#empower widows

[widowsday]

Empower widows and their dependants to achieve economic independence.

To mark the United Nations’ International Widows’ Day 2023, the UK Parliament held an oral questions and answers on the measures to empower widows and their dependants to achieve economic independence

[slaughter-books]

Day 8: JOMPBPC: Empowered Women Empower Women

Empowered women in books empower women in real life! 💕

[kaosbeast]

The Women of Marvel: Paving the Way for Female Superheroes

Hello, Marvel Universe fans! Today we’re celebrating the powerful women who help shape the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). From Black Widow to Wanda Maximoff, let’s delve into the journeys of our favorite female superheroes. Black Widow: The Lethal Spy Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, is a former Russian spy who became a core member of the Avengers. With her unmatched combat skills,…

[ghosts-of-gotham]

[thalir-leed-blog]

Dear ALL, I hope your day is enjoyable, happy, and fun filled with everything you love. To fulfil the aspirations of our artisans, we are creating new products. Please investigate it, spread the word, and provide your feedback. They are jewellery, cloth bags, etc…. apart from that we have all varieties of wire baskets and bags. My dream is to help this Single Mothers whom I am meeting them every day, so I started my new organization, Thalir-LEED. I cannot succeed on my own. Can you assist me?Thalir-LEED cares single mothers especially divorced, widows who are helpless. To make new resin earrings and paint bottles, I recently began a new quest. In this voyage, I am a novice. Please help me by purchasing or by offering fresh suggestions for raising money. I only want to buy a sewing machine, some garments, and give her a monthly payment. I have no idea how people obtain funds from significant institutions. However, I may consider that I could create innovative items and increase awareness. Are you able to assist? Recently began raising money for a cause for the divorced, deaf, and dumb single mother of three children. She is a tailor, which is fortunate. Can you share and spread my dreams? Are you there with me? Link is below. Our website link is given in bio. https://r.give.do/ffE3f6wu #empower #single #mothers #widows #NGOINDIA #home #utility #organizers #school #office #basketsbags #picnic #bottlebags #shoppers #liningscloth #TableTop #Fruitbaskets #Laptopbags #instapost #Thenewleed #Thalirleedweavers #thalirleed_bags (at The New LEED Trust) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cooa_7NPbuL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[vindelllas]

the femininity of shani (what we can learn from pushya) 🌷

🌷 monica bellucci: pushya chandra

🌫️ The mystical tundra of Shani is often overlooked by its restricting feminine complexity and misconstrued for the nature of Buddha (the tantalizing serpent of Ashlesha). While their indirect submissive natures are similar in comparison, it is often natives of Mercury who use this explicit behavioral pattern for more materialistic, perhaps conniving, matters at hand. In this exploration of Shani’s ancient connection to divine femininity, I want to purposefully disclose that their submissive, seemingly “neutral” expressions are not the same. Buddha is the snake of binding to the collective for the intent of freedom and entangling or ensnaring their victim for the purpose of disempowering. Shani is the snake of binding to the contemporary nature of society for the intent of cooling the darkness of ego and empowering the higher collective. Buddha bestows the intelligence of the material aspects of the subversion into the intellect of worldly matters. However, Shani is the intelligence of the occult undertones which control the very essence of the material plane and the union of what is to come after we conquer the very shadows of the tenth house (the rashi of capricorn who will be the awakening of the realm, once we are released from Kali Yuga) to the hidden truths of the eleventh house, the supposed house of personal ties and fulfillment.

🌷 jessica lange: pushya lagna

☔️ There is a specific air of mystery around Shani and the graha’s corresponding nakshatras, bhavas and rashis. Much of the information provided is rather repetitively regurgitated from varying sources and of surface nature. My goal with this exploration is not to specifically delve in the expressional aspects of Shani, but to focus on the graha’s distinct involvement in the path of divine femininity. My hope is this exploration will awaken the serpent of knowledge within you, to explore the more niche archetypes within the vata umbrella that is Saturn.

🌷 miranda kerr: pushya lagna

⛩️ Vata dosha is most synonymous with cold, bereaved individuals who search this earthly plane longing for sustenance. It is the cold hands that seek to grasp the tangibility of spiritual words, it is the homeless widow who was once filled with wanderlust now bereaved, it is the drowsy feeling that surmounts when you look upon the rain beating down on your window pane. It is the dosha characteristic of the feelings we most disdain and wish to shy away from and simultaneously the realm of Shani, Chandra, and Rahu. We have heard the tales of the greedy, insatiable spirit of Rahu; the forgetful, lusting of Chandra; and the forever dried and cold spirit of Shani. Having repeatedly heard the rhetoric of these respective deities, a certain air of weariness has surrounded them respectfully. But you must continue to remind yourself of the necessity of attaining equilibrium and leaning into each graha’s meanings, teachings, and significances. If you are dominant in either of these vata grahas, know that you are more than the sterile or greedy archetype that has been placed upon you, as Kali (Shani) was equally as ferocious as she was creationist, Chhinnamasta (Rahu) was equally as violent as she was self-sacrificing, and Bhuvaneshvari (Chandra) is equally as intimidating as she is the supreme being of the earth, atmosphere, and heavens.

🌷 paris hilton: pushya chandra

🩸 In a similar fashion, the ethereal air of vata is equally as destructive as it is light, cool and dry. It governs all movement and processes in your mind and body (such as blood flow, breathing, and the coagulation of thoughts in your mind). This rulership of movement is why Shani is so astute and articulate within the realm of femininity. Shani is able to manipulate the vata element to attract and constrict around those we long to unite with. These elements of constriction are often associated with Ashlesha/Buddha, but significantly vary from each other.

🌷 gisele bundchen: pushya surya

🐍 Think of the Pushya nakshatra, the “Kula” star, resembling the flower of the snake gourd. Similar to Ashlesha, Pushya is also associated with serpentine movement. It is the maternal snake before it enters the stage of selfishness. It is focused on laying its cosmological eggs, whereas Ashlesha is the mother after this stage that abandons the cosmic eggs of Brihaspati (carefully crafted in Punarvasu) to never return or protect her young again. Ashlesha is leering into the gandanta knot spirituality of disempowering the collective, coiling up to rest in preparation for the spiritual shedding that awaits in Magha. Pushya is leering into the birthing of the collective itself. With the knowledge of vata dosha, Pushya is able to tap into previous experiences of destruction and coldness to relate to others. Using those previous experiences to further divulge into the mystified unknown that often longs to be hidden.

🌷 kate moss: pushya lagna

💒 This is why the cancer rashi is essential for developing cosmic energy and harnessing/wielding it. The cancer rashi is ruled by Chandra, of which is correlated to the Kamala Mahavidya (the vata being whose symbolism is comparable to that of Aphrodite or the Christian Mary). The primary “devastating” nature of vata is what sprouts fertility and purity, as the dirtiest mud will produce the freshest lotus. It is recommended in order to celebrate her, devotees engage in eating spicy, hot foods, as they ignite passion. These spices may include cinnamon, garlic, saffron, or chili peppers due to heavily spiced foods having the ability to bear this Mahavidya’s luscious energy. These same foods are associated with the vata Shani, in a similar fashion, Shani and Chandra are considered enemies but respectfully hold the cosmic keys to one another through the likes of Pushya and Shravana. The metaphor for the consumption of extreme vata spices that one earns the ability to celebrate and veneer the Mahavidya in her idealistic form is comparable to the narrative of sacrifice one must engage in to witness beauty (spiritually and physically). Aphrodite was offered sacrificial doves (bird’s being Shani’s primary vahana: vehicle) and smoky incense (smoke being ether in nature which is of vata dosha) in an attempt to receive love, fertility, and union. Whereas, the Virgin Mary was deemed pure due to her great sacrifice when she offered up the life of her Divine Son Jesus using her “Immaculate Heart” (similar to Kamala’s abundance in the anahata/heart chakra). In “A Prayer of Praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary” by St. Ephrem, he sang: “….Thou indeed art our only hope, most sure and sacred in God's sight, to whom be honor and glory, majesty and dominion, for ever and ever, world without end. Amen.”. Similar to Kamala, Aphrodite, and the Virgin Mary, so too must the masses work to earn the right to witness Shani’s femininity due to its premiere selectivity. This is why Pushya births the highest grossing models and revolutionary actresses in history [e.g. Halle Berry, Twiggy, Marlene Dietrich, Selena Gomez (who is now the most followed woman on Instagram) etc.], as the masses find pleasure in working to witness the mysticism vata bestows.

🌷 selena gomez: pushya surya and lagna

🍷 This mysticism is often deemed “odd”, “exotic” or “unique” and this is exactly where we can learn from the Mahavidya Kali. The darkened Mahavidya Kali breaks conventional stereotypes of feminine beauty and sexuality in Hindu goddess mythology. She serves as the dominant sexual partner straddling the prone Shiva (the master of poison and medicine, the great yogi, overlord of time, the cosmic dancer) and the wild warrior goddess drinking demon blood. She is originally depicted as a symbol of uncontrolled fury emerging from the fair, beautiful goddess Ambika (goddess of supreme power, energy and invincibility), in the battle with the demons in older Vedic texts. Thereafter, she gains independent existence both as the dark, mysterious and sexually demanding version of the more benign and auspicious Parvati and the primordial goddess power pre-dating the Hindu trinity of male gods, the Universal Mother Force which embraces both good and evil, gods and demons in the Kalika Purana. Unlike other texts which emphasize Kali's role in the battle against the demons, the Kalika Purana's focus is on her sexuality and her darkly sensual beauty. Equally it is on the heterodoxical rituals associated with her worship involving blood and flesh offerings, wine and the use of sexual intercourse as opposed to Vedic rituals.

🌷 dakota fanning: pushya chandra

❤️‍🔥 In Kalika Purana, Daksha’s daughter Sati, born fair, assumes the fearful visage of Kali and the other Mahavidyas to terrify Shiva into submission. At Daksha’s yagna, her father attributes her dark color to constant proximity to the wild-mendicant Shiva, causing her to give up her life in sorrow and humiliation. In the second portion of the Purana, she takes the dark and beautiful form of Parvati, similar to the appearance of a blue lotus. She was born to serve the gods’ purpose of luring into domesticity the stern, austere hermit-like Shiva to preserve the cosmic cycles of creation, preservation and destruction. It is only later, piqued and jealous of Shiva’s propensity towards fair-skinned goddesses that she emerges from her kosa (sheath) of darkness to become the golden-hued Gauri. Yet her darkly alluring and compelling sexuality is highlighted in the text as opposed to the prototype of a domesticated wife and mother like Candi in the Candi Mangal Kavya. John Stratton Hawley in his Prologue to “Devi: Goddesses of India”, noted that Kali in a strange way mediates between the transcendent goddess, the generic Devi who has supremacy over all forms of life and the consort goddesses like Lakshmi and Radha. Hawley wrote: “On the one hand, Kali unquestionably manifests herself as supreme—whether as a mother demanding submission or as an uncanny, uncontrollable force—but on the other hand, her supremacy is paradigmatically measured by the power she exerts over her consort the great god Shiva”. He detailed an example of her sexual dominance, the iconic representation of Kali dancing wildly on the prone, ithyphallic corpse of her husband Shiva. The Kalika Purana initially projects her as the manifestation of the universality of divine femininity, Mahamaya, who is Visnumaya and Rudrani consort of both Visnu and Rudra (Shiva). She is Savitri, Saraswati, through the power of her maya (illusion), incomprehensible to all who are ensnared in her power of illusion. She is Visnu’s Yoganidra, his state of cosmic sleep or stasis. She is Yogamaya/Mahamaya, who ensnares the cosmos in her web of illusion, she is Mahamoha, the fatal enchantress and the Supreme Trinity itself is not immune to her mysterious lure. Another goddess text, the Sri Lalita Sahasranama calls her Mahabhoga and Bhogini implying her rajasik-rupa (dynamism, also material grandeur) of being steeped in worldly luxuries. Yet she is the path to mukti (salvation) for beings trapped in the worldly and materialistic which is all part of her cosmic illusion. The Sri Lalita Sahasranama also states that she is Mohanasini, destroying the moha (bondage) of her devotees and Pasu-pasa-vimocini, releasing them from the inferior, coarser earthly bonds. She is Vidya (knowledge) for the householder who desires mukti (salvation), and Avidya (ignorance) who binds the universe in bonds of material desire. She is the primeval Demi-Urge, the Adyasakti that activates the inert maleness of Shiva into the dynamism of the Shiva-Sakti or Purusa-Prakrti union for without Sakti, Shiva is but a sava (corpse). Among the Sakta devotees it is Kali amongst the many manifestations of the divine feminine who is recognized as the Adya-murti, the original goddess manifestation. In the text, Kali alone can awaken the virility within Shiva, for on the one hand, she is a yogin to participate in his yoga and on the other, it is her eroticism, wild and uncontrolled, which is the perfect counterpart to his dominant sexual urges.

🌷 marlene dietrich: pushya chandra

🦶 Kali is feared in Hindu mythology as the negative stereotype in goddess cults and paradoxically revered as the Universal Mother. In a similar fashion, Pushya natives serve as the nourishing udder they are symbolized as, flowing with the golden knowledge of Brihaspati; yet their propensity for awakening occult knowledge and powers within their partners is hidden within the little knowledge the public has on this nakshatra. Kali’s iconic delineation, girded and garlanded with skulls and limbs while her hand is raised in the abhayamudra (gesture of reassurance from fear) indicates both chastisement and benediction. As a dark, complex, mysterious and alluring figure, she breaks conventional stereotypes of feminine beauty and sexuality, combining the beautiful with the fearful. Thus, explaining Pushya’s propensity for both embodying and challenging feminine stereotypes in the media (such as Paris Hilton’s hyperfemininity, Marlene Dietrich’s well-known portrayal for characters challenging the submissive standard of the 1900s, Halle Berry’s intimidatingly complex “Storm” character). In a traditionally patriarchal society and an androcentric religious order, Kali emerges as a rebel; dominant in marital and sexual relationships, ferocious, and bloodthirsty on the battlefield. Existing on the fringes of the dharmic value system and Vedic ritualism, the Kali-centric myths teeter dangerously on the extreme peripheries of social and moral acceptability in the iconic projection of her black nudity, voluptuous breasts, bloodstained, her foot on the prostrated corpse-like body of her consort Shive, and the sacrificial blood and flesh rituals associated with her worship.

🌷 angelina jolie: pushya lagna (note her films are wonderful examples of the nature of Pushya, from her Maleficent character’s sheep-like creature (the yoni of Pushya) to her dominatrix role, symbolizing the dark sexual subcultures of Shani in B*SM)

🍒 Kali conveys maya as seen from the “other shore”. She illustrates what the world of appearance looks like to the one who has seen beyond her overall presence (which is described as frightening) and her dwelling place lying within the cremation ground mocks the ultimate significance of a world grounded in the ego. In her “mad dancing, dishevelled hair and eerie howl, there is made present the hint of a world reeling, careening, out of control”. In conclusion, Kali, in integrating absolute binaries of the terrifying and the beautiful, the compassionate Mother and the blood-thirsty demon destroyer, the consort of Shiva and the sexually dominant partner draws a more comprehensive image of non-duality that is beyond the reductivist social and religious definitions of what is acceptable or what is heterodox. So too Pushyas embody life as it is in all its wild and abundant complexity, not as it is selectively made out to be within social and religious peripheries. They embody divine femininity in all its complexity; serving as the slivering synthesis of both the auspicious and benign goddesses, the wild, and uncontrolled. Like the Adyasakti, the primeval cosmic force, they represent both the good and the evil, the godly and the demonic of which the cosmos is composed, all of which arise from the intersection of the nakshatras in cancer rashi (as detailed above).

👄 It is important to note that the dominant female sexuality, the prolonging of intercourse in the Shiva-Shakti union, is not an exercise of power associated with the sexually dominant partner. Its ultimate purpose is the awakening of the dormant kundalini shakti (vital energy), which rises up the spine through the various chakras within us to culminate in the sahasrara (the thousand-petalled lotus) on the top of the head, the psycho-spiritual center. It envisages the path from pravritti (intense activity) to nivritti (cessation of desire) in this act of sacred sex. It defines a path of realization through indulgence without bondage (associated with Shani) to the senses (that of rahu/chandra), rather than through deprivation and denial of the sensory experiences. The myths and the cults of worship associated with Kali therefore strip life of its absolutes to envisage a more comprehensive and all-inclusive vision.

* all of these placements were found using astrotheme/.com and/or astro-charts/.com. it is important to note that some chandra (moon) placements may be off by up to 6 degrees and lagnas (ascendants/rising signs) as well, due to the fact that many websites do not have 100% accurate birth times for the given celebrities.

xoxo, angel 💋 (the beauty of ashwini is coming soon lovelies)

[artandtheirstories]

Judith Slaying Holofernes - Artemisia Gentileschi (1620-1)

"Judith went to the bedpost by Holofernes' head and took down his sword. She came closer, seized Holofernes by the hair of his head... raised the sword and struck him twice in the neck as hard as she could, chopping off his head. " (Judith 13:8).

The verse tells the story of the widow Judith, whose Israeli town was threatened by invasion of the Assyrians. Taking matters into her own hands, Judith seduced the Assyrian general Holofernes and killed him.

The painting is a unique depiction of women at the time. While paintings of women in the Renaissance Era were oftentimes motherly or classically erotic, Judith Slaying Holofernes embraces the empowered, independent women. One could argue that Gentileschi's female-centric paintings were a significant part of the querelle des femmes of the century.

[ceciliatllis]

I saw someone on here mention how Alys and Elizabeth Woodville do not have any striking parallels and just felt the need to write about how they do in fact have quite a few different similarities. I've always been a huge enthusiast when it comes to The Wars of the Roses and find that period of history incredibly compelling (not to mention GRRM himself has acknowledged how it inspires ASOIAF and his work as a writer which is clearly evident in some of the characters he's created) so I felt compelled to write about this and share my own thoughts.

Both Alys and Elizabeth were polarizing women accused of being devious and using witchcraft/sorcery to "bewitch" a powerful royal who was exceedingly above them in rank; Elizabeth was reviled by the court as she was not an advantageous match for Edward IV politically at all and she and her family’s rise in status caused envy among many. She was older than him, already had children of her own, and was a widow; all of these aspects made her a scandalous woman which the court looked down upon with great disdain and scrutiny. Even now, historians continue to debate whether she actually loved Edward IV and returned his affection or if her primary goal was centered around using him to advance her rank and that of her family. Similarly, the maesters in F&B (as well as numerous people within the fanbase) create a villanious and cartoonish sort of figure when describing Alys as she is perceived as an unsuitable and unlikely match for Aemond - an unusual servant who has had several stillbirths and sees visions is a clear departure from the chaste, agreeable maiden they expected him to fall for. In addition, Elizabeth and Edward were said to have been married in secret whereas Alys and Aemond were ALSO rumored to be married secretly before his death according to Alys (she is referred to as his widow by other characters in F&B so it seems this was an accepted consensus among people and not something she invented). Another detail that stands out and further binds them together is that Elizabeth's father's title was Baron Rivers. Perhaps all of these links are simply coincidental (although I highly doubt that since this is GRRM) but it would be disingenuous to insinuate they do not exist whatsoever because one does not wish to see them.

While opinions vary greatly when it comes to Alys's motivations and true feelings (just as historians disagree about Elizabeth's personality and her relationship with Edward IV), I think it's fascinating to see how the negative reactions to controversial/mysterious women oftentimes mimic how female historical figures were unfairly judged and lazily reduced to common, reductive labels still recycled in the media today (such as forcing them into restrictive boxes where they're either a calculating seductress or helpless damsel). Many people seem to believe that strong-minded female characters can only be written as emotionless caricatures who use their charms (such as their sexuality) to get ahead for their own ambitions and while that trope is commonly seen in film/television and used as a storyline, I believe these ambitious and cunning women can be shown to have agency of their own while still being vulnerable, lonely, and open to love/companionship. That does not make them less empowering or intelligent by any stretch of the imagination; it makes them human. Women can contain a myriad of different traits and motives while still being interesting. That's how I hope the writers will approach Alys and it's also what I believe to be the more intriguing route to go when it comes to well-rounded, complex storytelling.

[periprose]

I'm watching the boys for the first time and... how does this superhero parody do a better job of critiquing "empowering" nudity (when it's designed by men and women are never considered powerful regardless of what they're wearing, it's just meant to make them a more attractive object) than the mcu itself??

Not to say the mcu doesn't do better with costumes now. But lol at how black widow was only cool to dude bros when she was half naked and most of them don't even see what's wrong with that.

It just makes me sad that the parody does it better 😔

[revived-ophelia]

Disheartening to see social media pushing BDSM relationships/DDLG/bimbofication/sugar baby/stay-at-home girlfriend/"why did feminists fight for our rights, I want to just be cute little wifey boohoo" lifestyles because of alienation under capitalism and the general struggles of modern life. women and girls who think these lifestyles mean they'll be "taken care of" by a competent man who will handle the executive decisions and responsibilities so they can have "no thoughts, head empty" lives free of worry and rat-race stress.

Even if one was so "fortunate" to end up the fantasy perfect rich benevolent man, it's still a choice of willful de-skilling. I remember talking to a woman who kept a side-job as a home organizer, and she told me many of her clients were older, widowed women struggling to manage their homes and lives after their husbands' death because he was the one who handled "the important responsibilities" like insurance/bills/mortgage, and these women would be left with no understanding of how to manage their finances or property, minimal employment history or marketable skills, dependent on their adult children to take them in.

These relationships like to pose giving up agency to another person as a romantic expression of trust or vulnerability. I think that if a person actually cares about you, they would want you to be capable of caring for yourself if they can't be there or able to seek support outside of them.

All things are uncertain and the best strategy any of us have is knowledge and self-sufficiency. What is the "empowered bimbo" woman going to do when her "daddy" gets in a car accident and dies, or loses his job and house, or decides to dump her?

[ask-lock-shock-and-barrel]

question for mod, what gave you the idea to make lock a vampire, shock a banshee, and barrel a werewolf/northern lights spirit?

((Great question!! I'll put this below the cut since its a lot of words!))

((In general, the decision was based on me liking the idea that the trio were truly the spirit of trick-or-treat in that their costumes were just that: Costumes. They hide behind masks, and they keep their true selves private. And back before I even had this blog conceptualozed, I had a funny gag in my head of Jack summoning Shock for witch services as a last resort and that she milks his desperation for hours, only to then reveal she isn't a witch and taunts Jack for thinking her costume was real.

For Lock, the base reasons I made him a vampire were there were some design features of his I associated with vampires like his enlongated face and widows peak and sharp teeth. I also had been bingewatching "What We Do in the Shadows", which has a plethora of vampire comedy. There are also a few things about Lock that I haven't revealed yet which also influenced this decision, but you'll find out soon. All I can say is...there are a lot of different vampires out there...

For Shock, I just kind of tried to think of spooky femme creatures that werent quite witches but still had the 'magic and curses' vibe but perhaps a little scarier, and the lore of weepy grieving banshees was quite alluring. Especially since Shock's mask carries such a sad frown. Also being of Irish descent myself, I think banshees are cool and decided Shock deserved to have a cool 'monster'.

Barrel was half were-puppy in my thoughts almost right from the start. There's something kind of dopey and sweet about Barrel, even at their most malicious, and it reminded me of a wobbly puppy that is still trying to get its coordination together. Even their upturned button nose felt kind of puppy-like. Initially I had them as half ghoul too (and also like #14 of 50+ kids all named Barrel, with neglectful parents who never noticed them leave, but oh how things have changed huh), but then wanted to go whole hog on making them something different, but I wasn't sure what. I kind of liked the idea of keeping Barrel's whole deal a mystery, that their origins were perhaps way more intense and unusual than Lock or Shock, and then had the idea 'what if Barrel wasn't 100% descending from Halloween' and then thought about Christmas Town 'monsters'. I almost considered a yeti, but then went a little more original with a northern light spirit, since I could implement an idea of astral projection and dream hopping, and make Barrel something of a starchild. I actually didn't know about set folklore on northern lights until @hyenasnake told me, and there's now bits and pieces I'm implementing. I think in terms of creature stuff, Barrel is the most fun for things to come up with. I always love the 'quiet third wheel is actually the Strongest and Empowered' trope.))

[watchinghallmark]

I LOVE the movies that have the younger actresses/actors in them (I've seen Nathan Dean Parsons and Heather Hemmens on RNM and i loved them there, so seeing them on hallmark makes me excited), but i really couldn't possibly agree less with the anon that the older actresses are aging out.

I LOVE seeing women in their 50s+ in stuff and that's one of the reasons I love hallmark is because it's one of the few networks that consistently employs women that age (I'm 29, but I'll be a 50-year-old woman some day, so I think it's empowering to see 50+ women still being leads and kicking ass).

I hope we continue to get younger actors, but they also continue to make stuff with the actors in their 40s and 50s.

Yeah, I think it's great that Hallmark has always valued women in general. It's one of the best things about the network.

I think part of the fatigue if we want to call it that is the lack of original plots that make sense for women of a certain age. I think Hallmark is doing a lot better with having more divorced or widowed, etc. characters and putting them in situations that are realistic now which is nice. I think the mysteries work nicely too.

The older actors aren't going anywhere. Hallmark knows who the audience likes to see. But with like 100 new movies a year across both channels there's plenty of room for them to be more creative and diverse with their casting.

[bromcommie]

🤩🎯

Hi, thanks for the ask! :) 🤩 What led to your interest in the fandom?

Oof, boy. So, I mean, I was a geeky little kid and grew up loving the Spiderman and X-Men comics, so my interest kind of naturally progressed with the MCU boom of 2009 or whatever. As for Cap, I have to admit I didn't like him all that much at first - I'd only seen him in The Avengers and I think like many other people I kind of just viewed him as The Square Old American Imperialist Guy (thanks, Joss Whedon😒). It was only after seeing CATWS and retroactively CATFA that the floodgates opened. The interest was kind of on and off for a while, but it definitely spiked with time and I got into the Cap, WS, Black Widow and some other comics as well after that.

Idk when exactly I got into Stucky, because I distinctly remember having a phase of "why can't guys just be really really really good friends???" (I know, I know.) but between then and CA: CW I definitely fell in love with both characters and a) kind of went through my own awakening lol, b) started rapidly developing an unrelated but helpful interest in early and mid-20th century history and c) watching a shit ton of Cap edits on YouTube because I've always liked vidding. I eventually started making some of my own vids and fanart when my brain just woke up one morning and clicked into "oh shit. oh, not only is the premise of this story compelling on several levels, but these motherfuckers are in love in love" mode, and inevitably that also led to me starting to read fanfiction.

And that was just...a fucking revelation and a half. Because suddenly here were all these people writing heartfelt, compelling stories—sometimes heavy as shit, sometimes downright hilarious and sometimes just publishing quality—about everything ranging from grief and guilt and trauma to bodily autonomy and disability and queerness and self-worth to relationships with faith and nationality and community and intersectional identity to beliefs and morality and perseverance to violence and war and systems of oppression to different kinds of love and devotion etc etc etc I could go on literally forever. All set to a sprawling love story, all in a historical context I was interested in, all with about a million different perspectives you would never actually get to see on screen or on the page. I also fell in with a bunch of very passionate, nerdy queer people in college after, all of whom loved comics characters and shared these interests and had a lot to say on the overlap of the two, and well. I never really stood a chance, after that.

I guess ultimately what really drew me to it was the potential of taking material that was (I'm sorry, but let's be real) sometimes painfully mediocre-to-plain bad but with a great premise, and then projecting and exploring some really interesting and grounded and even vulnerable topics through the very fun sandbox that the more fantastical, epic aspects of these stories present—often in a subverted way and with mouthpieces (read: Stereotypical Empowered Bulky Macho Men) that you don't get to see in that light in mainstream media. And the Cap fandom really had (and has to this day!) an abundance of talented, curious people throwing themselves into that wholeheartedly and with such wonderful passion and creativity and care. So engaging with that as a hobby can be really lovely and inspiring and cathartic. And sometimes it's just plain lighthearted fun! I think the older I get the more I can really appreciate that.

Also, not to be super sappy or make it sound more serious than it is, but stories about goddamn superheroes overcoming painful, fucked up real life situations and aspiring to do and be better were a great comfort to nerdy Little Me, and so was getting to talk to people about the things I saw in them that meant something to me. I think Steve's character and origin—and the perspectives on it I got from other people—were just a big deal to my baby teenage brain during a time when I was starting to develop a real life social and political awareness and a sense of all the ways in which the things we do and say and how we stand up for each other matter. And as a grown-ass adult today, I still cherish that. And I cherish that even though I've matured and evolved and so have my other interests, I still got to come on here in the year of our lord 2024 when this particular hyperfixation suddenly came out of its long winter slumber and indulge in a comforting, creative hobby and stretch my writing muscles, and that I still got to find people to play in that sandbox with in a way that is extremely satisfying.

So there you go, and I'm so sorry. I have a lot of thoughts and feelings on this. Make of that rambling essay what you will.

🎯 Do you have a writing milestone you’re working towards?

In terms of fandom works, I really don't. I started writing fic just as a fun hobby for myself, and I never really thought of it in terms of goals like I do the original work I try to write, just because I think that'd probably take some of the fun out of it. I'm in a bit of a rut at the moment though, so I'd really like to be able to break out of it soon and post the next few chapters of orpheus I've been trying to work on, if that counts!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌸 Books for AAPI Month

❤️ Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with this list featuring some of the FEW empowering, vibrant stories written by AAPI authors or starring AAPI protagonists.

🌸 What books did you read for AAPI month?

✨ 2024 Releases ❤️ Night for Day - Roselle Lim 🌸 The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years - Shubnum Khan 🏮The Great Reclamation - Rachel Heng ❤️ Lies and Weddings - Kevin Kwan 🌸 Valley Verified - Kyla Zhao 🏮 The Catch - Amy Lea ❤️ Your Utopia - Bora Chung 🌸 Tehrangeles - Porochista Khakpour 🏮 Horse Barbie - Geena Rocero ❤️ Memory Piece - Lisa Ko 🌸 The Fetishist - Katherine Min 🏮 Real Americans - Rachel Khong ❤️ The Kamogawa Food Detectives - Hisashi Kashiwai 🌸 Manila Takes Manhattan - Carla de Guzman 🏮 The Last Phi Hunter - Salinee Goldenberg and Ilya Nazarov ❤️ May the Best Player Win - Kyla Zhao 🌸 Are You Nobody Too? - Tina Cane 🏮 The Design of Us - Sajni Patel ❤️ Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop - Hwang Bo-Reum 🌸 Heir - Sabaa Tahir 🏮 Maya's Laws of Love - Alina Khawaj ❤️ Midnights with You - Clare Osongco 🌸 Vilest Things - Chloe Gong 🏮 This Place is Magic - Irene Te ❤️ Guilt and Ginataan - Mia P. Manansal 🌸 Icon and Inferno - Marie Lu 🏮 Calling of Light - Lori M. Lee ❤️ Bite Me, Royce Taslim - Lauren Ho 🌸 Rules for Rule Breaking - Talia Tucker 🏮 What's Eating Jackie Oh? - Patricia Park ❤️ How to End a Love Story - Yulin Kuang 🌸 Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White - Amélie Wen Zhao 🏮 This Is How You Fall in Love - Anika Hussain ❤️ Just Playing House - Farah Heron 🌸 The Boyfriend Wish - Swati Teerdhala 🏮 A Tempest of Tea - Hafsah Faizal

✨ Romance ❤️ Dating Dr. Dil - Nisha Sharma 🌸 King of Wrath - Ana Huang 🏮 The Kiss Quotient - Helen Hoang ❤️ Girl Gone Viral - Alisha Rai 🌸 Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors - Sonali Dev 🏮 Role Playing - Cathy Yardley ❤️ The Hurricane Wars - Thea Guanzon 🌸 Ayesha at Last - Uzma Jalaluddin

✨ Fantasy ❤️ She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan 🌸 Babel - R.F. Kuang 🏮 Daughter of the Moon Goddess - Sue Lynn Tan ❤️ The Deep Sky - Yume Kitasei 🌸 The Jasmine Throne - Tasha Suri 🏮 Kaikeyi - Vaishnavi Patel ❤️ Light from Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki 🌸 Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro

✨ Mystery ❤️ Arsenic and Adobo - Mia P. Manansala 🌸 Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers - Jesse Q. Sutanto 🏮 The Cartographers - Peng Shepherd ❤️ Miracle Creek - Angie Kim 🌸 A Disappearance in Fiji - Nilima Rao 🏮 The Leftover Woman - Jean Kwok ❤️ The Widows of Malabar Hill - Sujata Massey 🌸 Things We Do in the Dark - Jennifer Hillier

✨ Young Adult ❤️ The Wrath and the Dawn - Renée Ahdieh 🌸 All My Rage - Sabaa Tahir 🏮 Forget Me Not - Alyson Derrick ❤️ Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating - Adiba Jaigirdar 🌸 These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong 🏮 This Book Won't Burn - Samira Ahmed ❤️ American Betiya - Anuradha D. Rajurkar 🌸 Dragonfruit - Makiia Lucier

[insomniac-dot-ink]

Hi, so you said that Iron Widow has really bad gender politics, what did you mean? I heard some pretty rave reviews for the book and was considering picking it up so that's pretty disappointing

Here is my full review (please read) also my most popular book review I've written.

There is a lot of genuine feeling in Iron Widow and well-met rage. A potent power-fantasy with earnest fury, but like all power fantasies, it can be ego-obsessed to the point it obscures the functions of power itself. The overwriting, simplistic ideology, and poor storytelling are just . . . not good. This isn't a good book.

The individualist framework of feminism and "Single Strong Man" version of history is reductive. Zetian comes up with her Empowered Thought by herself. The storyline provides no female friends or female mentors or many good things to say about women outside of Zetian. In real life, feminism and other movements are fueled by community organization and institutional push-back using collective action. I mean, did you enter into feminism on your own? Or are you standing on the shoulders of giants? History is much more of a passing of the baton than anything.

Women, obviously, can suck too and reinforce the patriarchy, but also I love them and women are wonderful and I just don't care for these kinds of individualistic rhetoric that puts on the skin of feminism without actually thinking deeply about it or embodying the reality of its work.

The narrative is self-justifying via the clothing of feminist rhetoric, but internal monologuing does not a revolutionary make.

On a technical level, the writing itself is a bizarre combination of overwriting and underwriting. I found myself gliding over entire paragraphs since there's just metaphors with no purpose stacked on top of each other. Somehow things are described without being developed. Telling instead of showing is a big issue as the relationships, plot, and worldbuilding are all told to the audience instead of shown. It was written like a movie instead of a novel.

Finally, this book is supposed to take inspiration from Pacific Rim and anime and have feminism at the forefront, but they're not even going to give me a little power of female friendship? As a treat? :(

[brutalisttarot]

Pick A Card: You as a movie character

Pile 1

The traveller, lone ninja that can teleport from the earth to the outer space. An edgy warrior with a ‘giver’ vibe, saving and empowering nature, commanding bats and telekinesis of water to drive a wooden ship. Nights are spent being a spy with other undercover hooded cult members with red torches. Dressed similar to Maka Albarn.

Pile 2

Emerging from the depths of sand, you awake into physical form with a sword flung out with grains of sand forming a miniature Milky Way. Your gigantic stature rises above the world’s extinct, fierce creatures in the earliest age, a widow learning to tame the blood of the beast with kindness over violence. A hunter with a blind eye to cruelty, leeching off a tree with blood. Your home is a cave with carved out paisley designs with a small open roof, resembling that of an igloo shape. You live in a bird’s nest with worms and soil. You gave the opportunity to transcend to enter the void state.

Pile 3

Elsa vibes. In your own castle. Sanctuary. In a sea of terror, you triumph under a purple moon, ripping apart the voices of villagers in a torn out armor. There are multiple versions of you destroying the existence of all things tangible. You then reside under the black moon with the ring of azazel, having a ritual of meditating and juggling 3 emerald blades, sitting cross legged in the mountains. You step out of your throne to sleep on your chair. A symbol of lost royalty with no town, no individual to rule. The last one existing.