#(for one thing: violence as in they are an extremely common instrument of literal murder against disabled people)

[suffering-with-fiery]

Rune translations and Bottom theories (I did my best!) (: It's long! I mean REALLY REALLY REALLY LONG!!!! You've been warned. (Potential TWs below the cut) yeah Hyoga doesn't have a good time here.

I should probably start calling Hyoga "Hyouga" instead since I'm pretty sure it's spelled with a 'U'... but I probably won't. Apologies.

Bottom English translation by Tackmyn Y! (I can't speak Japanese, again, apologies, though I was able to make my own version of Autophagy)

Potential TWs (I dont want to harm anyone by going on this rant): Autophagy (medical terms), nightmares, demons tormenting a guy, Hyoga being unhealthy in more ways than one, mentions of death/murder, self esteem issues, mentions of destructive behavior, manipulation, violence.

Yeah, my boy Hyoga ain't having a good time in this theory.

I feel the need to clarify that this is all speculation. So uh. Everything here is just what I've been thinking about since I hopped into this rabbit hole.

Sinfan (I'm not sure what order they go in, it's quite hard to tell):

["Death"

"I"

"Revive"

"Spirit"

"I"

"Something with shape"]

I'm not fully sure what "something with shape" means, but there's a possibility that Sinfan could be referring to Hyoga, (a doll/wax figure) or maybe that Sinfan needs something with a shape to be able to exist. Sinfan could need a vessel to stay on the mortal plain and go undetected while staying alive.

Sinfan needs a vessel. And with that thought, it launches into indecipherable theory crafting.

Hyoga summoned Sinfan when he was 12 years old. Thinking he found a vessel, he called upon Pabometh, another grey demon, to help torment Hyoga so the two could get their wish.

Hyoga, at the time, is young, dumb and susceptible to manipulation, meaning it could be easy for Sinfan to grasp the situation with an iron grip which follows Hyoga into adulthood.

"Revival" could also be referring to "Rebirth," symbolized by a butterfly. It could also mean that Sinfan/Pabo has the powers to revive people. Maybe as a last resort if they need it.

In Hiiragi Kirai's album trailer on Youtube, Hyoga shows up in a scene with 'D' and 'B' in calligraphy on each cheek. They could mean "Death" and "Birth" respectively.

Lines from Autophagy:

"I just wants a peaceful life." Likely means Hyoga wants the demons gone so he can live how he wants to. (Who wouldn't?)

"The voice inside my head? Huh... how odd." Also implies that the demons are still with him.

"My body pulses, memories from my past bringing pain." Means that in Autophagy, Hyoga remembers his past, but it hurts him.

""You can't avoid it in life, so it's best to just deal with it." You say, but you dont seem bothered." Is most likely Sinfan talking to Hyoga. It could also mean that Hyoga can't avoid the demons, so he should just deal with it.

"I can't stop now, so pretend nothing happened!" Could be Hyoga trying to ignore the demons, or maybe he did something he shouldn't have. (Always knew those were prison tattoos...)

"I want to wash my skull out! I want to say bye bye! But yet I didn't do it..." Could mean that the demons are still with him in Autophagy and likely still tormenting him.

"I won't stop, I can't look back." Might mean Hyoga is trying to move on, but with the demons still in his head, he can't, so the "Let me forget!" after the instrument solo might be him wishing that he never remembered in the first place and trying to get the demons to take them away again.

"Just stay away from me!" Could be Hyoga distancing himself from everyone he knows, or trying to get the demons to go away.

"Hello! HAHAHAHA Hello! HAHAHAHAHA!" Might be Hyoga as he slowly loses his remaining sanity due to constant tormenting and pressure from the demons.

"A A A A- 'Allo/Allow/Arrow" could all imply different things, so I'll give a short on all of them.

"'Allo!" Is just an abbreviation of "Hello."

"Arrow!" -According to a quick google search- is a common symbolism for peace and philosophical ideas, and used for protection and hunting. It could mean that Hyoga just wants peace and quiet, which is enforced by "I just want a peaceful life." in the beginning.

"Allow!" Could mean that the demons are trying even harder to bend him to their will and take him over as a vessel. They want Hyoga to allow them to posses him so they can do whatever they please.

Pabo only has 2 that I can see:

["Nightmare"

"Save (?)ime"]

It might be "time" but I couldn't make out the rune symbol there.

"Nightmare" hardens my thought that Bottom is just a massive nightmare set up by the demons to torment Hyoga, that the song is sung from the perspective of one of the demons (likely Pabo), and that Young Hyoga(tm) in the video is Pabometh playing the part of his repressed/forgotten memories.

This is all assuming the song is, infact, sung by the demons.

Lines from Bottom:

"You're keeping me alive! Today, today, you're killing me!" Could go both ways (Pabo/Sinfan and Hyoga) For Pabo it could just be another variation of the next line I'm about to talk about.

For Hyoga it could mean that he wouldn't be able to function if he didn't have the demons (Sinfan might posses him to make him fit in so nobody notices, keep him from dying from mortal wounds, and he's lived with them so long he might not know what to do without them), but with them he's slowly tearing himself apart from the inside out due to their constant tormenting. Metaphorically or literally is anyone's guess at the moment.

"Autophagy" (his songs name) is a medical term for "self eat" which normally happens when your body is starved, so it eats it's own cells to survive as long as it can. It can also correlate to certain diseases. Autophagy in these terms might also be referring to emotions. It's possible he's been stewing in any sort of negative emotions to cause such effects. (I.E: Guilt, fear, self worth issues,) which could make his resolve weaker, making it easier for Pabo and Sinfan to torment him/possess him. The longer it goes on, the closer he could be to self destructing.

"A wax figure/a doll is keeping me alive/killing me." Is more related to the demons in my eyes. "Wax figure/a doll" is likely referring to Hyoga. Hyoga could be their only tie to the mortal realm, (Sinfan being more prominent because he was summoned first, and by Hyoga himself.)

It could also mean that they need to inhabit his mind/body in order to survive and make it easier to torment Hyoga. If they both are in Hyoga's mind 24/7 while he suffers from nightmares (which cause lack of sleep, keeping his body in a perpetually weak state), no self worth, and a fragile mental state ("I wanna keep you out of my fragile mind!") while he tears himself apart, it would mean it would be harder to stay with him without something happening.

Due to that, it's likely that the very thing keeping them alive and in the mortal realm is also killing them at the same time.

It may be worth mentioning that a line in Bottom is "You think you're a god to me?" while 9lore translated Rinen's (Möbius') tattoo on his chest, which reads "Be still and know that I am god." It could a a coincidence, but I thought I'd mention it just in case (:

Throughout the entire song the demons are mocking and belittling Hyoga. (I.E: "Defying all logic, you're nothing but evil." "You're so stupid! You scumbag, scumbag, scumbag!") Most of the angry rant type of thing happens when Young Hyoga (tm) is on-screen. (It could be a tactic to make Hyoga not want to remember/manipulate his memories/tear down his resolve even more/or just plain upset him.)

"I mean, who, who, who are you?" It's been made clear that for the longest time (according to WOOMA) Hyoga didn't even remember his own name. "Who are you?" might be Pabo trying to get into Hyoga's head and make him question his own sanity.

"What the hell are you to me?" Implies that Pabo also want Hyoga to question why Pabo is here. Sinfan was summoned by Hyoga, but Pabometh was likely summoned by Sinfan to help tear down Hyoga. That means the two don't have much history, and Hyoga most likely doesn't know why Pabo is here for awhile.

It's "you to me" instead of "me to you" so Pabo could also be trying to get Hyoga to try and notice him in a positive way so that the nightmares stop. I'll expand on that some more a few (a lot) of paragraphs down.

"Inside my heart is- such a rage! Such a rage! So I'll grab you, grasp you, and crush you flat!" Is a line I find interesting. It also leads directing into another line; "The symptom of the unforgettable emotion is my burning intent to murder, which is absolutely right." Pabo would likely be talking about Hyoga, which implies that if he could, Pabo would murder Hyoga himself, but since the "wax figure" is needed to keep both him and his accomplice, Sinfan, alive, he can't.

It also implies that Pabo is extremely angry with Hyoga, for a reason I can't particularly pinpoint, except maybe for the fact that Hyoga's becoming more and more unstable and not safe for Pabo and Sinfan. The only problem is, it's Pabo and Sinfans fault he's like that. They're the ones that chose Hyoga as a vessel while simultaneously destroying him.

However, it's possible that Pabo's aim was to devoid Hyoga of anything and everything, (I.E: memories, emotions, etc. etc.) so that he was just that: a vessel. But with Hyoga being so destructive to himself, the whole plan could have gone awry and Pabo's only thought was how furious he was at Hyoga for messing up his chance to be in the mortal realm undetected for good, meaning he wishes he could destroy Hyoga and just get it over with so him and Sinfan could wait until someone else summoned them so they could take advantage of that.

""How deplorable you are! How deplorable you are!"" Is a line that has a chance of Hyoga himself having said it due to it having quotes on it. It also implies that he he could be fighting back, so his resolve might not crushed completely. However, a show of strength like that would likely just enrage Pabometh even more than he already is. It also doesn't help the positive impression he wants Pabo to have of him.

"You're involving yourself with me again like a clingy, clingy neighbor!" Sounds like Pabo, again, insulting Hyoga. If we go off of another part of this fever dream I've cooked up, (Hyoga not knowing what to do without the demons, but with them destroying himself), sounds like Pabo doesn't want to be with Hyoga anymore, going as far as hating him so much he's festering in it.

The "again" makes it sound like Hyoga's tried to communicate with them more than once, being unsuccessful each time. Hyoga could be trying to latch onto them, either to take them down with him or trying to get the nightmares to stop. Like I said, for a while Hyoga could have been trying to get positive attention and make Pabo like him.

"The low-end is going to manipulate me." Could be Pabo addressing that he knows what Hyoga was trying to do and calling him out for it.

"Brimming with momentary anger, rot away quickly, quickly, quickly!" Again, Pabo is talking about his burning hatred for Hyoga.

"I'm always losing! How, how dare you!" Implies that even with all the nightmares and torment, Hyoga has just enough willpower to keep Pabo from getting his wish, angering him even more.

And finally, a line from Autophagy:

"Oh, rise seeds of evil, bursting with malice!" Might be Hyoga finally giving into the demons and becoming their vessel if they take away his painful memories and stop hurting him.

Pentagram:

["-r Guide(A) N(?)E A(?)R"

"The ability to know wh-"

"Grant me the power to be strong in spirit-"

"Grant me the wisdom to understand-"]

With it over Pabo, it's possible that this was the one that summoned Pabo instead of Sinfan, although with it also under Hyoga, it could be Sinfan's. Who knows, it might also be boths.

In the ending scene with the pentagram, the colors of the other songs are visible, meaning that it's possible all of them are connected.

(I could go on for hours about the small loopholes that I think mean all the songs are connected in specific ways. Either way I know they're all from the same universe.)

With all their colors on it, it might mean they all have a demon of their own.

I'm still working slightly on the pentagram, I'll probably keep ya updated if I can find out what the rest of it says (:

If anyone can find the full version (preferably readable) of the pentagram, that'd be lovely (if it even exists)

(If you find more runes in "Bottom" or another Hiiragi song I'd be happy to see if I can translate it (: I'm not very good though, and I can't speak Japanese-)

English translation of Bottom used by: Tackmyn Y (I don't know where you are but you're a lifesaver)

Find any spelling errors, let me know! I'll see if I can fix 'em (:

If you read this far, what're you doing??

Have an absolutely amazing day!!! <3

[amandagaster-blog]

Photo Elicitation

Questions about the reading:

What is the definition of photo elicitation?

Photo elicitation is inserting a photograph into a research interview. Doing this small action creates more meaningful and qualitative responses from participants. The image connects with a person more so than words on a page; evoking symbolic representations and deeper elements of oneself.

When and how was photo elicitation first used as a methods?

Photo elicitation was first used for research purposes by photographer and researcher, John Collier. Collier implemented the use of photographs in an interview session to elicit meaning responses for researchers facing difficulties.

Identify and describe the four areas where photo elicitation has been concentrated.

Photo elicitation has been concentrated in Social Class, Community, Identity, and Culture Studies. The social class includes studies of familial photographs that show social life produced by participants. Community utilizes photographs to study gentrification and how urban residents keep their sense of identity. The identity uses photographs to examine different dynamics of social identity and how populations mark themselves. Finally, Culture and photo elicitation aim to interpret the signs of cultural institutions and works as a means for grounding cultural studies.

How does Harper discuss the notions of “break the frame” and "building a bridge"?

Breaking the frame refers to the idea that an image can elicit deep reflections and break through the participant's normal lens, making the interview a more reflexive and collaborative process. Building a bridge refers to using the collaborative nature of photo-elicitation to build a commonality between to different people over photographs; creating a unified meaning and collaborative experience.

Answer the Following interview questions yourself.

What do you think of the City of Baltimore?

I think the City of Baltimore as my home. I grew up not too far outside of the city, and my mom worked at a law firm a few blocks away from the Inner Harbor. I’ve seen the positive and negatives of Baltimore but it has not skewed my Charm City-like image I hold.

What do you think people outside of the city think about Baltimore? Regionally? Nationally?

Due to the representation bias produced by the media and certain television series, I believe most people have a misinterpretation of Baltimore. Therefore, most people outside of Baltimore, locally, regionally and nationally may not see Baltimore in the best light. The images of Baltimore in a simple google search produce images that tell a destructive and violent narrative that most people blindly accept (without question why certain things happened - and ultimately, perform victim blaming).

What do you think are the biggest problems facing Baltimore?

Well, one of the huge problems are the institutions that facilitate a cycle of poverty and gentrification among populations in the city, and ultimately ignore their concerns for better living situations, education, and other factors. The other problem is the representational burden placed upon residents of Baltimore City which can discourage assistance and reinforce stereotypes assumed by those outside of Baltimore.

What are the reasons Baltimore faces various problems like these?

A long history of structural violence, representational bias, victim blaming (and not questioning the structural forces at play), and gentrification.

The 10 Images I chose:

1.Pg 1: Lawrence by Julie Stovall Lauver, I like seeing the person behind the camera as it makes the setting more reflexive (and sets the tone for the book)

2. Pg 6: The silence breeds injustice photo by Tyson Sanford-Griffin, the message on the poster say it all.

3. Pg 10: Penn North & Vacant Homes by Mason Alston, the photo shows two comparisons of Baltimore city streets. This could reflect the beautification of one’s neighborhood too.

4. Pg 15: Melia by Madison Mohan and Penn North by Enoch Free Library, both photos show another striking comparison of two different neighborhoods. You can see evidence of violence.

5. Pg 16-17: Taleah by Amiyah Spraggins, this photo was extremely eye catching because of the pop of color on both pages. I like the frame of the shot and how the subjects gaze meets the plant.

6. Pg 18: Tykwan* by Zachary Guy, this photo breaths strength and power through the body language of the subject and the angle of the camera.

7. Pg 19: Chance by Zachary Guy, I like the style of this photograph and how the subjects image cast a great shadow on the mural behind him.

8. Pg 29: Ju’Nore by Zahi Habeebullah, the subjects pose and facial expresses tell me that he was being silly. I enjoy the comical pose in this one.

9. Pg 62: Michael by Imani Morgan, I like the subjects posture and facial expression and the quote next to him.

10. Pg 63: Imani by Raymond Richardson, the subjects facial expression is telling and his hand gesture is telling me to think more about what is around you.

The Interview: What do you think of the City of Baltimore?

“The City of Baltimore is a hard, grimy, unique city, rich with history, and filled with character that is unlike anywhere else. It can also be an extremely tough place to live.”

What do you think people outside of the city think about Baltimore? Regionally? Nationally?

“I think people think of the city much like I stated above, but with more emphasis on the darker “hard and grimy” side of things. Shows like The Wire have done a lot to paint people’s picture of their perception of Baltimore, but I don’t necessarily think it’s inaccurate either, it just simply focuses in on one facet of what the city truly entails, and doesn’t tell the full story. Regionally, when I tell certain friends from other parts of this region that I’m from Baltimore, they’re all like “Woah..” and assume I “live in the ghetto.” Nationally, I think Baltimore has the reputation of being one of the most “hardcore” cities in the country, with not only things like The Wire perpetuating this reputation, but even the established persona of the Baltimore Ravens, and the widely known statistical facts of Baltimore’s murder rate. The recent Baltimore riots have cemented this national reputation even further.”

What do you think are the biggest problems facing Baltimore?

“Extreme racism, division, poverty, economic inequality, outdated infrastructure, highly inflated housing market, oh and the weather sucks too! I’ve heard many people who have lived in other areas in America before living in Baltimore say that Baltimore’s racism and social/economic/racial division is incredibly blatant and unlike anywhere else in America. They say that our racial status is like we’re still living in the 60’s.”

What are the reasons Baltimore faces various problems like these?

“I think the problem stems largely from simply the foundation of our country being established from the beginning as a white supremacist nation, ruled by a rich, white elite, who have established a systemic racism and an economically unequal system from day one that is designed to perpetuate those conditions further and further as time goes on, and because of the large percentage of poor black people concentrated in this city, the racism and division is even more highlighted and pronounced by the white elite who run the place than in other areas. When Baltimore was founded as a city, there were literally lines dividing which areas were for whites and which were for blacks, and even after “segregation” was abolished (so they say), these lines of division still exist to this day, and that is why one driving through Baltimore can go from an all-black area to an all-white area, night and day in their differing economic conditions, in as quickly as two minutes. The cycle of poverty is hard to break out of when the system you’re stuck within does little to nothing to help uplift these conditions, and in fact does more and more to make them much worse (mass incarceration, police brutality, neglected infrastructure and housing projects, lack of new employment opportunities, etc). These problems won’t be fixed until a MASSIVE revolution takes place with the governing powers within this city.”

The 10 Images Brandon Chose:

1. Marqueise by Jeffrey Obike – “Interesting, because his sign says Black Lives Matter AND it says All Lives Matter, showcasing the obvious fact that BOTH of these positions can be held simultaneously. 2. Mason by Faith Goodwin – “Fists in the air are awesome, and the handcuffs on this fist, free from any apparent bondage, are a powerful touch.” 3. Chance by Zachary Guy – “I like the shadow that the boy finds himself standing within.” 4. Makai by Deonte Stanley – “Woah, he’s floating.” 5. Metaphorical Self-Portrait by Deonte Stanley – “Woah, it literally looks a person holding their hands up..” 6. Quentin by Maliyah Baldwin-Bey – “Hell yeah, basketball!” 7. Lenny by Latrell Leverette – “Yesss, more basketball!” 8. Latrell by Lenny Johnson Jr. – “Basketball and books, story of my life!” 9. Robert by Naje’ Tate – “Cool image, and piano is my favorite instrument!” 10. Raymond by Imani Morgan – “Awesome how the reflection of a painting is shown on the floor, looking almost like it’s on water.”

Reflection:

The entire process was comfortable and free flowing because the partner I chose was extremely verbal (as I am not, I speak better through written words). My collaborator understood the violence against Baltimore and recognized the bias in media portrayal of the city. However, he leaned more towards the acceptance of negative images as I do not. This made for an interesting debate between two friends. When talking about Baltimore’s problems, he mentioned the racism being the leading factor of the issues Baltimore faces. When we discussed the reason Baltimore faces these issues, my collaborator mentioned mostly how gentrification divides a clear line between black and white neighborhoods that perpetuates racism in out City. I added to the conversation y discussion how poverty makes someone regionally imprisoned. The questions were preliminary and got heated at times (I am by no means a confrontational person whatsoever, so the debate's hard for me to preform), but it was a rewarding experience.

The photograph portion was my favorite part because I am extremely visual. I make sense and meaning of things easily through images as opposed to word. My collaborator is no the same way. He did not feel comfortable in the interview process or the photo elicitation process; I think this is due to the power dynamic usually experienced in our friendship. Since I am quiet and the opposite of assertive, it was hard for him to react to me in that role. I think this hindered the conversation on his part of the This Is Baltimore book portion. My collaborator's comments were very much surface level; he more so analyzed the content of the image rather than the meaning. This is where I did not break the frame because I do not think we made a meaning full connection through the images or build a unified idea on a picture. However, I believe the book aided my interpretations of Baltimore as a city more than its media representation. For my collaborator, I’m not too sure if it did or did not.; I hope it helped him see the alternative representations of Baltimore.