#free access to information is the most important thing in the world

[thisiswheremywritinggoes]

A state senator in the district where I work has co-sponsored a bill requiring public libraries in my state to automatically provide a list of all materials checked out by patrons age 16 and under to their parents within 24 hours of checkout. Hopefully the bill dies in committee. Barring that, I hope our governor vetoes it as soon as it reaches his desk.

I cannot even begin to tell you how asinine this bill is. How dangerous this bill is.

"But parents have a right to know what their kids are checking out of the library."

Sure, maybe you do. I don't give a fuck about your rights as a parent. The issue is whether I, as a public librarian, who follows a professional code of ethics, is under any obligation to provide that information to you. Your rights as a parent are not my concern. I don't answer to you. Your children aren't some half-witted partial-people -- they're either patrons or they aren't. And if they are, they have a right to privacy in the public library.

I'm not your ally in conducting surveillance over your child. It's not my job to make it easier for you to gather intel about your kids. That's called parenting, dude.

A child who knows their parent will be emailed a list of the materials they check out is not experiencing free, unfettered access to information. Full stop. Please pause for a moment and consider the dire consequences of this requirement.

If you want to bring your child to the library and monitor their checkouts, I won't get in your way. But, between you and me, the best thing you can do for your child is to bring them to the library and let them discover it on their own. Get out of their way. Let them browse and investigate and check out a million books and read only one of them twelve times in a row. Let them roam the shelves like they are starving and the books are food.

Stop telling them which books to read or not read. Stop sneering when they select a book from the shelf and deem it "too easy" for them, or "too difficult." If your kid is enthusiastic about an author or a series or a topic, rejoice! Enthusiastic people are the best people!

Let your toddlers pull a dozen books off the shelf -- don't worry, we pay people to put them back. Let them wander with reckless abandon. Let them make noise. We made this space for them. It's theirs. Nothing in the library can hurt them except your undeserved sense of self-importance and your prejudices. We made this space for them. Please get out of the way and let them discover it.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Homebrew Mechanic: Meaningful Research

Being careful about when you deliver information to your party is one of the most difficult challenges a dungeonmaster may face, a balancing act that we constantly have to tweak as it affects the pacing of our campaigns.

That said, unlike a novel or movie or videogame where the writers can carefully mete out exposition at just the right time, we dungeonmasters have to deal with the fact that at any time (though usually not without prompting) our players are going to want answers about what's ACTUALLY going on, and they're going to take steps to find out.

To that end I'm going to offer up a few solutions to a problem I've seen pop up time and time again, where the heroes have gone to all the trouble to get themselves into a great repository of knowledge and end up rolling what seems like endless knowledge checks to find out what they probably already know. This has been largely inspired by my own experience but may have been influenced by watching what felt like several episodes worth of the critical role gang hitting the books and getting nothing in return.

I've got a whole write up on loredumps, and the best way to dripfeed information to the party, but this post is specifically for the point where a party has gained access to a supposed repository of lore and are then left twiddling their thumbs while the dm decides how much of the metaplot they're going to parcel out.

When the party gets to the library you need to ask yourself: Is the information there to be found?

No, I don't want them to know yet: Welcome them into the library and then save everyone some time by saying that after a few days of searching it’s become obvious the answers they seek aren’t here. Most vitally, you then either need to give them a new lead on where the information might be found, or present the development of another plot thread (new or old) so they can jump on something else without losing momentum.

No, I want them to have to work for it:  your players have suddenly given you a free “insert plothook here” opportunity. Send them in whichever direction you like, so long as they have to overcome great challenge to get there. This is technically just kicking the can down the road, but you can use that time to have important plot/character beats happen.

Yes, but I don’t want to give away the whole picture just yet:  The great thing about libraries is that they’re full of books, which are written by people,  who are famously bad at keeping their facts straight. Today we live in a world of objective or at least peer reviewed information but the facts in any texts your party are going to stumble across are going to be distorted by bias. This gives you the chance to give them the awnsers they want mixed in with a bunch of red herrings and misdirections. ( See the section below for ideas)

Yes, they just need to dig for it:  This is the option to pick if you're willing to give your party information upfront while at the same time making it SEEM like they're overcoming the odds . Consider having an encounter, or using my minigame system to represent their efforts at looking for needles in the lithographic haystack. Failure at this system results in one of the previous two options ( mixed information, or the need to go elsewhere), where as success gets them the info dump they so clearly crave.

The Art of obscuring knowledge AKA Plato’s allegory of the cave, but in reverse

One of the handiest tools in learning to deliver the right information at the right time is a sort of “slow release exposition” where you wrap a fragment lore the party vitally needs to know in a coating of irrelevant information,  which forces them to conjecture on possibilities and draw their own conclusions.  Once they have two or more pieces on the same subject they can begin to compare and contrast, forming an understanding that is merely the shadow of the truth but strong enough to operate off of. 

As someone who majored in history let me share some of my favourite ways I’ve had to dig for information, in the hopes that you’ll be able to use it to function your players.

A highly personal record in the relevant information is interpreted through a personal lens to the point where they can only see the information in question 

Important information cameos in the background of an unrelated historical account

The information can only be inferred from dry as hell accounts or census information. Cross reference with accounts of major historical events to get a better picture, but everything we need to know has been flattened into datapoints useful to the bureaucracy and needs to be re-extrapolated.

The original work was lost, and we only have this work alluding to it. Bonus points if the existent work is notably parodying the original, or is an attempt to discredit it.

Part of a larger chain of correspondence, referring to something the writers both experienced first hand and so had no reason to describe in detail. 

The storage medium (scroll, tablet, arcane data crystal) is damaged in some way, leading to only bits of information being known. 

Original witnesses Didn’t have the words to describe the thing or events in question and so used references from their own environment and culture. Alternatively, they had specific words but those have been bastardized by rough translations. 

Tremendously based towards a historical figure/ideology/religion to the point that all facts in the piece are questionable.  Bonus points if its part of a treatise on an observably untrue fact IE the flatness of earth

[myrmica]

mer my dear mutual mer i would like to ask you how do i get into lifesteal

HELLO FARLANDS!! you've come to the right place. Step into my office.

this is an interesting question with a variety of different answers. a lot of the time people seem to direct you towards videos rather than stream vods, which does makes sense, because they're more accessible and the barrier to entry is definitely less daunting.

but lifesteal videos aren't episodic, they're designed for a viewer to be able to jump in with little to no context at any moment. they throw a lot of information at you fast as hell, and events spanning hours and hours of footage are condensed down in ways where most of the meat gets cut off. i have a hard time absorbing information from or remembering what happens in lifesteal videos because of the editing styles... i don't claim that this isn't in large part a taste thing, but in videos you miss the complicated character moments, and the sense of pacing/chronology, and all of the things that happen that don't translate well to video logic. and you don't get to see (as much of) the dimension of things where the fact that everyone is trying to make videos can be character and story relevant information. all of these things are what make lifesteal season 4 my favorite minecraft roleplay ever in the world. i guess i would say that i do like lifesteal videos, but mostly in relation to the livestreams.

all of which means that while pretty much any lifesteal video ever produced can make for a perfectly serviceable starting point, it doesn't really get you any of the things about lifesteal --i-- care about. and you're asking ME. So.

what is the deal with lifesteal in general?

you probably know at least some of this already, but for the sake of the thing:

lifesteal is a server based around a mechanic where, upon killing someone, you gain one of the hearts off of their health bar up to a maximum of 20. if you lose all of your hearts you're banned, but this is temporary and players can be revived. it's also a server where you're free to steal and destroy builds to your heart's content, and people toy with breaking the rules they do have often. so it naturally follows that lifestealers are generally interested in pvp, and have a social system where the most important relationships are your teammates, who come before basically anything else. lifesteal IS roleplay but it isn't scripted, and what they mean by unscripted is that the outcomes of a conflict can't be predetermined, because that would defeat the point—if something goes wrong, it goes wrong. (and hopefully, it goes right for somebody else.)

why season 4?

short answer, because it's the one that has the guys i care about in the situations i care about. the long answer is at 9k words and not even close to done yet so you're gonna have to wait a bit on that one.

the medium answer: while you could go back and watch through season 3 in detail, or try to just start watching season 5 and keep up with stuff live as it happens, that's not what i did. i have it on good authority that the mer guide to lifesteal season 4 works, because i did that, and also because my friend whose initial reaction to lifesteal was "wow this subz guy is loud..." and then radio silence for months has since sat through 30 hours of princezam building stream of his own free will. see review below:

lifesteal can be sort of an acquired taste. i think a lot of the time it either clicks for you or it doesn't, or you have to see the right thing and then suddenly the appeal starts making sense.

luckily, the aftermath of zam betraying mapicc & ro in season 4 tends to have this effect on people, and it's a good jumping in point! i didn't actually start watching season 4 chronologically, i started by bouncing around the last couple weeks of the season and quickly discovering that it was bonkers fucking crazy and i needed to know more about this "eclipse federation" thing... so i don't really think knowing how it ends makes it less fun to watch, and if you wanted to just poke around at random and see what's up i wouldn't stop you. i went back and sat through everything between that aforementioned betrayal and the end of season 4 chronologically after i already knew how things ended up and it's thoroughly enjoyable that way. maybe even better than the alternative, because you're less likely to get caught up in how frustrating some of it can be. but if you would rather know as little as possible going in you can definitely give it a shot, and i do think there are parts that are probably even more fun if you don't know what's coming.

how do i do that though?

and here is my gift to you. when i watched through season 4 all i had to go off of was the vod archive spreadsheet, which is great & wonderful & awesome & the best thing ever, but it does kinda just have you clicking links blindfolded if you don't already know what's going on.

so eventually i started keeping track of vods as i watched, in a google doc. it has clips and/or timestamps and summaries for basically every vod in the second half of season 4. it's a little embarrassing because it records a bunch of my initial reactions to stuff but c'est la vie. it's also 85 pages long (it was 105! i edited my notes down!), but again you can jump around to get a lay of the land if you want, and how much stuff you skip is completely at your own discretion. have at it.

[blazefirefox]

BEHOLD, MORE ENA OCS

I was rewatching the Dream BBQ announcement trailer when I noticed one of the spinning ENAs had the exact same colors as ThEna, just swapped, so I got the idea of making ENA OCs based on the other ENAs seen.

Here are my first three, the spooky siblings (based on color scheme), Enette, Enalise, and RegEna (left to right). I created GEna to complete the trifecta lol

Individuals + their "serial numbers"

Extra Info:

This group of sibs work with the ENA seen in Dream BBQ, under Froggy. They're pretty much the closest things she has to friends in her workplace, and they enjoy her company (GEna doesn't show it much tho)

Enatte (ENA-8532-01):

Orange - Efficient; the oldest ENA of any batch is expected to excel and be an example for their sibs, but this was driven into 01 more, as her batch was the first completely functional trio of ENAs that were created for a while. Unlike her sisters, 01 fully enjoys her job, even respecting Froggy a great amount. Her voice headcannon is Ben Balmaceda (specifically Kaveh from Genshin Impact, mostly just Ben himself).

Saffron - Mischievous; after years of conditioning to be a golden example for all Worker ENAs, her desires to be free and do what she enjoys culminated in her troublemaker side, which 01 does a good job repressing until she's off from work. The most important thing her siblings know about this side is that she usually goes along with what shenanigans they do. Her voice headcannon is Brianna Knickerbocker (specifically Hu Tao from Genshin Impact).

RegEna [GEna] (ENA-8532-02)

Purple - Haughty; she loves her older sister, she really does. But 02 hates how seriously she expects them to take this stupid job. Before they matured, 02 was known for her mean streak, often taking out her frustrations of the world on younger ENAs that were unfortunate to come her way. It wasn't until she accidentally hurt her younger sister that she started calming down. Now, she just a normal asshole. Her voice headcannon is Ryan Sean O’Donohue (specifically Demyx from Kingdom Hearts).

Orange - Guilty; when the sibs were assigned to work under Froggy, 02's siblings noticed that her other side became more downcast and self-deprecating, bursting into tears and continually apologizing for how she acts when her dominant side is in control, especially to 03. The youngest ENA in question does not know how to feel about this. Her voice headcannon is Erica Mendez (specifically White Lily Cookie from Cookie Run: Kingdom).

Enalise [Lisa] (ENA-8532-03)

Saffron - Thoughtful; unlike her older sisters, who either love or detest their job, 03 usually doesn't pay any mind to it, and does an average job. She actually is drawn to the oddness of the world around her, what secrets they hold, why things work like they do. She can't help but feel envious of Scholar ENAs since they have the access and knowledge 03 so desperately wants. Her voice headcannon is Khoi Dao (specifically Albedo from Genshin Impact).

Purple - Judgemental; experiencing 02's behavior before their full maturity shaped 03's annoyance into a need to reprimand everything she does and to communicate what 02's problem is in her own way, thus her snappy, but kind of well-meaning side. 03 is less shameful of this side than others think she should be, as the youngest ENA believes that "she was made the way she was, and she's going to let what emotions slip through happen." Her voice headcannon is Brittney Karbowski (specifically Mio from Ghost Stories Dub).

Next is Enaline, based on the ENA in the second picture on the right!

Alt. Outfit + her old Worker look

Extra Info:

Created as a Worker ENA, Enaline would become a Runaway after her other sibs went "missing under mysterious circumstances" and she "saw something she shouldn't have", as she puts it. Not much is known about her past other than this, as she soon becomes unresponsive after giving up too much information. She's mostly seen hanging out in the Karaoke Bar AthEna (ThEna) works at, and is very social, depending on which side is dominant.

Enaline (ENA-7450-03)

Sky Blue - Carefree; after experiencing The Horrors™, Enaline decides that she won't let her past and regrets tie her down, so she up and leaves the Sector she grew up in and ended up settling in the area overseen by The Clown. She is very jovial in this state, being more of an 'act first think about the consequences later' kind of ENA. Her voice headcannon is Kieran Regan (specifically Shikanoin Heizou from Genshin Impact).

Salmon - Existential; despite her attempts, Enaline can never fully leave behind the cause of her upturned life, and when she thinks about that, she becomes unpleasant (at least that's what she thinks). The former Worker feels a constant dread tugging at her in this state, something she can't remedy no matter what she does. All Enaline can do is not think about all of that while she's Carefree, and everything will be fine! Her voice headcannon is Monica Rial (specifically Momoko Koigakubo from Ghost Stories Dub).

@anniewuubelike 👀👀👀

[onetimetwotimesthreetimess]

Post COLS what if- the war never happened Malec didn't get back together and life goes on.. Maybe they stay friends Alec becomes the consul the work together a lot maybe friends with benefit maybe a lot of longing or jealousy or whatever your take of it I would love to read it!

Alexander Gideon Lightwood

The name hovers in the air, bright like the shining sun. Like an irrefutable fact that no one can change now.

His name.

Him.

The Consul.

Alec has everything today.

Or almost everything.

Jace and Clary wrap him in a hug as the room cheers up at the results. He’s never expected this—out of all the things he’d wanted to become as a kid, consul was never one of them because Alec never let himself dream that far.

Dreams aren’t for people like Alec. Especially after he lost his most important dream.

But regardless, Alec is ecstatic today because now he has so much power to change things.

So many laws he can change.

Alec has a list.

But the first person Alec wants to inform this about isn’t here. Alec wants to change that. He wants to create a world where no one gets left behind.

After an exhausting day of proceedings and greetings, he finally portals back home.

Home isn’t the institute anymore.

It’s not Magnus’s loft either.

Home is a small 2 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn that Alec moved into a few years back.

Alec, who never fully felt home at the New York institute found a home in a warlock’s sanctuary. And even if he doesn’t have access to that, he can never go back to the institute.

Out of all the things Alec learned from Magnus, this one stands to be the most important—that a home, should always, always be a sanctuary.

It should be safe.

As much as Alec loves the institute, it’s not a safe place for everyone and Alec wants his house to be a refugee for others. A place where anyone can come without fear. The world that Alec wants to create requires that.

When he reaches home, there’s a surprise party for him and while Alec is exhausted, he smiles at everyone around him. Alec, who never believed love could be so easy for him knows now, how much he’s loved.

“Alexander.”

Before he can even control it, his face changes into a smile and Alec turns to greet the man.

“Magnus, hi.”

“Hi, darling.”

“You came.”

“Of course, I came,” Magnus smiles at him. There’s an obnoxiously large hat on his head that say “Legalise Free Ice-Cream.”

“What’s this?” Alec laughs.

“I heard big news. This is my first formal request to the new Consul,” Magnus grins, pointing at his head.

Alec shakes his head fondly.

“I figured that you would be too busy from now on, so I decided now would be the time to get all the favours I can.”

His cheeks turn red as he blushes. “Shut up.”

There’s a few second of comfortable silence as Magnus peers at him.

“How does it feel?” He asks, finally.

Even after everything, Alec can never lie to Magnus. Neither does he want to.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” he says honestly. “I’m the Consul.”

Magnus beams. “Of course you are. There is no one else I see more fitting for this role.”

“Thank you.”

“Your welcome.”

Alec shakes his head, “Not for the congratulations. But for everything. You made me better.”

“Alex—“

“You did. Just accept it.”

“Okay,” Magnus smiles sweetly at him, but Alec can see the blush.

They have a few drinks and Alec loses Magnus in the crowd a few times. And then he keeps on finding him again and again. Always gravitating together.

It’s a cruel, cruel twist of fate.

Years ago, Alec had believed that it would be impossible for them to be in the same room again. To be able to talk. To be friends but life proves him wrong once again.

They found each other again after the breakup.

Just in a different way.

Magnus is still the person that Alec loves the most in the world. Still, the very breath inside his chest.

They’re just not together anymore.

But Alec’s okay with it as long as he gets Magnus in his life.

“So, what’s your first order of business as the new chief in town?” Magnus jokes.

Alec frowns. “I’m not really sure. There’s a lot I want to do but I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that. Just because I’m the consul I can’t—“

“Breathe,” Magnus calms him down. “You have all the time. You’re like ten hours into your term, darling.”

“Hmm. There’s one thing that’s on my mind though,” he bites his lips. Not sure how many will react. Not wanting to see the reaction either.

“What?”

Alec inhales deeply. “I want to make marriages between shadowhunters and downworlders legal.”

He avoid Magnus’s gaze at that not because of what he’ll see on the warlock’s face but because of what Magnus might see on his.

Longing has become a part of Alec now. He’s okay with it. He doesn’t want Magnus to see, though.

They’ve long since walked around the boundary of being friends, Alec doesn’t want to shake that.

He still doesn’t know a lot about Magnus. The man has shared a lot in the past few years but there’s still a lot that Alec doesn’t know. Things that Magnus might never share with him.

“What?”

“Hmmmm. I’ve been thinking for a while. Remember Jian? I was thinking of what he said, how it feels when your love is prohibited by the world. Helen and Aline too—they’ve been together for years but the world doesn’t recognise that. I think people deserve that.”

He finally musters the courage to look at Magnus. There’s a dumbfounded expression on his face and something akin to pain. Alec’s not sure what to make of it.

“What do you think?” He hesitates.

“It’s uh—it’s a great idea. You’re a great idea,” Magnus speaks but then closes his eyes. “I meant, it’s a great idea, Alec. I’m just surprised is all.”

“Yeah. I don’t know how I’ll make it happen but yeah, it’s been on my…on my mind,” he swallows.

Alec imagines a wedding then.

He’s marrying Magnus in this imaginary wedding because there’s no one else for him.

He’s not sure about the location—they’d never reached the point in their relationship where they’d discuss potential locations.

So much, he doesn’t and will never know.

Even his imagination can’t comprehend a complete image.

“Well, twenty years from now, if you ever want to marry a shadowhunter and you can, please send me a thank you card for making that happen,” Alec jokes, then bites his lips instantly realising how much the even the idea hurt.

He really is an idiot, huh?

Magnus’s eyes turn sad before he speaks, “there’s never going to be another shadowhunter for me, Alec.”

And in another world, Alec might take that as proof that Alec is special. But Alec doesn’t feel that here so he speaks the first, unfiltered, idiotic thought he had. “One mistake was enough, I get it.”

“Alec, no,” Magnus’s voice is low and sad as he says the words.

Before they can dwell more on the words, Jace calls for Alec and he takes the opportunity to leave the conversation. “I’ll be back.”

[alpaca-clouds]

Accessibility for Neurodivergence and Mental Health

Okay, let's talk a bit more about accessibility in worldbuilding - especially in terms of making a world more accessible to neurodivergent people and folks who struggle with their mental health.

Now, let me start with one thing: While we obviously do not know a lot of how neurodivergent people lived in historical times - especially given that the concept was not around back then - but it is generally believed that especially for people with ADHD and a variety of forms of Autism live was actually a lot better, because a lot of out issues are closely linked with the fact that our brains do not do "9 to 5 work in an office". This is not true for all of us, but for quite a few. There is also some autistic people were seen a valuable for some of their unique traits.

It should at this point also be noted that in general it is also believed that in medieval societies people did work less than they do these days. (Around 30 hours a week.) Which also will be a lot more bearable for a lot of people with both neurodivergent brains and generally mental health struggles. Especially as outdoor work will also be considered easier for a lot of folks. Hence there is a chance that in a medieval setting for example folks might need a bit less in terms of accessibility, as their needs are generally already met.

That said, accessibility for a lot of neurodivergent people means first and foremost to create spaces for retreat. Meaning: Some sort of space or room, where folks can unwire. Soft, and dimmed light, maybe some good place to sit down, silence or alternative very soft noises. To allow for those places in public spaces and work places is just important for neurodivergent folks.

Of course, this is a bit less pressing in a setting where people are already in nature all the time. But especially science fiction settings this can be a big need.

Also important for a science fiction setting especially: Spaces that allow neurodivergent people to control their environment to some degree. Which means especially in terms of noise and lighting.

A general accessibility need that would also help pretty much everyone, is less working hours for everyone. As I said: Generally it is believed that in medieval times folks did not work more than 30 hours a week on average, so anything else would be unrealistic (outside of the sowing and harvest times). And if we are talking about a science fiction future, it should be assumed that a lot of processes can be automated. This goes specifically if we are talking something like a Solarpunk future, where we are going to assume that capitalism has ended, so stuff being automated is actually a good thing, because people do not need to work for a living.

Something that a lot of people also do overlook in terms of mental health needs, is green spaces. Our stupid monkey brains crave seeing nature and being surrounded by nature. It does improve our mental health. (Which also is, why in Cyberpunk we definitely should talk abotu the ongoing mental health crisis, that most cyberpunk stories do not really mention...)

And of course just some general accessibility needed would be... more and easier access to information about all the different t hings. I mean, a lot of the issues that both neurodivergent folks and folks with mental health issues have to deal with are prejudices. And those prejudices originate with the fact that folks in general are just not very well educated on those topics. In fact there is a general bias against all those things, partly stemming from prejudice, partly from people just never having learned how to deal with people that are not neurotypical.

Not to mention that more education on this would also help people in question to learn that they are not really weird, but just not neurotypical.

Once again, if you have anything to add, feel free!

[theambitiouswoman]

Hi! I hope you're having a wonderful day!

Do you have any tips on how to make your twenties worthwhile? I'm 19 (currently unemployed but looking) and trying to read as many non-fiction books as possible to build my life in my twenties so that when I turn 30, I can rest easy and settle in [and possibly be financially free by my mid-thirties]. Any tips would be helpful <3

There are so many things you can accomplish in your twenties. So many experiences. So many versions of yourself that you can become.

It is just as important to take advantage of that, as it is to not put yourself on a timeline. I firmly believe the more we expose ourselves to new realities and information, the faster we learn and the sooner we can arrive at our personal goals. So dive into your passions, your dreams. Discover what makes YOU happy. Who you want to be. Be understanding and kind to yourself.

You can do this either way, but I would say to work on yourself only and make sure you love the person staring at you in the mirror. I would learn as much as I can about anything that interests me, figure out opportunities that align with those interests and then learn as much as possible. Opportunity is everywhere. You do not have to wait to start building your dream life. You have a very lucky opportunity, with the overwhelming amount of information and accessibility there is right now. The world is literally yours.

Learn how to budget and invest your money.

Learn all of the ways to make money and learn how to from the ways that interest you.

Build relationships.

Focus on your physical and mental health.

Do not listen to people who aren't where you want to be. At all. This includes "build with you" rhetorics. I can get into this in another post.

Travel (if you can) and learn how to become independent. This is important because codependency can hold you back and creates a ripple on how you do everything else in life. Ultimately having an adverse effect on your reality and mental health.

Start taking risks and embracing failure. I believe you always have time and its never too late. However, when you get older and set in your ways, it is very hard to change and establish a new mindset.

You said by your 30s, so I recommend you figure out where you want to be by 30 and work backwards. Set yearly or monthly goals.

Everyone's journey is different. Figure out what resonates with you and aligns with your personal values and aspirations.

The most important point I want to end with is, to remember that you can in fact do anything. There is more to the world than your current environment. Do not let anyone make you feel like you are limited to it. Many people restrain themselves due to fear or the familiarity of their current situation, trying to adapt to a place they might not belong. It is because they do not realize they are meant for so much more. They probably do not realize that more can exist for them. But there is. And they can.

[figbian]

disability studies & classics: some introductory texts!

as a disclaimer, this is not a complete list and not intended to be. i don't necessarily agree with everything in these texts, either – i'd be happy to discuss what i like/don't any time :-) that said, i included them because i find them useful or important or because i liked them enough i wanted to talk about them. further, not all of these texts are accessible (as in, free and online); send me an ask or message me if you want access to something & if i can i will send it to you.

in case you're looking for more sources but don't know where to find a good list, this – though as of posting (may 2023) is two years out of date – is a list of works on disability in the ancient world. it's very cool!!

disability theory/crip theory

Keywords For Disability Studies (book, edited by Rachel Adams, Benjamin Reiss, and David Serlin) - this series of essays can be really helpful in situating yourself. i find them occasionally a bit oversimplified, but overall they're pretty good, especially if you're new to the field.

Beginning With Disability: A Primer (book, edited by Lennard Davis) - this is another helpful way to situate yourself! i haven't read all of it, but i found the introduction pretty informative for dipping your toes into disability studies :-)

Disability Goes Cultural: The Cultural Model of Disability as an Analytical Tool (book chapter, by Anne Waldschmidt ) [open access on jstor here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1xxs3r.5] - this article to me has its flaws but ultimately contains what i think is the most useful model for articulating & analyzing disability in the ancient world.

if you're interested in more specific disability theory stuff, feel free to send me an ask!

books/articles on greece and rome

truthfully, this is the danger zone for me as a latinist, who finds a lot of stuff supposedly on greece and rome to ultimately be about greece. further, i have bones to pick with these books, but they remain either the best we've got or otherwise foundational:

Mental Disorders in the Classical World (book, ed. William V. Harris) very medical, but still kind of interesting to look at and i haven't found anything better?

The Eye of the Beholder: Deformity and Disability in the Graeco-Roman World (book, Robert Garland) the foundational work but i kind of dislike it, tbh.

Prosthetics and Assistive Technology in Ancient Greece and Rome (book, Jane Drycott) i haven't read much of this yet, but i like drycott and this is going to be my post graduation treat!

Life as a Cyclops: Mythology and the Mockery of the Visually Impaired (article, Jane Drycott) really enjoyed!

Why does classical reception need disability studies? (article, Hannah Silverblank and Marchella Ward) i found parts of this preachy and wasn't super pleased with the thoroughness of the scholarship, but here we are!

A Cultural History of Disability in Antiquity (book, ed. Christian Laes) i don't like laes much but i found some chapters of this really enjoyable

Disability Studies and the Classical Body (book, ed. Ellen Adams) NOT OUT YET!!!!! but very excited for it.......

books & articles on greece

ancient greece has way more scholarship when it comes to disability, or at least this is my experience. i'm less interested in greece, but i still have a lot of articles and books i like + some i know are integral to the field. this is kind of an eclectic list of things i know are Important vs just neat lmao:

The Staff Of Oedipus (book): truthfully, i've only ever read the chapter on blindness (which i enjoyed!). it's not a perfect book, but it's so foundational and can be pretty interesting

The Discourse of Disability in Ancient Greece (article) - one of my favorite articles! i love rereading this :-) i think it's got some super interesting analysis on lysias 24 and the word ἀδύνατος. really cool if you're interested in the construction of "disability" as an identity.

Hephaestus the Hobbling Humorist: The Club-Footed God in the History of Early Greek Comedy (article) - i really enjoyed this article because of how it presents hephaestus, tbqh. im not sure how good it is – dying to hear from hellenists about it, actually – but hephaestus as funny because he's disabled (but not in an ableist way) was very interesting.

"Breathe Upon Us an Even Flame": Hephaestus, History, and the Body of Rhetoric (article) – in all honesty, i don't like this article very much, but what dolmage is doing is super interesting (trying to reconsider hephaestus as a figure), and so i included it. worth taking a look at.

Temporary versus Long-term Madness (article) - this article was a lot of fun for me.

books & articles on rome

full disclosure, i'm a latinist. i love rome. there's less out there but i have so, so much more to say about it. some good places to start:

Approaching Disabilities a Capite ad Calcem: Hidden Themes in Roman Antiquity (book, edited by C.F. Goodey, Christian Laes, and M. Lynn Rose) - this has some problems; i hate christian laes a lot but he's very good at citing lots of ancient examples! overall, the individual essays in this make it better than laes' own book, but they are disjointed.

Disabilities and the Disabled in the Roman World: A Social and Cultural History (book, by Christian Laes) - did i mention i hate christian laes? i don't like how he writes about disability, and at the same time he's incredibly prolific and good at citing ancient sources, so he's incredibly useful. read him if you want ancient examples, but be wary of how he talks about disability, because i think he fails as an abled person to think of disability as anything but bad.

Heroes and Outcasts: Ambiguous Attitudes Towards Impaired and Disfigured Roman Veterans (article, by Van Lommel) - i don't remember how situated van lommel is in disability studies, but i found this article & his work in general on roman veterans interesting enough to include.

there's so, so much more out there! this is just a taste! i tried to be conservative so as not to overwhelm, and even then this reading list is huge. i'm sure in a couple months i'll want to revamp this post lmao but i wanted it to be out there so people can at least see it esp since i promised to write this months ago. disability studies and classics is SO much fun and so novel and so exciting. so much to learn! so much to talk about! if you're interested in a specific topic, i can see if i can help you find more on it, but please keep in mind im currently only a student :-)

[arcane-abomination]

I wanted to do a blog for this because unfortunately there isn’t a lot of free information circulating on the internet about this particular subject. Most people that practice it tend to keep to themselves, not wanting to share their craft because of the negative views some members of the community have, or they just don’t have a big enough platform to get their information out. Thus most of the information you can find has to be paid for. Not to mention most of the witchcraft community practices a more “traditional witchcraft” path, so stuff normally associated with the eldritch path often finds so much of itself draped in fantasy and rpg, that significant information on the real world witchcraft side of it can often get lost amongst the mess. For that reason, I feel this blog is a necessity.

Lovecraft

Now there’s a common misconception that Eldritch magick entails you to practice with Lovecraftian beliefs and beings. This couldn’t be more false. Lovecraftian magick also referred to Yog Sothothery is a specific branch of Eldritch magick but isn’t the whole of the practice. One does not need to work with it at all to be apart of this practice although many do. This blog has no intention of covering this subcategory any further! As I have a whole separate piece dedicated to it, Yog Sothothery

What is it?

Eldritch witchcraft, to put it simply, is the practice of witchcraft with the use of Eldritch entities. Now, Merrium Webster defines Eldritch as something strange or unnatural especially in a way that inspires fear. So you see, this practice is a wide umbrella that can encompass many kinds of beings from many places. However they are largely associated with what we may call cosmic beings. Deity and spirits from other places in the universe or other dimensions entirely. This is why they can appear “unnatural” or “strange” to us.

Alternate names for this practice include but are not limited to interdimensional witchcraft, alien witchcraft, and dimensional witchcraft.

Working the Mind

One thing to remember with Eldritch witchcraft is that the primary focus of this craft is going to be on your mind. Dream realms, astral realms, and gnosis all play a very important role within this craft and should not be over looked. I would say roughly 80% of what you do will be attached to one of these three things. This is because the beings you contact work with you predominantly in this fashion. Symbolic dreams and visions are the simplest forms of communication among the Eldritch. To ignore this puts you in a very weak position from a Magickal standpoint.

Now divination is definitely one of the things witches will use in this craft to help communicate but it can only get you so far. Most often what you get during divination coincides with the dreams, visions, and images they present to you. If this sort of thing is difficult for you to achieve, it’s recommended that you work on building up those strengths or at the very least request that the Eldritch beings you’re reaching out to assist you with that.

The Mindset

This craft comes with a particular mindset that’s imperative for execution. The acceptance that we are not alone within the cosmos. These beings can be considered extraterrestrial in many cases, but often operate through inter dimensional doorways. They are altogether “alien” to us both in physicality and mentality. They are spiritual/energy beings much like normal gods of earth but their place of origin exists far beyond the stars. To go into this with a closed mindset that we are the only life out there will only earn you disappointment.

The Entities

By now I’ve mentioned Eldritch entities quite a few times. So I bet you’re wondering what they are and how exactly do they work? Well for starters I must once again reiterate inter dimensional contact. Most Eldritch entities come from places either outside our dimension and elsewhere in the universe. Making contact means connecting to something far beyond our idea of normal. This also means you’re unfortunately never going to see them for what they truly are nor are you ever going to know their real name. Our mortality restricts us a great deal. The mortal brain can only process so much. As such, we can’t hope to be able to physically understand or see what they truly are or what they truly call themselves. So then how do they present themselves? With an alternative name, as well as an avatar or an epithet.

For those who don’t know, an avatar is another body that they inhabit. Think of a skin you upload onto your game character. While an epithet is the energy of certain characteristics and magickal traits the entity has, that’s been manifested into a separate being. As an example we can look at the goddess Hecate. She is often used with the epithets of the triple goddess or maiden, mother, and crone. All are separate forces focusing on specific energies but all are still Hecate. As for what these avatars and epithets will look like, that will be depending on you as the castor. The forms they tend to take appeal to the one they are working with as does the name they choose to share with you. Some have reported that the appearance can sometimes start as something incredibly familiar like an animal, and the name something very typical of that animal. Then, gradually alterations are made until it’s something that looks a lot closer to what this entity might actually be and sound a lot closer to its actual name. But, each one of us is different and what our minds can take will inevitably effect how these entities present themselves and how they spell with us.

So what of a hierarchy, pantheons, things normally associated with deity? Well, that’s the fun thing about Eldritch Witchcraft. It’s so vast that it’s not centered around one specific sect or pantheon for the most part. You can get 100 people all reaching out to the cosmos and each get a deity unrelated to each other. The expanse of the universe is that vast, and calling to a deity in this way is the equivalent of catching a single fish in the ocean.

Calling The Entities

When you decide to reach out to to the universe and call to an Eldritch entity I find it best to cleanse yourself first. A bath or smoke cleanse works best as does any spell for meditation that helps to open your third eye or work with your mind. Like all deities someone wanting the contact is the first step, sending a prayer or call out to the unknown is the next. Sometimes having an offering may help but these beings may be more particular about what they prefer in this sense. Sometimes you may have to call multiple times, over multiple nights. Other times you may get an answer rather quickly. Each of us is different. But one things for sure, when they do reach out for the first time it will typically be in a dream. From there you can perform additional mediations, divinary sessions, and spell work to get to know them more.

Tools & Magick

Like every practice, this as well comes with helpful tools and particular magick that the practitioner can use to better their experience. While none of these are needed they can assist and make things easier.

• Divination Tools - The most popular among Eldritch witches seemed to be oracle cards, spirit boards, and automatic writing tools, but any divinary tool may be used. It’s a good way to channel your Eldritch entity and communicate with them one on one.

• Edible Potions - it doesn’t matter if it’s tea, juice, or some other concoction. Lots of Eldritch energy can be poured into these drinks and consumed by the witch. Allowing the entity to work its magick inside them.

• Blood Magick - Eldritch deities respond well to blood magick because they can tie their magick to the individual much better. Likewise they can obtain a substantial amount of energy from that blood as well.

• Sigils - These are a great way to connect to specific energies and create a tag lock so that the Eldritch entity can not only draw energy from it but also fix a bit of themselves to the physical world making working with you easier.

• Fire - fire seams to be another great energy source for Eldritch beings. They will often flock to it when you light a candle in a ritual or hold a bonfire.

Closing

As stated above this is just a helpful base to get you started. What morals you follow, and rules you incorporate into the craft itself is entirely up to you and the entity you’re working with. Eldritch Witchcraft is extremely eclectic in that way and often is practiced as apart of chaos magick by many witches. Just remember, there is going to be many things in this universe you can’t hope to physically understand. Answers you won’t be able to receive because it exceeds past what your mortal mind is capable of knowing. Seeking these answers can drive people mad so learning patience, and acceptance of what you can not change is also a must.

Additional Reading

• Eldritch Witchcraft - Orlee Stewart

• A Universe of 10 Dimensions

• Do Paralleled Universes Exist?

Keep in mind that most of the sources of information come from other like minded experiences. Which is why this “additional links” list is so small. There isn’t much out there in the way of physical proof as we know it because things like spiritual realms, and worlds out side of our physical universe aren’t readily accessible by scientists. Instead we have only immeasurable experiences from places like the astral realm to account for it. This means you should ALWAYS take stuff like this with a grain of salt and explore the ideas yourself to see where you end up.

[alexanderlightweight]

I feel slightly greedy prompting three weeks in a row, but I just read the new chapter of Elysium's Tears that you uploaded to a03 and it is utterly incredible. To put it lightly.

If this plot bunny inspires you at all, I would absolutely adore the chance to read a snippet in that universe of Ragnor and/or Cat seeing Malec together for the first time - just the sheer craziness of them seeing a nephilim, one of the Clave's most valued treasures, not to mention the whole Lightwood thing, happily collared and kneeling at their best friend's feet, casually informing Magnus of secrets the Clave would straight-up murder to keep while just ... nibbling mango from his fingers.

(That was a very long run-on sentence, apologies. Also, I was mostly just going for vibes not specific plot points in that promptlet. Also, again, three weeks in a row so feel free to ignore ❤️)

hey Laws, feel free to prompt every week and you know i love vibes! this was a lot of fun and definitely is going in the next chapter of elysium's tears though i'll probably need a magnus redecorating his loft scene at some point lol. this is cat's pov because it was more fun that way! i hope you enjoy it! thank you for prompting

lumine

-

It’s been nearly three weeks since Magnus all but dropped off the face of the world.  Normally, Cat wouldn’t be so concerned if it weren’t for the fact that he’s been asking for her help securing an absurdly long list of rare potion ingredients.

It’s with a case of beer and a box of snacks that she portals over to his place, only to be gently redirected by the interior wards.

The primary wards still allow her access, but she’s portaled into what Magnus was once planning to use as a greeting hall. She wonders just what spell, potion or sex experiments Magnus is conducting that require such an elaborate and delicate array.

It’s with growing amusement that she taps her foot and counts out just how long it’s taking Magnus to respond. The amusement turns to concern when she feels Magnus’ magic reach out with intent, demanding she prove her identity to him in a way he rarely feels the need to use.

It’s without a second thought that Cat reaches back, letting Magnus weigh her soul against his knowledge of her and his magic presses against her, almost in relief.

“Cat—” Magnus murmurs and his voice is hoarse and he looks tired and worn but smug.

Magnus looks victorious, in a way Cat has never seen before.

“You’re okay?” She asks, because that will always be the first and most important question. Anything else can alway wait.

“Oh Cat, I’ve never been better.”

—

The amount of layers and traps that she has to step through is intense and Cat resolves to make Magnus visit her until he’s finished with whatever he’s doing.

“Alexander is resting at the moment—” Magnus is murmuring though he’s quite forgotten to explain just who Alexander is. It could be anything from a weekend frolic to a new snake or a stray cat that Magnus has gotten attacked to.

“And Alexander is?” Cat asks leadingly but it goes nowhere because Magnus just barks a laugh, a sharp, dark noise of pure avarice.

“He’s mine Cat, in a way I didn’t think could ever be possible.”

Magnus opens the wards and finally lets her through the last step and Cat walks in and stares. Magnus’ entire loft looks different, a fortress on the outside and an oasis of luxury on the inside. There are chaises and sofas and thick rugs with plush cushions and throws. It looks decadent and soft in a way Cat doesn’t normally associate with Magnus.

On one of the thick rugs, shirtless and dappled in lurid bruises and golden sunlight, a young nephilm lays sleeping. He’s aesthetically pleasing and is defined in a way that says he is heavily trained and very capable.

Cat waits for a moment, trying to understand how three weeks could possibly have turned into something like this and then she sees the nephilim wake up. Unfairly long lashes flutter and Cat sees a glimpse of icy blue, and then she sees it.

Lines upon lines of hoarfrost blue, the silver of an angelic power Cat only barely managed to witness and she understands exactly why Magnus’ lair is warded so thoroughly.

“How did you get him here?” Cat finds herself asking because it’s one thing for Magnus to try and lure in a nephilim curse with Elysium’s Tears. Magnus would think nothing of seducing such a person, not if it would give him a glimpse of something to look forward to.  It’s the layout, the way Magnus is covetously watching his Alexander’s every breath.

Something else is going on beyond a glimpse of what could be.

Magnus walks over and kneels, reaching down to kiss Alexander’s sleeping for, biting his lip until the bluelight fade and he groggily nuzzles into Magnus’ chest.

“Lovely, I’d like someone to check you over. Hmm, sweetheart?”

Magnus’ voice is soothing and sincere and tinted with a jagged edge of possessiveness.

“Oh—” hazel eyes blink at her, awareness growing. “Cat, then? It’s early to meet her. This isn’t normally one of her days off.”

It sends a chill up Cat’s spine to hear such a remark, especially when the only reason she’s free is because she used magic to get the day off.

BEcause she wanted to check on Magnus.

“All the better, Alexander. A fresh start for you, another difference to what you saw.”

Cat finds nothing truly wrong with him, besides the fact that whatever horror resides in his body and eats away at the future is a ravenous beast.

“He needs to eat more.” Cat murmurs, low because Magnus’ Alexander only stayed awake long enough for Cat to finish her work and now he stretched out across Magnus’ lap. His long legs thrown over the sofa arm and his face burrowed into Magnus’ stomach.

“Alexander does have a habit to miss meals when he dreams.”

Magnus gives her a pointed look and Cat knows exactly what he means.Then he rubs his hands through curls and tugs on them until he’s being pouted up at.

“A snack, Alexander.” Magnus croons, like he’s taming and rewarding some fierce, snappish beast. “Try, for me.”

His boy is exhausted, from the dreams or whatever left the bruises across his body Cat doesn’t know. She does watch, surprised as Magnus summons a bowl of frozen mango. His boy whines at the cold, unable to bite into it and insstead he licks and suckles from Magnus’ fingers. It takes him and agonizing amount of time each piece and his lips and swollen from the cold and from the way he’s making obscene, slick noises, his tongue must be numb as well.

Magnus doesn’t seem to notice how amorous their actions are. All of his focus is on his Alexander, feeding him each piece in such a cruelly intimate manner. It takes forever, the sun stretching high and falling low and then Magnus’ boy falls back asleep, suckling the juice from Magnus’ fingers. Magnus chuckles, something dark and ravenous as he presses his fingers even deeper into his boy’s slack, trusting mouth.

“He’s so good for me—” Magnus is murmuring, almost as if besotted and enchanted and there’s something feral in his tone. “He brought me information that has me, for the first time, ahead of my father.”

The shock of it hits Cat like a glacier pool and she copartmentalizes quickly, locking it away as she tries to focus on Magnus.

“So you’re

“I have all of my magic back again.” Magnus bares his teeth in a snarled grin, “ those pieces I sacrificed to hold him in Edom, it’s all been returned to me. We struck a deal, rather than have my strength be tamed by chaining him.

“Incredibly.” Cat finds herself saying, “I’ll let Ragnor know. You’ll tell us, when you’re ready?”

Magnus nods and leads her back to the entry hall and then he pauses and as she’s about to step through her own portal he interrupts the silence.

“I didn’t find him, Cat.” Magnus lets out a sigh, wonder in the hoarse edge of his breath. “He came to me. Surrendered himself to me and let me stop him from leaving, let me keep him and bind him and he adores me for it. Would worship me in gratitude because he knows I will never let him go.”

Cat nods.

This is all they’ll need to speak of, for now.  She’ll check on Magnus on and off, check on his boy as well, but in the meantime she’ll let Magnus lay his webs and string his boy up and so tightly bound that he can’t even blink without Magnus knowing.

After all, it’s what makes Magnus happy.

[dee-the-red-witch]

The Monthly Roundup

Okay, normally, this is just a free monthly post over on my Patreon, but I figured I should push this out into the wild as well, because this kind of stuff's always needed. Want this, and a bunch of weekly readings from a cursed tarot deck, media reviews, and other content including fiction and the occasional build post? Maybe consider adding me over there as well. Anyways, like I said, it's a monthly roundup- in this case a bigass collection of links and resources for folks interested in pursuing gender transition one way or another. And while a bunch of it is transfem specific and sometimes medical transition specific, because it's stuff I dug up while hunting down things for myself, there's also things in there good for anyone of any gender, and resources for legal/social transition as well. And this is long enough to deserve a cut for once, so...

Hey! What If *I'M* trans?

The Gender Dysphoria Bible- https://genderdysphoria.fyi/en Wondering if you're experiencing Gender Dysphoria? This may be a good place to start. Realize the GDB is slanted largely towards transfem folks, so it doesn't necessarily apply evenly to everyone, but it does cover a lot of ground that folks may identify with.

Trans Medical Resources

DIY HRT- https://diyhrt.cafe/index.php/Main_Page (for legal reasons, I'm going to tell you to at least try to see a licensed physician or endocrinologist before starting to DIY your own hormones, but keep in mind, I'm not your responsible adult, and if you don't choose to listen, that's on you) This is the main, best hub for sourcing and getting info on doing your own hormone therapy. Keep in mind, it's once again slanted towards feminizing methods, because testosterone is still a controlled substance in most of the world (which is bloody fucking stupid, but that's a rant for another time).

GALAP- The Gender Affirming Letter Access Project- https://thegalap.org/ While we may have new WPATH guidelines with the Soc 8 updates that dropped a little bit ago, most providers and insurers are still on outdated requirements that insist on letters from mental health providers for transgender-related care. Which can affect access to surgeries, HRT, and more. GALAP exists to connect folks with providers who'll give those letters,m in some cases free of charge even.

Gynecologist List- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Djia_WkrVO3S4jKn6odNwQk7pOcpcL4x00FMNekrb7Q/htmlview This one's more for uterus-owners in general and less trans-specific, but giventhe number of folks with uteri who'd can end up with a hard time finding a willing doctor for some procedures, it's important for everyone. This is a Google database of hundreds of gynecologists, listed by location, willing to perform sterilization procedures with informed consent, without secondary authorization from anyone else. The list is patient-vetted, so your mileage may vary, but for those seeking sterilization and/or hysterectomies as part of their transition it may prove to be invaluable as a resource, because doctors willing to do this work can be few and rare in some areas.

Transfeminine Science- https://transfemscience.org/ Articles, journals and all sorts of researching into, well, just what the name says, transfeminizing science. A lot of medical professionals simply don't have knowledge in the field and are acting on what they learned in med school, which may be way out of date. If they're willing to listen, there's stuff in there to help bring them up to speed. Better yet, it;'s also a great resource to educate yourself so you can advocate for your own care a bit better.

Other Transition resources (legal, social, etc)

NCTE's ID GUIDE- https://transequality.org/documents The National Transgender Center for Equality's guide to changing your legal identity, in a handy format that lets you break it down by state or territory, or even federal documents (United States only, sorry.) and links to the right paperwork to use. Rainbow Passage- https://rainbowpassage.org/ It sucks that we need organizations like this in these times, but I'm glad to see there's people already stepping up to the task. Rainbow Passage is an organization dedicated to helping trans youth get out of trans-hostile states and relocate to safer areas. And if you can, volunteering for them is a great way to help improve safety for trans folk in general.

Seattle Voice Lab- https://www.seattlevoicelab.com/ if you've seen me on social media much lately, then you've seen me talking about this place. This is who I'm (through February and March at least) taking voice lessons through to feminize my own voice more. They also have a bunch of online resources, a discord server, and other help if you need to figure your own vocal chords out a bit better.

Strands For Trans- https://strandsfortrans.org/ Need a haircut, or color or other beauty services you're using for the first time ever as an out trans person and you're not sure where's going to be safe to go? Strands For Trans is the first comprehensive database of Aesthetics businesses for hair and everything, AND THEY VET THE BUSINESSES, to ensure your safety and comfort.

TLC's Life-Planning Guide- http://transgenderlawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TLC_Life-Planning-Documents-Transgender.pdf The Transgender Law Center put this guide together specifically for planning end-of-life details. Yes, it's a depressing and tragic thing, but protecting and making sure our identities are still properly preserved after we die is still just as an important part of what we're fighting as anything else is. This guide will help you with establishing a Living Will, controlling hospital visits, and setting up proper Powers of Attorney, so that nothing potentially falls back into the hands of people who might refuse to recognize who you truly are. (In many states, you can designate someone other than your next of kin to take charge of your body when you die (next of kin is defined by law, not by preference). If you need to do that, go to nolo.com and look up article on "[your state] funeral law" to get a rundown on if and how to do this.

Trans Media

The Digital Transgender Archive- https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net "The purpose of the Digital Transgender Archive (DTA) is to increase the accessibility of transgender history by providing an online hub for digitized historical materials, born-digital materials, and information on archival holdings throughout the world." (In short, this is one of several free libraries of trans history.)

Totally Trans- https://www.patreon.com/totallytrans/posts Hey, look at that, it's another Patreon! Except, no, wait, it's a podcast! Totally Trans looks at media both historical and modern with a transgendered lens. Sometimes it's silly fun, other times, it's great insights into queer and trans history, and all around it's a great show to add on whatever service you're already getting podcasts through- or you can hit the link above to help support them at the same time for early access.

Trans News, Blogs, and Notes

Erin In The Morning: https://www.erininthemorning.com/ Erin's newsletter runs almost daily these days, mostly with updates regarding trans legislation all around the US. It's a good way to stay up to date, but it can also be a drag these days, largely because it's practically just a constantly expanding list of bad news thanks to the GOP right now.

Stained Glass Woman: https://stainedglasswoman.substack.com/ aka Doc Impossible/Zoe. I first discovered her work and writing when WPATH released their new SOC 8 guidelines, because she was one of the few people that could make the thing actually make sense in non-legalese. But I subscribed andkeep following here for regular updates both because she presents a trans coming out narrative that was just a joy to read, and also covers interesting  news in the field of trans medicine from time to time. Definitely worth adding to your feed.

A Self Defense Study Guide for Trans Women and Gender Non-Conforming / Nonbinary AMAB Folks: https://www.silversprocket.net/2021/09/13/a-self-defense-study-guide-for-trans-women-and-gender-non-conforming-nonbinary-amab-folks/

This is, quite honestly, one of the best self-defense guides I've seen for gender-nonconforming folks (and one of the few, to be honest), short of private defense instruction. AND it's available to read in full for free at that link, or in print for just a 5$ donation. Go check it out.

Other general roundups

Grassroots GAC Resources- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19kSzBLo_hjpiBjHN8tvK73sVHU25NKWjMau2vNl8uuM/edit#gid=778305468 Google spreadsheet of links in general, from therapy help and hrt assistance, to all sorts of other info, some of which are repeats from here, but there's also a bunch of others I haven't had time or opportunity to vet yet.

[lorekeeper-backset]

Alright, so, nobody else has done this yet so I will. Presenting...

A Full Summary of Wynncraft: Rekindled World

Explaining the Upcoming Wynncraft Update through a handy bullet point list. Here's what we know is in the upcoming update so far.

Mobs and enemies are being completely revamped including not just bosses but standard enemies too, with the mob system being rebuilt from the ground up.

There will be 350+ unique mob AIs and Abilities which I'm assuming means some mobs will just use the same AI as other mobs.

There will be 300+ new models for entities, which I'm assuming means some entities will just share models with others. This includes not just hostile mobs but also passive mobs like sheep and pigs. I'll admit, I'll kinda miss the classic Minecraft mobs. I won't miss the mobs that are just a bunch of blocks jumbled together into the vague shape of a creature. All these models have their own unique animations. Especially the bosses.

The UI and interface are being completely reworked with a unique look that meshes Minecraft and modern rpg UIs. So, uh, if you use Wyntilis things'll probably break.

Brand new music that's even higher quality!

Teleport scrolls are no longer one use. Instead, they have multiple charges that recharge over time, no longer requiring you to go back and buy more constantly.

Soul points are gone and outside of Hardcore and Hunted mode you'll only drop materials and ingredients upon death.

Scrap is being, er, scrapped and items can instead be repaired with just emeralds.

Raids have been reworked to provide a more streamlined experience better suited for endgame players.

All challenges and bosses have been reworked! Raids now scale to each party member's own level.

If you buy a Silverbull subscription (for some reason) you can unlock new effects and rewards for raids. Also up the challenge with unique challenges or whatever.

If some or all of your raiders are from the same guild, they trigger a guild raid which makes the raid harder and the rewards better.

Aspects are rewards that you can get from raids and guilds that enhance your abilities. They're shared across all your characters and you can have five enabled at a time.

World Events are now a thing! Sometimes there'll be a world event and if you get there in time you can fight a huge crowd of enemies and a boss for lots of xp and rewards.

Once a week a Major World Event will trigger near the Corruption Portal and all players above lvl 30 (though I suspect you'd be better off at a much higher level than that) can fight a massive boss called Annihilation with the power to end the world. Defeating him gives you a corrupted cache which contains powerful items.

A lot of the level 30-39 quests have received some touch ups.

Improved fights.

Dungeons (sans Eldritch Outlook and Fallen Factory) no longer require quests to access. I assume the dungeon quests will simply be reworked and not removed entirely, seeing as most of them provide important story and lore information (Slykaar's in particular).

Also you get a free second chance if you die during an attempt.

Improved builds including Mt. Wynn! Finally! That Mountain always looked kinda sparse to me.

Random events, both beneficial and harmful, during Lootruns.

And more that hasn't been revealed yet!

Coming this summer. So very soon.

If none of that made sense, visit the official page.

[haileyywrites]

-> The god-creaiting experiment in Sumeru was a success, but it was just the first step in the grand scheme. The Doctor's return to Snezhnaya would be immediate to continue his true work. You - a pure created life form to control the power to reshape the world as it was known today as the holder of the seven Gnosis'.

-> Spoiler warning for 3.2 Sumeru Archon Quests! Dottore x reader with creator and creation kind of relationship! Romantic or platonic! Dottore is likely ooc, but it's fanfiction :)

It was to be expected that the Balladeer would turn his back on the Fatui the moment he was able to hold one in his hands, the one from the Electro Archon to be more specific. Though he was barely able scratch the surface of power the Gnosis, he could have his fun for now with the Doctor overseeing the whole experiment unfold before him of course - and what a great success it was indeed. As it came to it's inevitable end with the Traveler emerging victorious the only thing left to do was to collect the Gnosis' from the newly freed Archon and return to Snezhnaya. Though the god of Knowledge did drive a hard bargain for the two that required a rather heavy sacrifice for his work.

Back in the Zapolyarny Palace you were certainly frightened by one of his clones suddenly cursing and threatening the original Dottore before shutting down right before your eyes! It's now lifeless eyes staring right through you with one hand reaching for you. It was an eerie sight and made you rather worried for the original one all the way in Sumeru. What suddenly made him undo this experiment that took years and hard work to conduct? He always took great pride in all of his work - especially this one. If something didn't satisfy him about an experiment he would continue to work on it until it did...

You tried to shake away your worries and continue to work on your flower bed to distract yourself, but with his clone still lifeless behind you it proved to be rather difficult. Things would be dealt with and questions answered when Dottore returned to Snezhnaya - which he was likely doing right this moment. Nothing to worry about, you tried to tell yourself. You weren't entirely sure why you were so worried to begin with, he wasn't the kindest person alive. Perhaps you had grown attached from all of the time you spent with him and his clones, wheter it was your own choice or not to do so. He fascinated and frightened you often at the same time, so did his clones. Especially his younger self...

When he was away you spent your free time nursing plans and flora of all kind in your personal garden as you didn't have much else to do on a daily basis. The Gnosis' were still being acquired by the eleven Harbingers - meaning you were not of any use to anyone currently. With the Harbingers and the Tsaritsa busy with their important duties you were rather lonely. Dottore would have one of the clones be in your company at all times when he himself or the Tsaritsa were not available, his clones weren't always the most pleasant company to be with, but they were company none the less. Though it was difficult to imagine that someone like him would care about your loneliness.

He would bring you flowers and plants from all around Teyvat for your garden after seeing you interested in them. You had unlimited access to go through his library, it was filled with books of all kind to keep you occupied. Books containing information of the other nations had you fascinated, as you were not allowed outside of the palace. He used his skills in alchemy to help the plants survive within the cold land of Cryo, no matter where they're from or what climate they originated from, they would grow in your garden with proper maintenance from you. Perhaps he did these things to further study you out of interest or curiosity... Or he was simply amused by you gushing over some simple flowers he picked out from a ditch during his missions away - who knows. He always had his own ends with everything, especially his experiments and you were his most unique experiment yet.

He loved studying everything about you. When he was in Snezhnaya and had time to spare he would sit to have tea with you in order to have long conversations and study you. Study how you felt about certain things, what you thought abou them, how you comprehended certain topics or how you saw them. As you did not require sleep these conversations could last throughout the night. He would ask you to sleep from time to time inorder to see if you were able to dream and ask what your dreams were about. No matter how silly or mundane he appeared genuinely curious and interested. If anyone else knew you as well as he did they would notice you barely had anything that made you different from a regular human, yet he acted like you were one of a kind - that nothing in this world compared to you and your mind...

You were not unique in a sense, as you were created by following the steps of the Electro Archon Beelzebul and how she made Scaramouche. The Tsaritsa was your primary creator but Dottore and Sandrone were both equally as important to your creation. You were one of a kind as such you were constantly modified to be made better instead of creating a new model after you. This was likely due to the still limited knowledge of the technology and the Tsaritsa's kind heart, she would rather do everything to make you better instead of simply creating a new one. It may have been a foolish way to do things so, but the Cryo Archon was your creator and viewed you as her creation - her child essentially.

You were by all accounts a living breathing being capable of your own thoughts and feelings. Either way, the Doctor and Sandrone certainly didn't mind experimenting and tinkering with your body to build you to perfection for the role you would fill. With each gained Gnosis change and modification was necessary as the body you were modeled after was only designed to hold the power of one and was only a prototype, while you would hold the power of all seven. However, should you ever become corrupted or turn against the Tsaritsa and the Fatui... There would be no choice but to dispose of you and begin again. It would be quite the set back, but the Fatui was patient, re-creating the world would not happen in an instant. You were made aware of this from the start, but thus far you have yet to disappoint or give them a reason to even come across even a though of disposing of you.

You were everything they wanted and more - loyal to your creators and the Fatui without second thoughts or question. You believed in their goal to remake and shape the world anew with the powers of the Seven. Perhaps you were simply naive and easily manipulated by those who created you, which was why your freedom required to be sacrificed - so you would remain pure and uncorrupted by the outside world. You were like a songbird in a beautiful golden cage... You had the most important part to play and were treated as such, as an equal to the Tsaritsa and even above her to some of the Fatui. You were the only one who could fill the role of creating the new world.

You stopped your movements as a cold chill ran down your spine, you felt a pair of sharp eyes piercing the back of your head from behind you. You didn't need to turn around to know whom they belonged to, but you did regardless. As you thought, the Doctor stood behind you with an evident smirk upon his lips as per usual. He appeared unharmed and arrived to Snezhnaya much earlier than you had anticipated. Your eyes lowered to see a new plant upon his gloved hand, it was gorgeous! You quickly rose to your feet to walk over to him, you did your best to dust your dirty hands on the way. A smile grew on your lips as you looked at the delicate flower he held between his fingers.

“Welcome back Doctor.” You greeted him with a trained smile, like always. He had requested this as payment for the gifts he brought you.

“Radiant as ever, I see.” He chuckled before gazing behind you to look at your blooming garden. “As are the flowers.”

“Yes. Is this one for me?” You knew the answer, but you knew him better to not try and predict him. He could only be teasing you and actually need it for an experiment or something along those lines.

“Why yes, it is. It's a souvenir from Sumeru called Padisarah - a very demanding flower to nurture. I have no doubt it'll be just fine within your care.” His smirk grew as he placed the flower in your hand which he held for a moment.

Your hand was so small compared to his own that yours was covered entirely by his with the flower standing tall between your hands. For some reason he felt satisfied with seeing your hand hidden within his grasp, it almost felt good. Your hands were soft and smooth. Every part of you was so incredibly pure and untainted, even when covered in dirt. You didn't move an inch to pull your hand away even when you became puzzled by the amount of time he held onto you. Your round doe like eyes simply stared at him in question, your head was slightly craned up due to him towering over your small frame. Even if you could not see his eyes behind the mask, you were still able to stare directly into them...

He finally let go with a breathy chuckle and watched as you slowly moved to remove the seeds from the flower, as if you were hesitant to move away. You turn to look at him over your shoulder briefly before continuing to extract the seeds carefully to not damage the flower, it was useless without it's roots but you would save it by pressing it and hanging on a wall. Your wall was filled with tens if not hundreds of different flora and fauna he had given you over the years. Each one was carefully pressed and preserved before being hanged on the wall. After you were done you went to directly plant the seeds within an empty flower bed, after which you turned back to face Dottore again.

“Thank you. It's quite a beautiful flower, perhaps the most gorgeous one yet.” This time your smile was genuine as your eyes shone with pure happiness.

“You are quite welcome. Though now we must leave to meet with her highness, Sumeru was a wide success and I have retrieved two more Gnosis'.” He took them from his coat to show to you.

You quickly moved to to inspect them, carefully running your fingers over the details of them. “They are so beautiful...”

“Indeed. Thus, we are closer to having them all.”

He reached out with his other hand to run his long gloved fingers through your silky smooth hair and down your soft cheek. He caressed your skin gently with his smirk softening ever so slightly... You shivered without meaning to, it was unclear if it was due to his actions or the actual coldness getting to you, but it brought his signature smirk back. He let go of you to shrug off his snow white Harbinger coat and wrap it on your shoulders, it was almost comical how large it was on you - it almost looked like you were drowning inside it, but at least you were warmer.

You certainly hadn't expected such a kind act from him, as usually he would smirk at you and tease you cruelly, before taking you inside to warm you up. But he actually gave you his coat this time... He truly was unpredictable. It made your heart warm and a small smile to form on your lips which did not go unnoticed by his sharp eyes. He motioned for you to get inside and followed right behind you. The coat missing from his shoulders and on yours certainly turned some heads and raised some brows from not only the recruits, but the Harbingers too. Dottore was nothing but smug and pleased to have caused such a scene, but you didn't seem to notice either of these things.

Truly a naive and pure being that he so longed to corrupt and study forever, but you were needed for greater things than his amusement. Truly a shame. Either way, no one would stop him from harmless things like these as long as you did not complain about his antics. But you did not appear to mind all that much.

Oop- Take a drink everytime you read "pure" and "uncorrupted" lol

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

"anon I want you to look me in the eye and tell me you think that the average person likes dinosaurs in the same way they like gravity." Why? I didn't imply any of that. People can be curious and learn more, as much as they learn with someone on internet talking about owls (many people in big cities will never see an owl, try to pet one, go to a owl cafe??? These are even illegal where a live, a country with 100.000.000+ inhabitants. Nevermind).

"but most kids don’t care how accurate their toys are, they just want to roleplay them forming a death cult with blood sacrifices because that’s just what children want to do." you cleary underestimate how children are complex but I'll pass

"It would go something like “why doesn’t this one have feathers” “oh scientists didn’t know they had those at first” “oh ok” and for most kids that’s the end of it." Really do you have some background on education at all (even practical)? These simple realizations are really important.

"You’re acting like there’s a huge movement of people proclaiming that dinosaurs didn’t have feathers or something, which isn’t the case." Where did I imply that? I just "wow it would be nicer for kids to have MORE info, isn't it?", and you used a lot od words to say "that's not relevant" (and if it is your opinion, don't cover it).

Also, sorry I work with something irrelevant (irony) as education (including child education) and I try to bring nice themes to engage the groups. I feel very sorry for writers and illustrators for their irrelevance (irony) too. Although, urgengy for urgency, I'm surprised you didn't mention the world hunger this time, or used us from the so called "Third World" as props again.

A large portion of my job is child education actually lol. Working at a wildlife outreach center for years will do that. You’re projecting a lot of weird opinions onto me, who hurt you? When have you seen me refer to “third world” countries that way? When have you seen me bring up “world hunger” or say “children are starving in Africa” exactly?

I’m glad owl cafes are illegal in your country. They’re illegal in mine too. Wish they were illegal everywhere. Owls don’t want to be petted and owl cafes are animal abuse. If you want to know why, feel free to search the term on my blog.

Here’s the thing about dinosaurs and fictional media with dinosaurs though: a child can learn accurate information about dinosaurs without every single toy having to be anatomically accurate based on current science. I was reading dinosaur encyclopedias by the time I was six because I loved dinosaurs and wanted to see pictures of dinosaurs and what their names were and what they ate and what have you. I think that educational material such as encyclopedias should be up to date! That is important! People at any age can learn from accessible educational material about dinosaurs.

But if a child plays with a plastic toy that’s not scientifically accurate, that’s not a detriment to their education. A child who is curious should be lead to books for more information on the subject, not more plastic toys. Toys can be educational and raise questions certainly, but not every toy has to be part of their curriculum. Sometimes children just want toys to pretend to eat other toys with. You can teach children about dinosaurs if that interests them even if fictional depictions of dinosaurs are different from the real animals. Imagination and fiction are also a healthy space for children to explore.

[endcant]

a big reason why i personally respond very strongly and publicly about internet censorship bills is because every tool and support ive ever had to understand my trauma, cope with my mental health issues, historically contextualize my experiences, and become a somewhat functional adult, were all found online. the friends who support me found me online. my ability to do my art business & be my authentic self in the same place at the same time is thanks to the expressive powers of the internet. almost nothing good in my life would have been possible if there was legislation like KOSA enacted when i was a child. which is why i have been openly speaking out against legislation like this ever since i was a child.

one example of the problem here is that the heritage foundation intends to use KOSA as a way to sue websites into censoring information about LGBT+ issues and sex/reproductive health. they said it publicly, and i have no reason to think they’re bluffing. the heritage foundation is also the main party behind Project 2025 (an authoritarian agenda for the U.S. political right published and free to read online). they should be taken seriously because they have proudly played a massive role in deciding what Republican public policy be will be since the Reagan administration. if you are politically active online at all and don’t know whether your most dearly held causes are under threat by this group, type “the heritage foundation’s stance on” into your favorite search engine, take a look at the recommended searches, and get ready to have a very bad time. (…unless you’re one of those rare far-right political users on this site, in which case you’d probably have a pretty good time)

this is happening alongside the recent growth of the “parental rights” movement, whose achievements include promoting book bans, trying to suppress any information they deem to be “Critical Race Theory”, as well as harassing and threatening people for supporting LGBT+ kids. they aim to silence any voices that don’t fall in line with their agenda. moms for liberty is a prominent example of a harmful “parental rights” activist group; they have repeatedly done things like this. i have no doubt that these groups would absolutely utilize KOSA to further prevent children from accessing important educational information.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, the one of the two legislators who has spearheaded the push to pass this bill through the Senate, is a self identified “hard-core” “politically incorrect” conservative who came into the Senate during the Trump administration. She is also part of the larger Tennesseean right-wing political apparatus that has brought this state wonders like cities where public homosexuality is illegal, and a county where the juvenile detention rate approaches 50%. these people do not care about the wellbeing of children. they are doing awful things here that the majority of tennesseans do not support. there are many other recent, infamous examples of similar state and local human rights failures throughout the US. if you let them have their way, these post-Trump Republicans will do their best to bring this kind of nonsensical, authoritarian governance to the entire country and potentially the rest of the world, given the role that U.S. law plays in the reality of the international internet.

i have been mostly sharing others’ posts and contacting legislators on my own time, but on December 6th, a letter was published in support of KOSA that was signed by 200 organizations— largely mental health and childrens’ health related groups. i believe that far-right political groups will use KOSA to silence the kind of online information that helped me with my own mental health when i was a kid, and that kids are currently relying on today. ultimately, i think it is a shame that these 200 organizations think they can get away with publicly supporting a bill that is so widely criticized and politically fraught.

[sposha]

Okay, I’m breaking character here, but this is important.

What is going on in Palestine is Genocide. To call it anything else is to be complicit in the downplay of this crisis.

But we already knew that. I’m not going to dwell on what the Palestinian people there are going through; others do that very well, and you should inform yourselves (but not to the detriment of your hope and mental health).

We already know that corporate entities have their hands in this; McDonalds, Starbucks, Disney+, Hewlett-Packard, and PUMA all have supported the Israeli Occupation in one way or another, and are now the targets of a global boycott.

We already know to call our governments and express our opposition to their support of Israel’s Apartheid. We also know that they aren’t going to listen, and will employ the same tactics as they did under the USA PATRIOT act to suppress our cries for peace for the sake of imperial interests around the globe.

We already know that the Canary Mission is being used to create a blacklist of people who have expressed support for Palestinian Liberation. (Again, patriot act.)

We know enough to inform our positions and our strategies. Now is the time to act.

So what then are we to do?

Under the security of anonymity, we must organize ourselves, and plan to raise the voices of dissent and opposition in such numbers that it becomes impossible to discern from whence our cries originate.

We must continue to put pressure on our politicians. Hold your vote as a ransom! Even then, know that this is far from the most effective of avenues through which change can happen.

Those of us with access to unions and their representatives would do well to contact their leadership and urge them to boycott the handling of Israeli goods and propaganda. Without our labor, the great and terrible machines of imperialism will grind to a halt.

Those of us with access to money would do well to find reputable funds and charities through which to support Gazans. Ensure that they can communicate with us, do not let their voices fall silent.

We must work to establish community and build solidarity with oppressed peoples, both in our own lands and in those abroad. We share more in common with the common folk than with our leaders. We must be kind to each other and ourselves, and do what we can to help all according to their need.

Finally, with all these things in mind, we must act. We must hope for the best of the situation, but prepare for the worst. We must abandon the misconceptions that hold us back; individual actions may not have much of an effect, but they have effect nonetheless. It is for this reason that solidarity, community, and organization are of the utmost importance, as together we can halt the gears of oppression and violence.

To those reading: please reblog with relevant and reputable resources. I will work to add them as well. We cannot act if we do not know what we can utilize. Anyone who can translate these words is also highly appreciated.

Organize yourselves against the coming storm, and be safe.

To Gazans, I affirm that you are heard, despite those that try to silence you. There is public outcry against your oppression across all the world. It grows stronger every day, and I do not believe it will stop until you are free.

From the river to the sea, Let Palestine be free.