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grimoireoffolkloreandfairytales · 3 years

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Balkan Bestiary: Zduhac

This creature is exceedingly popular in Balkans, and stories of it ( in various forms and spellings) can be found all across Montenegro, Albania, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Their defining characteristic is that zduhac is a human being whose soul has ability to leave their body and ascend in sky, where they either fight malicious spirits causing storms and elemental catastrophes, or they themselves go out to combat and harm their rivals and neighbours. The soul is usually invisible, but it can assume form of some bug- such as moth- or even dragon.

They usually look like ordinary people, though some traditions attribute them ‘’tells’’ that can vary from being little more hairy, over having superhuman strength, to going through life in dreamy and mournful fashion. When zduhac notices trouble approaching, either by gathering of dark clouds or sensing other spirits, they will go away somewhere, or barricade themselves in their home, and not come out until storm is over and winner is decided.

There are many, many names for this creature/ type of magical ability, as it is extremely widespread, and in some cases names vary from region to region. While this can apply to many creatures, in this case it is very prominent, whether due to lore being prevalent and popular among populace, or interest of folklorists.

Zmajevit: This term means ‘’dragonlike’’ and refers to spiritual and sometimes blood conenction these people have with dragons. Aside from this, there is general use of term as epithet to describe great, courageous and strong heroes.

Alovit: This term means ‘’ala-like’’ and it’s origins are covered in this post about creatures in question.

Zduhać: The root of this word is ‘’duh’’, which is word meaning spirit.

Stihija: This word can mean unfortunate situation or calamity, but it’s original meaning seems to have been a great storm or weather catastrophe. It may be derived from Greek stihio or Albanian stuha, and above mentioned zduhac may have been derived from it.

Vjedogonja: Is bit archaic, but I believe that it means something like ‘’dhrouded in air’’ or ‘’one who pursues winds’’

Vjetrovnjak: A folk term that means something along lines of ,,the windling.’’

Oblačar: Could be translated as ‘’the cloudy one.’’

Gradobranitelj: Means quite simply ‘’defender (from) hail.’’

Vremenjak: Could probably be translated as ‘’weatherling’.’

Vilovit: While this term in general use is archaic dialectic way of calling somebody mad, in this context it means ‘’fairylike, fey-touched’’. Those two are connected, as vilas ( fairies) sometimes have ugly habit of driving people mad.

When zduhac’s soul exits their body, it does so through trance. The body will lay down, and be still, as if zduhac is in deep sleep or nearly dead, but it will still twitch, and every wound earned in battle shall be transferred to it. Some traditions claim that if body is interfered with in any way, even something minor like turning it over, soul won’t be able to return. Some descriptions of trance resemble epilepsy seizure, and indeed legends may have been based upon it.

Zduhac’s ability to astrally project themselves, their sometimes attributed abilities of healing, prophecy and cursing cattle and crop, alongside with fact that they often fulfilled same function as folk healers and magicians ( to use english term that’s very popular, cunning folk) has led some anthropologists to believe belief in zduhaci is remnant of prechristian shamanistic traditions, and compare them to similar people in other cultures, such as say, Italian benandenti. While this theory holds water, it is important to note that there isn’t much concrete evidence for it, and that European anthropologists are sometimes very quick to use word shamanistic improperly ( not all of them, of course, especially ones who come from cultures and regions where such living spiritual traditions still thrive, and often gets misinterpreted).

Anybody could be zduhac ( according to some claims, even animals!) but generally it is a strong man, in peak of his prowess, or a respected elder. Fact that zduhac’s enemy is traditionally feminine ala, and that they are sometimes contrasted with witches ( who traditionally attack their own closest kin and friends first), leads to some interesting ponderings.

Historically, we have many, many records of named and famous zduhaci across various regions. This is result s combination of dedicated research by folklorists, people generally knowing who is who three villages over and keeping that alive in folk memory, and fact that in certain places and times it was more or less social function of village. Some famous and beloved rulers were said to be zduhaci, but I feel safe saying this is unlikely, and probably propaganda, especially as those claims generally arose after their deaths, and were way of honouring leaders people found important and heroic.

How they are accepted by community is pretty interesting thing to me. Generally, zduhac is respected and honoured, as they fulfill extremely important function, and are guardians of their community and adore it whole heartedly. However, they can be described as strange, eccentric and uncanny, which may be partially due to fear of retaliation if one offends zduhac, but also because they can sometimes be sort of tolerated social outcasts; hermits, men who never married, thoughtful and private people, people too smart or opinionated for their close community, people with epilepsy...

Zduhac is primarily positive figure, however that too depends on your relation with them, like with people. If you anger zduhac it may retaliate, either by letting hail take down your vineyard, or sending pox upon your livestock. Also, traditionally zduhac attacks and threatens surrounding villages, particularly ones that have fed with their own, to point that some legends claim that all storms are result of rival zduhaci wrestling for dominance.

How person becomes zduhac depends on several sources:

It may be a sort of trade, the magical knowledge and practice that is passed from one to another, with several tales depicting elderly zduhac seeking out replacement, usually a close relative like brother’s son or such. This fits with historical and folkloric records of how folk magicians and healers operated.

In certain traditions, zduhac is connected to angels and saints, and may even be counted among them, and their ability can be seen as divine blessing. Connection with sky, is of course, obvious.

In others, zduhac gains their abilities through mystical initiation performed by the Devil. It’s important to remember that this isn’t Satan of megachurch evangelism, but rural, folkloric Devil. So while powers are sinister and zduhaci can be capricious, they do serve good purpose.

It can be a natural, inborn gift. There are several explanations for how to detect newborn that will grow up to be zduhac, from birth at particular day to other notions, but most famous one and common one is baby being born with whole placenta, which is either red or white. During life zduhac will keep placenta as talisman, and needs to hide it from enemies and prying eyes.

Famously, zduhaci can be children of humans ( usually women) and dragons, which is where name zmajeviti comes from. Dragons are fond of sleeping with human women, especially royal ones, and thus their children grow up to be great heroes, brave and fierce in battle, handsome and strong, skilled warriors ( this belief of extraordinary heritage of nobility can probably be seen as distant cousin to legends of demigod descent and divine right of kings). Sometimes these men may be recognized by feathery winds they keep hidden underneath armpits.

Another connection with supernatural comes from ala, which i previously covered, and which is why they are called aloviti. Ala is traditionally enemy of zduhac, as spirit which causes storms and hail, but sometimes it is source of their powers. Ala may have been parent of zduhac ( usually fathering them), they or their parents may have been it’s victims ( encountered it in flesh and survived, or been possesed), or all zduhaci and alas are same beings, and whether they are evil or good depends on which village you hail from.

Zduhac may also derive their powers from the fairies, who are sometimes known to protect, associate with, or mentor humans, usually in healing arts, but they also may bless them in more spiritual manner, and zduhac’s power over natural forces may come from vila, who embody them. Zduhac in those stories may have vila for foster-mother or godmother ( or, like with dragonlike heroes, she breastfed them at young age), may be her oath sworn blood brother, done her favour or attracted her intrigue enough to make him her student. Sometimes they are said to be men who were loved by vilas- seemingly consensually, without traditional ‘’steal her veil and force her to be my spirit bride’’ story, implying that zduhac is one who had affair with vila of her own choosing, and was blessed and abandoned once she tired of her mortal lover.

#balkan folklore #slavic folklore #balkan bestiary

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buildarocketboys · 3 years

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April 3rd: How do you feel about dating/romantic relationships? Have you dated in the past/are you currently in a relationship/do you eventually want one? Do you feel that your experience of autism/stereotypes around autism and relationships impacts this?

I've currently been in a relationship with my girlfriend for a little over 4 years! My girlfriend is so accepting and accommodating and understanding of me and actually being in a relationship with her and living with her is so good for my mental health as opposed to living with people who aren't understanding/accommodating, it's so nice to have someone take me seriously and actually listen to me when I'm having trouble. That said, it obviously hasn't always been easy (meltdowns and hyperempathy means we both find it really difficult when the other gets upset, especially if it's about something one of us did) but we mostly deal with it pretty OK, and we've gotten better at communicating with each other I think. There's also other things like my sensory issues that can make certain aspects of living together hard (e.g. my sound sensitivity to snoring and other small noises - not to call you out babe, I know I snore as well - has been really hard at times when sharing a bed. Luckily it's not been such an issue lately, but ultimately I think I would like to have my own bedroom/space to go to when I need). I think we're probably better at communicating than a lot of fully allistic (and straight) couples which may at least partly be down to me being autistic and less bound to social rules if I feel safe and comfy with someone, but probably also just us both being queer tumblr weirdos (tumblr queerdos?) means we're less beholden to toxic heterosexist miscommunication.

I've never really traditionally "dated" and I don't think I'd want to; all my relationships (even very short lived ones) have been people I've been friends with first and fallen for, and my past three romantic experiences (ie including my current girlfriend) have been with people I've met via tumblr. Dating seems to have so many social rules around it and especially with someone I didn't really know/feel comfortable with, I don't think it would be something that'd really work out for me. Luckily I don't have to worry about that though!

April 4th: Are there any topics regarding autism that you feel don’t get discussed enough?

Well I'm currently working on an essay about my experiences as an autistic languages student and the year abroad I took as part of my university course, which was kind of my autistic origin story and is something that's really affected me and I'm only just coming to terms with. It's also something I've never seen discussed (outside autistics having language learning as their special interest) and while I don't think it's a Big Issue or anything, on a personal level it's something really important to me and that I'd like to hear other people's experiences with to know that I'm not alone (I hope).

Outside that...in general I think there's kind of a lack of nuance in general in the autistic advocacy movement, especially when it comes to the language you should/shouldn't use about autistic people (ie high functioning/low functioning, person first v identity first etc). I generally agree with the points made about these language usages by autistic advocates and I understand why they get held up as so important (because allistics are like little babies when it comes to actually knowing shit about autism and they need their hand held to be talked through basic respect of autistics and our community). But the fact remains that these things aren't the most important things in terms of actually fighting for justice and accommodation for autistics in society, and not all autistics line up with the majority opinion (and that doesn't make them bad autistics or necessarily bad advocates). Additionally, the lack of nuance in some discussions - such as the swing from the stereotype of 'autistics have no/low empathy' to the autistic advocated opposite extreme of 'autistics have all the empathy! so much empathy! hyperempathy!' is troubling to say the least, because it doesn't actually help people understand us any better (better things to talk about is how we experience or don't experience empathy, why, how do we show it or why do we find it difficult to show it) and just kind of shits on autistics who do have no/low empathy (or whose empathy fluctuates depending on the situation - hi! That's me!). This might partly be my autistic trait of detail orientation coming through, but honestly nuance and complexity around these conversations are important, and we shouldn't be simplifying this stuff just for the sake of allistics, they should be turning up and listening to what we have to say and experience. And they can't really understand it unless they actually get exposed to the nuance and different extremes of autism anyway.

Sorry that these ended up being such a ramble/rant haha I wanted to answer these but my brain is all over the place rn

#30daysofautismacceptance #2021 #autism tag #actuallyautistic #actually autistic #it's about the nuance 👏👌

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gascon-en-exil · 3 years

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It's still somewhat astounding to me that a single offhand comment about trans headcanons for a Three Houses character got me a torrent of verbose anon hate, all presumably from one very loudly opinionated person. I'm not going to bother responding to those directly or any of the many that will assuredly follow - although I am old enough to be amused by the thought that the same whining the troll makes about trans headcanons contributing nothing to fandom could have been ripped right out of 2000s-era discourse, except back then it was about gay headcanons/fic - but a combination of candor and spite has nonetheless prompted me to put my current project on hold for a moment and talk a little about why I would have trans headcanons at all, and more specifically the kind that I do.

I have in the past suggested that, while I generally identify as cis, my gender has become more fluid in certain circumstances over the past half decade or so. Sexual circumstances, to be precise, to the point that I do now describe myself as "genderfluid in bed" for men who display an interest in such things. The common term for that is feminization kink, and for the men who are into that it usually manifests in little more than a desire to see me in lingerie and/or the use of associated wordplay during sex (ex. calling my hole a pussy/cunt, expressing a desire to impregnate me). I can understand why that might be appealing for some men; gay men collectively have a bunch of hangups with regard to straight men, and while that more often manifests through lewd fantasies of celebrities or watching porn where allegedly straight guys jack off for the camera I can also see in encounters with those men a desire to in essence RP as straight men fucking women. I get that from some bi men too, men who have explicitly enjoyed my natural androgyny and in some cases have even used their sexual experiences with cis women to add some extra flavor to our time together. Obviously this isn't a thing for all or even most gay/bi men - and guys who are looking for more masc partners are unlikely to start talking to me in the first place - but anecdotally speaking there are men of varying self-identified orientations who are into feminized AMAB sexual partners.

Now of course this comes to what is probably a more salient question: am I into that, or is it just one of several types of kink I'm willing to engage in because it broadens my appeal? There's no shortage of that in my sexual CV; I've let men suck on my toes, piss on me, tie me up, flog me, on occasion done all of the above to them, and more - but I'm sufficiently aware of my own interests to know that none of those things really turn me on. Feminization however I do like, so much so that I've noticed that I'm more genuinely attracted to men who treat me in what I perceive to be a feminine way, who take the lead in social situations and in intimacy and who enjoy the contrast in our bodies (these men almost always being bigger, hairier, and hopefully more well-endowed). The concept of treating me as feminine alone carries a ton of culturally specific baggage. The French are traditionally perceived as a more feminine/effete culture in the English-speaking world. Créole women like my female relatives and ancestors are notorious for the way they control their husbands, lovers, children, and (back when we had them) domestics while still constrained by the bounds of patriarchal society. It is through them that I learned most of how I conduct myself around men both in and out of bed, that the easiest way to control a man is to appear to be controlled by him while simultaneously enslaving him to his passions - passions that I intimately understand because I too have a dick. Most of my sexual partners come from backgrounds very different from that, so they have trouble understanding how I approach sex even if I'm trying to form an actual relationship with them. Still, some of them try, and I enjoy it when they do.

I've had trouble opening up about this before on my blog, not because of any trolls (although pissing off trolls is always fun) but because I've never been quite certain of how welcome talking about this would be. Most of the content and resources by, for, and about trans women online I've come across has concerned lesbian trans women, or otherwise centered around trans women's relationships (sexual or otherwise) with other women. As someone who still conceptualizes my gender identity first and foremost in relation to my sexual availability to men, those resources are unsurprisingly not going to speak to me very well. General trans content on Tumblr and other fandom spaces is similarly of little personal appeal, with the users skewing heavily AFAB and therefore more likely to feature trans men. I fully understand why that is, and on occasion I've been known to enjoy M/M porn where one character has a vagina with no explanation. God knows I've fantasized before about having an orifice that lubricates itself, doesn't need to be flushed out before sex, and is naturally built to take a cock. The philosophy behind most trans headcanons does elude me a bit though, as it seems to me like it'd be easier to keep a character's canon AGAB and change their gender identity rather than the reverse. Apparently that approach is much less common, but I can safely say that all of the handful of trans headcanons I've had involve canonically cis male characters imagined as trans female and sexually involved with cis male characters - big surprise there, right?

I get the impression that my perspective could easily be considered antiquated in several ways: that I emphasize sexual activity over the more nebulous sexual attraction when it comes to discussing orientation; that I prioritize my sexual activity over my gender identity; that I believe there exists a liminal space between fem cis gay men and straight trans women, and that there is historical precedence for such a space in pre-modern/early modern queer communities; and that to the extent that I've internalized a feminine gender identity I do so in the context of my relationships with men. Again, a lot of that comes down to culture, to the myriad ways in which queerness in New Orleans has retained its own history and character independent of other queer cultures in the English-speaking world. Maybe some of it sounds outdated, or misogynistic (I've seen that criticism lobbied at drag queens, and it would probably apply here too), or most bizarrely of all transphobic...but it's all nonetheless a part of who I am, and at the end of the day the only people whose opinions on this subject really matter to me are the men who want to take me to bed. To quote a particularly fitting verse from "Sugar Daddy" of Hedwig and the Angry Itch:

So you think only a woman Can truly love a man? Well, you buy me the dress, I'll be more woman Than a man like you can stand

Indeed.

#Pointless rambling #My sexcapades

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Best Horror Movies on Netflix: Scariest Films to Stream

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Editor’s Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page to see what the best horror movies on Netflix are at your convenience.

Is it Halloween when you’re reading this? If not we’re still close enough with fall here and the month of October almost upon us! It’s the time of year where we like our drinks spiced with pumpkin or apple, our flannel light, and the movies we consume scary. And lucky for you there are more than a handful of worthwhile scary movies on Netflix.

There is nothing quite as fun as embracing the spooky, the creepy, the scary, and things that go bump in the night. Thankfully we have horror movies to help us down these paths. If you ever find yourself in need of a thrill or a chill, check out some of the best horror movies on Netflix, we’ve gathered here.

Enjoy your tricks and treats.

Looking for the best horror movies on Netflix UK? Click here!

As Above, So Below

We know what you might be thinking: a found footage horror movie? Yes, this was one of the later adherents to a genre craze that got run into the ground during the 2000s and early 2010s. However, As Above, So Below is the rare thing: effectively creepy. With a crackerjack premise about the real Catacombs of Paris being a secret gateway to Hell, the film casts an energetic Perdita Weeks as a modern day Indiana Jones in a Go-Pro helmet. She and her colleagues make the unwise choice to go off the tourist-guided path in the catacombs, which is home to the remains of more than 6 million people who died between the early middle ages and 18th century.

But once deep below the City of Lights, the film’s dwindling protagonists find themselves crawling beneath a wall with the words “Abandon all Hope Ye Who Enter.” And things just get bleak from there. This is a ghoulish good-time for those who are willing to indulge in the gimmick storytelling.

Apostle

Apostle comes from acclaimed The Raid director Gareth Evans and is his take on the horror genre. Spoiler alert: it’s a good one.

Dan Stevens stars as Thomas Richardson, a British man in the early 1900s who must rescue his sister, Jennifer, from the clutches of a murderous cult. Thomas successfully infiltrates the cult led by the charismatic Malcom Howe (Michael Sheen) and begins to ingratiate himself with the strange folks obsessed with bloodletting. Thomas soon comes to find that the object of the cult’s religious fervor may be more real than he’d prefer.

The Blackcoat’s Daughter

Some kids dream about being left overnight or even a week at certain locations to play, like say a mall or a Chuck E. Cheese. One place that no one wants to be left alone in, however, is a Catholic boarding school.

That’s the situation that Rose (Lucy Boynton) and Kat (Kiernan Shipka) find themselves in in the atmospheric and creepy The Blackcoat’s Daughter. When Rose and Kat’s parents are unable to pick them up for winter break, the two are forced to spend the week at their dingy Catholic boarding school. If that weren’t bad enough, Rose fears that she may be pregnant…oh, and the nuns might all be Satanists.

The Blackcoat’s Daughter is an excellent debut directorial outing from Oz Perkins and another step on the right horror path for scream queens Shipka and Emma Roberts.

The Evil Dead

1981’s The Evil Dead is nothing less than one of the biggest success stories in horror movie history.

Written and directed on a shoestring budget by Sam Raimi, The Evil Dead uses traditional horror tropes to its great advantage, creating a scary, funny, and almost inconceivably bloody story about five college students who encounter some trouble in a cabin in the middle of the woods. That trouble includes the unwitting release of a legion of demons upon the world.

The Evil Dead rightfully made stars of its creator and lead Bruce Campbell. It was also the jumping off point for a successful franchise that includes two sequels, a remake, a TV show, and more.

Gerald’s Game

We are living in a renaissance for Stephen King adaptations. But while there have been many killer clowns and hat-wearing fiends getting major attention at the multiplexes, the best King movie in perhaps decades is Mike Flanagan’s underrated Gerald’s Game. Cleverly adapted from what has been described as one of King’s worst stories, Gerald’s Game improves on its source material when it imagines a middle-aged woman (Carla Gugino) placed in a terrifying survival situation after her husband (Bruce Greenwood) dies of a heart attack during a sex game.

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Handcuffed to a bed in their remote cabin in the woods, Gugino’s Jessie must face the fact no one is coming to save her in the next week… more than enough time to die of dehydration or the wolf prowling about. Thus the specter of death hovers over the whole movie, seemingly literally with a monstrous shade emerging from the shadows to bedevil Jessie each night. A trenchant character study that frees Gugino to show a wide range of terror, determination, and finally horrifying desperation, the movie delves into the shadows of a woman haunted by trauma and demons almost as scary as her current situation. Almost.

The Gift

Who knew Joel Edgerton had it in him?

The Gift is the Australian actor’s writing and directing debut and it doesn’t disappoint. Edgerton stars as Gordon “Gordo” Mosely. He’s a nice enough middle-aged man if a little “off.” One day while shopping he runs into an old high school classmate Simon (Jason Bateman) and his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall). After their brief encounter, Gordo takes it upon himself to start dropping off little gifts to Simon and Robyn’s home. Robyn sees no problem with it at first. But Simon becomes disturbed, perhaps because of the unique past Simon and Gordo share.

Many horror movies understand there must be a twist of some sort or at the very least an unexpected third act. Even still The Gift‘s third act switch up is particularly devastating because it’s so mundane and logical. The Gift ends up being an emotional drama disguised as horror.

The Girl with All the Gifts

Just when you thought there was nothing left to be done with the zombie genre, in comes a shocking and original idea… one that has sadly grown only more scary in 2020 with regards to The Girl with All the Gifts. A brilliant little indie from Colm McCarthy, this underrated gem imagines a zombie apocalypse as something closer to a viral pandemic that lasts for generations…. and one where a vaccine is always just out of reach.

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Thus enters the class of Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton). Years after a fungal infection ravaged the planet, turning the infected into “hungries” (breathing zombies), their offspring have shown a creepy ability to retain the ability to think, learn, and love… even as they crave living flesh.

Hence the students in Helen’s class, including her favorite Melanie (Sennia Nanua). The child is special… too much so when it’s believed her biology could create a vaccine that would spare anymore humans turning “hungry.” But to harvest her body, the military will drag Helen and Melanie through an urban hellscape which has reduced London to an abandoned refuge for Hungries and feral children who likewise hunt uninfected humans for food.

The Golem

The Golem is such an awesome monster from Jewish mythology that it’s hard to believe they don’t make more movies about him. Well now they have. The Golem isn’t a straight-up remake of the 1915 movie of the same name so much as it is the next step in the evolution of this grim mythological beast.

During the outbreak of a plague, Hanna (Hani Furstenberg) will do whatever it takes to defend her community from outside invaders. Unfortunately, and in true fairy tale fashion, the creature she conjures up to defend her community quickly develops a murderous mind of its own.

Green Room

Green Room is a shockingly conventional horror movie despite not having all of the elements we traditionally associate with them. You won’t find any monsters or the presence of the supernatural in Green Room.

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Instead all monsters are replaced by vengeful neo-Nazis and the haunted house is replaced by a skinhead punk music club in the middle of nowhere in the Oregon woods. The band, The Aint Rights, led by bassist Pat (Anton Yelchin) are locked in the green room of a club after witnessing a murder and must fight their way out.

Horns

A horror vintage for a distinctly acquired taste, Alexandre Aja’s Horns is a bizarre fairy tale for adults. As much a revenge fable as a typical chiller, this movie which put “Harry Potter in Devil Horns” is actually something of a grim love story based on a novel by Joe Hill.

Daniel Radcliffe plays Ig Perrish, an outcast in his local community who wants nothing more than to forever be by the side of his lifelong love Merrin (Juno Temple). After her brutal unsolved murder prevents that, Ig swears he’d sell his soul to get revenge.

Funny thing is the day after he makes such a proclamation, horns begin growing from his forehead. The greater they grow, the easier it is to get sinners around him to confess their most hidden shames, and indulge in others. But with the clock ticking before he becomes a full-fledged demon, and his soul is presumably claimed by Beelzebub, there is only a narrow window before he can get revenge while raising a little hell.

Hush

In his follow-up to the cult classic Oculus, Mike Flanagan makes one of the more clever horror movies on this list. Hush is a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse within the typical nightmare of a home invasion, yet it also turns conventions of that familiar terror on its head.

For instance, the savvy angle about this movie is Kate Siegel (who co-wrote the movie with Flanagan) plays Maddie, a deaf and mute woman living in the woods alone. Like Audrey Hepburn’s blind woman from the progenitor of home invasion stories, Wait Until Dark (1967), Maddie is completely isolated when she is marked for death by a menacing monster in human flesh.

Like the masked villains of so many more generic home invasion movies (I’m looking square at you, Strangers), John Gallagher Jr.’s “Man” wears a mask as he sneaks into her house. However, the functions of this story are laid bare since we actually keep an eye on what the “Man” is doing at all times, and how he is getting or not getting into the house in any given scene. He isn’t aided by filmmakers who’ve given him faux-supernatural and omnipotent abilities like other versions of these stories, and he’s not an “Other;” he’s a man who does take his mask off, and his lust for murder is not so much fetishized as shown for the repulsive behavior that it is. And still, Maddie proves to be both resourceful and painfully ill-equipped to take him on in this tense battle of wills.

Insidious

Insidious is the start of a multi-film horror franchise and a pretty good one at that. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne star as a married couple who move into a new home with their three kids. Shortly after they move in, their son Dalton is drawn to a shadow in the attic and then falls into a mysterious coma from which they can’t wake him.

It’s at this point that the Lamberts do what horror fans always yell at characters to do: they move out of the damn house! Little do they know, however, that some hauntings go beyond mere domiciles.

The Invitation

Seeing your ex is always uncomfortable, but imagine if your ex-wife invited you to a dinner party with her new husband? That is just about the least creepy thing in this taut thriller nestled in the Hollywood Hills.

Indeed, in The Invitation Logan Marshall-Green’s Will is invited by his estranged wife (Tammy Blanchard) for dinner with her new hubby David (Michael Huisman of Game of Thrones). David apparently wanted to extend the bread-breaking offer personally since he has something he wants to invite both Will and all his other guests into joining. And it isn’t a game of Scrabble…

It Comes at Night

Surviving the apocalypse comes with a certain amount of questions. For starters, what do you do after you survive a global pandemic thanks to your secluded cabin in the woods…and then someone comes knocking? That’s the situation that the family consisting of Paul (Joel Edgerton), Sarah (Carmen Ejogo), and Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) find themselves in in It Comes at Night.

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When Paul and his family come across another family in the woods seeking shelter and water, they hesitantly welcome them in. But this soon proves to be a dangerous decision. Having guests in the real world is annoying enough to deal with and it only becomes harder when you suspect that any one of them could be sick with a highly-contagious, utterly fatal illness.

Paranormal Activity

Ignore the sequels. Yes, you know they’re bad and we know they’re bad. But long before “the Ghost Dimension” (whatever the hell that means), there was this eerie surprise hit that started it all. A movie which was estimated to be the most profitable movie of all time in its day–earning $193.4 million worldwide on a budget of $15,000–Paranormal Activity put Blumhouse Productions on the map and is still a supremely affecting piece of atmosphere.

Presented as the true story of a young, and not wholly likable, couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat), the film follows the pair as they attempt to document the bumps they’re hearing in the house at night–only to discover a demonic presence and some repressed memories for one party. A still brilliant exercise in sound design, tension, and the uncanny ability to trick audiences into believing what they’re seeing is actually happening, this remains the best found footage horror movie ever made.

Poltergeist

Before there was Insidious, The Conjuring, or a myriad of other “suburban family vs. haunted house” movies, there was Poltergeist. Taking ghost stories out of the Gothic setting of ancient castles or decrepit mansions and hotels, Poltergeist moved the spirits into the middle class American heartland of the 1980s. With a smart screenplay by no less than Steven Spielberg (and, according to some, his ghost direction), Poltergeist finds the Freeling family privy to a disquieting fact about their new home: It’s built on top of a cemetery!

The Best Haunted House Movies and TV Shows of All Time

By Sarah Dobbs

Movies

How Annabelle Comes Home Fits into The Conjuring Universe

By Don Kaye

You probably know the story, and if you don’t you can guess it after decades of copycats that followed, but this special effects-laden spectacle still holds up, especially as a thriller that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Fair warning though, if your kids have a tree outside their window or a clown doll under their bed, we don’t take responsibility for the years of therapy bills this may inflict!

Red Dragon

The often overlooked other child of the Hannibal Lecter movie family, Red Dragon is no The Silence of the Lambs, no matter how much it wishes it was. Nor is it as visually evocative or luscious as Ridley Scott’s decadent Hannibal. Nevertheless, we find this prequel to both films to be at least worthy of association with the former, and ultimately more satisfying than the latter. A definite attempt to reshape Thomas Harris’ first novel to feature the Lecter character into a Silence of the Lambs clone, Red Dragon still has quite a bit to enjoy.

At the top of the list is of course Sir Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal for the third and final time. Definitely his hammiest iteration of the character, even a campy Hopkins is impossible to resist given the not-so-good doctor’s droll wit or distinct taste palate. Director Brett Ratner’s framing around Lecter is competent enough, and he wisely gets a superb supporting cast who can overwhelm any shortcomings.

Edward Norton is a compelling lead FBI detective; Philip Seymour Hoffman is delightfully repellent as a tabloid journalist who suffers a terrifying fate; and Ralph Fiennes roars as the serial killer who inflicts that fate on Hoffman. It may be no Manhunter–Michael Mann’s first adaptation of the source novel–but Red Dragon‘s the one on Netflix. So love the one you’re with!

The Silence of the Lambs

If you are only going to watch one Hannibal Lecter movie, this is the all-time masterpiece which remains the sole horror movie to win an Oscar for Best Picture. An absolutely gripping thriller even 30 years later, Jonathan Demme’s movie is an all-time great because of stellar performances and a sharp screenplay told by an even sharper eye.

Movies

The Silence of the Lambs: A Thinking Person’s Monster Movie

By Ryan Lambie

Movies

Best Horror Movies on Hulu

By Alec Bojalad and 1 other

Here is the movie that kicked off the serial killer craze in Hollywood during the ’90s. Yet more than the gory details, what lingers in the mind are little things like an opening sequence that introduces Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) as the lone woman on an elevator full of FBI ubermensches, or the way Anthony Hopkins breaks his unrelenting stare to mispronounce “Chianti” with dripping disdain for the Yokel sent to interview him. Every facet of this movie works, and thus it hasn’t aged a day. We do recommend watching it with a side of fava beans, though.

Sinister

One of the better Blumhouse chillers to come out of the 2010s, Sinister is the case of a brilliant elevator pitch meeting a superior pair of talents in director Scott Derrickson and star Ethan Hawke to bring it to life.

The setup of the movie is simple: There is a pagan demon god who will consume the soul of any nearby children whenever someone sees him. And not just him, but recreations of his image on walls. And wouldn’t you know it, true crime journalist Ellison (Hawke) just moved into a house with an attic full of home movies stuffed to the gills with Bughuul. And Ellison’s daughter is right downstairs. Uh oh.

Sleepy Hollow

As much a comedy as a horror film, Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow should always be on the table when discussing October viewing options. After all, this demented reimagining of Washington Irving’s classic short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” never forgets the selling point is to have them rolling in the aisles. And more than a few heads do just that.

As a film with the most varied and imaginative uses of decapitation, Sleepy Hollow cuts a bloody path across Upstate New York. In fact, despite its American setting, we might as well confess what Sleepy Hollow really is: a modern version of a Hammer horror movie.

Burton incorporates all of his favorite tropes here: The intentionally stuffy faux-British acting (even though all the characters are of Dutch descent); the exaggerated and formal clothing; more than a few heaving bosoms; and lots and lots of gore. This film is so perfectly macabre and gleefully grotesque that you might even be forgiven for not noticing at first glance how dryly funny and deadpan a place this Sleepy Hollow tends to be.

Splice

What if Dr. Frankenstein banged his monster? That is just one of several creepy elements to Splice, a weird psychosexual sci-fi/horror hybrid. Directed by Vincenzo Natali and starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as the world’s worst scientists, Splice follows two not-so-smart doctors who attempt to play God by creating an entire new species of creature they name Dren (Delphine Chanéac).

Books

Frankenstein Adaptations Are Almost Never Frankenstein Adaptations

By Kayti Burt

Movies

Best Horror Movies Streaming on HBO Max

By David Crow and 2 others

At first a computer-generated child with alien eyes and a roping tail, Dren soon grows from girl to young woman, seducer to… well, something even more unexpected. Weird, unpleasant, and ultimately unshakable like that one bad dream, Splice plays with ideas of identity, gender, and parenthood.

Sweetheart

Don’t let the name fool you, Sweetheart is very much a horror movie. What kind of horror movie, you ask? Well, after a boat sinks during a storm, young Jennifer Remming (Kiersey Clemons) is the only survivor. She washes ashore a small island and gets to work burying her friends, creating shelter, and foraging for food. You know: deserted island stuff.

Soon, however, Jenn will come to find that the island is not as deserted as she previously thought. There’s something out there – something big, dangerous, and hungry. Sweetheart is like Castaway meets Predator and it’s another indie horror hit for Blumhouse.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is a fantastic little satire on the horror genre that, in a similar fashion to Scream, is packed with laughs, gore, and a bit of a message. When a group of preppy college students head out to the backwoods for a camping trip, they stumble upon two good-natured good ol’ boys that they mistake for homicidal hillbillies.

Their quick, off-the-mark judgment of Tucker and Dale lead to these snobs getting themselves into sticky, often bloody, and hilariously over-the-top situations. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil rides a one-joke premise to successful heights and teaches audiences to not judge a book by its cover.

Under the Shadow

This 2016 effort could not possibly be more timely as it sympathizes, and terrorizes, an Iranian single mother and child in 1980s Tehran. Like a draconian travel ban, Shideh (Narges Rashidi) and her son Dorsa (Avin Manshadi) are malevolently targeted by a force of supreme evil.

Movies

How Jason Blum Changed Horror Movies

By Rosie Fletcher

Movies

The 13 Best Final Girls in Horror Movie History

By David Crow

This occurs after Dorsa’s father, a doctor, is called away to serve the Iranian army in post-revolution and war-torn Iran. In his absence evil seeps in… as does a quality horror movie with heightened emotional weight.

Underworld

No one is going to mistake Underworld for high art. That obvious fact makes the lofty pretensions of these movies all the more endearing. With a cast of high-minded British theatrical actors, many trained in the Royal Shakespeare Company, at least the early movies in this Gothic horror/action mash-up series were overflowing with histrionic self-importance and grandiosity.

Take the first and best in the series. In the margins you have Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen portraying the patriarchs of warring factions of vampires and werewolves, and a love story caught between their violence that’ shamelessly modeled on Romeo and Juliet. It’s ridiculous, especially with Scott Speedman playing one party. But when the other is the oft-underrated Kate Beckinsale it doesn’t matter.

The movie’s bombast becomes the movie’s first virtue, and Len Wiseman’s penchant for glossy slick visuals, which would look at home in the sexiest Eurotrash graphic novel at the bookstore, is its other. Combined they make this a guilty good time. Though we recommend not venturing past the second or third movie.

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cuthian · 4 years

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Starting Over Chapter Eight

Alright, this is it!

The next one... the next one is the one everyone's been waiting for, babies. Working on that now, and hopefully will have that done ASAP.

Thanks for sticking with me, lovelies.

Love, Annaelle (& Juulna, who is indispensable and without whom I could never do this).

Chapter Eight

AMERICAN SUPPORT FOR GAY RIGHTS MAY LEAVE AFRICANS VULNERABLE!

By Norimitsu Onishi

LAGOS, Nigeria — Suspicious neighbors and landlords pry into their private lives. Blackmailers hunt for victims on the social media sites they use to meet others of the same sex. Police officers routinely stop them to search for incriminating images and chats on their cellphones.

Since an anti-gay law went into effect last year, many gay Nigerians say they have been subjected to new levels of harassment, even violence. They blame the law, the authorities, and broad social intolerance for their troubles. But they also blame an unwavering supporter whose commitment to their cause has been unquestioned and conspicuous across Africa: the United States government.

“The U.S. support is making matters worse,” said Mike, 24, a university student studying biology in Minna, a town in central Nigeria, who asked that his full name not be used for his safety. “There’s more resistance now. It’s triggered people’s defense mechanisms.”

[…]Four years ago, the American government embarked on an ambitious campaign to expand civil rights for gay people overseas by marshalling its diplomats, directing its foreign aid, and deploying President Obama to speak before hostile audiences[...]Since 2012, the American government has put more than 700 million dollars into supporting gay rights groups and causes globally. More than half of that money has focused on sub-Saharan Africa — just one indication of this continent’s importance to the new policy.

America’s money and public diplomacy have opened conversations and opportunities in societies where the subject was taboo just a few years ago. But they have also made gay men and lesbians more visible — and more vulnerable.[…]other African nations weighing in on the situation for LGBT+ communities in Nigeria. King T’Chaka of Wakanda, a traditionally more reclusive nation, has expressed his intention to set up an outreach center for the at-risk population of Nigeria.

“Love has been considered simply love for centuries in Wakanda,” King T’Chaka said in a press conference, where he announced that his son, Prince T’Challa, would oversee the initial preparations for the center. “If we can help others achieve such calm and such peace in their lives, it is our duty to ensure it will be so. While we appreciate the support of the American government, the time has come for African nations to support each other”—Continued on Page 49

—Norimitsu Onishi, ‘American support for gay rights may leave Africans vulnerable’, The New York Times, 2 December 2015

——————————

Personal floor Of Steve Rogers, Becca Barnes and Thor, Avengers Tower, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.

December 3rd, 2015 – 8:04 AM

Pepper

Pepper barely blinked when Steve opened the door with his hair askew, clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt that had clearly seen better days, with thick bags under his eyes.

“You look like shit,” she told him bluntly, because while she liked him well enough, she was a little grumpy about the fact he’d insisted she come down to his floor so early in the morning. She’d spent far too long throwing up this morning to pretend to be civil, and she was certain Steve would understand.

“Yeah,” Steve sighed, opening the door wide so she could come in. “I know.”

She pushed past him and walked into the apartment, stopping only for a moment to raise an eyebrow at the state of it. She’d never known Steve to be exceptionally tidy, but he was certainly not a messy person either—it was, therefore, a big surprise to see the otherwise neat room looking quite chaotic.

There were pillows and blankets strewn across the couches and floor, along with what looked like enough empty snack wrappers to feed a small army—or one supersoldier, she supposed.

“Had some fun?” she asked bemusedly, turning to look at said supersoldier with a raised eyebrow.

Steve sighed and shook his head. “Becca came home last night,” he began, pushing past Pepper to pick up some of the blankets. “She was… well, upset, to say the least.”

Pepper frowned and turned towards the bedrooms, where she assumed Becca was. “What happened?” she demanded, glancing towards Steve concernedly. “Is Thor with her?” Thor and Becca weren’t meant to return to Earth for a few weeks yet, and to hear that Becca had returned, apparently horribly upset, was more than just a little concerning.

“No,” Steve shook his head. “I mean, I think he came with her to bring her back and to make sure she was alright, but she told me she didn’t want him to stay, so he left.”

Pepper spun around. “Why would she—”

Steve raised a hand and shook his head before she could complete the question. “Look, I’ve already told you more than I intended to. Becca—Becca should tell you the rest herself. I—” He sighed. “I don’t think I’m qualified to help her in this.”

Pepper pouted, but conceded the point. If it was indeed something personal, then Becca did deserve the chance to tell her herself.

“Is she in her room?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Steve nodded wordlessly, and Pepper sighed before moving towards the bedrooms. Becca’s room was shrouded in darkness still, but she could make out Becca’s still form on the bed, hardly more than a lump of blankets.

“Is she asleep?” she whispered to Steve, who had followed her into the hallway and was leaning back against the wall behind her, looking for all the world like he was about to fall asleep where he stood.

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Maybe? She was earlier, but she basically cried herself to sleep, so I don’t—I don’t know if she’s still asleep.”

He rubbed a hand through his hair, and Pepper was abruptly struck by how extremely tired he looked.

“Go to bed, Steve,” she told him sternly. “I’ll talk to her. We’ll be fine.”

The fact that he didn’t argue with her, only nodded tiredly before sulking off down the hallway to his own room, only reassured her that he was actually exhausted. She turned towards Becca’s room again, biting her lower lip as she tried to figure out what would’ve had the other woman so upset she’d spent the entire night crying in Steve’s arms rather than her boyfriend’s.

She would’ve assumed it a break-up, if not for the fact that she knew Becca and Thor’s relationship was about as rock solid as any relationship could be. Not only that, but if their relationship had been rockier than they’d shared with anyone else, Pepper was reasonably sure Thor would never have put so much effort into organizing the trip to Asgard.

No, the problem likely lay solely at Thor’s father’s feet.

From what she’d heard, the man had opposed the relationship for almost as long as Becca and Thor had been together, and he didn’t shy away from playing dirty to get what he wanted. She just… she couldn’t imagine what Odin could’ve said or done to make Becca decide to come home rather than stay with Thor—what he could’ve said or done to make Becca insist that Thor leave her alone.

She uncrossed her arms from over her chest and walked into Becca’s room, crawling onto the large bed with the younger woman and wriggling lightly until her head rested on the pillow next to Becca’s.

She remained quiet for a bit longer, listening to Becca’s breathing for a few minutes before she said, “I know you’re awake, Gummy Bear,” she said quietly, smiling a little when Becca huffed in annoyance before she rolled over to face Pepper.

“Hi,” Becca croaked. “Steve call you?”

Pepper nodded. “He’s worried. What’s going on, sweetheart?” She reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind Becca’s ear, fingers lingering on the younger woman’s cheek before she dropped her hand to the bed. “You know you can tell me anything.”

Becca’s eyes were suspiciously shiny, and her lower lip trembled. “I don’t—I don’t know how to say it.”

“Are you and Thor—” Pepper suggested carefully, but Becca interrupted her before she even finished speaking.

“No!”

Becca blinked, and Pepper thought they were both a little startled by the harsh denial.

“We’re fine,” she continued shakily. “It’s just…” She shook her head again and rolled onto her back, pushing her hand into her messy hair. Pepper kept her eyes on Becca as the other woman tried to collect her thoughts, trying to discern anything that would give her more of a clue as to what could have happened to freak her out this bad.

Becca heaved a sigh and rolled her head to face Pepper again. “I’m pregnant.”

Pepper blinked. “Oh.”

She looked away for a second, abruptly recalling Thor’s casual certainty that the pregnancy he sensed wasn’t Becca’s—clearly, he’d been mistaken there. “How did Thor take it?” she asked carefully, because she wouldn’t ever disrespect Becca by asking if the baby was Thor’s at all.

Becca scoffed quietly. “I think he’s ecstatic. Not that he’s told me that—he’s…” she exhaled roughly, voice thick with tears. “He’s trying so hard not to pressure me, but I—” she broke off and shook her head. “I can’t make this kind of decision on my own.”

She turned towards Pepper again, tears running down her cheeks, and choked, “I don’t want to do this on my own.”

“Oh, Gummy Bear,” Pepper breathed, opening her arms readily to catch Becca when she pitched forward, bursting into tears again. She rubbed her hand across Becca’s back as she sobbed, and immediately understood why Steve had looked so entirely exhausted.

She felt instantly horrible for thinking it, and held Becca a little tighter.

“Maybe you should tell him that,” she suggested softly, running her fingers through Becca’s hair like she’d been doing since Becca was an insecure teenager with a desperate need for a female role model in her life. “He might be a god, but he can’t read your mind, Becs. Maybe he’s scared too.”

“He wants kids,” Becca whispered, not lifting her head from Pepper’s shoulder. “I know he wants them, he’s told me that he does—it just… I didn’t think I… that we would ever…” She sniffed. “After Iraq, I put it out of my mind. No use in wanting what I couldn’t have. And then with Thor, I—it didn’t matter anyway, because we couldn’t. And now I…” she shrugged helplessly. “Now I don’t know what I want.”

Pepper swallowed thickly.

She hadn’t known the full extent of the consequences to Becca’s capture and torture, but she’d known some were long-lasting. She wondered if Tony and Rhodey had known—she supposed Rhodey must’ve known, given he had been with Becca for most of her recovery overseas, and Tony had barely left her side once she’d been returned to the States—and then decided it didn’t matter if they’d known.

All that mattered was that Becca was clearly having trouble processing the pregnancy.

“How about,” Pepper suggested slowly, thoughtfully, “you and I take a few days away. I know this spa that’s perfectly safe for pregnant people—designed for us, really. We can get massages, relax, and you can take the time to think things through, without having the pressure of everyone being there to ask you about it all the time. You can talk to me, or your grandmother, or your therapist, but you don’t have to.”

Becca was quiet for a beat.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “And then I need to talk to Thor. It’s not just my life.”

Pepper sighed. “No, it isn’t.”

“I just,” Becca croaked. “I love him. I don’t want this to break us.”

Pepper tightened her arms around Becca but didn’t say anything. Offering her a meaningless platitude wouldn’t help—she couldn’t promise that this wouldn’t break Becca and Thor. Things like these were deal breakers in relationships for a lot of people, and Pepper couldn’t say if it would be one for Thor and Becca too.

She didn’t think Becca knew if it was one either.

“You’ll figure it out, Gummy Bear,” she said softly. “You’re not alone in this. We got you.”

——————————

BREAKING: “IRON MAN AND CAPTAIN AMERICA ARRESTED BY NYPD OFFICERS FOR DESTRUCTION OF CITY PROPERTY AND RESISTING ARREST.”

4December 2015 — Cities are, of course, as we all know, hard places. Filled with concrete, asphalt, wood and steel surfaces, urban centers manifest their edge physically as well as metaphorically. Much of what makes cities seem unfriendly is not happenstance; they are intentionally engineered to keep us moving. The trick to urban design that creates discomfort, known as “hostile architecture”, is that its tools are hidden in plain sight.

[…]more aggressive forms of such “hostile architecture” have been popping up in recent years, to greater protest of city residents. […]problems with architectures of control is that they don’t discriminate. An uncomfortable bench is as uncomfortable for a homeless person as it is for a tired passerby or for someone looking for a place to read. Moreover […] doesn’t address the underlying problem of homelessness.

They simply shift it from one area to another, or worst still, reduce its visibility.

There have been many widespread campaigns insisting on the removal of such blatant “hostile architecture”, such as spikes and uncomfortable seating areas, if there are any at all. Many celebrities have put their names behind such campaigns, but none have been so blatant about their support as Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, and Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America.

[…]both men were captured on camera as they destroyed several of such spikes and broke off an uncomfortably placed seat divide, constantly insincerely apologizing to the police officers who arrived at the scene shortly after, refusing to move until they had finished thoroughly destroying every spike and every trace of such “hostile architecture”.

[…]NYPD put out a statement saying that they indeed arrested two men in relation to the incident and charged them with property damage, but would release no names with the statement.

[…]James Rhodes was seen exiting the 1st Precinct mere hours after the arrest was made, pinching the bridge of his nose, while Rogers and Stark high-fived behind him. There has been no official commentary from the Avengers Press Team, nor Stark Industries representatives.

—John Michael Kilbane, ‘Iron Man and Captain America Arrested for Destruction of Public Property’, Topic Online Magazine, 4 December 2015

——————————

Tony Stark’s lab, Stark Industries R&D Floor, Avengers Tower, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.

December 4th, 2015 – 7:31 PM

Steve

“Uh,” Steve said, swinging his legs idly as he scrolled on his phone, frowning at the small screen in confusion. “Tony. Why is someone called Farhan Zaidi emailing me about meeting with him and a guy called Andrew Friedman at my earliest convenience?”

He was perched on one of the workbenches in Tony’s lab, where they had wisely retreated before Pepper got her hands on them—she was decidedly unhappy about the PR nightmare they’d created when they’d accidentally broken some exceptionally hostile benches and seating areas—listening to Tony’s chatter about something involving his Harley that he should probably be more concerned about.

Last time he’d given Tony free reign to tinker on his bike, he’d ended up with something that could’ve easily doubled as a rocket.

Tony looked up, hair wild and spiked in several gravity-defying directions, a smear of oil or grease on his cheek and grinned. “Because you’re the new owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Rogers. Gotta meet with your general manager and your president of baseball operations to talk shop. Financial projections, your yearly contribution to its funds, stuff like that.”

“What?”

Something a lot like panic burned hot in his chest, and he looked up at Tony abruptly. “Tony,” he choked. “I don’t know anything about running a baseball team! Or financial projections! I didn’t even finish high school, and I was terrible at math. I made Bucky do my homework.”

Tony looked up, likely disturbed by the abject panic in his voice, and his expression immediately softened into something more sympathetic. “Hey,” he said, getting to his feet as he wiped his hands on the nearest rag—which Steve suspected was an old band t-shirt. “Don’t worry about shit like that; I was kidding. We got other people to do that kind of stuff, alright? They probably want to meet their new celebrity owner, that’s all.”

Steve swallowed thickly and nodded shakily.

“Think of the children, Steven,” Tony said seriously, although he was barely hiding his smirk, and Steve snorted a laugh despite himself.

There weren’t a lot of things that set him off like this anymore, and most of them were triggers he hadn’t even known he had himself, so he was grateful to all of the other Avengers—and mostly Tony, who had surprised him by patiently showing him coping methods to get through the sudden panic—for not judging him when one came up so suddenly.

“Fine,” he chuckled. “Alright.”

Tony grinned when Steve relaxed, reaching out to poke him in the shoulder with the wrench he was still holding. “Also, I’m totally calling bullshit on you being bad at math—I’ve seen you calculate angles in a split second! You wield that physics defying shield of yours using the power of math, don’t deny it!”

Steve smiled and shook his head. “It’s not math,” he denied. “I mean—I just… I look, and then I know where to throw it and how to hit the wall to make it rebound.”

Tony snorted derisively. “It’s math, Rogers, don’t pretend.”

Steve chuckled and put his phone down, leaning back on his hands. “Sure, Tony.”

Tony just shook his head and retreated to the Harley, and the both of them fell silent for a few minutes before Tony piped up again. “So. You made your boyfriend do your homework. Tell me more, Steven. How did you convince him to do that? Were you able to make a compelling argument?” He waggled his eyebrows and Steve couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous expression he made.

“I didn’t have to convince him,” Steve chuckled. “He was a fucking nerd, he loved doing our homework. You realize we’re talking about the same guy that took me on a date to a science fair for fun.” He rolled his eyes at Tony and shook his head. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Stark.”

“No can do, mon capitaine,” Tony crowed. “It is my favorite summer home.”

“I’ll be sure to inform Pepper of that,” Steve deadpanned, reaching for the sketchbook and charcoal pencils Tony still denied he bought specifically for Steve, settling in to sketch Tony as he bent over Steve’s Harley again, trying to lose himself in the familiar scratch of the pencil on paper, relishing in the way it helped the buzzing in his head quiet down a little.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, Tony tinkering and Steve sketching, but when he looked up again, Tony had moved on to digging a screwdriver into one of his Iron Man gauntlets, frowning at the flickering blue light of the repulsor node as though it had personally betrayed him.

He had several completed sketches of Tony in various poses, and his hand stilled when he realized he’d somehow slipped into a sketch of Howard, bent over a workbench that held several rifles with Bucky by his side, an excited grin on his lips. Steve smiled when he recalled that day—he had been tied up in meetings for most of their stay on base, and Bucky had decided to bug Howard about upgrades to his rifle. Steve had found them six hours later, arguing heatedly about the best guns and the necessary upgrades to Bucky’s slightly alarming and continually growing weapons arsenal.

It’d been a good day.

“That my old man?”

Tony’s voice startled Steve from his reverie, and he looked up to find the man standing right in front of him, looking at the sketch with an entirely unreadable expression.

He nodded slowly. “Yeah,” he said. “Talking guns with Bucky. Constantly trying to make upgrades.”

Tony snorted humorlessly, tossing the rag he’d been wiping his hands on aside carelessly. “Yeah. Figuring out how to make deadly weapons more efficient. Sounds like him alright.”

Steve winced.

He knew that Tony’s relationship with his father had been strained and that Howard had not been the best of fathers to his genius son, but it was difficult, still, to reconcile the memory of the joyous, enthusiastic man he’d known—annoying and arrogant as he may have been, at times—with the cold and callous father Tony described.

“Sorry,” Tony said gruffly, and Steve looked up, surprised.

Tony rolled his eyes at him and sighed. “I’m not entirely without self-awareness, Cap. The man I knew and the man you knew were clearly different people. The war… I think the war must’ve broken him. Must’ve hardened something in him—made him obsessive, angry…” Tony shrugged helplessly. “And he hated me because I wasn’t you.”

Steve looked away and shifted uncomfortably. He’d known that Howard was fond of him and Bucky, had liked hanging around with them, talking like he was part of the Howlies, like he was one of them, even though he was never a part of the fighting, even though he only supplied the weapons and stayed far from the blood-soaked, grueling reality of war.

“I don’t think he really knew me,” Steve said quietly. “I don’t think he saw me, really.”

Tony sighed. “That makes two of us.”

They were both silent for a moment before Tony heaved another, heavier, sigh and plopped down on one of his favored wheelie chairs, rubbing his hands through his hair, making it stick up even worse than it had been already. “Was he gay?” Tony blurted abruptly, and he looked about as surprised by his own question as Steve was.

Nonetheless, once it was out there, Tony seemed determined to continue.

“Do you think?” he added, shifting restlessly on his rolling chair. “I mean, I’m sure you might not know at all, but do you think he might’ve been—do you think that’s why he was so… so obsessed with you?”

Steve blinked, entirely caught off guard by the questions—by the implication—and shook his head.

“I thought,” he hesitated, “I thought he was in love with Peggy. I was surprised to hear he married someone else, when I woke up. That he had loved someone else enough to marry her.” Steve shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know, Tony. I don’t think he was gay, though.”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t know if there was a lot of love between my parents. To be honest, I always kind of figured they got married because she was pregnant with me.”

Steve bit his lip. “I’m sorry that he turned out the way he did,” he offered.

Tony shrugged. “I’m glad you weren’t like he described you,” he finally said, refusing to meet Steve’s eye. “I kind of don’t hate your ass, Rogers.”

“Awe,” Steve crooned at Tony, because he could tell Tony was uncomfortable talking about this, and Steve was nothing if not a bit of an asshole. “I love your ass too, Tony.” He tossed the sketchbook aside and leapt off the table, reaching out towards Tony as if to hug him, relishing in the way Tony shrieked when he realized what Steve was doing, slapping at his hands ineffectively.

“No!” Tony shouted, stumbling off his chair as if it was on fire, skidding around a table to get away from Steve. “Stay there, Rogers! You’ve not unlocked this level of friendship yet.”

Steve smirked before he pouted at Tony playfully. “Awe, Tony. Lemme love on ya a bit, yeah?”

“Nope,” Tony yelled as he fled the lab with Steve on his heels, making obnoxious kissing noises.

——————————

Personal floor Of Steve Rogers, Becca Barnes and Thor, Avengers Tower, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.

December 9th, 2015 – 3:01 PM

Becca

As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, she exhaled, resting her back against its flat surface for a moment to gather her bearings. The spa Pepper had taken her to for the week had, despite her own expectations, helped to settle her increasingly frantic thoughts, and having Pepper to talk to had helped her sort through her thoughts and feelings about the… about the baby and what it meant for her future—with or without Thor.

She’d even talked it through with Steve a little.

She exhaled shakily and dropped her bag to the floor before crossing the room to collapse on her bed.

“Hey, Heimdall,” she said slowly, feeling a little stupid for essentially talking to thin air, but she figured it was the most surefire way to make sure Thor would get the message. He’d told her, once, that if she needed him when he was on Asgard, she just had to call for Heimdall and he would send for him.

She hoped that was still true.

“Could you—could you tell Thor I want to see him? Please?”

Predictably, there was no answer.

Becca heaved another sigh and kicked off her sneakers before wiggling up the bed until her head was comfortably situated on a pillow. She stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, hands folded together on her stomach, trying to prepare for what she needed to say to Thor when he got there.

She’d… not practiced, per se, more like... gone over what she needed to say with Pepper and Steve, but the prospect of actually having to have a serious discussion with Thor about their future for the first time in their entire relationship was scary. It wasn’t that they’d never had serious discussions, or that they avoided talking about the future entirely, just that…

Just that it was complicated.

It wasn’t just about what they wanted—their relationship had bigger ramifications than just for them. Thor was the crown prince of Asgard, and while Asgard wasn’t a human nation, she imagined their ideas about succession and heirs worked just about the same as they did on Earth.

If they kept the baby… They’d have to find out what that would mean for Asgard, for Thor, for the line of succession, and they’d have to find out how they wanted their relationship to progress from this point forward. She would have to decide if she could live with… with knowing that if she stayed with Thor, she’d be giving him a commitment for the rest of her life, knowing he couldn’t promise her the same kind of commitment.

She hadn’t… she hadn’t really let herself think about it.

She wanted Thor to be happy, of course, and if they did stay together, if Thor outlived her… she wouldn’t want him to have to mourn her forever, but…

It just felt unequal.

It felt unfair to both of them that, even if he’d want to, Thor wouldn’t be able to spend the rest of his life with her. She didn’t want it to feel like as much of a big deal as it did, because it wasn’t like this was new, or that she hadn’t known about this from the start, but here she was.

Her hand drifted down without any conscious thought, and she swallowed thickly when her fingers pressed against the slightly more sensitive skin on her lower belly. “I hope you know,” she said aloud, although she felt a little silly for talking to what was essentially a clump of cells at this point, “that whatever happens, your dad is going to adore you. And I… I will too, I think, for as long as I’m here. I just hope you won’t think too badly of me when I mess up.”

“I imagine if our child is anything like you, it could never think poorly of you, Krúttið mitt.”

She sat up abruptly and stared at Thor, who stood in the doorway, hair windblown and messy, dressed in the loose black trousers that he wore to sleep, and a long, red overcoat. He offered her a small, uncertain smile, but made no move to come closer without her say-so.

She swallowed thickly. “Hi,” she offered lamely.

Thor smiled indulgently—though nervously—and replied, “Hi, Becca.”

“I missed you,” Becca blurted, cheeks heating a little as the words fell from her lips—that was not what she’d been meaning to say. She wasn’t sure what she had been trying to say, but it wasn’t that.

True as it might be.

Thor, however, took it in stride and moved into the room, closing the door behind him.

He didn’t move to sit on the bed—their bed—and made to sit in the armchair instead, but Becca suddenly couldn’t stand the distance between them anymore. “No,” she told him abruptly. “No, please, if… you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but—can you please sit with me?”

Thor remained still for a moment, halfway between the bed and the armchair, eyes searching hers for… something, before he nodded. “Of course, Krúttið mitt.”

Becca watched, feeling far more nervous about being so close to Thor than she ever had before, as he approached the bed and crawled over to sit beside her. She exhaled shakily and leaned in, pressing their shoulders together—a simple touch that dispelled more of the tension between them than she’d expected it would.

“Have you—” Thor began carefully, “—have you been able to give our… our child some thought?”

She caught the way his hand twitched, and the way his eyes strayed towards her still-flat belly, and swallowed thickly. It took her a moment to decide to move, to decide that she needed to be able to look him straight in the eye while she said what she needed to say—

She sat up again and turned towards Thor, crossing her legs beneath her.

Thor mirrored her position without complaint and reached out to take her hands in his.

Becca swallowed and looked down at their hands for a moment before she said, “I need you to tell me what you want. I know you’ve been keeping your thoughts on… on us, on the baby, on what you really want to yourself because you didn’t want to pressure me with it, and I really appreciate that, but I need to know what you want now.” She swallowed against the tears that burned in her eyes and squeezed Thor’s fingers before she continued, “I can’t make this decision on my own, and I don’t want to either. Whatever we decide to do will have consequences for more than just us, and I think… I think we need to discuss them, at least.”

Thor nodded seriously. “I’ve not said anything to… to avoid putting more pressure on you.”

Becca smiled tightly and squeezed his hands again. “And I appreciate that. I needed the time to process this, and I have, but… I don’t think we can make a decision about this, about the future without talking about the consequences.”

“That is fair,” Thor nodded. “And I… I suppose you’re right. I hadn’t properly considered the consequences yet, but you are right in saying that we should.” He smiled at her and added, “I sense that you have questions—that there are things you need to know.” He squeezed his fingers around hers and swept his thumb across her knuckles. “Ask me what you want to know, elskan min.”

Becca nodded and looked down, thinking. “Would you name our baby your heir? Could you even do that if we’re not married? Do we need to get married—do you even want that? Was that what that dance meant, at the feast? And I mean… How would that even work, with our lifespans? And for that matter…Will the baby have your lifespan or mine?”

Thor blinked, and Becca felt momentarily bad for the barrage of questions she’d unleashed on him, before he chuckled and shook his head. “Never one to do things by halves, are you, Krúttið mitt?”

She smiled sheepishly, and Thor chuckled again before his forehead creased into a frown. “I would name our child my heir,” he said decisively. “There are no definitive laws that state that I cannot, or that I must be married to the mother of said child, although…” He hesitated and looked up at her, “I would not be opposed. I did not think I would ever consider marriage after Loki, but… The intention was what I signified to the people when I danced inn matki munr with you, and I would greatly enjoy making the suggestion a reality—ifyou wanted that too.”

Becca stared at him.

“Oh,” she choked.

She… she wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to say, but it hadn’t been that. She’d been very careful not to think of their relationship as anything more than temporary because she knew how he felt about marriage after losing Loki, and because it seemed like such an impossibility for an Aesir god to want to marry a simple human.

She huffed.

This was like finding out about the baby all over again.

Maybe she should revisit her coping mechanism of not thinking about things she couldn’t have anyway—it’d blown up in her face twice now.

“Are you sure? she asked quietly. “You could marry an Aesir—someone like Sif. She’s beautiful, and I’m sure she loves you, even if you don’t think so. And I don’t think your father would try so hard to separate you as he does with us. He probably wouldn’t have you sleep in different wings of the palace, and he’d definitely acknowledge her as more than your ‘guest’.”

She snorted and shook her head.

“He’d probably rejoice. He was going to betroth you to her before Loki came along. It’d be so much easier...” she trailed off and looked away from him, her stomach tying itself in uncomfortable knots at the thought of Thor being with Sif instead.

She nearly jumped when Thor’s fingers suddenly touched her cheek lightly, tilting her chin up so she’d look at him. “Perhaps it would be easier,” Thor said frankly, softly. “But it would not be real, Rebecca. Not real like what you and I have managed to build together. I’ve told you before, Krúttið mitt, and I’ll say it again as often as you like: I’m yours. However long you want me for, I’m yours.”

She swallowed thickly, blinking back tears as she looked at him. “What if that’s for the rest of my life?” she whispered, pulling his hand—the hand that was still curled around hers—to her belly, resting it just above where their baby was growing.

Thor rubbed his thumb over her cheek tenderly and smiled. “Then we will work hard to ensure we have the happiest life imaginable. Together.”

A tear ran down her cheek, and she smiled weakly. “…and if I want you for the rest of your life?”

Thor’s smile never wavered, even as he leaned in and pressed a feather light kiss to her lips. “Then I will find a way to give you that,” he whispered against her lips, resting their foreheads together.

Becca sobbed again, dryly and tiredly, and slung her arms around Thor, hugging him close and allowing him to manhandle her until they were stretched out on the bed together, pressed together from head to toe.

“Thor?” she said quietly, leaning back a little so she could look at him without going cross-eyed. Thor moved back a little too, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear, and Becca loved him. “I think I want to keep the baby,” she told him quietly.

Thor smiled, leaning in to kiss her briefly. “Me too,” he said when he leaned back. “Me too.”

——————————

Residence of Samuel Wilson, Washington D.C., U.S.A.

December 12th, 2015 – 9:34 AM

Steve

“So are we ever going to talk about it?”

Steve looked up from where he was drowning his pancakes in syrup and blinked at Sam, who was seated across from him at the kitchen island, both of them still dressed in their running gear. They’d gone running early that morning, despite Steve’s late arrival back in D.C. for the weekend the previous night, and Steve had thoroughly enjoyed running literal laps around Sam to annoy the other man.

He’d missed their easy comradery and Sam’s good-natured teasing, and it felt good to be away from New York for a bit. He loved it still—it was his city, after all, the city he’d died to save—and he enjoyed living in the Tower well enough, because he liked being so close to all of the others, but it got suffocating sometimes too.

Sam’s offer for him to stay the weekend had come at the perfect time—now that Becca and Thor had decided on their future, it was like they’d reverted back to the early stages of their relationship, where they were utterly unable to keep their hands off of each other.

Steve was a little tired of walking in on them everywhere.

Things had been a lot less tense at Sam’s place.

Up until now, of course.

“Talk about what?” he asked, innocently blinking at Sam, because he did have some idea of what it was that Sam meant, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to address it already. Their… their thing was mostly unspoken and Steve had let it be that way because he really did like Sam a lot, and he found him very attractive, but… but he still couldn’t really imagine actually actively being with him.

With anyone.

Sam gave him a flat look, and Steve relented, putting down the syrup and leaning his forearms on the kitchen island. “Sam,” he sighed, looking up at the other man from beneath his lashes. “Do we have to do this now?”

“We have to at some point,” Sam said reasonably. “I’d rather not keep avoiding it until we start resenting each other.” He shrugged. “We gotta talk about what we want this,” he gestured between them, “to be.”

Steve sighed. It wasn’t like they were constantly teetering on the edge of being friends and being more, but there had been plenty of moments where they’d passed firmly into the gray area between friendship and… more. Steve knew they needed to acknowledge those moments, that they couldn’t ignore them indefinitely, but… God, it was just easier to let things happen.

It’d worked well enough for Thor and Becca—who said it couldn’t for him and Sam?

He caught Sam’s eye and sighed again.

“Yeah,” he admitted, “yeah, okay. Look, it’s…” He rubbed his hands across his face and groaned. “I’ve spent the last few days watching my best friend agonize about whether her future would include the man she loved, or if they were just doomed for failure, if it’d be easier on them both if they gave up now—and she picked him. They chose each other, and God, I want that.” He looked up at Sam with watery eyes and smiled weakly. “I want that, Sam. I miss that. And I want more than anything to love someone like that again, but I don’t…” he shook his head. “I don’t think I can, and I don’t think I will any time soon either.”

He was a little surprised by his own expressiveness, but he had been thinking about it for a while, despite his reluctance to actually talk about it out loud.

Sam reached out and patted his hand comfortingly. “Look,” he said slowly, “I never expected you to be able to shrug off the loss of a fifteen-year relationship as intense as yours just like that, man.” He shrugged. “Lord knows it took me forever, and Riley and I had only been together a few years. Maybe our timing’s just… off.”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded. “Maybe.”

They were both silent for a bit before Steve continued, “So… I know we said just friends before, but… I really can’t handle more than a friend right now, so can we—can we just go to being friends for real this time? Is—is that okay?”

“Yeah, Steve,” Sam smiled, looking a little relieved, and a little sad. “That’s okay.” He grinned cheekily and added, “That does mean you should probably sleep on the couch tonight though.” Steve snorted a laugh and tossed a strawberry at Sam, who just ducked it and threw one of his own back.

They didn’t usually share the bed, but they’d both been exhausted by the time Steve made it to D.C., and Sam hadn’t made up the couch for him yet.

Steve hadn’t minded the intimacy of it.

He’d been sharing beds with people for as long as he could remember; with his ma and Bucky, and later with the Howlies too, on colder nights during the war—it wasn’t something exclusive to his relationship with Bucky, and it didn’t trigger him so much as other things did.

Steve knew that Sam wouldn’t mind sharing the bed even now, whether they were friends or more, but he could see how it would be awkward tonight. As relaxed and easy and uncomplicated as it had been yesterday, he imagined that being semi-rejected by one’s semi-love interest was something Sam probably needed to wrap his head around.

He could probably do with the privacy.

Still.

Steve was a little shit at heart, and so he couldn’t just roll over and take it. “I’ll wrestle ya for the bed,” he told Sam cheekily, dodging another strawberry neatly.

Sam pointed his fork at Steve menacingly. “I will beat your skinny white ass.”

Steve gaped at him. “I’m a supersoldier,” he exclaimed. “I can literally punch through a wall. I punched a tank once.” He winced at the memory—not because he had actually managed to hurt himself, but because Bucky had been furious with him and had spent over an hour yelling at him after shooting every Nazi in his way in the face.

Sam chuckled. “Irrelevant. I know your weak spot.”

Steve narrowed his eyes at him, because he was fairly certain no one alive knew about the ticklish spot just above the back of his left knee, but it seemed like an awful big risk to take nonetheless.

“You win this round,” he told Sam reluctantly, and pointed his fork at the other man in a way that might’ve been menacing if there hadn’t been a piece of syrup-soaked pancake speared on its tines. “But watch your back, Wilson.”

Sam just chuckled.

—————————

Undisclosed Hydra Base, New York City, New York, United States of America

December 12

, 2015 – 3:32 PM Alexander Pierce

He watched detachedly as the technicians went through the procedure of thawing the Soldier, catching the man as he fell out of the tube and dragging the limp man across the room and securing him into the chair. Thick metal bands were secured around his wrists and ankles, and Pierce raised an eyebrow when the men went a step further and secured a similar kind of metal harness around the Soldier’s torso.

“A necessary precaution,” one of the doctors told him when he saw his expression. “It’s usually disoriented and violent when brought out of cryo—more so, according to records, when it’s due for new calibration.”

“Very well,” Pierce nodded. “How long will it take to get it operational again?”

The doctor shrugged. “Anywhere between ten and fourteen sessions.” He gestured to the notes he held and added, “According to Zola’s notes from the last time the Asset had to be recalibrated entirely, it took them seventeen months to rebreak him and then recondition him.”

Pierce ground his teeth. “Very well,” he hissed. “Get on with it then.” He turned on his heel, stalking out of the room, the door falling shut behind him just as the doctor began, “Желани—"

To Be Continued in “Dancing in the Rain”.

—————————

Start from the beginning:

In Hell We Stand By You:

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

Never Feel Alone:

(1) (2)

Decisions: (1)

Dancing with a Limp:

(1) (2)

Chances:

(1)

Starting Over:

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

Or read it HERE on AO3 :D Find the sequel HERE on Tumblr :)

#IHWSBY sequel #starting over #Stucky #Stucky fanfiction #Steve rogers #thor #Rebecca barnes #avengers family #my writing #Lisa writes

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apptowonder · 5 years

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Dear Orthodox Progressives

I love you. I really do. And for the most part I love your work. Many of you have given me hope as a queer Orthodox Christian that not only is there a place for me in our tradition, but that our tradition is in fact very much about the sacrament of the human person, and the love that emerges when all of us, gay, bi, trans, and queer, live into Christ’s resurrection life. Your thoughtful, kind and luminous words rehabilitated church for me when I left the arid, rigid evangelicalism of my youth. You help me to stand strong in the face of the demagogues, the Orthodox fundamentalists, Byzantine imperialists, and all the people who seek to distort our beautiful faith in service of their own arrogance and fear of the other.

So I hope you know I appreciate you. And we need to talk about who you are, who we are, and where we’re going. We need to talk especially about the notion of respectability.

We are part of a conciliar tradition. What that means in the modern world is increasingly difficult to define, but I do feel that one of the strengths of our tradition is that we place a high value on consensus, contemplation, and harmonious accord before moving forward. This ethos has made us much more resistant* to splits and schisms, and has generally preserved a certain degree of humility among our leaders. That said, one of the things I feel we forget is that part of waiting for the Holy Spirit to “confirm” our councils and decisions as godly is that we need to step out in faith and give the Spirit something to work with. The Spirit did not tell the Apostles to stay in Jerusalem after they received the baptism by fire, but they heard the word of God to go to the ends of the Earth. We are still a part of that motion of bringing the good news to all people, and if we remain static then we are not doing our part to offer up the world for the life of the world to God.

Why am I talking about this? I’m saying it because I’m concerned that there is a tendency among Orthodox progressives to stagnate and balk at the work of faithful Christians (Orthodox and otherwise) who use more radical approaches to try and speak prophetic truth about God that we deeply need to hear. Nik Jovcic-Sas of Orthodox Provocateur carried an icon of the Theotokos with a rainbow halo gradient in a Pride parade in Belgrade, Serbia. This unsurprisingly sparked a conservative and fundamentalist backlash. More surprisingly to me, it sparked a progressive backlash. Many of you said that he was “profaning” the sacred icon by blending it with the rainbow. Some have even attacked Nik’s character and theology as being antithetical to Orthodoxy. I am troubled by our willingness to turn upon our own people. Would I have done a protest in the way Nik did? I don’t know. I’m not in touch with the Slavic Orthodox communities in the Old World. As a convert primarily running in American Greek circles, my witness to justice and inclusion will necessarily be shaped by the situation of my community. But given the long history of violence against LGBTQ+ people in Serbia and elsewhere, much of it sanctioned or even led by the Church, forgive me if I feel it’s a bit gauche to condemn someone who is clearly trying to witness to the love of Christ in a way that is very visible and frightening to the oppressive powers that be.

We may not agree with someone’s approach, but think of it this way. Radical activists are on the front lines of the fight we’re all engaged in, to make our church more clearly reflect the transformative love of the gospel. We don’t all have to be fighting on the front lines. There is much to be said for creating hospices for the wounded, for holding space within a more traditional understanding. But the forces that seek to oppress us don’t care whether we’re using their language or not. They will come for the Orthodox moderate who writes thinkpieces on re-evaluating the role of women in ministry and measured historical pieces on adelphopoiesis just as vehemently as they will attack the “Orthodox drag queen”. Look at what happened to Fr Robert Arida. Consider the backlash that Met. Kallistos Ware, a bishop, has received for what are really very mild critiques of the church’s pastoral approach to LGBTQ people.** Radicals create a space of freedom, liberation and hope we can all operate in. There are many gifts, but the same Spirit. Not all of us need to be doing what Nik is doing. But all of us need to come together and support especially those who are pushing and expanding the boundaries of what Orthodoxy can be. Those people make it safe for the rest of us to do our more introspective, thoughtful wrestling with the Truth. But if we force the radicals to conform to our ideas of what isn’t “rocking the boat”, we leave ourselves open to censure once those radicals are pushed out of the public eye. When it no longer is socially acceptable to make Pride icons or talk about the possibility of sanctity in, say, non-monogamous or non-marital relationships (for example)***, when no one will speak up for the radical, then the conservative bishops and hierarchs will begin to come down hard upon the moderate-progressive, and soon instead of the vibrant, multifaceted truth of Christ we will only have the cold voice of traditionalism, fundamentalism and idolatry.

I know my words may land harshly on some of us. I hope it’s clear that they are offered in a spirit of love, and exhortation to greater good works. We have all of us a part to play, but we need each other. I pray that we might all abide in God together, and never forget that we cannot truly make our church better unless we are willing to fight for the dignity and inclusion of all people, especially those whose ideas of church are more radical than our own.

Sincerely,

A Layman of the Eastern Church

*Though not immune, there are Orthodox splinter sects, whether we wish to acknowledge their existence or not

**This is not a call-out or a criticism of Met Kallistos’ remarks to the Wheel Journal. I really respect his willingness to speak out. I bring this up to call attention to the fact that he has suffered a disproportionate degree of backlash, and has likely avoided censorship primarily because of his high ecclesial rank. If even bishops aren’t safe, then what hope do priests or laity have if the space for prophetic critique is taken away?

***For the record, my own views on these matters are complicated. The point here is not to state an opinion one way or the other, but rather to say that these kinds of conversations can’t be silenced if we’re going to have a chance at surviving the onslaught of suppression, queerphobia, xenophobia and dead traditionalism. We may not agree with the answers that some of our siblings in Christ arrive at, but so long as they are pushing to make the Eucharistic assembly wider and more inclusive, it is imperative that we listen and come together.

#open letter #hot takes #theology #queerness #Orthodoxy #Eastern Orthodox

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anonbeadraws · 6 years

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finally have a name for this idea! Gonna tag everything under shales magic uni story as inherents. this was partly a colouring test but partly i needed a visual line up of the character cause dang dana is tall. -Shale the goblin sidekick Born in the Great Underground, as an Orefinger, being her family name and their way of life, using their elongated index finger to locate ore within the rock. All goblins are born as perfect blanks slates, they change according to environments, their cells are malleable. Each clan raises their children differently, in order to develop the traits that define their clans. Shale was lost in the developmental stage and when she was found, she’d already passed her malleable stage and her chance to adapt. She’d developed highly sensitive ears, strong eyes and nimble climbing hands/feet while she was lost, which are good but doesn’t help you in the way of goblin society. She worked extra hard, tried her hand at everything to make up for her lack of natural talent, concentrating on inventing things to make her families life easier. she helped her coven become quite prominent within the goblin community after discovering easier/more efficient ways to mine cantite (singing ore) and finding new methods to use the remains and the whole Great Underground benefits. They’re able to charge a bit more and unbeknownst to shale, her family is saving up money and colluding with ohmi, a witch, a friend of the family and general busybody, to help shale get into a good school aboveground. Not many goblins get into above ground learning, and she’s determined to represent her people well. and to not take shit from the inherent’s who might try and put her down. Shale has a bit of an attitude, she’s always seen herself as an underdog, but it very intelligent. Not so great socially but very affectionate once she trusts someone. - Dana, the half elf/half goblin(?) hero Dana very quickly, despite the ‘setbacks of her birth’, becomes top of her class in the Hero unit, she’s quick, she’s agile, she’s strong and intelligent. she can wield 4 weapons at once without trouble and strategise with ease. She also has the respect of her fellow classmates, though its hard not to hear the odd remark, sometimes from the students, sometimes from the teachers. Almost passive aggressive, half compliments. She knows that no matter how hard she works, it will only be good for a half breed. Highly competitive and enigmatic, she’s charismatic and is very caring beneath the career veneer. is very happy to help younger students and mentor. She has to make a lot of her own clothes due to her size and loves to sew and embroider. Loves sweets. -Jahida, the human sidekick From a great line of magicians, Jahida’s had admission to this school since birth, just because of her family name. she’s not mean with it though, she has a certain naivety that comes from being from a prestigious family. She’s sweet and caring, a middle sibling and obsessed with pyromancy. She loves explosions and gunpowder. she has a fairly good handle on her powers but is very interested in finding new ways to amplify and extend the reaction. She and shale bond through their love of explosives and machinery. Jahida has an odd sense of humour, dry and not often appreciated by those around her. She’s is fairly good at socialising though and her family name has weight in most circles. She and shale have gotten a few free meals through it. Jahida is also very generous with her allowance. - Lukah, the half elf/half human One of many of the descendants of the great human sorceress Imahn but the only one to take in hand the situation of the dementia (caused by a spell gone wrong cast by a jealous colleague) that’s reducing a once powerful woman to an old lady who often cannot recall her grandsons name. Most of her family are embarrassed by her. Lukah is the youngest of his branch. His mother is probably the wild one of the family, taking after her mother, a far looser way of raising children than is traditionally elven. His father being human, Lukah is far more liberal in his upbringing, having less prejudice against non-inherents. He takes after his grandmother in looks but his father in personality. Quite strict and tight-laced, an anxious young man but very kind, very smart. Never having a strong predilection to magic, he was happy to start a pharmacy within his grandmothers shop, using his knowledge of plants and their uses and his grandmother obvious talent for growing them (her talent before the spell). He collects and grows orchids and refuses to let his grandmother help with their growth. his boyfriend is a student at the university, though not for magic, he’s studying to be a lawyer. anyway all content and characters are mine, and im gonna work on this more when i have time! It’s such a fun universe to mess with.

✨(commission info)(kofi)✨

#anonbeadraws #inherents #shale #goblin #elves #dana #jahida #lukah #character concepts #character development #characters #line up #fantasy uni #long post

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jodicoryiowa-blog · 5 years

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Types of Subjective Well-being in Positive Psychology

Defining well-being:

Subjective well being is defined as an individual's experience of affective reactions and cognitive judgments (Baltzell, 2013). Sometimes the term, happiness, is used interchangeably with subjective well-being (swb), but they mean different things. If you have a high swb, then you would have good emotions, a low level of negative mood, and high life satisfaction (Csilszentmihalyi, 2014).

There are two parts to swb: affective and cognitive. The cognitive is how the person interprets his or her life situation. If a person has a high swb, they will experience joy more often than negative feelings. There will be times when they feel bad, but for the most part, they feel good. This is due to having more positive effect. These people will also be more satisfied with life.

In order to understand happiness, we need to understand it. Hedonic happiness is concerned with pleasure. Hedonic pleasure uses a number of chemical changes and physical manipulation to make someone feel happy. Hedonic pleasure is connected to instincts, genetics, and evolution (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). This was helpful to a person surviving and passing their genes on to the next generation. Therefore, human beings developed a reward system that made “happy” a reward for doing this action more often (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). An example would be when someone loves to order items via the internet. This person may read reviews on social media and feel she had to have a certain item. She is at her best as she waits in anticipation for the item to arrive. She is full of hope and expectations of this item, but when the item arrives, the feeling starts to diminish. She then starts looking for something else that will give her pleasure.

Another example is sex. The orgasm is the genetically developed reward that human beings receive for engaging in the act of procreation. This was necessary at one time as a reward for all a human's hard work (White, 2013).

Social media and the internet:

Social media can increase happiness and nurture your social circle. But, depending on who you are, social media can potentially make you unhappy and more isolated. Fulvio Castellacc, the director at the Center for Technology in Oslo, wrote an article concern concerning how the internet affects well-being. The most influential impact of the internet on social media as likely through communication patterns. Communication mainly is done through cell phones, social media, instant messaging, etc. The researchers found that communication can be used to develop already existing relationships and to avoid feelings of loneliness (Castellacc & Tveito, 2018).

Other researchers believe the relationship between stress and social media is indirect. Social media increases a person's awareness of distressing events occurring in the world. The evening news presents 30 minutes of information but the internet provides so much more. The distressing events are talked about in great detail, explaining step-by-step what led to the various atrocities. This can make some people not want to leave the safety of their home (Amichai-Hamburger & Barak, 2018).

A case where social media can be dangerous is when people, especially adolescents, are victims of bullying, stalking, and the sharing of nude photographs. It's not the media at fault but they do act as an enabler. What an adolescent or adults, for that matter, are attacked online, they often develop low self-esteem depression and in some cases commit suicide.

The internet has developed new services that are used for social interaction that was not possible before, such as online dating. New technology can use location data to find others in the area. If used effectively, it could be positive for the development of social lives. But the internet can also be negative such as narcissism, super official relationships, and increased stress. The content of the communication between people in social media plays a major role in determining the effect on well-being. In other words, there are benefits and pitfalls to the internet. It really depends on each person's individual personal characteristics, in particular, age, culture, and beliefs (Castellacci & Tveito, 2018).

The PERMA model:

The perma model was developed by Seligmann to explain how people can work towards a life of forefillment, happiness, and meaning. It is based on five core elements : positive emotion, engagement, relationships, achievement, and meaning. I will briefly describe these concepts then describe how to apply them to your life (Seligman, 1998).

Positive emotion: feeling good, optimism, pleasure, and enjoyment

engagement: fulfilling work, hobbies that you enjoy

relationships: social connections, love, intimacy

meaning: having a purpose

accomplishments: realistic goals, achievements, pride

Applying perma to your life:

Try to be optimistic as often as possible

find things to do that make you happy

focus on your family and friends and find ways to connect

look for meaning and purpose in things you do

enjoy your accomplishments and strive for future achievement

Well- Being and Eudaemonic Happiness:

Eudaemonic happiness is conductive to the reflective feelings regarding events and experiences. It is a more complete feeling of happiness, which is centered and absorbed in the frontal lobe. This means that the happy feelings are experienced by the conscious part of the brain (Judge, 2011). An example is my trip to Huntington Beach California, where I have never felt so relaxed and at home. Years later, when I see a picture of Huntington Beach, once again I feel happy. Further, when I speak of my vacation, I feel pleasure just in talking about it. Therefore, the happiness experience in one situation will expand past the single experience and contribute to a general feeling of well-being (Csikszentmihalya. 2014).

Traditional Psychology:

1. The first wave was the early years of psychology. At this time, psychology was focused on the cure and the treatment of the psychic illnesses. This is referred to as the disease model and was practiced by Sigmund Freud, Adler, and Jung (White, 2013).

Traditionally, psychologist attempted to identify the problem, and then treat the problem. There is discussion concerning unconscious processes, the past, and trauma. In this way, they're looking at what went wrong and how to go about repairing it.

2. The second wave came about in behaviorism. Leading this field was Skinner, Watson, and Pavlov. Skinner believed that behavior was the result of consequences from previous actions. During this period, operant conditioning was introduced, which was based on a reward system, where behavior is manipulated. Additionally, skinner did not believe in free will, which goes against all of history (Judge, 2011).

3. The third wave psychology is the humanistic approach. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow stress that humans are unintentional. They believe that humans have goals and look to the future, that people seek meaning and value.

Maslow states that psychology has spent too much time focusing on the negative, the illnesses, the sins, and shortcomings. Instead, we need to focus on potentials, virtues, and aspirations. It is easy to see the significant foundation the humanist left for the positivist. But the humanistic approach was more qualitative wheras positive psychology is developing a more scientific approach to understanding human beings (Amichai-Hamburger & Barak).

The previous waves of psychology focused on what was wrong with people, how to overcome the flaws, avoiding pain, escape from unhappiness. Positive psychology is concerned with well-being common excitement, happiness, and the meaning of life (Baltzell, 2013).

Martin Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, shocked people when he argued for finding things that led to a happy life. Further, he believes we should not focus on where we went wrong because this is counterproductive. He explains that positive psychology does not seek to distract from predict traditional psychology but rather to expand on it (Seligman, 2000).

Conclusion:

Applied Positive Psychology is a science to develope tools and practices that will enhance human flourishing and well-being. Positive Psychology can be applied across a person’s lifespan, such as, health care, education, employment, and within the community. The goal is to enhance your well-being (Seligman, 1998). This has many possibilities for counseling, such as:

Teaching people how to focus on the brighter side of life.

Have people commit to improving their situation through various goals. This will give them a sense of a greater purpose.

Teach them how to deal with adversity

Teach them how to be productive

Focus on their strengths

Teach better communication skills

In the past, the focus was on talking about your troubles. When you focus on all the negative, it’s hard to find the sunshine. Wouldn’t it be nice for the future therapy that is all about your strengths? Life is GOOD!

References

Amichai-Hamburger, Y., & Barak, A. (n.d.). Internet and well-being. Technology and Psychological Well-being, 34-76. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511635373.003

Baltzell, A. L. (2013). Sport coach happiness and well-being: A consideration of Seligman's Full Life and PERMA model of well-being. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e574802013-353

Castellacci, F., & Tveito, V. (2018, 02). Internet use and well-being: A survey and a theoretical framework. Research Policy, 47(1), 308-325. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2017.11.007

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Flow with Soul. Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology, 265-278. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_17

Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2011, 02). Happiness as a Societal Value. Academy of Management Perspectives, 25(1), 30-41. doi:10.5465/amp.2011.59198447

Seligman, M. E. (1998). Building human strength: Psychology's forgotten mission. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e529932010-003

Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive Psychology: An Introduction. Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology, 279-298. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_18

White, M. D. (2013, 12). Can We—and Should We—Measure Well-Being? Review of Social Economy, 71(4), 526-533. doi:10.1080/00346764.2013.840432

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destroyyourbinder · 6 years

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the girls not like other girls / coming home

One thing a lot of detransitioned and reconciling women have noted is that the only female-centric space they were permitted to have or felt comfortable in was a trans-specific one (i.e. a support group for transmasculine people) and I think this is extremely important to note, whether you are a female person who is trans-identified or an outsider to this whole experience.

As a child, I felt extremely alienated from straight-girl spaces and girl-socializing, even though I had no understanding of myself as a gay kid or as being attracted to women (even though I can see that I was attracted to other girls in retrospect) or even as particularly gender non-conforming. I figured I was "not like other girls", but I had only a crude understanding of this. I was not allowed to express my non-conformity through my appearance-- my mother forced me to wear my hair long and to wear typical girl's clothes, and I was only allowed a certain amount of token resistance before relatively severe abuse kicked in-- so I had little to appeal to in my young brain to explain why I was ostracized from girl groups or why I felt an affinity for boys or fellow strange girls.

I can see now as an adult that there was quite a lot at play: I was awkward and weird in general and had trouble making friends with kids for many reasons, especially with socially astute children who were beginning to learn about and focus on social hierarchy. I found socializing overstimulating and scary in general, and did not want to socialize in a way that involved testing social boundaries and exchanging social information, although I did enjoy the company of my friends. I preferred socializing alongside other children while we had a shared goal, like playing a game of some sort or building a structure. Because a lot of toys and activities intended to inculcate femininity in girl-children are intended to facilitate the former kind of socializing-- such as a jewelry game where girls display how well they can dress themselves according to status-rules and monitor each other's standing, or a kitchen playset where girls are intended to mimic not just making meals but making meals for family members-- I had very little interest in activities designated for girls. I also had a complicated relationship to boy children, where I often thought they were full of shit, boring, and little assholes, but since they were the only ones engaged in things I wanted to do (like jump off the swings) I had to interact with them. I sought out their company and input because even at a very young age I knew male attention and opinions were considered more legitimate, and I figured I could maybe be taken seriously if I spent time with the people who were, well, taken seriously. Maybe they would even approve of me, maybe I could even be better than them. Boy children have intense social structures as well, and they are complicated in their own right; I think some women who prefer or once preferred the company of boys/men like to say their socializing is "simpler" or "easier" or "without drama", but I don't actually think this is true. I think it's easy to forget when socializing with boys or men as a female person that you are not considered the same sort of being as them, and so the fact that it may be easier to interact with boys or men is not a property of men or male socializing in general, but the fact that you are only interacting with a truncated form of their socializing, since you are "only" a girl or woman interfacing with the male world. What I found to be true is that it was sometimes simpler as a female child to interact with boys given that you have no real social position with them-- you have avoided the hierarchy simply by not having the standing to enter one. Boys do not really know how to treat you if you are not readily submitting to a girl role and not easily sexualizable; you sort of fall between the cracks, which can be preferable to being the shittiest girl in a group of girls. I found I was not really at the "bottom" (boys never took me seriously enough to even consider me a true failure) but I could never enter their social structure no matter how hard I tried to play by their rules. I tried to make it clear I had standing with boys through competing with them and trying to outperform them at their own games. Prior to puberty, I tried to compete with boys physically, whether it was by playing bloody knuckles, doing backflips off of the playground equipment, holding races, or doing one-armed pullups. When this no longer worked, I switched primarily to competing with boys and men in intellectual domains, and invested a lot of my self-worth in how good I was compared to boys and men in traditionally male intellectual pursuits like math or logical reasoning, or by competing with the men interested in less masculine areas (but who were still considered the most serious and worthy contenders) like fine arts or writing. I maintained this mentality until I was in my early twenties. I can't say it was a good look.

While I did have some female friends as a child and adolescent, I found it very hard to maintain these friendships, even with other weird girls. There is something inherently anti-supportive and destructive about a friendship with another girl based on how much not-like-the-other-girls you are. I found myself insecure and paranoid that my weird girl friends thought I was too "normal" or too "preppy" or too "girly" for them, that the criticisms and frustrations and vitriol they leveled at girls who ostracized them or who tried to coerce them into femininity work they didn't want to do or who simply made them feel bad were also things that applied to me. I found myself frustrated, too, at my friends for "betraying me" by buying into things or behaving in ways that escalated my insecurity that I was somehow actually, truly inferior for being a girl, and one who couldn't even girl right at that. We were all caught in a bind where we believed both that girls were stupid, but also that we were freaks for personally resisting what we thought was stupid about girls. I can now recognize this as the classic psychology of oppressed people, born of continual abuse by hierarchical superiors and horizontal hostility between people frantically attempting to avoid this abuse and make sense of their situation in a way that allows them to survive it without summoning punishment for resistance. Grooming girls, particularly those prone to be resistant to patriarchy, into this psychology is convenient: it prevents them from recognizing what is really going on and from having solidarity with and compassion for each other. Instead of fighting who was hurting us, we were occupied with fighting each other over who was too obsessed with boys and who was trying too hard to be cool. The trick about this thinking was this: it wasn't that Christina *wasn't* too obsessed with boys. She was, and it was hurting her directly, as well as damaging her long-term development into a woman with a strong sense of dignity and personal agency, and it meant she was willing to damage her friendships for the sake of a dipshit who would dump her in two weeks. We just took the situation as a personal affront to our insecurities about it being proved Cosmically True that girls were stupid sluts, rather than digging deep and giving a shit about Christina and putting the blame where it belonged: the teenage boy four years older than her. Ironically, the straight girly-types were in some ways more successful in resisting patriarchal pressures than we were: at least they had each others’ backs when they complained about boys with each other, at least they were able to share strategies for mitigating the worst of the misogyny they faced. We were left in the cold.

Bizarrely, when I started interacting with other female people who were basically the same Weird Girls, but who didn't call themselves such, those who framed their issues as a gender identity or gender dysphoria problem rather than in the misogynistic way I had framed it in my childhood, I got along much better with them and felt much more understood. It was partially this feeling, that of finally understanding other female people, not being severely ostracized, and having the relief of not being so paranoid of other female people that I was alienating them pre-emptively, that convinced me that my experiences were transgender experiences rather than "just" “regular girl” experiences. Because misogyny had been removed from the table almost entirely-- both in the sense that we were all female people together and that we were not framing all of our experiences, including with other female people, through a lens of potential sexist violations of our humanity-- I felt like I could relax for once in my life. I was no longer obsessive about policing myself and the female people around me. With no male people around, and no longer worried about whether my feelings and reactions had anything to do with my inherent inferiority or not, I was no longer afraid of what my interactions with others indicated about who I really was. Of course, if you stay in transgender community long enough, a lot of these anxieties will resurface in your thoughts and in social hierarchy. Who hasn't seen a literal dick-measuring contest on an FTM message board or trans men accusing other trans men of being "trenders"? But by then, you are no longer permitted to name what's going on, nor have an inkling of where it comes from. Because being transgender has nothing to do with sexism, it's just a medical condition. Or an identity. And men aren’t catty, they don't do that sort of social thing anyway... right?

Sometimes this is what I think people mean when they say discovering they are transgender is like "coming home". It's like taking your shoes off or sliding into bed. It's relief, a relaxation of something painful, annoying, constricting. But turns out I never knew a comfortable home, so I was easily able to feel at home in a home where I was afraid, confused, and never quite clear what was going on. Was I a trender or was the guy shouting about trenders a trender? Did I really belong with these other female people or was I a faker, a poser, a loser here, too? Did I have to believe that misandry was real and defend cis men's behavior to protect myself, or did I have to flagellate myself for having the "privilege" of failing to be feminine enough?

Sound familiar yet?

When detransitioned and reconciling women discuss how having relationships with other women is healing, this is a large part of what they mean. They mean both the good relationships-- healing, genuinely supportive female friendships-- and finally getting a radically honest perspective on bad relationships, too. I had to pop out of understanding myself as "not a girl" or "not a woman" to even acknowledge that I was having classic girl-girl, woman-woman, female-female dynamics in my relationships, nonetheless see how this dynamic played a role in my disidentification and general life course. I could not see that I held responsibility for how I behaved in these relationships, nor have compassion for both other women and myself, until I was able to first see that I was not a separate type of being from the girls for whom I once held contempt. I don't think disidentified and/or trans-identified female people are much different from female people who recognize themselves as women for this reason: female people who call themselves such still separate themselves into "bad women" and "good women", women who get into trouble and women who don't, women who sacrifice their own selfhood and the women who hold onto something. There are whores and madonnas, but also there's prudes and girls who actually put out; wives who take care of their husbands and wives who need to shape up and the wives who need a life; the boy crazy girls or the sad old cougars, the women who settled down, and independent women who have some self-respect; there's women who know how to do their face and hair, and women who don't take care of themselves, but there's the women who try too hard and they look like clowns, you know.

I catch myself doing this, even still, but I know we're all doing it, and I know why. I know I'm not not-a-woman for being insecure about how much femininity I've internalized-- that's universal-- I'm just one of the women who erred on the side of judging myself for giving up my self rather than judging myself most harshly for whether or not I stayed out of trouble.

#writings

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culturalsociologyblog-blog · 6 years

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“Do you really need that much space?”: The sexual politics of manspreading

By Fernanda Rodriguez R.

At the end of September 2018, a video by Russian activist Anna Doygalyuk went viral (Toronto Sun, 2018). In the said video, it is possible to observe Doygalyuk throwing a liquid in the pelvic area of various men on public transport in order to interrupt their manspreading: the male practice or tendency to sit in public spaces with their legs wide open, occupying at least two single seats (Jane, 2017). During the “demonstration”, Doygalyuk accuses the men in her country of gender aggression and her obligation to do something about it (Torornto Sun, 2018). However, one of Doygalyuk’s victims in the video, Stanislav Kudrin, confessed right after the video went viral that the stunt was staged (Torornto Sun, 2018). Despite this, manspreading remains a popular and controversial subject among both men and women. Indeed, the practice was even outlawed from public transportation in Madrid during the summer of 2017, citing the campaign “#MadridSinManspreading”[1] as the reason for the ban (Ahluwalia, 2017). Consequently, theories on gender and symbolic interactionism may provide an interesting outlook concerning this practice, due to the relevance of commonplace interactions and the sexual politics involving the microaggression[2] that is manspreading.

Video: Manspreaders on the Subway

According to Mead (1962), the self is wholeheartedly linked to the social experience. Individuals are able to acknowledge that within any given society there are certain values and norms, which need to be integrated into the self. This process of socialization persists as long as people engage in social interactions (Mead, 1962). Therefore, Mead’s theory presents itself as a gateway for social interactionism, which serves as a micro-theoretical schema that analyzes the actions and perceptions of individuals in relation to one another as the process that shapes social reality (Blumer, 1969). Likewise, Goffman (1959) argues that to better understand the mundane interactions of people, it is best to think of them as actors conducting a performance. Namely, individuals actively devise particular impressions in the presence of others. A decisive element of these impressions are sign vehicles, such as clothes, ethnicity or gender (Goffman, 1959). In fact, gender represents a crucial feature in an individual’s performance.

According to West and Zimmerman (1987), gender is an acquired and enacted status, unlike sex, which is based in biologically received genitalia. They view gender as a resulting element of social circumstances since the classification of individuals into labels such as “man” or “woman” is conducted in a clear social manner, which makes them appear natural thus reinforcing the apotheosis of gender. In other words, the implication that gender distinctions are an intrinsic feature of human beings reinforce and maintain the patriarchal social order (West & Zimmerman, 1987). Moreover, in a social structure in which men exert their dominance and profit from it, the modification of such a system remains disadvantageous for men even when this transformation would benefit society as a whole (Connell, 1987). Accordingly, Jane (2017) argues that manspreading is a clear instance of latent sexism against women since it not solely displays the privileged status of these men, but is also devised as an effective symbol of what it means to be male in a social space.

The problem of manspreading, however, is not a “new” phenomenon as illustrated by a cartoon-campaign founded by CityLab dated back to 1918 (Grant, 2016). Likewise, feminist photographer Marianne Wex conducted a thorough photographic study of the subject in 1979 in her book “Let’s Take Back Our Space: Female and Male Body Language as a Result of Patriarchal Structures” (Bridges, 2017). Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the issue has escalated in recent years. Previous research conducted on the subject of body language has stated that positions involving the “exposure” of genitalia, as well as ample movements are more frequent in men than in women (Davis & Weitz, 1981). Furthermore, historically there has been an enduring social narrative for females of all ages to embrace closed and restrained positions in order to avoid any public display of control and openness (Jane, 2017). To many, these ideas may seem archaic and outdated, but empirical evidence has demonstrated that women’s physical stance nowadays remains in alignment with these confining “ladylike” poses (Jane, 2017). The human body is otherwise disciplined to the structures of inequality within the social order, and the idea that men require - and are entitled to - more space is one type of privilege from which plenty of men benefit (Bridges, 2017). Symbolically, positions that are broad and provide a significant degree of exposure are typically adopted by dominant individuals, while positions involving closed limbs and small gestures are common among deferential and meek individuals that make use of less amount of space (Jane, 2017). The perquisites linked with power carry the implication that individuals may exert their “claim” to behave in a particular manner without taking into consideration the social expectations regarding a specific situation. Therefore, a man that engages in manspreading can be perceived as an individual that it is not solely employing a gender-power marker, but that is also commanding the physical space: the adoption of such a dominant posture has the dual and co-constitutive function of both stimulating and reflecting a state of control (Jane, 2017).

Feminism allows individuals within this social order to challenge the current inequitable structure (West & Zimmerman, 1987). After all, as stated by West and Zimmerman (1987): “gender is a powerful ideological device, which produces, reproduces, and legitimates the choices and limits that are predicated…(p.147)”. Accordingly, feminist activists and groups have adopted a series of strategies in order to fight the “epidemic” of manspreading. First, there is the popular trend of “naming and shaming”: in said practice female activist have opted for taking forthright videos or photographs -occasionally with a somewhat humorous tone and other times in more seriousness- of men displaying obvious signs of manspreading (Jane, 2017). Later, these images are uploaded to social media platforms such as Instagram, Tumblr, among others. A second technique used by anti-manspreaders is that of directly confronting the culprits while also explaining to them their wrongdoing. Lastly, other activists have decided to “fight fire with fire” by sitting in a manspreading-manner on public spaces, sometimes even engaging in “leg battles” with the original manspreaders who try to intrude in their personal space (Jane, 2017). For instance, according to an article titled “Watch out, manspreaders: The womanspreading fightback starts now” by The Guardian, women in various parts of the world are appropriating the practice in the name of feminism (Sanghani, 2017). Big celebrity names such as Emily Ratajkowski, Bella Hadid, and Chrissy Teigen are rejecting the narrative that states that women should sit with modesty and coyness, instead they are sitting with their legs open and sharing the outcome online, thus motivating hundreds more to follow in their footsteps (Sanghani, 2017).

Even if these encounters can be deemed as trivial when they occur as isolated cases of “micro” sexism, Jane (2017) argues that the rationale behind these protests is that when coupled together all these isolated incidents comprise a significant social issue. Namely, a single male commuter extending his dominance over several seats on a train, bus, or tram while other travelers are forced to stand may not be considered more than a small inconvenience at the time. However, this small gesture is but a symptom of a more substantial issue regarding the preservation and imposition of a male-dominated social order. Moreover, Jane (2017) argues that the development of a pattern concerning these “minor” actions may evolve into a powerful emblem of “toxic masculinity”.

Video: When a "lady" manspreads

Nevertheless, the effort of these feminist to stop the practice of manspreading are not without opposition. While the feminist discourses have often made use of scholarly literature to support their claims, most of the claims produced by the male opposition have dubious argumentation (Jane, 2017). The most popular counter-claim is that men require to sit with enough space between their legs in order to guarantee the comfort and protection of their genitals. However, this claim has proved to be completely unsustainable by actual medical data, which conforms with West and Zimmerman (1987) argument regarding the naturalization of constructed criteria that comes with an individual’s biological sex. Meanwhile, others argue that the issue is a matter of etiquette and thus, should be genderless. Moreover, the discourse around manspreading is also often disregarded as merely another rant created by the desperate and troubled minds of feminists. In the meantime, what is certain is that those female activists concerned with the issue of manspreading have been successful at raising awareness regarding the prevalence and universality of this disrespectful practice since campaigns to “stop the spread” have gained a lot of negative and positive media coverage on the international stage (Jane, 2017).

In conclusion, when considering the handling of space in relation to the performance of gender, the matter of power becomes fundamental since space communicates a non-spoken message of individual status (Jane, 2017; Macionis & Plummer, 2012). Arguably, males tend to occupy more space than females, whose femininity has been traditionally associated with how little space they cover (i.e. the positive connotations of the word petite to describe feminine-looking women). Meanwhile, masculinity is often connected to the portion of the area a man dominates (Macionis & Plummer, 2012). Through these interactions that are being challenged by the feminist movement, from which manspreading is a sterling example of “doing gender” in modern times, it is possible to observe the power relations in the everyday of men and women. Women, who more often than not, see their plea for privacy and personal space overtaken by men.

References

Ahluwalia, R. (2017, June 8). Madrid bans manspreading on public transport. Independent. October 3,

2018 from https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/mandspreading-madrid-spain-ban-public-transport-bus-metro-behaviour-etiquette-a7779041.html

Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method. Berkeley: University of California Press

Bridges, T. (2017, February 8). Possibly the most exhaustive study of “manspreading” ever conducted. The Society Pages. Retrieved October 5, 2018 from https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2017/02/08/possibly-the-most-exhaustive-study-of-manspreading-ever-conducted/

Connell, R. (1987). Gender and power: Society, the person and sexual politics. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Davis, M., & Weitz, S. (1981). Sex differences in body movements and positions. In C. Mayo & N. M.Henley (Eds.), Gender and Nonverbal Behavior (pp. 81–92). New York: Springer.

Jane, E.A. (2017). ‘Dude … stop the spread’: Antagonism, agonism, and #manspreading on social media. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 20(5), 459-475. doi:10.1177/1367877916637151

Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City, NY: Anchor

Grant, M. (2016, February 10). Anti-manspreading cartoon from 1918 shows that manspreading has been going on for longer than you thought. Bustle. Retrieved October 5, 2018 from https://www.bustle.com/articles/140936-anti-manspreading-cartoon-from-1918-shows-that-manspreading-has-been-going-on-for-longer-than-you-thought

Macionis, J., & Plummer, K. (2012). Sociology: A global introduction (5th ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Mead, G.H. (1962). Mind, self and society from the standpoint of a social behaviorist. Charles W. Morrised. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Sanghani, R. (2017, November 23). Watch out, manspreaders: The womanspreading fightback starts now. The Guardian. Retrieved October 5, 2018 from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/23/manspreading-womanspreading-fightback-metoo-resistance-physical

Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M. B., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271–286

Toronto Sun. (2018, September 27). Watch: Russian woman allegedly pours bleach on 'manspreading' train passengers. World News. Retrieved October 3, 2018 from https://torontosun.com/news/world/watch-russian-woman-allegedly-pours-bleach-on-manspreading-train-passengers/wcm/218dcb14-55bb-4665-80be-402c351b2d5e

West, C. & Zimmerman, D.H. (1987). Doing Gender. Gender & Society, 1(2), 125-151.doi:10.1177/0891243287001002002

[1] In English, it translates to #MadridWithoutManspreading

[2] Microaggression is defined in Sue et al. (2007) as: “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative insults…(p.271)” against marginalized individuals or groups.

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tessawallace17 · 3 years

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The Power Within Augustana’s Masking Among Students

In this entry I will examine the critical questions: What is an example of a discursive formation and its elements? How does this discursive formation evoke a certain sense of power? What are the implications?

To investigate these questions I’ve examined my own life and have chosen to examine masking on Augustana’s campus as my example of discursive formation. This example of masking on Augustana’s campus places power on my peers, which may be used against each other in a negative way.

The COVID-19 Pandemic may be coming closer to ending, but the impact it has had on this year will not be forgotten easily. The behaviors learned from this pandemic have had both positive and negative effects on our campus. Some of the positive effects include, more people washing their hands, courses adapting to technology, and no longer coming to class when you are not feeling well. The negative effects aside from the mental health impacts on the students and faculty may be hard to shake off. Accountability is something I have always appreciated about this campus, along with the socially aware staff and students. However, I believe that the power my peers may have felt this year regarding holding other students accountable was borderline toxic. Holding others accountable is important, but using information against others is not ok.

Foss and Gill explain Michael Foucault’s rhetorical theory of discursive formations by breaking the idea down. Thes formations are broken down to practices, rules, roles, power, and knowledge. To further explain the idea of discursive formations to the reader an example is given of Disney World. Disney world is critiqued using the above categories to lay out where the power lies at Disney World.

When you apply the theory of discursive formation on Augustana’s Masking among students it is clear that the power placed on peers has proven to be harmful. Though many students at Augustana want to keep the campus safe from COVID-19 I believe that the social practices are no longer focused on protecting each other, rather shaming each other.

Discursive practices for this example include nonverbals, tweets, and gossip. Foss and Gill clarify that the term “is not limited to written and spoken discourse but includes non-discursive acts as well”. While it is difficult to see full non-verbal communication when interacting with people in masks, a lot can still be seen through the eyes. In moments when people are caught not following rules on campus when it comes to masks you will definitely be able to see negative nonverbal messages sent from other students if they see it. Along with non verbals, there are also examples of written messages from students calling out students on social media platforms like twitter and snapchat. These messages usually then blow up to more discursive practices like gossiping about who was breaking what rules and which group they belong to.

The Rules for the example of Augustana’s Masking fall into two categories. Foss defines rules as “principles or procedures that govern a discursive formation”. The first category of rules regarding this formation are rules given to us by the school/CDC. These rules are pretty self explanatory, it is clear where they come from and most students follow them. These rules come to us by email and change in accordance with the levels of COVID-19. The second set of rules regarding my formation are rules created by social pressure, or more traditionally informal rules. These rules include keeping on your mask at absolutely all times even if you’re alone outside, telling on your peers if you see them break a rule, and shaming the groups that the rule breakers come from. The informal rules stated developed not long after the year started and have not changed much based on updated COVID-19 information. The informal rules were more inspired by social pressures and not wanting to be “canceled” on our very small campus.

The idea of roles applied to this example both fall on student peers. Foss explains that roles can be understood as “discourse, rather than the rhetor, serves as the organizing principle of discourse”. For this example the role is given by who is critiquing whom for their rule following/masking. The role is accuser and accused, often making the situation almost as dramatic as the roles sound.

Power in this example is where all the trouble stems from. Foss defines power from Foucault as so “the overall system, process, or network of force relations spread through the entire discursive formation”. The power in this situation is given to the student who chooses to accuse another student of breaking rules. This confrontation can be done by an anonymous submission to the school or any of the above mentioned discursive practices. Power here comes with a sense of higher mortality than the accused student. Even if the accused was not breaking formal rules from the school, the power still is held by the accuser. An even higher sense of power is felt if the accused student and a group they belong to is punished for alleged rule breaking.

The knowledge or truth to this example is that the students in power believe that their truth is holding a higher morality and that they are keeping the campus safe. Foss defines knowledge as “whatever is considered to be truth in a discursive formation”. The reality is that there are multiple truths. Keeping our campus safe is important, that is an important truth. Holding a sense of higher morality than others however, should be less important.

All of these put together form the discursive formation of Augustana’s Masking among students. About half of this formation seems very reasonable. As someone who is proud to say they never caught COVID-19 and was safe throughout the pandemic I can understand some of the rules and interactions in the formation. What I don't understand is the toxic behavior I’ve seen this year as a result of this formation. I believe that this year caused a major power struggle between students when given the opportunity to self police their peers. It caused so much hate, gossip, and ruined relationships due to the risk of being called out. What was important at the start of the year became less important when people started using this formation to attack peers they did not like. While I do not see a way that anyone could have known this would happen, it was hard to go through for many students including myself.

Focusing on posting on social media in regards to Augustana’s Masking among students, I found an article relating to this practice. The article I found by Piper Liping Liu was a study on personal responsibility as it relates to social media use during the pandemic. Though this article takes more of a statistical approach I liked its focus on social responsibility. I also thought it made the most sense to connect with my discursive formation due to the use of social media among college students. The study found that as the use of social media increased that the measure of social responsibility in regards to the pandemic also increased. The reasoning behind this was not found, but if the same results were found at Augustana I believe that I could hypothesize why. Along with being more aware of the news going on through use of social media, there was also a huge trend in shaming rule breakers of COVID19 on social media. Being exposed to this shaming I believe would deter an individual from making the same mistake, resulting in more social responsibility.

In summary, I am glad that this mess of a year is almost over. It caused problems in far too many areas of life and I truly believe that it affected the way Augustana students will interact with each other for a long time. The discursive formation of Masking at Augustana among students placed too much power in my peers and resulted in negative consequences.

Works Cited

Foss, S.K, and Gill, A. (1987). Michel Foucault’s Theory of Rhetoric as Epistemic. Western Journal of Communication, 51 (4), 384-401

Liu, Piper Liping. “COVID-19 information on social media and preventive behaviors: Managing the pandemic through personal responsibility.” Social science & medicine (1982) vol. 277 (2021): 113928. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113928

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shakib-posts · 4 years

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You may have heard the rumors that Social Security is in trouble. And unfortunately, they're true.

Social Security is facing a major funding deficit. In the coming years, it expects to owe more money in benefits than what it collects in revenue due to the fact that so many baby boomers will be existing the workforce and drawing their own benefits. (Since the program gets most of its revenue from payroll taxes, a smaller workforce and greater demand for benefits is bad news.) In fact, if lawmakers don't come up with a solution to save Social Security from insolvency, recipients may be in a for a whopping 24% benefits cut.

Clearly, that's bad news -- catastrophic news, in fact, for the millions of seniors who already count on Social Security to provide the bulk of their income. But while a 24% cut to benefits may sound bad, the decisions you make with regard to filing could actually result in an even larger reduction.

Image source: Getty Images.

When it comes to filing for Social Security, you have choices. You can file at your full retirement age (FRA), which is either 66, 67, or somewhere in between, depending on your year of birth, or you can file as early as age 62 and as late as age 70. For each month you claim Social Security ahead of FRA, your monthly benefit is reduced on a permanent basis. Meanwhile, delaying benefits past FRA will result in a permanent increase, though once you turn 70, you won't accrue benefit-boosting credits any longer, and so that's generally considered the latest age to file, even though you're technically not compelled to sign up at that point.

If you're worried about the Social Security Administration having to slash benefits universally, here's a good piece of advice: Don't impose that hit on your benefits yourself.

If you wait until at least FRA to claim your benefits, you won't face a reduction at all. By contrast, if you claim benefits ahead of FRA, you'll reduce them by 6.67% a year for the first three years you file early, and then by 5% a year for each year thereafter. All told, you could wind up slashing your benefits by a total of 30% if you sign up for Social Security at age 62 and your FRA is 67, which is the case for anyone born in 1960 or later.

Image source: Author.

Of course, some people have no choice but to file for benefits early. If you're laid off at work, or encounter a situation where you can't work (say, you need to care for a loved one full-time), then you may need to claim Social Security early to keep up with your living expenses. But if you're able to hold off on filing for benefits until FRA or beyond, doing so will help ensure that you don't slash your retirement income more than necessary. It's bad enough that benefit cuts are on the table due to Social Security's financial woes, but you might as well avoid a reduction in benefits that is within your control.

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Utility cuts power to 26,500 Californians over wildfire risk

Scientists say climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable. Traditionally October and November are the worst months for fires, but already this year the state has seen more than 8,600 wildfires that have scorched a record 6,400 square miles (16,576 square kilometers) and destroyed about 9,200 homes, businesses and other structures. There have been 31 deaths.

Many of this year’s devastating fires were started by thousands of dry lightning strikes, but some remain under investigation for potential electrical causes. While the biggest fires in California have been fully or significantly contained, more than 5,000 firefighters remain committed to 20 blazes, including a dozen major incidents, state fire officials said.

PG&E officials said the planned outages are a safety measure and understood they burden residents, especially with many working from home and their children taking classes online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sheriff Kory Honea of Butte County said he’s concerned about residents in foothill communities during the blackouts because cellular service can be spotty and it’s the only way many can stay informed when the power is out.

“It is quite a strain on them to have to go through these over and over and over again,” he said.

Fortnite Update Cuts Down File Size By More Than Half

We've heard news of games' file sizes ballooning over the last few years due to constant updates and additions, but Epic Games is taking Fortnite in the opposite direction—at least on PC. The game's latest update makes massive optimization changes to the game, resulting in a much smaller footprint.

The full patch size is about 27GB on PC (ours was actually a little smaller) but despite the hefty download, it reduces the file size by about 60GB once it's fully installed. Epic Games said this will also allow for smaller download sizes on future updates and will also improve loading performance.

For context, we checked our own file size, and the game took up almost 90GB on PC prior to this patch. The wizardry at play here is rather stunning, especially as so many other games are seeing such bloat. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has grown so large on PC that certain storage devices can't even hold the game when it's the only thing installed.

With current-gen systems also seeing quite large file sizes and the next-gen systems likely to see even bigger ones, it could be a real problem. This is particularly true on PS5, which uses an 825GB NVMe SSD, down from the 1TB HDD on the PS4 Pro.

Speaking of which, Fortnite will be on Xbox Series X and Series S as well as PS5 at launch. It won't be fully upgraded yet, with an Unreal Engine 5 update coming in 2021, but you'll still be able to play with all your friends on other platforms.

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mxadrian779 · 4 years

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Just a gathering of elements (part one) in my chart info from CafeAstrology.

Sun in the 10th House:

The urge to work toward a goal, for success and accomplishment, and/or for power is part of your makeup. You are uncomfortable in any position in which you must “take orders” from someone else. Recognize your ambitions and your need for authority without going overboard. Seek out a career that allows you to manage, rather than be managed, if possible. It is crucial that you accept the part of you that is ambitious, but take pains not to over-identify with an image that is not really you!

Alternate Interpretation: You have a great capacity to lead others and to excel as a professional. You will put a lot of energy into your work and you will have a brilliant career. You will always be in the public eye and will enjoy great renown. If your work is in politics or any leadership position, you will be successful.

You will show a lot of pride, arrogance, and ambition in the material sense. You can not conceive of a fulfilling life that shows no improvement in your lot; your father figure influences you to elevate yourself. You will be able to transcend your initial social position to achieve status and recognition and you will feel very satisfied. In general, you are competitive and authoritative.

In the future, you will find an extraordinary partner with a good social position with whom to share your life. It will not be easy to please you and you will never resign yourself to settle for someone you do not consider worthy. — From the Adult Report.

Moon in the 11th House

This position of the Moon indicates an emotional need for a feeling of belonging with, and support from, friends and associations with groups. You look to acquaintances for support, and offer the same in return. A changeable or unstable social life might be a reflection of inner emotional unrest. Waxing and waning feelings for others can cause problems in your relationships. You are a person who is filled with many dreams, wishes, and hopes for your future, and most of these are altruistic and good-hearted desires. However, you might change your aspirations frequently, with your changing moods, and have a hard time settling on goals to work towards as a result.

*You get a lot of emotional fulfillment through your involvement in groups, clubs, organizations, community activities, or a network of close friends who support and care for you. You make friends your family, and feel a close kinship with people who share some ideals or beliefs that you hold dear. You need people outside of your physical family to relate to and belong to.

Mercury in the 10th House

You are good with language, and you generally use this talent in your profession. You can have an authoritative air about you, or you are talented at communicating and negotiating with those in authority. You might have more than one job going at once much of the time, you could change your career directions frequently, or you could be attracted to jobs that keep you on the move. You require frequent changes of setting or activities in order to remain stimulated and challenged. You are skilled at bringing fresh energy to your conversations or to your job, perhaps because you need the stimulation.

Venus in the 9th House

You are attracted to, or you tend to attract, people of different cultural backgrounds. You are attracted to a partner with a sense of adventure. You are not especially clingy, and you expect a certain amount of freedom in a partnership. You want to feel like you are growing as an individual, and you won’t be happy in a relationship that is restrictive or confining. In fact, you have a great love for the feeling of freedom or limitlessness. Your hips and thighs may be especially attractive! You appreciate a lover who is enthusiastic and not afraid to have a good time (with you!). You aspire to high ideals in love, but some of you might pursue sensations in love rather than true or deep feelings and attachment. Beware of a tendency for dissatisfaction with what you have, as the tendency to think that the “grass is greener” elsewhere can keep you from enjoying or developing what you have.

Mars in the 8th House

With Mars in the eighth house, shades of the sign Scorpio can be found in your desire nature. You may not experience true passion until later in life, but when you do, it is magical and infectious. You have some fears of betrayal and loss that compromise your trust from time to time. You can be extremely hard-working on projects that interest you, and you make a fabulous researcher, investigator, or psychologist. Passion projects are vital–they can get you out of bed in the morning!

Your intuition is powerful, although it can take some time, experience, and psychological work to overcome a vague sense/feeling of guilt, fear, or doom. Your survival instinct is powerful. There is a tendency to bury things or to keep many of your troubles to yourself. Learning to express your anger more directly can improve your health and well-being.

Sample from our LoveStyles report: You have very strong desires, and once you decide to possess something, you usually succeed in doing so. You may experience shortages of love and money to encourage you to be less possessive in these areas of your life. You have the ability to see through the false pretenses of others. On the level of karma, you can make up for past lives of greed and abuse by sharing your resources with others in need. There may be some sexual trauma in your early life that you struggle with as an adult.

Jupiter in the Third House

You are forward-looking–a real planner. You are endlessly curious and enjoy making happy connections with others. Sharing ideas with others is important to you–you take great pleasure in doing so. You are able to see the big picture and thus often are turned to for advice. You are sincerely interested in others, and you easily put people at ease in social situations.

Saturn in the Eighth House

Traditionally, the eighth house was recognized as the house of death. Saturn in the eighth in a natal chart would mean a horrible death. Modern day astrologers have moved away from that line of thinking. Today we think of the eighth house as a house of resurrections. The eighth house symbolizes transformations through growth and change. As an individual, you might need to re-invent yourself from time to time. The eighth house is opposite the second house, which symbolizes your attitude to possessions. In that sense the eighth house stands for your attitude to giving up relics of the past, so you can grow and change. Saturn in the eighth house can be a powerful influence. This influence will make you simply resist transformations, change, and growth. You will find it very difficult to accept changes in your life. Any change will be stressful for you, bringing in anxiety and worry. Be aware of this influence. Understand that change is something that you don’t react to well. Prepare for change. Take time to chart out a course or action plan whenever change is imminent. Read a book on managing change in your life or at work. Change, if managed well, can make your life richer and better.

Uranus in the Seventh House

Partners and people who you are in a one-on-one relationship with will complain about your erratic and inconstant ways. However, they will be charmed by your genuineness and simplicity. You may shy away from making a commitment and see relationships as a necessary evil. Your freedom loving ways make you hate feeling tied down. The whole idea of relationships may be slightly alien to your basic nature. In a partner you may search for a certain aloofness or love of personal freedom to feel secure. Your ideal partner enjoys his or her personal freedom as much as you do.

Neptune in the Seventh House

You are inclined to give more to a partnership (including marriage) than you take. There may be a tendency to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to the selection of a partner, in an attempt to find a soulmate. The need for a strong psychic or intuitive link with a partner is so strong that your perceptions in partnership are not accurate. You need to take a step back, consciously attempting to see your partners and relationships for what they are, rather than what you wish them to be. You might be attracted to relationships in which you feel a partner needs to be saved somehow, or in which a partner saves you. However, you might end up with people who only serve to confuse you, who are noncommittal or unavailable, or who are overly dependent. You tend to idealize a partner, assigning them traits that you want them to have, or even seeing them as worse than they are because of your inflated and dramatic expectations. You need to develop discipline and discrimination when it comes to setting limits, selecting partners, and keeping communication clear in a relationship. In some cases, people with this position give up their power to partners and become dependent upon them. You are likely a creative negotiator and you can be especially accommodating with others. Positively, you are very talented at bringing out the good in another person, particularly a partner, if that person is appreciative of your efforts and is willing to grow.

Pluto in 5th House

You possess powerful creative impulses, and you might invest much energy and passion into the creative arts, romance, or child-rearing. You take much pride in, and invest much of your ego into, whatever it is you produce. Romance for you needs to be intense, passionate, and deeply intimate–nothing superficial or light attracts. You have an “all or nothing” attitude in love. If you are not “owning” this attitude, then you may be meeting Pluto energies through your lovers, and thus attracting intense, controlling, or passionate romantic partners. A deep-seated fear of loss or betrayal can be behind any jealous, obsessive, or controlling behavior in fifth house areas, including romantic involvements, child-rearing, and creative endeavors. Your attitude towards play, entertainment, and recreation is also intense–rarely lighthearted. While you may yearn to throw your soul into your creative endeavors, fear might prevent you from doing so completely.

#archive #my chart #zodiac #zodiac houses #houses

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easyfoodnetwork · 4 years

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Pick Your Poison

Fall activities like apple picking and leaf peeping are generally considered safe, but with record crowds and a COVID surge expected to collide this fall, locals are worried

In the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the outpouring of New York City residents to surrounding rural areas offered a boon to Twin Star Orchards. The U-pick apple farm and maker of Brooklyn Cider House cider sits just outside the small village of New Paltz, New York, about 80 miles north of New York City and halfway to Albany.

Susan Yi, who founded the business along with her brother Peter, says a wave of transplants buying new homes in the Hudson Valley gave business a bump during the usual off-season of April and May. Newly remote workers with flexible schedules have driven more business on Fridays, too, and the farm has added live music, usually reserved for holidays, to bring people out on Saturdays. There was even a socially distanced Fourth of July pig roast on its sprawling outdoor pavilion.

But as fall approaches at Twin Star Orchards, Yi worries that the farm’s high season could bring as much trouble as much-needed income. “Fall is always very busy with late September [to] early October as the peak, with apple-picking and leaf-peeping drawing a lot of people to the area,” she says. “We are typically packed each weekend, so we are a little concerned about keeping the crowds spaced out during that time.”

As spring turned to summer, the Northeast began to get a grip on the COVID-19 pandemic. New York state made a miraculous about-face from the nation’s hotbed to a model for how to contain the pandemic with aggressive lockdowns and testing. It made nearby places like New Paltz safer too. However, the popularity of fall activities could undermine those trends by coaxing people out of their homes just as experts predict a second wave of cases.

With what we know about the spread of COVID-19, outdoor escapes like apple picking seem relatively safe, making these fall getaways especially attractive for cooped-up city dwellers and parents desperate to distract their kids. The brilliant reds and oranges of fall foliage — shining in the face of everything this year — can still be admired from the isolated safety of a family car. The smell of “world-famous” apple pies will still be wafting across New England, and the treats are just as easily devoured at six-foot-spaced outdoor tables. Country farms are the stuff of quarantine cottagecore dreams, where animals offer themselves for therapeutic cuddles and no one needs to shuffle off the sidewalk to maintain social distancing.

James Kirkikis / Shutterstock

The annual pumpkin festival in Keene, New Hampshire, with its signature tower, attracts thousands of visitors each year

But as tempting as this autumnal fantasy and its perceived safety may seem, the crowds it’s expected to draw to rural areas are inspiring mixed feelings among local business owners. After six months of financial hardship, including a delayed start to summer travel, some hope a fall boom will compensate for lost business. Others, fearing the potential for super-spreaders to hide among the pie stands and farm rows, worry that travelers could bring a second wave of infections to their doorsteps.

In May 2019, Greenleaf opened in Milford, New Hampshire, a small town famous for its pumpkin festival and leaf-peeping. The restaurant was only a few months old for its first festival in October last year. “Seeing all the people from the surrounding communities and traveling from afar to take part in this festival in such a small town was great to see,” says chef-owner Chris Viaud. “We were like, ‘Next year, we’re going to do this big. We’ll make sure we’re ingrained in the community and take a bigger part in this.’” Now the restaurant is in limbo as the town decides whether or not to cancel this year’s pumpkin festival.

Like nearly all other restaurants across America, Greenleaf is struggling with reduced traffic due to COVID-19. While it has received financial assistance from government programs, that can only take the restaurant so far, Viaud says, and he’s relying on business to pick up in the fall. Even if the pumpkin festival does get canceled, he still expects people will want to travel, and that puts him in a tricky position. “It’s a tough conversation. We have to think of ourselves and the wellness of our staff, but then the flip side of that is the wellness of the business,” he says.

Even in areas of the Northeast traditionally known more for summer and winter activities, fall has become an unexpected fulcrum of seasonal tourism. In Stowe, Vermont, for instance, summer hiking and winter skiing drive most tourist traffic, but summer travel was dampened by the coronavirus’s first wave, and Vermont’s popular ski mountains may shut down this winter. Local businesses need customers to show up in the next few months.

That might be tricky for Plate, a popular Main Street restaurant in Stowe that’s balancing its responsibility to locals against its dependence on tourists. “Early when we very first opened [for outdoor dining in May], we saw a lot of locals coming back to support us,” says chef-owner Aaron Martin. “Once people started traveling more, we noticed that it was mostly tourists, and our locals were feeling safer to stay away.” Martin says locals have returned tentatively, but they prefer the restaurant’s small, 10-seat patio to the indoor dining room — even at the 40 percent capacity it’s implemented to maintain social distancing. Some customers refuse to dine altogether if they can’t be seated outside. The chef chalks up their hesitance in part to the fact that out-of-state visitors tend not to follow Vermont’s 14-day mandatory quarantine for travelers. As temperatures drop, the restaurant will eventually have to pack up the outdoor seating, sacrificing the valuable added revenue along with it.

Viaud and Martin agree the potential for a second wave makes it difficult to make plans for the next few months. “Everyone’s listening to the media. In the fall, there is a scare of another spike. What does that mean for the businesses around?” Viaud wonders. Martin has no doubt about what would happen in Vermont. “We have a great governor who’s done a wonderful job. If we have a second wave, he’ll shut us all down again,” he says.

Boston Globe via Getty Images

Fresh cider donuts at Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, Massachusetts

While some people might be stressing about the approaching autumn, apple trees and pumpkin vines are forging ahead at full speed. “The farm doesn’t know a pandemic from a regular year. The fruit’s going to grow either way,” says farm operations manager Jay Mofenson of Lookout Farm in South Natick, Massachusetts. “We have certain fixed expenses of equipment needs and labor needs that, regardless of the pandemic, have to continue.”

Lookout was founded in 1651, making it one of the nation’s oldest continually operating farms. Today the 180-acre orchard is home to 55,000 trees, drawing around 50,000 eager amateur apple pickers each year. While the farm does sell some apples to wholesale distributors, Mofenson says, “Agritourism is really our primary focus.”

Luckily for the farm, summer peach season is typically much slower than the fall, only attracting an average of 5,000 visitors in a normal year. Not only does this mean Lookout didn’t sacrifice much U-pick business during the initial wave of the pandemic, but it also gave Mofenson and his team a chance to reconfigure the entire operation ahead of the anticipated fall crowds. They re-envisioned the customer experience from the moment a guest gets out of their car to the moment they return to the parking lot. They nixed the trains that usually ferry people to the fruit trees, established a one-way path through the rows, and set up a reservation system with caps on the number of pickers per hour.

Across the country, in Camarillo, California, home of the Abundant Table, the leaves aren’t much of a draw, but the farm still offers a classic fall experience. Programming extends well beyond U-pick to include a produce shop, educational programs for kids and adults, open community farming initiatives, and other BIPOC-focused nonprofit efforts.

All of these programs were paused in the initial days of the pandemic, but Linda Quiquivix, institutional sales partnerships and CSA manager, says the team is planning their return in the coming months, with strict social-distancing measures in place. “The really cool thing about us is we’re a collective. We’re a democratic workplace,” she says. “We get to decide what conditions we work under. We always keep abreast of the [COVID-19] situation, so we don’t have any problems codifying plans according to new realities.”

Quiquivix explains that after the highly publicized breakdown of the food system early in the pandemic, community farming, U-pick, and the produce stand give people a chance to support local farming, which many customers are recognizing as increasingly important. The Abundant Table is also collaborating with the Rodale Institute, a nonprofit focused on organic farming, to set up a U-pick, no-till pumpkin patch. As kids shift to remote learning in the fall, Quiquivix is hoping the school district will allow a class of sixth graders to come help analyze the pumpkin patch once a week, not only to discuss maintaining soil carbon by avoiding tilling, but also the pre-colonial farming practices of the Chumash people on that land.

Lookout Farm

Lookout Farm in Massachusetts has transformed its outdoor dining area for social distancing.

Farther north, at R. Kelley Farms in Sacramento, owner Ron Kelley committed to his summer crops back in April, planting his seeds when rumors still indicated the pandemic would clear up soon. U-pick typically accounts for 60 percent of business for the 28-year-old farm, and the summer high season has been going well. Kelley has implemented social distancing and a reservation system, allowing him to host visitors from as far as 100 miles away to pick crowder, purple hull, and black-eye beans.

But that’s all changing in the fall, which doesn’t drive nearly as much business for him. The potential costs outweigh any potential gains for offering his usual winter greens for U-pick. “My business is the least of my concerns. I’m worried about my health,” he says. “I’m 72 years old and do not want to take any chances of getting ill from working outdoors in the fall and winter.”

While most restaurants and farms plan to do everything they can to stay in business, Kelley is more open about the potential of closing up shop. “I’m at the age that this may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.” he says. “Once I finish this year, then I’ll take a hard look at it, decide whether I want to gamble again next year or what exactly I want to do.”

“It’s going to be a challenging year. I can’t say where we’re going to end up, financially speaking,” Mofenson says bluntly. But there’s always an upside to working through the crisis. “The farm is a very special place to us, to a lot of people. The benefit is tons of comments all the time from people about how grateful they are to have an opportunity to be outdoors, to see the kids smiling. It’s really been a silver lining to this whole situation.” He adds, “Hopefully everyone has a better 2021.”

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/351zsYv https://ift.tt/3jKUyhY

Fall activities like apple picking and leaf peeping are generally considered safe, but with record crowds and a COVID surge expected to collide this fall, locals are worried

James Kirkikis / Shutterstock

The annual pumpkin festival in Keene, New Hampshire, with its signature tower, attracts thousands of visitors each year

Boston Globe via Getty Images

Fresh cider donuts at Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, Massachusetts

Lookout Farm

Lookout Farm in Massachusetts has transformed its outdoor dining area for social distancing.

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