#The Personal History of David Copperfield is the closest I have I think

[royalsunshinehotel]

social media preference (dev patel)

Anwar Kharral (Skins UK): Anwar is the only one on this list active on TikTok. He's not an uncomfortable teen anymore - he's being cringe on main and setting trends. I bet he's got 90K followers at least! He uses Threads and Instagram to back up his TikTok, not much else.

Sonny Kapoor (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1&2): For the benefit of the hotel, Sonny is active on Reels to promote the corporate 'brand'. He likes the chance to be creative, and the 'Board' likes the chance to show off the handsome CEO.

Neal Sampat (Newsroom): Neal is an OG Tumblr user, who joined the site as early as 2008. As demonstrated on the show, Neal is adept at using Twitter to cross-reference and fact-check various sources, I do think he'd be a prolific shitposter on a side account, rivaling our king @dril.

Deon Wilson (Chappie 2015): Deon is self-explanatory. he likes to support the indie social media sites that sprung up in the wake of the Fall of Twitter. He's a fan of SpaceHey because he went to Computer Camp with the engineer who started it (it's based out of Germany), which he's always wanted to visit!

Sheru “Saroo” Bierley (Lion 2016): I find it harder to deny with each passing day that Saroo Brierly isn't an Instagram thot. Look at @brockohurn on IG and tell me that they don't have the same respectful bro energy. I think Saroo likes the chance to use all the photos in his camera roll, and I think the MILFs of Instagram are grateful for the content.

Jay Menha (The Wedding Guest, 2019): The closest Jay gets to social media is the Polaroids he likes to stick up on the wall of your shared room. Sometimes, if he's having a bad time, he likes to sit in his beanbag and look at the wall. He only gets a ghost Facebook account to keep up with relatives- nothing ever is posted, ever.

David Copperfield (The Personal History of David Copperfield, 2020): I think David would do numbers on Medium.com because he can write self-prompted think-pieces that no one ever asked about, AND get paid for them! He's writing analyses of "Jeyton vs Brucas vs Leyton: One Tree Hill", and he's actually making money. It would be magic to him!

Joshua Madika (Modern Love, 2019): Joshua's social media is all on Tinder. He's perfected his profile, and he likes talking to people. It's all genuine and zero malice. Who wants to be alone with their thoughts?

Sir Gawain (The Green Knight, 2021): I once read a post about Edward Cullen texting that read, "just saw a snail . . . effervescent," and I think that's as close as Gawain should get to the internet. It's just like shitposting, but it's all for you.

Dr. ZZ Chatterjee (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, 2023): ZZ keeps his drama on Facebook. He's definitely showing up in comments to defend someone's mutual friend from accusations of bias when she broke up with her tiny boyfriend because she was having neck problems*. With a doctor on her side, she didn't have to post X-rays of her neck! ZZ will be beefing!

The Kid (Monkey Man, 2024): "Ted, the movie hasn't even come out yet! How can you say The Kid is a Pinterest girlie?" It's all pretty pictures with an indefinite scroll. I also bet he's a big fan of putting things in categories (see also: skittles). We'll see who's right.

*true story circa 2018 on my Facebook page.

#the kid #monkey man #dr chatterjee #henry sugar #joshua madika #modern love #david copperfield #the personal history of david copperfield #jay menha #the wedding guest #saroo brierly #lion 2016 #deon wilson #chappie 2015 #neal sampat #newsroom #anwar #skins uk #sonny kapoor #BEMH

[hasansonsuzceliktas]

Venus in Signs - Financial Astrology

Is there a relationship between your Venus sign and your financial health? We explore this potential connection. When your Venus sign is Aries The sign of Aries signifies leadership and individuality. Material values are not so important to you, but if there is a war ahead to win, you will do all manner of crazy things with an unbelievable ambition to acquire the necessary resources. Under normal circumstances, you care little about your money and frequently lend it out, and you generally suffer financial losses because of this. It is highly possible that you may put your money at great risk. Even when you’re earning good money, you should be careful when spending it. By this I mean you should be a little more careful yet still full of energy. You should avoid lending money to anyone but your closest friends. Fields where you could earn money most easily are those involving a leadership or management position. Instead of working for someone else, you could start your own company or work freelance, because this is a situation where your Venus can move freely. Your Venus sign is Taurus Taurus symbolizes owning things and increasing what you have. Material values are important to you, and you only feel safe when you have no financial problems. Even a single lost penny hurts you. You really know your money well, and you don’t exhibit any unnecessary charity. You have a weakness for luxury, because quality and comfort are paramount to you. You may take risks but only very rarely. For the Taurus Venus, the opportunities to increase material wealth come from investments. Instead of just protecting what you have, you try to grow it. You can earn money by working with anything solid in this world. You may be lucky with natural professions like landscaping, artistic activities, and especially jewel crafting. For example, Lakshmi Mittal, one of the richest people in the world, got to where he is by buying up small loss-making companies. Making small investments, such as on the stock markets (through medium-to-long-term investments), could agree with the symbolism of your Venus. Your Venus sign is Gemini Gemini represents communication. Your financial graphics are full of ups and downs, changing all the time. Your phone bills are usually larger than the average person’s. You easily spend money on communication, travel, books, and magazines, but you earn money by using your communication skills. Jobs involving the internet, advertising, and communication may be profitable for you. Unfortunately, you have the urge to spend money as quickly as you earn it, so Gemini Venus people don’t tend to join the world’s richest. You should learn to protect what you have, rather than spending to just enjoy the moment. Avoid spending your time on small sums, because the real problem is the larger amounts. The Gemini sign is known to be the most cunning in the Zodiac. Use your communication skills in whatever job you have. Another aspect of Gemini Venus is advertising. Whatever job you have, advertising is especially important for you, so you shouldn’t disregard it and always support it. You will generally become bored of jobs that don’t occupy your mind, so avoid wasting your time on anything with a monotone work life. For example, the great bard William Shakespeare was tremendously successful in communication and writing, just as his Gemini Venus indicated. Your Venus sign is Cancer Cancer symbolizes safety and tradition. Material resources are essential, because you believe everything should have a solid foundation with something put aside for the future. Even though you don’t hesitate to spend on your home and family, your desire to accumulate can make you appear miserly. You are the “hoarder” of the Zodiac. As common values can mean so much to you, though, you may buy things you don’t really want. To guarantee your financial situation, you should work for the public good. This is a real Cancer trait. When it comes to realizing the deficiencies and needs of the public, you are a pioneering leader, so use it. You don’t have to act traditionally, so you can take a different approach if you want. Becoming occupied with land and property is also a common characteristic of Cancer Venus. Whenever you own property, you should rest assured that your investments will benefit you. Napoleon was a Cancer Venus who answered the needs of the people. Donald Trump, meanwhile, became rich from real estate. At the same time, Cancer Venus is in conjunction with Saturn (a property symbol) in his chart. His career once resulted in bankruptcy (Cancer symbolism of ups and downs), but he later recovered. He is known as the man who restored the USA (or the architect of New York). His Venus Saturn conjunction is actually also in conjunction with Mercury at the eighth (change and transformation) house of the USA. Your Venus sign is fertile, as the old saying goes, so your financial situation will be full of ups and downs just like the Moon, your ruler. Mostly, however, you will enjoy an above-average position. Your Venus sign is Leo Leo symbolically means to shine. Leo Venus people seem to be born to be famous, even if they address just small crowds. They stand out with their mobility, social activity, charm, and charity. You value luxury and excess a lot, and even if you’re not wealthy, you take care on the clothes and fragrances you use, with many of your belongings coming from quality brands. You also leave generous tips. You feel like all eyes are upon you, with you being at the center of events, so you mostly spend time on making yourself look good. This is especially true when you’re in love, because for the Leo Venus, love means life and is something to cherish. The amount you spend may surprise others around you. Instead of spending so lavishly, you should try to save some of it. Don’t worry too much about what other people think about you, because expense doesn’t always reflect quality. When you’re in love, you should avoid making great gestures or giving lavish gifts, because it may lead to serious financial problems. There is also more that you should do. The Leo Venus is a showman, as we explained before. Whatever job you have, you should turn it into a form of visual entertainment for others. For example, some Leo Venus people like David Copperfield and Madonna became successful by not just being great at what they do but also by putting on a great show. Your Venus sign is Virgo The Virgo sign represents struggle and making something operational. Among rich people, the Virgo Venuses enjoy first place statistically. The Virgo Venus is known for making things operational and being able to work for others (e.g., for a salary or a commission) on a routine basis. The Virgo sign is therefore considered by many astrologers to be the sign of employees, accountants, and commission-based workers. Those who manage inventories for other people or invest other people’s money in a financial environment are often in this group. For you, having a stable income is more important than becoming rich. You believe that happiness comes from stability. You’re not extraordinary, different or creative (unless elements in your chart dictate otherwise of course). Your reward comes from your routine work, the projects you implement for others, and the compensation you receive for them. However, another symbolism of Virgo is the pain caused by other people or inflicted upon them, so you should understand that you’ll have many competitors in your field. For example, the first thing done by Rockefeller (a Virgo Venus and the richest man in history) was to destroy his competition. The greatest financial handicap of the Virgo Venus is believing that everything monetary will fit into the classic norms. (Note: According to my observations, they are typically the sign least interested in astrology, and because of this, many astrology critics carry this sign.) Struggling in a stable manner is of course a good endeavor. While this will provide a stable income to live on, it won’t take you very far unfortunately. However, you can extend your vision like some of the richest people in history have, because your sign has an important advantage: Getting things operational. This practical advantage can benefit your work life. The Venuses of Larry Ellison and John Davison Rockefeller, two of the richest men ever, are on the Virgo sign, just like you. Other than his extraordinary ability to earn money, Larry Ellison’s defining moment was developing databases and making them more efficient. For Rockefeller, meanwhile, his edge came from brokering for himself. Your Venus sign is Libra Libra symbolizes personal relationships like partnerships, trade, and even enmity. The comfort, luxury, and beauty that come with money are symbolic of wealth and important for you. Such a lifestyle requires money, however. You want all these things to feature strongly in your social life and be loved by everyone. Social relationships, artistic events, and aesthetic concepts comprise an elitist lifestyle for you. Appearance is paramount for you, so you may pay too much for something just because it’s popular, even though it may not even be needed. The most apparent feature of the Libra Venus is the need for partnerships and social contacts, the symbols of their sign. To benefit from financial opportunities, you should form a partnership with someone with a business mind, someone you absolutely trust. Libra is a sign where Saturn is ascending. As the popular broker Delbert Gann pointed out, the global stock market is ruled by Saturn. Therefore, if your Venus is not under harsh effects, making medium-to-long-term investments in the stock market can benefit you. Fashion, design and public relations are also fields you may excel in. Politics also comes under Libra. A Libra Venus and one of the richest people in the world, Warren Edward Buffet is known as the man who raided Wall Street. Libra, in those same markets, is the sign of calculation, so it may predict what will be valuable in future. Your Venus sign is Scorpio The symbolic meaning of Scorpio is power and transformation, but don’t let this misrepresent it. Scorpio wants a voice and power over knowledge and the less tangible fields. This is why the astrological positions of many inspectors, magicians, and researchers are at Scorpio. If we talk about financial gain, then sure, Scorpio wants this too. Power is an important concept, and financial wealth helps to gain power. Sometimes you may need to sacrifice financial assets, but this will either be for a cause you believe will benefit you or part of some form of gambit. You keep your knowledge to gain financial resources, waiting until the right time comes. Waiting silently for a long time is a specialty of yours, but don’t forget that when you decide to act, your knowledge may have become outdated and useless. As your sign includes the symbolism of transformation, it is essential for Scorpio Venus to keep their information and abilities fresh and up to date to avoid disappointment. A successful Scorpio Venus hoards knowledge and shares it with no one. Of course, this only means something if you’re individualistically oriented. Another advantage is your ability to transform. Whatever job you have, you can improve it by removing the flaws and increasing your success rate. Bill Gates is a Scorpio Venus and one of the world’s richest people. His advantage was to develop something better by eliminating the faults in the program. (Of course we shouldn’t forget the other features of Scorpio he used in trying to dominate the market.) Sometimes, even when you’re in dire circumstances, you will probably enjoy above average wealth, as your sign is so fertile as the old astrologers would say. Your Venus sign is Sagittarius Sagittarius symbolizes spreading knowledge or coming together with the public order. As a Sagittarius Venus, you’re gifted with finance. You don’t care that much about money, so you may spend too much. The most important thing for you is financial independence without depending on anybody. Your life is based on gaining this freedom. Knowledge and culture are always good subjects for you, and they support you in whatever profession you take up. You can also benefit from other advantages of the Sagittarius Venus. You will be lucky in jobs that involve disseminating knowledge or being in the public order, as mentioned earlier, such as teaching, television, or book publishing. You just need to avoid spending too lavishly. John Kluge is the founder of the Metropolitan Broadcasting Company and one of the richest men on Earth, as well as a Sagittarius Venus. If you look at the name of his company, you see how fitting it is for a Sagittarius Venus. Your Venus sign is Capricorn Capricorn represents ruling and creating systems. You need financial resources to prove your individuality and keep hold of power. You are good with financial disciplines but not particularly lucky. Capricorn Venus people tend to work very hard but often don’t receive their worth. They are the ones who often make the hard decisions, so they may not be always appreciated. In contrast to others who work little yet earn more, Capricorn Venus people may need to work harder, especially when young. You should use your organizational talent and the ability to manage people, as well as your ability to create and design systems. For example, Steve Jobs managed to create an empire from almost nothing with Apple’s revolutionary designs. He was a Capricorn Venus, just like you. Your Venus sign is Aquarius Aquarius is all about thinking out of the box. The constantly repeated, accepted methods are not really for you. You will gain financial resources through your ability to act according to your marginal thinking. You have the capacity to see differences and notice original ideas. Your social relationships will also be important in accumulating financial resources. It will be advantageous for you to choose originality and value marginal ideas in whatever job you do. You may also employ technology very efficiently. For example, Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, has the same Venus as you. He once said this: “1) Don’t be predictable. 2)­ Fight the system.” Right now in the USA, Wal-Mart is almost as powerful as the government, even though it’s just a supermarket chain. Your Venus sign is Pisces The symbolic meaning of Pisces is to fertilize and penetrate everything. Being the final sign in the Zodiac, it is the only one with the capacity to contain “everything.” The ability to reveal this is very important. Your various interests will help you accumulate wealth, because you have rich thinking and an ability to grasp almost every field. Rather than focusing on a single field, it is better for you to favor variety. You will see that after a while, even in fields you might not have chosen, you soon create a web of relationships and contacts.. Bernard Arnault, one of the richest people in history, is a Pisces Venus like you. Last time I checked, Arnault owned some 58 very prestigious brands and was trying to acquire another two. Read the full article

#astrology #money #zodiac

[thelightfluxtastic]

Mages, Magicians, and Kin Identity

Below the cut, a long (almost 2000 word) essay exploring the differences between the historical therian/otherkin communities and the “tumblrkin”/”kinnie” community and subculture, through an extended metaphor about magic. At full disclosure, I am personally very much an “old school” therian. Nevertheless, the essay, to the best of my efforts, is not an attack and does not take sides, instead hoping for honest discussion. I know there are other communities I might not know about or be active in, I welcome people to share this there (with proper credit).

Say you have a Mage (think Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons, and similar). In their experience, magic is an inextricable from their life: it affects how they perceive the world around them, how they interpret and understand things, and it can manifest effects (spells) through them, either voluntarily or reflexively. The visible, tangible acts of “magic” are a direct expression and consequence of the natural state “being a mage”. They don’t “do magic”, they “are a mage”, and magic happens as a result. A mage remains inherently a mage, even when they are asleep or having breakfast or otherwise not doing anything obviously magical.

Then, say you have a magician (Harry Houdini, David Copperfield, etc.). For them, “magic” is a thing you do. Some people may have more talent than others, and people may have different reasons for doing it (some make it a career, some put on performances, some just do it on their own out of personal interest or fun), but at the end of the day it’s an activity, a practice.

Then, say, these two completely different people meet, and start discussing “magic”. Here, a sudden conflict arises.

It would be very tempting for the mage, seeing the magician using scarves and cards and coins, to say “What I’m doing is real magic, what you’re doing is fake”. The mage might remember really struggling to understand and control their magic- early accidents and mishaps, unintended reflexive spells- and think “This is something I live with, good or bad. Something that, in certain situations, I have to work to manage, and it’s all just a game to you.” If the mage runs into someone who is only familiar with magicians, who, upon seeing them cast fireball, says “oh, neat trick with the flash paper!” the mage might get frustrated, angry, defensive. Insisting that no, they’re doing something very different. The mage might try to draw the line between identity an action, or even try to insist on differentiating terms (“I’m doing magic because that’s what magic means, you’re doing legerdemain”).

But the magician might argue back that the magic he does is what magic means to him, what it has meant for as long as he’s known it, and what it means to his community. There’s no deception, trickery, or malicious intent involved. When he meets with other magicians, they’re all discussing magic as a practice, their tools and skills, not pretending or claiming to be supernatural. And even the audience to magic performances ultimately understands and expects that it’s all illusion and a demonstration of clever talent. It’s just as ‘real’ in that sense. Furthermore, the magician might argue that, just because magic is an activity, that doesn’t mean it’s shallow or meaningless. There are magicians that take their craft very seriously, and for whom it’s a really significant part of their life. Furthermore, it’s not so easy to distinguish action from identity: nobody is born a “writer” or an “artist”, but these can be as much core identities for a person as their inborn traits. Some magicians might accept ‘legerdemain’ as a term, but it would be very difficult to convince all magicians to suddenly stop using the term “magic”, especially if that is coming as an external pressure and not a natural linguistic shift within their own community.

If the magician assumes that the mage is using stage magic whenever they make grass grow or call down a lightning bolt, then the mage will seem to be too authoritarian- why are they so angry? Why are they so insistent on using different terminology? Why do they pop up with “No, that’s not how it works” every time someone mentions doing magic for fun? How rude! The magician would see that mages see magic as an identity- which, yes, some magicians do- but might think “why can’t they accept that that’s not how everyone does magic?”.

What the magician fails to see, in this case, is that this is not a shared identity with different perspectives, but a fundamentally different experience. The magician sees their difference in the use of the term “Magic” as a difference in connotation and interpretation. Really, what’s happening is more like a homograph: two words with different meanings and origins that look or sound the same (e.g. “dove” the bird vs. “dove”, past tense of “dive”). And in discussion, mixing up “lead” as in the metal and “lead” as in “leader”, or using them interchangeably, isn’t an alternate definition or linguistic drift, it’s misinformation and misunderstanding.

The above extended metaphor is the closest I have come to explaining the difference between the “old school” therian/otherkin community, and the subculture commonly referred to as “tumblrkin” (which I use as a point of reference here, not derogatorily). For the sake of clarity, I will be referring to these as “mage kin” and “magician kin” from this point forward. My observations and direct experience in this come from Therian Guide, Werelist, Youtube, Therian Wilderness, a few therian Telegram groups, and, yes, Tumblr. As you can see there will still be gaps in my knowledge (especially as I am far less familiar with non-therian, otherkin communities).

Mage kin see therianthropy/otherkinity as an inherent identity. Language reflects that- one has a kintype or is __kin/a ___ therian, and might be discouraged from saying “my wolf” or “my dragon”. A lot of emphasis is placed on distinguishing kintypes from ‘external’ forces, whether personality traits, likes/dislikes or distinct spiritual entities. A kintype in this community is (almost) always discovered, not created and definitely not chosen. It is found the same way a new continent is found- it was always there, and simply needed to be mapped. Mage kin communities are, broadly speaking, older and more interconnected. The various forums tend to share some members, and this is usually where you will find the community elders that have been around since the Elf Queen’s Daughters and alt.horror.werewolves. While terminology has shifted slightly with time (from elvenkind and weres to otherkin and therians), and broadened to include things like fictionkin, this has been natural drift, and mage kin have a shared definition/understanding of kin identity, whether on Tumblr or TG: an inherent, internal, nonhuman identity. A mage kin is always kin, whatever their shifts or self-expression.

In magician kin communities, “kinning” is a verb. It is a thing someone does. “X kins Y” or “I’m kinning ___” are common statements. This is how it was expressed by someone who identified as kin, and was earnest as far as I could tell (not trolling)- that people can “kin” for various reasons, including mental health or for fun. Because of this action aspect in the general understanding, the magician kin community is much more open to the idea of choosing a kintype- both in picking what to “kin”, and in being able to say things like “don’t kin outside of your race/culture”. It also broadens the umbrella of what a kintype can be, with people further subdividing into things like “ID’s”. The magician community is more insular- as far as I can tell it is fairly localized to tumblr (and personal discords/aminos) but has little to no overlap with other therian/otherkin websites and forums. This leads to a lack of exposure to terminology and history (I’ve had someone ask me, in earnest, that wasn’t fictionkin different from otherkin?). And much like on islands in biology/ecology, being insulated in that way leads to very sharp, extreme differentiation. Magicians rarely meet mages (and when they do, often assume them to just be belligerent magicians) and have branched off to the point of being nigh-unrecognizable from the mage perspective.

Hence, conflict. Notice how often discourse boils down to whether kin is a noun or a verb. Mages see magicians as disconnected from the community history and terminology, and thus misinformed- and put time, effort and energy into ‘educating’ and ‘correcting’ (whether politely or angrily). They blame magicians for muddying the water of what ‘magic’ means, causing confusion, and for making a mockery (in their perspective) of magic- making a game of what was often serious and sometimes even painful for them. Magicians have their fellow magicians and are perfectly happy with their magic, and don’t see why some other ‘magicians’ feel they have any authority to barge in and tell them they aren’t doing real magic and should start using words like “legerdemain”. From a complete outsider’s perspective, it’s all chaos. Because the two groups aren’t using neatly distinct terms like mage and magician, they are all just using “magic” and arguing with each other (and of course, the worst extremes will always be the most visible). And, as tempting as it is to think so, magicians aren’t responsible for trolls and aggressors attacking the ‘magic’ community as a whole; and strictly enforcing only mage terms wouldn’t stop willful misunderstanding and attacks. People that want to be jerks and bullies would be jerks and bullies, even to the most respectable.

So…what do we do? I’m solidly in the mage kin camp. I found the tumblr kin community first, and felt alienated and out of place in it. Finding fellow mages is where I have found community and shared understanding that matches my experiences. And, like many of my peers, I’ve spent time and energy being angry at tumblrkin, and aggressively defensive of terminology. But here’s the thing- that’s wasted effort. However the linguistic divergence came about, it happened. There’s no point closing the barn door after the cows get out. Contranyms (words that are their own opposite) are a known linguistic fact. In some cases, it’s a matter of a specific word broadening until it contains its own opposite. In other cases (which I think are closest to what’s happening with “otherkin”), a word with a broad meaning splits into more specific sub-definitions, which relate to the original meaning but develop separately in parallel until they ultimately contradict one another. And, well, as to how that will end in the long term: how well is the fight to get people to stop using “literally” figuratively going? Does “sanction” mean to permit or penalize?

I don’t know what the answer is. As someone who likes labels, terminology, and clarity, I’m tempted to hope that labels (maybe even ‘magician’ and ‘mage’) can help clean up the overlap between these two very different camps. But I’m doubtful adding more words into the mix will really help this terminological clusterfuck. From the perspective of mental and emotional health, I’m tempted to let the island be an island, and just stick with the community that I’ve found, that fits my needs and experiences, and clarify on an individual level if someone asks me about my identity and what it means to me. It matters for people just starting to question their identity- there is a lot of contradictory information they would be blasted with. And I know there is a fear among mage kin that fellow ‘true mages’ would get lost in the weeds. But I found my way, and I’m going to continue presenting as the kind of therian I am, so I can act as that example to others. I don’t know what else can be done.

So I guess my final thoughts would be: To any magicians reading this- please try to understand and respect that there really is a fundamental difference in experience here, not just a parallel perspective. To my fellow mages- is it really worthwhile to mount a crusade, or more important to lead by example and be a beacon?

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Requested edit: Reminder that all of the above is an extended metaphor. I am talking about otherkin/therians using the idea of “magic” to illustrate my perspective. Which, again, is my own and based on my own experiences, with the intent of being fair, but is neither universal nor perfect.

#otherkin #therian #mine #essay #kin