002/aur.1931.

Kamal, Sauleha. “The Character Who Made Me Love 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine'.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 12 June 2018, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/06/brooklyn-nine-nine-amy-santiago/562436/.

Li, Annie S et al. “Exploring the ability to deceive in children with autism spectrum disorders” Journal of autism and developmental disorders vol. 41, 2 (2011): 185-95.

Orsmond, Gael I., Marty W. Krauss, and Mailick S. Marsha. "Peer Relationships and Social and Recreational Activities among Adolescents and Adults with Autism." Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, vol. 34, no. 3, 2004, pp. 245-56. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/docview/205303236?accountid=12598, doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/10.1023/B:JADD.0000029547.96610.df.

Prochnow, Alexandria. "AN ANALYSIS OF AUTISM THROUGH MEDIA REPRESENTATION." Et Cetera, vol. 71, no. 2, 2014, pp. 133-149. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/docview/1620847574?accountid=12598.

Sands, Rich. “The Definitive Ranking of The Simpsons, Peanuts, and More Old Cartoons From Your Childhood.” TV Guide, 9 Oct. 2018, www.tvguide.com/news/definitive-ranking-old-cartoons/.

“Sensory Issues: Seeking and Avoiding.” Sensory Issues: Seeking and Avoiding | Interactive Autism Network, 30 Oct. 2008, iancommunity.org/cs/challenging_behavior/sensory_issues.

Simpson, Hannah. "Tics in the Theatre: The Quiet Audience, the Relaxed Performance, and the Neurodivergent Spectator." Theatre Topics, vol. 28, no. 3, 2018, pp. 227-238. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/docview/2162522850?accountid=12598, doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/10.1353/tt.2018.0046.

"Sheesh! Cab, Bob?" Bob’s Burgers, written by Loren Bouchard, directed by Jennifer Coyle, Fox, 2011.

"Tina-Rannosaurus Wrecks." Bob’s Burgers, written by Jon Schroeder, directed by Wesley Archer, Fox, 2012.

"Thanksgiving." Brooklyn Nine-Nine, written by Luke Del Tredici, directed by Jorma Taccone, Fox, 2013.

#i know some people were interested in reading this so here you go #please. Do not criticize me #esp with the citations i know the italics are not in the right place i was too lazy to go back and fix it just for a tumblr post #its correct on the one im turning in dont worry : )#anyway nobody will probably read thi sbut thats ok!

19 notes · View notes

kemeticcalloutsfromthepublic · 6 years ago

Text

We’d like to begin addressing this thread:

here

We apologize for this post being so long but there is just...so much here.

@thetwistedrope response:

“ Anonymous When your "joking with friends" ends with a transwoman in pain and bullied and in tears, an abuse victim having massive anxiety attacks, and another innocent commentator being *bullied into deleting their blgo and then gaslight off the server as a scapegoat, it's gone too far. Honestly, it would have been better if you and your friends realized you guys went way too far and stopped trying to double down and just admit you went too far and made amends.

None of you can read for shit, I s2g. The screencap of me being “envious” is a completely separate conversation. “

We would like to address that the Anon seems to be referring to a litany of events rather then listing them in chronological order. We’d like to add that they are making a good point, but would have benefited their position by being chronological.

We‘d like to point out Devo begins with an insult, ironically she and her friends are the ones who have reading issues. We’d like to mention that the anon is entirely correct. The events are going to far.

“My part in the situation with Princess Triangle was not bullying. Full stop. “

We’d like to point out that telling a transwoman her fears are “unrealistic”, and she is making excuses, is wrong, but in this mod’s opinion, borders on bullying, and is in fact transphobic. You told a transwoman her fears aren’t real so she has no excuse to not out herself, stand up and be put in a position of danger as she felt she was in.

“I never told PT to out themself. I mean, they already said that they were out as a trans woman, so how tf you can make someone who is already out, out themself again is a complete mystery to me. “

We’d like to mention, you were among the people telling her to sacrifice her support systems to stand up and “rock the boat” (as she put it). Something she was terrified of and didn’t want to be the only person standing up and end up the object of ridicule. Princess Triangle’s position was one of fear of being left alone and the possibility of being ousted, not from “”comfort”” but from a place she felt she was accepted in and she didn’t want to risk that for a fight not really hers. We’d like to remind you, Devo and her friends, alleviated her of that fear by making it a reality. For the record “PT” said she was visibly trans. Princess Triangle stated they felt like they wouldn’t be safe and they would compromise what safety they had in the group. We’d like to state that whether or not the group would have become hostile is irrelevant to the point that she felt like her life was in danger, and Devo and co. told her to risk it anyways. To her present mind, Pricness Triangle made it clear she feared reprisals, she feared danger, she lived in that fear, irregardless of validity, so for her, it was real, and she was still being told to sacrifice herself. To those reading, this should be taken seriously, it is this mods opinion, her following statements and thoughts were in line with this thinking and fear.

“Repeat: All you fuckers are reading inaccurate, edited screen caps in regards to the PT incident. “

We’d like you to prove that the 200+ screengrabs are “edited” and “faked” since you want to now conveniently claim it. We’d also like to mention that Devo’s friends have tried four different defenses to try and escape responsibility and accountability for what they did. We’d like to discount this baseless claim. They are quite genuine. We’d like to add Devo just doesn’t want to admit her own words are against her own defense of innocence. The screencaps are accurate, and speak for themselves. The reality is not pretty.

You have had plenty of time to post the “correct” screencaps. If these were truly wrong, why haven’t you? (oh yes, of course, smarmy did and they were the same ones we had posted) Of course, Smarmy using them to refute things probably doesn’t help your case.

“And I’m sorry, but shezep acting like it was okay to state, quite literally, that we were calling PT a nazi is, frankly, asinine and too far.“

We bring you back to reading comprehension. We’d like to correct Devo’s staggering inability to read, out of convenience, again, Shezep said you and your friends liken everyone who fails to follow your empty moral leftist platitudes are labeled something horrible like a nazis. Shezep was making a comment about how toxic the left-wing is, how someone must be an evil person because they do not conform to your left-wing ideals. A point they are absolutely correct on. We’d like to state that Shezep did not deserve to be shouted down, shit-talked and ridiculed when they left. Isn’t Shezep trans also? We do believe that is two transpeople Devo and co. have bullied, not a very good look for those who ‘champion the downtrodden, discriminated, and totally support LGBTQ+ people...as long as they obey and repeat the correct thoughts and opinions.

“Again, I wouldn’t have handled it that way, but it’s not my server. I’m sorry (except I’m not), but I have no remorse for calling PT out on their complacency. “

We’d like to express our surprise that “feeling unsafe and like my life is in danger” is now “complacency”. Transpeople need support, they need their support systems, and as Shezep correctly states here, trans people are subject to discrimination. Princess Triangle was unwilling to be put in a position to be discriminated against and you weren’t pleased. We’d like to express our utter shock that her status as a transperson, something the social justice kemetics have stated before is very important (‘listen to transpeople when they tell you their experience because they know it better then you do.’ we paraphrased) An important point Devo and co. conveniently abandon when a transperson doesn’t agree with them.

“Us white folks who are able to stand up should stand up.“

We’d like to ask, are you then saying that you did tell PT to out themselves and be put in danger?

“It hasn’t stopped any of you for coming after me because y’all think I’m not doing enough. Does that make you all transphobic? “

Considering we are correct and haven’t expressed positions such as “listen to trans and poc people when they tell you about their experiences, don’t argue with them, just agree”, toting it as extremely important...No. We are calling out your hypocrisy, when you violate the important positions and moral tenets you espouse to being of import, only to throw them aside like used tissues when they no longer serve you because you can’t use it to brow-beat someone else. We’d like to remind you, you have no place telling a transwoman to expose herself to discrimination and danger to serve your crusade.

“Maybe you should look in the mirror before you toss more bricks at my head. “

We would, but the ample heaps of hypocritical trash you and friends hurl into the mirror, seem to have broken it.

“You can get as mad as you want about how other people talked to PT. Some people went a bit far, yes.“

We must express our utter shock at this statement. Maybe instead of trying to sweep your wrong-doing under the rug you should call ourselves out and lecture each other over why what you did was wrong instead of inventing hollow defenses to try and deflect blame. We’d like to state we are just holding you to your own moral standards you and your friends constantly spew. You seem to not meet the requirements you have set. We’d suggest you stop defending yourselves and stop the mental gymnastics.

“But at the end of the day, you can’t keep acting as if I can magically control what everyone else does or says. “

We’d like to say, no, but they do listen to you and respect your opinion and would fall back and lay off if you told them to.

“And you shouldn’t keep acting like me telling a white trans woman to consider standing up and pushing back in places where its safe to do so is somehow transphobic.“

We’d like to remind you, you participated in beating down a transwoman, told her, her fears aren’t realistic and don’t really matter. She expressed she didn’t feel safe and that really should have ended the discussion right there. You went too far, you know you went to far and you got caught.

“And if it is, you all owe many of us an apology for doing the same goddamn thing to us. I can’t tell you how many times ppl get mad because I’m not out there “fighting the good fight” enough. trans status be damned. “

Considering you tell everyone else they have NO EXCUSE not to ever go out and “fight the good fight”, you’re a hypocrite. You don’t go out and fight the good fight, what gives you the right to demand others do the same when you refuse to?

“Esp because you’re reading edited screencaps. “

We’d like to ask...Does it comfort you to pretend the screengrabs are faked and edited? They are, as we stated, legitimate. Claiming over and over they are edited and fake does not change the reality that they aren’t. You look like a massive transphobic hypocrite. And you are, the only shame here should be yours. We would also like to ask, what proof do you have the images were altered? There is over 200 of them and that is a staggering amount of evidence to edit.

We would address smarmy’s contribution to the post but we will leave that for our cohort if they desire. This mod sees nothing of substance in the addition that merits response.

We will move on to @heofspeckledplumage contribution.

“I remind everyone that the screenshots posted by Kemetic callouts from the public are being posted by two mods with a well-documented dislike of both Smarm and Devo. Honestly, that seems to be the main point of the blog is to throw accusations at Smarm and Devo until something sticks. “

We’d like to congratulate you on your own inability to read. For the record, they all stick. Have you even read our mission statement? Your shimmering ignorance astounds us, it’s right there on the blog, it requires minimum effort to look, but that is probably too much for you to muster. To alleviate your smooth lobes of the strain, we’ve linked it for you, here. We do hope you will be able to understand all the confusing words.

“KCFTP is not a neutral, bias-free entity. They have everything to gain and little to lose by framing the situation on the server as they prefer and by editing screenshots because they post under pseudonyms. There is no connection that anyone is able to draw between them posting there and their Tumblr accounts, and thus no accountability for anything they see on the KCFTP blog. “

We’d like to address that we aren’t, our “bias” is calling out what we see as wrong. Your friends are very loud, and they say alot of stupid things we need to address and dismantle. We have alot to do, and they are the ones who say the most hypocritical and rather foolish sentiments, so we call it out. We’d like to mention the KC blog is anything but impartial and is also run by the same loudmouthed jesters.

We’d like to mention, why should we be held accountable when none of you are either? You don’t police each other when you’re out of line, so it is rather hypocritical of you to pull the victim card and pretend you are sunshine and gumdrops. The point of this blog is to correct the community the social justice kemetics have ravaged and pillaged to the point that it has become a toxic and horrible place. We’d like to point out people leave the community because of the social justice kemetics and not the others you scapegoat.

“It takes about two seconds of thinking before one realizes that this is so they can stir the pot and say whatever baseless things they wish to and enjoy zero repercussions on their main blogs. “

We must say that is beautiful sophistry. We are astounded you are a mind reader and can accurately report on our thoughts and feelings, what an amazing power.

We’d like to state nothing we’ve said is baseless, the proof is there, it’s easy to spot, but continue to shove your head in your ass and pretend it’s a dream. We’d like to state, we never see you address your friends wrong-doing, you never step up and tell them when they go too far. We have to guess you feel they are in the right. Bullying transpeople, scapegoating someone at random on the server to blame for the screengrabs, labeling everyone a bigot and racist when they disagree, sending suicide anons to people. You must be complicit in such thinking that these things are ok.

“They are cowards and everything they say should be viewed through the lens of people who will stop at nothing to twist words to their own advantage. “

We’d like to say, you are confused again. We understand the kool-aid is very disorienting, let us clarify: We don’t need to twist anything, that would be you and your friends. Stop yelling at the strawmen, you’re scaring them.

The advantage is already ours because we don’t lie, we tell you the naked truth and why we disagree with your positions, opinions, and how your bullying isn’t just.

With the number of times you and your comrades have twisted other peoples words to your advantage--to the point where you have created entirely false statements, it is the height of arrogance and hypocrisy to accuse us of doing the same. At least we use your own words against you, instead of lies we made up.

“Stop hounding Devo and Smarm. You all need some hobbies. For all some of you talk about piety to the gods you could surely add some shrine time if you did that instead of trying to make Smarm and Devo responsible for everything the Kemetic community does.Quite frankly, y'all need to stop.“

We find this statement hilarious. We have ample hobbies and shrine time, thank you for your concern. The ones who need to stop are”y’all” not us. “Y’all” have chased so many good people out of this community and made it so unsafe this blog became necessary to try and stem the tide of toxic waste you all vomit into the community. We must say, for all the moral tantrums and hollow posturing you and your friends do, you do little else for this community. All you people do is demand everyone be a far leftist, if they don’t you all squeal “BIGOT!!!” like a paniced pig. You preach morality and commit nothing towards it but armchair activism of the vapidly myopic kind. We’re sick of it.

You are quite right, Devo and smarm are responsible...They caused the rifts in the community. They chased people away. They began the drama with their social justice crusades and demands of kow towing to the groupthink. They turned the community into an unwelcoming place. And you helped them.

What was that you said earlier about accountability? You seem to be ok with dismissing any and all accountability when addressed to Devo and smarm, but you want us to be accountable. How hypocritical of you. Clearly you need to spend more time in shrine contemplating Ma’at and treating people well, but wait, none of you really do that do you. We’d like to tell you to close your mouth and try to really take a hard look at your friends antics.

The hostility they have reduced the community to.

We’d like you to spend less time being an apologist for these abusive schoolyard bullies, and more time seriously considering Ma’at.

You all act like moralizing puritanical inquisitors hunting for heretics to crucify, and that’s exactly what you do.

You vilify good people who love the gods, and when an actual racist bigot sauntered into our community...you were all pretty quiet. We found that very interesting.

For all the posts and comments declaring how you loathe nazis and bigots and racists, when a real one showed up you lot barely spoke on it other then “just block kay?”

Then you continue on demeaning and denigrating everyone but them.

You’re a hypocrite and nothing any of you say should ever be listened to.

The evidence piles up, speckled, and your friends weigh heavy on that scale against them. Before you spread more lies about us (which is against ma’at we believe), sit down and consider if all the people chased away, all the people bullied out of the community, inventing fake racist gods to worship, claiming the Netjeru aren’t really that important to the religion, seeking to escape repercussions by spreading lies, brow-beating people down, corrupting others, and harassing others until they delete their blogs, consider if their actions...are just. We did, and we viewed it is not so. So sit. The. FUCK. Down!

We care about this religion, this community and we’ve seen the diarrhea you and your friends have excreted on it, turning it into a hostile and unfriendly place.

We are here to make sure, you are all held accountable. You’re welcome.

--Memphis and Cairo

#transphobia #kemetic fandom #kemetic community #kemeticism #kemetic #community policing

49 notes · View notes

jorjathomas · 4 years ago

Text

Self-care: solutions within mental health problems

My previous post covered a lot of background behind mental illnesses which was useful to research. My sole purpose of my zine is to communicate joy and ease when a girl is entering what we see as adulthood. When I say adulthood, I mean leaving school and finally having option in your own hands rather than being in a school environment. As this is my common goal for this project, my main aim when researching mental health was positive subjects such as solutions, help and inspiring people which could help a woman feel eased knowing other people may being going through the same worries. For example; a girl is stressed about needing to have a idea for her career and is debating going for university despite not knowing what she want to do, my zine should ease these worries and help her make a decision that is healthier for her mind. My own life experiences should help get this aim across. Below is some research I've done following this goal that can help me decide my content.

Dr Alex George

I wanted to look at some role models in society who I feel have made some changes for mental health. I wanted to look into Dr Alex George to see what he is doing to inflict change and if he could inspire me in any way. Dr Alex George appeared on a love tv series called Love Island in 2018 and a lot of people that come put of this show go down a specific influencer route and if often judged by the media and the public often. However Dr Alex George seems to have used his following platform well by voicing serious matters and continuing with his previous job. Throughout the pandemic, Alex George has still been working on the NHS frontline aswell has an social media influencer. His amazing work has enabled him being offered to take role as a Young Mental Health Ambassador handed by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

On the gov website (Feb 2021), Dr. Alex George said:

‘The last year has been unimaginably difficult for all of us, but particularly for young people who have sacrificed so much.

I am honoured to be appointed for this role where I’ll be working closely with government to make mental health an absolute priority and hope to have a positive impact on the lives of young people and their education for good.

Right now young people need a voice in government, and I hope that through this role I can advocate for meaningful change in this area.’

‘At his post as Youth Mental Health Ambassador, Dr. Alex will work to improve the support that young people receive regarding their mental health, as well as aid in the shaping and creation of policies to increase the support for students within the education system. George holds a large social media following, which he will use to demonstrate the support currently available whilst working to bring about changes.’

Above is some of the post he creates on TikTok. I find Alex really inspiring as someone wanting to learn about helping others. Although my work wont do as much, he has inspired me to validify my idea knowing his impact on young people. I am interested to see what he does now he has this role for the UK and I am glad he is using it well and implementing change in the schools where this occurs. I want my work to spread positivity similar to Alex however mine will be on a creative side. As I clearly don't have a medical degree, nor do I know much despite some information from my GCSEs, I wanted use my art skills for the zine to express these messages like Alex. Below I have looked at a few artists that have applied mental health into their artwork both the negative effects and more curable pieces that could help uplift a person.

La Johnson

La’s work symbolises a lot of suffering and I feel like she is trying to convey the loneliness within personal struggles. She's used a lot of reds in her sadder works I am assuming because they are impactful against the black. My favourite images from the two is the one of the right. This is because it is a perfect example of lockdown to me. The idea of wanting to grow and see things is shown through the size of the boy cuddled alone in his room. I enjoy La’s work as she's portrays mental health well but she also creates a lot of impactful illustrations based on specific world events. I like the idea of combining specific topics needed to be spoken about in society into art as I think it is less aggressive than pressuring people through other media forms. Despite being less impactful than an article etc, La Johnson is still spreading awareness of struggles and events happening through her art which is what I aim to do within my magazine.

Mihai Paulet

I found this artist called Mahai Paulet off a UK website called The Perspective Project. This website enables artists to express their art based on the subject of mental health. This was very interesting to scroll through the site and see other peoples perspective on the matter. I like Mahais work and the concept of adding a fantasy-like feel to the work. The contrast between light on dark is very visible in the painting and reminds me of the mind itself. The concept of having both dark and positive thoughts throughout your day and the fine line of balancing the two. It makes me realise that this is very common for everyone and its okay to feel down sometimes however, not letting these thoughts control you and lead you to a deep hole. The right side of the painting portrays this well. I think I have taken some inspiration in this idea of adding unrealistic features into art and want to try and include this fiction and dreamy atmosphere into my work. I am unsure if I will execute this yet as I don't think it matches my message just yet.

Karen Lynch

The final artist I found was Karen Lynch. These pieces are much more uplifting which is my goal for this signature project. These pieces fall into my opinion of Mihai’s work and its aspect of fantasy. I love both of these as it oddly reminds me where I am and not to get so consumed in my thoughts. The contrast between the images makes me think this as we often get caught up in life and all of its problems when actually, we live on a floating rock in space. These collages also remind me of my previous work of escapism in the trend research project. I want to add this aspect of collage into my work as I feel it would add humour and personality into the zine. I love this work and will continue to look into Karen's and other collage artists in order to gain inspiration when creating my magazine.

To conclude, looking at artists alongside my research has defiantly helped me plan my ideas accordingly to what I want my message to be. I am a visual person and I am beginning to see my idea better than at the beginning of the week however, now I need to do some primary research and correlate some data that could help validify my work more. I will begin to interview some females I know and I may ask them to complete a survey to see the results of females in different areas of life. This would help me see if my zine in demand.

0 notes

davidmann95 · 7 years ago

Note

This Superman guy's pretty great, huh?

Okay. Figured I’d write this at somepoint, seems like as good a place as any to do it.

Yes: Superman is pretty great. The character’s great,the costume’s great, the cast is great, the powers are great, the scope of thekind of adventures you can tell with him is great, the mythology’s great, thepower he has to inspire on the page and in the real world is great. I’ve known that since I was…I dunno,three? Two? I’m told he was my first three-syllable word. I’m not sure what myfirst exposure would have been; Supermanthe Animated Series was airing when I was a kid, my dad had the Fleischercartoons on tape, we’d watch reruns of TheAdventures of Superman whenever they aired, I had some odd issues of Superman Adventures, I had picture bookslike The True Story of Superman, Superman: Slippery When Bad and I Hate Superman!, I even had an abridgedversion of John Byrne’s Man of Steel manyyears before I would change my tune on it. It was well past the whole nineyards of lunchboxes and Superman-themed birthday parties - mom and dad wereLois-Mom and Jimmy-Dad for a bit, who got a call one time from a teacher inpreschool that I had dramatically taken off my shirt to show the temporaryS-Shield tattoo I’d gotten on my chest. My dad ended up having to drive toevery Burger King in the area asking for any spare Superman toys because Icouldn’t stand that they had been discontinued before I could get them all andI was making life hell for everyone in the process. I couldn’t play Supermanwith other kids on the playground, because I’d demand we recreate the scriptsof adventures verbatim.

Around seven or thereabouts though,while I never developed any of the disdain towards him that so many seem tohave, I drifted away for a while towards Batman and Spider-Man. Purely bycoincidence, this is also the age I was diagnosed with Asperger’s.

It’s not something I talk about agreat deal these days. Not because of some sense of shame, to be as clear aspossible about that right upfront. It isn’t even a matter of my especiallybeing able to pass as neurotypical - take me out of my comfort zone into anynumber of common social circumstances and that illusion falls by the wayside.But I’ve carved out I feel a pretty decent niche where I’m typically fairlysatisfied and able to function at a level that meets my own standards, and as aresult it’s usually background radiation of my life, not something that comesup unbidden until a situation demands I start thinking about it again. Even when I do, thinking about it much often leaves me feeling self-conscious and self-indulgent, and convinced I’m either being stupidly self-aggrandizing or stupidly self-pitying about it.

So naturally, even once I reallystarted to get back into Superman in earnest at 13 alongsidecomics in general and he became my favorite character in earnest, there are some associations it took me awhile to make.

I’m not quite certain when Istarted to think about it, but the structure of how I thought about it I know came about thanks to @postcardsfromspace‘s (excellent) article I See Your Value Now on learningabout their own Asperger’s. I doubt it’s an association any creators for thecharacter have given any thought (aside from maybe Mark Waid, given that in an interview on Birthright he specifically noted how his idea for Martha Kentbecoming a UFO buff in response to her son was meant as a parallel to parentsof kids with autism having to become self-taught experts on the subject), andall a Google search immediately turns up is comparing a young Clark’s troubleswith his X-Ray vision in Man of Steelto sensory overload in children with autism. It’s not something that would havelikely even occurred to me if it wasn’t for that…well, that I have Asperger’s,and Superman’s a special interest, and as a default I’m always ready on somelevel to connect any input I get back to him.

Obviously, there’s Clark himself.He screams it, right? Likely just because of a general conflation of ‘nerd’traits with ‘Aspie’ traits, but it’s all there right on the surface: shy,awkward, naïve, can’t read a room to save his life, unaware of some generalsocial conventions given his penchant for drab suits, horn-rimmed glasses andfedoras well into the 21st century, either without many friends orlocked into a rigid and small social circle, by all appearances more alivebehind a screen than he ever is to anyone’s face. Even the more confident takeson him, such as in the Reeves TV show or the New 52 Action Comics, seem to lack a social grace or two, seem to grate onthe people around him. Precision-constructed by the greatest man to ever liveto be beneath the notice of his peers in every way imaginable, of course you end up with that guy.

…except even when Clark’s purely apost-Smallville construct on Superman’s part, he’s not made out of nothing, ishe? The Kansas boy who grew up reading ATale of Two Cities as a toddler and obsessively pouring over astronomytextbooks for clues can hazard a guess of what it feels like to be a nerd. Theguy who grew up on a farm who flies and can accidentally shatter steel in hisgrip is entirely familiar with how it feels to awkwardly maneuver around in acrowded city. The square who grew up in the middle of nowhere constantlygetting accused of not knowing how the world really works can probably express a little doubt over his ownself-awareness and naiveté if he absolutely has to. Clark Kent is historicallybuilt on Superman’s own worst image of himself.

(This incidentally, along withplenty of other storytelling-based reasons, is why I intensely dislikeit when Clark’s the ‘real guy’, and therefore confident and charming and on topof things; it’s Kryptonite to the ideas in play there.)

And the shyness? The sense of beingout of place? The - let’s get right to the heart of it - alien-ness?

Superman’s pretty cool. He’sfriendly; he’s understanding; he’s clever and kind and determined. He’s alsosomething of a loner who’s often surprisingly loathe to open up to people,and even once he’s married he still needs plenty of time to himself to thinkthings through. He’s someone who when he puts on the costume always engageswith the world in a very specific context: where his natural talents are mostobviously geared towards being helpful, where so long as he can pull off Sweetand Composed and make some speeches when he has to people will accept him withopen arms. Being Superman puts him in a situation where he can show his bestself, personally and socially and morally, and be accepted for his goodness ina way nerdy, quiet Clark Kent never can.

And god, does he need thatacceptance.

That’s often applied to painfullymaudlin stories of him hand-wringing over his social impact on humanity andwhether he can save all the little children of the world from cancer orwhatever, but it’s still something else that seems to be pretty consistentacross the various interpretations. Unless he’s barreling ahead with a degreeof self-confidence bordering on flat-out arrogance, he’s always worried abouthow he seems in the eyes of the world. Whether that means Red Kryptoniteexternalizing anxieties of old age or powerlessness or throwing him intodreamworlds of hate or irrelevance, or wondering whether he can justify one ofhis two identities, or pondering his alien nature, or questioning what Supermanmeans as a symbol to the world, or being flat-out replaced, or even protectinghis secret, it’s always the same question refracted through endless prisms: Can I belong here? Am I doing well enough,being useful enough, to deserve what I’ve been given? Will they find me out?Would they ever accept me if theyknew the truth?

For all the joy that comes with who he is, that’s his life too: it’s growing up inSmallville knowing there’s no one else who’ll ever know the distinct timbre ofair-pressure changes when a hummingbird slows down its wingbeat a fraction, noone he could talk about the sight of snowflakes assembling themselves out offreezing raindrops to without sounding as if he’s out of his mind, no one whocould fully empathize with having to practice normal human reactions to theworld. It’s spending half his life trying to be a normal guy among normalpeople and failing because of his own insecurities, the other half really beingable to do his best in his own element and being the person he wants to be, butnever being sure if it’s enough for those around him. It’s finally meeting other Kryptonians orsuperheroes but realizing even their own experiences diverge so sharply thatthe communication gap remains, that as a matter of circumstance he is and will alwaysremain fundamentally other in someways, no matter how deeply he connects with other people.

His relationships seem to fit the mold too - it works pretty dang well that histwo best friends are a coworker who’s simultaneously the cool dude who takeshim under his wing and the kid whouncritically looks up to him, and someone with the same ‘hobby’ who’s himselfpretty well-known for having issues opening up to people. Or that his wifefalling in love with him is framed in terms of her looking past him at his mostvulnerable and awkward and unable to fit in to see the person he actually iswhen no one else can, while a major part of his love for her is her being thekind of person who’s pushy enough to force him out of his shell and some of hismore self-defeating behaviors.

And that his worst enemy, in spite ofhis aura of smug self-regard, doesn’t seem able to relate to other people on afundamental level or manage to work with them very well when he’s not in fullcontrol of the situation, even as he needs them to accept and validate him. Lexfails because he’ll never work to bridge that gap in the same way as Superman,seeing that as a ridiculous and unrealistic imposition, and Superman as anintruder into his personal universe trying to force his unrealistic standardsof “acknowledge other people and whatthey think about things” on him while at the same time agonizingly,bafflingly succeeding where Lex fails. He’s the embodiment in that regard ofthe frustrated, shamed instinct of the isolated that you’re already great, sopeople should already love and understand you and it’s their fault for notgetting it (hence for instance how in All-Starhe overtly sees the world and the relationships that make it up in a coldly material manner where people naturally flock to only the most outwardly great aroundthem - colored by a sexist streak that’s taken on a whole new degree of toxic prominencewhen it comes to the socially awkward in the near-decade since the book’sconclusion).

(It also works that Superman’scharacter in All-Star is defined byhis disconnect from humanity, and that his big character arc is having tobecome emotionally honest enough to talk with the people who love him aboutwhat he’s going through.)

Again, clearly none of this is theintent on the part of those who’ve worked with him over the years. This is byno means the bedrock or secret key to what makes him tick; it’s at best a componentin a much larger machine. I’m sure if you dug into it enough you could find somethingproblematic in the proposition, and I won’t pretend there couldn’t becharacters closer in every sense to my own experiences.

But none of them would be Superman.

Sure, it helps that I grew up withhim, and that he’s a character with enough detail and weird ideas and characterwork that I can delve into the minutia of him in a way I can’t with anyone elseto the same extent other than Batman, but beyond all that, he’s Superman. He’s TheGuy, the best, and that I can see myself in him in *any* way means more than itever could with any other character, because that makes him being a role modelmean something else.

For all I talked about how lonelyhe is above he’s still an idealist, still has friends and a job and weirdpersonal hobbies at his personal ice-cave and a way to express his highest,best self in a way that’s loved by the people around him. The way he seesthings differently can be accepted and shared even as he understands and caresfor the people around him. He’s happy. And that he can start from a place of being the onlyone of his kind and end up a good person, the best person, in part because he knows better than anyone what it isto be alone and why others matter so much? That has more weight to people, andto me, than can be expressed.

I mentioned before I’m not wildabout Clark being the exclusive true identity in part because of how much itmesses with this. I’ve also said elsewhere that while both Clark and Supermanare inseparable and true parts of his identity that can’t be denied as importantaspects of who he is, if I absolutely had to choose one as being the ‘real’ one I’dgo with Superman. And I can pick apart any number of storytelling reasons forthat, but thinking about how I relate to Superman in the way I do made merealize something else. I have to see Superman as the truest self becauseSuperman’s who he is at his best, when he’s not afraid or ashamed and can showhimself in all his alienness to everyone and be accepted for it. That’s thedream, right? I’m no Superman, but I’ve gottabelieve in him, ‘cause I’ve gotta believe in me.

I’m pretty sure some of you canrelate.

#Superman #Asperger's #Autism #Clark Kent #Lex Luthor #Lois Lane #All Star Superman #Analysis #Opinion #Me

363 notes · View notes

readingsbylibramc · 4 years ago

Text

birth chart reading for @otter-girl

🦋 chart shape, dominants

your chart is a locomotive shape. this means that you're a very ambitious person, with a lot of energy. mars has a big influence on you, and your life revolves around understanding your needs and achieving your goals. the empty part of your life is what you have to develop, hence your reputation, career life and also your routine and health.

your dominant planets are venus, uranus and the moon. you may be a bit unpredictable and have frequent mood swings, you're probably easily influenced by others. you are very creative, though! you are able to come up with many innovative ideas, and you're probably drawn to artistic outlets such as writing, dancing, singing, etc.

your dominant element is air. in your life, you adore seeking for knowledge of any kind. you may be interested in studying different subjects, from those you study at school like science, maths, literature etc. to more unconventional ones, such as astrology, psychology, criminology and so on. you enjoy interacting with people; even if you’re not that sociable, you’ll still be interested in their point of view and their ideals, as you see it as a way to expand your own mind. you’re also interested in vintage, and you may have a retro aesthetic or just like history in general.

🌎 ascendant in libra, 8° / 1st decan ruled by venus

you're naturally likeable, you have a particular charm to you that makes everyone drool over you. you're very nice and outgoing, you always try to make others feel at ease. you're very considerate of others' feelings. you strive for fairness and justice, it's the way you approach others and the world. basically, you treat others like they treat you: if they're kind with you, you'll be very sweet. otherwise, you'll turn very sarcastic and harsh, almost cold at a certain point. this can make you seem extremely provocative, especially with your aries moon-scorpio sun. you're very opinionated, you always feel the need to express your thoughts as you're very proud of them. in addition, since you always decide whether something is right or not, you may come off as a know-it-all. on the other hand, you're very sociable and you enjoy being in company, doesn't matter whether you're with your family, friends, lover etc. you may get to know many people throughout your life, but your friendships may not be much stable. you are surrounded by people, but you could feel lonely particularly often. I also need to point out that libra is ruled by venus, the planet of beauty. you're most likely very attractive and magnetic. even if not necessarily conventionally, people find themselves attracted to you. you may have sparkling doe eyes, with also full lips and a defined cupid's bow. your face is more on the longer side, perhaps you have an heart-shaped face, with high cheekbones and a pointy chin. you may also have naturally amazing, fluffy and flowing hair. your body is also very feminine, with a lot of curves and softness to it. it's very romantic, to sum up. also, your hair is probably naturally beautiful; it could be curly, or at least it's very thick and healthy-looking, even if you don't take much care of it.

libra ascendant opposite aries moon: you may have troubles understanding others’ real feelings for you. you may feel as if everyone hates you, like everyone is talking behind your back when it’s the opposite. the ascendant being in libra doens’t help either, as this aspect enhances its trust issues even more. you’re particularly sensitive about others’ view and opinion of you, you may get deeply hurt when people criticize you. you could have the tendency to act differently than you usually do, in order to preserve your feelings. this is obviously a toxic behaviour, that fills you up with your own stress and doubles it. due to that, you may become very moody and nervous, ending up hurting others yourself. or maybe, it’s the other way around; your feelings are so overwhelming that you can’t hide them, and that could put you in embarrassing, unpleasant situations. you may show all of your emotions on your face, ready to be read. the way to cope with this placement is finding someone similiar to you; someone who’s trust-worthy, and very sensitive and empathetic too. someone who’d never judge you for you think or say, and that would always help you becoming the best version of yourself. someone that understands you, without having to explain all of your behaviours and habits.

libra ascendant conjunct libra mars: this placement makes your libra rising less soft. your approach to the world is spontaneous, you don't like thinking before acting. you don't really do this with malice, though; you're just very honest. even though you appear really confident to others, you may find yourself feeling a little insecure. that comes from the fact that you're a perfectionist, even though you want to be perfect to show it to others rather than for yourself. hence, you feel pressured. even though you may appear as rude, once you get to know someone you truly care about you're willing to control yourself, just for them. that's how far you'd go for someone you love. physically, people with mars conjunct the ascendant are usually very fast, active and athletic in general. you may walk fast, and you have quick reflexes. you're probably fit; even if you're overweight, your body will still look good, with a nice and toned structure. you may have strong, sharp, almost 'masculine' features: thin lips, thick eyebrows and lashes, broad shoulders, sharp nose... stuff like that.

🌞 sun in scorpio, 17° / 2nd decan ruled by pluto and neptune

you're quite of a loner, you prefer spending time alone rather than with others. you're extremely intuitive, and you can read people like a book; they can't lie or keep secrets from you, you'll surely find out. you're pretty charismatic, and paired with your wise intellect it's hard not to agree with your ideas, especially considering that your moon is in aries. you're basically a leader, a very demanding one. you have high standards regarding everything: clothes, food, goals, people... you're always striving for the best, you don't want to settle down. on the other hand, even though it may take you a while to find someone worth of your affection, once that someone shows up you'll stay with them forever. you're deeply loyal, and also caring in your own way. that's because you value feelings, you can easily smell when someone isn't trustworthy. you're probably very protective of your friends and loved ones in general, sometimes even too much. this could even escalate and become a more serious issue, as scorpio is also the planet of obsession, after all. it's common for you to feel your emotions x2, as they're too intense to handle. you know everything about others, but you don't show off and gossip about it. actually, you keep the info for yourself and use it when you need it.

🌙 moon in aries, 14° / 2nd decan ruled by mars and mercury

you aim for greatness. this is where your strong desire to be the #1 comes from, pretty much. you're very proud of yourself, and you don't like to acknowledge your mistakes. you always want to look like you have your life together, even in certain moments when you feel lost. I would say that this is a sort of self-sabotaging mechanism, as you can literally go as far as forcing a smile if it shows the world that you can stand by yourself. overall, I would say you deal with your emotions in a very 'child-like' way; after all, aries is pretty self-centered. you tend to preserve yourself more, unless someone really special to you is involved. in fact, aries moon makes you really protective of your loved and trusted ones, even though they're not many because of your high standards. you're also very honest, you speak from your heart. while it's a positive trait, you may be too blunt and ruin your relationships because of that. you're both smart and fast, hence you may get annoyed when people mishear or misunderstand your words.

🗣 mercury in scorpio, 0° / 1st decan ruled by pluto

you're extremely blunt and straight-forward, you may actually hurt people with your words. you probably lack diplomacy, and you're very realistic. the thing is, you speak the truth, but not everyone can accept it. that's why your behaviour is so controversial. though, since you also have a libra rising, I assume you could manifest this side of you only when you react by impulse, when you're angry. otherwise, you try to be as well-spoken as possible. you speak fluent sarcasm, and that could annoy people who don't understand your sense of humor. you're probably good at lying, and even manipulating people. you may often make others change their mind just with your own words, but be careful not to use this skill to hurt others, or you'll only experience a sense of guilt and overall the bad sides of it. on the other hand, you're an extremely captivating speaker, you'd be successful at anything that involves the use of words and voice. you're truly intuitive, and it's easy for you to understand when someone is being honest or is lying to you. last but not least, you're very secretive as well. you're probably the type to know everything and anything about others, while you remain a mystery.

❤️ venus in sagittarius, 25° / 3rd decan ruled by jupiter and the sun

people may consider you flaky, as you value freedom above all. you may be the type that likes making new experiences regarding love, and you often date your crushes. yet, you feel too limited in a relationship. you don't enjoy committing to someone if that someone isn't perfect for you, you're only completely loyal to the one you consider your true love. you can't give up your freedom, your thirst for adventure and experiences for someone else. basically, your ideal partner would be a risk-taker, someone loyal but not too clingy, that is down to go on a road trip in every moment. someone impulsive, that could help you stepping out of your comfort-zone. you're probably into those youthful love stereotypes, e.g. high school dates. you want your relationships to be filled with excitement, you despise boring, traditional and cheesy things. you may also find yourself being attracted to unavailable people; that is, you could fall for people that are already taken, or maybe they're physically unavailable, e.g they live abroad or in another city in general. you're also attracted to foreigners, and people that have a wise, yet bubbly aura around them.

sagittarius venus square libra mars: this placement most likely gives you a short-temper. you may have lots of friends or lots of romantic partners, but you may find yourself being often irritated by them. you could argue with others over petty things, and this could affect your relationships significantly. at the same time, you enjoy fun, exciting relationships. you're the type who's looking for a risktaker, even dangerous partner. you hate boredom, and this may be your weakness regarding this placement; that is, once the relationship starts getting more serious, you feel as if it's going down, when it's actually the opposite. hence, you just run towards a new adventure. with this placement, what you need is learning to open up and being honest without being too blunt. you need to talk about your feelings, you can't bottle them up, but be careful not to sound rude, don't be too impulsive. because of your nature, the perfect partner for you would be someone mature, confident and empathetic that will understand you and won't get hurt by your words.

☄️ mars in libra, 3° / 1st decan ruled by venus

there’s this stereotype that libra mars people are passive-aggressive. it may be true, but only partially. in fact, you try to avoid conflicts exclusively when you’re in public, or maybe with someone you don’t know well. in that case, you can eventually try to avoid the problem. with people you’re close to, you’re pretty much the opposite. you may say the worst of things that you probably don’t even feel, you may even have the istinct to throw hands. you’re driven by a strong sense of justice, and you probably were the class’ snitch during daycare/primary school. you also strive for equality, hence you may get very defensive when it comes to proving your innocence, or just really anyone’s. overall, you’re a fair person with strong morals, who acts based on the situation you’re in.

🏡 houses

your 1st house is in libra. you always try to be kind and friendly with people you don't know; you most likely don’t like conflicts, you prefer avoiding them, even though you may have some troubles with that due to your impulsive and fiery aries moon. you probably care a lot about your appearance, and because of that you could get insecure from time to time. usually, people with libra in their 1st house look for themselves in others, as their chart is basically upside down. yet, since you have mars conjunct the ascendant, you don’t depend on others as much as other libra risings. you’re still a free-spirit, you’re able to stand up and you come off as more fierce than the typical libra ascendant. you also have your scorpio mercury in this house; you enjoy communicating and intellectualism. you’re very curious about everything that surrounds you. you love expanding your knowledge, ideas and mind in general through communication, interactions and media. you have the ability to adapt quickly to new situations; your mind is fast, usually impulsive, and you are able to come up with new ideas and solutions quickly. since you’re constantly mentally active, physically you may also tend to play with your fingers or hair, or maybe you tend to gesticulate while you speak.

your 2nd house is in scorpio, with also your sun placed there. this placement can make you seem a bit selfish. in fact, you’re extremely possessive of your possessions, you don’t want to share them with others. there’s a lot of karma around your finances. in fact, if you’re too stingy, it may bite your butt. you need to give in order to receive, so I’d suggest you to share your things more with others. you could share a meal with a friend, for example. you’ll surely get something positive back from it. your finances may not be stable either; they are in constant change, and while this placement can make you earn quite a great amount of money, it can also make you lose everything you have. no inbetweens. the 2nd house is also about self-esteem, your relationship with your appearance. you have contrasting feelings about it; some days, you’re very confident. other days, you hate yourself. you may find flaws in every single picture you take or every pants you try on. it’s a very intense placement, as you may often feel as if you need to change your appearance in order to love yourself. based on other placements in your chart, it could manifest in spending money in a new wardrobe for example, as you feel like changing your style would help you boost your self-confidence.

your 3rd house is in sagittarius, with also your pluto, chiron and venus placed there. this is an amazing placement for a writer! you’re extremely open-minded and philosophical. you’d probably do great at poetry or just literature in general. you’re thirsty for knowledge, you aspire to learn everything you can, you enjoy being smart and educated. you most likely love comedy, and you have an amazing sense of humor yourself, you’re able to light up the room and make everyone burst into laughter even if you don’t mean to. you’re also very intelligent, you’re able to memorize things fast and you’re also a fast-learner. you may be less into gossips than other libras, as you’re very benevolent and considerate of others’ feelings. in addition, you’re able to see the good in everyone, there’s no reason for you to talk behind someone’s back. actually, it’s the opposite. you’re quite impulsive, you say things as they are. pluto here makes you extremely mysterious; you may like diving into dark topics, such as horror and crimes, or even witchy things such as astrology, crystals, tarots, etc. you may be good at keeping secrets, and you could often find people opening up to you. basically, you know everything about everyone, but others know nothing about you. chiron here indicates that you're probably insecure about the way you speak; you could stutter for example, or maybe you feel insecure about your voice. it could also be that you weren't that good in school, you probably learned better by yourself than in groups.

your 4th house is in capricorn, with also neptune placed there. I can tell that your childhood was quite complex. not necessarily bad, I don't see any kind of trauma, but you probably had to grow up way sooner than other kids. your parents could have been very hard-working and focused on their jobs, possibly wealthy too. they were very responsible and cared a lot about you, they always made sure you had everything you needed, even though they could have been slightly absent from time to time due to their jobs. people with a capricorn ic usually find something missing in their childhood, they had to deal with responsibilities from a young age. it could even be that you started working when you were still a teen, or maybe you had to take care of the house or of your siblings for them. neptune could have made you a bit more insecure as a child than other capricorn ics. you weren’t much extroverted, you preferred staying in, drawing, playing games etc. possibly, you were also close to arts, you used to express your feelings through creative outlets when you were a child. it could also be that one of your parents may be absent; they could be divorced, or in the worst case they might have died when you were pretty young.

your 5th house is in aquarius, with also your uranus placed there. you’re extremely creative, your ideas are very innovative, and you may have particular hobbies, interests or taste than others. when you’re able to fully express yourself, you gain full security and you start experimenting and inventing new things. you could be the type to start new fashion trends, music styles, art styles… basically, you’re a creative genius. your hobbies may also involve astrology, as well as human studies like psychology, or also anything that has to do with technology. you may be into videogames for example, tv series, social media… they’re your way to spend your free-time and relax. your relationships may also be very unconventional; you could usually date people online, or perhaps you may have the potential to meet someone through dating apps. they’re quite unstable, they may end out of the blue for example. yet, the part of fortune here makes it better; in fact, you’ll be able to achieve the best of your luck through creative outlets. again, if I were in you I’d definitely try writing something! you may also dedicate yourself to fashion, art, music, etc., anything that stimulates your creativity.

your 6th house is in pisces. in your daily life, you hardly ever have a structured schedule. you go with the flow, you take things as they come. you may often have your head in the clouds, you could get distracted easily and you may literally creative oscar-worthy movies in your head instead of doing what you need to do. your job may involve arts, images, possibly even fame. you should definitely use your creative talents for your possible career. also, you could benefit from helping others; you could be a psychologist or therapist of any kind, a nurse… any place where you’re able to help others. again, you could also help others through your art, hence with your lyrics, books, etc. when it comes to diets, workout routines, skincare routines etc. you could lack consistency, even though your libra and aries energy make you more motivated to take care of your appearance. you may sleep a lot, it’s easy for you to feel tired and stressed even when you’re not over-working yourself.

your 7th house is in aries, with also your moon conjunct the descendant. love is most likely not your priority in life. you need independence, and you’re able to stand up for yourself on your own. you don’t need someone else to help you. you tend to attract partners in your life that are hot-headed, stubborn, assertive and goal-oriented. they strive to be the best at everything they do, they’re extremely competitive and willing to do anything to achieve their goals. basically, you attract very dominant partners, but you don’t want to be dominated or controlled. you may often experience power struggles between you and your partner, which cause you issues in every relationship you get in. at the same time, you wouldn’t stand someone too submissive either, as you still need someone that would mentally stimulate you. they may actually be quite selfish and self-centered, they’ll care more about their own development rather than that of you two as a couple. an aries 7th house indicates that while you’ll have a very active, passionate spouse, you may also experience lots of arguments and discussions in your marriage life, perhaps even physical violence in the worst case. your moon here luckily makes things better; while you may often experience power-struggles with your partners, you most likely attract very empathetic and nurturing people as well that could help you with your temper.

your 8th house is in taurus, with also saturn sitting there. you have the most stable, stubborn sign in a house that requires constant change. you probably hate changing your routine and stepping out of your comfort zone. changes are hard for you to accept; you find it hard to change job all of a sudden for example, or even letting go of a toxic friend of yours can be stressful for you. also, you could be quite materialistic and fond of material possessions, causing you to be a bit too stingy, which isn’t good for your karma. another reason that this house contrasts with your 2nd house in scorpio is that you feel like you constantly need to change, but ironically slow taurus makes your changes way slower than usual. sometimes, when they happen, they’re so subtle that you probably can’t even see them or at least notice them at first. saturn here indicates that you struggle to open up; it may take you a while to get intimate with someone, not just physically but also mentally. you're very private, and you probably have trust issues as well, it's hard for you to trust people. as a result, your bonds with others could be a bit superficial. but luckily, as you grow mature, you'll be able to work out this problem and feel more comfortable with others.

your 9th house is in gemini, with also jupiter placed there. gemini in the 9th house cusp usually makes people a bit close-minded, as they are very logical and careful in their approach to the world. you may change your ideas and opinions quite quickly, to the point that you could seem unconsistent. when learning new things, you like exploring different matters and subject, from maths to literature, but you may struggle to focus on only one. as a result, you may lack precision. luckily, jupiter here is its natural place and helps you dealing with this placement; you're probably a fast-learner and you're very witty and curious, you like learning about anything you can. you probably like studying, not necessarily at school but studying in general, and you may also be skilled at foreign languages. you could also be interested in foreign matters, such as cultures, music, etc.

your 10th house is in cancer. your career needs to be private. that doesn’t mean that you can’t become famous of course, but you prefer being more hidden at work, you may even work from home or from a young age. many celebrities with this placement, in fact, started working when they were still young. also, cancer indicates that your future job will give you the opportunity to express and / or deal with your / others’ feelings and emotions, and considering that the ruler of this house, the moon, is in the 7th house, I can see you working with other people. you could become a teacher, a counselor, as well as a nurse, a therapist… anything that allows you to express your emotions while also helping others is suitable for you. you could possibly also choose the same career as your parents, or you may handle the family’s business for example. you could also end up doing the job of your childhood dreams. you feel the need to pursue a meaningful career in your life, you want to feel emotionally connected to it. you don’t only want something that allows you to earn money, you also want to gain wisdom and maturity from a job, and hence you could even be a bit picky in choosing your future career.

your 11th house is in leo. with this placement, you’re probably very popular among your friends, you’re most likely the most talkative or funniest member of your group. you may also attract very popular people yourself in your friendships, perhaps even celebrities. possibly, you could even make friends that allow you to gain recognition and / or popularity, doesn’t matter whether it’s in school, job, etc. you could also have very big dreams for your future, probably regarding your career and finances. you most likely aspire to be wealthy and financially independent, you are very hard-working and possibly even a bit materialistic.

your 12th house is in virgo. this is another placement that indicates that you are an amazing writer! in fact, the 12th house is about secret skills too, and virgo is ruled by mercury, the planet of communication. you do the math. with this placement, though, I feel like you may feel restricted from pursuing your goals, or even a career in the public eye, as you’re quite sensitive to others’ criticism about you. you strive to be perfect all the time, and your libra rising wants to constantly have a nice reputation. a scandal, or even simple haters, would probably be the end of you. you also have venus placed here, meaning that deep down, you actually crave affection from someone else. yet, you may be afraid, or perhaps too shy to approach a possible partner. but remember, the 12th house is also the house of secret talents! in fact, especially with your libra rising, you’re extremely likeable. you shouldn’t be afraid of not being liked back, for example. remember that your love life will get better with time, as you become more mature in that field. mars is also placed in this house; with this placement, I assume that you may struggle to take action. you may try to avoid conflicts at all costs, to the point that you could actually start victimizing yourself. you could struggle to accomplish your goals, you try to be productive but you may get lazy and procrastinate very often.

❤️ love life, soulmates

in love you attract aries, cancer, gemini, sagittarius and libra placements. your future spouse will most likely have aquarius and gemini traits placements; they’ll be very similiar to you: bold and confident, but also with a warm heart and a hidden insecurity to them. you may meet them in a place near water, so maybe at the sea or near a lake. you may also meet them in a church, in a temple or any place related to spirituality. you could see them first in your dreams, or perhaps you're going to meet at a hospital or at the doctor's. also, your spouse will most likely be one of your soulmates, and hence once you meet them you’ll probably have this ‘I’ve already seen you before’ feeling. they’ll seem very familiar, and you’ll find emotional comfort in them. your children will have strong aquarius, possibly capricorn placements. they’ll be very dreamy, they’ll have big goals for their life, and they’ll also be extremely intelligent and creative as well.

👶🏻 family life

your father is probably a very caring person that knows how to stand up for himself when he has to, but he may struggle to do that. he’s very smart, caring and optimistic, even though he may be a bit childish at times. he could have cancer placements in his chart, possibly aries too. your mother, on the other hand, is a bit more serious and focused on work, but she always made sure you always had what you needed. she was probably the strict parent in the family, but she still has some sweetness and nice humor to her. also, she may have capricorn, aquarius, pisces or taurus placements in her chart. if you have siblings, they most likely have sagittarius, taurus, scorpio and / or libra placements in their chart. they could be foreign or skilled at foreign languages, and you may feel very at ease with them. you have an amazing bond with them, you’re able to both relax and have fun together, even though you may discuss often. you could have been very jealous of each other when you were kids, maybe.

📊 career

as I've already mentioned above, you're going to pursue a career that will allow you to interact with others. you would probably do amazing at a job that requires you to help people, you could make a great nurse or psychologist for instance. you may also work as a teacher of any kind, not necessarily a professor or school teacher. you may also become a chief or a boss in your job, since the ruler of your midheaven (career), the moon, is in the sign of aries, the leader sign. I definitely see you being successful in whatever you choose, you could become very independant and financially stable thanks to your job. possibly, you may also have a business with your future spouse. you could also work with children or for family, as a counselor for example. anything that allows you to interact with and help others would be great for you, as it would make you more empathetic and sensitive to the external world.

👕 fashion sense, style analysis

your sagittarius energy screams grunge! you probably love 90s/00s aesthetic, with fishnets, black, burgundy, belts, leather jackets... all of this stuff. also, oversized clothes are a must for you. you may especially be fond of wearing tight tops with baggy jeans or viceversa: tight pants, possibly leggins, with big, long sweatshirts and t-shirts. it's very comfortable, but you still make it look trendy and particular with your charisma. you may also love printed things, especially graphic t-shirts. for shoes, I'd say trendy sneakers and boots are a must in your wardrobe.

👁 past life, life purpose

in your past existence, you were very in touch with your home, self, and probably marriage too. overall, your past life was very peaceful, especially when it comes to your family. this lifetime, though, you need to focus on letting the world know who you are. you have to build a reputation for your name and feel satisfied with your career, while still taking care of your family.

🤔 major transits analysis / april 4th

the sun is currently transiting in your aries 7th house, exactly conjunct your moon. you could be feeling very needy lately, perhaps even a bit emotional. you want to be with people, maybe with your loved ones, you feel like you need a lot of care and attention but at the same time you could be quite moody. you may get angry or disappointed easily, so beware of that. jupiter, on the other hand, is in your 5th house; you may be lacking discipline in these days, perhaps you tend to procrastinate as you feel quite tired and you have to relax. of course it's ok to take some time for yourself, but remember to be responsible as well; hard work pays off.

🧿 manifest what you want, secret skills

the best way for you to manifest is idealizing and acting at the same time. you have both energies combined in your chart, which is great actually! I’d suggest you to first picture what you want in your life, and then do something concrete to manifest it. for example, let’s suppose you want this gucci bag; first, think about it deeply. then, you could try going into a gucci shop and just walk around, maybe even touch that bag. you’ll get results if you believe it! it’s also great to write and read/listen your own positive affirmations, such as 'I love my gucci bag’, 'the gucci bag my mom gave me is amazing’ and so on.

and this is the end! thank you again for booking a reading, let me know if it resonated :)

- libramc xx

#astrology

2 notes · View notes

helshades · 7 years ago

Note

Far from me to use the crude tumblr speech but, here I have to say, I believe you're "reaching" quite a bit. As much as i agree that a lot of people involved in fandom(s) have… unusual… taste… I'm skeptical about the idea that sexual fantasies have much to do with political or belief systems. One fantasy can be more or less encouraged, sure, but overall, the big ol' classics stay in fashion. Usually a variant of "what if something that's supposed to be horrible happened… and I liked it???"

Human beings are bizarro primates, after all, and if left to their own devices in the company of most inanimate objects, will probably try to either eat it or have sex with it, it’s true. Add to this the fact that bodice-ripping novels have been a thing for way too long for many of fandom’s twistier fantasies to look that new (although you can bet your sceptic arse that the whole Alpha-Beta-Omega item is a strictly postmodern horror) and you’re quite right in assuming that in spite of numerous variants, overall fannish forays into Sigmund Freud’s censored nightmares aren’t that original. On the other hand…

Nevertheless, I’ll contradict you on a few points:

When I was sardonically linking fandom’s most hive-minded tendencies to a certain state of contemporary society, and I used the term ‘liberalism’, I wasn’t either announcing my conversion to Trumpism or alluding to a system of beliefs, rather to a structural phenomenon pervasive in our Western societies—and one must never forget that politics is by essence a res publica: civic life, what is common to all in the public space, and on which all can operate equally provided that they concert… Fiction doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it reflects a great part of our current preoccupations, personal ones indeed, but also ones we’ve absorbed from social osmosis, you might say.

Liberalism in Occident isn’t a mere set of political beliefs so much as the default structure of our respective and common economies, dictating the way States interact with one another in regards to a common market. This is capitalism triumphant, where in the initial idea resisting absolutism has long dissolved into pretty antisocial individualism as social constraint has come to be perceived as the worst kind of oppression possible. This has to be conjugated with the rise of consumer society—which, symptomatically enough, doesn’t have a Wikipedia page—in the 1960s, whose core issue is that the desire for consumption eventually overrides most ethical principles.

Economy completely informs social interactions, and that includes the way we educate children, actually. Did you know that an entire social phenomenon and bona fide psychological condition happens to be a direct consequence of mass consumption? In French we know this as the ‘kid king’ issue, what happens when a whole society is encouraging parents to spoil and coddle children so much that they grow into adults incapable of handling frustration, or indeed any type of adversity. Bear with me, because this is actually fascinating:

▬ Human beings are in a way programmed to seek pleasure and flee discomfort; they instinctively seek to fulfil basic needs, and once these are satiated, try to find as much comfort as possible. Any human infant and young child is ruled by this principle of pleasure, and the role of education is to basically teach children the reality principle, that they aren’t alone in life, that others exist and have to be taken into account, that impulses have to be controlled; this is done essentially by setting limits for the little child not to cross. Balance between the two principles is paramount to the construction of the self.

▬ Psychological resilience pioneer Boris Cyrulnik commented on the fact that if animals regularly abused in their infancy tend to find themselves as adults at the bottom of the social scale since they’ve acquired a certain aptitude for subjection, those never exposed to aggression tend to stand outside the group because of their inaptitude to participate in socialising rituals. Yet, adversity is absolutely needed to set sane limits to one’s behaviour: deprived of any real frustration, a child will grow up still believing himself omnipotent, becoming hedonistic, selfish, egotistical; throwing tantrums at any opposition. Typically, these children end up suffering from attention disorders—with or without hyperactivity—anxiety issues, oppositional disorders…

▬ This is also an unplanned consequence of widespread contraception, as most children nowadays are born of the

desire

of their parents to have them meaning that family no longer makes the children as much as a child makes a family; the main problem being that as the immutable centre of his parents’ attention, a child tends to become a perpetual consumer of everything that a society of mass consumption is ready to provide to keep him sated in his own desires. French psychologist (specialist of cognitive immaturity) Didier Pleux listed the ‘five Os’ of the overattentive parents: overconsumption, overstimulation, overestimation, overprotection and overcommunication; the parents will spoil their child with toys and sometimes food, seek to keep him busy at all times because boredom is perceived as yet another form of violence (but it is crucial in the development of creativeness), laud every single of his realisations, prevent him from making any real effort and prioritise his expression (letting him interrupt others when they speak, for instance) at all times.

▬The thing is, contemporary society harasses all of us with the injunction to consume, perpetually, at every opportunity, and in the case of good-willed parents it furnishes with the means to spoil their children just as advertisement convinces them that if they don’t cater to their every supposed need, they’ll be bad parents.

▬The phenomenon, because that type of behaviour, essentially consumerist, was being so encouraged by the rise of neoliberalism (a more aggressive form of that rapidly-globalising capitalism), quickly snowballed into public education, and I can tell you, most especially because I used to teach for a living, that in France a whole educative system got based on the notion that collective education would be better off if it was made to cater to the personal needs of pupils—but this is a can of worms to be opened on another day, preferably one when my cold has abated and I’ve stopped sneezing my brain away all over my keyboard.

Believe it or not, I’m not digressing that much. We are the grandchildren of the first mass consumers and the kid-king phenomenon is a Generation Y thing. My generation is having children of its own. Most importantly, this is the generation that got to grow up with the Internet first, meaning that we were born in a very, very different world. You noted that fandom fantasies aren’t really unheard of and I concur, but I’d argue that the Internet allowed for fantasies to be shared on a massive scale and amplified into becoming cultural phenomena that have much to do with group emulation. Psychologically and sociologically, it’s pretty fascinating, too: there is this uncanny collection of intensely personal feelings, really intimate stuff, stuff that used to be considered private (for some good reasons and a couple bad ones as well, I suppose), now exposed very publicly on the ground basis that the Internet preserves a certain anonymity—which isn’t untrue, mind you, unless you carelessly sign into one of those many websites and applications that syphon your data and manipulate your online browsing, but I digress again (if only a bit).

Sexuality has become incredibly public, as of late. Let me remind you that there are political movements asking governments to give an official status to their sexual habits (or lack thereof, in the case of ‘asexuality’) or, more aggressively, their feelings. Sorry, folks, but that’s the whole basis for the ‘transgender’ movement, and as far as I’m concerned people may live as they choose but I’m not entirely certain that the State has a rightful place in this? Anyway, the frontier between ‘private’ and ‘public’ has been melting, unfortunately so, and most of this must have to do that Western societies have been considerably depoliticised over the last few years, inasmuch as we’ve been rapidly losing our means of popular representation, decent public information, or generally civil services, due to an overabundance of capitalism, precisely.

Sex in fanfiction… it’s not quite sex in fiction, either. Oh, granted, there’s quite enough raunchy literature out there to make you doubt, but the particularity of fanfiction is that most works are an ongoing affair between an author and her readers, who often swap places, very much informed by public demand, meant to cater to very specific desires. In that, it’s not too different from many a published novel, albeit not the best ones probably, only fanfiction is… unbridled. But that’s not actually the point.

The point is, simply, that fanfiction is a cultural product issued from a certain period in time and it reflects part of the expectations of a society; because its producers are mostly young women, it has a lot to tell on the mechanisms of a modern young woman’s psyche—I can tell you it contains a lot of misogyny, for one, if not even gynecophobia…—but it also proposed a certain picture of the modern world that acts a little too much as a two-way mirror for my intellectual comfort. It’s not that every single writer of a Baby-Daddy kinkfic is going to develop paedophilic tendencies growing up, but one, although one mustn’t indulge in full-blown paranoia either, one absolutely has to consider the fact that sexual pleasure is the most powerful incentive out there. For realsies, I mean, it’s actually one of the most prominent arguments to be made against pornography, because we know its devastating neurological effects for regular consumers, who rapidly become incapable of dissociating the unrealistic portrayal, notably, of women, to the detriment of all real-life relations and rapports male consumers of porn could have with women. Sex rewires the brain with exceptional efficiency, because it’s linked directly to our reward system and programs us to want more of the pleasurable thing.

I assure you there’s no pearl clutching in remarking that pornographic fiction written by fans can have enormous influence on the budding sexuality of young people in a day and age where we have this paradoxical relationship to sexuality as a social concept: on the one hand, it’s absolutely everywhere and even children can’t escape it, since magazines and clothings brands do their worst to groom them into mini-pimps, sexy baby Barbie dolls and overall future (antisocial) disasters; on the other hand, we seem to have somehow revolved into the most shameful anti-intellectualism possible, and nobody needs to bother being rational anymore, and adults make desperate attempts to look like kids for fear of growing old, and they act like it, too.

I’m ending this long-arse comment on an anonymous post just sent to me, which is bound to ignite some… conversation as well:

I’m reluctant to make this point publicly for a myriad of reasons (mostly my own cowardice), but I think the then-concurrent rise of the Brony fandom, more specifically futa porn and its prevalence in adult male MLP “fans” has had a larger impact on current transwoman narratives.

I’ll be waiting patiently on the sides with a hot drink to see my followers count drop again, I reckon.

#answers #nonnies #fanning the fandom #long post #this is a readmore-cut hate blog #i don't believe in half measures #go big or go home #and go take some ibuprofen while you're at it #ouchie

8 notes · View notes

morethanjustmediocremusings · 5 years ago

Text

In the Details: A Deeper Look into Euphoria’s Prom Looks

Taylor Abouzeid

California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo

Created in a social climate marked with the upheaval of traditional standards and a call to action sung by today’s ready-to-riot young adults, Euphoria came into a world ridden with daunting social issues. Amidst the reigning chaos of the real world, Euphoria followed the debatably hyper-realistic lives of modern high schoolers. This HBO series was highly regarded for its diverse cast and variety of explored topics. Furthermore, throughout the length of the premiere season, Euphoria retained attention from the press with its highly colorful and expressive use of fashion. To fully understand the weight of these garments, one must first look to the concept creation, then to the habitat through which the ideas were fostered, and finally step into the light of the underlying messages behind layers of mesh shirts and mountains of gender ambiguous dressing. Euphoria used visual clothing cues in their final episode “And Salt the Earth Behind you” to shed light on each character’s fully developed significance and purpose within the show given its highly pertinent cultural context.

Euphoria has come to represent an entire generation. The struggles that the characters face are directly out of pages in our own diaries and journals. Hunter Schafer, who plays Jules in the show, praised the reality of it all saying, “It’s the most current representation of high school” (Nissen, 2019). The current climate of teen life is reflected without the Hollywood glamour that was once acceptable with shows such as 90210 and Gossip Girl. Gone are the days of unrealistic teenage clubbing and drawn-out heartbreak between a jock and a cheerleader. Instead, audiences want to see the poignancy of reality on their screens. In a society that values honesty and vulnerability, Euphoria holds a mirror to our generation’s unique experiences without sugar coating topics of necessary discussion; however, due to the deeply embedded nature of these signals, they could easily be overlooked. By taking a magnifying glass to the distinct looks of the finale, subtle messages can be brought to light and further the identification with its’ viewers. Kenneth Burke believed that rhetoric was aimed at creating identification with an audience rather than aimed at persuading an audience (Kolodziejski, 2019, Pentadic). Furthermore, due to the show’s success, it is easy to assume that many people have come to identify with its messages. It is important to analyze and understand the messages behind these looks because they are representative of an entirety of people, marching to a silent beat of radical self-worth.

Within Euphoria the very real stories of the characters hit home for many viewers. Levinson worked rigorously to diminish any potential glamorization of drug use in the show saying “somewhere around the age of 16, I resigned myself to the idea that drugs could kill me, and there was no reason to fight it,” (Chuba, 2019). He credits this deeply personal connection to the story for the shows unfiltered persona, creating high levels of identification with the viewership. Many viewers have also found his story relatable as one in five teenagers have abused prescription drugs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). According to Burke (1950) identification is defined as a rhetorical process that leads to persuasion. Within the space of the show, it is used to create a sense of common identity between Euphoria’s audience and the accurate portrayal of characters.

The show follows the lives of a group of teenagers navigating the ups and downs of the modern century. To give some background on the show’s main squad, Rue, the main character, is a recovering drug addict, with no intention to stay sober. Jules, a transgender-icon, has just moved from an ambiguous “big city” and is feeling bored with what this small town has to offer her. Kat, a closeted One Direction fangirl-turned sensational fanfiction author, recently had sex for the first time, it was also recorded and leaked to the whole student body. Maddy has been in an on-again off-again relationship with her abusive boyfriend Nate. Cassie is trying to keep her relationship with her college-age boyfriend alive and well. Nate, the typical quarterback character with internalized homophobia stemming from finding out his Dad is gay, is now secretly experimenting with his own sexuality. This wide range of individual character plots allows for a multitude of viewers to find identification within each of their stories.

It is, of course, important to note that the creation of this show was in some part influenced by HBO’s need to stay relevant in the competitive streaming market; I would also like to believe that despite this need for high demand programming, the actions of young adults everywhere sparked a flame in the creative community that further added to the show’s exigence. The current climate directly created a collective of educated and empowered young adults who are tired of being talked over, being told to sit down, or being shamed because “back in my day…” other people had it worse. Students these days are not participating in the same high school experiences as their parents, so in order to find a place to relate, many have turned to the Internet, and the many streaming platforms within it. The HBO-exclusive show, Euphoria, has held this identification role for many young students who have never before seen their identity correctly represented on such mainstream media as the giant outlet of HBO.

With the introduction of new streaming services occurring at radical rates, the need for relevancy remains at the top of many media corporation’s to-do lists. HBO is no different. HBO has been both celebrated and condemned for their raw portrayals of characters. Chen (2019) said, “The show is frighteningly hard to watch—it didn't temper my anxiety one bit all season—but its choice to skid easy definitions around difficult topics is what makes it an important cultural engine of our time.” Although ratings wavered in its early years during the mid to late 1970s, they have maintained steady progression for the last twenty years. In 2011 they were named the most successful network, winning nineteen Emmy Awards in one year alone (Aspden, 2011). The creation of Euphoria specifically came from a need of representation, a public desire to see real reflections of life. The hype for weekly premiers was continuous. The cast posted daily updates and many behind-the-scenes videos to keep the audience engaged. This constant contact between creatives and their fans also helped to maintain the very necessary quality of authenticity that surrounded the show. The season finale, otherwise dubbed “the prom episode,” was no different. Prom in its essence is a highly-gendered, often homophobic, and very public display of tradition, but despite this, for many it marks an anticipated rite of passage. In the prom episode of Euphoria, the queer, gender-ambiguous, and non-traditional characters reconcile this tension; prom became their runway. Dressed to the nines in creative, self-expressing garments, Euphoria’s characters hit the dancefloor with confidence. The episode showed how this generational event has become more accepting and fluid now, more than ever.

The choice to focus on the squad’s prom looks in the last episode allows for a greater opportunity to show character development and emphasize the pungently individual messages hidden in the coattails. Rue, the standout tomboy of the cast, has recently come to accept her budding relationship with her female-presenting best friend, Jules. For Rue’s prom look she wore the makings of a suit, slacks and a black coat, a manifestation of her struggle with feminine expression. But underneath the presumptuous outer shell she adorned her staple converse, one of, if not the only stable things in her life, and a maroon form-fitting, lingerie-inspired slip dress from the closet of the magnificent Jules. Jules stood out in the show as possibly the most comfortable with outwardly expressing her feelings, and her iconic prom look was no let down. A lilac and lavender two-piece crop top and wide-leg pants combo made waves in the sea of traditional prom garments. She also wrapped herself in the pièce de résistance of the night: a dark green, mesh, trench, with the symbol for transgender rights stitched onto the back with ornate black beading. Kat’s bondage and almost masochistic look reflected her growth into a strong woman, while Maddy stayed true to her values of loving yourself in a sexy black sheer halter and fitted skirt combo. Unexpectedly, Cassie was understated, but her more feminine look remained through the champagne gown’s flattering neckline. Nate stayed true to his toxic masculinity and rejected any inkling of creativity; he wore a suit.

In the past there has been a severe push back against “progressive” programming, especially those with highly explicit content. But it is also important to note that these subjects are often not foreign to the audiences participating with the artifact. Sam Levinson, the director, when asked if he was nervous about parental backlash regarding the shows content responded with, “… I feel like this is a debate that goes on constantly throughout time, where people go, ‘Parents are gonna be scared,’ and you go ‘Yeah.’ And young people will be like, ‘Yeah, that’s my life.’ I’m sure certain people will be freaked out by it and other people will relate to it” (Stack, 2019). There has been a very real struggle for liberation of the LGBTQIA+ community, to which Euphoria highlighted a homosexual relationship between its two main characters. Toxic masculinity has come to the forefront of scholarly conversation, to which Euphoria highlighted the mental and physical dangers that the suppression of emotion in boys can have on not only themselves but also the world around them. Toxic relationships have become hot topics in wellness ads, to which Euphoria showed just how serious and sometimes hidden, domestic abuse can be. An acceptance of sex workers is growing amongst younger generations, to which Euphoria explored the world of camming and subjects of porn in general. Trans bodies have come into public discourse, especially regarding the legality of their existence, to which Euphoria cast a trans actress as a lead role and used the platform to spread knowledge of the injustices many people face on a daily basis. The long running war on drugs continues, to which Euphoria used the story of a high school drug addict to bring communities together and create a safe space for all identities to be heard.

I have chosen the visual rhetoric approach to better examine how all elements of the character’s prom looks may have influenced each corresponding character’s final message. Visual rhetoric criticism is aimed at understanding the intersection between rhetoric and visual elements within an artifact (Kolodziejski, 2019, Visual). Albakry & Daimin (2014) state, “analysis of visual rhetoric considers how images work alone and collaborate with other elements to create an argument designed for [a specific] audience” (pp.29). Furthermore, I will be applying the deductive approach to this criticism, meaning I will be using the existing theories and concepts and applying them to elements of the visual artifact. I partly chose this approach because I stand firmly behind its assumptions: the visual is rhetorical, what is not shown can be just as important as what is shown. Lastly, how something is shown is as important as what is shown (Kolodziejski, 2019, Visual).

Within visual rhetoric lies the concept of the semiotic triangle, a figure that shows how an artifact’s referent, sign and reference are all related. Within that, there are three types of signs. Iconic signs are representative of what they point viewers to, such as a photo of an otter being an iconic sign for an actual otter. Indexical signs point to what they represent, like smoke indicating a fire. Lastly, symbolic signs reference an arbitrary relationship, such as the branded Swoosh being a symbol for Nike as a brand (Kolodziejski, 2019, Visual). Euphoria’s prom looks are all indexical signs, meaning they point to what they represent, without directly showcasing the underlying meaning. So, the general semiotic triangle for my artifact would have the referent as the actual look itself, the sign as the nod to what it is representing, and the reference would be the meaning behind it all. As the viewers of Euphoria engage with the show, they rely on their own life experiences to decode the symbols on screen. As articulated by Foss in 1994 “The study of visual imagery from a rhetorical perspective may make contributions beyond providing a richer and more comprehensive understanding of rhetorical processes. In some cases, such study may contribute to the formulation or reconciliation of aesthetic notions…” (pp 213). Through their comprehension of these symbols, the show’s underlying messages are able to speak more powerfully and allow for further resonation between the shows viewers and the characters they are able to identify with.

I have chosen visual rhetoric because it argues that everything shown and not shown has a significant purpose within the artifact. Due to the microscopic lens I have taken to the outfits chosen for the characters, this is most fitting. I have also chosen this method to better excavate the hidden messages of the main characters. Upon first glance I, like many, missed some major hints to character expression and development in the finale. But with the fine-toothed comb I took to these garments, I left no lapel untouched and no bead under-analyzed.

(Rue’s prom look).

For Rue, the exploration of expressing gender fluidity through her clothing choices was present throughout the entire season, but subtle. There was no direct mention of the matter until the season finale. While selecting a very feminine outfit for Rue to wear to prom, Jules expresses concern for possibly altering Rue’s gender presentation. I believe that by staying in the dress for prom, and not changing into something more fitting of her stylistic history, Rue was trying to validate her trust and relationship with Jules. In this scene, Rue had let Jules pick out her prom look and rather than opting for something similar to her previous fashion choices, Jules put her in a tight and sultry, lingerie-inspired, corseted, maroon dress. The color choice of maroon was not only fitting to the color pallet of the show, but was also distinctly similar to the color of Rue’s father’s sweatshirt, which she wears daily after he passes away. This choice I believe was unintentional from Jules, but subconsciously reminds the audience of Rue’s inability to move past that time in her life. Rue also adorned a traditional men’s suit pants and coat. This is the key part in her maintenance of gender fluidity and ambiguity within the outfit. The color choice was subtle and reflective of how natural this “tomboy” style has come to her self-expression. The choice of Converse was also only visibly present for a few moments on screen, but the shoes came to represent so much within Rue’s life. So much so in fact that the actress who played her character, Zendaya, made an Instagram post paying respect to the life they lived in the show with “I’m gonna have to get some new chucks for my personal life… I guess I’ll just have them on standby for season2. Til then Rue Rue” (Zendaya, 2019). Rue initially allowed Jules to change her gender presentation via the use of a frilly dress, but later came to regret the decision, as the dress became representational of their constricting relationship. This outfit represented the fluidity of expression and the intimacy that can be shared through clothing choice.

(Jules’s prom look).

Rue’s romantic counterpart, Jules, quickly became a stand-out character on the show due to her extravagant, stylistic choices within the first few episodes, and her makeup has inspired countless other artists’ renditions of the now iconic looks. For her prom look she wore a silky lilac crop top and similarly silky lavender high-waisted wide-leg pants. To top off the look she also adorned herself with a beautiful, almost floor-length, sheer mesh, forest green, trench piece. On the back of the sheer coat was a beaded symbol for the transgender community. The entire outfit was quite the statement, but I got the feeling that she was going for that “I’m not trying, but I tried really hard to look like I’m not trying” look. Due to the casual nature of a crop top and pant combo, the pieces seem haphazardly thrown together. However, the perfect complementary colors, and the identical silky fabrics make that lackadaisical approach almost impossible. I think it is also important to mention that the outfit as a whole read a little mermaid-y. To the untrained eye this might have gone completely unnoticed, but to someone with a recent history in Women and Gender studies, namely me, this reference was another direct tie to the trans community. Popularized by the television show Life With Jazz, mermaids have become an almost superhero-like figure for many people within the trans community, and now serve as a symbol of recognition. In an interview the star spoke on their significance, “Mermaids are just the most whimsical, mystical creatures of all time. A lot of transgender individuals are attracted to mermaids and I think it’s because they don’t have any genitals, just a beautiful tail” (Jennings, 2015). Jules continued to wave her pride flag high and exuded confidence. She held the message of being proud of whoever you are.

(Kat’s prom look).

Kat, a plus-size girl surrounded by a sample-size school, went through many changes this season. After her first-time having sex not only gets recorded, but also then is virally leaked throughout campus, Kat decided to reclaim control of her body. Kat had the edgier version of the “Pretty Woman” makeover. With an entire new wardrobe of bondage-inspired pieces, sexy black and red lingerie, latex, leather, and laces, she conquered not only her sexuality but also gained a whole new world of confidence as well. Throughout this journey, she also struggled with the duality of being a grade-A bad ass and still navigating soft and cute teen romance. For her prom look she wore all red, the color most symbolic for both power and romance. With a red leather corset on top and red silk midi skirt on the bottom, she exuded confidence as a woman in control of her own body. The black lace-up detailing that became a motif in many of her previous outfits also made a cameo in the prom episode running through both the top and the skirt. These specific choices show her character’s development of self-confidence. In the beginning, she was self-conscious and afraid of intimacy, but as the season progressed, the audience was able to see her blossoming into a woman in charge. She was able to reclaim her body after the sex-tape scandal and make a name for herself by camming on PornHub, and also by gaining enough appreciation for herself to see her love for Ethan. Kat struggled with coming into herself as a sexual woman and in her final look is able to show that you can be strong and confident and still express emotion and love.

(Maddy’s prom look).

Maddy, Maddy, Maddy. Where do I even start? Without a doubt Maddy was the most confident female character on the show, but when her boyfriend abused her at the annual carnival she began to break down. Although she was aware his actions were brutally wrong, she forgave him, like a story of Stockholm syndrome. Following his release back into school, they reappeared as a couple only to break up again in the following episode. Their relationship was undeniably toxic. At prom Maddy went with her group of girlfriends, surrounding herself with positivity and love. She wore a see-through black, crystal embedded, two-piece halter top and form-fitting skirt. She also wore a veil. Maddy shone bright on the dance floor and conveyed the message that relationships aren’t everything, and in the end all she needed was support from her friends, self-love, and some serious distance from her abusive ex-boyfriend, Nate. Maddy loves herself, but by ignoring her case of domestic violence she lost a part of herself. Luckily, in the finale, Maddy surrounds herself with good friends and shows that self-worth and self-love are important and still sexy.

(Cassie’s prom look).

Cassie’s prom look showed less of a character arc than the others, but her message remained just as pungent. On the day of prom, Cassie had gotten an abortion. The pregnancy was the unintended consequence of her boyfriend McKay. They came to the decision together, but Cassie made sure that the decision was ultimately her own. Needless to say, she was not dressed as her usual provocative self. She wore a soft pink satin gown, the most traditional of all the looks, and barely-there makeup, which according to the makeup artist was a distinctive choice given the earlier abortion. The makeup artist for the shoot took to Instagram to explain her look, “As much as I wanted to give Cassie a glittering euphoric winter formal makeup look, I didn’t feel like it would help tell her story in this moment. I wanted Cassie’s total absence of makeup here to signal to the audience that she’s reached the start of a new phase of her life…”(Davy, 2019). The neckline was still flattering but she remained quiet and pensive for the rest of the evening. In the same girl group as the others, Cassie took that day to surround herself with those who could support her without their knowledge of the previous event. Cassie’s prom look said that it is okay to not always be okay, and that expressing that is perfectly fine. This message can be gathered through her soft color pallet the contrasted the otherwise bright evening, the simplicity of the silhouette, and the unexpected lack of dark eyeshadow, a typical element of Cassie’s normal look.

(Nate’s prom look).

I intentionally saved the worst for last: Nate. Nate’s look was boring, and quite frankly fell flat. It would have made more sense for him not to go at all, or maybe to show up in hand cuffs as he did for Halloween. But whatever, he did go to prom, and he did wear a suit. Given the extravagance of the rest of the characters’ prom looks, there was an unofficial standard for all the characters to express themselves creatively in some way for the event. However, I believe that Nate’s blatant lack of creativity is his statement. For his whole life he has been molded to become a superstar athlete, and at no point was he given the opportunity to outwardly express himself. We can thank both toxic and hegemonic masculinity for this lack of expression, for in their essence both of these ideas encourage the repression of emotion in boys and men. His outfit shows that when not given the opportunity to find oneself beyond the expectations of others, or not being able to to explore one’s own creative capabilities a person could become a drone, in this case one with severe anger issues. The suit further shows his acceptance and assimilation into the norms and expectations for his character. Rather than expressing himself through stylistic choices, like many of the other characters, Nate’s feelings come out in destruction and violence. He serves as a precautionary tale, of what the dangers of toxic and hegemonic masculinity can have on young men: crushing self- hatred. For many, fashion can serve as a critical outlet for self-expression. Especially for Euphoria’s teenage viewership, style can feel like the only controllable element of their life while the lack of adolescent autonomy is at its height.

As both a thoroughly engaged audience member and fan of Euphoria, there is not much the creators could have changed about the prom looks to further appease me. Throughout the entirety of the season I found that I was able to relate to every individual character within the show, admittedly even Nate. I was able to see my own life tied into bits and pieces of every character’s individual story. Maddy and Rue stuck out as the characters with which I had the most identification with, and although their characters are almost direct opposites in the show, I felt comfort in being able to compare their stories to my own. However, I feel that it is also important to acknowledge the lack of identification some of my peers felt with Euphoria’s main squad. Some have never had experiences with “hard-core” drugs, struggled with gender representation, bee involved with sex tape scandals, or instances of domestic violence, dealt with the after effects of an abortion, or emotional repression. For many of these people who struggled to find identification with the main characters, the supporting roles served as their substitute. With characters as Lexi, McKay, Gia and Fez, many other identities were explored throughout the season, although in lesser detail. I believe that if these supporting characters had also been given equal screen time, an even wider range of audiences would have been able to engage and identify with Euphoria. By digging deeper into their stories, new plot lines could have been uncovered. Many teenagers struggle with eating disorders, which were left out of the show despite alarming statistics claiming that at least 30 million people suffer from eating disorders in the United States (ANAD, 2019). Nicotine has become a significant outbreak in American teenagers with the Center for Disease Control reporting that “5.6 million of today’s Americans younger than 18 will die early from a smoking-related illness” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). And topics of bullying were also left unexplored by the show despite its constant prevalence in teenage society. Studies have even gone to show that “Bullying was a factor in 2/3 of the 37 school shootings reviewed by the US Secret Service” (Stop Bulling Now Foundation, 2019). However, including all of these topics could have been destructive to the season as a whole, and overwhelming to audiences. Given the relevancy of these topics, they are explored elsewhere in outer outlets. Euphoria was a show intended for people who had rarely seen their identities presented on mainstream media of this scale before. So, despite the few missing teenage issues that are more commonly explored today, Euphoria was able to uniquely cover some groundbreaking material for a show of its size.

Euphoria’s characters all held distinct messages within the show. Through the use of visual clothing cues Euphoria was able to further the identification factor of these stories by visually signaling their significance. Created out of a need for representative media and birthed into a world of social unrest, Euphoria became a breakout show on HBO’s streaming platform and now has the power to unify an entire generation. In “And Salt the Earth Behind You” Rue, Jules, Kat, Maddy, Cassie, and Nate give their final send off to the show by highlighting their completed respective messages between satin finishes and starchy, pressed suits. As a result of the creative expression of the prom outfits in the finale, viewers are left with a lasting impression of self-identification closing off the season.

References

Albakry, N. S., & Daimin, G. (2014). The visual rhetoric in public awareness print advertising toward Malaysia perceptive sociolculture design. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 155, pp. 28-33.

ANAD. (2019). Eating disorder statistics. Retrieved from www.anad.org/education-and-awareness/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/.

Aspden, P. (2011, September 24). How HBO revolutionized television. Retrieved from www.slate.com/human-interest/2011/09/hbo-how-it-revolutionized-television.html

Burke, K. (1950). A rhetoric of motives. Berkley: University of California Press.

Cassie’s prom look [Digital image]. Retrieved from www.usa-grlk5lagedl.stackpathdns.com/production/usa/images/1565025651204007-66121653_654233518429076_5605336542765432610_n.jpg?w=1900&fit=crop&crop=faces&fm=pjpg&auto=compress.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010, June 3). CDC survey finds that 1 in 5 U.S. high school students have abused prescription drugs. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2010/r100603.htm.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Youth and tobacco use. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/index.htm.

Chen, E. (2019, June 6). In praise of euphoria, the perfect anti-binge TV show. Retrieved from www.wired.com/story/euphoria-anti-binge/.

Chuba, K. (2019, June 5). 'Euphoria' creator on authentic trans portrayals, mining "deeply personal" history to tackle teen drug abuse. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/euphoria-creator-mining-deeply-personal-history-tackle-teen-drug-abuse-1215844.

Davy, D. [@donni.davy]. (2019, August 17). Cassie’s clean slate, episode 8, euphoria [Instagram photo]. Retrevied from www.instagram.com/p/B1SOb1EJcve/?igshid=ork83uq4xhn.

Foss, S, K. (1994). A rhetorical schema for the evaluation of visual imagery. Communication Studies, 45, pp. 213-224.

Jennings, J. (2015, June 8). Jazz Jennings: the transgender teen and wannabe mermaid the internet needs (M. Ruiz, Interviewer). Cosmopolitan. Retrieved from www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a40068/jazz-jennings-internets-most-fascinating/.

Jules’s prom look [Digital image]. Retrieved from www.usa-grlk5lagedl.stackpathdns.com/production/usa/images/1565024720966459-66659243_159635475163665_1587604092859566839_n.jpg?w=1900&fit=crop&crop=faces&fm=pjpg&auto=compress.

Kat’s prom look [Digital image]. Retrieved from www.usa-grlk5lagedl.stackpathdns.com/production/usa/images/1565025241108497-67911105_2343940372514856_2058399465206680217_n.jpg?w=1900&fit=crop&crop=faces&fm=pjpg&auto=compress.

Kolodziejski, L. (2019, October 16). Pentadic criticism overview [PowerPoint Presentation]. Retrieved from handout sheet.

Kolodziejski, L. (2019, October 23). Visual rhetoric criticism overview [In-class handout]. Retrieved from handout sheet.

Maddy’s prom look [digital image]. Retrieved from www.usa-grlk5lagedl.stackpathdns.com/production/usa/images/1565024910235630-66213364_669264316881864_5463572260054969293_n.jpg?w=1900&fit=crop&crop=faces&fm=pjpg&auto=compress.

Nate’s prom look [Digital image]. Retrieved from www.data.whicdn.com/images/334716009/original.jpg

Nissen, D. (2019, June 6). 'Euphoria' creator sam levinson opens up about drug addiction at premiere. Retrieved October 20, 2019, from www.variety.com/2019/scene/news/euphoria-creator-sam-levinson-opens-up-drug-addiction-1203233881/.

Rue’s prom look [Digital image]. Retrieved from www.i.pinimg.com/originals/01/2f/1d/012f1d3dc6e81ba8e9d1ef7f4970d064.jpg

Stack, T. (2019, June 16). 'Euphoria' creator on why it's okay that some people are 'freaked out' by his controversial new show. Retrieved October 20, 2019, from www.ew.com/tv/2019/06/16/euphoria-creator-sam-levinson/.

Stop Bullying Now Foundation. (2019). School bullying affects us all. Retrieved from www.stopbullyingnowfoundation.org/main/.

Zendaya [@zendaya]. (2019, August 24). Thanks to season 1 [Instagram story post]. Retrieved from www.google.com/amo/s/amp.redit.com/r/euphoria/comments/cuyynl/from_zendayas_ig_story_who_knew_a_pair_of_chucks/.

1 note · View note

aqua-harry · 8 years ago

Text

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how Harry’s chart would interact with different signs in the zodiac, so for the sake of organization, I’ve decided to compile a masterpost of my thoughts surrounding Harry paired with each sign. For this, you should check both your sun and moon sign.

If you don’t know what either of those are, you can have your natal chart done here or here. For an in-depth analysis of Harry’s natal chart, head on over to Sydney’s blog, where she gives a beautiful description chart-analysis of his placements.

Please keep in mind that my astrological interpretations are completely subjective. Astrology can be a great indicator of personality traits and behavior, but it is not the end-all, be-all when it comes to relationships.

If you have any further questions regarding my compatibility readings, feel free to inbox me and I’ll try to respond as soon as I can. For more specific questions, please message me off anon so I can respond to you directly.

→ Aries - Fire. Overall, Harry would do well with an Aries. Since you are very lively once people get to know you, Harry would enjoy bringing out the excitement that you’re known to exhibit when you’re comfortable with someone. Although it would be difficult to pin you down as a couple, Harry would enjoy bringing you back down to earth when your temper gets the best of you.

You like to be in control of your surroundings, and it’ll most likely be to your advantage when it comes to a partnership with Harry. You’ll need to be careful and ensure that he gets some of the say in how things work, but for the most part, he’ll be happy to let you take the reins. Your stubbornness may get the best of you and that may be irritating to Harry, who has a general “go-with-the-flow” type of approach to life.

Your relationship with Harry would be adventurous and exciting, as both of you require a certain amount of freedom to explore your own interests. Harry will want to teach you everything he’s learned - let him. His way of showing love is opening up to you enough to share his passions with you, and although you may be hesitant to sit and listen to his ramblings because you may have other stuff to do, it’s important that you allow him the time to discuss his wants and needs with you.

→ Taurus - Earth. One of the most difficult pairings for Harry - he would find it hard to rely on you for things he needs most. You’re incredibly independent, and while Harry admires that about you, he also relies on you for emotional stability and comfort that he may not find anywhere else.You can be cold and unwilling to compromise when you don’t get what you want, and in Harry’s line of work, he’ll need a partner who can understand when things get complicated.

You want him to belong to you - not in the sense that he’s your possession, but you’d like to have some claim over him. This does not bode well with Harry, as he is not the type of person to stay close when someone stakes a claim upon him. He’ll always remain faithful, but he’ll feel stifled if you pressure him to label your relationship before he’s ready.

You’re both unconventional in how you approach life, and oftentimes, those ideas will clash. When Harry needs someone who will listen to his ideas about how the world works, you’ll need to be careful with how you respond to him. Keep him grounded, but let him explore his mind. You have very little time for the “What Ifs” in life, but Harry lives his day-to-day exploring those “What Ifs” - pay attention to that. You could learn something.

→ Gemini - Air. Signs of the same element bode well together, so a Gemini would work incredibly well with Harry. It’s likely that if he finds love with a Gemini, he will never part from them. Harry’s focused on success, as are most Geminis, so to have you to push him towards his goals is important. You’ll find that the harder you push him, the harder he pushes you, so be careful when encouraging him.

Sharing a lot of the same traits can be worrisome, however. Both of you have a tendency to be cold and aloof from a glance, so if you’re not careful, the two of you as a duo will come off as unapproachable. Although that’s the opposite of what you want, you need to make an effort to open up to strangers and be willing to wipe that permanent pout off of your faces when you’re out and about.

Both of you are social butterflies in the right environment, and that will only become more evident as your relationship blooms. You’ll feed off of one another so much so that you’ll be the center of attention wherever you go. People will stop and stare at you just because they can.

You’re great at communication - the greatest within the zodiac - and when Harry shuts down, you’re the only one who will be able to break him out of his shell. He will be able to trust you, so he will feel as though he can tell you anything.

→ Cancer - Water. Unfortunately, this pairing is one of the least compatible for both Harry and yourself. Harry must be very careful when it comes to bringing a Cancer into his life. You’re unpredictable and spontaneous, and while he’d like that at first, he craves stability and a homebase - both of which you may not be willing to provide.

Another thing - your anger? He doesn’t deal well with how you cope with stressful situations. You bottle your emotions up until you’re ready to explode, and he shies away from behavior like that. In order to make this pairing work, you’ll need to be open with him about your frustrations before they come to a head and boil over.

Your need for affection will be cause for concern in this pairing. Being an air sign, Harry isn’t good at showing or giving affection unless it’s his decision. If you force him to be affectionate and loving towards you, it’ll make him want to be less so towards you. You need to be careful of how you approach your need for physical contact and emotional reassurance. Don’t force it, otherwise he may spook easily.

→ Leo - Fire. An absolutely incredible pairing, all of the air in Harry’s chart would complement the fire within a Leo. There’s tons to keep you interested in one another, and the fact that you don’t show all of your cards (and probably won’t ever show all of your cards) is a major turn-on for Harry.

With that magnetism comes an intensity that must be dealt with carefully. There will be periods when the two of you absolutely cannot go without one another, and with Harry’s career, that may become difficult. You’ll crave one another, so being open to meeting him halfway is something that will be very important within this relationship. That passion can be one of the best things about your relationship, but it may also cause it to end, if you’re not careful.

The one thing to keep close is that you lead with your heart, while Harry leads with his mind. He is analytical down to the very fiber of his being and you tend to go with what feels best to you. He’ll look at situations from all angles while you tend to dive in without considering the consequences. Don’t get frustrated with him if he urges you to calm down - it’s his way of feeling out the world around him, and you could learn a lot from that approach to life.

→ Virgo - Earth. Although this isn’t the most fantastic pairing, Harry would be immediately attracted to your intellect. You see things from every perspective and he admires that. Your unique approach to the world is something that will keep him guessing, but you don’t have the time or patience to daydream with him. You are very much grounded when it comes to your ideal world and even though your expectations may be unrealistic to some, you don’t see any problem with them. You demand a lot from people - not only emotionally, but physically, as well - and that can be exhausting to an air sign like Harry.

Your most frustrating quality for Harry will be your attitude. Sometimes, you’re pessimistic and don’t like to budge on certain things. If you think your way is best, why even try someone else’s approach? Harry is open to trying new things all the time, but you like to stick to the status quo, as it’s comforting to you. His curiosity may annoy you, but try to explore new avenues with him, as it will only make your relationship stronger.

The best part about this pairing is the time you’ll take to get to know one another. Neither of you are quick to fall into commitments, as you both like to consider your options before settling down into something familiar. Once the two of you are on the same page, this partnership could be very strong. Just be careful of how detached both of you can come across - if you’re feeling like something is missing, communicate about it and the problem will most likely solve itself.

→ Libra - Air. Arguably the best pairing for Harry. The love between the two of you is unlike anything either of you have experienced before, and you’re quick to share your deepest secrets with one another. Your connection - your bond - will be nearly unbreakable once established. You respect him - as an artist, as a partner, as a person - and in turn, he respects you. This is a true partnership.

The best thing about you being paired with Harry is that when any issues arise, both of you are quick to squash them through your effortless communication. Both of you will take the relationship seriously and take into account one another’s feelings on every matter, which will stimulate a successful relationship in every aspect. You’ll be wholly comfortable around one another, which suits both of you best, as you are both your authentic selves when paired together.

As air signs tend to be noncommittal and somewhat detached emotionally, you’ll need to be the one to push him towards commitment. Once he knows you’re ready, he will be more comfortable taking the next step. After he’s committed, you’ll want to assure him that it isn’t your goal to take away his individuality - you still want him to be the Harry he always was, and you look at it as your job to bring out the best in him whenever you can.

→ Scorpio - Water. What first draws you to one another is curiosity. He wouldn’t be able to figure you out at first, and vice versa. You’ll have the toughest time with this pairing, not him. His inability to commit will drive you insane - you need answers and you need them now. There will be a lot of doubt on your end of the relationship - you tend to think in absolutes while Harry likes to focus on the hypotheticals of life.

Your approach to difficult situations will cause Harry to shy away from any communication about conflict within your relationship. You’re quite brash, especially when it comes to discussing feelings, and you are quick to become defensive when people call you out on said brashness. You know what you want and you’re not afraid to go for it, but be careful when you’re going after that when it comes to Harry. The air in his chart doesn’t allow for him to read things exactly the way a water sign would, so be patient while he tries to figure you out.

As long as neither of you are afraid of conflict and a bit of a challenge, this pairing could end up being very exciting. You’ll most likely need to work on communicating with one another throughout your entire relationship, but the more you communicate, the stronger your partnership will become. Don’t get frustrated because Harry sees the world in shades of gray rather than black and white.

→ Sagittarius - Fire. Your ambitions, although very different, will bring the two of you together. Harry’s attitude towards life is intriguing to you, and you enjoy how he approaches difficult situations. His emotional needs will always be met by a Sagittarius, as both of you can be quite unemotional at times. You read into his actions and he reads into yours so you have the perfect balance of time spent with one another versus time spent alone.

You will both remain individuals within the relationship. While you like to do things as a couple, both of you find it important to explore your own wants and needs as a singular person, rather than a person within a partnership. This is probably your best quality as a couple. Your ability to separate yourselves when you feel a bit closed-in by one another will allow your relationship to become stronger, as both of you read one another almost as well as you read yourselves.

Both of you are major flirts, so it’s important that the other knows you don’t mean any harm by it. Your biggest flaw would be a bit of jealousy due to unintentional flirtation with another person, but as long as you communicate with one another about how those interactions make you feel, there will be no harm done. Not to mention, making up after a riff does have its benefits.

→ Capricorn - Earth. Adjustment, adjustment, adjustment. You both understand one another, but you love to go back and forth about the intricacies of life. You must remember to be patient with Harry, as he can find himself stuck in the clouds a lot of times. You question the world around you and are driven by concrete evidence, while he likes to keep his theories open-ended and ever-evolving.

Your biggest area of concern is commitment. Being so grounded, you’ll want a partner who is willing to commit as soon as you are. That won’t work with Harry. The more you want him to settle, the more he’ll want to fly. Stability rules your life, and while Harry enjoys routine, his emotions do not. You’ll need to keep the relationship fresh by exploring your options as a couple, rather than having a hard and fast plan you need to stick to.

Your discipline and structure may scare Harry away, but he’d be wise to learn something from you. You get frustrated with how easily he trusts people because you don’t want to see him get hurt. On the opposite hand, he thinks you should open up and be more available to people right off the bat. You’ll need to strike a balance when it comes to relationships outside of your partnership because if you don’t, your communication will come to a stand-still.

→ Aquarius - Air. To be honest, the two of you work simply because of how weird you can be together. You’re both confident as all hell, so you have to rein it in at times. You’re playful with one another and share the same sense of humor. You’ll need to eventually sit down and define your relationship in a very conscious manner, because if you don’t, the two of you will be completely undefined for the entirety of your partnership.

You’re relatively stable individuals and sharing the same signs brings a lot of that stability into your partnership. You’re able to quickly tell what the other is thinking, because you’re most likely thinking the same thing. Your approach to life is very objective, but you also like to explore different approaches to repetitive situations. There will be no lack of fun and games in this relationship, as both of you will always want to find ways to make it new and exciting.

The biggest flaw in this partnership is lack of emotional maturity. Neither of you really want to grow up, so it can feel like a chore to work on the difficult parts of your relationship. You’ll have to make a concentrated effort to communicate with one another about the not-so-fun parts, even if they are boring. However, you both respect one another’s emotional viewpoints, so the hard work will be over with and before you know it, you’ll be back to having fun again.

→ Pisces - Water. Both incredibly emotional beings, you’ll have to be careful when you’re trying to strike that perfect balance between constructive criticism and just plain old criticism. Your relationship will most likely start out slow, but once day, you will wake up and realize how attached you are to Harry, with him most likely feeling the same way.

You may try to manipulate him into expressing feelings he’s not yet comfortable expressing, and he may manipulate you into stifling yourself for the betterment of the crowd. Although neither of you should manipulate one another, you can learn something from those lessons. Maybe he should open up to you more, and maybe you could be a little less intense when dealing with people.

The best quality to this partnership is your humility with one another. You look at things from an emotional perspective, and Harry can appreciate that, even though he tends to lead with his mind. You try not to brag about your good qualities and the opportunities you’ve been provided and Harry does the same. You both encourage each other to stay connected to your roots, which will only strengthen your relationship in the end.

#harry styles #harry styles astrology #harry astrology #harry styles natal chart #harry styles zodiac #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces #astrology compatibility

561 notes · View notes