#ie it's a lot of fun and not to be viewed as Serious Media

[theweefreewomen]

I bought and read the novelisation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the book based on the movie based on the comic book based on classic Victorian literature) and it’s facinating to see the difference between movie Jeykll and this version of Jeykll. people in the fandom joke about him being kind of wet and pathethic in the film, which is definitely an exageration, but in the novelisation... it’s a tad more accurate.

Shaking with weakness and personal misery, the scrawny figure arose, blinking his nervous, saucer-wide eyes. He was a slight man who easily slipped his entire hand out of Hyde’s wrist shackles, leaving the torn chains on the floor. His ashen face reflected his ordeal. His large Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he gulped.

“Henry Jeykll, at your service. And I would very much like to earn my pardon and return to London.” He swallowed hard. “May I have a glass of water, please?”

someone please wrap this man in a blanket and give him some tea.

“Liar. I’m a good man.” Jekyell whimpered.

[after talking with Nemo]

Jekyll scampered away without looking back.

That Henry Jeykll, famous for scampering about everywhere.

Jeykll blinked his saucerlike eyes, then swallowed hard in his scrawny throat.

again with the saucer eyes.

“I’m going inside there.” Jeykll’s voice was a mere squeak amid the choatic noise.

I wish I could make gifs because I would love to have a side-by-side comparison between this description and Jason Flyming’s actual performance.

Then his body began to change. Bones lenghened and thickened, muscles swelled and bulged. [...] He convulsed and spasmed, clamping his lips shut to hold in the air. Every time he suffered through this, the transformation brought him more and more agony.

Finally, Jekyll could not help himself. He screamed underwater, but let out only a mouthful of bubbles as his back arched and limps thrashed. His eyes began to bleed.

not actually connected to the ‘wet and pathetic’ thing, I just really like how the book described the transformation here. it really leans hard into the body horror on top of the horror of drowning.

Skittish Jekyll slipped on the slick coating of fresh frozen ice that covered the armored upper deck, but Quartermain caught him.

Someone had way too much fun with alliteration here.

[Skinner] looked like a frozen corspe, but at least he had stopped shivering, unlike Henry Jekyll.

‘Skinner might look like a zombie but at least he isn’t shivering like a loser.’

“Look out!” Jeykll cried in a thin squeak. He shoved Nemo aside just before the icicle spike spintered into chips on the chimney floor.

“I thank you. I would have been killed.”

Jeykll blinked, then smiled. “I’m glad that... I can be useful, too.”

yes Henry you did a Good Job here but also this isn’t the time for your praise kink.

[kind-of-a-shitty-wizard]

hiii i got a little insane over haskills characterization in the other elder scrolls games / material. teehee rambling abt these ^ quotes under the cut (long). also im not that serious abt any of this tbh im just glad haskill appeared in any other elder scrolls material at all LOL

OKAY. okay. about these quotes. idk why other TES media does this, but in these quotes from elder scrolls legends + the interview with haskill it seems like the writers are pushing to give the impression that haskill slightly resents or is even indifferent to his position / the isles / sheogorath ?? (unless haskill is being a little bit more flippant or hyperbolic than usual...?) which is characterization that is NOT what i got from playing oblivion at all skdskdjfn

like... when i played oblivion i thought it was very clear that haskill prefers to be in the isles, serving sheogorath, more than anywhere else. (<- i think this is actually the reason he's technically "mad" even tho he seems sane outwardly. if you enjoy being among madmen it probably means you're mad yourself ykwim). i think haskill does like the isles, his ass is just reserved abt it, like he is about everything... yknow just like jeeves, whose character he's been compared to lmao:)

i think unfortunately some writers take his annoyance with the player and his slight second thoughts about sheogorath's plan in oblivion, and mistakenly assume that he's just annoyed at his whole position. haskill does have his moments of exasperation, but the thing is it's usually only exasperation and it never verges into anger or bitterness or resentment like the top quotes seem to indicate. for example, haskill says this abt his idea of you mantling sheo / the clowns debacle:

^ This quote is a good reference point for haskill's view on sheo bc its pretty much the most critical-of-sheogorath quote from oblivion i can recall, and it tells us a lot of things. in this quote he expresses some exasperation about the clown idea (because he's a prissy bitch who doesn't want to get his outfit dirty /affectionate) and shows some apprehension about one of his lord's ideas (because it involves you, and haskill doesnt like you). but these 2 points he has beef with aren't really reflective of sheo himself but of other issues - ie he doesn't directly question sheogorath. and IN THE END Haskill defers to sheo's judgement because haskill trusts him and values sheo's ideas. in all of his oblivion dialogue, this is the most critical toward sheogorath he gets, and he never outright insults or shows resentment toward him or the isles like in the above quotes bc his loyalty to sheogorath eclipses it

on the contrary (and i dont know why the writers for non-oblivion elder scrolls content dont seem to see this??), theres so much evidence that haskill actually does, you know,,, enjoy being in the isles. here are just some snippets i can think of:

"the isles are hardly a place for anyone, really" <- i BEG to differ, Haskill likes it here, he likes listening to prisoners being tortured in xedillian, he likes wearing his ridiculous frilly high collar outfit emblematic of the fashions of the isles, he doesn't care about morality and it suits him just fine that it doesn't matter here!! (the end quote might be him being a little facetious about relmyna but to be honest i wouldn't be surprised if he thought decency and morality WERE provincial notions because he certainly has no problem killing people lmao). and again, to enjoy doing these things / being around madmen probably says something abt haskill being mad himself. lol

not to mention he likes a bit of joking around. which i imagine sheo does a whole lot. when YOU rib him a little he says this:

his derision in the first bit i think indicates, "i cant believe you would joke around at a time like this," and the upturning of the "very good" i think indicates, "it was a good joke / maybe they could mantle sheo after all". he's not all dour - he appreciates a good joke, especially from (someone who's about to become) his Lord!!

and going a little deeper into haskill actually liking the isles... haskill clearly holds what sheogorath and the isles represent (chaos, free will, individuality) very highly. a good example of this is when you ask him about dyus, and he gives this snarky reply:

^ he says this with such VITRIOL its so funny :p and the amount of disdain in this line indicates (to me) a real conviction in his belief in the free will, chaos etc that sheogorath represents.

this is why i dont think this quote makes sense. "i cant remember why i put up with [sheogorath]" <- haskill wouldnt say this bc he understands fully why he puts up w sheogorath, and his own convictions in sheo that lead him to keep doing it, and even if this quote is him being hyperbolic, i dont think he'd joke about his faith in sheogorath like that because, yk, one of his characteristics is that he's extremely loyal, and moreover he never said anything to this effect in oblivion sdkjskdjs

him having a strong belief in what sheogorath / the isles represent is also evidenced by the language haskill uses when talking about sheo. whenever haskill mentions him, there is an element of poetry and respect to his words that shows that haskill thinks about him highly at the very least:

^ haskill constantly stresses sheogorath's intrinsic unknowableness and power and unique wisdom in a way that feels very respectful. saying "to attempt to fathom [sheogorath's will] is a foolish endeavor" shows that he knows there are unexplainable aspects to sheogorath that he takes note of, respects, and knowingly keeps his distance from... he gets sheogorath and reveres him (at least more than most others or the HoK). in these quotes especially, it feels a bit like hes trying to illustrate how impressive sheogorath is to the HoK, hyping up his boyfriend if you would. who said that. and combined with this respect is (i believe!!!!) a deep care. he is invested in the isles and sheo and wants to help them out of more than just duty. he gets fearful and even loses his composure at some points in the story when sheo/the isles are threatened which i think indicates that he deeply cares for them both!!:

i think this is a care that, combined with the respect he has for sheo, makes it really unlikely for him to get more than exasperated with his behavior and verge into resentfulness. i dont think anyone truly understands sheogorath, not even haskill, but haskill respects sheo as a god, and also gets him in a more familiar/personal way i think - like the way that a cat owner loves their cat but gets exasperated with it when it gets its head stuck in a tissue box. he doesn't angry or anything because he understands that it's the cat's nature to get stuck in the tissue box / sheo's nature to be wild and unpredictable and messy. (the difference being that sheogorath is an all-powerful god cat..... do u see my vision???)

anyway this got crazy long JHDSHFSD... to finish i wanted to look at this extra bit of characterization i found that was wild to me:

^ like. i truly dont get where they got THIS characterization LMAO sheo constantly calls haskill faithful and smart and knowledgeable in oblivion, he practically begs you to summon haskill for help, hyping up his boyfriend so to speak, they care for each other your honor so of COURSE sheo trusts haskill to do his job. what are the legends writers doing in there!!

ANYWAY dear god this got long im going to bed <3

[silverpen-and-paper]

i’m a genderfluid person who’s been various genders. here are some things i see, from inside and outside the queer community:

nonbinary being perceived as worse and more ridiculous than binary trans, even if the person views binary trans badly too. people assuming nonbinary means “trans-lite” and “basically cis with extra steps,” instead of learning if the person experiences their gender differently.

genderfluid people only being represented in media when they flow smoothly and strictly between the genders of man or woman, or occasionally, perfectly neutral. they are hardly ever shown experiencing gender combos or demigenders or something completely outside the binary or days where they don’t know what their gender is.

genderfluid shapeshifters being written in a way where it’s shown/implied that their gender only changes when they change their sex, and that changing their sex is always the cause for a shift in gender, without any other genderfluid characters with different experiences to balance it out. nonbinary characters who aren’t human are always immediately assumed to be salmacian, even if the species’ reproductive biology is never talked about, and even if the species otherwise seems to fit human gender norms. people can’t seem to let go of the idea that everybody’s gender is linked with & relies on what your body looks like.

the belief that xenogenders and other microlabels are somehow harming the trans community at large. yes, a lot of people having a well-known label they can unite under is nice, but people aren’t “splitting the community apart” because they enjoy having more specific words to explain their experiences. people with xenogenders are often pressured to pick and stick by an umbrella label they might not even feel fits.

related, when people make fun of folks who headcanon characters as having various xenogenders and/or similar labels. it’s seen as more unrealistic, because having obscure microlabels is seen as something that only a “certain type” of people do. (ie, young people who don’t have a lot of responsibility or anything to be serious about.) if a character/person is an adult with important jobs and serious problems, who isn’t bubbly or over-the-top extroverted, then the idea of them having more specific labels for their gender (or even just *having* a more specific gender) is seen as absurd. anything that strays too far from the binary is “unprofessional” and “childish” and “cringe.”

when people say to folks who are confused about their gender that they can’t be nonbinary, because “see, you’re confused about it!” there’s no room for people to maybe just have a gender that’s inherently confusing.

when gender charts/explanations are shared, and the sharer says that everybody’s gender can be mapped onto it (or something to that effect), it leaves no room for those who don’t understand their gender in the same way. when people internalize certain charts/explanations as the authority on all gender for all people, they start to see other people who don’t fit with them as wrong about their experiences instead of admitting that some explanations simply don’t work for everyone.

the english language not having good, well-known, gender-ambiguous titles. “mx” sounds too similar to “miss” when spoken aloud for me to be fully comfortable using it in speech. even then, most people don’t know about it and don’t use it on strangers. “mage” is nice, but that’s even more unknown.

the rare places that allow you to choose your pronouns never account for fluid pronouns. they can have a drop-down box full of different sets, but the best i can hope for is that there’s an “other” option at the bottom. even when there is a section to write them in, sometimes it’s formatted so that the slashes are already there, so you can’t just write “my pronouns change.” when pronoun pins are sold on etsy, the only ones you can buy without spending extra on customization are either the most common pronoun sets, sometimes a few neos, and occasionally an “any pronouns” pin. even queer surveys are horrible about this; i can only remember seeing fluid pronouns as a checkable choice once.

people saying “well, what do you expect?” and doing nothing to help when you complain about the gender binary being everywhere. they expect you to just accept the culture as it is and either be okay with it or suffer in silence. they act like progress will be achieved eventually but quietly, without anyone being angry at the current situation as it happens.

❗️❗️ This is asked entirely in good faith. This post is intended to open dialogue and help with solidarity and understanding. ❗️❗️

I would like to hear specifically from nonbinary people how the system of exorsexism/enbyphobia uniquely targets and affects you. Things that you feel other demographics do not experience. Reblogs and replies are very encouraged! If you would prefer, you could dm or send an ask to be added anonymously by me.

This is in the spirit of wanting to understand. I am listening. I encourage all binary trans people to not speak on this topic and let nonbinary people do the talking here. Reblog the post to spread it, but please say nothing.

Any and all people who identify as nonbinary are encouraged to participate. This is not agab-locked. If you are agender, trans neutral/neutrois, genderfluid, bigender, trigender, multigender, xenogender, genderqueer, third gender, two spirit, or any other gender not wholey contained within the strict binary of "man" or "woman", this post is for you. Even if you have already posted on the trans fem or trans masc versions, if you are nonbinary, you are welcome here.

This is not bait to start a fight. I will block without hesitation anyone who is actively being a shithead on this post. I want to hear and uplift your voices by getting it directly from you.

Click this to access the trans fem and trans women version of this post.

Click this to access the trans masc and trans men version of this post.

[olivieblake]

As a writer or even just a consumer of media do you find people are less willing to accept “flaws” in characters and stories? I’m not talking like this character is a murderer he’s evil no one should like him type stuff, though as someone who started off writing dramione I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share of that but just like when characters are ever short of perfect. Like when a strong female character is kinda insecure or a couple isn’t communicating well or has a heated fight everyone gets mad that it’s a toxic relationship or bad writing. I once read a review of a book where someone stopped reading it after two chapters cause it had bad therapy practices, ie. the character still had shit to work through and therapy isn’t magic therefore they weren’t always doing the healing right and it’s like? that’s the whole point!! it’s an arc the character is gonna grow! It’s also made clear early on that the therapist didn’t agree with the coping methods (overly controlling their life) so it wasn’t like they were trying to portray it as a good thing. I know you’ve mentioned people have ✨opinions✨ about your DFS Hermione for having flaws and staying flawed and her flaw is just that she kinda thinks she’s right a lot and maybe isn’t the most self aware nothing even serious lol. I’m not saying don’t be critical of media but it’s kinda overwhelming reading think piece after think piece about why this thing you enjoy is actually the literal worst™️. Like am I toxic for having some of the same flaws ? Am I a problematic creep for enjoy stories where everything isn’t always sunshine, I don’t want to have a train wreck of a relationship but sometimes reading about one can be kinda fun? Is that terrible?

there’s a lot here that I’d like to discuss and I’m thinking about how I’d like to do it (I’ll inevitably chat about it in a video because it’s interesting and complex but I think I may have too many topics for this monday)

let’s see I think I will start by saying: in general, critical discourse about media (books, tv, film, fanfic) is a good thing, but it has definitely gone awry from what I consider to be its origins. I think the whole point of viewing media critically and making observations about what we are portraying via fiction is crucial for amplifying/protecting marginalized stories and reducing harm—specifically, the harm that minorities and women face by being inundated with bigoted, prejudiced, hateful, or ignorant tropes, caricatures, or relationship dynamics. I definitely believe that we should consider what we consume and how we consume it, particularly when it comes to the marginalized voices who do not see themselves represented well or fairly in white male dominated media

that being said, I do think it has led to the expectation that fiction cannot have ANY problems, which is absurd and counterproductive. it’s also extremely reductive, particularly when it comes the Strong Female Character™ thing you mention, where a woman STILL only has value if she’s strong in the “correct” way. I mentioned in one of my other posts and also last week’s video that there’s some kind of disconnect between the VERY GOOD intentions of things like #ownvoices or the movement to empower female characters and the actual outcomes, which make it so that any flaws in a marginalized fictional character are magnified to represent the entire group. the very reasonable request to see ourselves in fiction has somehow become an exponentially convoluted demand to see ourselves a certain way in fiction, where any character who does not reflect our personal experience is bad and wrong. previously, the expectation was that white male stories were universal whereas everything else was only for that specific group, and now, ironically, everything that is created still has to fit that universal quality and please everyone, despite that not being the point. the problem is when you only have ONE movie about this topic or ONE book about this ethnicity, then of course it hasn’t done enough to exemplify an entire subject or culture. there has to be an entire body of work the way there is with white-dominated media, where no single film or book accurately represents the experience of being white

plus we have twitter which is a horrifying hellscape where you get rewarded by the algorithm for making loud, obnoxious points so add that to the list (yesterday I saw that one of the top 3 reviews on Beloved by toni morrison is a 1-star review written by a white man and I was just flabbergasted by the lack of self-awareness) 

but anyway that’s like, more of a macro look at what I think is going on but you’re right that people are not very forgiving of flawed characters. to some extent, I get it; the one thing we don’t want our characters to do is annoy us, and that’s fair. but I also think people have lost the sense that “oh, this thing isn’t for me” and thus can’t successfully identify the difference between critical failure and personal dislike

now. as for Divination for Skeptics. let me start by saying it’s not like I don’t understand why people find hermione in Divination for Skeptics annoying, because I get it. if you’re taking the story very seriously then sure, maybe you want her to change her behavior and it’s frustrating that she doesn’t. fair enough! to that I say it’s a comedy and if you don’t find it funny you’re perfectly welcome to dislike it, it’s not a big deal to me if I don’t make you laugh. however, I DO take issue with people who claim she’s too flawed or doesn’t grow, because they almost always do it in a very specific way: they say that she doesn’t show enough empathy, aka how dare she not read draco’s mind and simply alter her personality and behavior to suit his. it genuinely infuriates me that in my opinion, people who voice that particular “criticism” have seemingly internalized the belief that women should be emotionally perceptive; that for them, hermione’s “flaw” is that she does not take on the emotional labor that draco refuses to perform. (her actual flaw is that her survival technique/coping mechanism is a hyper-rationality that incorrectly assumes she has perfect information; i.e., that everything she knows is accurate, and therefore all of her decisions must be sound.) whereas draco knows this about her—knows and acknowledges it—and yet cannot bring himself to voice his feelings out of a fear-based desire to hedge his own emotional risk. who, then, is more flawed in the context of the story? 

I don’t really have a conclusion yet so I’m going to pause for now and we’ll revisit this; I think mainly it’s that the more media diversifies, the more people will struggle with the preconceptions they have and the presumption that everything they consume is for them, and therefore that they are the metric for whether something is “good.” I think good art, good media, will reflect the world as it exists, but it will still only be the world according to one tiny fraction, a sliver of the actual human experience. does bad representation mean bad art? when it harms people yes. but when it speaks to a deeper truth (the truth of “we are all given to vice and imperfection even if it is not this specific version”), no. but that requires quite a degree of sophistication and self-awareness to identify, hence the discomfort of continuous vitriol or bad takes

[ceasarslegion]

This poem's really stuck with me since I first read it, and unfortunately I can't find it right now, but it goes something like "the child expects the world to be fair and just, and gets upset when it is not. And the child is right." Obviously, I'm super paraphrasing it, but I can't dig it up for the life of me right now

And this other concept has really stuck with me, as well. When I was watching Abigail Thorn's coming out video, Rhys talked about how you are simultaneously every past version of yourself at once, including your child self.

I've been getting a lot more targeted harassment since around when Elliot Page came out. Obviously, it's not his fault at all, it's the TERFs and run of the mill transphobes and the politicians screaming trans panic who took that and ran with it, which is disgusting and deplorable how they turned something so amazing for transmascs like me into another rehash of "wE'rE lOsInG aLl OuR dAuGhTeRs!!"

I mean, shit. It wasn't even that long ago when that stupid transphobic book came out that was titled something like "the gender panic plagueing our daughters" or whatever the fuck.

Plus there's so much community infighting lately because so many of y'all really do view oppression as a pokemon type damage chart instead of realizing that multiple things can be true at once, ie transfems and transmascs are both oppressed in different ways, so stop acting like either wanting recognition is ever taking anything away from the other. Other oppressed people are not your goddamn enemy

I don't know, I just... it's not even all the big things that are getting to me lately. It's the little things. Like when I've made it clear multiple times that I'm not comfortable being referred to as anything feminine, even slang. I try to be polite about it, say "please don't call me queen, or girl, or sis, it makes me very uncomfortable because of how hard I've fought to have my masculinity recognized" and people take it personally. People act like I'm calling femininity a bad thing, or that I'm making a totally unrealistic expectation of them, when I just said that I, personally, don't like this thing, so please don't do it to me, personally.

I think a good example would be a while back. I've gone by the nickname Dames since I first picked my name. It came pretty naturally from my high school friends, and I thought it was nice, I liked it, so I naturally kept it IRL and tagged all my personal posts with it. And evidentally my longer followers like it too, because I always get asks where people refer to me as Dames. That's me to all of you, right? It's a major indicator of the guy behind this weird internet facade tens of thousands of y'all saw some value in following. And good on him for only having followers on the one social media where that counts absolutely jack shit for, am I right?

I'm bound to get anon hate with numbers like that, it's expected, I'm not usually vexed by it. 9/10 times I just block and move on or find a way to make it funny, but a while back I got one that really kinda... stung. Mostly because it felt so targeted. Like, the others are usually just people trying to tell me what to post on my own blog or some shit about how my latest shitpost making the rounds sucks, but no one's ever gone for the nickname before this person. Not a single anon has ever told me that my nickname is shit, especially not with such targeted phrasing as "girl if you dont STOP calling yourself dames i refuse". I ended up making fun of them on here if y'all were here for it but it really kinda got to me in reality.

And I know what most people would say: "dont feed the trolls" "dont engage" "just block and move on" but I do have a few criticisms of that mentality. For one, it puts the onus on the person getting harassed to be the bigger person without ever addressing why the internet makes these people feel like this shit is acceptable, or how to fix that. To be clear, I don't know how to fix it, I just know it's a serious problem that disproportionately affects marginalized people online, especially those of us who have a bit of a platform to speak of and are therefore more visible, so it should be discussed more instead of just chalking it up to the lawless internet.

Second, on a more individual level, what the fuck has to be wrong with someone to actively go and figure out whats important to someone's sense of identity and then shit on it to them? I assume it was to get a rise out of me which I didn't really give them in the moment before I blocked them, but the total lack of acknowledgement of another person and the cold, calculating callousness is what does it for me.

I still go by Dames, but sometimes it gets to me. Like what if it is stupid? What if everyone does hate it? I didn't have these thoughts before I got that targeted harassment for no real reason than existing in a way this person found worthy of ridicule.

I think it goes back to what I was talking about before. The child part of me remembers how strong his sense of morality was, and how angry and betrayed he felt when things were unfair or unjust, or people were shitty to each other for no reason. He expects people to be better, to acknowledge that other people are people and to respect each other even on a platform as lawless as the internet. He's the part of me that's so hurt when this thing happens. And others always tell him that he's just naive, he shouldn't have responded, don't feed the trolls, etc etc without ever asking WHY this environment exists in the first place. It's not his fault for being hurt, that's a natural reaction, it's the bully's fault for kicking someone who's been systemically downed in one of the few places he comes for refuge and feels validated by.

The child is angry, the child says that people should be just and the world should be fair, and people say that the child is naive, but the child is right.

[motherfuckerunleashed]

I wasn’t gonna participate in No Nuance November but I just had a hot take: Can we stop “justifying” mental illnesses by dreaming up their “evolutionary benefits” during prehistory? This is a long one, so TL;DR it feels really invalidating for me, who has ADHD and other disorders. Sorry for the essay.

I’m seeing this a lot for ADHD, like saying our different circadian rhythm would be good for guarding encampments during the night or our different attention span would be good for spotting dangers.

But we know that society today brings out ADHD symptoms in ways that they never would have appeared 200+ years ago — late stage capitalism is a prison for a lot of illnesses, and prior to this era, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to study them under such scrutiny. Putting people with mental illnesses in extremely stressful environments creates adaptations (ie symptoms) that wouldn’t have occurred otherwise. (This is what I think, anyway; I’m not a doctor, just very mentally ill.)

Don’t get me wrong — I am SO happy that I’m seeing more ADHD awareness and acceptance in my social media! More of my friends are getting diagnosed and seeking help because of it! Overcoming stigmas and stereotypes is so important! Maybe these kinds of interpretations are inspiring to some. Maybe they’re geared towards people who still have negative views of this disorder, and it helps frame it in a positive light.

But... Something about this feels bad to me. ADHD (and BPD) have caused me a lot of struggling and suffering since I was very young, and dubbing my symptoms as “superpowers” — symptoms that made living very difficult and painful — seems fake. It tells me that my disorder serves a purpose. And what about other disorders? Does my depression have a benefit that I’m not using correctly? Or my BPD? I think highlighting ADHD as an underrated evolutionary strength is invalidating to people who have other incapacitating mental illnesses. Humans are born with defects, deficiencies, tendencies, and genetic strengths & weaknesses and that’s OKAY. There doesn’t have to be a purpose.

We’re essentially setting ourselves apart and saying, “We’re built different.” I’ve seen the words, “ADHD isn’t actually a disorder,” which implies, “I’m not REALLY mental ill like you guys.” Something in that is elitist and ableist. I don’t know enough about medicine, so maybe this is out of line...but maybe a lot of disorders aren’t “actually” disorders, and they’re entirely appropriate behaviours outside of late-stage capitalism. But how we diagnose and treat them today makes them disorders. It doesn’t matter how it “could be” in a different place and a different time — it matters how it affects us here and now.

It gives me “everything happens for a reason” vibes, like I was designed to fail from birth because I’m not a hunter-gatherer anymore. It also gives me “I’m an empath” vibes — the “evolutionary benefits” of ADHD are purely speculation without concrete, scientific proof.

I don’t know if this makes a whole of lot sense — my meds are kicking in — but I hope that someone can read this and put it into better words. Maybe this whole trend is just a fun, creative exercise to put a positive spin on symptoms that I’ve taken way out of context, but I think lots of people are taking it seriously, so I wanted to make a serious post.

[joymm2]

This assignment has been both challenging and fun to work on! I tried very hard to find a campaign topic that I could relate to and be passionate about. Through a series of different events, the theme anxiety popped into my mind. It is such a common issue in today's society and is something that can strongly interfere with people's day to day life. I have friends who struggle with different levels of anxiety...and honestly I found myself being so anxious throughout this semester. Anxiety can vary from a common feeling of unease to a serious disorder that makes people go crazy. But essentially it roots from mindset and how we choose to view situations or train our heads to react to certain events. I felt passionate about helping outsiders become aware of this 'anxiety', how it feels like, how people with anxiety camouflage and act like everything's okay, an insight to how it feels on the inside and how to be mindful or help them. Honestly, research was very difficult, as most of the solutions for anxiety was directed to counseling or therapy. Getting professional assistance and processing done. On this note I think I had to redirect my call to action to more of a 'lets try this', 'your not alone', message rather than, you can help by doing this directly kind of matter. This is where I got the idea of making an interactive set of daily cards,, with activities, tips or goals to do. Although I didnt manage to producd the assets in depth, the overall idea was to help assist people with anxiety with small steps, goals each day. To get their minds off troubles and worries and to give advice for pursuing peace and maintaining serenity internally ie. Drinking chamomile tea, listening to relaxing music, going of social media, breathing exercises, missions, of speaking to someone, opening up to a friend etc. Another idea that I focused on was a double sided poster. The front side showing people what anxiety looks on the outside. And surprisingly/ironically, anxiety doesn't have a specific look most of the times. Again, on the surface people are just smiling and laughing alongside everyone else. They may look super peaceful, but be dying on the inside. They may look very still and stable, yet be on the verge of having an attack, they may look happy but feel like throwing up soon... And in order to give an interactive insight to these feelings of anxiety, the other side of the posters would have a creepy, phobic, chaotic organism to express the inner thoughts. It was fun expressing this through animals. This idea came from the saying 'having butterflies in your stomach.' So I started drawing butterflies, then saw the moth which looked intimidating with its eyes, then thought what creature can give off a gross icky feeling? Which lead to drawing fish. I hate fish scales so I combined it with lots of eyes staring at you. And the finalized work became the 3 different, double-paged collateral posters. UNpanic, is supposed to be a campaign helping people unravel their fear and worries. By assisting them and giving awareness to people around them who don't necessarily know what it feels like to be anxious. This campaign has been such a challenge, as it is very unclear and doesn't have many straightforward solutions. It is an issue that the person themselves personally has to address and process and be willing in.

While focusing on this topic, I found myself also experiencing anxiety in different situations. Especially in relation to coming into uni after missing out the first few weeks. I felt like I had to have a very well structured, perfect job doen before going into class or else I was gonna get judged and criticized. This thought grew in my head and once I saw that my works-up-to-date were no where close to good-enough-standards, a fear grew in me of what going into class unprepared would result in. I became afraid of getting critiqued or receiving feedback, which I know is so crucial and helpful and actually beneficial for me. This is something I honestly regret and wished turned out different. On the other hand, I guess I got to experience what anxiety feel like😅... This campaign really made me think of ways to capture peoples attention by using complementary colors, fitting fonts, and scaling, imagery, design styles etc. It made me put myself in the perspective of people passing by, and what would catch their eyes? What catches my eyes when im waiting at the bus stop? What would pull my curiosity? It also made me observe many of the advertisements and images posted and hanging around the different areas of the public life. And I realised so many that I didnt pay attention to before. Our society today consists of so many different designs and assets everywhere. It opened my eyes to how the way we display each word, how a touch of color, how much one image can spoil or amplify different meanings and inspiration to people.

[wellthatwasaletdown]

Do you think the 1D fandom got distorted in a way by alot of adults participating who aren't quite secure enough in themselves to be ok with being involved with a boyband? So they are constantly looking to dress everything up as more serious than it is? And taking the trash talk and flippancy of young teens waay more srsly than its meant? I think thats what started alot of this 'Harry is woke' nonsense and it happened with Louis too. Their fans are fundamentally uncomfortable with themselves, hence the constant need for drama (edit sorry I should say *some*). And alot of what the younger fans carry on with, like with Harry that he's this deep musical prodigy (lmao) started on here with older fans trying to justify their interest to themselves, in bled over to the younger fans and obv HSHQ ran with it to great comic effect. But I do think Larry drew in such a large number of adults to HLs fandoms that in itself created a lot of the constant drama in those fandoms. Not the teens. In the beginning the boys were young and the fans were their age and it was like they understood eo. And that alot of the trashtalk etc is just teenage hotair. Then the fandom spread out demographically (younger and older) and suddenly its a lot harder to satisfy all bases (ie 'family show' vs sex expressive). I think alot of teens know and are aware that fandom is for fun and a space to be ott and act like some melodramatic possesive lover. Its a safe nonsense space to get that out of And a lot of drama here like Harries Harries trying to make out he soo deep (that started before HS1) or Louies crying because the industry wont acknowledge their mutli platform 24/7 streams as proof of widespread appeal, is caused by fans own insecurity. Harries can't just enjoy him for the frothy pop act he is and so media Harries act out like midlife crisiss victims talking nonsense and embarassing themselves and Louies belie the fact that they believe he's so extremely talented every focus so hard on how much kudos other people and the industry are giving him. My favourite artist is Ben Howard. He's just released music that I think is stunningly beautiful but it has like 63k views. He did 1 radio interview I know of and thats it. Do I care? Nope I'm too busy being thrilled and listening to Agatha's song on repeat to worry bout what other people are missing out on. He's more talented than Sheeran by a magnitude of about 1m imo but I'm not going to stress about other ppl other people having poor taste :p. Anyway I say all this as a fan who came to 1D as an adult. Its ok to like a boyband. 1D had something really special and won hearts all round. It doesn't mean we all have to pretend they're these complex musical icons. Sometimes light is perfect. I really think alot of Harrys most obnoxious press isn't on his orders, its adults (esp men) trying to excuse themselves for having weird dreams about him in 2013 lol. Sorry if this is a bit meta for here.

[serendipitykismet]

Note: The most important parts of this are bolded.

1. In order for me to interact with a blog, your blog must have a ruleset that I am able to find. I need to establish boundaries and to know if out blogs and personalities will mesh well together.

2. I am selective about who I interact with. I will follow if I’m interested in interacting, though if you post a lot of content which is triggering to me and have no clear way of blacklisting it, I won’t be able to follow. I apologize, but since roleplay is a hobby, I have to look out for my own mental health first and foremost.

3. The Mun is 23+. The muses are always 18+ unless during flashback. I don’t do AUs where my muses are children because it makes me uncomfortable. Thank you for understanding.

4. This blog is Multiverse and Multiship. Hence, any ships will happen in separate universes, unless me and other muns have plotted a poly ship.  I don’t mind if you would like to list my character as an exclusive if that is your thing, but I will not be able to return the favor, and I ask that you please do not pressure me to.

5. This blog is OC friendly. All normal rules still apply. OCs should have an about page so that I can get a feel for them as a character. Please also see rule 11, please for further information in this regard.

6. The muses and the mun do NOT share the same values. My muses may be rude, dislike your muses, and have some asshole-y opinions that do not reflect the mun. If you are worried that the Mun supports something you don’t agree with, please reach out to me OOC to ask before you assume that I’m the same person as the characters I play.

7. I don’t support the censorship of fiction. HOWEVER– there is a right and wrong way to handle sensitive topics. Serious topics are NOT a fetish. I will always do my best to tag triggering things, but please consider that I am unable to tailor your internet experience for you. I will always be open to tag something if you need it tagged, but as a general rule, please keep in mind that these topics may come up and will be tagged:

Unhealthy relationships (IE emotional and physically abusive relationships) may be explored on this blog with Muns that I trust, and will always be tagged.

Mental health, smoking, drug use, swearing, and other intense topics along these lines may be explored, and will be tagged.

8. DO NOTS:

DO NOT bring homophobia, transphobia, or racism into my inbox. This is a 0 tolerance rule and will result in an instant block.

DO NOT ask for roleplays involving rape, grooming, sexual abuse, exploitation of a minor, adult/minor shipping, or incest. This is a 0 tolerance rule and will result in an instant block.

DO NOT ask for plots involving pregnancy – mun has severe Tokophobia. Please tag images and mentions of pregnancy with “whimsy dont look” or “tw: pregnancy”. I will unfollow if I am unable to blacklist.

DO NOT ask for ships between characters which have an age gap in which the characters met while one was still a minor. It is fine if the character have an age gap and met while they were BOTH ADULTS. IE if the characters met when one was 20 and one was 40.

9. NSFW Material may be present, and will be tagged. This includes but is not limited to: gore, violence, erotica, and substance abuse. Because of tumblr’s filtering system, I cannot tag them as just “NSFW”, so written erotica will be tagged “Erotica” and “NSFW Text”. Partial nudity in imagery or suggestive imagery will be tagged as “tw: Partial nudity”, “partial nudity”, “suggestive”, and “tw: suggestive” depending on what applies. There will be no full nudity imagery on this blog. (Please note: the mun is a professional illustrator and I will sometimes share my other socials at the request of my followers. These other social medias may contain nudity. Please keep this in mind when viewing and following them.)

10. No instant romances. My muses are not here to fulfill your fetish, and they do not exist JUST to ship with your muses. My muses, as a general rule, are sort of hard to ship with. Here are some rules of thumb about shipping:

Shipping is chemistry based. If there is a relationship in canon, we can assume up to that level. My muses may respond negatively to sexual or romantic advances if they aren’t interested in your muse. If you decide that you are not feeling a ship, feel free to reach out to me OOC and we can absolutely drop it, no pressure! I may do the same if the ship isn’t working for me.

I do NOT change my characters sexuality, gender, mentality or body for a ship. A character who’s a trans man will stay a trans man. A character who has commitment issues will still have commitment issues– however these may be worked through via threads.

I don’t go out of my way to insult people’s ships. I ask that you please do the same, and please respect that if I say I don’t want to ship something, I’m not going to ship it.

The easiest way to ship with me is to reach out to me OOC and let me know there is interest there! If I know you’re interested in a ship and I know it’s one I’m interested in too, we can build up to it in a thread.

If we have a ship planned, feel free to send asks from the perspective of being later-on in the relationship! I do want to have the build up to the ship in a thread, but if you just wanna do something short and fun, I’m more than happy to humor it. Our ships don’t necessarily always have to be linear.

11. I prefer not to do crossover roleplays. I am uncomfortable interacting with characters that I am not familiar with. I will do them with muns I am comfortable with for series that I am familiar with only. This applies to OCs as well– if they do not have a verse for the series that I write for, I may not interact with them with my canon characters.

12. You do not have to match my length. I just ask that you please give me something to work with. I generally prefer paragraph, multi-paragraph, or novella style roleplays. One-liners are typically reserved for asks or crack.

13. Sometimes this blog is slow and low activity. I have mental illnesses and a lot of stuff going on in real life. Please be patient with me and know that I appreciate it so much more than I could ever say.

For the sake of the Mun's sanity, I ask that you please only have one thread with each muse at a time. I will answer asks and all of that, but please keep it to one thread per muse unless you ask me OOC first. Again, this is a hobby and not a job, so if I feel overwhelmed and uninterested in a thread, I will likely drop it because I will forget about it.

14. Please check a muse’s activity level and see if they are request only or selective!

Active muses are my go-to muses and are the ones you see the most.

Request only muses are open but you should ask for them specifically.

Selective muses are low activity and don’t often come to the forefront. I usually don’t have much interest in these muses unless I know a mun and they can give me a plot that interests me.

[haich-slash-cee]

Notes on “Spider-man: Far From Home” and other Spider-man movies from someone who maybe half-likes the MCU

Hey, who out there is like me -- maybe half-likes the Marvel Cinematic Universe at most? Ie, you go see the movies wth friends as a social event. Maybe you like Thor 1, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, the Spiderman movies. OK this is for you. Come along for the ride.

Alright, so I went to see Spiderman: Far From Home. Yep it’s fun -- I was entertained for 2hrs, it’s fun to see with friends, I kind of forgot everything by the next day, it’s a solid MCU movie, go see it. 

Stuff I liked (mild spoilers ahead)

*Honestly? The scenery is really pretty. That’s not usually the first thing I talk about, but Venice waterways and those European forests and cities with carnivals? Serious eyecandy. I mean if Disney’s gonna throw money at something, I appreciate these beautiful set locations.

*Classmate interactions with Peter Parker. Fav parts of the movie. Cut out 7/8 of the CGI battle scenes and tech stuff; add more classmate stuff instead, thanks.

*Okay but out of the endless CGI stuff, the dream-sequence-ness was pretty cool.

* The bridge scene w/ Peter Parker and MJ. Peter doing an abrupt turnaround decision and blurting out his secret identity. MJ being 67% sure. The quips in the movie are good, as with a lot of the MCU movies. They know how to do funny lines.

* MJ Actually Not Being Here For It At All re: swinging across town with Spidey. I appreciate this because, honestly, who amongst us would have any other reaction than MJ’s.

H/C angles -- Hm, not actually the most interesting part of the movie for me, in this case. Anyway, Spidey/Peter Parker gets physically whalloped a bit, limps around, etc. Also there’s a lot of mourning for Tony Stark which I guess could be emotional hurt/comfort for some audience members. Too bad I’m sick of MCU Tony Stark and I would be okay not seeing his face or character again. So most of the movie was me being like “aaarrgh”... because guess whose face, in fact, kept showing up or being talked about.

Other notes (major spoilers ahead)

Alright, this is where everyone who is maybe only half-interested in the MCU -- because the MCU is mostly about men and mostly white men at that and it’s  these processed corporate stories with like 7/8 more CGI fight scenes thrown in your face than needed and everything is packed into a breakneck pacing and there’s always some Alien Warcraft In Space and every movie is like the same. dang. thing. every time. -- Anyway, this is the space for ya’ll.

Okay, there are times that I did like MCU’s CGI fancy tech stuff -- like Black Panther’s afrofuturism. Very cool. Lots of designs I haven’t seen before. And subversive against a lot of media tropes. Also Thor: Ragnarock with Taika Waititi putting aboriginal flag colors on the ships and other indigenous people references through the movie. Also, in general, I liked those movies ‘cause they were being made with PoC and colonized people viewpoints.

Since I’m on the topic -- the appeal of the first Thor movie is, for me, that it feels like a weird Shakespeare story in Space with Epic Costumes and locations. (The director has indeed made a bunch of Shakespeare movies.) Also the movie has some romance book elements -- the women feel like solid characters and the lead woman demands the male protag to act better and he actually does become a more appealing, good person.

Also, MCU Spiderman. Because I’m here to watch Fun Superhero movies. (Not superhero movies where women get thrown off cliffs repeatedly as plot points. And where a first-year ecology student or a natural resource manager could give like 20 examples of why Populations and Ecology Doesn’t Work Like That and Also That is Some Seriously Racist and Colonizer Views You’re Helping To Spread Through A Mainstream Movie. You know, if the MCU producers or Russo brothers or whoever would have listened for like 2 minutes. Guess which blog writer didn’t think much of Infinity War or Endgame.) ANYWAY, so out of the MCU movies, the Spider-man movies are what I’m more interested in.

Oh, note on Tony Stark. The only MCU Tony Stark I like is in fanfiction. Fanfic people write MCU Tony Stark and write the IronDad SpiderSon thing in a way where I’m like, “Oooh okay I get the appeal now”. Fanfic writers, doing all the good work as usual. Otherwise, eh... I never liked the Tony Stark half-adopting Peter Parker thing. It just felt weird. Towards the end of Spiderman: Far From Home, you see the movie setting up Peter Parker being a mini-Tony-Stark as he messes with CGI holograms and assembles his own suit. And I’m like “Nooooooo, leave Peter Parker alone, don’t turn him into Stark.... And also blaaahhhh more CGI generic holographic tech sequences blaaahhh”.

Also, seriously not cool to all put this responsibility on some little “Haven’t Even Taken all His AP Classes or Started Applying to College” highschool kid. Honestly, earlier in the movie? I was thinking, “Yeah Peter you give those fancy (Likely-Weapons-of-Mass-Destruction) Glasses to there Fishbowl-Head-Man. You deserve better than this mess, MCU Peter Parker. Seriously, the kid probably doesn’t even know how to drive yet.” I was on-board with this plan. But, no, the plot had different ideas. I continue to blame Tony Stark or Fury or just all the adults in this situation honestly.

Also, TBH, as the credits were rolling, what I thought was, “Oh this makes me miss the 2000′s Spiderman 1 and 2 movies.” This shows which movies/versions of Spider-man I imprinted on. 

I did re-watch the 2002 and 2004 Spider-man movies two years ago (after the first MCU Spiderman movie Homecoming came out). The 2000′s movies are still solid movies. A few notes:

Nostalgia Glasses OFF. Wow, Spiderman 1 movie = very White. We are in NYC, right? Why are all the students white? On this point, the MCU Spiderman movies and also the Sony Miles Morales spiderman movie is better and more interesting. (Actually... I’m putting the Miles Morales movie a smidge above MCU spiderman movies, honestly -- the animation is cool, there’s some weird jokes I dig, some really weird macabre jokes I dig, I like the main character a lot, I like that he’s mixed race and we get some references to that, and I like that we get to feel our Feels a little more thanks to more breathing room in the pacing.) 

Also, 2002 spiderman movie, your homophobic joke about Bonesaw was never cool and hasn’t aged well.

What I Still Like: Ya know I just really appreciate some pacing and direction where we get to feel stuff, you know? Also, a standalone story for a movie! We focus on the main protag and a few other people. I like that the main character in this version is moving from senior year of high school to college and young adulthood and a lot of the serious themes about responsibility and stuff are overlapping with this. The way this is done feels more quietly grounded and real.

H/C angles -- Gotta say the whump and emotional hurt/comfort is still really solid in Spider-man 1 + 2. Very earned. Oddly, this time around, what stood out for me was Harry Osborn’s grief at losing his father. Especially that scene where he’s about to kill Spider-man in grief-revenge and he pulls off Spider-man’s mask and it’s his best bud Peter Parker, and Harry’s just whalloped. [Whumpy clip from Spiderman 2 with all that, YouTube]

What I also still like: So I guess the people making Spider-man 1 didn’t have all that much money? There’s a close-up scene where MJ is embracing Spiderman as they swing across the city. I think I read later, the actress playing MJ said the production team had to use a mannequin in that scene, so she had to hug the mannequin and pretend it was Spider-man. I didn’t notice this until I read it. But since then, whenever I see that scene and pay close attention, Spider-man does look a little off and I start laughing.

Also, Willem Dafoe hamming it up. No, really. Hamming. it. up. So good.

[cladad-blog]

Rebel with a cause - 2017 - Claire Rogers - ADAD1002

In my final interactive work “Rebel with a cause” is an amalgamation of my ideas retaining to the topic of rebellion. The title of the work has been purposefully selected and appropriated from the 1955 Nicholas Ray drama film “Rebel Without a Cause” purely because I haven’t seen the film and I want audiences to believe there is a possible link within the work to the film (oh wow look at me being rebellious).

The projected media display is a continuation from my interactive poster where the audience could physically swipe - disobeying the above above text. In my final work for assessment 2 I have created an interactive work using QR codes that allow audiences to be guided by the random colours selecting each code which they then can scan when it is selected (scan any code they like). The 4 links all take the audience to a rebellious page determined to be rebellious or not just by my own personal judgement.

1. Top

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

I find this internet meme rebellious in its very nature as it is posted in response to people looking for other information.

2. Right

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roBWfu2P_ZE

Last weeks episode of Rick and Morty. Rebellious because this is an illegal link despite being on youtube. Everyone in Australia has to wait a week until it comes out legally on Netflix for silly copyright laws.

3. Bottom

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=limewire&oq=limewire&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.2951j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

This is just a link to a google search of lime wire. I never downloaded music this way because I was too scared my computer would get a virus. I have had Spotify premium for like 3 years now but even thats not the best and we should all be out there buying records.

4. Left

http://www.equalitycampaign.org.au/voteyes

This is a link to information about voting yes in the postal plebiscite. Although here in this accepting environment of UNSW Art and Design this isn’t a very rebellious act just the notion of spreading personal political views within a university isn't generally promoted.

I have combined my previous experiments to create the centre of my work and overlaid the text “Are you a rebel? - scan if you are” inviting audiences to interact with the piece. Overall my main aim in my work is to look at their own lives and see if they are a rebel, and if this is a good or bad thing. Rebellion is so often associated with teen angst or major political wars when in truth it is all around us everyday. We as the people hold the power to either do what the signs tell us (such as the one in my work) or make our own decisions and decide what is best for our own lives. Artists such as Shirin Neshat and Banksy are excellent examples of practitioners who rebel in ways that help causes and create discourse within communicates to ignite change. Obviously my work is a more fun and playful look at the topic but upon reflection of my final piece I can definitely see my self wanting to create more serious works that explore peoples ethics.

After re-reading my first Tumblr post I now see that I did not really specifically address the idea of “artistic appropriation v. general acts of copyright infringement” but have almost naturally incorporated the idea within my work as it features a lot of copyrighted content I have not sort permission to use. My work can only legally be used for educational/personal use.

In summation I have enjoyed creating this rebellious project and had a good time in class.  

Bibliography

"Shirin Neshat." 58 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy. Accessed September 10, 2017. https://www.artsy.net/artist/shirin-neshat.

Street Art Bio | Street Artists Biographies. Accessed September 9, 2017. http://www.streetartbio.com/banksy.

"Create your QR code for free." QR Code Generator Start Comments. Accessed September 10, 2017. http://www.qr-code-generator.com/.

YouTube. Accessed September 19, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rick%2Band%2Bmorty%2Bseason%2B3%2Bepisode%2B2.

Christian Marclay: The Clock." Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Accessed September 18, 2017. https://www.mca.com.au/collection/exhibition/christian-marclay-clock/.

Toor, Amar. "Genderless Nipples exposes Instagram's double standard on nudity." The Verge. December 06, 2016. Accessed September 17, 2017. https://www.theverge.com/2016/12/6/13852900/genderless-nipples-instagram-censorship-policy.

[misterbitches]

Im not intelligent at all. In the conventional sense. The ramblings of a girl who just has sooo much going in in her head it's constant. But im not a genius. Or that confusing.

It just sounds like I am bc fandoms have this issue where they can JUSTSO point out the issues in soletiing. They can pick and prod and go oh problematic! But then you go to name the problems and the difficulties within society like for ex: the idea of representation in general. Salivating over it. How fucking sad that is. How we are trained to accept it. So in a BL and also RACE in the bl genre they exploit viewers naivete both domestically and internationally. Ive seen tons of people liken being asian to being a person of color. However, in their predominantly homogenous society (or intentionally publically homogenous society), they are not "poc" (also name the of color; i dont use bipoc idc if u do but it's called being asian guys cos yall aint talkin about black ppl lmao)

They as humans seeing other humans who look like them everywhere, engage with the world differently than an american in asia or asians living outside of their home country (like bae doo nanwhen she worksnin the US is not the same as the bae doo nanworking on a korean program) I dont complain about it in everything i see bc ppl say it ALL THE TIME. but it is NOT the same. Being a person of color is very distinctly an american concept. This is all stuff people will get to know on their own if they choose to dig more.

I do my best to underline what my ugly little eyes process. How i figure things out as a black female american artist too! Im hard on shit cos i should be. I take it seriously. And even if i dont take it seriously bc THEY dont then thats their problem.

I know this is a complaint that I am not alone in. I know it's the internet. I just don't get how people can write really heavy analysis but they refuse to actually probe the underlying issues. Not everyone is me, or like my friends, but if there's way fewer people talking about this stuff it seems absolutely glaring when theres few people engaging in the way i do. It seems like im the glitch but I am thinking just as much just differently.

I really loved where your eyes linger but there was little deep class analysis. I remember few convos a bout it. I know a lot about korea (sigh being a black ex kpop fan lol mess) and i love the history but all ofnit matters! Korea's relation to labor!

People bringing up thai actors snd actresses leaving the industry and doing acting as something quick. As an artist~ who went to film school with insanely wealthy ppl and isnin tons of debt you have to understand how shitty that is. People have monetary access and they just fucking do whatever just because they want to. Meanwhile you have young people being coerced into this bullshit mainstream life to LITERALY just make money bc they dont come from a rich background. The wealth gap in thailand is BAD, theres a dictatorship, they had a fucking coup. The governments like here do not respect their people. Their marginalized groups. Trans thai women, black thai ppl, poor thai ppl. And it LITERALLY CANNOT DO ANYTHING EFFECTIVELY IN CAPITALISM. No nothing can be perfect but if it's going into our eyeballs and we can view the worlld critically then why the fuck not!???

I dont say the things i see are wrong always. I reply when i think i need to. I try and engage with others but not to kuch avail. I just want to rb stuff and tdhink lajfhhdjwhjej.

But like yea theres a lot of just wrong or misguided stuff. A lot of the times it is just historical inaccuracy in framing or idk. A refusal to think outside the box. I dont care. Theres more to life than just sort of looking and not thinking especially for othrr artists.

Idk im sorry. I dont see how i can change how i view things. I really wish people would expand their palettes too and go deeper into other means of art from places! Things not in the mainstream! Theres a lot of good thai artists and a lot of them critical as fuck about their country as they should be. Authority, austerity, patriarchy, capital, racism etc like that is central to a power thats interested in growing gains and fiscal and social power. Theres rly radical or left leaning etc ppl out there in the world and these countries in these communities. So they exist. No people in these countries dont have NO clue whats going on. Cultural relativism is alsos something people should understand. I had a good talk with ppl on here a while ago about that. Talking about shit, critiquing, but being respectful to a group. Part of thay is realizing these groups CLEARLY know their own issues and all our cultures share the same goal. Guess what it is. It rhymes with acquiring wealth. Money means you hurt people. In the post, we talked about use of "wife" and "husband" which is a stupid joke that has been "explained" a billion times and yet the explanations still dont seem to answer or justify a minor problem (it's very funny to me that a language that doesnt have gendered pronouns is now very specific about two men. Hmmm wonder why. It is annoying.)

So im not the only person on the planet doing this. Or the few ppl ive seen that do. Im not new my thoughts arent new. Ive gotten to see another side to a culture i knew not much about and that means i can put the context of my beliefs and life and try and understand thheirs. For ex i learned from ITSAY because of a sign that said 'french food' that they were the only country to not be colonized back then. Do you know how integral that history is to their region? That was an interesting detail (i didnt finish itsay bc ihad a lot going on and i was rly upset that i would see hownrich they are and i hate that.)

Anyways thats my complaint. It used to feel like a sting of rejection. I left online for months in 2019, i started organizing more, joined a union, trying to do some panther work shit like that. I learned a lot in those months and it changed my life! But when I came back, I felt so isolated. It wasnt my true friends tho sometimes theyre ANNOYINGGGGG (love u) but it was me being like "if we are going to complain guys then lets put our money where our mouth is" lets be fucking serious about it then. No say it with your chest dude. It isnt difficult. Go with the fucking flow, talk about it, critique it, think. You can still fucking like itnor love it.

I am BLACK ok and i love rap. I am a black woman. I will continue to clown black men that cant seem to not clown themselves and listen. No i wont support monetarily: drake is a creep and i hate him but i bump that niggas song. Thats fucking LIFE. I got so sick of hiding myself and it became clear that it wasnt that i wasntthinking well or hard enough. They just didnt like that i said we need to commit class suicide and inspect out middle class sensibilities and middle class wealth hoarding (google it) if thats what we engaged with. Every part of you, antagonize it. I still have my privileges; class, skin color, even my father being a nigerian immigrant, me being cis, im not str8 but not a lesbian and those are differences.

Insecurities in general but some shallow thoughts (?) on discussion in "fandom" space. FYI, this will most likely stay the same. I tend to stay in my own bubble socially IE me and my friends are similar in our views. During this awful year while running my union's account, im surrounded by like minds. Me and my friends? We changed together. We grew up and saw what we didnt like and what we want. We do our best.And i CHOOSE my life to be that way bc it should be. There is no solution. I dont believe in solutions because the solution is to abolish capital or just divest. Abolishing capital and labor are a huge one and i will die before that happens (but so help me as long as im alive? Black women to FREEDOMMMM is my motto!) so making your own path in life is the best thing an artist can do IN MY OPINION.

However with technology and stuff this puts another layer onto things. Tech, social media, this shit....it THRIIIIIIIVESSSSSSS off of conflict and shallow readings of the world. We are literally primed for it. Engagement in bites. Impossible for me with my brain; i got used to it and i paid for it by limiting my scope. Not being encouraged to THINK AND READ before just speaking

(For ex i am in iww, i helped form a branch here. It is a radical union. Unionism is imprative to me-if ur interested u should read up on some. Look up peter cole! Google inthesetimes Ilwu. Gives you some understanding. Ive always been progressive and now i am....very left idk ic ant label myself. But even in my progrssiveness i had the gall to tell my white friend, whoa has her privileges but i had mine with our class disparity, that we dont need unions, i have WORKED retail. Ive done barista work for sonoing and i do gig work. So i wasnt out of touch. I had been stiffed even with a shoot i was working on by rich kids. So i had a frame of reference . But i didnt know what the FUCKa union was and why it is imperative. Then learning about anarcho syndicalism and all these other things. It changed my fucking life but two years earlier i was this idiot spouting shit like that making one of my best friends fucking upset. We DO AND CAN CHANGE. Think!!!!)

So were i a creator for tv id just constantly try and push the buttons if i need big money. Make them sell into me (thank you sonic youth!) theres Endless possibilities guys which means theres SO MUCH TK EXPLORE!!!! When i wanna have fun with it i just have fun. When i want to think i do. I dont understand why we are so dedicated to upholding things and doing mental gymnastics to end up in a space you dont need mental gymnastics for. What about these critiques makes you uncomfortable? Saying we're all part of the problem as spectators? Im sorry but we will always be. Thats LIFE. God fuck. Fuck me. I feel so fucking worthless and stupid sometimes. I know I am not. I know i am talented and intelligent. I know my friends and family. I know how to approach ppl. I know how to tell people if they are rich but want to be progressive whatsup. I choose how i live part of that is being ok to say what i want.

Ironically consrrvatives say this shit alot. But they arent ever alone bc their ideology is default. But yea it does feel shitty. It even feels shitty when ur in left circles but people STILL dont even wanna do that. These perspectives really arent ss many as they should be. I dont want to feel so alone with it. I know there are more. I just love art and the world so fucking much, endless possibility. Endless pain but endless good.

[lewiskdavid90]

The DevLearn eLearning Rockstars Stage: Now Starring…

Ah, DevLearn. This glorious multi-day event in Las Vegas, Nevada is considered by many to be THE eLearning conference to attend. We take it pretty seriously. We are especially serious about delivering the best booth experience for everyone who stops by our booth—ie, free swag and super friendly faces and lots of orange. Last year, we extended that level of awesomeness to our very own eLearning stage.

If you haven’t been to the DevLearn expo before, DevLearn offers six educational stages that run throughout the event for anyone attending the conference—with either a full-conference or an Expo+ registration. The stages feature a wide range of presentations, discussions, and demonstrations from industry experts and suppliers. We sponsored a stage for the full two days last year and loved that we could bring you so many cool speakers. So of course, we’re doing it again this year!

This year, on the DevLearn eLearning Brothers eLearning Rockstars Stage…

Wednesday, October 24

10:00-10:45 am | Industry Leader Panel: The Future of eLearning Development

The eLearning industry is changing quickly, and it can be hard to keep up. Put that on top of ever-evolving tools, mobile vs. desktop development, xAPI integration, and other feature requests, and it’s enough to make you want to throw your computer out the window. But what if you knew what the tool developers had planned for the near future?

For this session, eLearning Brothers asked, “What would happen if we put the industry’s leading tool developers, including Adobe, Trivantis, Claro, and Adapt, on the same stage?” Come to a fantastic panel discussion that explores what’s currently exciting in rapid eLearning development and what’s coming down the pipe. Where would you like to see the technology go? SaaS vs. license purchase? Mobile development on mobile? Come get a peek into what will be in a developer’s toolbox in a few months, years, and beyond.

11:00-11:45 | Creating a Learning Strategy for Maximum Impact

Marty Rosenheck, eLearning Brothers

You’re charged with a high-stakes, high-visibility learning challenge. Perhaps you need to prepare an entire hospital staff to work effectively on day one of a move to a new hospital building, or you need to get a salesforce ready to sell a new product line. How do you do it? There’s no quick fix, no single method that will get full impact. You need to create an integrated learning strategy.

In this session, you’ll get a framework for creating an integrated, multifaceted learning strategy. You’ll see how to design and build a systematic set of learning experiences using technology appropriately, guided by sound learning science principles. You’ll see examples of role-based learning paths that employ eLearning, microlearning, on-the-job learning, coaching, video, workshops, simulations, performance support, and fun reinforcement activities. You’ll learn how to apply learning experience design principles including design thinking, active learning, spaced practice, scenarios, and on-demand content. Finally, you’ll see how to implement an iterative, collaborative design and development process that involves all stakeholders to achieve maximum impact.

12:15-1:00 | What Can You Build Today in VR

John Blackmon, Trivantis

You’ve heard that VR training experiences have a proven higher retention rate, with retention gains reaching 75 percent in comparison to standard video, eLearning, or textbook training. What you need to know is how to create and deploy VR training quickly and cost-effectively with the systems you have today.

In this session, you will learn the differences between VR, AR, and MR, and how you can apply each of them in the training that you are creating today. You will learn about a new tool, CenarioVR, that allows you to rapidly create VR training by linking together multiple 360-degree images and videos to create an immersive story. This session will also cover the creation, editing, publishing, and tracking of VR training. It will highlight the potential learning applications for using VR, and how you can integrate it into your current learning environment.

1:15-2:00 | Training That’s “Lit”: Engaging with Generation Z Learners

Misty Harding, eLearning Brothers & Jim Cogdal, Sigma Chi

Sigma Chi Fraternity’s existing, traditional learning methods for incoming pledges weren’t received as well as hoped. Young learners reported the training was too long, too “boring” and not “lit.” What changes could Sigma Chi make that would truly connect with Gen Z pledges while still effectively preparing them for their membership in the fraternity?

In this session, you will see examples of how traditional training methods (eLearning, classroom, video, etc.) were redesigned to be shorter, more engaging, and more effective while appealing directly to Generation Z through the use of things like graphic novels, social media–themed interactions (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tinder), digital magazines, gamified interactions, and more. You’ll also hear about the reaction new pledges are having to this redesigned material and the difference it’s making for Sigma Chi Fraternity.

2:15-3:00 | Using Games to Make Your Training More Effective

Karl Kapp, Professor of Instructional Technology and Director of the Institute for Interactive Technologies – Bloomsburg University & Stephen Baer, Managing Partner – The Game Agency

Employee training expenses in North America exceed $70 billion each year. Unfortunately, much of that learning is passive, dull, and uninteresting—in other words, not effective. An alternative to this type of training is to provide active, interesting, and engaging instruction—in other words, effective instruction. This session will showcase how game-based training motivates learners, improves retention, and drives better business results.

This session will explore six performance objectives and align a unique game mechanic with each one. You will create and play a meaningful, motivational, and memorable game and compete for real-world prizes. This session will provide you with a new toolkit for game-based training and some exercises that you can bring back to your corporate classroom.

3:15-4:00 | Making 508 Accessible to Developers

Daryl Fleary, VP Business Solutions – Trivantis

Being 508-compliant is meant to make your courses more accessible, but creating 508-compliant courses can be very difficult. Different requirements, changing definitions, and clarifying expectations will add hours to any project.

When it comes to tools for helping developers create 508-compliant courses, the industry has come a long way. This session explores some of these tools and shows how 508 compliance can be much more accessible for everyone.

Thursday, October 25

10:00-10:45 am | On the eLearning Horizon and Beyond

Alessio Artuffo, Director International Business Operations – Docebo & Curtis Morley, eLearning Brothers

The eLearning industry is constantly changing. It can be difficult to keep an eye on what advancements are coming while also trying to manage current budgets and technology restraints.

Gain in-depth understanding on how the eLearning landscape is shifting and evolving, as well as how to make the most of emerging trends including social, microlearning, gamification, and mobile trends you need to know before 2019.

11:00-11:45 | Flip Learning Like a Rockstar!

Chris Willis, eLearning Brothers

eLearning and instructor-led classroom training both have inherent strengths and weaknesses. Why not take advantage of the best of both worlds?

Join this session to explore a creative and flexible flipped classroom approach you can bring back to your organization. Explore ways to add interactivity and engagement to your learning using low-cost enhancements to your existing courses. See how blending in eLearning Brothers Customizable Courseware titles can help you build on the training you already have to create a rockstar learning curriculum.

12:15-1:00 | The Hero’s Journey: Exploring Elements in Learning Games

Rich Vass, eLearning Brothers

This session will explore often-overlooked game elements that focus on the story—the narrative—which can take surprisingly little time to craft, but can make all the difference. You’ll explore a proven model with examples that demonstrate these elements in detail. Core concepts from the hero’s journey apply to all incredible stories—from Rocky Balboa to Indiana Jones, these elements are the reason people care to dedicate their attention.

This session defines key elements of effective storytelling popularized by Joseph Campbell in his 1949 work “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” Campbell was influenced by Carl Jung’s view of myth and the compelling nature of stories that draw people into alternate realities where they ultimately learn about themselves through protagonists and antagonists. Attendees will be encouraged to “up their game” when it comes to learning games. Take the narrative deeper, and leave behind uninspiring games that so often dominate the landscape of learning. With just a bit more thought and creativity, online learning games can become so much more.

1:15-2:00 | Getting Started with xAPI in Rapid Authoring Tools

Bill Milstid, eLearning Brothers

The whole industry seems excited about xAPI. It’s a spectacular option for gaining deep insights into learner actions—or opening up the learning environment entirely. Exciting stuff indeed. Getting excited is easy; getting started is another story. How do you get started with xAPI? How can you use the rapid authoring tools you’re already familiar with to tap into the reporting potential of xAPI?

This session will look at how the big three rapid authoring tools handle xAPI. It will start with a very brief xAPI introduction. Then, you’ll take a deep dive into each tool: how Storyline, Captivate, and Lectora work with out-of-the-box statements; how to send custom statements with each tool; and constructing a launch path and testing xAPI statements.

2:15-3:00 | Half the Work for Twice the Results

Andrew Scivally & Curtis Morley, eLearning Brothers

With so many options at your fingertips, it’s easy to spend hours and hours wading through countless images, backgrounds, interactions, and templates. It can seem overwhelming and bottomless. If you aren’t careful, you can get distracted and lose focus.

eLearning Brothers has completely revamped its search features, template designs, display layouts, Customizable Courseware offering, and everything else. Creating rockstar content is even easier than before! Come hear about the exciting changes eLearning Brothers has rolled out.

Whew, that’s a lot of awesome presenters and some really great, off-the-moment topics there! My typing fingers are tired. Which presentations are you more looking forward to?

Visit us at booth #528 at DevLearn 2018. Talk to a friendly account rep, enter into a raffle for a chance to win an iPad, and check out all these amazing presentations at the eLearning Rockstars Stage!

from Free Online Courses https://elearningbrothers.com/blog/the-devlearn-elearning-rockstars-stage-now-starring/

[fashiontrendin-blog]

So Sorry I Was Stuck in Traffic: Your March Horoscope Is Here!

http://fashion-trendin.com/so-sorry-i-was-stuck-in-traffic-your-march-horoscope-is-here/

So Sorry I Was Stuck in Traffic: Your March Horoscope Is Here!

Illustration by Cynthia Merhej. 

My favorite meme-theme in the whole wide world is the one that taps into the old “I’m on my way!” lie when you haven’t even left yet and are definitely going to be late.

Speaking of late, horoscopes on the 9th of the month, eh?

Look, Mercury’s gonna retrograde on March 22nd, so I’m going to go ahead and blame my tardiness on that planet. Susan Miller basically told me to do as much (Astrology Zone plug!!!) and you know that I do what she tells me to. But just in case you’ve found yourself frozen, unable to move without the star’s guidance, how about I make it up to you — right now: you, me, a little astrology? There’s that toothy grin!

Let’s get this party started! Oh and because I literally fall asleep while typing about Mercury being backwards-ass, allow me to throw out a blanket statement here: do all your electronics shopping and ticket-purchasing now. Otherwise, you’ll be fine.

Aries

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGICAL (F)ARIES! I hope a thousand sprinkles and sugar balls tumbled out of your cake the moment you cut it, like they do from those viral Flour Shop ones, and I hope you caught it in time for social media documentation.

A recap of the last nine days: Thanks to the full moon, you probably finished a major project that resulted in great success. An annoying health-related matter likely came to a happy end. You may have received some cash. (God bless the grandparents who still include “walking around money” in birthday cards.) You also may have been invited to a party!

What to expect for the rest of the month: the need for a nap — and after March 17th, you’ll be able to get some rest; a serious career growth spurt is set to last until May 15th (“the coming weeks will be the most important of 2018 for career growth and progress,” per Susan, so make sure you act fast on the open positions you want); and finally, a hot-n-heavy (sorry) love life. Did “hot-n-heavy” make you think of Hot Pockets? Just wondering, also just wondering if you’ve had one lately and if they were under/overrated? They seem like a fast snack so why not, honestly.

Taurus

Welcome to March or should I say, “Mooarch,” in Taurus-talk. Mooarch is going to be our favorite time of 2018, fellow bull-human-jelly-beans.

A recap of the last nine days: We had “wonderful developments to our emotional lives” thanks to the new moon (good lord, thank you), a romantic March 3rd and 4th weekend — kindly tell me all about it down in the equally romantic comments section, and one or more of you may have proposed to someone. I did not because I am trying to play it cool!!!

What to expect for the rest of the month: a moment of, “Oh shit, I’m spending money like I’m drunk at a bar and in a good mood, as in ‘SHOTS ON ME, PARTY FREAKS,’ only my bank account just told me I’m grounded”; a financial chill-out in response, probably around the 17th; a chance to travel (take it if you can); new romance around the 28th (if you’re not single, maybe just a lot of “REKINDLING THE FIRE” wink-wink-have-fun-be-safe); and on March 30th, thanks to Venus, an absolutely prime opportunity if not excuse to get our hair done and do a little or a lotta shopping.

Gemini

Hi Geminini in a Bottle, Baby! I’m on a plane and the person next to me is snoring. Thought you’d like to know that detail about me.

A recap of the last nine days: You had a “joyous family event” at the start of the month (family barbecue or an aunt’s 90th birthday as celebrated on a cruise, perhaps?); you may have moved; you’ve hopefully been very happy.

Susan keeps saying that everyone is happy this month which makes me happy and I hope it’s true because if there’s one movie character in the history of the WORLD who’s me, it’s that woman who doesn’t even go here in Mean Girls with the rainbow cake and…whoa. IDK if you read Aries’ intro but I just had a life-changing realization and think that Flour Shop cake might be the manifestation of the cake that Mean Girls girl wanted to bake.

You’re lucky I’m able to keep doing horoscopes after that kind of revelation but I AM!!! Snoring seatmate on a plane, remember? He’s both distracting and motivating.

What to expect for the rest of the month: the best time in 2018 for career progress; a serious relationship commitment and a finally-completed major project.

Cancer

I didn’t have one crab cake in Paris, I hope you’ll know.

A recap of the past nin days: You may have taken (or be planning) a short trip. If you’re planning a big one, however, wait until after March 17th. That’s it with the back-at-it stuff. Let’s look forward.

What to expect for the rest of this month: you’ll be “hungry for new experience and information,” so bring a toothbrush wherever you go just in case you’re chewing more than usual; romance — especially if you do plan that little bit of travel; a really exciting “media project” (sometimes Susan is vague and it’s nice to let it happen); a little home construction situation; your health or an ex driving you up a damn wall; a resolution to the last thing I just wrote that results in a “strong, nearly unbreakable union”; and who knows, you might just get back into waffles. Remember waffles???????

Leo

Susan wants you to pay attention to your finances, to which I say, “BOR-ING.” You might say “MEOW-RING” since you’re related to a cat, but if there’s one thing I was reminded of in Paris, it’s that everyone prefers you to just speak English if you’re going to accidentally give the wrong address three times in a row because you confuse the “teens” with the “twenties.”

Here’s what to expect for the rest of the month: Susan is “especially enthusiastic about your prospects to get a great deal on a mortgage or refinanced mortgage; talks of shared expenses between lovas; an opportunity to turn your creativity into a profit; a bump forward in your career reputation; romance as in romuntz-untz-untz, and romance of the TRUE LOVE variety. At the end of the month you’ll need a little nap, but you also might go to a rock concert. Susan said. I just sat here and binge-ate Meow Mix.

Virgo

The beginning of the month has been busy for you! That must be because your star sign, Virgo, collaborated with Virgil Abloh of Off-White which means you’re a celebrity now. Don’t you worry about me, I’m not really keeping track of what I’m saying.

A recap of the last nine days: you may have seen “the fullness of a desire that is deeply important to you reach fruition” (ooooo-ie!); you may have proposed; your home life may have, out of seemingly nowhere, FINALLY started to feel “lighter, easier, and more enjoyable”; and you may have started to really focus in on a project that means a lot to you.

Here’s what to expect for the rest of the month: a permanent-good mood because of Mars in Capricorn from the 17th through May 15th; an itch to redecorate your home; a positive outlook on love; a readiness to find “the one,” have a baby child, or build a business; and, on the 28th, a big fat wad of money!!!

Libra

Hey Libra, so Susan seems to think you have feathers? Do you? That’s so cool, but she seems to also think they’re dragging. Are you hibernating? That’s okay!!! We all need to take a time out on occasion, stick our beaks under our wing-pits and fluffle for a bit until we feel cozy enough to come out on someone’s outstretched index finger again.

I used to have birds growing up! Rainbow and Webster, double-RIP.

Anyway, doesn’t mean you’re totally antisocial. If you get invited to a getaway situation before the 17th, you should definitely go.

Here’s what to expect for the rest of the month: March 17th through May 15th is the best time to sell your apartment if you’re thinking about doing that kind of thing; you’ll be supremely creative around the new moon of the 17th; go to the gym and the dentist at the end of the month; Libra will put “a big accent on your dreams and desires” toward the end of the month — you might feel overwhelmed in other areas, so breathe here, because these are exciting things, and see if you can’t get help; you may start taking piano lessons. Susan didn’t say anything about them but I thought it seemed like a nice note to end on.

Scorpio

Hey Stinger Pants! Better than Stinker Pants, am I right?

“When you eventually look back on 2018,” Susan writes, “you will view March as a magical month, one of your most romantic months of the year.”

A recap of the last nine days: You started with an enchanting full moon on the 1st; everything supposedly went your way thanks to the lineup of the planets; the full moon shone in your eleventh house of hopes and wishes; life was all around flowery and romantic. (Yes? No? This sounds lovely so I’m rooting for this truth.)

Here’s what to expect for the rest of the month: Susan really wants you to travel, if you can getaway; Neptune, the Sun and the new moon are going to work together to “set the stage for love”; if you want to have baby chickens of your own, now might be the time; your career will shoot forward like the star that it is and you are; there’s a “blue moon” at the end of the month that might make things a little tiring, but per Suz’s verbatim advice: “Certainly this is a month given over mainly to love and fun, so for once, let work take a back seat so you can enjoy those precious moments to the fullest.”

Sagittarius

Oh Sagittarius, I brought a celestial apple with me, your favorite!

Did you read that in a sing-song voice? Do you think it’s weird how much I like your sign because I like horses so much? At first I was mad about Sagittari-ii because you guys get all the good astrologically-related logos and calendars and doodles, but then I realized, “If you can’t be them, join them,” so here I am offering you sugar cubes out of my palm and wondering if I can play with your horsetail.

A recap of the last nine days: Your career is more up than the Pixar movie (hey-o!) and everyone knows your name; you’ll make a lot of money; the man next to me is blowing into his nose so hard I’m scared for his brain.

Here’s what to expect for the rest of the month: Susan wants you to “toot your own horn” and celebrate your accolades, because it will lead to more of them — you’ve got a competitive edge right now; you’ll focus on redecorating and nesting; you’ll negotiate a beneficial contract (nice ’n’ vague); you’ll start getting into party mode even though you’re a little sleepy (take naps, please); you’ll need to be a brainstorming partner to a friend; and finally, on March 28th, you’ll “enjoy lighthearted mirth,” a sentence I am so glad Susan Miller wrote because we could all stand to work mirth back into our vocabulary!!!

Capricorn

I’m not saying you don’t, but if you had Capricorn horns IRL, would you pierce them, or would you let them be their own accessory?

A recap of the last nine days: the full moon of March 1st was “tailor-made for you” and made you smile a ton, apparently; your ninth house of long-distance travel sparkled; you may have gotten into grad school or something in that vein.

Here’s what to expect for the rest of the month: Hopefully better food than the weird airplane chicken teriyaki I just ate; a “big competitive advantage over the other zodiac signs,” thanks to Mars in Capricorn from March 17th through May 15th for the first time in two years (from Susan: “Use this time to launch an initiative that requires you have a lucky edge, such as a big interview…”); a lit-up career toward the end of the month and the culmination of a stressful, all-consuming project; a costume party that Susan didn’t really suggest I write about so much as she didn’t not tell me to mention it, so anyway, I think you should throw a costume party because why the hell not. I’ll brainstorm costumes with you down below if you want.

Aquarius

AQUARIUS I wonder if your name is to blame: I have had that “Barbie Girl” song stuck in my head for four days and I want it gone! I keep wanting to talk to you and Pisces about The Shape of Water and this so-called “fish sex.” I haven’t watched it yet which bums me out because I feel like it’s ripe fodder for these horoscopes, although this month’s batch has been a bit of a dead fish when it comes to the blatant innuendos. Oh well. There’s always next month to talk about Uranus and golden showers unnecessarily!

Anyway, here’s what to expect for the rest of the month: Ask for a raise on the new moon of March 17th — “it looks like you will get it,” writes Suz; you’ll begin opening talks for an exciting career move; your social life will be like PARTYPARTYPARTYDINNERHANGFRIENDPARTY, and you’ll be into it; after March 17th, you’ll be given the opportunity to go off the grid for a bit, which might be nice after that sentence I just wrote; use the end of the month to reflect, avoid travel if you can (Mercury in retro-lame) and reconnect with old flames — romantic or platonic. And hang out with your Barbie World friends!

Pisces

Hello you golden fish! I literally just said this to Aquarius but my hands feel like hooves today (I am a Taurus, after all) so don’t mind the copy/paste and pretend instead that I put both of you on a group text:

I keep wanting to talk to you and [Aquarius] about The Shape of Water and this so-called “fish sex.” I haven’t watched it yet which bums me out because I feel like it’s ripe fodder for these horoscopes, all though this month’s batch has been a bit of a dead fish when it comes to the blatant innuendos. Oh well. There’s always next month to talk about Uranus and golden showers unnecessarily!

Work smarter, not harder, am I right, bubble breath?

That was a compliment!!! It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever come up with. I can’t wait to use it as a term of endearment again.

A recap of the last nine days: You may have gotten married, or you proposed, or you DTR’d — Venus is in Pisces so there was and is a lotta love and romance happening; you were very inspired, or at least the buds of inspiration began to bloom; you might have started to find someone to partner with professionally, too.

What to expect for the rest of the month: Start sending out your resume and making the most of ye old network; expect great news on the 11th (about something!); prepare for a cool opportunity in ~*media*~ on March 13th; you’ll have the best day ever on March 17th thanks to gift-giving, luck-distributing Jupiter getting the new moon all excited, which will result in a special new moon that you can use in any way you choose. “The actions you take immediately after that new moon appears will have far-reaching, positive ramifications,” Susan Thriller said. That sounds so exciting! I hope you’ll send me an old-school newsletter that I can tape to my fridge because if there’s anything I love more than good Suz and good news, it’s mall photos of my friends in turtlenecks!