#strata laws

[jamaicahomescom]

Essential Guide to Jamaican Real Estate Law and Agency Principles

In Jamaican real estate law, understanding the foundational terms, principles, and processes is essential for navigating property transactions and related legal obligations. Real estate is not just about property sales or leases but involves a complex framework of rights, responsibilities, and legal doctrines that shape ownership, agency, and the relationships between parties. Whether you are…

[planet-gay-comic]

Love in the Changing History of Ancient Rome

The love between a merchant's son and a gardener slave is a striking example of the fluctuating history of homosexuality in the Roman Empire. It stands as a symbol of hope and resistance in the late Roman Republic or early Imperial period. While not necessarily accepted, romantic relationships between men from different social strata were not uncommon. The two men likely had to live their love clandestinely and discreetly.

In the early Roman Republic, homosexuality between men was accepted and even considered normal. Mythology and art depicted relationships between men and gods that celebrated homosexuality. Several Greek and Roman gods and goddesses were associated with homosexuality, such as Eros, the god of love, who was often depicted with a young man.

However, Roman laws became increasingly repressive over time. In the 1st century BC, laws like the Lex Scantinia and the Lex Iulia de Adulteriis prohibited homosexual relationships between free men and between married men or men in domestic partnerships. The Lex Papia Poppaea granted tax benefits to married men and women, which led more people to marry and made homosexuality less acceptable.

The reasons for the tightening of these laws were multifaceted, including the rising influence of Christianity in the centuries after Christ, which viewed homosexuality as a sin. Additionally, homosexuality was believed to undermine the discipline of the Roman army and the traditional family.

Attitudes changed once more in the Late Antiquity. Homosexuality became increasingly accepted in Roman society, particularly due to the growing influence of paganism, which led to greater tolerance of homosexuality.

The polytheistic nature of paganism may have contributed to this reacceptance of homosexuality during a time when Christianity was no longer the dominant religion. In a polytheistic religion, there is no single source of authority that could prohibit homosexuality. Instead, there are many different gods and goddesses associated with various values and beliefs. Additionally, it was a period of change and uncertainty, during which people may have become more open to new ideas and convictions.

Text supported by Chat GPT 3.5 and Bard

These images were generated with StableDiffusion v1.5. Faces recalculated with inpainting.

[psychotrenny]

On a more serious note, the Islamic Revolutions of the 19th Century West Sudan (region) are interesting because they provide a relatively early example of holistic ideologically-motivated revolution that follows a deliberate plan of societal renovation. This contrasts with the many less directional revolutions that sought to solve very specific issues or merely change the individuals/associations who held power in society without changing the social structures themselves.

Like the backbone of these Islamic revolutionary movements derived from the West Sudanese intelligentsia and associated strata. Usman dan Fodio, Seku Amadu and Al-ḥājj 'Umar were all prominent scholars with close ties to the regional Islamic mercantile community, while much of their initial following derived from their students and the relatives of students. These movements also had very clear ideas of how they wanted to restructure society both socially and economically. While rallying against the specific misdeeds of local rulers (abuses of power, unfair taxation), each of reformers also had their sights set higher than the replacement of bad individuals with good ones.

Instead of merely removing the morally corrupt and religiously syncretic rulers, the reformers strove to expunging all pagan elements from broader society while establishing a stronger education system to more permanently spread and maintain orthodox Islam within their territories. And instead of merely lowering the taxes as new rulers they changed the basis that taxation laws were founded on; employing Maliki school Sharia instead of going entirely off the whims of worldly rulers. There were institutional changes to the very nature of Statehood in the region too. States were no longer ruled by kings who were divine personages themselves; they were replaced by Amirs who functionally first among equals with the other governing scholars. This meant that many formerly powerful institutions were either rendered impotent (Palace Slave officials) or eliminated altogether (the office of Queen mother/sister). Like through their study of Islamic literature and analysis of the societies they lived in, these scholars came up with a plan to change their societies and to one extent or another put it into action. The changes the wrought went far far deeper than the names of the rulings families

Mind you it's important not to exaggerate the extent of these changes. They may have deliberately altered the nature and mechanisms of culture and politics, but the mode of production did not receive similar treatment. There were certainly economic changes in the region throughout the 19th century but these were driven more by international trade relations than any domestic political programmes*; a decline in demand for slaves and increase in demand for the agricultural products from the region (Kola Nuts, Peanuts, Palm Oil etc.) meant a region wide decrease in the export of slave as more of them were retained locally for employment in agriculture. However this was a process that occurred throughout West Africa rather than being confined to the Islamic Sudan; it was not a result of deliberate effort by Islamic Reformists. These were revolutions of the Superstructure, not the Base. To put it in European terms they had much more in common with the Liberal revolutions of the 18th century than the Communist ones of the 20th.

Still the fact that there was any kind of genuine ideological program at all, complete with its share of well known thinkers and an entire library of relevant literature, certainly makes it more recognisable to the modern revolutionary than many of the other civil wars and succession disputes given such a title. Even ignoring how important this process was for the West Sudan specifically, it's a very interesting slice of history that more people should be at least aware of. This post was largely based on volume 6 of the UNESCO General History of Africa (mainly chapters 21-3) and I'd highly recommend reading the whole thing if you're curious. At bare minimum it should be remembered that this sort of history is not unique to Europe

*I've definitely read a paper (which I cannot for the life of me find in my notes so if anyone knows something relevant it would be greatly appreciated) that suggests these processes aided the Islamic Reformers as many of the Pagan/Syncretic rulers relied mostly on slave raiding and sale while the more orthodox Islamic communities were already more involved in plantation production. However I've seen nothing to suggest this was a direct influence on or result of Islamic Reformist politics and a similar process occurred in the Pagan kingdoms to the South and East too

[seat-safety-switch]

Here’s a fun fact for you: a used domestic minivan is effectively worthless. People predominantly buy them to transport their children, and after one or more sets of children, that van is so covered with kid cruft, leavings, and various juices, that it will weigh at least 300 pounds more than when it left the factory. That’s not just my opinion: check the resale value of used domestic minivans.

Sure, used Japanese minivans are always valuable. That’s because the Japanese have cleverly constructed a motor vehicle that doesn’t break, so you don’t have to spend a precious weekend of your life constantly swearing at whatever asshole at Mopar shoved the rear air conditioning lines in the same place the sliding door wants to be. Once the first family is done with their $60k Odyssey, they’ll sell it for $35k to the next family, and so on. Eventually, it will be purchased as a roofer to use as his or her work van, and it is here that the humble minivan reaches its final destination.

Despite the large amount of glass that allows meth-heads of all stripes to look inside at your tools, minivans are very useful as work vehicles. Most of them can carry a whole sheet of plywood, which is something that a crew-cab Ford truck has trouble claiming. They have peppy engines meant to carry that several hundred pounds of kid garbage, or a single, near-homicidal, hockey dad in traffic. And, as stated, they depreciate like a stone, so you won’t worry about the paint too much if you have to use the van to push around a few shopping carts or a probation officer.

Plus, they blend in with every economic strata, at least until things get a little too shitty. The fuzz won’t hassle a minivan, no matter which neighbourhood you are currently violating parking and traffic-control laws in. This means that you can get away with some really egregious crimes, especially if you have the foresight to put a high-visibility vest and a hard hat in the back before you commit those crimes.

When all is said and done, you can flip your minivan for basically whatever you paid for it. Major service still required? Barely runs? Gee, I guess I’ll take scrap value for it. Weird how it seems so heavy on the scale, right, Copper-Stripping Carl?

[asongofgoldenfireandblackblood]

Coming soon on A Song of Golden Fire and Black Blood

Half a year after the coronation of Westeros' first Ruling-Queen...

Court has been called back to session in King's Landing to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Jacaerys and his future Queen, Princess Baela. To celebrate the occasion Queen Rhaenyra and Princess Baela have put enormous efforts over the past six moons to revive Good Queen Alysanne's "Women's Court" proceedings, and host the first of a new era where they are as frequent as they are highly regarded, lending the Crown's often overwhelmed ear to women of every strata and station so the voices of those that ground and uphold their kingdom may be given their proper due. Meanwhile, Lords from across Westeros and all the Seven Kingdoms, have found the revival to be their greatest evidence yet that Rhaenyra has far overstepped the position she ultimately holds by their good grace: To favor a sister over a brother because the King's word is law, and Lords must remain firm in their right to name their own heirs, is one thing, for that woman to ascend without seeming to spare any mind towards the precedent they have overlooked and privileges they have granted her is another entirely. Whispered judgements and quiet dissatisfaction are growing into the rumblings of a war headed by Lords who were once Kings in their own right and backed by the Faith many have begun to believe their Dragon Kings, and Queen, have forgotten holds this Realm together in ways even the beasts they're bonded to who bring them close and closer to divinity never will. As the days dwindle to her first child's marriage, and the final assertion of the last two decades she's spent continuously cementing Jacaerys oft-speculated, but never outright contestable, claim Rhaenyra is eight moons pregnant with twins, faced with her first true challenge as a ruler, and to maintain the hard-earned peace of two acclaimed Kings, will have to put not only the future of her reign but her faith in those she once considered her greatest threat and rely on the council and support of her Prince Half-Brothers and The Dowager Queen to ensure The Realm does not spiral into a civil war fueled by grudges and led by forces much greater and more powerful than any conflict that may once have been capable of dividing The Realm into Black and Green. House Targaryen must reforge old ties and relearn what it means to be not just one House but one family, it is no longer a matter of success, or stability, but of their very survival.

Arc II of A Song of GF & BB begins on September 14th.

[dereliction-if]

RACE PROFILE: THAO'RAQ

[MCs race]

The Thao'Raq, ancient beings almost as old as the Eirdimon , were created to serve as the balance to their counterparts' light, the control to their creation – as with light came darkness, a consequence not to be feared but embraced. Initially revered as protectors and defenders, they have a complex history that has evolved into a tragic tale of fear and hatred. 

Originally, the Thao'Raq were forged with the solemn purpose of safeguarding the world's balance, countering the unchecked magic and knowledge of the Eirdimon, and preserving equilibrium. 

The laws of the celestial spirits, the laws of existence, of nature, demanded that with each creation came obliteration. In harmony with the Sertynan’s role as diplomats, the Thao'Raq were the sole race officially entrusted with the responsibility of administering justice, as well as the authority to employ force and, if necessary, take life to protect and maintain that balance - a significant burden resting on their shoulders.

As creation expanded, and with it, the shadows, the number of potential magic sources in the world increased – founts that could be used for peace or destruction, a danger to the world's delicate power dynamic and a growing responsibility for the Thao‘Raq.

Many factions desired to harness these sources, and yet, accessing them under the watchful eyes of the Thao'Raq proved impossible.

An ambition, carefully hidden beneath the shadows of lies, a sinister craving for power, led to an unexpected alliance against the Thao’Raq, peaking in a day of unruly events, painting them as villains and monsters - a day which history will neither forget nor forgive. 

The Thao'Raq were no longer seen as protectors but framed as aggressors, a menace to be stopped. In response, they lost their ancestral lands, their magical abilities were suppressed, and they were stripped of their once-cherished position as guardians. Most of them were forced into exile or banned to lower social strata, they became feared and ostracized, their name synonymous with dark magic and treachery.

- But beneath it all, the truth of their fall is hidden from the eyes of the world – only few knowing what happened centuries ago, and these few are being hunted down until the last one is wiped out and the last whisper silenced. 

Original purpose:

Protection, defense

Vice, potential downfall:

Obsessive control and aggression

[arminreindl]

Baru: The Cleaver-Headed Crocodile

Ok back on my croc stuff, today discussing Baru. Like most the other crocs I've been talking about, Baru was a mekosuchine, a member of an endemic radiation of crocodilian native to Australasia. Baru is easily among the largest of this group and among the most robust, with massive curved teeth and almost inflated looking jaws. Left my interpretation of Baru darrowi, right the illustration by Willis et al. from 1990.

My reconstruction differs subtly in some regards, obviously the jaw material shown is from Ristevski et al. 2023 and elements of the posterior skull are based on the older Baru wickeni. My mandible also turned out slightly different, tho the quality of the images in the original description is not great so that is not guaranteed.

Anyhow, this head likely sat atop the body of what was a decently large crocodilian, with estimates suggesting four or even five meters in length for both currently recognized species Baru wickeni and Baru darrowi. As you can see below, I went for the lower estimate (which is the one given by proper publications), which still renders an immense animal all things considered, certainly holding up with many crocs of today.

Currently, there's two recognized species, one unnamed species and one that has been reassigned. The older of the named species is Baru wickeni, which was found in the Lake Eyre Basin and Riversleigh World Heritage Area during the late Oligocene. Like I already said, it was approximately as large and robust as the later Baru darrowi, but did differ in some regards. The skull had much more prominent crests, the nasal bone extended into the opening for the nares and importantly, the cutting edges of the teeth were smooth.

During the Miocene, Baru wickeni would be replaced by Baru darrowi, known from younger strata of the Riversleigh and the Bullock Creek fauna. Baru darrowi had less prominent crests, but in turn slight serrations on its teeth. Also the nasal bones did not extend into the nares. Baru darrowi is the species shown at the start.

The other two are then the unnamed Baru species from the Alcoota fossil site and "Baru" huberi. I talked about the latter before and how it is now thought to be something else entirely. Which leaves us with the Alcoota form. Generally regarded as a distinct species, fossils of the Alcoota Baru have been found from 2000 onwards near Alice Springs and appear to represent an animal more robust than the other known Baru. Below you can see a skeletal mount on exhibition at the Megafauna Central in Alice Springs (image by Aussie Bucket List) and a skull held by Adam Yates, an important researcher of this animal.

A little side note I want to mention is the name Baru. As you might have guessed from the etymology of various other mekosuchines (Kambara, Mekosuchus, Quinkana, Kalthifrons), the name actually ties into the native People of Australia. Specifically, Baru is a figure in the mythology of the  East Arnhem Region, which describes him as a sort of totem crocodile that brought law to the lands he named. Baru also had a fight with Jarkitj (Willy Wagtail) after stealing fire for himself. Sadly I couldn't find much about the mythical Baru beyond a brief summary written up by George Pascoe Gaymarani you can read here.

Returning to the animal, one would suspect that the robust skull meant that it didn't quite hunt like modern crocodiles, especially considering the serrated teeth found in the younger species. Well, tho nothing concrete is known Willis and colleagues speculate that this might have been an adaptation to shallower waters. While modern crocs tend to ambush prey, grab it using a strong bite and conical teeth and then proceed to drown it, Baru may not have had that option. A modern croc can just drag a zebra for instance into deep water, weaken it and let go to adjust its grip without the risk of it getting away. In shallow waters, this may have been too risky and lead to prey escaping. So Baru's robust head and curved, sometimes serrated teeth were built to inflict a lot of damage upon prey when lunging, securing the bite and incapacitating it. Willis estimates that it may have taken prey as heavy as 300 kilos.

There's also the interesting tidbit of Baru wickeni coexisting with a diverse croc fauna, yet being conspicuously absent from more southern regions of Australia despite entering the respective drainage basin. I go into more detail while talking about Australosuchus, but the jist of it is that Baru was likely not as cold resistant as Australosuchus and thus not found as far north.

Alas, as with other mekosuchines, not much art of Baru exists aside from this absolutely fantastic piece by @knuppitalism-with-ue

As per usual, this deep dive is brought to you as part of me redoing the wikipedia page of this genus, which resulted in a major size increase. The image below is just to show the difference, but if you want to read it here's the link: Baru - Wikipedia

[multi-lefaiye]

some of my blorbo in laws

hi inspired by the last two posts i rb'd, i wanna share some of my absolute all time faves among some of my friends' ocs 🥺 this is not an exhaustive list, these are just some of the ones living in my head rent free The Most rn

@skitzo-kero - all of your ocs have such a special place in my heart, but i've always got khalki on the mind.... and barley.... beloveds (and, lately, michathan as well)

@anexor - same as above, all of your ocs mean so much to me. but goddamn if i don't think about iselda a lot to this day. and princess <3 EDIT: HOW COULD I FORGET SHADOW, MY BEST FRIEND SHADOW...

@invaderskoodge - SO MANY OF THEM but lately i've been thinking a lot about liam and liza. both separately and their dynamic.

@potatolordofficial - i am a dante fan first and a human second. but also i LOVE blood and murphy.... all of demon//bane is so beloved to me.

@corvus-rose - i'm a vayuden stan until the end!! and beyond!! i love them both!! but also i love aki sm

@vacantgodling - i fucking adore hya and amon, BUT ALSO PIPER... I CARE HER. and the whole cast of btaf rotates in my brain all the time but ESPECIALLY miss biscella herself.... her <3

@albatris - NAT AND ALEXXXX i love them so so much. alex especially. i wanna be its friend so bad.

@paradoxspir1t - strata is one of my favorite characters of all time i think, but also i loveeee ven, lore, wisteria, and deimos 💕 and not JUST for their connections with eden

[komikoma]

Furina: *peers over her stand* You again, Bard? How many laws was it this time?

Venti: 47!

Furina: That's a new record. So many broken laws in less than a day. I'll have to punish you personally!

Venti: Here we see the cronyism inherent in the system, placing its hold on power over true justice...

Furina: Why are you complaining! This is what you want!

Venti: And the use of lies inherent in the upper strata of society...

Furina: Do you want to get your head chopped instead?!

Venti: Threats of violence inherent in the system...

Furina: That's it, your ass is inherently mine!

Venti: Abuse of power!

They start fighting in the middle of the courtroom much to everyone's bewilderment. Afterwards, they share some champagne over dinner.

[wildwren]

the artful dodger meta dump

So I’ve been making a lot of Artful Dodger gifs and recommending it to people, etc, so I feel like now’s a good time to get down some thoughts about what I liked about the writing and what I wish they’d done better. I’m not intimately familiar with Oliver Twist the novel, so this won’t be an analysis of how the show succeeds as an adaptation or sequel. Rather, I’m assessing the show on its own terms and examining specific characterizations as they relate to gender and race.

warning: spoilers for the entire series

lady belle fox

The most divisive character in The Artful Dodger is without a doubt the female main character, Lady Belle Fox. Belle is a deeply intelligent and ambitious young white woman. She’s also the daughter of the colonial governor, existing in the highest strata of privilege her society can offer — excepting being a man. She’s very forward, bossy, egotistical, often self-serving and occasionally mean. She is, as the kids say, “unlikeable.”

So, is this the dreaded girlbossification in action? I don’t personally find the term “girlboss” to be a useful descriptor for analyzing female characterization, but if you find it useful, go right ahead. However, I do take issue with the accusations of “lazy girlboss writing” because I think the extremes of Belle’s characterization are pretty clearly a feature and not a bug.

The writing gives extensive in-story explanations for why Belle is Like This. She was raised by a wickedly smart mother, Lady Jane, whose marriage to Belle's fuddy-duddy father is a transparent front for her own personal ambitions. She essentially administers the colony herself while her husband works in the garden. Lady Jane recognizes these same qualities in her daughter and actively encourages them, steering Belle in the direction of similarly weak-willed young men who Belle might be able to manipulate into letting her lead the life she wants: one of medical study and practice. This is essentially how she approaches her relationship with Jack from the get-go. She sees him as a man she can manipulate and domineer for her own ends. The problem is, Jack isn’t actually a patsy. He’s a true match, and one of unfortunately unmarriageable quality.

The focus of Belle’s ambition is also not random. She’s has a chronic degenerative heart condition, one which she’s had to research and diagnose for herself, because the doctors around her have failed to give her useful information. It makes sense that her formidable intelligence would end up hyperfixating on medicine and surgery as a means of addressing her own illness.

Due to these factors — the matriarchal power structure of her family in combination with the patriarchal privilege of her culture — Belle can get away with almost anything. She throws her weight around the colony without consequence, invoking her father’s name at will without any of her father’s retribution. The writing certainly takes some liberties with anachronism, but this isn’t just a case of placing a modern woman in a period setting. They've made intentional characterization choices to back it up.

The writing is also very aware of Belle’s flaws and the tension they create with other characters. Belle’s privileged position makes it difficult for her to see the world from the same perspective as Jack. This is most notable in episode 6, when Belle tries to defend her father’s “law and order” crackdown as a necessary measure to control crime, and Jack has to explain to her the concept of structural violence. She’s also called out by Red, the outlaw who’s life Belle saves by means of an emergency surgery. Although Belle lies to protect her, Red doesn’t excuse Belle for her role in colonial project: “Your family are the biggest thieves in Port Victory.”

I was impressed with how this particular subplot was executed with regards to Belle’s arc. It doesn't feel like a “turn to the camera" teaching moment. It feels instead like the inevitable consequence of the tension that arises when people develop relationships across class and life experience. (“If you can’t see what’s happening here, Belle, then you and I have big problems. This puts a wall between us.”) It also doesn't feel like a misogynistic hit designed to take Belle down a peg. Her ego is healthy enough to get through unscathed.

However, there are some aspects of Belle’s specific brand of white feminism that aren’t as well executed. Most notable is her relationship with Hetty. Hetty is a hard-working nurse and Catholic woman of color who works in the hospital. She is increasingly sidelined both in her professional role and her role in Jack’s life by Belle’s self-empowering self-insertion into the surgical room. There’s clear tension between them, and understandable disapproval from Hetty towards Belle and Jack’s indulgence of Belle’s ego. However, this tension is never fully explored. By the end of the series, Hetty and Belle appear to be friends, or at least allies, with no discernible explanation. Is Hetty just that much bigger of a person? Does she think a rising tide will lift all ships? We don’t know, because her motivations are never examined. The closest we get is an introspective moment that implies Hetty’s unrequited feelings for Jack, which does little to explain her acceptance of Belle’s role in the hospital. It’s end up being unsatisfying, a disservice to Hetty’s quite interesting potential as a character.

jack’s gang

However, I think where the writing suffers most is in its failure to examine Jack’s whiteness and privilege. Jack identifies strongly as a have-not, despite having gained some power and privilege as a doctor, and over the course of the story, he ends up surrounded by a crew of other have-nots, most of whom are men of color. His closest friend before Fagin returns is an aboriginal man named Tim, an engineer (and partner to the outlaw Red) who makes prosthetic arms and legs for amputees. There’s potential here, but this relationship is never really examined. We don’t learn how they met or what drew them together, besides apparently working in the same building.

The only tension between them comes when Jack tries to guilt Tim into doing him a favor based on Jack’s previous generosity, and Tim hits back from an equal position: “Pricey, isn’t it? Your loyalty?” But just as with Hetty, this tension is dropped, and Tim’s and Jack’s goals are essentially aligned for the rest of the story. The other members of Jack and Fagin’s gang get even less exploration. On the one hand, it’s a gang of thieves getting up to silly hijinks — they’re not each going to have a fleshed out character arc. On the other hand, the characterization choices uphold some harmful colonial optics, where a diverse crew of characters answer to two white men as the explicit brains of the operation.

red

The best treatment for a character of color is almost certainly Frances ‘Red’ Scrubbs, a sharp-shooting aboriginal woman and a crafty outlaw (partner to Tim). This is definitely because Miranda Tapsell, the actress who portrays Red, was tapped as a consulting writer. (!!!!!). Red’s not a member of Fagin’s gang but a leader of her own crew, and she serves as a sort of playful nemesis to Fagin for the first few episodes, often outfoxing him or beating him to a steal. She also gets a subplot arc of her own, and is the source of the show’s most effective anti-colonial messaging. She embodies an ethos of unapologetic indigenous resistance. Her occasional solidarity with Fagin and Jack is always conditional on her own right to survive and thrive. Her distrust of the colonial medical system she must rely on to escape the noose is the closest the show gets to exploring medical trauma as structural violence (it’s still a very light dive.) The story ends with her taking revenge on the hateful lawman who targeted her and returning to the bush to live with her daughter.

If anything, the show could have benefited from more Red, a deeper exploration of her world and her gang outside of her interactions with Fagin and Jack. But one can understand how that might have been outside the scope of the showrunners' intentions.

At the end of the day, The Artful Dodger is a white-centric narrative. The focus of the story is the relationship between Jack and Fagin and the relationship between Jack and Belle, and both of these dynamics are excellently written. If it’s renewed for a Season Two, I hope they can extend the scope to give space for more complex narratives like Red's.

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

Just wanted to say I think it’s really cool that you attend government meetings and stuff like that’s a really important way to get into activism. I’d like to actually get involved in like local government too at some point, so yeah very inspiring :)

lol, I’m actually really active in government stuff and go to all sorts of things here in Australia!

(if any of you guys want like an amazing guide to institutional places and establishments that are super fucking cool I will give so many recommendations, my family despite being shit most the time. We actually do a shit ton of outings to all sorts of educational places)

I just dislike how they run the place into the ground lol, there is unironically so much corruption.

The housing market, industry and the regulations and laws and shit for Australia ARE BAD, LIKE UBER BAD. LIKE INSANELY UBER BAD.

(It’s a post for another day, but uh… there’s these things called strata’s and also like our government is like insanely corrupt almost comically so, no joke lol)

I’ve been learning and engaging through the community and my friends and colleagues and all that, for years now I think a lot of leftists and people who want progressive change actually have a horrible mentality about it.

as the government does NOT listen most the time, you have to complain and complain and complain.

but to do that you must actually know the communities and people and fight for the rights of everyone even if you hate the living shit out of them.

I’ve been to army school open days, I’ve been to so many museums, I’ve talked with aboriginal elders and people, I’ve been listening to my disabled friends and family, my friends, my black friends, random people on the street shop owners all this.

and like, my views on politics in my country is that the government will just actively let us die they have been literally letting the homeless and unhoused (which is like entire fucking families with pets now) just die of heat stroke and shit.

for years, not to mention the absolute fucking horror show our penal system is and how most people IN PRISON ARE ABORIGINAL KIDS AND TEENS.

I can go on and on and on and on, unlike I guess most people I’ve been deeply involved with a lot of stuff and I’m honestly surprised everytime I look at auspol shit and see like the worst fucking takes of my entire life.

like damn bro you dunno about our shitty ass penal system???

that literally shit tons of mentally ill, and disabled people and aboriginal children just get chucked into????

hell I talked one time randomly to this nice lady she was one of them prison guard ones that help reform people so they can go on parole.

we had a conversation about how how psych care systems are actually incredibly shit, and a lot of people with schizophrenia and other ones who usually just need meds and not to be locked in prison don’t get the appropriate support and treatment.

WHICH IS FUCKING TRUE FOR THIS STUPID ASS COUNTRY UGHHHGHG

like I can go on and on about the amount of horrifying ableism and saneism there is, I can go on about the racism, and antisemitism and Islamophobia, I can go on about our absolutely abhorrent treatment of the environment.

I can go on and on and on. And yet?

I never see nuanced and good takes, I never seen any kind takes that take into consideration anything.

just blabbering weird tankie shit, and evofacism.

and that is so upsetting to me, I’m freaking disabled as shit i can’t organise anything I just sit in my chair and go out sometimes and take weeks to recover from various things.

yet like, so many people here just.. are heartless and also fully tankies.

it’s genuinely upsetting.

really the only way in the world to make changes is to talk and chat and find out the problems, then you can rally together and fight for what’s right!

otherwise it just, it never happens.

[lailoken]

Do you think that the fair folk have physical bodies, just in another world? Are they able to shift between tangible and intangible? Also asking for a friend if they have a fixed anatomy regarding like... Sex . I wonder if they are all androgynous

This is quite a tricky question in some respects, but I will do my best to answer. Pardon the dense response and overuse of hypothetical quotations in advance.

I assume when you speak of Fae here that you specifically mean Elves, and so I will move forward based on that assumption, but please know that this is not an attempt to go over broad folkloric history concerning the biology or gender of elves, as it's going to take a lot just to go over my own personal understanding of the matter.

Before I can properly explain my stance, I think I first need to explain a bit about my beliefs regarding the Otherworld in general. One thing I have seen people at odds with each other about is whether the Otherworld should be considered as a "separate" dimension, or a hidden "layer" of this dimension. As I do in much of the rest of my Craft, I embrace paradox where this matter is concerned, believing both views to be true in their own way. Based on my own experience and supposition, the Otherworld can indeed be thought of as an integral stratum of the world as we know it, meaning that the Otherworld is inherently enmeshed with the realm of existence we recognize as the "physical universe." However, despite the fact that these "strata" are all part of something together, they are still individuated layers, too.  I think a concept that serves as a particularly good analogy of the situation is that of the electromagnetic spectrum. All electromagnetic radiation is light, and it all effects us in some way, but only a certain "section" of this light is visible to us. There are parts of this "invisible light" that we find ways to look at and interact with, but they remain uniquely "hidden" from us. In the same way, the Otherworld is a central aspect of the physical plane, but also remains a separate, hidden plane in its own right. Some people find ways to look at or interact with this invisible world, as it is still a part of our world,  but that doesn't change that it remains apart in its own way.

Just as the "invisible light" of the electromagnetic spectrum is also uniquely stratified, so too is the Otherworld. I couldn't begin to properly map out these innumerable facets if I spent the rest of my life attempting the feat, but I have come to recognize three basic, overarching realms that make up the Otherworld. Put quite simply, they could be described as the Upper Realm, the Inner Realm, and the Lower Realm of the Otherworld.

The Upper Realm is the "expanse"of the Otherworld that most closely touches ours, and as such, it is the realm we are most easily capable of interacting with. It is often understood as a mirror of our world, and I believe the collective consciousness of living things largely shapes the "laws" of this place. It is also the place where animistic spirits seem most firmly rooted. 

The Inner Realm can be thought of as the heart of the Otherworld—it is the place whence the Elves come (though they travel all the realms), and it is most easily accessed through dreaming. After all, my tradition holds that while dreaming, a person's spirit can wander and occasionally make entrance to further planes of the Otherworld.

The Lower realm is the "expanse" of the otherworld which most closely touches the Quietus—where human souls must eventually travel in order to merge with the Wellspring (the ultimate creative font that all things were born from and return to) before being woven once again into the pattern of the Wyrd. The Quietus remains a holy mystery, though the Underworld serves as a final port, of sorts, where souls go to rest and learn as they each must in their own unique ways before remerging with the Wellspring.

I think that each of these realms, as well as the Physical Plane we know—and who knows what else—exist along a dimensional axis of sorts, which I was taught about growing up using the mythology of the World Tree.

So, with all that in mind, we go back to the matter of Elves and the questions you posed about them.

Do I think they have physical bodies but in another place? Assuming you mean literal corporeal bodies, then the answer is no. However, I do think they may have something akin to a body in the Inner Realm—I just don't necessarily think it would be comprehensible to a human mind. That being said, I believe that Elves often take on humanoid shape when interacting with us, though, I think this largely has to do with the fact they are generally being filtered through the lens of the Upper Realm. I think that because the Collective Unconscious deeply influences the Upper Realm, human conceptions and expectations do a lot to effect the ways a spirit will be perceived there, and more often than not, this will lead to them taking a human or animal form. I think this can also explain Faery gender, if a little clumsily. While I don't believe that Elves experience sex or gender in their own "homeland" (the Inner Realm,) I do think that the sway of the Collective Unconscious causes them to take on gender when they take on human form. I don't think that elves have a singular static body or gender that they are bound to when dealing with people, but I do think many will eventually fall into a sort of "default" identity which feels the most comfortable to them when doing so. If people have been reaching out to them for years—much less centuries—under a particular guise, then I think that creates a sort of "psychic impression" in the Collective Unsoncious that makes them all the more likely to present in that way. So, in short, Elves aren't inherently bound by the strictures of human sex and gender—but our cultural understanding of sex and gender will inevitably affect the way Elves are perceived by humans.

As far as tangibility vs. intanbility goes, this remains one of the more difficult aspects for me to grasp concerning the nature of Gloaming Spirits, in general.  Do I consider them spirits, as opposed to biological entities? Yes, I do. But do I think they can exist only within the human mind? No, I don't. I think they are more than ideas, but less than organisms, and as such, that makes it hard to wrap my head around their physicality. I can safely say that they primarily seem to influence the world through synchronicity, natural phenomena, and mental intervention, but I'm also not convinced that they can't exert their will in some more direct and physical manner on rare occasions.

If you're interested in learning more about what the historical record has to say, I would suggest looking at Sounds of Infinity by Lee Morgan. He has an essay therein called "The Embodied Lives of Elves" that is very well researched and written.

[rom-e-o]

In your Scroogeverse, after the Wolves gain full custody of Bess' siblings and they move back to London back into Wolf's flat (still a few years off from them looking to buy that country cottage they end up in), Bess decides the flat is in much need of a makeover. So, what does she do? Naturally, THRIFTING! (Because this girl loves a bargain in any universe.) And she decides to bring her new sister-in-law along to bond. Plus, she feels a little braver going into the ritzier stores with someone like Connie by her side, still struggling to feel like she belongs in this new strata of society and all that.

I'm absolutely in love with how their passion for thrifting transcends universes (that feels so eternally fitting for these girls, haha).

I mean, I don't blame her. I imagine a bachelor's apartment after decades of depriving yourself of most joys in life could use ... a little TLC. Especially since they're going to both be enjoying the space. It's no longer only his flat. It just needs a little TLC and updating.

Connie is, of course, overjoyed at the invitation. A chance to bond with Bess? Um, OF COURSE she's game. They plan a whole day and route - this is gonna be thrifting with a PURPOSE, after all. She has a few stores in mind where she has had some luck with.

So, the day arrives, and they set out. They rent a car and driver for the day, just because thrifting can be heavy, and a car allows them to travel across town and have paparazzi pester them slightly less.

"So, we're looking for a little bit of everything, right?" Connie asks. "Anything off limits?"

Bess hums and mulls it over, thinking of all the rooms across the flat. They all need a little ... assistance, she thinks. "I think anything is fair game. Wolf hasn't updated his space in a while, and we're just looking to make things feel a little more ... homey."

"Oh, this is so exciting! Decorating is always so fun, but now you get to make the space up to suit you both as a couple!"

She gives Bess' shoulders a delighted squeeze as they pull up to the first store.

I imagine they girls start at some familiar places - thrift/vintage stores they've explored before. Some quaint places just filled with eclectic items. They look for smaller items first - maybe a cute spice shelf here, a beaded lamp/lampshade here. Maybe a lovely pair of velvet curtains to dress up the plain window blinds? They find some lovely, vintage paintings too, of course. Some feature lovely, dark-haired ladies, which Connie is quick to point out that Wolf will "surely adore."

They slowly work their way up, and at the next place, they find this amazing, Victorian-inspired full-length dressing mirror.

"Oh, just imagine this in the bedroom," Connie suggests dreamily. "You and Wolf taking turns helping each other into your outfits -- him zipping your dress, you fastening his cufflinks -- all while framed by this masterpiece? Oh, we should see if they have a chaise to pair with it! That way you and him have a place to sit while dressing.

Connie gets ... very much into helping out, haha. ^^;

She never pressures Bess into buying anything she clearly doesn't like. Connie, with her knowledge of what Bess and Wolf like, tries to find pieces that fit the bill, and paint a picture of how they might look styed.

As they fill the car with oil paintings, vases, hand-tufted pillows and more, one of the last places they go is one of those more expensive stores. There's a doorman, which woman waves to as she and Bess stroll in, arm-in-arm. It's definitely a high-class store, but the pieces are STUNNING, and they're not badly priced either for what they are. There are tons of heavy, gorgeous heritage furniture pieces.

There are GORGEOUS, pearlescent-finished wooden armoires, and an AMAZING Turkish rug that would look so gorgeous in front of the fireplace. "Perfect for cozying up - among other activities~"

Along the way, as Bess finds smaller items or things that she's a little hesitant to buy ("Ooooh, I love this, but don't want to overwhelm his flat with just my stuff! Maybe I'll think about this for now ... ") she sneaks in a few extra purchases of those items as future birthday/Christmas gifts.

I imagine there are some shoppers that ... give them looks. The ladies are well-known for their afflictions at this point with the Scrooge Twins, and while many people are kind, there are obviously many jealous people. I feel like many upper-society ladies feel like they somehow 'robbed' them of their chance.

I'm sure the ladies hear some gossip. ("Look at those two, flaunting their money. Have they no shame?")

And Connie is quick to roll her eyes with a smile and whisper to Bess, "As if they aren't shopping in the SAME store we are. Some people, I swear."

She's not letting anyone dull their day.

By the end, I imagine they have QUITE the haul. They might even need some movers, depending on how large the pieces are. That night, I can imagine them getting takeaway and tag-teaming arranging some pieces in the flat. They decorate things juuust enough to play around and see how things look.

Connie clears out by the time Wolf comes home, so she's not in the way of them officially enjoying their space together or making some adjustments.

The second Wolf keys in, his reaction is visible on his face. The bare walls are adorned, the cold lights are replaced with gentle, warmer ones... and it feels so much more welcoming immediately. It feels like a home with a woman's welcoming, sensual touch.

Bess definitely gets many adoring smooches, and Wolf absolutely requests a tour of everything, wanting to see every chance.

"Tell me about your day, love. I'd love for you to walk me through and show me everything you found."

To have the woman he loves not only take the time and effort to make their flat feel more personable and homey ... it tugs on his heartstrings. No person, and no woman, has shown that care and attention to him before. It inspires him to actually THINK about flat decor, and while he's not the biggest shopper, he enjoys the idea of joining her on a future trip as they continue to make the flat their own. (And yes, I imagine he is QUITE enamored by the paintings as well - though the real woman at his side remains unbeatable in remarkableness.) <3

[eleanor-bradstreet]

Love to Spare - Part 2 (Anthony Bridgerton x Reader)

Anthony Bridgerton x fem!Reader Friendship, fluff and angst gif by @greengableslover Word count: 1.7k Part 1 Part 3 Masterpost

Summary: A friendship deepens, a tragedy occurs

The next day, a bouquet of flowers was delivered to you with the note reading simply:

Thank you. - A

Before she grew suspicious, you had to convince your mother that they were from your old friend Anne. 

When the ton returned to London in the spring and Anthony next came to meet with your father, he sought you out and you spoke for an hour about your respective winters. Weeks later, he gave you a book about the law. You gave him a pamphlet about the dangers of imbibing and laughed when you saw his sardonic smirk for the first time. The conversation flowed easily, as did the jokes and ribbing. He did not treat you with the honor and flattery typically required for delicate young ladies, and you did not treat him with the deference and respect typically owed a viscount. Perhaps it was because of the differences in your social strata that neither of you feared reproach, or more likely, it was the unique and vulnerable circumstances in which you met that put you at ease with one another thereafter.

Slowly but surely, Anthony Bridgerton became your friend. One of your best friends, in fact. More akin to the brother you always wished to have. The years passed and you both grew older. You continued to study with your father and refused to debut, and the pressures and complications of Anthony’s life only increased. Your family lived year round in London, so you only had the opportunity to see him during the parliamentary season when he was in town. Not engaging in the social soirees yourself, this limited your chance meetings to his appointments with your father, or passing each other on a promenade. When in public, you always made time for a friendly exchange, but were careful not to meet too long or too frequently, lest the rumor mill begin roiling that you were courting one another, which could only elevate your reputation, but would seriously complicate and diminish his. Besides, nothing could be further from the truth.

You found ways to have more meaningful conversations a few times a year. Anthony had started keeping his own apartments in the city separate from his family home, and you would meet him there to swap stories over brandy, reminiscent of your first encounter. He would tell you about the Bridgerton estate, its finances and property issues, things most others would find boring or tedious, but you listened with rapt attention. It was helping you to broaden your legal knowledge, seeing how all the rules in your father’s enormous books were applied in the real world. You would press him for details, figures, examples, and he would smile as you hypothesized and argued and counseled, referring him of course to your father for a final assessment.

He also told you about the mounting pressure to marry, directed at him by his mother. He made it clear that he was reluctant to do so, but would never reveal precisely why. You had heard the stories around town of course. Lord Bridgerton the rake had a reputation. But you could hear in his tone that it wasn’t the monogamy he took issue with. His look grew haunted whenever he talked about finding love, and it was love itself that seemed to scare him, for whatever reason. He never asked you about your love life, not that there was one to speak of. He had known from the beginning that you were not interested in finding a husband, and he understood the annoyance of being asked and cajoled about such things, so he didn’t visit this upon you.

He brightened when he told you about the opera singer. He never claimed to love her, but remained interested in her exclusively for several years. From what he shared with you, you weren’t sure she gave him the respect he deserved, but protective though you may have been, it made you happy just to see him happy, and so you listened supportively. You met her once when you crossed paths on Anthony’s doorstep, you heading home and her coming in. She was very pretty. Anthony assured you later that he had told her you were dropping off documents for your father, so there was no jealousy or suspicion. You were grateful he kept your meetings secret, but felt a stab of bitterness that he would not claim you as his friend. You supposed that would only have complicated things. 

The meetings weren’t all happy, though. Anthony’s demons roared through him from time to time; when he was exhausted from dealing with the estate’s affairs, or when he had gotten into a row with a sibling or his mother, or when he and the opera singer were taking yet another break in their tumultuous romance. Then he would drink too much and grow either bitter and cold, or helpless and broken. Once, when you were trying to offer advice on how to untangle a knot in his finances, he shouted at you, snapping that you didn’t know what you were talking about because you weren’t a solicitor, never would be, and were just playing a stupid game dreaming of an impossible future.

You were fairly certain both of your hearts stopped as you froze, staring at each other. When you spun to make for the door, suddenly his arms were around you, pulling you tightly against him as he uttered a hundred apologies and pleas for you to stay, tears starting to roll down his face. Despite yourself, you started to cry too, and held him back. It was the first time you had ever embraced, in the many years you had been friends. You had never been so close to a man who was not your relation, and it felt so comforting, so sure. It felt like he was family, a brother, an extension of yourself. You knew he hadn’t meant what he said. You knew very well by now the pain he lived with day to day, and you knew that it took control of him sometimes. But you also knew that his heart was good and pure, that he was your dear friend, and that you needed each other. 

You had tried, gently through the years, to ask him if he confided any of his challenges to his family. He always answered vaguely, alluding to conversations with a brother or his mother, but you got the impression he never truly opened up to them and thereby didn’t receive their full support. You knew him well enough to know that vulnerability was not in his nature, especially when sober. He had to be steadfast, a bulwark between his family and the world, and admitting to them that he was struggling in any way would be considered a deficiency in his estimation. It was only you, you realized, that he allowed himself to show weakness to. Only you had been allowed to peer beneath the mask that he wore for society, all thanks to your messy chance meeting that night years ago, when he had unwittingly shown you his worst self and you reacted with nothing but kindness. He never shouted at you again. 

Anthony embraced you the second time when your father died. It had been winter, and he had passed suddenly in his sleep. A brain hemorrhage the doctors said. Word was sent to all of his clients and your household was flipped upside down, with assessors and businessmen, colleagues and friends moving in and out, offering condolences but more often looking for paperwork. You did your best to handle everything smoothly and manage his affairs while your mother locked herself away in grief. You didn’t really have time to cry. Until you opened the front door three days after it happened, and Anthony was on the doorstep, shoulders white with the heavy snow that was falling. He simply said your name and you fell apart entirely, collapsing into his arms as he held you tightly, shushing you and stroking your hair. You don’t remember moving into the study together, but that’s where you stayed for the next few hours, crying yourself out into his shoulder. You were bonded closer now, adding the bitterness of fatherlessness to the list of all you had in common. You leaned against him as you sat on the floor by the fire, talking through everything you had to do, and how he would help you accomplish it all.

Months later, with your father’s practice officially closed and your family’s finances pored over, your paths for the future became clear. If you pursued your goal of working as a governess, you would be able to support yourself and live with whatever family hired you, but there would be no income for your mother to survive upon and maintain your family home. She would need to move in with your uncle and the added mouth to feed would stretch his finances uncomfortably. You were collectively facing a diminishment in lifestyle, most likely a descent into noble poverty.

The alternative, of course, was for you to marry. Even marrying a gentleman from a lesser noble house similar to yours would replace your father’s income and allow you to keep your home and keep your mother comfortably within it. When your uncle proposed this, your mother looked at you in alarm, assuring you that you did not need to do anything you did not want to. She would not ask you to divert your dreams and end up miserably bound in a loveless marriage for the rest of your life just for her sake. She was willing to sacrifice everything for your chance at independence. But you couldn’t let her. The thought of losing your home, the only one you had ever known, and of seeing your family sink and struggle, the humiliation and hardship of it all, was something you didn’t want anyone to shoulder. Their fate was in your hands and you would save them. You would find a husband.

Besides, you told yourself, it was not a guarantee that you would end up in a loveless or unhappy marriage. There had to be some decent, amiable gentlemen among the ton. Although you doubted if any of them would still be available or interested in you, a twenty-seven year old spinster with no money and too many opinions, but you kept these thoughts to yourself.