#inter-community aggression

[nonbinarymlm]

Hey. Don’t tag my posts with this stuff. Trans women are not behind negative media depictions of trans men.

Trans people are an incredibly small, oppressed minority. Our oppression is not caused by other trans people. Get your head on right and don’t play oppression Olympics or demonize other trans people.

[llamagoddessofficial]

Allow me to lose my mind with the reversed zoo Siren au. May we get some general headcanons, dear Llama?

She's killed a staff member before. The boys all keep quiet about it. The last thing they want is their sweet siren being taken away from them for something so silly as her just doing what sirens ought to do.

One of the skeletons may or may not have pushed someone in

Although she's got a pretty decent situation going on, with lots of attention and good food and enrichment, she's still held captive. She still wants to escape.

The three gradually bond over their shared affection for her. There's secrets they share between each other that nobody else at the aquarium knows.

Since Sans is highly researched in siren behaviour, he tends to make suggestions for improvements to her tank. The only thing Red hates more than Sans telling him what to do is the fact that he knows he has to do it anyway- the suggestions are always great, and clearly make her happy. Red begrudgingly accepts that Mc's comfort is more important than his ego.

She bites Skull a lot. Stress relief, getting to take out pent-up aggression on his hands. He wears the tiny notches in his phalanges like badges of honour. Besides... when she's close up and biting his hands she's close enough for him to pet her hair. The fact that she trusts him enough to let him hold her head makes him emotional.

Raw fish is not the worst thing he's eaten in order to share food with her.

Yknow how when Red's a siren, he pinches Mc's ass? Siren Mc has a deep curiosity for the skeletons and their physiology. She nips Skull's hands, obviously, and she has a habit of touching Sans' face... but she likes to 'check out' Red the most, since he has a lot of time in the tank with her.

(She grabs his butt. Ribs, too. But mostly his bony butt.)

Mc enjoys entertaining human children. They think she's a mermaid so they're easily excited.

Sans is the first one to figure out she knows more than she lets on. There's something about her expressions, something about the noises she makes; he's studied inter-species communication, he knows an intelligent creature pretending to be stupid when he sees it.

Hit in this AU would probably be a private third party, trying to convince the aquarium to sell Mc to him. He shares the boys' delighted obsession with her... but perhaps a bit too much so. A pretty little mermaid all to himself sounds perfect. He's got a gilded tank waiting for her.

[psychotrenny]

Now I've received a few comments about the mass migration of Mizrahi Jews to Israel during the mid 20th century, specifically about Israel's lack of culpability towards it. And there's a few things I've said in response to this that I'd like to reiterate

For one, a number of commenters have attributed the time period of these migrations to the "30s and 40s" which I don't understand. Even Zionists usually consider the "Mizrahi Exodus" to date from the 50s onwards; a big part of how the process is portrayed by pro-Zionist sources is the framing as Israel as this land of opportunity and safety for Jews fleeing the violence and intolerance of the Arab world, something that couldn't exactly happen until Israel was actually established as a state in 1948.

Secondly as I've already stated multiple times the displacement, marginalisation and violent attack on Palestinians by Zionist European Settlers was already underway in Mandatory Palestine by the 1920s, as embodied by the existence of groups like Haganah and Irgun. So like even if we for whatever reason backdate the supposed mass exile of the Mizrahi to the "30s and 40s" it's still very easy to see the correlation between violence perpetrated by European settlers in the name of "Jewishness" and the development of conflict between previously peacefully co-existing communities of Jews and Gentiles in North Africa and West Asia.

And finally, the idea that the mass migration of Mizrahi Jews to Palestine was the result of intolerance from Muslim neighbors is essentially a Zionist distortion of a much more complicated situation. Soon after the establishment of Israel, the new government actively encouraged Jews from the surrounding region to migrate and worked with many of the surrounding governments (usually the European colonial governments that still controlled extensive tracts of the region) to facilitate this. Some Jews (such as those of Yemen or Morocco) were even essentially deported against their will by the wishes of the Israeli government. While there was an increase in inter-communal conflict between Jewish and Gentile populations in the region, this was both due to the general aftermath of Israeli's brutal establishment and in response to specific actions such as the Mossad terrorist attacks in Egypt in 1954 with some actions even being specifically undertaken in order to cause conflict (or even just the appearance of conflict) and induce migration such as Mossad's activities in Iraq through the 1950s. And while there was certainly a significant level of violence and maltreatment (both legal and extra-legal) directed towards Jewish people in various West Asian and North African countries in response to Israeli's invasion, the sheer degree that direct violence and persecution played in such migrations has also been greatly exaggerated by Zionists in order to justify their continued aggression against the people of Palestine and their Allies. The idea that you can draw any real equivalence between the population movements of the Mizrahi Aliyah and that of the Palestinian Nakba is a ghoulish distortion of history that only serves to justify Zionist atrocities both past and present. One was a more or less voluntary* migration that was only partially induced by fears (both hypothetical and actually realised) of conflict while the other was an incidence of direct and unambiguous ethnic cleansing. The factors that led to the Mizrahi migration has plenty of "pull" in addition to "push" and a great deal of said "push" was deliberately engineered by the Israeli government rather than being purely the result of some natural Islamic cruelty or antagonism

*while not an entirely fair thing to say, and its accuracy will vary a lot on a case by case basis, the Mizrahi migrants on the whole had a lot more freedom than the Palestinians in both the decision to leave and their choice of destination (as several of those linked articles mentioned, some Mizrahi migrated to Europe or the Americas rather than Israel)

[dballzposting]

There's really no plainer way to put it but that Goku's love language is fighting.

As in, that's how he communicates, that's how he expresses himself, that's how he comes to understand, that's how he bonds; the pattern of empassioned push-into and push-back. The resistance and deflection, the purposeful direction, the pinpoint strikes.

It's really not a tug-and-pull yin-and-yang dance between two people, as much as it is that each party is BOTH yin and yang. They enter with their own completed prerogatives, and they have a physical argument to test their stance. Each party has their choice of tactic, their own rhythm of when to roll aside and when to spin and strike back and when to dig their heels in and block.

It's because he's a Saiyan and also because of his upbringing. He grew up with the rhythm of the wilderness, where everything is self-defending and self-righteous; and where everything communicates through subtle fights, those inter-organismic interactions, all utilizing the basic moves of offense, defense, or avoidance.

Different animals utilize different techniques, habits, forces of nature; they fall in different niches in the environment. The rabbit does not want to be preyed on, but if he is caught, he is able to accept this inevitability of present reality with grace; the tiger does not want to be caught, and if he is, he'll size you up and make sure you're worth it before rolling over.

It's driven by instinct and biology, but from Goku's budding perspective, it was no different from how warriors learn and adapt and have the volition to utilize different techniques.

The only other person he knew was his Grandfather, who was one of the best martial artists on Earth at the time, and thus: Goku's early bonding behaviors were ruled by the training he did with his grandpa. This also informed his general understanding of the world at large.

Once Goku started on his epic swag adventure and met new people, he had the capacity to love them all, and he continues to fight for them. But the way he loves his friends is maybe not what people have in their head when they think of deep bonding. He loves them, in a sturdy and firm way, in a "of course I do" way, as upfront and practical as any other observation of the natural world.

It's not deep, raw, or passionate; it's not vulnerable, it's not sustaining, it's not supporting; it's not messy or emotional, it's not blood-red or heart-pink ... Goku just stands with a perfectly straight spine, perfectly secure, and he loves his friends, that's all there is to it! He has fun with them, he enjoys their company, he worries for their well-being ... And he will easily go years and years without ever seeing them. When he does see them, he just picks up where they left off like no time had passed at all.

My point is that Goku doesn't NEED his friends, he does not need to see them or to be with them or to feel their support. You know how humans are social animals and need to interact with others in order to stay healthy and functioning; and you know how Goku isn't a human!

He's a Saiyan, so it's by nature, but it also very much has to do with his lived isolation during his formative years. His roots of stability are in boundless nature, the art of fighting, and confidence in his own body; not in the presence of a community.

When he DOES bond deep with people, as in connect on an intimate level, it's in the context of fighting. That's how he understands them and makes himself understood! Through the language of technique, through the specific combinations of offense, defense, and avoidance.

He routinely makes friends with people whom he originally fights as an opposing party, such as the case with Yamucha, Tenshinhan, Yajirobe, Vegeta ... And he makes a habit out of mercy and requesting teamwork with everyone he fights.

He doesn't take fight to be only an aggressive thing, and he takes to friendly sparring or methodical training really well - thinking very fondly of Master Roshi, Master Korin, Popo, King Kai - and having a DELIGHTFUL time with Krillin when they trained close in their younger days.

Of course, fighting CAN be a purely angry, aggressive thing. But he's always ready to let it Not Be, too. Except in the cases of righteous, seething anger (his battles with the biggest bads who have done much to hurt his friends, planet, and order of the universe), Goku loves it when an opponent wants to hang around and fight again.

It's like how predator animals play with each other by tussling for fun. It's not just when in the pursuit of food do those animals utilize predator behaviors, but it's ALL the time, because they have been endowed by nature to be Of A Certain Make & Model because it helps them to survive, and it's just who they are always. They notice certain things, make certain things out to be important, they are intrigued by certain things, they like to move in certain ways - it's everything about all of them that puts them in their ecological niche.

EXAMPLE: Think about how cats are wired to recognize the visual pattern of a snake and to respond quickly, and that's why they sometimes swat at bananas. Or how they hiss, a behavior that emulates the sound of a snake, but they don't know that, they just get angry and hiss. Or how their eyes and brain are designed to notice and follow Movement, and they find this A.) Important and B.) Intriguing; they often orient toward it. This intrigue is selected for because the movement could be food, but, to the lived experience of the animal, it's also just fun. Cats will play with inanimate objects and rodents all the same.

For comparison, non-predatory birds are wired to find importance in things like color and size and shape when it comes to finding food - and they AVOID movement, taking flight away from rather than orienting toward it like the cat.

Another detail about predatory animals: when hunting, they require the element of resistance to stimulate their predatory instincts. This has the advantage of steering the animal away from already-dead-and-possibly-contaminated prey, and toward still-alive-and-delicious prey. This is why the freeze response works in deterring predators; because when the prey isn't moving and fighting back, the predator doesn't feel stimulated enough to hunt. Who knows what animals feel, but the lived experience may be a sort of disgust or repulsion; a definitive avoidance.

At any rate, cats find a lack of movement and a lack of resistance Boring, which is why your cat loves to chase the string toy you just yanked away from her, and why she gets bored when you stop.

My ultimate point is that that's what Goku is like, as a Saiyan, as a mountain boy, as himself.

It's no surprise that his ONLY goal in life is fight. So it's not bizarre to think that through this is how he comprehends and connects with others.

Since this is the case: I honestly think, that on some level, he has loved every opponent he has ever faced. Even Freeza, who introduced him to the purest and most earnest form of righteous rage - Goku hated him more than he had ever hated anybody; but I think that he still loved him as the living, fighting being he was. It's an undercurrent of love that comes with the territory whenever Goku fights, whenever his body gets to move and express himself in that way; and that LOVE I think is the source of his strength. Fighting for anger or other corrosive emotions dirty your soul in the long-term. Goku loves to fight, and has loved deeply every opponent, even if only at the most basic and required level - but he loved, and he loves, and that's why he's the greatest. It's an expansive, nurturing, positive force that he brings into the world.

He loved his grandfather. He loves Roshi and Krillin and all the rest. He loves his sons, and he bonds with them when he trains them, because it's through this that he comes to understand their deepest ways; and he's honored to do so, and he's proud of them beyond measure.

Chichi has long since been out of the ring, but I think that the most vivid memories that Goku has of her are when she is yanking on his ear or slapping him for his ignorance. Like how the cat attaches importance to patterns of movement, Goku attaches importance to such physical engagement; and he retains those impressions for longer.

What he has with Vegeta is the realest shit right down to their bones and shared Saiyan physiology, and it's imperative that they continue to fight each other for forever.

So I guess my point is that if you want to bond with Goku: you'll have to come at him a bit, and offer meaningful contact, and when he comes at you, never roll over like a possum - actively resist, dodge, and strike back.

[trans-androgyne]

You’re honestly one of the most approachable transandrophobia bloggers I know.

One thing I’d like to discuss about is that a lot of the transandrophobia is being spearheaded by white trans women.

It shows a lot that whiteness is still everreaching even onto gender. There’s BIPOC trans people (especially BIPOC transmascs) that get harassed and shut down by these large white trans women bloggers. One time I saw one of them say “that is moot” to intersex people not being including on discussions about AFAB trans women.

It’s a very important concept that people are aware that white women hold up racist structures, it’s the same with the big white trans women on this site I’ve noticed. Due to their whiteness they do not actually know intersectionality and assume their gender is the sole reason of oppression. That white concepts of gender, sexuality, and disability are a truth and applied to everything.

I’ve been vocal about being a BIPOC transfemme, and the blatant bigotry and cruelty from the big white transfemme bloggers just ring it bad for me. My culture taught me kindness and patience, so seeing this popular rise in aggression and entitlement in transfemme spaces has rendered them quite unsafe for the people they supposedly protect like me.

The best conclusion I have for this is that the rise in transandrophobia has ties to racism, ableism, inter sexism much more. I want my discussions of trans experience such as both transmisogyny and transandrophobia to be free from other pre dispositioned bigotry. That as a transfemme someone who they claim to protect, that the whole wider trans community needs to do better.

Take care and I hope your day is wonderful

Thank you, I appreciate your analysis here! The transfems I know have also pointed out that a lot of it seems to be coming from predstrogen’s very white online trans women social sphere. It seems like transfems of color on here also have strong criticisms of that group’s behavior, including acting like being a transfem inherently means you have all the best takes on oppression. I hope we can get some better, more intersectional perspectives in the conversation.

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

Modern Media: Werewolves are alpha chad dudes who play sports disrespect women and are incredibly sexually aggressive.

Me: Werewolves live in complicated multi-generational family groups usually governed by the oldest members. There’s a powerful sense of community and everyone is provided with a support system to accommodate their personal needs. Inter-pack relationships are also complicated since werewolves are long lived and tend to hold grudges, but are united by a joint purpose in surviving in a human world. Raising children is also a communal effort and packs will generally jump at the chance to adopt orphaned werewolves. Werewolves also have a long-standing symbiotic relationship with wereravens, just like regular wolves and ravens do.

[maghamoon]

Reading a Birth Chart 101: The Complete Guide

(Part I): Intro to Intrigue

Glossary: Astrology websites, explanation of sun in all zodiac signs, moon in all zodiac signs, rising in all zodiac signs and also takeaways section. (LONG POST)

hey, this post is for any beginner who has gotten into astrology and reading their natal/birth chart. if you are reading this, you probably discovered astrology through tumblr, instagram, tiktok, youtube or any other platform (or maybe your friend told you about it) and have no idea where to begin. you go onto an astrology website, type in your birth info and you are met with something that looks like this:

(Natalie Portman’s Birth Chart)

as a beginner, you don’t know how to make sense of this. there’s lines everywhere and a bunch of symbols that you don’t understand. don’t worry, you don’t have to deal with this right now. right now, we will be focusing on the basics.

Astrology websites and their descriptions:

what we are going to do is go on every single astrology website that gives you a birth chart. i will link a few below. you will make a birth chart on every single one of these websites and throughly read the descriptions. some things will make sense, some won’t. i advice you to take everything these websites say with a grain of salt since these are auto-generated descriptions for one placement and don’t consider inter-planet relationships.

some websites i used to go to during my beginner stages:

cafeastrology (astro.cafeastrology.com)

astroseek (horoscopes.astro-seek.com)

astrodienst (astro.com)

……

you may wonder, why are we doing this?

one simple reason: intrigue. you won’t be able to master astrology if it doesn’t intrigue you. when you go through these descriptions, the aim is to achieve “oh my god, this is so me!” moments. by doing so you solidify your belief in the stars and acquire a hunger for knowing how to read people.

you go through these descriptions and feel very heard and understood, then we start building the foundations of a birth chart: the big 3.

The Sun, Moon and Rising:

also known as the big 3, the sun, moon and the rising. these are the most basic placements to learn during your reader journey.

1) the sun: the sun is probably the only sign you are familiar with. it is what you say when someone asks you: “what’s your zodiac sign?”

“oh, i was born on jan 1st. i’m a capricorn.”

it signifies your ego, self, identity and is solely just, you. the reason why mainstream astrology gets this wrong is because it stereotypes the sun and disregards any aspects* to it or the house* which it’s in.

(these will be explained in later lessons*)

the sun will be in either of the 12 zodiac signs. the zodiac signs go from aries-pisces. i urge you to remember the order of them whenever you can. it will prove to be helpful later on.

aries sun: your identity can be affiliated with your physical appearance and you place your ego around how you come across to other people. putting yourself first will be a theme in your life when you decide to go through self discovery, since you are a fire sign passion, aggression and drive will be key.

tarus sun: your identity is around your possessions, wealth, etc. self esteem will be a theme when it comes to self discovery, all things beautiful like art, music, any sort of leisure activity helps you feel more connected to you. you are an earth sign, so staying grounded, consistent and stable are key.

gemini sun: your identity is accordance to your wit, communication. siblings (or lack of) can play a role in why you are the way you are. thinking on your feet and quickly strengthens your relationship w/ your individuality. you are an air sign, so intellect and duality are key.

cancer sun: your identity is centered around your home, mother (or any other maternal figure in your life), connecting deeply with your inner psyche and emotions will help you realize your true self. you are a water sign, so familiarity and deep connection are key.

leo sun: your identity is centered around you, literally! being creative, working with kids or regaining your childlike self, understanding paternal figures, etc. help you connect with yourself. you are a fire sign, so confidence and feeling acknowledged/ appreciated are key.

virgo sun: your identity is centered around routine and details. some natives may find that staying chaste/ losing it changed their self identity. performance in work and quality of it changes relationship with self as well. you are an earth sign, so friendships and formalities are key.

libra sun: your identity is centered around fairness and beauty. relationships with others serve crucial ways to discover yourself. you are an air sign, so art and equality are key.

scorpio sun: your identity may be ever-transforming through lessons. having an overly-comical or strategically closed-off persona to hide your complexity is common. you are a water sign, revealing secrets and interest in the occult are key.

sagittarius sun: your identity may feel like it’s something that is distant, natives feel like they need to “know” (philosophies, religion, etc.) to feel closer to themselves. you are a fire sign, so desire and passion are key.

capricorn sun: natives will attain self-realization at a later age. curating / having control over their public image, or their work is a consistent theme. you are an earth sign, so taking initiative and loyalty are key.

aquarius sun: going through some sort of intellectual debacle to understand oneself, friends are a common theme. wanting change and community. you are an air sign, so revolutionary ideas and technology are key.

pisces sun: feeling like your basing your self around how other people perceive you/ feeding to their ideals. going through a period of disillusionment will help you understand your ego. you are a water sign, so spirituality and empathy are key.

2) the moon: the moon signifies your emotions and how you deal with them. it can also show how your childhood was + represents your mother/ any other maternal figure growing up.

aries moon: emotional changes can be seen at face value, they are also a source of motivation and drive. mother/home life is passionate and challenging.

taurus moon: beauty and food are used to regulate oneself from negative emotions. mother/home life is stubborn, affects your self-esteem and relationship with money.

gemini moon: emotions are seen from dual perspective, thereby being prone to intellectualizing. siblings can be a significant part of home life. short-distance travel, changing homes is common.

cancer moon: emotions are bottled up and kept deep within the crevices of the native. the emotional intensity of mother/home causes native to keep their own feelings to theirselves.

leo moon: creativity and humor is a common way to express emotions. the child was the star of the home. mother is popular amongst family.

virgo moon: emotions are better expressed written. mother was involved in her work. routine keeps emotions regulated.

libra moon: when close relationships are in turmoil, native’s mood is affected. needing fairness and balance.

scorpio moon: relationship with mother transformed which caused secrecy in the native regarding emotions. intense home life.

sagittarius moon: weird relationship with emotions, as if they are foreign or in a distant land. expressing emotions through “bigger” ideas like philosophy or theology, but failing to express them through simple writing.

capricorn moon: mother/home life made the native disciplined. emotions are strained, vulnerability comes with a later age.

aquarius moon: native feels safer expressing emotions on the internet or through any forms of technology. sudden changes in emotions, political ideas or change fuel emotions.

pisces moon: native is able to understand everyone’s emotions except it’s own. prone to running after any sort of esoteric, escapist experience.

the rising: also known as the ascendant or the first house, it shows how we like to present ourselves, the course/ journey of your life. some astrologers like to discuss superficial self vs shadow self with the ascendant (1st house) and descendant (7th house). we will get into that in later chapters.

aries rising: people are surprised by their understanding and willingness to compromise. have a taste for aesthetics and things that look good.

taurus rising: these people have a certain knack of art and pleasantries. the neck is always highlighted. very troubled once you get to know them, relationships transform their sense of self.

gemini rising: small-looking individuals with bright eyes. interested in meeting new people to discuss new ideas. interested in travel, siblings can be discussed a lot when they first meet u.

cancer rising: moon-like faces that are on the bigger side. looks more like the mother. people are surprised by their discipline.

leo rising: these people always have distinct hair! can look more like the father, or have that same loud laughter. creative individuals.

virgo rising: intelligent energy but in a careful manner rather than a chaotic one. secret need for the spotlight/ being admired for their hard work.

libra rising: pleasant smiles, cordial faces. perfectionists when it comes to appearances.

scorpio rising: intense when it comes to first impressions, longing for balance and cooperation but being a little awkward, prone to self-rejection.

sagittarius rising: witty jokes and philosophical questions, powered by the darkness of their psyche and revolutions of their mind.

capricorn rising: they have a weird relationship with their self esteem, feeling detached. prone to getting moody and emotional once you get to know them. may look more like the father.

aquarius rising: friendly energy with eccentric ideas. need to be admired in their relationships, they have this creative and generous side to them that isn’t seen at first.

pisces rising: ever-changing personality when meeting new people, but don’t think of it like a transformation- it’s more like waves of water that fit into any vessel. passion for understanding human psyche, prone to anger or getting defensive when it comes to being fully intimate / authentic.

Takeaways + To-do’s:

okay, we have gone over websites and chart-making, we went over the 12 zodiac signs and the big 3- the sun, moon and rising in all the signs.

while you were reading your chart, you must have seen way more things- houses, aspects, etc. these things help you have a clearer understanding of the birth chart.

when the explanation of a planet doesn’t apply, don’t worry. today we only described the energies of the sun, moon and rising. the house it is in, the degree and also aspects to the placement channel the energy of your big 3 or cancel it out.

nevertheless, you now have an understanding of some basic principles of birth charts, so congrats!

—> using intrigue to further your understanding:

reader, it’s not feasible to memorize the meanings behind all these placements. instead, try to involve them in your daily life. ask a friend their birth time, look up their chart, then tell them the explanations of their big 3. you can even look up celebrity charts to see how their big 3 plays a role in their lives. this will help you gain an understanding of the signs (and memorize them) without feeling like you’re forced to “study.”

i will meet you again soon, where you will be able to understand elements, inner and outer planets, how each zodiac sign’s energy affects a planet and you will be introduced to the 12 houses!

good luck on your astrologer journey, i hope this makes things a little less complicated. 🤍

[livelaughghoul]

Oscar Piastri Personality and Career Tarot Reading

Disclaimer: This is for entertainment purposes only, nothing observed or taken away from this should be considered fact. As a reminder, I know fuck all about Formula 1, I just like fast cars and have a dumb amount of knowledge of astrology and tarot. 

Since I am just recently getting in F1, the first race I actually watched was the Hungary GP. Which like, what an introduction to the sport. Since then I have watched a lot of the replays from prior races, but my knowledge outside of the track is nonexistent. Having this be my first introduction to Oscar was interesting, and I think that there is a lot to unpack there between the team dynamic and the way they approach and relay information to both Oscar and Lando. I may end up doing a reading on two of them at some point, but we will see how I am feeling. 

This spread is actually amazing to me, because we have one of the better Swords followed with a slew of Cups. I love that we are mixing Swords and Cups (even if we are Cup dominated), because Swords are very self focused, almost interalized, whereas Cups are incredibly emotional. I think that it specifically being the Two of Swords really telling, especially with the specific correlation of the Cups we pulled. 

I really love this spread, like a lot. I usually don’t care much for wanting to learn more about the people on the grid, but I actually am interested in getting to know more about him because this is just so interesting to me. I might actually look into someone other than Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, and Kimi Raikkonen (honestly I owe that anon SO MUCH, because you truly have made my life so much better with these men). 

Outward personality - Two of Swords

This card has a soft spot in my heart because it absolutely is the introvert card. It’s protective in nature, and more reserved. While I don’t think it’s a full avoidance of feeling or expressing things, but it definitely is a more thought out or silent approach to emotions and expressing them. Since things are more reserved, there is going to be a lot to go through to develop a friendship or relationship with Oscar. I see a lot of people referring to him as a cat (which is hilarious, I love this), and I think that is really seen in this card positioning. Cats take time to develop trust in people, but when they do, it’s lifelong and so rewarding. Cats are also really good at masking how they really feel, I think that there is a lot of masking and hiding of things in terms of how he is feeling or what is being experienced. 

Inward personality - Ten of Cups

Interally, once you break past the resting bitch face and flat affect, you feel nothing but valued, delight, and at home. The Ten of Cups is like, coming home to your family after a long day at work and just getting to feel valued and at home. It’s a happiness, feeling fulfilled and loved. I love the switch up of the outward personality being this like professional brickwall, and then on the inside there is this soft gooey center filled with love and affection.

Current career - Queen of Cups, reversed

I’m not a huge fan of this one when it comes to the career, because I think that this has the possibility of being too willing to take everything lying down, allowing others to essentially make the decisions for you, and almost put yourself in a secondary or lower positioning. There is a lot of tenderness in this card, and I think that while yes, Oscar absolutely can be aggressive and challenge things, I think that there is alot of hesitancy in this. There is going to be this patience and accepting of whatever he is told to do. It absolutely tells me that he is a team player, but I think that there may be too much of prioritizing of others instead of himself. 

Future career - Three of Cups, reversed

No matter where he goes in his career, who is on a team with, or what his support team looks like, this man is making friends and building a community wherever he goes. Oscar is going to be able to foster a community wherever he ends up, and this is going to make work so much smoother, especially when there is a transitional period that happens. 

[jamiesfootball]

one thing about me is i EXCEL at stupid ideas so! here is a Stupid Ask for your daily dopamine dosage.

post-s3, roy attempts to be A Good Coach and implements team bonding activities such as sunday board game nights. this has the unforeseen consequence of walking into the locker room monday morning to find moe and colin arguing over whether monopoly is True Capitalist Propaganda while sam sneaks jamie $200 from the bank to get out of jail next week.

This. This actually matches up well with a thing I introduce at the end of my post-season fic.

This bit is not from the post-season fic, but there are definitely some plot points I'm cribbing from it. Here have some nonsense:

There were pros and cons to the new wellness initiative in the locker room.

And 'Wellness Initiative' was the phrase they were using. Not 'show-and-tell', no matter how many times Trent suggested it. Although with how many goddamn talent shows Roy had been forced to sit through in the past weeks, the former-journo might have been onto something. For a team full of professional footballers, a lot of them had found the time to sharpen other talents.

The idea had been simple: at least once a week, they were going to sit around as a team, and they'd take turns picking a topic that had nothing to do with football.

'Share-and-tell' Beard had called it, and Roy had growled until Higgins erased the name from the whiteboard.

Books, movies, whatever song they had bleeding through their headphones in the weight room, Roy didn't care. For one hour a week, they were going to...God help him...bond as a team. Share. Communicate. Maintain the resplendent inter-team hivemind bullshit that got them so close to winning the whole damn thing the year before.

Even if Moe's lockpicking demonstration was a disturbing hour of his life that he'd never get back.

But keeping the team functioning as a team was only half of it. Truth of the matter was, it helped the little idiots to have an outlet, something to get them out of their heads for a bit so that Roy didn't end up hugging a crying player in the boot room every other week. Four times had been enough, thanks.

Colin, the second-time boot room offender, had cocked his head like a Welsh corgi and asked, "Would it be all right if I brought my piano?"

"The one that weighs 800 kilos and broke your mother's floorboards?"

The next week Colin showed up with a new electronic keyboard that did not weigh as much as a baby rhino. He spent his hour taking pop song requests.

"Do I have to do a book report?" Jamie asked defensively when his turn came around. The three weeks before his turn had gone to fucking book reports. Even Roy was desperate for a change up. When he reassured Jamie that he only had to talk about books if he'd actually read a book he fucking liked, the relief on the number-one little idiot's face had been immense.

Jamie showed up for his turn with playing cards, a case of poker chips, and a bouquet of roses. The lads spent the hour shouting about cheating, and after a surprisingly aggressive run of bluffs and flushes, Dani Rojas walked away with all the flowers.

While Roy was distracted by Dani, who lamented that now he would need to buy a florero for his flowers, and Jamie, who thought Roy's water bottle would make an excellent vase in the meantime, he completely missed the gleam in Sam's eye as the unassuming player shuffled the card decks back in order.

---

Sam Obisanya was a fucking menace. One day Roy would retain this information.

Most days it was easy to forget. He had a calming effect on Jamie, who was less prone to biting when Sam was around. This made Jamie quieter, which made Isaac and Colin and Dani quieter, which gave the overall impression that things were peaceful in the locker room.

What Roy always forgot to add to the equation was that Jamie had the opposite effect on Sam, who on a normal day would never be found smiling like a post-canary cat while monopoly cards flew around the locker room like projectile weapons.

"I'm not paying you rent again, Cockburn!" Colin shouted.

"You keep landing on my square. It's not my fault you're bad at dice!"

"Bruv, quit throwing shit. It's my turn and I almost got all the railroads."

"The railroads are statistically the worst spaces to own; you know this, yes?"

"War is inevitable in a system where capitalism is dominant," Moe pointed out from where he sat lotus-style on the bench, abstaining from participating in the 'game of the exploiters.'

"Oi, Sam," Jamie whispered, sitting up a bit to tug at the edge of the other player's jumper. "While they're fightin', can you get me out of jail?"

Sam nodded at Dani, who flicked his hand in a way that spoke volumes on how he'd thrashed the team at poker. Two beige notes appeared in Sam's hand, and just as quickly disappeared into the collar of Jamie's shirt.

"Cheers," Jamie thanked him. He settled his head back down into Sam's lap, making himself cozy like a spoiled, cheating cat. "Never was any good at Monopoly."

Sam's smile was angelic, but his eyes glinted in a way that boded horribly for Roy's heart pressure. "Next time I can bring Settlers of Catan. Or Risk."

"Ooh. Risk. Should we team-up?"

Who knew Sam's talent would be putting Roy Kent in an early grave?

[genderkoolaid]

you are peddling mens rights activism to vulnerable young trans men. i am sympathetic to you because i understand that transphobia and misogyny hurt and it can be confusing to untangle the way it affects us as transgender men but i think your class analysis abilities are really poor and if youre going to run a blog on the topic of gender studies you should do some more reading and come to a better understanding of what social conditions the word transmisogyny is meant to describe. its really irresponsible to push the things you do and insist that anyone who questions or criticizes you is holding transgender men in some sort of secret contempt. the things that i have seen transandrophobia-focused guys say about women have quite frankly become alarming (as in, i have seen radicalized sentiments and beliefs about women that are extremely detached from reality, including from your blog, and some men who follow your philosophy have implied they wished violence upon women due to their radicalized beliefs) in the past few years and i hope you can be persuaded to take a different philosophical approach because this is not helpful to anyone and is driving these trans men into further isolation from their communities, same as what happens to cis mras.

and i feel like you are extremely detached from my actual beliefs. i don't think anyone who questions or criticizes holds trans men in secret contempt, and i honestly dislike when people assume that anyone (including TERFs, for example) only do things out of pure hatred because that obscures the fact that many smart, compassionate people do harmful things because they truly think its whats best. i really try to emphasize solidarity with other trans people, and that the entire point of transunity, a concept founded by "transandrophobia truthers" with the explicit goal of unifying trans people and encouraging inter-community discussion and solidarity. i try to encourage any trans man who feels like isolation or separatism are the only way to engage with the queer community around him and make connections with other transmascs as well as other trans people who are supportive of him and his experiences.

also, by "implied they wished violence upon women due to their radicalized beliefs", are you referring to trans men being angry with cis women because of the abuse and oppression they've faced? because while i do not think we should let our trauma guide us and i don't doubt there are trans men who do that, i also am suspicious that "wishing violence upon women" could refer to a trans man venting about his oppression (in the same way cis women do about cis men) and that is taken in the worst possible light because of, say, some sort of bias against trans people? and perhaps trans men in particular? and i wonder if you feel the same alarm when it comes to vitriol directed at trans men and "theyfabs" and the rhetoric that they are fundamentally different than transfems and can't be trusted due to their privilege and aggression?

i appreciate your sympathy and civility.

[firstginger]

daemon roundup: wolves

i've been wanting to do a write-up on wolf daemon forms for a while now as i think they're a popular form and the phylogenetic distinction between the grey wolf and all of its subtypes is fascinating. species outside of the grey wolf are often considered nonviable due to their overlap with the grey wolf but also the difficulty researching their ecology. so here is going to be my deep dive on the wolf daemon persona overall, as well as what canis lupus subspecies (as well as peripheral species of the african wolf, eastern wolf, and red wolf) can be considered viable forms.

the wolf personality overall subspecies aside, all wolf daemon individuals are going to share some essential traits.

— loyal and cooperative. canis lupus forms, both the wild wolf and domestic dog, are notorious for their sense of community and hierarchy. wolves depend on the group for survival; social dynamics among the pack are incredibly complex, reinforcing tight-knit bonds and a democratic hierarchy among the family unit. wolves play, console each other, and develop unique pack culture through intergenerational communication. while sociability and extroversion varies between subspecies, all people with wolf daemons are going to naturally form or desire close friendships, and they are committed and generous to the ones they love.

— communicative and tactful. similar to above, wolf individuals are very honest and expressive. wolves have very advanced communication that include vocalizations, body language, and scent marking. this enables them to diffuse conflict and reinforce hierarchy, maintaining stability in the pack. while inter-pack aggression isn't rare, territories are defined through olfactory signaling and vocalizations. those with wolf daemons therefore prioritize clearly expressing themselves and their boundaries. they are socially intuitive and value group harmony; it is important for them to know where they stand and that tension is diffused as quickly as possible.

— dutiful and hardworking. wolf individuals are driven and reliable, committed to pulling their weight and motivated in their work ethic. wolf species are clever and cooperative hunters, chasing down much larger prey until their target is exhausted, then latching on and dragging their prey down with incredible resiliency. those with wolf daemons don't shy away from hard work, though they are also perceptive enough to observe obstacles from all angles and determine how to work smarter not harder. once they have initiated something, they often become absorbed in it and are driven to see it through.

— self-assured and resourceful. those with wolf daemons tend to be confident — or at least assured that they will be able to overcome what troubles them. wolves are typically apex predators of their biomes. they are assertive in maintaining hierarchy and defending territories; while tactful, as mentioned above, the wolf individual takes pride in themselves and aren't often self-doubting, particularly when they have group support. they adapt when change or hardship comes to them and are the type of person who is good at putting their head down and making do.

for these reasons, wolf personalities are often categorized as xxFJs. they are strong Fe users and i believe an argument could be made for either Si or Ni. they are also likely relatable to enneagram 6s and 2s as well as potentially 7s and 8s. however personality assignment is fairly subjective, so if you feel this fits you, don't shy away considering these forms.

grey wolf, canis lupus the grey wolf has already received an extensive TDF analysis, and overall serve as a general template to which to compare canis lupus subspecies. to point out several unique aspects of the grey wolf, it must be stated that the grey wolf tends to be one of the most social and group-oriented wolves. they have a strong focus on hierarchy and cooperation. they are also highly adaptable and even-tempered, capable of flexible behavior and adjusting strategies wherever they might end up. this makes them rather quietly bold and ambitious people; they are at ease out of their comfort zone, and they are dedicated to seeing their projects and intentions through. grey wolf daemians, in addition to the general wolf traits, are extroverted, confident, flexible, straightforward, and committed.

african wolf, canis lupaster the african wolf, also called the golden wolf, is native to northern africa. it is a small wolf subspecies, intermediate between the jackal and the wolf, though its appearance changes based on its location: eastern african wolves tend to be small and more jackal-like, while northern and western african wolves tend to be larger and more wolf-like. despite this, they are genetic descendants of grey wolf and ethiopian wolf cross. african wolves live in small, flexible packs that fluctuate depending on prey availability. their social groups are demonstrative and affectionate; african wolves have frequently been observed grooming, playing, and courting. they are extraordinarily territorial and can be highly aggressive to intruders though interestingly are primarily reactive to intruders of the same sex. altogether, this paints a picture of an individual who's competitive and extroverted, gravitating towards like-minded companions but individualistic enough to head out on their own. their hunting habits are, indeed, varied; african wolves do take large prey, but overall value a generalist diet, employing multiple strategies such as turning over dung piles to find beetles. they will hunt more than they can consume and cache the prey until later — though they are highly territorial and hostile towards other scavengers. african wolf daemians, in addition to the general wolf traits, are adaptable, assertive, individualistic, socially savvy, and inventive.

arabian wolf, canis lupus arabs the arabian wolf is native to the arabian peninsula and lives in arid desert and mountain habitats. they are one of the smallest wolf subspecies, also notable for their large ears that help them disperse body heat. these wolves live in small groups and have an opportunistic, omnivorous diet. they tend to hunt alone or in small groups, though there is heavy competition for prey and they will readily rifle through human garbage. compared to grey wolves, arabian wolves are substantially less social. they only aggregate into larger groups during mating season or when prey is plentiful; otherwise, the arabian wolf is less territorial and not terribly communicative, and tends to be nomadic and always on the move. the arabian wolf soul is a perceptive survivalist, highly adaptable but prioritizes their flexibility to such a degree it makes them less likely to depend on others. they're more unobtrusive and self-focused, though they have the capability to be cooperative and are certainly tolerant of others. their competitive nature is essential to their form, however — it's a priority for them to have all of their needs accounted for, but their opportunism makes them highly resilient and they are excellent at completing projects even if it involves cutting corners. arabian wolf daemians, in addition to the general wolf traits, are going to be individualistic, self-motivated, flexible, not picky, and shrewd.

arctic wolf, canis lupus arctos the arctic wolf is a grey wolf subspecies found in the high arctic tundra north of the treeline. these wolves are well-adapted for the snow and cold; they are a medium subspecies with small ears and possess a thick, typically white, double-layered coat. like the grey wolf, they live in packs and pursue large prey such as muskox and caribou. because their habitat is so isolated, they have very few natural predators (besides climate change) and tend to be rather confident and unafraid of people as a result. while arctic wolves are similar in sociability to the grey wolf, they are going to be overall more confident and specialized. these people are highly opportunistic and dogged when pursuing their goals, though they have a preference for depth over breadth. their ambition gives them resiliency and a self-assured nature. due to their tight ecosystem, these people will also be environmentally sensitive and perceptive — it is their preference that things are clear and they are in control, and they will endeavor to maintain stability in their relationships. these wolves also maintain extremely large territories often twice the size of grey wolf territories. an essential quality to this form is going to be how good they are at seeing the big picture, planning ahead, and ensuring their goals will be met. in addition to the general wolf traits, arctic wolf daemians are going to be specialized, confident, perceptive, resilient, and tenacious.

eastern wolf, canis lycaon the eastern wolf is a subspecies found in eastern canada and is sometimes sub-divided into two subspecies: the great lakes wolf (larger, a higher percentage of grey wolf DNA) and the algonquin wolf (smaller, a higher percentage of coyote DNA). since they seem behaviorally similar, i'll be grouping them together. the eastern wolf is descended from a grey wolf/coyote hybrid similar to the red wolf; they are in between grey wolves and coyotes in size, and they live together in tight-knit packs. eastern wolves maintain rather small territories and primarily hunt deer, though their diet also consists of moose, elk, beavers, rodents, and berries. similar to grey wolves, they will often follow ungulate migrations and engage in food caching behavior. overall, the eastern wolf form is going to be fairly similar to the grey wolf. they are highly loyal and inventive, though a key distinction is that the eastern wolf is a degree more unobtrusive and conflict-avoidant than the grey wolf. they likely come across as more introverted and come to life around their loved ones. eastern wolves are also going to be somewhat more attached to routines and a sense of security, flexible when change is needed but not the type to take unnecessary risks. in addition to the general wolf traits, eastern wolf daemians are going to be dedicated, conflict-avoidant, supportive, cautious, and perceptive.

eurasian wolf, canis lupus lupus the eurasian wolf, also called the common wolf, is native to europe and asia and can be distinguished from the grey wolf by their narrower snouts, shorter coats, and melodic howls. though the eurasian wolf has the largest range of all old world subspecies, they have lost a lot of their historical territory. their pack sizes tend to be smaller than grey wolves and they have an extremely varied diet — these wolves are often forced into populated areas and will subsist on livestock and human garbage. they tend to be less skittish around people than grey wolves as a result. similarly, they will often forage independently or in pairs as often as they will hunt in packs. their sociability is similar to grey wolves; eurasian wolf individuals will be similarly extroverted and tight-bonding, though can be distinguished by their survivalist and individualistic tendencies. they have a high degree of adaptability and can be inventive and risk-taking in their problem-solving. while loyal, they have confidence in themselves and their visions, willing to branch out in order to see things through. when compared to the grey wolf individual, the eurasian wolf soul can be distinguished by being more boldly adaptable, socially flexible, and ambitious, highly resilient to hardship. eurasian wolf daemians, in addition to the general wolf traits, are reliable, bold, adaptable, expressive, and quick-thinking.

himalayan/tibetan wolf, canis lupus chanco canis lupus chanco, called the himalayan wolf, tibetan wolf, and mongolian wolf, is found in the himalayas, tibetan plateau, and central asian highlands. this species is known for its thick and woolly coat which is typically fawn-colored to help it blend in among the steppes. they live in small packs and hunt both cooperatively and alone; prey include yaks, argali, kiang, antelope, and livestock. other notable aspects of the himalayan wolves is how they are biologically adapted for hypoxia and also have distinctly low and short howls. otherwise, this species closely resembles the grey wolf within its region. slight differences may exist in the himalayan wolf being more resilient and wary in nature, though overall they are still sociable and dependable individuals. likely due to their biome and their sparse distribution in the highlands, himalayan wolves also have a reputation of being less aggressive and territorial than grey wolves as well. these individuals are thus less assertive when their boundaries are crossed and would prefer to adapt their behavior or live and let live to avoid pointless conflict. in addition to the general wolf traits, himalayan wolf daemonians are going to be straightforward, perceptive, confident, tenacious, and tolerant.

iberian wolf, canis lupus signatus the iberian wolf is native to northwestern spain and portugal in relatively isolated populations that have resisted backcrossing or mixing with other wolf subspecies. these wolves are distinct for their slighter, small frame and the dark marks on their legs, upper lips, and tail (signatus for signed). it lives in small packs and its diet primarily consists of large ungulates such as deer, wild boar, and livestock, though like all wolves the iberian wolf is an opportunistic hunter and will also eat martens, feral cats, rabbits, and rodents. among its packs, the iberian wolf is hierarchical and a cooperative hunter; they have unique howls that are used for individual recognition and the dominant pair in the pack scent marks territory. while the iberian wolf is somewhat adaptable to their biome, they are reliant upon forest cover, and are known to be reclusive and rare even in their region. ultimately, this form embodies many aspects of the grey wolf in terms of expressiveness, group cohesion, and opportunism, but the iberian wolf will overall be more reserved and introverted. they are highly boundary-keeping and assertive — perhaps even wary at first, though natural problem-solvers who have a drive to succeed. their natural confidence makes them rather adamant and willing to take calculated risks similar to the grey wolf. iberian wolf daemians, in addition to the general wolf traits, are going to be introverted, opportunistic, perceptive, expressive, and protective.

indian wolf, canis lupus pallipes the indian wolf is native to india as well as regions of southwest asia such as turkey and iran. overall indian wolves are small with short, thin fur and they live in open grasslands, thorn forests, and scrublands. while social, their packs are smaller than the grey wolf's, typically an average size of three and are widely dispersed across their habitat. interestingly, the indian wolf is a relatively less vocal species; they seem to rarely howl, though they have a wide repertoire of vocalizations including howling, "social squeaks", whimpers, and whines that they use to communicate with pack members. additionally, indian wolves tend to hunt small prey (such as rodents and rabbits) solitarily and larger prey (such as blackbuck and chinkara antelopes) in pairs, in which one indian wolf acts as a decoy. thus they've garnered a local reputation as extremely reclusive but clever animals — as is required, as the indian wolf has to compete with other local apex predators such as the tiger, dhole, and feral dog. the indian wolf individual is going to display some stark differences compared to the grey wolf, similar to other desert wolf subspecies. the first is that they're going to be much more individualistic, socially selective, and unobtrusive; indian wolves do not defend their territorials as strongly, and overall seem to prefer avoiding potential conflict. they're also going to be quick-thinking and highly cooperative, though even then somewhat reserved, perhaps slow to open up to others and wary about being the center of attention. in addition to the general wolf traits, indian wolf daemians are going to be introverted, observant, cunning, reserved, and conflict-avoidant.

islands wolf, canis lupus ligoni the islands wolf, commonly called the alexander archipelago wolf, is a subspecies found in a limited range in southeastern alaska along the coasts and islands. they are separated from the rest of north america by the coast mountains, creating a unique subpopulation that has resisted inbreeding with other wolf subspecies, coyotes, and dogs. the islands wolf is a small subspecies and is generally dark in color. they live in dense forests where they den in the roots of large trees and primarily hunt sitka deer, though will feed opportunistically on coastal species such as beaver, seals, salmon, birds, and marine invertebrates. their pack sizes can range between a pair or up to twelve members and the islands wolf is unique in that it does not disperse as much as other wolf subspecies and its home ranges are rather small. the islands wolf individual is thus going to show similar social tendencies as the grey wolf while being much more routine-oriented and less adaptable. this is one of the few wolf subspecies that is less opportunistic and highly dependent upon a single prey source; as such, the islands wolf soul tends to prioritize optimization and persistence when possible. they excel at exploiting opportunities though tend to be more sensitive when out of their comfort zone, as their preference is to stay with what is more dependable. it's also likely that they're socially flexible, comfortable in a variety of social situations and particularly cooperative and supportive when times become hard. islands wolf daemians, in addition to the general wolf traits, are dependable, routine-oriented, specialized, precise, and reserved.

italian wolf, canis lupus italicus the italian wolf is native to the mountain ranges of the italian peninsula, though it has modernly expanded northward into france and the french alps. these wolves are medium-sized and live in packs between two and seven members, though due to prey scarcity, they are most often found in packs consisting of a breeding pair and their adolescent offspring. they are opportunistic predators, feeding on medium-sized hoofed mammals like deer and boar, as well as smaller prey like rabbits, insects, and various fruits/berries. particularly in the summer, they are also voracious hunters of local livestock and will den near the edge of pastures on the mountain ridges. like most wolf subspecies, the italian wolf is also a cooperative hunter and highly social within its pack. similar to the grey wolf, they defend their territories and can be aggressive to intruders. overall, the italian wolf is going to be a similar form to the grey wolf particularly in terms of adaptability. they are confident, perceptive, and flexible, readily adapting or changing course when one avenue isn't working out. their sociability is somewhat more reserved than the grey wolf; they tend to be more private and protective, likely seen as reserved individuals who are tenacious when pursuing their goals or maintaining their boundaries. in addition to the general wolf traits, italian wolf daemonians are going to be dedicated, adaptable, tenacious, confident, and reserved.

mexican wolf, canis lupus baileyi the mexican wolf is a highly endangered subspecies endemic to northern mexico and the southwestern united states. the smallest north american wolf subspecies, the mexican wolf has long legs and a sleek physique. they live in mountain woodlands and deserts, maintaining large packs similar in size to grey wolves. their diet predominantly consists of elk, though they also will hunt deer, rabbits, and other small mammals, as well as scavenge carcasses and steal prey. these wolves are highly social and expressive; they have strong pack hierarchy and engage in play, vocalizations, and cooperative pup rearing. overall, the mexican wolf individual is going to be gregarious, supportive, and engaging. they are communicative and talkative, expressive and readily speaking their mind. like grey wolves, they're also going to be hierarchical and socially savvy, appreciating the dependability of a group and happy to cooperate to reach their aims. they're also somewhat individualistic like many wolf species, willing to hunt alone and will cache food away from the rest of the pack. despite their environmental sensitivity, mexican wolves are also going to be adaptable and inventive, similar to the grey wolf. mexican wolf daemians, in addition to the general wolf traits, are extroverted, vocal, flexible, energetic, and clever.

northern rocky mountain wolf, canis lupus irremotus the northern rocky mountain wolf is a success story in conserving these subspecies populations. native to the rocky mountains and yellowstone, these wolves became critically endangered as settlers spread west, trapping and killing northern rocky mountain wolves that threatened livestock. massive efforts by the northern rocky mountain wolf recovery plan restored this population to the wild where they now live in idaho, wyoming, and montana. northern rocky mountain wolves are one of the largest grey wolf subspecies, typically bearing light-colored coats and primarily subsisting on large hoofed prey such as elk, bison, and deer. socially, they are similar to grey wolves; this subspecies lives in packs and will hunt communally as well as opportunistically. in terms of form viability, the northern rocky mountain wolf is analytically essentially identical to the grey wolf. one might consider this form if a somewhat more ambitious wolf appeals to them, with an emphasis on smooth cooperation and maximizing output. in addition to the general wolf traits, northern rocky mountain wolf daemonians are going to be cooperative, perceptive, confident, ambitious, and honest.

northwestern wolf, canis lupus occidentalis the northwestern wolf is a very large subspecies native to the northwestern united states and southern canada. their bushy fur, size, and short legs help them thrive in the frigid northern mountains and forests. they live in packs of up to over 30 members and primarily hunt large animals such as moose, bison, elk, and caribou, as well as smaller grey like rodents, salmon, and rabbits. they are highly mobile and will travel for 10 hours a day, up to 70 miles to search for prey. their incredible hunting prowess has given them the reputation of being exceptionally intelligent, powerful, and cooperative. compared to the grey wolf form, the northwestern wolf is going to be a degree more reserved, tenacious within their comfort zone and inclined to work in a team. they are enduring and patient when it comes to their ambitions, not the type to shy away from hard work or cut corners if it means getting the best possible result. they're overall still expressive, tight-bonding, and devoted, more sensitive when away from their group. cunning and perceptive, this individual is quietly ambitious and loyal. in addition to the general wolf traits, northwestern wolf daemians are going to be strong-willed, observant, confident, gregarious, and tenacious.

red wolf, canis rufus the red wolf is a subspecies native to the southeastern united states, intermediate in size between the grey wolf and coyote and sometimes claimed to be a coywolf descendant. they are smaller and narrower than grey wolves and possess longer legs and ears. red wolves are historically habitat generalists, and while their range has been reduced significantly, they can still be found in swamps, forests, wetlands, mountains, and bushlands. they live in familial packs, typically consisting of a mated pair and their offspring, that assist in raising pups. overall, the red wolf is more sociable than the coyote but less social than the grey wolf; they hunt in groups or individually, playful with their pack members but highly antagonistic to strangers. they are omnivorous and generalist feeders, primarily eating deer, raccoons, rabbits, rodents, insects, and berries, as well as livestock. despite being highly endangered, red wolves are apex predators within their biome, though they are shy and secretive around humans. compared to the grey wolf, the most obvious distinction is that red wolf individual is going to be more boundary-keeping and private, willing to engage in conflict in order to maintain their peace. they're highly devoted and loyal to their people, but also value their sense of self and their own identity. they're socially savvy and tactful while also quite adamant. like the grey wolf, they're fairly adaptable and tend to be generalists, but tend to be more sensitive. in addition to the general wolf traits, red wolf daemians are going to be sociable, flexible, protective, cautious, and inventive.

sea wolf, canis lupus crassodon the sea wolf, also called the vancouver coastal sea wolf, is native to the pacific northwest coast of north america. i included this subspecies because of their fascinatingly unique behavior. like many other wolf subspecies, they live in robust packs — however, they primarily feed on fish rather than hunt cooperatively. they will also forage on other marine wildlife such as seals, otters, barnacles, clams, and whale carcasses. often these wolves will forage alone, incredibly adapted for cracking open mollusks with their teeth. they are strong swimmers; they will migrate between islands on the archipelago, swimming between them and following the salmon migrations. sea wolves are notoriously reserved and rarely seen by people, though they're also powerful predators and have been known to fend off black and grizzly bears. their pack life is highly social and wolves spend most of their time together. when comparing interpretation of this form to the grey wolf, sea wolf individuals are going to be highly specialized and reserved, a unique person who seeks out like-minded companions. they are dedicated companions who are adaptable and inventive problem-solvers; these individuals are the sort who always come out on top, good at finding patterns and adjusting their behavior under challenges. they're socially flexible, both cooperative but possessing a dogged individual ambition. in addition to the general wolf traits, sea wolf daemians are going to be problem solvers, specialized, flexible, sensitive, and supportive.

steppe wolf, canis lupus campestris also called the caspian wolf, the steppe wolf is native to the caspian steppes and neighboring steppe regions. they appear similar to the eurasian wolf, though tend to be smaller on average, have shorter coats, and are characterized by their triangular face. these wolves are voracious hunters; they will hunt cooperatively and alone, preying on antelope, livestock, rabbits, rodents, and even caspian seals. while wolves are notable for taking large game and gorging themselves, steppe wolves have been reported to hunt more than they can consume. they also have an aggressive reputation; they live close to human settlements and pick off livestock, and they also appear to have higher than average rates of intra-pack antagonistic encounters. therefore the steppe wolf individual is going to be someone more bold and cutthroat than the average wolf daeman. they are ambitious and much less conflict-avoidant than other species, including the grey wolf, while still being highly hierarchical. this may indicate that they are sensitive to personal disrespect and disruption that affects group harmony. certainly populations of these wolves are brave enough to attack livestock in broad daylight. confidence is a key aspect of this form, perhaps to the point of arrogance in the name of making sure themselves and those they love are taken care of. steppe wolf daemians, in addition to the general wolf traits, are cunning, bold, adaptable, assertive, and achievement-focused.

tundra wolf, canis lupus albus the tundra wolf is sometimes mistaken for the arctic wolf. while arctic wolves live in the northern arctic in regions of canada and greenland, the tundra wolf is native to the tundra of northern eurasia from finland to the kamchatka peninsula. they are of medium size and have thick, fluffy coats that are typically light in color. their diet fluctuates with the seasons; typically they hunt large ungulates such as reindeer, elk, bison, and muskox, though in the summer may also take birds and smaller prey. many aspects of this form is going to be similar to the arctic wolf: tundra wolves are going to be resilient, tenacious, and extremely specialized. this subspecies is heavily reliant upon the reindeer population that makes up most of their diet — their southern range is defined by the reindeer's migration. thus while this subspecies is still going to be cooperative, sociable, and tenacious, they're going to be less adaptable and more inclined to plan ahead in order to avoid obstacles. similarly, as they live almost exclusively in the far north or boreal forests, this subspecies is going to be more reserved and unobtrusive particularly compared to the arctic wolf. they have quiet confidence but may come across as aloof to those who aren't in their group of people. in addition to the general wolf traits, tundra wolf daemonians are going to be introverted, perceptive, specialized, tenacious, and conflict-avoidant.

[sasheneskywalker]

am i the only person who has never struggled with their queer identity?

i was thinking about it recently and i don't remember ever being ashamed, scared, angry or sad about being bisexual, nonbinary, grayaromantic, grayasexual and polyamorous. (yes, i use that many labels. it makes sense in my head.) i had unrestricted access to the interent from a pretty young age (11) and i discovered what a sexual orientation was after entering more english/american spaces and reading fanfiction when i was around 13 years old. i've just read the definitions and went, "yeah, i'm bisexual. why would anyone limit themselves to loving only one gender?" and that was it. my only frame of reference about queer people was fanfics and cool people i've seen online. my parents never talked about lgbtq+ issues (neither in a positive nor in negative light) and i didn't know anyone who was queer in real life, so you could say i was a blank slate when it came to any preconceived notions or biases (of course we live in cisheteronormative society which probably influenced my views on a subconscious level but i'm just taking about being consciously aware about something here.)

it was similar with realizing i was nonbinary, grayaromantic, grayasexual and polyamorous. i've read the definitions, comments made by people identifying that way, some research papers and books and came to the conclusion that these labels fit me. no angst anywhere.

i came out to my family pretty much immediately when my brother asked me if i was interested in any boys in middle school and i replied with full indignation that if he had to ask about it, he should also ask about any girls i might be interested in. my mother was there too. i don't think any of them took me seriously considering my age (i was 14) and the fact that i had to have many more conversations with my mother about being bisexual (and later nonbinary, grayaromantic, grayasexual and polyamorous) before she believed me in some way and even now she still thinks it's just a "phase" and that i'm "confused" or "just looking for attention" and that my girlfriends are only my good friends (but she still supports my relationship and tries very hard not to be outright homophobic/transphobic). my brother realized like 6 years later and asked me if i really was queer and seemed surprised when i told him i was. i still don't know what my father thinks. i told him i had a boyfriend when i was 15 and i told him i had two girlfriends when i was 20 and his reaction was exactly the same: nodding his head and saying "okay". he sometimes uses slurs but also supported me during a project i was doing on being nonbinary and bought me a book written by a trans scholar on christmas.

and i've never done any official coming outs either. in most friend groups, it comes out naturally that i'm queer when we're getting to know each other and it has never been a problem. i've never been met with a negative reaction. (it's worth noting that most of my irl friends are from middle class families, live in big cities and went to very good schools).

and it's not that i'm not aware about queerphobia existing in our society. i read books written by queer people and i read histories of lgbtq+ communities (and it's often pretty bleak). our country is one of the most homophobic countries in europe. the previous government of our country said that "lgbt ideology" and "gender ideology" are a threat to our nation and should be eliminated. i had close queer friends whom i supported when their families and friends didn't accept them. but it all feels one step removed from me.

i can walk alone at 3am around my city (the capital of poland) as a female presenting person with a rainbow handbag and flag pins in a party outfit and nobody ever bothers me. i went to a pride parade this year and there weren't any counter protests, the police were chill and nothing horrible happened. and despite talking with people who used some passive aggressive remarks and weren't completely accepting, i've basically never experienced violent or threatening queerphobia in my life.

i guess it's just interesting to me how much my experiences differ from common queer narratives i observe in media and in real life around me and how my upbringing shaped who i am today.

[silenthillmutual]

i hate getting mad about shit but i'm tired of this trend. think of this as a vent or think of this as me clearing out my list of followers, whatever.

really need my fellow trans mascs to cut the bullshit. i see constant posts about how it's sooooooo dire out here for us and "lateral aggression" but it is always always always because a trans fem said something snarky, or didn't phrase something perfectly, or made a generalization, and never is that comment about lateral aggression pointed inward.

i should not have to see multiple tme queers bitching about how awful it is to have inter-community fighting only to turn around and make googly heart eyes at transmisogynist caricatures, telling other people to "grow up" because they're not ~ real queers ~ if they don't want to watch non-trans fems "reclaim" effigies that were never made of us in the first place.

it's so pathetic how many want to be creatives but cannot handle the most milquetoast criticism of rhps or sotl. sure, everyone can point out the "this may be harsh, but i believe everyone involved should die" meme is in poor taste. that was about a trans man! how horrible! but if you dare to have an opinion that isn't kissing a transmisogynist's ass over frank n furter or buffalo bill then you are destroying! the trans community! you are making a big stink over nothing! we should be making out instead of fighting!

and this isn't even getting into how much of a discourse fandom makes over the gender of characters whose entire arcs are blatant transmisogyny, like chihiro or gwyndolin. you're all too chickenshit to for that, no, it has to be "up in the air." it's so fucking dire, yeah, but not for us.

[screechingkroh]

I seem to have a horrid habit of focusing on world building instead of the stories! That said, have some facts abt both stories and their worlds!!

A Seer of Secrets

All four celestial monkeys know of each other’s existence (obvs). But the Long-Armed Gibbon and the Red Buttock Baboon have ultimately decided that dealing w Macaque and Wukong is NOT worth it. Good choice LMAO

Demon courting is kind of weird. Female demons tend to be more aggressive with courting

Speaking of courting, kidnapping is part of it but it’s consensual. Well… nowadays it is. But you don’t realize it because they disguise it as an “I’m surprise visiting you… and now we’re going to my house. Pack a week's worth of clothes.”

Seers and Oracles usually have an item or symbol that connects them to divinity. I wonder what Seer’s item is.

Demon food is USUALLY spicy. For some reason, MK and Mei can withstand it but Wukong lowkey struggles? He doesn’t question it much. They're a weird duo.

There's this huge ass under-market for demons. I'm talking multiple districts kind of big. It's based on the five phases of Chinese philosophy. So you've got Fire, Water, Wood, Gold, and Earth. The District levels go in order as the inter-promoting direction... Or generating direction (I wanted to feel fancy). So it goes Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and then Water. But it's in this big circle that spirals upwards. It's pretty cool because the transition from the Water District to the Wood District is by a massive waterfall that has these big rock platforms that act like an elevator. So, it's kind of tapping into the whole "controls" thing of the uhhhh.... inter-regulating part.

Speaking of the districts, there is ONE place that is considered pure neutral territory. And that would be the Earth section. Simply because Earth is meant to represent " patience, thoughtfulness, practicality, hard work, and stability." This is also where demons can find items that can help with healing 'n their abilities! It's where most markets are set up due to the unspoken truce.

The Wood and Fire district tends to get... really heated. Especially in the Fire District. The space between Wood and Fire is highly populated. So a lot of fighting happens and it's considered far enough from the Earth District. This is where demons like to just... bust out the moves and get into nasty fights. So if you can survive running through the Fire District (where there are a lot of fights over territory) and to Earth, consider yourself lucky. And fucked, because the moment you step out of the Earth District, someone is on your ass.

Water isn't exactly where demons live. It's more of a uh... "If I can't be on the surface for a hot moment or so, I can chill here and not be bothered" kind of place. But it's usually for those real big hot-shot guys. So the Demon Bull Family, for example.

You Were Nothing Like Me

You guys don't understand. I have almost 5,000 words on the doc. That's more than ASOS, sadly.

Everyone's names are based on Constellations because I'm unoriginal. The only people who aren't are the brothers... And Queen Astra, who is Outertale Toriel.

The Void? Yes, it's sentient. It lets Gaster be an invisible guiding hand.

It also oddly likes chocolate.

Monsters know ASL. This is because of a bunch of ASL content being found-- why was it in the dumpster? Who knows! But it's benefited the monster community, and it's gotten the favor of the Deaf Community! Because they're more accepting than others.

I made three official holidays for Monsters and pulled the names out of my fucking ass at 3 AM. Gyftmas, of course, exist. It happens on the Third of every December. Monsters originally guessed based on the crystals in Waterfall. Which would dim during the summer and brighten up during the winter. The brightest day just so happens to be the third Wednesday of December without fail. Why do the crystals dim during the summer? Because monster magic, despite being beneath the ground for literal centuries, accommodated the heat by glowing brighter. Why does glowing brighter help? Because why not. It's like when fireflies come out during May and June. Because. Day of Silence is a pretty somber day. It is a-- uh-- a day dedicated to the Royal Family and their lost children. Most monsters take this day off and mourn the fallen prince and child. It's said that you can hear their souls mourning throughout the underground... Said sound gets louder when the fusion of Outertale happens. Yup. Sunset Feast is a really happy one. It's the day the barrier broke! Because woohoo, freedom. Their version of the 4th of July. So, fun fact about this holiday. Frisk broke the barrier the same fucking day it was created. And it, thus, replaced the old holiday Feast of Darkness. Anyways, Sunset Feast is where monsters gather near a large clearing that's by the entrance of Ebott and-- uh-- watch the sunset! Big feast, too. Really fun and loud! Lots of music 'n stuff.

Who named those holidays, you ask? Not Asgore. That's for fucking sure. Not with his shitty naming skills. It was actually Toriel, who named them. I refuse to believe both of them had shitty naming skills. Toriel was good at naming things because I said so.

Typhas, or known as water sausages, have three different forms. You have Snow Typhas, which are commonly closer to Snowdin, and are pretty sweet! They're actually used to making icing or Nice Cream. You also have Spice Typhas, which are closer to HotLands and are used as a spice! The spiciest part of Spice Typhas are the seeds, kind of like peppers!

Depending on where you're at in the underground, you get unique currency. Gold is the overarching one, but sometimes you gotta make some fun unique ones. The Ruins doesn't have currency minus gold. They like to bargain and trade. Snowdin uses Milky Quartz. Waterfall uses Water Opals. HotLand uses Rubies. The Core uses Quartz. The Castle uses Sapphires. And the Court and Royal Family use diamonds... but not a lot of people see them.

I can go on for actual days about YWNLM's world building. I think about this world too much. I-- I just... I love it. It makes me happy.

[starakex]

Here's Boba! My Son the Pooltoy with a Future Space Job. Pretty proud on the shading on this one 'cause I was not confident on whether or not I could render shiny rubber whoops

More info under cut!

Boba is an Autonomous Inter-Dimensional Rescue Unit (AIRU), a type of synthetic creature primarily produced to find missing persons in remote locations, most often to retrieve those lost in wormholes. AIRUs have begun branching out to other job types since, like basic gruntwork in dangerous locations, but their original purpose remains rescue.

AIRUs are usually assigned to small crews (whether in large corporations or small businesses working with investigators) for maintenance and other communications support during missions, and given artificial sentience in order to be self-sufficient on the field; as a result, most AIRUs end up quickly becoming fully-fledged individuals within their team as they gather living experience. Highly modular, Boba is adapted to harsh environments with a tough, rubber skin, a light endoskeleton, and a multi-purpose slime generator within the unit that congeals into large, sticky orbs that can be used to slow down aggressive creatures or provide traction in slippery terrain. Like most AIRUs, he is also equipped with a rudimentary voice module.

Boba's team named him since Unit B-084 was a bit of a mouthful. Since they're independent contractors and don't have as many standards to follow, they also ended up customizing him quite a bit to make him look a little less intimidating to the missing people he is sent out to find. Boba cares deeply about his support team in return, but he prefers to spend most of his free time exploring the universe in solitude and experiencing as many new things as possible. His favorite location is the vast expanses of the poolrooms, though he likes floating in deep space almost just as much. Thanks to his work, Boba has also developed a strong sense of compassion, and will happily do smalls tasks to help anyone he meets (for free, much to his team's chagrin)

[dailyanarchistposts]

Chapter 3. Economy

How will cities work?

Many people believe that an anarchist society might work in theory, but the modern world contains too many obstacles that prevent such a total liberation. Large cities are chief among these putative stumbling blocks. Industrial capitalist cities are a tangled mess of bureaucracies supposedly only kept running by the authorities. But the maintenance of a large city is not as mystifying as we are led to believe. Some of the biggest cities in the world are largely composed of self-organizing slums stretching for miles. Their quality of life leaves much to be desired, but they do show that cities do not simply collapse in the absence of experts.

Anarchists have some experience maintaining large cities; the solution seems to lie in maintenance workers taking over the organization of the infrastructure for which they are responsible, and neighborhoods forming assemblies so that nearly all other decisions can be made at a local level, where everyone can participate. It is probable that an anarchist revolution will be accompanied by a process of deurbanization as cities shrink to more manageable sizes. Many people will probably return to the land as industrial agriculture decreases or ceases, to be replaced by sustainable agriculture — or “permaculture” — which can support a higher population density in rural areas.

In such a period, it might be necessary to make new social arrangements in a hurry, but it won’t be the first time anarchists have made a town or city from scratch. In May 2003, as envoys of the eight leading world governments prepared for the “G8” summit in Evian, France, the anti-capitalist movement set up a series of connected villages to serve as a foundation for protest and an example of collective, anti-capitalist living; these took the name VAAAG (Village Alternatif, Anticapitalist et AntiGuerres). For the duration of the mobilization, thousands of people lived in these villages, organizing food, housing, childcare, debate forums, media, and legal services, and making decisions communally. The project was widely regarded as a success. The VAAAG also exhibited the dual form of organization suggested above. Specific “neighborhoods,” each with fewer than 200 people, organized around a community kitchen, while village-wide services — “inter-neighborhood collective spaces” such as the legal and medical space — were organized by those involved in providing those services. This experience was replicated during the 2005 mobilizations against the G8 in Scotland, and the 2007 mobilizations in northern Germany, when nearly six thousand people lived together in Camp Reddelich.

These protest villages had precedents in the German anti-nuclear movement of the previous generation. When the state wanted to build a massive nuclear waste storage complex at Gorleben in 1977, local farmers began to protest. In May 1980, five thousand people set up an encampment on the site, building a small city from trees cut for construction and naming their new home The Free Republic of Wendland. They issued their own passports, set up illegal radio shows and printed newspapers, and held common debates to decide how to run the camp and respond to police aggression. People shared food and did away with money in their daily lives. One month later, eight thousand police assaulted the protestors, who had decided to resist nonviolently. They were brutally beaten and cleared out. Subsequent manifestations of the antinuclear movement were less inclined to pacifism.[53]

In England, a yearly festival of travellers and hippies that converged at Stonehenge to mark the summer solstice became a major counter-cultural autonomous zone and an experiment in “collective anarchy.” Beginning in 1972, the Stonehenge Free Festival was a gathering that lasted for the month of June until the solstice. More than a music festival, it was a non-hierarchical space for the creation of music, art, and new relationships, as well as spiritual and psychedelic exploration. It became an essential ritual and social event in England’s growing traveller culture. By 1984, it drew 30,000 participants who created a self-organized village for the month. In the words of one participant, it was “Anarchy. And it worked.”[54] The Thatcher regime saw it as a threat; in 1985 they banned the 14th annual Stonehenge Free Festival, brutally attacking the several hundred people who came to set it up in an assault known as the Battle of the Beanfield.

These examples of impromptu camps are not as marginal as they might seem at first. Hundreds of millions of people throughout the world live in informally organized cities, sometimes called shantytowns or favelas, which are self-organizing, self-created, and self-sustaining. The social issues posed by these shantytowns are very complex. Millions of farmers are forced off their land yearly and have to move to the cities, where the peripheral shantytowns are the only place they can afford to settle; but a great many people also move to the city voluntarily to escape the more culturally rigid rural areas and build a new life. Many shantytowns are plagued by health problems caused by poor access to clean water, healthcare, and nutrition. However, many of these problems are peculiar to capitalism rather than the structure of the shantytowns, as the inhabitants are often ingenious in providing for themselves in spite of artificially limited resources.

Privatized electricity and water are generally too expensive, and even where these utilities are public the authorities often refuse to provide access to informal settlements. Shanty dwellers get around this problem by constructing their own wells and pirating electricity. Medical care is highly professionalized in capitalist societies and distributed in exchange for money rather than on the basis of need; consequently, there are rarely fully trained doctors in the shantytowns. But the folk medicine and healers that are present are often available on a basis of mutual aid. Access to food is also artificially limited, because small-scale horticulture for local consumption has been replaced by large-scale production of cash crops, depriving people throughout the Global South of diverse and affordable sources of local food. This problem is exacerbated in famine areas, because food aid from the US, in line with military and economic strategies, consists of imports rather than subsidies for local production. But within the settlements, available food is frequently shared rather than traded. An anthropologist estimated that in one informal settlement in Ghana people gave away almost one third of all their resources. This makes perfect sense. Police rarely have control of shantytowns, and some armed force is required to uphold an unequal distribution of resources. In other words, those who hoard resources are likely to be robbed. With few resources, little security, and no guarantees of property rights, people can live better by giving away a large portion of whatever resources they come across. Gift-giving increases their social wealth: friendships and other relationships that create a safety network which cannot be stolen.

In addition to mutual aid, the anarchist objectives of decentralization, voluntary association, hands-on production rather than professionalization of skills and services, and direct democracy are guiding principles in many shantytowns. It is also important to note that, in an era of growing environmental devastation, shantytown dwellers subside on just a fraction of a percent of the resources consumed by suburbanites and formal city dwellers. Some may even have a negative ecological footprint, in that they recycle more waste than they generate.[55] In a world without capitalism, informal settlements would have the potential to be much healthier places. Even today, they disprove the capitalist myths that cities can only be held together by experts and central organization, and that people can only live at today’s population levels by continuing to surrender our lives to the control of authorities.

One inspiring example of an informal city is El Alto, Bolivia. El Alto sits on the Altiplano, the plateau overlooking La Paz, the capital. A few decades ago El Alto was just a small town, but as global economic changes caused the shutting down of mines and small farms, huge numbers of people came here. Unable to reside in La Paz, they built settlements up on the plateau, changing the town into a major urban area with 850,000 residents. Seventy percent of the people who have jobs here make their living through family businesses in an informal economy. Land use is unregulated, and the state provides little or no infrastructure: most neighborhoods do not have paved roads, garbage removal services, or indoor plumbing, 75% of the population lacks basic health care, and 40% are illiterate.[56] Faced with this situation, the residents of the informal city took their self-organization to the next step, by creating neighborhood councils, or juntas. The first juntas in El Alto go back to the ‘50s. In 1979 these juntas started to coordinate through a new organization, the Federation of Neighborhood Councils, FEJUVE. Now there are nearly 600 juntas in El Alto. The juntas allow neighbors to pool resources to create and maintain necessary infrastructure, like schools, parks, and basic utilities. They also mediate disputes and levy sanctions in cases of conflict and social harm. The federation, FEJUVE, pools the resources of the juntas to coordinate protests and blockades and constitute the slum dwellers as a social force. In just the first five years of the new millennium, FEJUVE took a lead role in establishing a public university in El Alto, blocking new municipal taxes, and deprivatizing the water services. FEJUVE also was instrumental in the popular movement that forced the government to nationalize the natural gas resources.

Each junta typically contains at least 200 people and meets every month, making general decisions through public discussion and consensus. They also elect a committee which meets more frequently and has an administrative role. Political party leaders, merchants, real estate speculators, and those who collaborated with the dictatorship are not allowed to be committee delegates. More men than women sit on these committees; however a greater percentage of women take on leadership roles in FEJUVE than in other Bolivian popular organizations.

Parallel to the organization in neighborhood councils is the organization of infrastructure and economic activity in unions or syndicates. The street vendors and transportation workers, for example, self-organize in their own base unions.

Both the neighborhood councils and their counterparts in the informal economy are patterned after the traditional communitarian organization of rural indigenous communities (ayllu) in terms of territoriality, structure and organizational principles. They also reflect the traditions of radical miners’ unions, which for decades led Bolivia’s militant labor movement. Fusing these experiences, El Alto’s migrants have reproduced, transplanted and adapted their communities of origin to facilitate survival in a hostile urban environment. [...]Through the neighborhood juntas, El Alto has developed as a self-constructed city run by a network of micro-governments [57] independent of the state. In Raúl Zibechi’s view, the autonomous organization of labor in the informal sector, based on productivity and family ties instead of the hierarchical boss-worker relationship, reinforces this sense of empowerment: Citizens can self-manage and control their own environment [58]

Horizontal networks “without traditional leadership” also play a major role complementary to these formal structures in both the organization of daily life and the coordination of protest, blockades, and struggle against the state.

Now that Bolivia has an indigenous president and progressive government led by MAS, the Movement Towards Socialism, FEJUVE faces the danger of incorporation and recuperation that typically neutralizes horizontal movements without explicitly anti-state goals and means. However, while supporting Evo Morales’ reversals of neoliberal policy, as of this writing FEJUVE remains critical of MAS and the government, and it remains to be seen to what extent they will be recuperated.

In South Africa, there are many other examples of informal urban settlements that organizes themselves to create a better life and struggle against capitalism. Specific movements of shack dwellers in South Africa are often born out of moments of violent resistance that take on an extended life as people who met in the streets to stop an eviction or a water shut-off continue to meet in order to create structures for home care for the sick, fire watch, security patrols, burial services, education, gardens, sewing collectives, and food distribution. This was the case with the movement Abahlali base Mjondolo, which arose in 2005 out of a road blockade to stop the eviction of the settlement to make way for development in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.

The Symphony Way settlement of Capetown is a squatted community of 127 families who had been forcibly evicted from their previous home by the government, which is trying to meet its 2020 target under the Millennium Development Goals to eradicate all slums. The government relocated some of the evictees in a tent camp surrounded by armed guards and razor wire, and the rest in the Transit Relocation Areas, described by one resident as “a lost place in hell” with high crime and frequent rape of children.[59]

Refusing to negotiate with the highly distrusted political parties or to live in either of the officially provided hell holes, the Symphony Way families decided to illegally occupy an area along a road to set up their community. They organize their community with mass assemblies in which everyone participates, as well as a high degree of individual initiative. For example, Raise, a nurse who lives in Symphony Way, volunteers as a teacher within the community center, helps organize a girl’s netball team, a boy’s soccer team, a drum band, a children’s daycamp during holidays, and assists in childbirth. Children are very important within the settlement, and they have their own committee to discuss the problems they are confronted with. “In the committee we solve our everyday problems, when children fight or something. We come together and talk. There are children from other settlements, not only from this road,” explains one member of the committee. The community is multiracial and multireligious, including Rastafarians, Muslims, and Christians, who work together to foster a culture of respect among the different groups. The settlement has a night-watch to discourage antisocial crime and put out unattended fires. The residents told a visiting Russian anarchist that they felt much safer in their community than they would in one of the camps offered by the government, where crime is rampant, because at Symphony Way the community worked together to protect itself. “When someone is in trouble everyone is here,” explained Raise. The sense of community is one reason why the squatters do not want to move to a government camp, despite the threat of police violence, and even though in the tent camp the government provides food and water for free. “The community is strong and we made it strong, living and working together, but we didn’t know each other when we first came here. This year and a half made us all a big family.”

There are thousands of examples of people creating cities, living at high population density, and meeting their basic needs with scant resources, with mutual aid and direct action. But what about the bigger picture? How would densely populated cities feed themselves without subjugating or exploiting the surrounding countryside? It may be that the subjugation of rural areas by cities played a role in the emergence of the state thousands of years ago. But cities do not have to be as unsustainable as they are now. The 19th century anarchist Peter Kropotkin wrote about a phenomenon that suggested interesting possibilities for anarchist cities. Urban gardeners in and immediately around Paris supplied most of the city’s vegetables via intensive agriculture supported by plentiful manure from the city, as well as industrial products, such as glass for greenhouses, that was too costly for farmers in rural areas. These suburban gardeners lived close enough to the city that they could come in every week to sell their produce at market. The spontaneous development of this system of gardening was one of Kropotkin’s inspirations in writing about anarchist cities.

In Cuba, centralized industrial agriculture collapsed after the fall of the Soviet Bloc, which had been Cuba’s main supplier of petroleum and machinery. The subsequent tightening of the US embargo only exacerbated the situation. The average Cuban lost 20 pounds. Quickly, much of the country shifted to small-scale intensive urban agriculture. As of 2005, half of the fresh produce consumed by the 2 million residents of Havana was produced by about 22,000 urban gardeners within the city itself.[60] The Parisian example chronicled by Kropotkin shows that such shifts can also occur without state guidance.