#it provides nothing other than exploitation of peoples suffering

[roseverie]

hollywood really needs to go back to creating movies that are fictional :)

[bioethicists]

hm i really hope that someone has said this better than me but the betterhelp ads (specifically the video ones, as the podcast ones tend to be less scripted) are such poignant examples of alienation + the role of 'go to therapy' in perpetuating that alienation. keep in mind that, if you personally found a therapist who is genuinely healing for you + that therapist happens to be through betterhelp- i'm genuinely happy for you + that experience does not invalidate anything i have to say below! (but jsyk they're trying to sell your shit to facebook lol)

starting strong w/ the fact that betterhelp is essentially the uber of therapy (aka using an independent contractor model which is harmful + predatory towards its providers), rushing in to fill the market on largely uninsured and/or uninformed ppl who want the ease of a concierge system without the cost + lacks a meaningful supervision system (which led to one gay man being recommended a conversion therapist when he asked for someone to help with his identity struggles, btw!). smarter people than me have written about the ways in which these trendy independent contractor apps strip people of labor rights, fail to provide adequate wages, + in the case of healthcare apps, increase digital surveillance + decrease accountability demanded from providers while exploiting the failure of the US healthcare system in order to churn a profit w/o actually creating sustainable, equitable change.

the betterhelp video ads all circle around a theme- a millennial starts talking about some form of emotional pain or worry, usually relatively standard existential worries ("do you ever think nothing has meaning?") or life worries ("i hate my job" "i think i'm gay"). their friends or the ppl around them respond blankly + coldly, looking at them like they're crazy. while i understand these ads are supposed to be tongue in cheek, they demonstrate the crushing reality of our alienation from one another- the solution to your friends responding to your evident pain with confusion + apathy is to confine that pain to a therapy session! nobody wants to hear your struggles or understands them- come generate profits for us by facetiming a newly graduated 24 year old who can barely make rent!

this theme fits well with what already put me off about betterhelp's marketing- their goal has never been to provide access to therapy for those who want it or to altruistically fill in some healthcare gap. their goal, bolstered by the rise in emotional suffering following, you know, the worldwide pandemic, is to generate + increase demand for therapy as a commodity. their earlier podcast ads focused on convincing others that therapy "isn't just for crazy ppl" + "everyone should be in therapy". regardless of if you personally agree with that statement, it should be evident that this is a blatant marketing tactic in which therapy is a commodity to be peddled, not an offer of support or healing. in fact, they're probably actively shying away from treating "crazy people", bcuz their flimsy support systems could not possibly handle an influx of ppl regularly in crisis or experiencing breaks with a common reality. their target audience is your average millennial under late capitalism + post COVID - anxious, lonely, vaguely depressed, unhappy with their jobs, worried + hopeless about their futures.

i'm not here to tell anyone not to get therapy. that's a personal decision + is none of my fucking business. it's about questioning the total alienation we feel from one another, such that pouring our heart our unexpectedly to a friend + being met with a blank stare is framed as "haha you need therapy" + not "it's crushing that this is how distant we are from one another". it's about a company noticing that (unfortunately very real) distance + fear of vulnerability + using that to direct our emotions into the confines of a business transaction under abusive labor conditions. it's about a world in which we are not engaging with one another emotionally (despite, or i guess bcuz of: widespread suffering, recent mass death, class warfare/untenable working conditions, increased pressure of fascist politics, generational trauma + abuse, etc etc). commodifying therapy isn't going to make that loneliness go away- it's going to normalize it.

[chaifootsteps]

while it's nice to see Vivzie finally acknowledge Stella is worthy of pity 'in her own way' (something about the phrasing on that tweet rubs me the wrong way tbh, feels like they're implying her pain is like less important or valid or something? might just be me) it's kind of frustrating to see the end of the tweet say 'that doesn't absolve her of the pain she's caused', because like

I haven't seen many people making that argument, tbh?

like sure there are Stella stans who unironically say she was in the right to order a hit on him and it's fair retribution, but I don't think they're the majority

the majority of fans & former fans I've seen are just frustrated at how much of a caricature Stella is; as a portrait of an abuser she's incredibly poorly done and as an intended Hate Sink with no redeeming qualities she's frustrating because her backstory is just as tragic as Stolas', arguably more so because she has way less power & social mobility than him yet we're supposed to treat her like an irreedemable monster because the writers decided she was evil since birth.

I don't pity her because I like her or because I excuse anything she's said or done to Stolas. I pity her because I look at her backstory and can easily imagine how much of a nightmare her life is & how the fandom only ever seems to consider the 'arranged marriage' part of it and not the laundry list of other things that are awful about Stella's life. And I pity her because she reminds me of people IRL - mostly women - who are stuck in awful circumstances then are victimized twice by people who, if they even recognize the circumstances are bad, don't care about how that influences the person they currently are or why they behave in ways that seem inexplicable to us

for example the whole Stella likes throwing parties thing. we're obviously supposed to take it as a sign she's vapid and shallow, but what else is she supposed to do? at least if she throws parties misery can have company & her friends can visit. We see Stolas make fun of her for not knowing how to spell, but was she ever expected to be literate or allowed to have interests outside of raising a child she didn't want? the show just doesn't care to answer what society looks like for someone in her position. her interests only matter insofar as they provide a vector for the viewer to hate her some more

(going back to the recent discussions around MLP it's so noticeable they went out of their way to avoid 'stereotypical feminine interest = worthy of scorn' by having Rarity & Pinkie's interests be fashion and parties and the rest of the cast being chill about that even if they don't share that enthusiasm)

I know there are some proposed fix it scenarios in your inbox that often throw in 'and then Striker kills Stolas' as a closer but like even those don't sound like they approve of Stella or anything she does. far as I can tell they just hate Stolas and are tired of him because the show keeps insisting he's a perfect angel who never means to hurt anyone so that makes it OK. there's no chance of getting any catharsis seeing Blitzo or anyone else stand up to him, so we have to imagine it. It's even more galling considering Stella keeps most of her ire focused on Stolas whereas Stolas is exploiting and gaslighting a member of the lower classes. I mean at least Stella seems to have no delusions about who or what she is, she knows she's being awful and she revels in it. Stolas meanwhile is in total delusion about who he is and what he's done & the show is running out of chances to fix that

so like yeah, nothing Stella has suffered absolves her of her treatment of Stolas. But that exact logic applies to Stolas, too, yet the show wants us to show him more than pity - it expects us to like and empathize with him while he frees Blitzo from sexual slavery mainly because he feels entitled to love & affection that he's not getting and was never owed

That's what it boils down to, really. Stella's not allowed a free pass, while Stolas is allowed to hurt whoever he wants for any reason.

[pleasantspark]

I feel like the Three Vees would be a bit more of a threat if the narrative made it more clear of how positive they're seen in the public eye instead of just relying on hypnotism, kind of like how Gideon was in the first season of Gravity Falls.

They would be the ones known for keeping sprits up in the aftermath of Extermination Day, providing their services and entertainment for those suffering. Like Vox broadcasts uplifting shows to raise hope, Velvette providing clothes to those who lost so much during the extermination, and Val offering his support to those who lost someone dear to them.

It would be these kind of things that would make it more difficult for the main cast to expose them as horrible people who're exploiting the public, as they've done much more for them than Charlie and the others ever did.

And there's also the fact that they're very good at hiding their true natures, engraving it in their staff's minds that if they spill what they really experience... nobody will believe them and that they'll be horribly punished for it.

Considering of Vox's approach to the "Media brainwashing citizens bit" it makes sense, in his verse on STAYED GONE someone commented they couldn't understand him, and someone replied "It's to demonstrate the media going flashy" or something like that.

I like how people claim the show is deep when there's nothing but easter eggs and things that makes the characters more "quirky" but of course, Val being humane is not what those disgusting ValAngel people want to see.

Thus why I removed Val from the AU. I don't want this shit to be infested in my AU, Val doesn't deserve anything but pain. He's just a pathetic ripoff of Tyco who could have been Angel's partner if it weren't for Vivzie's inane behavior.

So conclusion:

Everyone knows that the three vees (and by extent everyone) could have potential but it's in the hands of someone who can't write for shit. I am currently in the midst of finding out about if VivziePop has written fanfiction before. So I can compare it to her writing then vs now. Much like how someone found YandereDev's old creepy fanfiction.

[random-and-average]

Yandere Miguel O'Hara with Shadow Wizard!S/O

Author's Note: I spent hours pondering how to make this work, but I came up with nothing that would make sense in terms of the movie. Thus, my rationale is that, if the multiverse details every single possibility and change, then magic has to exist in one of them, right? (Please just let me have this :']) Also, this headcanon is most likely the darkest one I've made so far. With great power comes great suffering, it seems.

Content Warning(s): kidnapping, confinement, mentioned drugging, exploitation, stalking, Google translate Spanish, extremely bad writing

At first, Miguel would try to find a way to use your magic to benefit him while determining your specialties and limits

Of course, those a part of the Shadow Wizard Money Gang Secret Society (SWSS) have to be exceptionally good at magic, so you're no exception

(Although, the society exclusively practices conjuration, transmutation, and necromancy magic because I don't see a Shadow Wizard society practicing things like divination or abjuration)

At the very least, if you refuse to use your magic to serve someone who is lesser than you, you'll just have to conjure random items that Spider-People need, such as a screwdriver or stepping stool

At most, if you're willing to be under Miguel's orders, you will be a semi-member of the Spider-Society, so you'll be brought on missions to aid in maintaining the order of the multiverse

On the off chance that Miguel has free time, he'll demand you see him so that he can witness you utilize your magic

Your universe's Spider-Man, if he is a part of Miguel's society, is internally cursing the entirety of the SWSS for causing him trouble outside of his universe

"Do you guys have to cause chaos in every location you're in?" Spider-Mage complained as he followed you around. As your universe's original Spider-Man, he was tasked to monitor you while you get comfortable at headquarters, though the two of you hated the idea of being in the other's presence.

"And do you have to be a wet carpet in every location you're in?" You quipped. "Spirits forbid you cast a minor transmutation spell! You might just upset the very order of magic with that one."

"I fail to see how using a shrinking spell to make Webslinger think his horse went missing is a 'minor transmutation spell,' but please enlighten me."

"I can't enlighten a fool who thinks size reduction is anything more than a minor spell. Inherent ineptitude isn't something that can be fixed immediately."

"Why you..."

»»-———¯\_(ツ)_/¯———-««

The moment he grasps the full scope of your abilities, including your necromancy ones, he'll start taking up more of your time until all of your days are spent with him

Granted, at this point it's not out of love, but so you can bring the family that he lost and was never able to get back no matter how hard he tried back

And he will force you to truly resurrect them, no matter the price

Diamonds? A body? Something holy? Something cursed? Anything you need, he'll provide it for you

You'll be confined to a solitary room until you get the spell right, unable to see anyone but Miguel when he provides you the materials to resurrect them

He can't afford you being distracted when the possibility of getting his family back is within reach

Unfortunately, the main component of true resurrection is that the soul of the person is willing to be brought back to life

Main problem? Only Gabriella is willing to come back, both of his wives meanwhile...

You can't even plead with them to come back, as Miguel doesn't have either wife's corpse

And he refuses to not have both his wife and child

So you're forced to stay in that cramped room and sleep on an uncomfortable mattress for longer, draining your energy repeatedly casting the same spell

With nothing grounding you to the present except for the buzzing of fluorescent lights, you started wondering how long it had been since Miguel quite literally dragged you to this small room in order to fulfill his deranged fantasies.

'Bring back my family,' he demanded from you as if you could just perfectly resurrect people at the press of a button, and even then, with his distasteful personality, you doubted the reunion would be all sunshine and rainbows.

However, you were starting to get desperate.

You didn't care how he was going to insane lengths to bring back his dead wife and daughter. You didn't care that the former individual didn't want to come back. You didn't care that he somehow was able to not only supply but continuously provide the materials you needed to cast the spell.

You just wanted to get out of this prison.

You couldn't stand the buzzing lights; the stiff spring mattress that reeked of body odor due to you not being able to shower; the putrid stench and humiliating sight of the toilet bucket, stripping you of your pride as a Shadow Wizard; the monochrome color scheme of this spirit forsaken cell that was exacerbated by the grey concrete walls all around you; the lack of being able to interact with anyone, save for the madman that brought you here; and the fact that you were only here to be exploited, to be treated like a tool that can be used whenever and however its owner pleases.

The screeching noise of metal against concrete stole your attention and forced you to look at the only person who would enter this miserable room.

"I have the needed materials."

You couldn't help but sneer at Miguel's statement. His straight-forwardness was refreshing at times, but in this situation, it infuriated you. He didn't even politely request that you cast a difficult spell or ensured that you were comfortable to do so. If only he knew that, back in your dimension, people would get on their hands and knees to beg you to cast a simple spell.

"What makes you think that your wife will allow herself to be brought back? She hasn't done it in the past, so what would make her change now? You might as well give up or settle for only Gabriella being resurrected," you reasoned. Hopefully, he still had enough sanity to know that what he wanted was a pipe dream. If he did, it would mean you would be able to be freed sooner.

"She might have finally come around to the idea that it's better to come back to her husband."

Rage almost compelled you to lash out at him. How easy it was for him to talk as if he was minorly inconvenienced by his wife's refusal when you were the one suffering because of it. Though, you reigned your anger in since you wanted to reduce the amount of time you had to spend in this place.

Miguel would eventually understand that achieving his dream was futile, and some vengeful part of you wished to see him break down in despair when he does.

»»-———¯\_(ツ)_/¯———-««

His feelings for you only start to change once he realizes that, regardless of how many times you cast True Resurrection, neither of his wives will be willing to come back

Miguel is obviously devastated by these turn of events

Suddenly, he is much more aware of how lonely he was this entire time, and it's too much for him to bear alone

So he finds comfort in someone that has no choice but to provide him solace, you

Slowly, with each visit (or counselling sessions, basically), he grows fond of you

You are the only one who stood next to him when he was at his lowest (even if it was unwillingly)

In gratitude, you are let out of your room, but you're limited to the entirety of headquarters, nothing outside of it

He can't let you leave after you saw him when he was the most vulnerable he'd ever been since the loss of his second family; you were special

Eventually, the longer you stay by his side, his fondness for you grows into something else as he takes note of your interests, quirks, and minute features

"Miguel? Miguelllllllll. Are you even listening to me?"

Lyla appeared in front of the footage of you laughing with the other Spider-People as you demonstrated that you, too, were capable of shooting webs like them, forcing Miguel's attention to focus on her rather than you.

"Por el amos de Dios (for fuck's sake), what do you want, Lyla? I'm busy."

The woman gave him a stare that indicated that she didn't believe him. "Yeahhh, busy doing what exactly? Busy being a creep?"

"I'm busy monitoring the anomaly to ensure they don't interfere with the multiverse."

She scoffed, "You and I both know that they have no intention of doing so. If they did, they would've done it already, seeing as they have plenty of magic at their disposal. Obviously, you're stalking them out of your own self-interests."

Miguel glared at the hologram as he turned off the footage with a frustrated huff.

"I don't care what you think about me, but any word about this to anyone else, especially them, and I will erase you. Understand?"

All of Lyla's sass vanished faced with the man's glowing red stare that pierced through her being. Although she wished he was just bluffing, his tone clearly showed otherwise.

"...I understand." And with that, she disappeared.

»»-———¯\_(ツ)_/¯———-««

You'll know when Miguel is completely besotted with you

He will start taking up more of your time, just like he did when he understood your necromancy magic

This time, however, it's not to resurrect his dead family; it's to just spend time with him

It starts out as being forced to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with him

Then it turns into full-fledged "dates" where he allows you to explore various dimensions under his supervision

Finally, you are forced to choose to have a microchip implanted in your body so that Miguel knows where you are 24/7; be magically bound to Miguel through a sacred ritual, courtesy of an intimidated Spider-Mage following orders; or stay by Miguel 24/7

Of course, the man does feel guilty for keeping you in the equivalent of solitary confinement

As a result, he is willing to bend the knee to you at times, giving into your demands as long as they aren't too "unreasonable"

He will spend the rest of his life atoning for what he did to you

Dedicates a space for you in his home where you can cast and experiment with as many spells as you desire

(It has cameras hidden in every nook and cranny in case you start dabbling in magic that'll take you away from him)

Absolutely melts inside when you start becoming less hostile/defensive towards him

(However, if your hostility doesn't stop, he'll simply remedy the issue by sneaking a love potion—once again, courtesy of Spider-Mage—into your drink)

Without fail, he takes a week-long break on your "honeymoon" every year, which usually involves visiting your home dimension

Speaking of your home dimension, the Shadow Wizard Secret Society (SWSS) initially doesn't take too kindly to one of their own being romantically involved with a magic-less person

But as the saying goes: if there's a will, there's a way

After a few choice threats and an offer to provide them with any needed materials, they're perfectly fine with Miguel

Though your colleagues pity you for being bound to such a lowly lifeform

Miguel loves seeing you cast magic and will even set aside some time for you to show him your power if you desire it

Secretly looks forward to watching you teach your future children magic

Gave you access to his desk, so you can also watch the Spider-People

Even allows you to be there while he discusses plans, mainly because Lyla likes having you there

(She sometimes begs you to demonstrate your magical prowess by having you animate objects into recreating the plan)

Will keep you in the dark about plans concerning individuals that could negatively influence you, specifically Miles and Hobie

Jealous of any creature you summon/conjure, even if it's to do a task; though, his jealousy intensifies if it's a humanoid

Goes through the effort of learning wizard customs (courtesy of Spider-Mage, like always)

All things considered, it was a normal day for you. You just spent hours watching movies that Miguel bought for you in his massive luxury apartment, and there weren't alarms about a rogue anomaly. The entire day so far was peaceful and uneventful, really.

And that made the alarms in your head go off.

Your thoughts were interrupted when your homunculus dropped right beside you on the couch with an excited chirp. With a smile, you pet your servant.

"So, is Miguel hiding something from me again?"

It tapped the cushion twice. Yes.

"I knew it," you sighed. "I wonder if it has something to do with Hobie again."

You got up from the sofa with a groan as you stretch, and your homunculus jumped down to join you. However, you picked it up and placed it back where it was.

"You'll have to stay here for now, Empanada. Wouldn't want the mean spider to know who gave away his plans."

The homunculus, Empanada (You honestly thought that it deserved a better name, but Jess jokingly suggested that Miguel would like it more if you named after something he liked), whined, but it ultimately laid down on a pillow, indicating that it wouldn't follow you.

With your homunculus out of the way, you closed your eyes and pictured the meeting area that you were familiar with as well as the empty chair that was reserved for you.

"Teleport."

Rather than feeling the soft cushions of your chair, you felt the sensation of falling from the sky, and when you opened your eyes, that was indeed the case since you teleported a good amount of feet above the ground. "Are you kidding me right now?"

Expectedly, the people in the room didn't anticipate your arrival.

"I didn't know that they could teleport!"

"Gwen, you didn't tell me that there was a Spider-Person that could come out of thin air!"

"Oh ho, that person is the last person Miguel would want to be here."

"Querido/Querida!"

Before you could cast another spell, you find yourself in Miguel's arms while he chided you.

"What are you doing here? You should be back at home!"

"Don't think I'm stupid, Mig. I know something's up when there's nothing going on."

"That doesn't mean you should cast such a dangerous spell!"

"Any wizard worth their salt knows how to cast a teleportation spell. Besides, it's only 'dangerous' if you're not skilled enough."

"...Mi vida, we're having a talk after this."

Miguel set you gently onto the ground, and you steadied yourself before you saw that there was a seemingly new addition to the Spider-Society, a Spider-Man who looked to be bleeding out of his armpits.

"You didn't tell me that you recruited a new Spider-Man, Miguel."

"That's because I didn't. I had Jess bring him here because he disrupted a canon event in Earth-50101."

"Lemme guess, someone was supposed to die, and he saved them, right?"

"It would be for the sake of the multiverse-"

"So you say. Anyways," you turn to the new Spider-Man, "what's your name?"

"Miles. Miles Morales."

There was something about him that made him stand out from the millions of people you've seen across your life so far. Even though you've never touched divination magic, you could tell that Miles was destined for great things.

And you wanted to be there to experience those things.

"Something tells me that you and I are going to get along real well, Miles."

[agoddamnedrayofsunshine]

PSA

Hi there. You. Person who either suspects you have ADHD, or otherwise has a diagnosis but is struggling to find a provider.

DO NOT FUCKING TRUST THE COMPANY DONE FIRST.

Done First is a company that claims to help people with ADHD get help via Telehealth. I was even their patient for a short time, because doctors around me didn't want to diagnose me because I'm "too old" and I saw an ad and signed up out of desperation (don't do this, kids!)

I was able to get a diagnosis an a prescription, but it was nothing but trouble.

They fucked up my scheduled appointment time the first time, and tried to charge me a $100 rescheduling fee until I pitched a fit that I was ON TIME for what I was slated for

I got like 5 minutes with my provider when I was finally able to get a goddamned appointment and I didn't feel listened to one bit

Suddenly, out of the blue, my provider left the company, which left me unable to get my prescription refilled

They flat out never answered ANY of the many emails and messages I sent, despite giving a 24-72 hour turnaround time to get an answer.

They have no call-in number, so I was not able to actually get a hold of anyone that way

I attempted on multiple occasions to schedule a callback but they ghosted me every single time.

Based on reviews from other patients over the last few days, you can no longer even TRY to schedule a callback from them, or if you can it's over a week in the future.

I ended up doing a chargeback on my card because they never actually provided me care beyond basically leaving me to go through Adderall withdrawals because they can't be fucked to communicate.

But it gets worse.

SERIOUS legal charges have been filed against the founders of Done First.

TL;DR: Done First basically operated as a pill mill while not actually giving two shits about the patients under their care, exploiting patients and doctors alike.

As of today, their website is still up, and they will still GLADLY take your money for a subscription despite them seeming to have NO appointments available to talk to anyone on their "Care Team" (more like They-Don't-Care-Team, amiright guys?)

They have this message on their site as of right now, and claim they're still here to help but please, PLEASE trust me when I say they will not help you.

Done First will steal your money.

Done First will not help you.

Done First is a greedy, scummy scam of a company and they do not deserve your trust.

Don't be stupid like I was. I didn't do my due diligence because I was desperate for care, and I ignored a lot of red flags that in hindsight should've been too obvious.

based on other reviews on places like Reddit and Trust Pilot, they are also just no longer filling any prescriptions so thousands of users are left without vital medication and facing the prospect of being taken off vital meds cold-turkey.

I was fortunately able to get actual medical care that is able to get me the medication I need to live a better life, and an actual ADHD diagnosis that will, I hope, help me navigate life better.

My heart hurts so badly for all those left in the lurch because this company fucked up so badly. Whether it's people with ADHD who need care, or addicts who have suddenly lost a relatively safe avenue to get their drug of choice, NOBODY DESERVES TO GO THROUGH THE PAIN AND SUFFERING AND WITHDRAWALS THIS COMPANY IS CAUSING.

Anyway, I never usually ask this, but if you read this far please either reblog or share this post link with others. You and your loved ones deserve better than this scam.

[pure-ablution]

Why is sw so common when men in eastern europe are so generous and doting from the get go

Two reasons: sexploitation after the dissolution of the USSR, and the fact that Eastern European men aren’t the universally amazing, generous providers that the internet makes them out to be.

Anyone who lived in a post-Soviet nation in the ’90s can attest to the horrors that went down back then, I was lucky enough to be born a little later but I grew up hearing the stories. The Soviet Union, with its strict laws and customs entirely removed from the rest of the world, had gone, and in its place was a totally unfamiliar capitalist system that the people had never seen before—nobody remembered a time before Communism, and even then, this new modernity didn’t resemble the Tsarist era in the slightest. The ’90s and early ’00s were completely lawless, filled with organised crime and people acting out of desperation from total, abject poverty. My elder brother, Danya, who is old enough to remember those times, once told me that children as young as 6 or 7 were addicted to sniffing glue. It was bad everywhere, in any country where Communism had just fallen, and people were desperate, and naïve to a new world that they didn’t know from Adam. Women were easily coerced into prostitution through outright deception, and the West revelled in the fresh population of beautiful young girls who could be exploited for sex tourism. The lucky girls were picked up by the modelling scouts roaming the countryside at the time, but many of them were just straight-up pimped out.

Eastern European cultures maintain traditional gender roles to varying extents, and most of them also suffer a significant population disparity between the sexes. The losses from the wars of the past century, alongside other factors, have meant that there are significantly more women than men in nations like Russia and Ukraine, and this means that the dating culture is much more competitive and much more uneven compared to the West. There’s a stereotype about Slavic girls dressing up to the nines just to take the metro or pick up a newspaper, and it comes straight from this statistic, because women are expected to look 10/10 at all times whilst the men have their pick of the litter. Sure, Eastern European guys know how to navigate the dating scene in their native countries, they know that it’s customary to give gifts and act the gentleman and whatever, but that doesn’t mean anything when you’re married to him, he’s locked you down and can do as he pleases, and you’re told by everyone around you that you’re lucky to even have a man. It’s not all men but it’s enough, I’m cautious of men from my home country because they’re typically entitled good-for-nothings, who think they can pick from a multitude of beautiful women and lock her in a cage, whilst they slave away in the coal mines.

It’s not hard to see why the sex trade has flourished with girls from Eastern Europe. We’re just foreign enough to be exotic but not undesirable, and we’re just desperate enough to take up escorting but not anything less.

[dailyanarchistposts]

“Men are born and remain free and equal in rights”. It is The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen that tells us this. But it is easy to prove that this equality never existed for us, indigenous algerians.

These are our rights, as understood by the bloodthirsty rascals, the greedy pirates who, on the pretext of colonisation, have brought us the “benefits” of their “civilisation”.

They consist in seeing the lands on which we are born, that from father to son we have fertilized of our labour, which gave us enough to live freely and proudly, be monopolized by our “benefactors”.

It is true that we have the “right” to work on these lands that were stolen from us, some 10 to 12 hours per day for a ridiculous wage of 5 Francs. Yet life is expensive in Algeria, very expensive for us and our families.

We have another “right” that the patriotic entrepreneurs of charnel houses do not contest, to the contrary. It is the right to go die on the battlegrounds to defend the oh so generous France. We have, in 1914 and the years that followed, fully “enjoyed” this right. We are even getting armed against our brothers of race whom have the courage to resist against the invader. It is surely so in the name of “the right of a people to self-determination”.

We have to suffer, too without saying a word, from all the aggravations that the fantasy of the administrators and the committees carry out against us.

Italian Fascism is no more odious than the colonial methods used by the civil servants of the French Republic. There is, then, nothing surprising that, their remains starving, having no other alternatives but to beg or slave away like convicts for a meagre pittance, a very large number of natives run away from this “cudgel” [TN: à coups de triques] civilisation.

Many have told themselves that, since they were good at defending France, they had the right to find on its soil, by working, enough to make a living. In fact, the condition of the indigenous living in France is nothing to be compared with the condition of the one that stayed in Algeria.

When he arrives, even if he is jobless, he finds with the Algerians an aid that is hardly ever given in other circles.

He finds himself, obviously, exploited, but less so than what he endured in his country.

Naturally, the big proprietors, the slave traders of Algeria and Tunisia don’t see with a good eye this emigration that offer them large benefits. Also, to stop it, they resort to crooked politicians that have nothing to refuse to them.

And what the National Bloc of Raymond Poincaré didn’t do, the Lefts Bloc of Herriot didn’t fear trying.

Thus we could read recently in Le Quotidien that a regulation will be instituted for the “admission in the métropole of indigenous workers”. This regulation aims at, as declared Mr. Marius Moutet, a member of the committee, “allowing the progressive and judicious penetration of indigenous elements responding, by their physical and professional capacities, to the requirements of the various sectors of the national metropolitan activities”.

“The Committee wanted that the native who comes to work in France would not be exposed to leaving his household, without first being sure he would be able to find in France at least the equivalent of what he abandons.”

The interministerial commission, whose work were chaired by Mr. Duvernoy, director of the Algerian Affairs in the Ministry of the Interior, has also decided the creation, in France, of organisations to aid and protect indigenous workers. “From now on, the Algerian and North-African workers, before boarding for France, would have to provide a certificate of commitment from the Ministry of Work, a medical certificate and an ID card with picture, delivered by the mayor or the administrator of the municipality where the indigenous is domiciled.”

“The Ministry of the Interior has decided that these measures will be applied starting October 1st 1924.”

Therefore, from the 1st of October, the administrators will be able to prevent the departure to France of all those they previously boarded when it was a matter of fighting against those they named barbarians. I know, and other will know if they haven’t yet realised, who the barbarians are. They are the hypocritical politicians that are just as good as Mussolini. And to really show this hypocrisy, I assure them, the indigenous leaves his country only because he cannot live there anymore, because there he is oppressed, exploited. He is a slave that they want to keep for those that have stripped him of his native land. What he abandons in Algeria, M. Marius Moutet, “socialist!” deputy, is a bit of misery.

Here is what an Algerian tells you: “Be careful, one day the pariahs will have had enough and will take the guns you taught them to wield, and direct them against their true enemies, in the name of the right to Life, and not, as before, for a criminal so-called motherland.”

[kaiwewi]

Choice Misfits #2

[Masterlist: Choice Misfits] [Part 1]

Synopsis: Former Villain is suffering through a tedious Hero Agency meeting. But the new sidekick is about to shake things up.

Two weeks had gone by since that irritating new sidekick's first day at the Hero Agency, and yet the kid still hadn't chosen a mentor.

Sidekick had demanded to take part in a couple missions first before they’d pick the hero who’d become their primary teacher. Extended orientation periods weren’t common practice, but the heroes had agreed enthusiastically; after all, most of them loved to show off their abilities and none of them would pass on a chance to become mentor to the kid who possessed more than one power.

At breaktime, the corridors were filled with hushed whispers of Sidekick’s tremendous potential and the bright future of the Hero Agency. Nothing substantial; all gossip and speculations, fuelled by the fact that Superhero had never wanted a candidate to enrol in the program this desperately.

Naturally, the kid knew to exploit the situation.

If Sidekick wanted extras, they’d get them. If Sidekick wanted to see every group member in action, they’d be allowed to join the team on missions. If Sidekick wanted to choose the design for their own costume, the Agency’s designer would practically lick the kid’s boots and thank them for the opportunity.

It was ridiculous, bordering on degrading.

Former Villain listlessly chewed on a gummy worm as they watched the heroes busying themselves with paperwork and mission reports. There wasn’t really a point in them being here, since no one gave much of a damn about their contributions anyway. But if they brought that up one more time, Superhero might just go through with her threat of assigning them to garage duty, which was worse. (Being bored eating candy while sitting in a well-cushioned chair was objectively much better than being bored not eating candy while sweeping a hall that reeked of dust and gasoline.)

“Okay,” Superhero said, “this concludes mission planning. Does anyone have anything to add?”

Sidekick stepped forward.

“I’ve made my choice,” they said and all whispered conversations in the meeting room immediately ceased.

Superhero perked up. She smiled her friendliest sparkling superhero smile (a tad too broad to look entirely believable) and rounded the table. She put her hand on the kid’s shoulder.

“That is wonderful, Sidekick. Whom did you pick?”

Of course, everyone already knew Superhero herself would be the obvious choice for a mentee with multiple powers. She had four different abilities and could wield three of them with great precision and destructive force. Her guidance would be invaluable.

Hero would be another good choice. Though he only had two powers, he could combine those to an annoyingly devastating effect. But not every power combination would necessarily yield such great results under hero's custom-tailored approach. So that was a bit of a gamble.

However, no matter which of the heroes the sidekick would pick, it should be fine. Most of the other team members would make excellent mentors as well. Training the recruits was a group effort for the most part anyway, and everyone got to train with Superhero or Hero at some point. The recruits’ personal mentors merely offered additional support, a few hours of extra practice, and advice.

Picking a less busy hero might actually prove the better choice.

Either way, all of this was highly ceremonial, no more than superficial rituals and PR gigs. Tomorrow, this would be all over the news, taking up screen time that could have been better spend on providing crucial information about the state of the world and its people.

So annoying …

They fished around in their pack of gummy worms, collecting only the red-and-yellow ones, and sighed. Urgh, official meetings were the worst.

The silence stretched, then Sidekick said, “I want that one.”

Someone gasped, too loud in a room so eerily still. A moment later, several sets of feet began to shuffle on the linoleum-covered floor. Nobody spoke.

They looked up then, from the handful of gummy worms they’d been about to stuff into their mouth, at the sidekick pointing directly at them.

As they locked eyes, the kid's polite smile morphed into a smirk.

“I want Former Villain to be my mentor.”

[Part 3]

———

For my other stories, visit my [MASTERLIST] ♥

[anniekoh]

elsewhere on the internet: feminism and the internet

Age of Anesthesia (2023, Hannah Wang @_wannahang)

Heteropessimism, then, falls in line with a broader trend toward what might be dubbed "anesthetic feminism": women engaging abstractly with feminist thought while maintaining a perpetual state of negative anticipation, shielding their hearts and minds from the quotidian indignities of misogyny that their bodies are still forced to experience. While there is nothing inherently new about such a coping mechanism, anesthetic feminism is unmistakably grounded in the present moment because it is explicitly aware of feminist theory and implicitly reactive to the mode of liberal feminism that was most culturally dominant in the previous decade. The liberal feminist of the 2010s called herself "empowered" or a "girlboss," openly aspired to climb corporate ladders, and demanded to be seen as the equal of the men around her. She was always grinding and hustling for a seat at the table, doggedly playing by meritocratic rules to assert her individual worth. Nowadays, her swagger has gone from charming to cringeworthy, her empowerment exposed as a façade propped up by racial and economic privilege. As the girlboss fades from relevance, young women raised on the illusion of liberation through capitalist assimilation must contend with the vacuum left by its shattering. If chasing upward mobility and begging the patriarchal establishment for rights still result in sexual abuse, workplace exploitation, and reproductions of other social hierarchies, then truly, why bother with any of it?

Femcel Heteropessimism (2023, Annabel Tseng @aytseng)

Refusing to engage in gendered fantasies of femininity as clean, pure, and aspirational, femcelcore embraces the opposite by playing up the dirty, the unkempt, and the excessive. Even the over-the-top, hyperfeminine stylization of femcelcore commits fully to the bit of being so feminine and so girly that femininity exceeds the threshold of desirability to men, instead becoming nauseating.

standing on the shoulders of complex female characters (2022, rayne fisher-quann)

i’m not unwell or self-destructive or entirely unbearable — i’m in my fleabag era!  we rationalize our own suffering through the romanticization of those who have suffered before us and, in turn, we provide a blueprint for the hot-girl suffering of those after.  we commodify that rationalization through the era-appropriate medium (for dorothy parker, this was print media, and for me it’s tiktok.  sometimes i am tempted to be bitter about this but then i remember that i am no dorothy parker).  this is a cycle, apparently, that never ends.

west elm caleb and the feminist panopticon (2022, rayne fisher-quann)

within 24 hours of the caleb videos going viral, several million people had collaborated in mass-publicizing his face, full name, job, and list of past partners. thousands of people are working on a coordinated campaign to get him fired, and a series of blue-check brands have started using his name in advertising to try and shill everything from jeans to mayonnaise. i’ve talked about the sickening nature of the phenomenon before, when brands capitalized on couch guy for social media clout — i can think of few things more disgusting than companies profiting off the non-consensual commodification of real people’s lives. but there’s something even more sinister about it this time. the fact that hordes of women gleefully ate up tongue-in-cheek caleb-branded ad campaigns made it clear to me that any justifications of a high-minded feminist morale were purely aesthetic: either you admit that you’re cool with companies making money off of an abuse scandal, or you admit that the anti-caleb campaign was never really about abuse at all. 

the pain gap: on dating, maturity, & the benign psychohorror of womanhood (2021, rayne fisher-quann)

the problem with dating men is that there is often no smoking gun — no terrible crime, no obvious transgression, no moment that you can use to justify the enormity of what you feel to yourself and others. i wasn’t groomed by any of the older men i dated; none of them ever advanced past the point where i said “no”. i chose, willingly and often enthusiastically, to enter those relationships and to stay in them. sometimes, in the small, secret part of myself where i tuck away my worst impulses, i wished they had gone just a little further, wronged me just a little bit more clearly, because maybe then i wouldn’t feel quite so crazy about hurting so much. without laws broken or lines crossed, women’s pain is madness.

[ssaalexblake]

I made a comment about Tecteun being kind of like the evil stepmother trope but not the other week, and how it bucks trends usually seen in this type of story. But thinking about it, there’s a reason Why it bucks trends. 

It’s because in the evil stepmother stories, the child involved escapes When they’re important. it doesn’t matter why or how they’re important. Cinderella wasn’t a super important figure destined to save the world, she was merely important to her step family because she provided free labour and therefore gave her stepmother and sisters free reign to be free themselves and not waste time on chores. The loss of Cinderella hurt nobody but the people exploiting her, her being free did not make the world a better place. It was just one less child being exploited. Cinderella was not important in the grand scheme of things in general, but she was to Them. 

The timeless child is, actually, Cinderella. Wanted for nothing but aiding the advancement of Tecteun, the evil stepmother. Even before the regeneration discovery, the child was merely a curiosity to research for her. First the child’s usefulness comes as a hobby, then as a science experiment lacking all morals, and finally as an agent for division. They have no choice in this as Cinderella had no choice but to do her chores. 

But Cinderella’s a fairy tale. A poor used and abused child meets a prince and secures a way to escape her evil abusive family, she lives happily ever after and They don’t. 

This story with Tecteun and the child isn’t a fairy tale. It has the broad notes, you recognise the players as those in a fairy tale, but the narrative veers off into a sad story, one without the rescuing prince or any agent of liberation. You are witnessing a tragedy. By the time Tecteun dies, the damage was done So long ago it is not cathartic, it’s merely infuriating she got off so easy. 

If this were a story of happily ever after, if this were the usual evil stepmother narrative then somebody, Anybody, would have swooped in and rescued that child. Yes, they’d have suffered first, but they’d have gotten help from a person who was Kind. Maybe even somebody who bothers to remember their name. Because sometimes fairy tales are just a reminder that kind people exist and are out there even when you don’t know them. And Tecteun would have been left beaten, her research unfinished because the child she took ran away and escaped! Even after All she did for them (sarcasm). 

But no, the child didn’t escape When they were important to the antagonist, so the antagonist wins. This story happened a long long time ago, in a land far far away, and the child did not get a fairy tale ending, they were used, abused and dumped, their memory erased, left to fend alone for themselves and nobody even knew it happened for millennia and the architect of this evil barely gets any comeuppance.  

The child Does escape, eventually. But they never achieve full autonomy until the society that did this to them is in ash and ruin. 

This story Really plays into familiar tropes but then does not lean into the endings we think it will. There is no happily ever after. The doctor escapes the machinations of the society that did this and it leaves her traumatized and reeling because the escape was a genocide committed against them. 

The timings are all Off for this story to feel anything more than just Slightly familiar. There’s only an almost. 

This story isn’t a fairy tale, it doesn’t have the happily ever after. The wrongs were committed and they’re horrifying. 

But somewhere in there, the doctor saved themselves and made themselves a better person just because they wanted to. It’s not a story about everything being negative. The classic tale may be absent from the narrative, but it has a more complex vein of positivity spun through it in that Eventually this child Did escape and live and Thrive. Even if they don’t totally manage to erase their ties to this society, they came So far. 

This story kind of bucks what narrative you think it maybe should have through popular storytelling. There isn’t actually anything fundamentally wrong with that. This story is when Cinderella escapes her evil family because, maybe the mother dies of old age, maybe some accident befalls the sisters, and Cinderella is left free without them. Maybe they find a better person to serve them and just ditch her. Maybe she has had enough and just runs away and never looks back. Either way, It’s Sad she did not escape earlier, but it’s still good she did eventually. Her freedom matters no matter how late it happens. 

[coochiequeens]

An organization called Men Having Babies boasted that the bill will "remove financial barriers" for gay men who wish to rent a woman's womb to have a child who has the DNA of one of the males in the relationship.” Leave it to California for trying to make it easier to exploit women sound progressive.

Co-author of the bill Senator Caroline Menjivar (D) said the bill "will ensure that queer couples no longer have to pay more out of pocket to start families than non-queer families."

California Bill SB 729 seeks to redefine "infertility" to be a status, as opposed to a medical condition. Changing the definition to "a person’s inability to reproduce either as an individual or with their partner without medical intervention" would classify gay men as infertile. 

The bill, which passed the Senate last month, would require insurance companies to cover in-vitrofertilization procedures. With the change in definition, this would also include forcing the firms to cover surrogacy for gay males. 

Co-author of the bill Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D) said the bill "will ensure that queer couples no longer have to pay more out of pocket to start families than non-queer families." She continued, "This bill is critical to achieving full-lived equality for LGBTQ+ people, as well as advancing well-rounded and comprehensive health care for all Californians."

An organization called Men Having Babies boasted that the bill will "remove financial barriers" for gay men who wish to rent a woman's womb to have a child who has the DNA of one of the males in the relationship. 

The group states on its website, "Central to our fight for more equitable access to parenting options is what we know from our combined experiences: The anguish and yearning that same-sex couples and singles feel due to their inability to reproduce without medical intervention is equal to the anguish of heterosexual couples who suffer from 'medical infertility.'" 

According to the Free Beacon, the opposition to SB 729 comes from California business and insurance groups who claim that it will raise insurance premiums by more than $330 million a year. Others point to the erosion of the traditional family structure. 

"Under this bill, most insurance plans would be required to provide in vitro fertilization services based on someone’s relationship status or sexual orientation," said Emma Waters with the Heritage Foundation. "For single men or male same-sex couples, this means they would need to access a surrogate to carry their child. So the bill is outlining what adults have the right to, but nowhere does it address the needs of the child or safety concerns regarding the child either in IVF or in gestational surrogacy."

"This bill seeks to further erode the father, mother, and child nuclear family and make everyone in society pay for it to further a make-believe cause named 'fertility equality,'" said Greg Burt, director of the California Family Council. "The reason healthy singles and same-sex couples can't reproduce has nothing to do with infertility; it has to do with biology."

SB 729 would not affect any "entity that enters into a contract with the State Department of Health Care Services for the delivery of health care services pursuant to specified provisions." By Sara Higdon

In the meantime California has 60,000 kids in foster care

[mbti-notes]

Hi, Infj here, I feel paranoid, most of the time, I'd guess you'd say an Ni-Ti balance issue, but I don't know what to do, I feel like a joke seriously, some people around me are taking me as a joke and sometimes play with this idea, they know I can get paranoid, I honestly want to fix this dumb part of me but don't know how,its ruining my life, my career, my relations, Thanks!

[con't: btw, I don't have access to professional therapy in my country, if you'd like to suggest some online therapy, it would be much appretiated!]

If you leave out the details of the problem and don't provide any context or examples to illustrate what's going on, there is no way for me to understand the problem fully. What does "Ni-Ti balance issue" mean?

Paranoia is defined as an irrational or delusional belief that leads one to grossly miscalculate the likelihood of being persecuted or victimized. When a belief is "irrational" or "delusional", it means there is no basis for it in reality. Yet, it sounds like you actually have legitimate reason to believe it, because you often find yourself the victim of mistreatment?

Calling this a "dumb part of you" isn't helpful. Every part of you serves a purpose, whether small or large. Being a psychologically healthy individual means accepting, embracing, liking, and loving every part of yourself.

When you've been mistreated, it is only natural for a part of you to work extra hard at protecting or defending yourself from further mistreatment. When you've been lied to or deceived, it is only natural for a part of you to view people with skepticism rather than just blindly believe everything they say. When you have repeatedly been made into the butt of cruel jokes, it is only natural for a part of you to fear socializing and want to avoid getting humiliated again. Wanting to protect yourself from harm is a sign of a healthy survival instinct.

The question is: Do you really have paranoia? Or is your "paranoia" really an expression of deeper pain and suffering? Have you been through real negative experiences that necessitated the formation of a "part" within you that helps protect against the hurtful behavior of others? If so, there's nothing "dumb" about it, but you do need to be more conscious of it and learn to use that part of you more constructively, in ways that help rather than hinder your growth. If not, if your paranoia seems to come out of nowhere for no reason, then maybe you need therapy to get to the bottom of it. A therapist could help you understand it better and guide you in improving your mental health.

If you believe you need therapy for whatever reason, check out the professional mental health associations in your country for authoritative information about mental health as well as references to licensed professionals. In the U.S., this would include organizations like the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). You may be able to receive therapy online from a professional in any country, but it is important that the therapist have some understanding of your cultural background, otherwise, you may suffer many misunderstandings or miscommunications.

If you have been very unlucky in relationships through no fault of your own, in terms of frequently encountering mean, abusive, or exploitative people, then you need to take more control over your social life. Distance from those people by setting better boundaries or remove them from your life completely whenever possible. Work to surround yourself with people who are more kind, caring, and compassionate.

[lint-beetle4]

Act 5 + Side Note: Class Myths

There’s a lot of symbolism within the Homestuck classpect system, however this also comes with its fair share of stereotypes within it. As such, I am here to provide my own opinion on such ideas that have formed in the community when I last saw it.

Note:

I couldn’t think of anything for aspects as they tend to be tied to their symbolism rather than tropes a person would follow. I will gladly try to explain my own views on aspects however, should I be asked.

Knowing:

The Visionary classes are often seen as all-knowing and wise characters, and while part of this is true, they can be idolized greatly.

Seers, mostly, are often taken in high regard due to their title, but these classes are essentially learning as much as they are guiding. Mages and Seers, to be frank, start off knowing Jack shit. They may know parts of their aspect, but their main problem is actually understanding and knowing where to apply their aspect.

Mages are also seen as a 'suffering class,' and while it's a trend in Homestuck. Their type of learning and knowing is through experience rather than study. Muelin and Sollux both experienced their aspects in different regards; Sollux hearing the voices of the dead, or doomed souls, and Muelin engaging in her aspect through shipping. Both have a personal connection with their aspects that Seers often lack. Likewise, Seers are more knowledgeable about their aspect compared to Mages.

Exploiting:

Knights and Pages are treated differently due to their paths. 

Pages, as stated before, are infantilized due to their slow growth. This makes them appear weak or useless to their group despite the immense potential they have. 

Knights are also treated like pillars of strength, leading others to disregard, or not take into account, the issues they may struggle with.

The Exploitation class is a powerful one, yet as the saying goes "With great power, comes great responsibility." This statement weighs on both exploitation classes who often require someone to see eye-to-eye with them and kinda chill with them.

Stealing:

For Stealers, I can't think off the top of my head for major major misconceptions. However, I do need to address something about thieves that I've seen once or twice in a few other analyses.

The concept of Thieves being selfish is a fair, yet wrong assumption to make. I consider Thieves to be more hoarders than anything. A Thief's own ability comes out of fear of a lack of their aspect, so to compensate, they fill themselves with it, taking it from others.

And, I also have to state, Alternatively, Rogues aren't all good either. At times, they, too, can be selfish. Starting out, Rogues will also hoard their aspect, but not through gathering like a thief, rather they suppress their aspect. 

Roxy and Vriska both come to mind for each of these issues. Vriska dealt with a very unfortunate life in Alternia; her nothing being abusive as well as Vriska having the blood of countless trolls on her hands. This led her to be filled with a life of emptiness. Trying to fill that void, Vriska roleplayed as her idol, Mindfang, despite such roleplays containing far much more murder than her friends intended. She also had a cueball, giving her physical knowledge to create a sort of control in her life.

Roxy, likewise, was already filled with Void, drinking herself to oblivion. As such, she would be invisible to her session and friends. Roxy would later solve her issues alone, unknown to her friends until she broke her sobriety during the whole lollipop thing.

Overall, the Stealing class tends to be a hoarding class, just one takes from people to fill themselves, and the other suppresses themselves as a ‘sacrifice’ of sorts.

Manipulating:

Again, I’m kind of blanking out on issues to discuss, but there is a bit of an issue –not serious as other people tend to get this right– with Witches. I’ve seen Witches described as extremely powerful with their aspect, considering that they actively Manipulate it. However, this is mainly given with Jade’s own abilities, not taking into consideration with her dogteir abilities.

As such, a brief explanation: Witches aren’t that powerful, and Jade’s abilities were enhanced via Bec, the First Guardian of Earth. Thus, her usual abilities would include growing and shrinking per normal, but teleportation and such is solely due to Bec. Jade is still badass as fuck.

Witches are given more creative freedom with their aspect as an active Manipulation class. For example, a Witch of Heart would have powers that align more with changing a person’s character or drawing out fractures of a personality to their bidding. Yet, they would not physically change a person’s character (in my opinion, that would be rather OP and leaning towards Lord territory), rather take pieces and arrange them as they like.

Heirs, on the other hand, are often seen as complacent or detached from their aspect, yet this is mainly a John is an Heir of Breath and cannot represent every Heir issue. Breath players are likely to be detached in some sense, yet Heirs are more known for a calm attitude and general friendliness to their peers. They’re actually cool guys, and not a ‘Please-Think-I’m-Cool’ person like the Striders are (No hate, I love the Striders).

Destroying:

The Destructive classes have a bad reputation of being ‘villainous’ due to the negative connotation of destruction. However, destructive classes are just as important as other types of classes.

Imagine Gamzee, the Bard of Rage, the entire session was filled with a bunch of angry teens stressed out about the extinction of their race. Gamzee and a few others were often invisible or treated badly by their fellow players, and in Gamzee’s case, his own beliefs were challenged by the very beings they created. As an addict and cult-attendee, Gamzee was filled with Hopes and Miracles, but once he became disillusioned and sober, those crashed right in front of him leading him to question and jump to the next truth he could see. That being, the reality of the caste system in Alternia. Gamzee became aware of his power, and in his rage, used it as a way to vent out his struggles. 

It is also important to mention that Gamzee was also influenced by Caliborn’s own rage and corruption via Lil’Cal which also ties in with his Bard class.

Despite this, Gamzee’s actions pathed a way to victory for his session, allowing Terezi and Vriska to work together (in a good timeline, that is) as well as creating a more unified bond for Karkat to work with. In a sense, he did create Hope via his destructive Rage.

The same sense goes for Princes as well who take their destruction in more literal senses.

Creating:

Creation classes suffer from the opposite issue to destructive classes; instead of being villainized, they are idolized due to their role.

In it's own form of irony, two of the Creators in Homestuck pose as an antagonist. Aranea is the cause for the death and future retcon of what was the alpha session, and Jane is her own asshole character (mainly talking about epilogues here). Creators aren't going to be all good saints; that's just bad writing. Rather, just like Aranea and Jane (I could also include Kanaya and Porrim), they will be equally selfish, and sometimes just be straight up bad people using their abilities to create overabundance.

Side Note: Female/Male Classes

In Homestuck, Calliope has stated that classes tend to sway between genders. Examples of these being Princes being majorly male and Sylphs being majorly female. However, an interesting take I’ve seen on this is that the Cherub species is inherently sexist, not by nature but by ignorance. As such, Calliope and Caliborn tend to take on ‘traditional’ views of genders. Therefore, I believe that classes, no matter which one, are all supposed to be gender neutral (Hussie has said this, but for all purposes, I will repeat it), and the titles are merely by name. Meenah has shown that a player can customize their godteir outfit to their liking, and I will take this as: your class is your class, and gender is fucking stupid.

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

Beginning

Next

Previous

[pashterlengkap]

Senate may soon pass 2 child online safety bills, despite worries from LGBTQ+ advocates

The Senate will vote this week on two child online safety bills, both of which have gained rare bipartisan support but split LGBTQ+ advocates. An initial vote on the Kid’s Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children’s and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) is set for Thursday, and a final vote is likely happening next week. Related The Kids Online Safety Act: Experts are divided on its likely effect on LGBTQ+ youth Progressives are divided over the important internet legislation, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren on one side and the ACLU on the other. Will KOSA ruin the internet for LGBTQ+ youth. or will it protect them? Both bills are set to pass the Senate but need to win votes in the House. While the pieces of legislation aim to stop children from being exploited or harmed by online activities, KOSA has come under fire from some LGBTQ+ activists and groups who fear the bill will enable Republicans to block queer youth from seeing age-appropriate LGBTQ+ content online. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), authored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), mandates that social media companies take measures to prevent recommending any content that promotes mental health disorders (like eating disorders, drug use, self-harm, sexual abuse, and bullying) unless minors specifically search for such content. KOSA also requires platforms to limit features that result in compulsive usage — like autoplay and infinite scroll — or features that allow adults to contact young users or track their location. The bill says platforms must provide parents with easy-to-use tools to safeguard their child’s social media settings and notify parents if their kids are exposed to potentially hazardous materials or interactions. The act also stipulates that companies must provide users with a dedicated page to report harmful content. COPPA 2.0, crafted by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), aims to establish robust online privacy protections for minors under 17. Among its provisions, the legislation would prohibit targeted advertising directed at children and teenagers and introduce an “eraser button,” enabling parents and kids to delete personal information from company databases. The American Civil Liberties Union opposes KOSA because it believes its definition of “harm” is too broad. The ACLU says that content about gender equality or abortion rights may be censored under KOSA because some legislators may see this content as “harmful” to young people’s mental health. KOSA’s supporters include President Joe Biden as well as 46 senatorial co-sponsors, 21 of whom are Democrats, including lesbian Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI) and LGBTQ+ allies like Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA). In a press release from February of this year, the ACLU’s senior policy counsel Jenna Leventoff said, “At its core, KOSA is still an internet censorship bill that will harm the very communities it claims to protect.” “The First Amendment guarantees everyone, including children, the right to access information free from censorship,” Leventoff said. “We urge lawmakers to continue to amend this bill so the government is no longer the one determining what content is or is not fit for children.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is strongly in favor of KOSA. “Nothing has galvanized me and so many others of us here in the Senate more to act on kids’ online safety than meeting with parents who’ve lost loved ones,” Schumer said. “Some of these kids were bullied, others were targeted by predators or had their personal, private information stolen — practically all of them suffered deep mental health anguish in some way and felt like they had nowhere to turn.” One of KOSA’s co-authors Sen. Blackburn said “[social media] is where… http://dlvr.it/TB40gs

[narrowroadblog]

Why Does God Test Us?

James 1:2-4 (ESV) “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Testing As a Means to Grow A common question among believers is, "why does God test us?" How we approach the various trials in life—whether it is pain, suffering, emotional upheaval, or anything else—says a lot about where we are in our walk with God. We are commanded to not despise the chastening of the Lord (Proverbs 3:11), because only a Father who loves us would care enough to do so (Proverbs 3:12). For an unbeliever experiencing such circumstances, where do they turn to for comfort? Only what the world can offer which more than likely will lead to further pain down the road, especially if relief comes in the numbing form of alcohol, drugs, or other destructive behaviors. Unfortunately, believers are not immune to such remedies either. For whatever reason, God seems to be a last resort when trouble befalls us. James instructs us that the trials are life will bring forth a spiritual maturity if we see God in the problem. Don’t read this that God is the problem, but rather see God providing a trial for you so He may give you an opportunity to grow. In other words, it’s not just that we should see God in the solution, but if we can recognize God’s work in us in through the trial, then we can better appreciate the outcome. While the trials of this earthly existence are not pleasurable, they can be profitable if we let them. If our faith is never tested, then how can it be perfected? One of the computer classes I used to teach was network security penetration. The purpose of the class was to learn how to spot vulnerabilities in an organization’s network that could be exploited by hackers. Through a series of different tests, we could determine where the opportunities were to fortify the network from outside influence and thus the network was made more secure and stronger than before. Testing Shows A Father's Love This is the same process we should count as joy as believers when our faith is tested. It is good to expose areas where we are weak so we can become stronger. James does not mean be happy and laughing when trials come, but rather appreciate the refinement process because only a child of God recognizes such attention from his or her Creator. I am so thankful for the trials I have been through. Admittedly, most were due to the choices I freely made, yet God used these poor decisions on my part to grow me as his child. In this, I came to realize that no matter how far I strayed, He was patiently waiting on me to come back home. Many of us are like that. For some it’s a gentle nudge to get back on the narrow road; for others like me, it was a baseball bat upside the head to get my attention. Why does God test us? Perhaps so we can learn to approach any trial that comes up with, “OK God, what are you trying to teach me here?” Finally, as Spurgeon so eloquently explains below, testing allow us to empathize with our fellow man and be a blessing to someone else in their time of trial: “Trials make more room for comforts. There is nothing that makes someone have a big heart like a great trial. I always find that little, miserable people, whose hearts are about the size of a grain of mustard seed, have never had much to try them. I have found that those people who have no sympathy for others, who never weep for others’ sorrows, very seldom have had any troubles of their own. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The shovel of trouble digs the reservoir of encouragement deeper and makes more room for comfort. God comes into our heart, he finds it full of earthly comforts and begins to break them, to make it empty, then there is more room for grace. The humbler a person is, the more comfort he will always have.” Spurgeon, Charles; McReynolds, Roger. Peace and Purpose in Trial and Suffering (p. 15). Kindle Edition. Get the book here Go here to read my related post on Character Shop now Read the full article