#CIS transformative learning

[gutenbergpr-blog]

The Canadian International School has a remarkable ability to draw in and provide assistance to educators hailing from various corners of the globe. Our dedicated faculty members, representing not only India but also diverse nations worldwide, actively collaborate and endeavor to cultivate a sense of collective effectiveness. This includes their involvement in enhancing the teaching and learning experiences at CIS.

[entitled-fangirl]

The human did interrupt.

Caius Volturi x human!reader

Summary: The reader is sitting with Caius when Valentina interrupts.

Author's note: This is so short but it just came to me when I remembered that scene lmao.

Masterlist

..........................................................................

A knock on the door interrupted their thoughts.

Aro stood, greeting whomever had dared to enter without announcement.

"Ah, Valentina has brought us something!"

Caius grimaced. His hand came up to rest on the leg of the pretty little human mate of his that currently resided in his lap. "She should not have interrupted."

Aro turned with a gracious look, "She's new."

Marcus' head turned, "Aren't they all?"

Caius smiled wickedly, pulling the girl in his arms closer.

Valentina simply stood at the base of the stairs, nervous and unsure of what to do.

Aro looked rather annoyed at this, motioning for her to step forward to meet him.

As she does, she presents a silver platter with an envelope on it.

Aro opens it, gazing at the handwriting within. "Ah!  L'amore ci mantiene giovani (Love keeps us young). Edward and Bella are to be married."

The girl in Caius' lap turns slightly to see his reaction. He watched his eyebrows furrow carefully in thought, anger beginning to take over his features.

Marcus simply turned his head, his expression anything but an emotion, "What. Joy."

Caius finally spoke up, "This is the Cullen's way of announcing her transformation. They mock us with their delays…"

Aro looked over his shoulder, his attention now away from Valentina, "Patience, brother." Aro then set the envelope back on the platter. "Though, you do have a point," he gently caressed Valentina's face as his voice lost its kindness, "the human did interrupt."

Caius pulled his pretty mate to her feet, pulling her with him as the three Volturi kings began to exit. 

Felix and Demetri appeared on either side of the secretary as Aro walked on, "I do love weddings."

Caius' mate turned to look over her shoulder to see what would become of the girl, but Caius gently caught her jaw, keeping her from looking back. "…C…Caius?" She asked hesitantly.

"Shh. Come, Bella Amora," he leaned to whisper in her ear, "Let the human learn her mistake."

Caius pulled his mate from the throne room, the sound of Valentina's screams being heard throughout the entire castle.

..............................................................................

[cultkinkcoven]

yknow what I like being a trans man. It isn’t just some bleak reality I have to deal with. I like being a trans man.

I like growing hair on my tummy and between my thighs

I like growing my little greasy boy stache, I like feeling my skin texture change

I like that I gained weight on testosterone and now have rolls and flesh in places I didn’t before

I like that I grew past my skinny twink phase, I like seeing myself mature into adulthood, and eventually old age, I will like being a creaky old man

I like that my arms have gotten bigger and my voice has gotten deeper

I like having those awkward voice cracks, I like learning how to talk from my chest instead of my throat

I love feeling how my voice has gotten thicker and vibrates my vocal chords harder when I speak

I like that my voice has gotten deeper than my boyfriend’s

I like having bottom growth and getting to experience new sensations

I like feeling my dick get hard, I like being slightly uncomfortable that my dick is sitting weirdly in my pants, because hey I have a dick, nice.

I like being gay and shaving with my boyfriend in the bathroom

I like sharing clothes with him, I like outgrowing his jeans and flannels that used to be huge on me

I like that clothes sit differently on my body than they do on his

I like when he comments on how much my body has changed, sometimes I don’t even notice, but he does

I like getting stronger than him. I like to see his surprise every time I throw him around with greater ease.

I like that I can see homophobes get uncomfortable when they see me kiss him in public

I like when strangers greet me with sir, only to see my ID and still instinctively call me sir, even though they saw the F

I like that I can confuse people

I like that I get sweaty and stinky a little faster

I like that my relationship with sex has changed I like that my sexuality has evolved as I become more comfortable having sex as a man

I like that I get to experiment with different hard packers and strap ons, I like having the option to personally customize my genitalia according to my and my partner’s needs

I like having a pussy, I like having the option to be penetrated if I want to be, I like that I am a man with a hairy ass

I like topping, I like being able to be dominant or submissive and still be a man regardless

I like being able to wear whatever and still be referred to as sir

I like having man tits, even if I won’t have them forever. I like being a dude with curves. I like that my hips sit where they do.

I like having a body that is not identical to a cis man’s. I like being my own authentic version of a man

I like being able to relate to girl’s and women’s experiences even if I don’t claim to be one

I like that I can use my new strength to protect others

I like that I can be the guy who says something and makes a girl feel a little more safe

I like changing and looking back on all my phases. My hair, my clothes, my aesthetic, never static. I like being a vessel of transformation

I think I really like being a trans man. They told me this would be hell, I think they were wrong.

I love being a trans man.

- A little thing I wrote for Aphrodite and Inanna today after doing my T shot. I love that she gives me the space to think about appreciate these things. Happy Venus Day! ✴️

[jasper-unofficial]

On my continuous journey of trying to learn more about the queer community in Thailand, I have recently stumbled upon an article in Thai, titled "จาก “กะเทย” สู่ “ผู้หญิงข้ามเพศ” การเปลี่ยนแปลงเชิงวาทกรรมว่าด้วยอัตลักษณ์ทางเพศในสังคมไทย (From “Kathoey” to “Phuying-kham-phet” - Discursive Transformation of Gender Identity in Thailand)".

At @peempeeranat's request, I am summarising what I have learned.

The article was written by a PhD in Anthropology, Dr. Cheera Thongkrajai, who is currently a lecturer at the Khon Kaen University in Thailand. Gender is one of the primary focuses of her work and she is also a vocal advocate for queer rights in Thailand. The article was published in the Journal of Anthropology (Volume 6, Issue 1) in 2023.

Before we begin, I would like to point out that the article is by no means the be-all and end-all of information on the Thai queer community. There are more things to learn and more perspectives to consider, not to mention the natural changes that occur in the way queer people talk about themselves overtime. However, I find it to be a more cohesive and trustworthy source on the issue in comparison to where we foreigners often get our information, which is typically from Thai cis people or trans tourists from other countries who do not even speak Thai.

WARNING! There is some transphobic and transmedicalist language under the cut.

Archer's Note: Any additions or notes that I personally have will be written in this format. The rest of the text reflects what was written in the article by Dr. Cheera Thongkrajai directly.

Now, to begin our exploration of the history of Thai queer identities and language, we must refer to the earliest mention of what one could define as queer.

กะเทย [kathoey] - the oldest word in Thai queer discourse, which encompasses many identities and has changed meaning overtime

Kathoey is not a new concept in Thailand and there are many traces of kathoey in Thai history. There are even some documents, which outline kathoey's legal rights, meaning that their existence as a specific group of people outside of cisheteronormativity was formally acknowledged by society and law in the past.

There are no clear definitions of who exactly was considered kathoey. The word seems to have emerged from society at large to refer to people who were outside of the "norm" and could mean men who are attracted to other men, women who are attracted to other women, people who are neither men nor women, men who act feminine and/or have feminine gender presentation, women who act masculine and/or have masculine gender presentation, a combination of any of these (where applicable), and more.

The changes to kathoey's place in society started in the 20th century with changes related to gender.

During the reign of King Rama VI (1910-1925), new laws were implemented, which clearly stated that a person's gender is determined by "what they were born as" (primary sex characteristics), while the concepts of "man" and "woman" as polar opposites became state ideology and soon social norm.

Archer's Note: Although the author does not go into detail on the previous state of gender in Thailand, it seems like this being a change can lead us to conclude that, prior to these new gender "rules", the line between "man" and "woman" was not as defined in the first place, even when we refer to cisheterosexuals.

During Plaek Phibunsongkhram’s reign as prime minister (1948-1957), further state-enforced concepts related to gender and sexuality emerged. The divide into "the perfect man" and "the perfect woman" became a way of effective control over Thai citizens: those assigned male at birth were to be men, act in a way that is appropriate for men, be gentlemen, enlist in the army, wear pants; while those assigned female at birth were to be women, act in a way that is appropriate for women, be housewives, take care of children, wear skirts. Policies promoting heterosexual marriage in the interest of population growth were also implemented at this time.

In addition to influence from the government, capitalism played a role in drawing a hard line between genders as well. The fashion industry in particular promoted the divide, focusing especially on cis women, who were suddenly meant to fit into very narrow feminine gender presentation, which then quickly became a social norm. This also meant that people who were playing around with gender presentation in any way whatsoever started standing out far more than they used to.

Generally, in the 1930s-1970s, stigmatisation of kathoey and discrimination against them became painfully apparent. First documented criticism of kathoey appeared in 1920s in a newspaper and seemed to define them more narrowly as cross-dressing men.

Archer's Note: Notice that this was criticism that came from someone who was discriminating against them and who might have "reduced" all kathoey to cross-dressing men in a deliberate attempt to undermine the diversity and realities of the group.

As a result of all these changes, kathoey found themselves to be othered and alienated in a way they have not been before, while also not being recognised by the state or the new social norms.

Moving forward to 1970-1980s, queer language from the West began penetrating Thai queer discourse, although any concepts or words that have been borrowed were rarely copied in their entirety and instead transformed to fit Thai society and culture.

เกย์ [gay] - a man attracted to men เลสเบี้ยน [lesbian] - a woman attracted to women ทอม [tom] (from "tomboy") - butch lesbian ดี้ [dee] (from "lady") - femme lesbian

These new terms also narrowed down the definition of "kathoey" to mean a man who acts feminine, a man who has feminine gender presentation, or a woman assigned male at birth. "Tom" soon became a word for masculine-presenting people who were assigned female at birth, whether they identify as women or not, and who are into women.

Aside from Western influence, the progress in gender-affirming medical care also had a sizeable influence on the change in language and identity.

สาวประเภทสอง [saw-praphet-song] (literally: feminine of two categories) - feminine-presenting person who was assigned male at birth

Saw-praphet-song are not considered to be women by society at large, nor do most of them consider themselves to be women. However, they do have feminine gender presentation and sometimes do seek out HRT and/or surgeries.

Saw-praphet-song is often translated as "ladyboy" into English. However, "ladyboy" is not a word that is used by Thai people amongst themselves and was specifically invented to be used when interacting with foreigners, especially in the context of tourism and sex work.

Archer's Note: You can imagine why someone, who looks like a woman but does not fit into cisheteronormative standards of what a woman "should be", might invent a really easy-to-understand and very roughly descriptive foreign word that would be clear even to tourists who do not generally speak English. "Ladyboy" was a shield created specifically to protect saw-praphet-song and others from the danger Western cis people pose to anyone who does not fit into cisheteronormativity, particularly in the context of sex work.

A big shift in Thai queer discourse happened in 2010, when four guests were invited on a TV program to talk about gender.

One of the guests, Nok Yollada, explained that she is a woman just like any other woman, but who was born in the "wrong" body and needed to go through medical changes to match her "male" body to her "female" mind. She called herself ผู้หญิงข้ามเพศ [phuying-kham-phet].

ผู้หญิงข้ามเพศ [phuying-kham-phet] (literally: woman who crosses over gender) - a woman who was assigned male at birth

Another guest, Jim Sarah, who had migrated to New Zealand and is officially recognised as a woman there, disagreed with the term and thought it should be ผู้ชายข้ามเพศ (ไปเป็นผู้หญิง) phuchai-khem-phet (pai-pen-phuying) (literally: man who crosses over gender (to become a woman)) instead. A third guest, singer Mum Laconics, did not think of herself as a woman and identified as kathoey. (The fourth guest was a medical expert, his opinion is not mentioned in the article).

Nok Yollada relied heavily on the medical point of view, citing WHO's then definition of what she was experiencing as "transsexualism" and a disorder. She received criticism both from cis and queer people.

Cis women at the time threw a lot of common TERF talking points at her, saying that she should leave space for "real women" and not "encroach on them", that nature is unfair to women, as they cannot compete with men, have to menstruate, get pregnant, and give birth "according to the laws of nature". Others called Nok Yollada mentally ill, disgraceful, or simply said "a kathoey is a kathoey", moving her to the third separate category and refusing to see her as a woman.

Queer people criticised Nok Yollada for ignoring those who don't want to go through surgery or simply cannot afford it, pointing out that the medicalised view of gender that she took is a rhetoric of illness and abnormality, which ultimately reinforces the gender binary.

Nok Yollada herself later clarified that she was not trying to claim that all kathoey are phuying-kham-phet and therefore have to undergo medical treatment, that they were different and that's why they felt different. In her 2011 memoir “ผู้หญิ๊ง ผู้หญิง ใคร ๆ ก็หาว่าเธอบ้า” ("A woman, a woman, who everyone thinks is crazy") she describes the experience of asking herself whether she is kathoey or a woman and coming to the conclusion that she is a woman, that the world is more beautiful and makes more sense if she is a woman.

Archer's Note: Although I understand where the criticism from the queer community came from and also fully disagree with the medicalised view of gender, I think it is important to point out that 1) it was 2010 and 2) she was trying to explain herself and legitimise her experience to thousands of people who, at best, did not understand her, at worst, would actively attack her for who she is. It is not an easy position to find yourself in. As you will see, Nok Yollada also changed the discourse around gender forever, providing language and point of reference to people, who clearly needed it.

In 2013, another TV program invited a guest, who was assigned female at birth, but explained that he's always felt like a man and that he had been "a man in a woman's body" (before undergoing gender-affirming care), identifying himself as phuchai-khem-phet.

ผู้ชายข้ามเพศ [phuchai-khem-phet] (literally: man who crosses over gender) - a man who was assigned female at birth

In 2020s, the terms phuying-kham-phet and phuchai-khem-phet have become widely used by the government, the private sector, civil movements, television, and online, alongside terms like kathoey, saw-phraphet-song, tom, as well as LGBTIQ+ and "ทรานส์ [trans]" (although the words "transgender" and "transsexual" have not penetrated Thai queer discourse, the terms LGBTIQ+ and "trans" started being used in recent years).

Evidently, the word "kathoey" remains influential and some people do still use it. Depending on the context, it can mean a feminine man who likes men, a man who cross-dresses, a man who is taking hormones to appear more feminine, or a man who has undergone gender-reassignment surgeries.

In 2015, the idea of non-binary people also entered Thai queer discourse, although it mostly remains online as of right now.

At the time of publishing (first half of 2023), the author said that the concept of gender in Thailand is becoming more and more of a concept of self-determination, something that one can define on their own in whatever way they wish. Misgendering is also a heightened topic and is being condemned more and more, reflecting growing respect for any way that a person might identify.

It is, however, worth noting that many phuying-kham-phet want to move from Thailand to countries, where they can legally change their gender and be recognised as women, so - although the conversation around gender has certainly changed over the years - many women who were assigned male at birth still face such difficulties in Thailand that they seek to leave.

Archer's Note: I would assume this goes for phuchai-khem-phet as well.

Dictionary of Currently Relevant Terms: กะเทย [kathoey] - a feminine man who likes men, a man who cross-dresses as a woman, a man who is taking hormones to appear more feminine, or a man who has undergone gender-reassignment surgeries สาวประเภทสอง [saw-praphet-song] - feminine-presenting person who was assigned male at birth ผู้หญิงข้ามเพศ [phuying-kham-phet] - a woman who was assigned male at birth ผู้ชายข้ามเพศ [phuchai-khem-phet] - a man who was assigned female at birth ทอม [tom] - masculine-presenting person who was assigned female at birth and who is into women ดี้ [dee] - femme lesbian เกย์ [gay] - a man attracted to men

[web-novel-polls]

Trans WN Character Tournament

Shi Qingxuan from Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGCF)

Gender Identity: Transfem / MTF, Nonbinary, Genderfluid

Canon Pronouns: She/Her and He/Him

Submission 1: Canonically switches between female and male forms due to personal preference. Also theres alot of gothic doubling on her plotline as well.

Submission 2:

Genderfluid rep

Goes by any pronouns depending on form

Yoo Joonghyuk (The Punisher) from Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (ORV)

Canon Pronouns: he/him

Gender Identity: Transfem / MTF

Submission 1:

1. inexplicably fights with the strictly girl-only sword fighting technique. is the only 'guy' to ever learn it and the only other person who is a discipline is a canon trans girl so

2. has an ability where he can become a woman and when he uses it it's said 'it was still Yoo Joonghyuk. No, it was even more than before' ??? there's no cis explanation for that. also he's canonically the hottest person in the entire universe as a woman based on MC's attractiveness rating

2.5 described as feeling 'conflicted' over the gender changing thing when thinking back on it. I THINK he's conflicted bc he likeeeeed ittt

3. whole arc is about breaking free from her chains and gaining autonomy over her own life and story despite what other people think she should be (trans narrative)

4. there's a binary in the universe (incarnation/constellation) to which everyone is forced to confirm to, but there's a special category of people who refuse to be a part of this and carve their own path in life (transcenders). guess what Yoo Joonghyuk is.

thats all i remember shjfjsk she's just in general VERY transfem coded story wise

Submission 2: his girlification canonically allows him to access a level of power he can't as a man (this form is called The Punisher). brokers a deal at one point where he must undergo transformation into a girl for a certain amount of time every day for a week. goes out of this way to hide said girlification from the main character (Kim Dokja)

[Anti-Propaganda is NOT allowed. Please be kind and respectful.]

[catwhoisawizard]

Hello gposers of Tumblr!

I would like to get to know you all better and get more involved in the FFXIV community here on tumblr! My particular blend of brain weirdnesses make it difficult to be consistent about making gposes myself, but I do it when I can. I haven't made any recently because I've been on a bit of a hiatus from the game for personal reasons, but I want to share some of my older shots as a start!

So without further ado, here's a short introduction to my current cast of characters! Please feel free to leave comments or send asks with questions about them!

Name: Zhera Anki

Age: 35 (as of DT)

Gender/Pronouns: Cis female, she/her

Orientation: Polyam Lesbian

Canon combat jobs: SCH/WHM/SMN

Canon non-combat jobs: BTN/CUL/ALC

Homeland: Limsa Lominsa (raised there), Ala Mhigo (born there)

Notes: Mixed race Keeper/Seeker. Her Keeper family is descended from survivors of Amdapor. Her Seeker father was a member of the Fist of Rhalgr. She is autistic and has utilized her hyperfixations and special interests to learn multiple difficult skills quickly. Buff.

Zhera is a former Storm Captain and veteran of the Primal Wars, the Garlean War, and the Final Days crisis. Now retired, she became an Archon (her specialty is aetherology and Allagan Summoning) and now spends her time raising her adopted child Hhemetso and working as a freelance botanist. She is close friends with her worldline's WoL, but played a secondary role in most of the events of the MSQ.

Name: Retha Othan

Age: 84

Gender/Pronouns: Trans female, she/her

Orientation: Polyam Pansexual

Canon combat jobs: RDM/SGE/WAR

Canon non-combat jobs: ALC

Homeland: Tenth Shard

Notes: Was AMAB, but learned alchemy and transitioned by using transformative potions similar to Fantasias that she made herself, and continued to make them to help others transition. Was an Archmage of the Red in her prime, but an injury caused her to lose the ability to use magic, and she didn't get it back until getting her new body in the Source. Was happily married to a man named Tavel and had multiple children and many grandchildren.

Retha is Zhera's reflection from the Tenth Shard. She was her world's primary WoL and saved it several times over, but living a hard life eventually caught up to her in her old age, leaving her frail and unable to help when the Ascians made their final move to Rejoin her Shard. She escaped by volunteering for a desperate last minute plan to use experimental magic to send someone's soul to another Shard in the hopes of bringing back help. The transfer succeeded and she found herself sharing a body with Zhera, her counterpart in the Source, only to learn that she was too late: due to unexpected temporal weirdness in the Rift, she had arrived 1500 years after her Shard was already gone. She has since gained her own body and is now building a new life in her new home.

Name: Kjet Anki

Age: 143

Gender/Pronouns: Non-binary, he/him

Orientation: Asexual

Canon combat jobs: WHM/BLM/MNK

Canon non-combat jobs: BTN

Homeland: Hingashi/Gridania

Notes: He is a Viqo'te, as his other mother was a Viera. He is the reincarnation of Deudalaphon and was forced to take on his predecessor's memories against his will; he developed his time travel spell by adapting techniques used in one of her abandoned experiments. He briefly tried to learn the Dark Knight arts, and his Ascian memories took form and consciousness as his Fray before he accepted them; she is now his headmate, calling herself Hephaestia, the name of the previous Deudalaphon prior to taking the Seat.

Kjet is Zhera's son from a separate timeline than her. In his timeline, Zhera lost the war with her depression when he was about 20 and she gave in to despair. In an act of desperation to fix the world, she summoned a perfected primal using her own soul as it's core. The resultant entity was a fusion of her at her lowest and Ifrit at his strongest, calling itself Zhera Ifrita. Following her mandate to "end war by any means necessary", she started a campaign of political manipulation via tempered thralls and eventually outright conquest to unite the entire world under one state, with herself as something akin to a god-queen preventing war via tempering and draconian social policies. While extremely talented with both White and Black magic, Kjet is ill-suited for violence, and was forced to spend over a century in hiding as he watched the world around him succumb to the monster wearing his mother's identity. Finally, in an act of desperation, he managed to develop a primitive time travel spell and used it to travel back to before Zhera lost her hope, but unintentionally made a split timeline in doing so (the method he used does that to prevent a paradox). He has since started building a new life in this timeline, but the threat from his home timeline is not gone...

[genderkoolaid]

I'd like more music recs, please. I'm checking out the few you listed and 👌🏾

Mandatory mention of the classic "Daughterson" by Joe Stevens

"Am I Here" by Jay Page was one of the core songs of a really weird summer experience (ironically in which I dissociated a lot lol) I had so I remember it fondly. He also made Invincible which is written in honor of his younger self.

"Aventura" by Mavi Phoenix FUCKS. His music videos are also really well made. I also like "World's End" from his most recent album.

saint hills has made quite a bit of rap! "Home", "Lavender", "Michelangelo," and "Quit My Job" are some hits for me

"Chartreuse" by Boy Jr. is funky as hell, and you may have seen some of their joke songs on TikTok or Instagram

John-Allison Weiss!! he made I Was an Island which I was obsessed with when I was younger & then I found out he's a trans guy!! His song "Different Now" is fucking amazing. Strong transgender energy without any lyrics explicitly referencing it.

TOBRE is really good for anyone interested sexually explicit trannyfag hyperpop.

"Hindsight Cinema" by Zann Foth is very chill & he has a unique voice that makes it just very nice to listen to. Kind of elevator music energy? Also "I Hate Reaching Out" and "Surprise"

"Sweet Cis Teen" by Dazey and the Scouts. Just a banger. To be trans is to be your own pallbearer!

"Brothers" by Skylar Kergil always makes me feel warm, its very "tboys supporting tboys" <3

"Good Man" and "Brother" by Grayson are two I found very recently! His music is very crisp.

Artists I mentioned in that other post but I'm gonna mention here too:

Anjimile is just such a wonderful artist!!! The King is a beautiful album with great visuals & "Animal" is an extremely powerful song. "Sonja Smokes Me Out" & "Baby No More" are also great. I need everyone to give this man his flowers yesterday

"Shook (Transformed)" by Cuee is a really catchy & really sweet love song, and "Proud Boi" is an explicit trans(masc) pride song!

Everything Beverly Glenn-Copeland makes is wonderful. Its great seeing an older trans man, one who transitioned after building a name for himself, and also hearing his voice in his newest album in comparison to his earlier ones. His songs just make you feel like your soul is being wrapped in a blanket. "The Colour of Anyhow", "La Vita", "People of the Loon"

Dreamer Isioma has their fucking aesthetic (dreamy afrofuturism) DOWN. His music videos (esp. for the Princess Forever album) are all super well done and feel very unique to them.

Malaika Mfalme's album "Yasmin" is dedicated to their late partner and you can feel that love and grief throughout the songs. I recommend checking out this article where they go through the meanings behind each song. "Good Man" is specifically about learning to love masculinity as a positive force.

[scallioncreamcheesebagel]

Gender scholars lend me your opinions

(Familiarity with the Vampire Dormitory series is not required.)

Mito from Vampire Dormitory is a 16 year old presumably-cis-to-start-with girl disguising herself as a boy for practicality purposes. An orphan whose remaining family have all long-abandoned her, she functionally lives as a boy and everyone in her life knows her as one. However, she is internally adamant about being a girl. She binds irresponsibly with ace bandages and occasionally "double crossdresses" / wears feminine clothing as her boy persona.

Due to plot shenanigans too convoluted to explain here, Ren, the secondary love interest, after learning Mito is secretly a girl, uses vampire magic to change her body and "transform Mito into a boy" in the show's words. This gives her a flat chest and presumably a typical cis boy's body. Mito is upset with this unasked-for change and demands to be changed back, but her request is not heeded and she's stuck with her new body. Mito is implied to experience gender dysphoria due to her body not matching her gender. She desires to transition both physically and socially and live as a girl.

Later, Ren doubles down on this and uses vampire magic to tamper with Mito's memories. Among other things, this may have erased Mito's memory of ever being a girl, making her(?) believe that she(?) has always been a cis boy.

[whencyclopedia]

Raven Tales of the Athabaskan (Dene)-Speaking Peoples

The Raven tales are stories featuring the trickster figure Raven that come from the Athabaskan (Dene)-speaking peoples of the Pacific Northwest and other First Nations of the region of modern-day Canada. Raven, like the trickster figures of other Native peoples of North America, is depicted in these stories as a supernatural entity who may be a wise man or a fool.

North American Raven

Christian O. Petersen (CC BY-SA)

According to the lore of some First Nations, Raven is the creator god who made all things as they are. Scholar Larry J. Zimmerman comments:

As a creator, Raven made the world twice over. The first world was a paradise: meat was plentiful, and rivers flowed in both directions, so people never had to paddle their canoes. But Raven thought this world too easy for humans, and so he remade it in its familiar form, with all its hardships and woes.

(190)

The Athabaskan (Dene)-speaking peoples – which include the Aleuts, Inuit, Haida, Tahltan, Tlingit, Tsimshian, among many others – recognize the spiritual power of Raven and include his image in iconography such as seen on the traditional 'totem pole' which is still crafted in keeping with the traditions of the people.

The legend Raven's Great Adventure features the main character as a playful trickster and also explains why the image of Raven on totem poles has no beak. Raven and His Grandmother presents the figure's more selfish and vindictive aspect.

As with the trickster figures of other nations – featured in the Glooscap tales of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Manabozho tales of the Ojibwe and other Algonquin peoples, Coyote tales of the Shasta nation, Saynday tales of the Kiowa, or any others – Raven is an unpredictable character who may bring good fortune or bad luck but, either way, stands as a symbol of transformation and offers an audience the opportunity to learn from his, often, bad behavior and change their own.

The Raven Flood Totem, Alaska

Sir Henry Wellcome Collection (Public Domain)

Text

The following is taken from Voices of the Winds: Native American Legends by Margot Edmonds and Ella Clark. The introduction to Raven's Great Adventure is given by them:

Raven's Great Adventure

Early North American Indians living along the Alaska and North Pacific coast carved the stories of their people on trees, as they had no written language.

They carved strange and beautiful figures, representing people, animals, birds, fish, and supernatural characters, then painted them with bright colors. The tallest red cedar trees were selected for totem poles and are used for landmarks as well as illustrating the legends told from generation to generation.

On one of these poles was carved a stunning Raven, but he had no beak!

The Raven in Alaska was no ordinary bird. He had remarkable powers and could change into whatever form he wished. He could change from a bird to a man, and could not only fly and walk, but could swim underwater as fast as any fish.

One day, Raven took the form of a little, bent-over old man to walk through a forest. He wore a long white beard and walked slowly. After a while, Raven felt hungry. As he thought about this, he came to the edge of the forest near a village on the beach. There, many people were fishing for halibut.

In a flash, Raven thought of a scheme. He dived into the sea and swam to the spot where the fishermen dangled their hooks. Raven gobbled their bait, swimming from one hook to another. Each time Raven stole bait, the fishermen felt a tug on their lines. When the lines were pulled in, there was neither fish nor bait.

But Raven worked his trick once too often. When Houskana, an expert fisherman, felt a tug, he jerked his line quickly, hooking something heavy. Raven's jaw had caught on the hook! While Houskana tugged on his line, Raven pulled in the opposite direction. Then Raven grabbed hold of some rocks at the bottom of the sea and called, "O rocks, please help me!" But the rocks paid no attention.

Because of his great pain, Raven said to his jaw, "Break off, O jaw, for I am too tired." His jaw obeyed, and it broke off.

Houskana pulled in his line immediately. On his hook was a man's jaw with a long white beard! It looked horrible enough to scare anyone. Houskana and the other fishermen were very frightened because they thought the jaw might belong to some evil spirit. They picked up their feet and ran as fast as they could to the chief's house.

Raven came out of the water and followed the fishermen. Though he was in great pain for lack of his jaw, no one noticed anything wrong because he covered the lower part of his face with his blanket.

The chief and the people examined the jaw that was hanging on the halibut hook. It was handed from one to another, and finally to Raven who said, "Oh, this is a wonder to behold!" as he threw back his blanket and replaced his jaw.

Raven performed his magic so quickly that no one had time to see what was happening. As soon as Raven's jaw was firmly in place again, he turned himself into a bird and flew out through the smoke hole of the chief's house. Only then did the people begin to realize it was the trickster Raven who had stolen their bait and been hooked on Houskana's fishing line.

On the totem pole, Raven was carved, not as the old man, but as himself without his beak, a reminder of how the old man lost his jaw.

Raven and His Grandmother

In her barrabara (a native home) at the end of a large village, lived an old grandmother with her grandson, a raven. The two lived apart from the other villagers because they were disliked. When the men returned from fishing for cod, the raven would come and beg for food, but they would never give him any of their catch. But when all had left the beach, the raven would come and pick up any leftover refuse, even sick fish. On these, raven and his grandmother lived.

One winter was extremely cold. Hunting was impossible; food became so scarce the villages neared starvation. Even their chief had but little left. So, the chief called all his people together and urged them to use every effort to obtain food enough for all, or they would starve.

The chief then announced that he wished for his son to take a bride and she would be selected from the girls of the village. All the girls responded to the excitement of the occasion and dressed in their very best costumes and jewelry.

For a short time, hunger was forgotten as the girls lined up for the contest and were judged by the critical eye of their chief, who selected the fairest of the fair for his son's bride. A feast was given by the chief following their marriage ceremony. But soon after hunger began again.

The raven perched on a pole outside his barrabara, observing and listening attentively to all that had happened. After the feast, he flew home and said to his grandmother, "I, too, want to marry." She made no reply, so he went about his work, gathering what food he could for his little home. Each day he flew to the beach and found dead fish or birds. He always gathered more than enough for two people. While he was in the village, he noted that the famine seemed worse. So, he asked the chief, "What will you give me, if I bring you food?"

The chief looked at him in great surprise and said, "You shall have my oldest daughter for your wife." Nothing could have pleased raven more. He flew away in a joyful mood and said to his grandmother, "Let's clean out the barrabara. Make everything clean for my bride. I am going to give the chief some food, and he has promised to give me his oldest daughter."

"Ai, Ai, Y-a-h! You are going to marry? Our barrabara is too small and too dirty. Where will you put your wife?"

"Caw! Caw! Caw! Never mind. Do as I say," he screamed at his grandmother, and began pecking her to hurry.

Early next morning raven flew away, and later in the day returned with a bundle of yukelah (dried salmon) in his talons. "Come with me to the chief's house, grandmother," he called to her. Raven handed the fish to the chief and received the chief's oldest daughter for his bride.

Raven preceded his grandmother as she brought the bride to their little home. He cleared out the barrabara of old straw and bedding When the two women arrived, they found the little home empty, and the grandmother began to scold him and said, "What are you doing? Why are you throwing out everything."

"I am cleaning house, as you can see," Raven curtly said.

When night came, raven spread wide one wing, and asked his bride to lie on it, and then covered her with the other wing. She spent a miserable night, as Raven's fish odor nearly smothered her. So she determined she would leave in the morning.

But by morning, she decided to stay and try to become accustomed to him. During the day she was cheerless and worried. When raven offered her food, she would not eat it. On the second night, raven invited her to lay her head on his chest and seek rest in his arms. Only after much persuasion did she comply with his wish. The second night was no better for her, so early the next morning she stole away from him and went back to her father's house, telling him everything.

Upon waking and finding his wife gone, Raven inquired of his grandmother what she knew of his wife's whereabouts. She assured raven that she knew nothing. "Go then to the chief and bring her back to me," called raven. Grandmother feared him and left to do his bidding. When she came to the chief's house, she was pushed out of the door. This she promptly reported to her grandson.

The summer passed warm and pleasant, but a hard winter and another famine followed. As in the previous winter, the grandmother and the raven had plenty of food and wood, while others suffered greatly from lack of food. Raven's thoughts again turned to marriage. This time she was a young and beautiful girl who lived at the other end of the village. He told his grandmother about her and that he wanted to marry her. He asked, "Grandmother, will you go and bring the girl here, and I will marry her."

"Ai, Ai, Y-a-h! And you are going to marry her? Your first wife could not live with you because you smell strong. The girls do not wish to marry you."

"Caw! Caw! Caw! Never mind my smell! Never mind my smell! Go–do as I say."

To impress his commands and secure her obedience, he started pecking at her until she was glad to go. While his grandmother was gone, raven became restless and anxious. He hopped about the barrabara and nearby hillocks, straining his eyes for a sight of his expected bride.

Hurriedly he began cleaning out the barrabara, throwing out old straw, bedding, baskets, and all. The grandmother upon her return scolded Raven, but he paid no attention to her.

The young bride, like her predecessor, was enfolded tightly in his wings, and likewise she had a wretched and sleepless night. But she was determined to endure his odor if possible. She thought at least with him she would have plenty of food to eat. The second night was as bad as the first, but she stayed on and secretly concluded she would do her best to stay until spring.

On the third day the raven, seeing that his wife was still with him, said, "Grandmother, tomorrow I will go and get a big, fat whale. While I am gone, make a belt and a pair of torbarsars (native shoes) for my wife."

"Ai, Ai, Y-a-h! How will you bring a big, fat whale? The hunters cannot kill one, how will you do it?"

"Caw! Caw! Caw! Be quiet and do what I tell you: make the belt and torbarsars while I go and get the whale," he angrily exclaimed, using his most effective method of silencing her.

Before dawn next morning the raven flew away to sea. In his absence, the old woman was busily engaged making the things for the young bride, who watched and talked to her. About midday, they saw Raven flying toward shore, carrying a whale.

The grandmother started a big fire, and the young woman tucked up her parka (native dress), belted it with her new belt, put on the new torbarsars, sharpened the stone knife, and went to the beach to meet her husband. As he drew near, he called, "Grandmother, go into the village and tell all the people that I have brought home a big, fat whale."

She ran as hard as she could and told the joyful news. The half- dead people suddenly became alive. Some sharpened their knives, others dressed in their best clothes. But most of them just ran as they were and with such knives as they had with them to the beach to see the whale.

His sudden importance was not lost on the raven, who hopped up and down the whale's back, viewing the scene of carnage, as the people gorged themselves on the whale.

Every few moments raven would take a pebble out of his bag, then after some thought put it back. When the chief and his relatives came near, Raven drove them away. They had to be content just watching the people enjoy their feasting and carrying off blubber to their homes. Later, in the village, the people did share with the chief.

The raven's first wife, the chief's daughter, had a son by him, a little raven. She had it in her arms at the beach and walked in front of raven, where he could notice her. "Here is your child, look at it," she called. But he ignored her. She called to him several times and continued to show him the baby. At last he said, "Come closer–nearer still." But when she could not stand his odor any longer, she left him without a word.

Death occurred as a result of the feast. Many of the people ate so much fat on the spot that they died soon after. The rest of the people had eaten so much and filled their barrabaras so full, that during the night they all suffocated. Of the entire village, only three were left–the raven, his new wife, and the grandmother. There they lived on as their descendants do to this day.

Continue reading...

[mostlysignssomeportents]

When parties fail, movements step up

This Saturday (19 Aug), I'm appearing at the San Diego Union-Tribune Festival of Books. I'm on a 2:30PM panel called "Return From Retirement," followed by a signing:

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/festivalofbooks

Does anyone like the American two party system? The parties are opaque, private organizations, weak institutions that are prone to capture and corruption, and gerrymandering's "safe seats" means that the real election often takes place in the party's smoke-filled rooms, when a sure-thing candidate is selected:

https://doctorow.medium.com/weak-institutions-a26a20927b27

But there doesn't seem to be any way to fix it. For one thing, the two parties are in charge of any reform, and they're in no hurry to put themselves out of business. It's effectively impossible for a third party to gain any serious power in the USA, and that's by design. After the leftist Populists party came within a spitting distance of power in the 1890s, the Dems and Repubs got together and cooked the system, banning fusion voting and erecting other structural barriers.

The Nader and Perot campaigns were doomed from the outset, in other words. Either candidate could have been far more popular than the D and R on the ballot, and they still would have lost. It's how the deck is stacked, and to unstack it, reformers would need to take charge of at least one – and probably both – of the parties.

But that's not cause for surrender – it's a call to action. In an interview with Seymour Hersh, Thomas Frank (Listen, Liberal) sets out another locus of power, one with the potential to deliver control over the party to its base: social movements:

https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/ordinary-people-by-the-millions

It's been done before. The parties are routinely transformed by power-shifts within their internal coalitions: since 1970, corporate Dems have consistently pushed the party to the right, making it the power of white-collar professionals and relying on working people showing up and marking their ballots with a D because they have "nowhere else to go."

Bill Clinton was the most successful of these corporate raiders, delivering the parts of the Reagan Revolution that Reagan himself could never have managed: dismantling tariffs and bank regulations, passing the crime bill and welfare "reform." He came within a whisper of (partially) privatizing Social Security.

This set in motion the forces that made Trumpism possible: when Dems told deindustrialized workers to "learn to code" and blamed them for the destruction of their communities, it opened a space for Make America Great Again, the (empty) workerist rhetoric of the GOP. The Dems' plan of putting "really smart people" in charge and letting them run things was a (predictable) disaster. "Really smart" isn't the same as "infallible" and really smart people can be spooked or bulled into doing the wrong thing – like Obama "foaming the runways" for the banks with the houses of mortgage holders, and leaving the bankers responsible for the Great Financial Crisis unscathed:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/15/mon-dieu-les-guillotines/#ceci-nes-pas-une-bailout

"Really smart people" can't get us out of this mess. Instead, we need the kind of muscular political action – the "whirlwind" – that characterized FDR's New Deal: "complete reformation of the banking industry.. just about every other industry as well. Regulation. Social Security. Public works. Antitrust. Soil conservation."

FDR got there by alienating his former classmates and refusing the go-slow entreaties of his cronies. He got there because there was a mass social movement that made him do it ("I want to do it, now make me do it"):

https://humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/i-agree-with-you-i-want-to-do-it-now-make-me-do-it/

Every time in US history where one of the political party duopoly listened to its base, it was because of a mass social movement: the farmers' movement (1890s), labor (1930s), civil rights and antiwar (1960s). As Frank says:

Social movements succeed. They build and they change the intellectual climate and then, when the crisis comes, they make possible things like agrarian reform or the New Deal or the Civil Rights acts of the 1960s.

Today, we see the seeds of those social movements: the new union movement. Black Lives Matter. Neobrandeisians with their "hipster antitrust." These are the movements that are creating "ideas lying around": ideas that, in time of crisis, can move from the fringe to the center in an eyeblink:

https://doctorow.medium.com/ideas-lying-around-33a28901a7ae

They are setting in motion another transformation of the Democratic Party, from its top-down, "really smart people" model to a bottom-up, people-powered one, kept in check by movements, not party bosses. As Frank says, "They require the mass participation of ordinary people. Without that, I am afraid that nothing is possible."

I'm kickstarting the audiobook for "The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation," a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and make a new, good internet to succeed the old, good internet. It's a DRM-free book, which means Audible won't carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/17/popular-front-of-judea/#speaking-frankly

[gutenbergpr-blog]

At the international school in Bangalore, learning at CIS is a transformative journey that encompasses conceptual understanding, the practical application of competencies, and the development of character, all rooted in the CIS Core Values.

[creature-wizard]

Hello! I hope it’s not a bother (also really like your blog!!) I would appreciate if you could help me out:)

I’ve heard that there’s multiple gay couples and there’s mentions of being not cis within the bible within the cultural context is that just a modern misinterpretation?

2nd and last question— when people who take psychedelics and experience spiritual/ out of body experiences is that just drug induced psychosis or is it possible that it could be spiritual in nature? My partner had a recently bad reaction to a gummy and said that he experienced what it was like to die and he understood a lot more. What’s your thoughts on that?

For your first question, I'm going to recommend this article:

Now, to address your second question. First, substance-induced psychosis is not the same thing as simply experiencing effects from taking a psychoactive substance. It sounds like your friend experienced what would commonly be referred to as a bad trip.

From everything I've personally gathered about psychoactive substances where it pertains to spirituality, such experiences don't seem to be any more or any less reliable than near-death experiences, hypnotic trances, astral projection, etc; and everything I can find on these phenomena suggests to me that these experiences are generated primarily (if not wholly) within the minds of the people experiencing them. I feel like it's important to note here that these experiences can be extremely profound and transformative, but they overall do appear to be subjective.

I also wouldn't say that their subjectivity makes them inherently non-spiritual, since what the spirit is and what the implications of its existence are (should you reckon that it exists) is also extremely subjective. I just think that it means that we can't trust any mystical experience to give us much in the way of objective ontological insight.

[transformersconfessions]

I recently started watching Earthspark, and now I have a few opinions about it (I typed this out earlier but then I lost it, so *sobs* here I am, retyping it). I feel like I could post this on my actual blog if there wasn’t risk of me getting hate for it, but given the current confessions I’ve read about Earthspark… yeah, no.

First off, Nightshade. I’m gonna get that out of the way because people are arguing left and right about if Nightshade is good enby rep or not, whether their “coming out” was addressed properly, etc. Im gonna say this, and it’s gonna be controversial, but hear me out. I feel like Hashtag should’ve been the enby character in ES, and I say this for a good reason. There isn’t much enby rep in media, and there are WAY too many stereotypes around enbies being this “mysterious, silent-type” variety of people. I feel like Nightshade fits this trope all too well and it’s just boring and frankly unoriginal. Hashtag, however, makes sense to me because she’s already this unpredictable, awkward, and somewhat clumsy character, and I think that because she’s so unpredictable, she’d be the most likely to reject the traditional gender binary and be an enby. Nightshade’s “coming out” (I say this in quotes because it was more of a “oh you have pronouns. Can we move on now?” Type thing) was rushed and choppy. I will say it was simply because of bad timing: they were in a chaotic situation and there wasn’t much time to mull over pronouns and gender identity. But I also feel like the emotional link between the Malto children and the Terrans ruined it. I wanted to see Nightshade struggle with their identity, being addressed with assumed pronouns and not saying anything about it because they couldn’t properly articulate their feelings. I wanted them to mull over it and try to figure themself out before finally telling the Maltos and the other boys about it. I wanted to see Nightshade struggle with dysphoria, as many enbies experience. This would make the experience of not being cis so much more understandable to children and even adults that enjoy Transformers, as seeing something from a digestible viewpoint is a good way to learn about it.

I don’t have much to say on Frenzy and Skywarp, other than the fact that they should’ve just been introduced as transfem (as I believe that’s what hasbro might’ve been going for?) because gender bending characters willynilly without giving any explanation is bound to confuse people (and/or upset them). I also think this is a similar situation to Knockout in TFP. It’s bad trans rep, no matter how you look at it, because they’re introduced as villains. Now, it’d be a different story if it was used as a plot device for character development. For example, if a trans character was bullied heavily for not being cis, and later became a villain because of it, but later on began realizing that they should fight for a better cause. That would be fine, but I don’t think that’s going to happen with Frenzy and Skywarp, and that just makes the situation worse. We don’t need more bad rep.

I may sound like I’m complaining, but I do like some things about Earthspark.

I really like what character development Megatron is going through, as he’s faced with both external and internal struggles and learning to grow as a person. He is faced with the internal struggles of the morality of imprisoning the bots he once commanded and fought alongside while trying to become a better person and help aid humanity and repair the destruction that the Decepticons caused, as well as learning how to bond with others on top of everything else. He faces the external challenges of fighting cons alongside what once was his greatest enemy, Optimus, and fighting against Meridian (Mandroid). He also faces his distrust of G.H.O.S.T. and what it stands for. But, despite all of these challenges, Megatron still manages to prove himself and make meaningful connections, even going so far as “adopting” (I say that because it’s essentially what he did) Twitch, calling her “little bird” and teaching her aerial fighting techniques whilst aiding her in battle. I just love this for him. He deserves to be happy :)

I also love Bumblebee’s character. He gives the vibe of a middle-aged man going through his midlife crisis that’s just so utterly done with life and just needs a nap. He needs a hug. But I would feel the same way if I were forced to fight in a war I didn’t start, essentially being the second most important member of my faction due to my assets and skills, and then being forced into hiding after all is said and done.

This is the longest ask I’ve ever done on this blog, but hopefully it’s insightful.

*

[hypnodom97]

ABOUT ME

Name : Alex

Age : 26 yo

Gender : Cis Male

Location : Spain

Kinks : Mind Control, Corruption, Pleasure Control, Fraccionation, Resistance Play, Memory, IQ play, Manipulation, Brainwash, Transformation, Arousal, Pet Play, Body Writing

About Me : I have been 5 years in hypnosis and I have hypnotized a bunch of People who had an incredible experience. Im open to New things because i love learning New things. With me you Will have the Best experience of your life. DM me to lose yourself

[web-novel-polls]

Trans WN Character Tournament

Xie Lian from Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGCF)

Canon Pronouns: he/him

Gender Identity: Transmasc / FTM

Submission: He's been trans in my head for so long that it's just kind of part of his character now.

Yoo Joonghyuk (The Punisher) from Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (ORV)

Canon Pronouns: he/him

Gender Identity: Transfem / MTF

Submission 1:

1. inexplicably fights with the strictly girl-only sword fighting technique. is the only 'guy' to ever learn it and the only other person who is a discipline is a canon trans girl so

2. has an ability where he can become a woman and when he uses it it's said 'it was still Yoo Joonghyuk. No, it was even more than before' ??? there's no cis explanation for that. also he's canonically the hottest person in the entire universe as a woman based on MC's attractiveness rating

2.5 described as feeling 'conflicted' over the gender changing thing when thinking back on it. I THINK he's conflicted bc he likeeeeed ittt

3. whole arc is about breaking free from her chains and gaining autonomy over her own life and story despite what other people think she should be (trans narrative)

4. there's a binary in the universe (incarnation/constellation) to which everyone is forced to confirm to, but there's a special category of people who refuse to be a part of this and carve their own path in life (transcenders). guess what Yoo Joonghyuk is.

thats all i remember shjfjsk she's just in general VERY transfem coded story wise

Submission 2: his girlification canonically allows him to access a level of power he can't as a man (this form is called The Punisher). brokers a deal at one point where he must undergo transformation into a girl for a certain amount of time every day for a week. goes out of this way to hide said girlification from the main character (Kim Dokja)

[Anti-Propaganda is NOT allowed. Please be kind and respectful.]

[fantasy-relax]

About the Omega Donna x Alpha Reader.

- Happens a few years after the end of SADO.

- Miranda is building more influence in the outside world.

- Alpha is gender fluid but because reasons present as a cis man.

- Donna doesn't feel the side effects as Cassandra as she is always suppressing her instincts and using Angie as an emotional outlet but like the dimitrescu her state has worsened with the years. Her scent is non-existent, what the village smell from her is the varnish of her woodwork and the flowers of her experiments/gardening.

- Donna is pretty much sedated, the most emotion she shows is through Angie.

- The cadou inside of Angie kind of adopted Donna mannerisms and transformed into her own independent being.

-Donna has a childish curiosity if she wants to know how something works or 'what if'she would get her answers.

- Doesn't like being in crowded places or around too many people but she hates being alone. Her siblings visit her very few times a year and it is a short visit. She is free to visit them and they would let whatever they are doing to hang out with her.

-She is very touch starved.

-She doesn't have servants because she has trust issues.

- The moment she learns how to control her powers she suppresses her instinct immediately.

- Every single doll in her territory has a part of her own cadou combined with another, Angie has the most. She can order them around and see through their eyes.

- Alpha just wanted to be a good citizen😔.