#one of their aunts is an Evil Stepmother. etc

[underqualified-human]

I just love your post about the signs that Yuu does not belong to this TW ! Do you mind if you gives us some more sings?

Why not?

They have an uncanny ability to manipulate others' emotions. I mean that in the 'whisper something in someone's ear and have them immediately have them go into a rage' type way.

Not really a sign but despite not being from Twisted Wonderland they are somehow friends with all the minor fairytale characters [Goldie Locks, Little Red Riding Hood, they somehow have met the Snow Queen]

They occasionally break the fourth wall

They're not a beastman but are also capable of biting through bone. [they got chained to a wall once and bit their own hand off. It grew back though!]

Their accent changes on a monthly basis and they refuse to acknowladge it.

Along with the regeneration, they also talk about historical events like they've been there. No one's sure how old they actually are.

They'll also just - casually refer to the great seven by their first names. The only honerific they'll use is Miss/Mister.

They don't really teleport persay, but they do have a tendency to appear out of the shadows.

Their pockets are pocket dimensions. They fit anything and any number of things in their pockets no matter how impossible it seems.

[emotionally-charged-arson]

2am Transitus thoughts since I can’t do fanart right now.

I am THE number one Lavinia apologist, idk what exactly Arjen was doing with her but her being desperate and going to Henry because she wanted the screaming ghosts in her head to stop and Daniel happened to have this dickhead for a brother makes a lot of sense to me.

On the flip side, I have no idea why they threw the “also I’m totally cool with killing my daughter for monetary gain” motivation in there. I’m sorry it makes zero sense to me and I hate the Wicked Stepmother trope as it is.

Why is she married to Abraham in the first place then? What solid reason do Abby and her have to hate each other when Abraham seems like a grounded, reasonable human being he who knows an evil white lady when he sees one? Why does Lavinia, in a conversation WITH HERSELF, say that she regrets what she did to Abby and should go and comfort her after Message From Beyond? Why is the character designed to resemble the “”Gypsy”” archetype a greedy and untrustworthy troublemaker for no genuine reason??

Last point notwithstanding, her motivation in canon just confuses the hell out of me. Through the entire second act she oscillates between a desperate, suffering woman who just wants Daniel to leave her alone that Henry takes advantage of, and a calculating evil witch character that’s just as shitty as Henry himself. Pick a lane, lady.

I have this pile of retcons and headcanons where I just completely got rid of the inheritance-chasing fortune teller persona and made Lavinia’s ability to see Daniel completely spontaneous (though she does have some backstory it makes a little sense for that I completely made up out of thin air, may talk about that later but we’ll see how this post does). The short version is that she’s the same as everyone else. A normal person loves their family, who endures a horrible experience, whose horrible experience is only amplified by their low socioeconomic status, and who is brutally taken advantage of by Henry to a violent end. She did some awful shit but ultimately it comes down to Henry being a manipulative asshole. Lovely.

…but then my aunt bought me this little aesthetic pack of tarot cards last nigtt he and I started reading about the history of this occult stuff in Western countries. And it got me thinking about another way she could be characterized.

I’m not gonna go into a tangent about this but the point is all that divination stuff like tarot cards, ouija, crystal balls etc became popular as novelty in the 1880s and 90s, especially in England and the United States. There were of course occultists who took it seriously but in widespread terms it was sold as what it was today. A harmless little game.

I dunno. Maybe Lavinia got really into that stuff as a hobby and that’s why it’s not weird that Abraham is married to a “”witch.”” Maybe she has it in the back of her head that none of it is real, just a way to kill time and a quirk of her personality.

Then Daniel dies, and she starts seeing spirits. With no genuine explanation. In desperation she associates it with her stuff and tries to talk to him that way, but it’s like Ayreon and his visions. He doesn’t know about Time Telepathy and she doesn’t know about the “crossroads” world Daniel is spending an unusual amount of time in. Little pointless explanations of something far bigger than they can envision.

Abraham doesn’t believe her and thinks it’s just her being way too serious about her occult stuff while he’s busy trying to keep his daughter from regressing any further than she has.

Henry is the only one who will talk to her and go along with her terrified ramblings, not because he believes her but he sees an opportunity in a clearly hysterical woman and she’ll be more cooperative if he pretends all of it is real.

Then she dies, and through it is forcefully disillusioned from her little games even though they’re all she could hold onto for an explanation.

I dunno.

[beyondmistland]

Hi! Just saw your ask about Alysanne being Maegor’s daughter (possibility). It’s so complicated and interesting... but actually wouldn’t make sense because in many ways Alysanne is basically her grandmother Rhaenys over again - for they have so much in common: the beloved Good Queen who cared about people etc. Even Rhaena compared Alysanne to Rhaenys and herself to Visenya. And actually when I think about Visenya’s possible grandchild I think of someone similar to Rhaena as well. Anyway, I’m glad Visenya’s line didn’t continue because she was really downgrading with Maegor by blindly supporting her hitler of a son.

I respectfully disagree with your opinion.

Maegor, for all his many, many faults was neither genocidal nor a eugenicist.

Children are their own people and there is never any guarantee they will turn out like their parents. Case in point, Jaehaerys I is nothing like his dithering father, Aenys I.

People don't have to literally be someone's descendant to resemble them in terms of looks or personality. People can and have taken after aunts, uncles, or grandparents on either side of their family. Heck, sometimes a person resembles no one in the family due to inheriting long-dormant recessive genes from a distant ancestor! And that’s before you get into people choosing to deliberately model themselves off someone they admire, which in this case would be famous kings, queens, knights, lords, ladies, etc.

Characters shouldn't be punished for the actions of their offspring and the idea that *bad* characters or characters with *bad children* shouldn't have descendants is imho very problematic. Seriously, by that logic, Daeron II shouldn't have been born and while I personally think he's more flawed than most of the fandom, he is undoubtedly one of the better Targaryen kings. Similarly, according to this train of thought, Aegon III and Viserys II shouldn't have been born because neither Rhaenyra nor Daemon are good people. Speaking of those two, who even decides who's a good or bad character? I personally find Daemon Targaryen loathsome but he clearly has a ton of fans and not just on Tumblr. Would a guy like Maekar fall under your category of *bad* considering his many flaws as a parent and person as well as the fact he accidentally killed Baelor Breakspear and sired Aerion Brightflame?

The fact that Visenya's line dies out is part of a wider trend wherein GRRM, for all his talk about disliking black-and-white conflicts/characters and preferring "the human heart in conflict with itself", often writes one side of any given struggle to be more sympathetic, with the other side ALWAYS dying out. Visenya's line dies out and through only having Maegor is made to be less sympathetic. Alicent's line dies out (unless you include unacknowledged bastards) and the Greens as a whole are written to be mustache-twirling redshirts. While before there was good reason to believe Bittersteel had children by marriage (which would have heightened the contrast with Bloodraven and fit in well with the grounded institutional nature of Bittersteel's legacy, whereas Bloodraven's is relegated to the fleeting memory of song, just as magic comes and goes) but now, according to GRRM, he probably never had children, which in this case I'm willing to let slide, mainly because it shows how he and Bloodraven are mirrors of each other in terms of being each side's respective fanatic, the conflict consuming every other aspect of their lives in service to it.

We have no idea what kind of mother, leader, or person Rhaenys would have been had she lived longer. And its not like Visenya didn't have people who loved her too or else Yandel wouldn't use the phrase "even those who loved her best".

I generally dislike tropes like "the evil stepmother" as @cynicalclassicist can attest.

Thanks for commenting, anon.

[basicsofislam]

ISLAM 101: Your Family: Part 2

Categories of Women in Relation to a Man

Women in relation to a man fall into three categories:

1) She could be his wife:

In this case, he is allowed to enjoy her company in any way he likes, Just as she is allowed to enjoy his company. In fact, Allah describes each one of them to be a ‘garment’ for the other, revealing an excellent image of a perfect physical, emotional and mental union: “They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them.” (Soorat Al-Baqarah, 2:187) (See page 213)

2) She could be a relative whom he is never permitted to marry at any time in his life whatsoever (mahram):

This category consists of the following:

1. The mother and above (the maternal grandmother, the paternal grandmother, etc.) 2. The daughter and below (granddaughter, great-granddaughter, etc.) 3. The sister, paternal stepsister or maternal stepsister 4. The paternal aunt, maternal step-aunt or paternal step-aunt, paternal aunt of one’s father and paternal aunt of one’s mother 5. The maternal aunt, maternal step-aunt or paternal step-aunt, maternal aunt of one’s father and maternal aunt of one’s mother 6. The brother’s daughters and stepbrother’s daughters and below (brother’s son’s daughters, for instance) 7. The sister’s daughters and stepsister’s daughters and below (sister’s daughter’s daughters, for instance) 8. The mother-in-law, whether he is still married to her daughter or has divorced her, and grandmother-in-law 9. The stepdaughter 10. The son’s wife and below (such as the grandson’s wife) 11. Stepmother and above, e.g. the stepbrother’s wife (from the step father’s side)

3) She could be one he is allowed to marry (ajnabiyah, literally, foreigner, not related to him):

Such a woman is one who does not belong to the category of women known as mahram stated above, whether she is one of his relatives, such as his maternal or paternal cousin or sister-in-law, or she is not one of his relatives at all. Regarding this category of women, Islam has laid down a number of rules and criteria which govern a Muslim man’s relationship with such women. By doing this, Islam aims to protect people’s honour and block all the means that are bound to lead to evil. Allah (swt) who has created man knows exactly what is best for him, as the Qur’an states, “Does He who created not then know while He is the All-Pervading, the All-Aware?” (Soorat Al-Mulk, 67:14)

Every day, we read new reports and statistics of cases of rape and illicit sexual relationships that have ruined countless families and societies that do not implement Allah’s laws.

Rules Governing the Relationship between a Man and Women he Is Allowed to Marry

1) Lowering the Gaze

Lowering the gaze to avoid looking at things Allah has forbidden leads to modesty and protects one’s honour.

A Muslim man must not look at other women or at anything for that matter which is bound to sexually arouse him, nor should he unnecessarily look at women.

Allah (swt) commands both men and women to lower their gaze, for doing so leads to modesty and serves to safeguard one’s honour, while lustful looks generally pave the way to sins, as the Qur’an states, “Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. That will make for greater purity for them. Allah is aware of what they do. Say to believing women that they should lower their gaze and remain chaste.” (Soorat An-Noor, 24:30-31)

However, if a Muslim accidentally sees a woman, he must divert his eyes from her. In fact, the order to lower the gaze applies to anything that is bound to lead to sexual arousal, including those scenes that are presented in the media and on the Internet.

2) Observing Modesty in Speech

Islam has laid down rules which govern the relationship between men and women.

When talking to a woman who is not related to him, He must observe politeness and modesty and avoid any words or gestures which may lead to sexual stimulation. It is for this reason that:

- Allah (swt) warns women against speaking in a coquettish and too soft a manner when addressing men, as the Qur’an states, “Do not be too soft-spoken in your speech lest someone with sickness in his heart becomes desirous. Speak correct and courteous words.” (Soorat Al-Ahzaab, 33:32)

- Allah (swt) warns them against using suggestive gestures and manner of walking or displaying their charms and some of their ornaments: “They should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments .” (Soorat An-Noor, 24:31)

Avoiding Private Seclusion with Non-Mahram Women Altogether (Khalwah)

The Arabic word khalwah means the state of being alone with a non-mahram woman in a place where no one can see them. Islam strictly prohibits this as it could, through Satan’s temptations, lead to illicit sexual relationships. The prophet (saw) once said, “Never is a man alone with a woman except that Satan is the third.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhee: 2165)

Wearing the Hijaab (the Modest Muslim Style of Dress)

Allah (swt) commands women, but not men, to wear the hijaab because women in particular enjoy a natural beauty and attraction that could easily tempt men into sinful acts.

Islam commands women to wear the hijaab for a number of reasons, including the following:

- So that they could carry out their mission in life and society in scientific and academic fields in the best possible manner while at the same time guarding their modesty.

- So that they would reduce chances of temptation in order to purify society, on the one hand, and safeguard women’s honour, on the other.

- So that they would help male onlookers control themselves even more and thus treat them as civilised and educated human beings and not as sex objects that only serve to tempt men and stimulate them.

What Must the Hijaab Cover?

Allah (swt) commands women to cover all their bodies except the face and the hands, as the Qur’an states, “They should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof.” (Soorat An-Noor, 24:31) However, in cases of likely temptation due to their striking beauty, they may have to cover their faces and hands as well.

The hijaab safeguards women’s honour and affords them the chance to carry out their mission in society in the most modest manner mankind has ever witnessed.

Criteria of Proper Hijaab

A woman may choose any design or colour she likes for her hijaab as long as the following conditions are met:

- It must appropriately cover the parts of the body which must be covered in public.

- It must hang loose and must not fit very closely to the body, so that the shape of the body is not revealed.

- It must not allow the wearer’s body to be seen through its fabric.

[senadimell]

The Mysterious Benedict Society as an adaption

So far, The Mysterious Benedict Society adaption feels very faithful to the books. There are definitely changes (Constance, for instance, has been aged up, and likely has a different background. This is understandable. It would be nigh impossible to portray her as she is in the books in live action format--for example, none of the kids in the book suspect she’s a toddler, let alone two years old). However, most changes have all felt reasonable and add to plot and pacing.

I especially enjoy the additions: showing the adult side of the team, for example, or Ms. Perumal’s growing concern about Reynie’s whereabouts, or the girls’ nighttime conversations. Some changes are more extreme. The Mr. Curtain of the books is clearly a villain. He’s condescending and rude, and the only people who like him are bullies. Mr. Curtain of the show is much smoother. It’s easy to see how he’s managed to influence people. Similarly, the L.I.V.E. curriculum is much less obnoxious in the show (not just memorizing nonsense by rote), and as a result, the school’s students seem less stupid and cruel. You can see why they enjoy attendance.

I’m particularly pleased that Number Two’s weirdness has been amplified. Mr. Benedict’s found family is delightfully strange, and I love watching their unusual rhythms. It will be easy to believe when (or if) it’s revealed that the women have been legally adopted into Mr. Benedict’s family.

Similarly, I love how they intensified the quirky feel of the setting and characters. Of course Number Two built a house in the woods in a day because she has a woodworking hobby. Of course there’s secret tunnels and drawers and compartments in Mr. Benedict’s house. Of course Milligan’s disguises and mannerisms are wackily memorable instead of just matter-of-fact. The books themselves have a stylized feel at times (they kind of remind me of Lemony Snickett’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, though with none of the grimness).

I love the overall aesthetic. When I first read the books, they didn’t strike me as being set in the past, but the vaguely vintage feeling works excellently. (I was also a fully grown adult before I realized that the Incredibles wasn’t set in the present, so...) The color schemes, costumes, and sets have distinctive feelings and coordinate well. The effect is stylized rather than naturalistic, which is appropriate and amplifies the tone of the scenes. The bright colors and rough textures of the wooded hideout and its inhabitants’ costumes contrast nicely with the clean lines of tL.I.V.E.’s vintage-pastel interior and sleek exterior.

I also enjoyed the way they did Kate’s flashback as rough home footage. Similarly, I enjoyed the way they showed four kids solving problems on the same screen, how they illustrated Reynie’s thought process with overlaid sketches of the problems, and the way words show up on the screen during the tests for emphasis. The combination of animations, showing multiple things at once, and creative angles for emphasis did a great job conveying the feeling of the tests. (Unfortunately, I lack the vocabulary to describe the techniques they used here).

There’s two things I didn’t enjoy. The first was killing Sticky’s parents to make him an orphan. It mattered in the books that he felt rejected by his own parents. Making it his aunt and uncle who (seemingly) care more about money and fame than the child they’re raising feels a little too much like the wicked stepmother trope. I don’t know why the showmakers decided that Of Course They’re All Orphans, because while most of the book characters are orphans, Sticky isn’t, which serves to show that you can feel rejected and hurt by your parents even when you’ve got an ordinary, non-abusive nuclear family. It’s about feeling isolated, whether or not you’re technically alone.

Secondly, all the wheelchairs have been removed from the adaption. I’m not sure why this was done. Sticky’s mother has bad arthritis and requires a wheelchair. In the books, this was done without fanfare; it was as normal as anything else to oil Ms. Washington’s wheelchair in damp weather, or load and unload it from cars in later books. She was more of a background character, so it didn’t affect the plot, but the casual background representation was a welcome contrast to many books that assume being disabled is strange and uncommon, and that disabilities only exist when they’re plot-significant. The aunt who replaced Ms. Washington used no mobility aids, which disappoints me, especially as the woman she replaces in the books is ultimately shown to be a flawed but loving parent who’s dedicated to making up for her mistakes.

The other person missing their wheelchair is Mr. Curtain, the villain. I’m also not sure why this was removed? It could be to avoid the Evil Disabled Villain trope, but in the book, I didn’t feel like his disabilities were treated as a moral flaw or an excuse for his villainy. He shares his narcolepsy with the unquestionably benevolent Mr. Benedict, so it didn’t feel like his condition was used to vilify him.

He and Mr. Benedict act cope with their condition differently: Mr. Benedict relies on trusted family members for support and chooses to sit on the floor and avoid positioning himself in tall places from which he could fall, whereas Mr. Curtain disguises his narcolepsy by wearing mirrored glasses and using a wheelchair that secures an upright posture, so that no one knows when he has an episode. He does use his wheelchair aggressively, banging through doors and zooming around and forcing people to jog and keep up, but it felt like his use of mobility aids grew naturally from his character.

The books also include a scene where he shocks the children by leaving his wheelchair to chase them. They assumed that using a wheelchair=completely unable to walk, a common view in US society. Importantly, I didn’t feel like the scene was framed as particularly deceptive, like he was lying to them by using a wheelchair when he could walk. Rather, it fit into a pattern of Mr. Curtain managing assumptions and expectations: he doesn’t want people to take advantage of his weaknesses, yet wants to hold a few cards close to his chest. He doesn’t have to lie to people, just let them see and hear and assume what they will.

I don’t use a wheelchair or have narcolepsy, so I’m not in a position to say whether or not the books have good representation. Maybe the fact that Mr. Curtain is evil, and also zooms around and bangs through doors, is uncomfortable. Maybe the fact that his nefarious devices are wheelchair-accessible and in fact designed around his chair sends the wrong message. Maybe using mobility aids to conceal a disability sends a bad message, or maybe it would be better if the good guy was the one to use a wheelchair to cope with his disability. I don’t know. I do know that Mr. Benedict’s condition is played for laughs in both the book and show, and that might be uncomfortable. I do think it’s worth noting that Mr. Benedict’s narcolepsy is seen less and less as funny as the books go on, and grows to be seen as an endearing quality that emphasizes how much he loves people, since his attacks usually underscore with strong emotions and convey worry for his loved ones or joy at their company.

My own sense is that both approaches to narcolepsy make sense, and neither is shown to be inherently faulty. Rather, it’s Mr. Curtain’s character that’s to blame for his villainy--his arrogance, condescension, and mistrust. Both characters feel well-developed and consistent, and their disability is only one part of them. Their disability is colorful, but it’s colorful in the same way as the main characters (Sticky’s anxiety and memory, Kate’s gusto, eye for measurement, and bucket, Constance’s precociousness, etc).

As for why Mr. Curtain’s wheelchair was cut, I’m not sure. Maybe the show writers just didn’t want to deal with the ramifications of depicting a villain in a wheelchair, and decided to cut it altogether (a lazy reason, I think). Alternatively, it seems like they’re depicting narcolepsy without cataplexy, eliminating the need for a wheelchair (a better reason).

On the other hand, Mr. Curtain’s attitude and mannerisms bear the least resemblance to his book counterpart of all the show’s characters. They’re incorporating some backstory from the other books to build a secondary plotline, and I’m not sure how it’s going to play out. From what we’ve seen of him so far, S. Q. Pedalian is also drastically different (shy, cloistered, and openly acknowledged as Mr. Curtain’s son, instead of the gregarious, bumbling, misfit Executive of the books). The TV dynamic between him and Mr. Curtain is largely unrevealed as of yet. Since these changes constitute departures from the book, I’m not sure how the future story’s going to play out around them, and what that reveals about why the wheelchair was cut when it was so characteristic of Mr. Curtain’s mannerisms while other things (like Mr. Benedict’s use of plaid) were included.

Still, it does disappoint me that two wheelchairs were erased, and no one in the show uses one, not even background students. 

Overall, though, apart from the orphan and wheelchair situation, I’m very pleased with this adaption and think that the pacing works wonderfully. It’s a near-ideal format for a video adaption (I think animation would be best, but this is a close second).

[weevil-wallflower]

I just created an entire demon family...pt1

(aka my demon OCs. All are full demons so only gonna mention it once 👀)

My Demon Lore:

My understanding regarding demons is that not all demons are evil and thus not all tempt human beings to sin. Many simply live their lives peacefully, sometimes even among humans. Many even follow different religions much similar to humans. And of course due to that, the many good ones don’t align themselves with Satan which means they can neither be banished to hell nor does Satan has any jurisdiction over them. These demons are also not repelled by religious artefacts or places of religious worship or just religion in general, especially if they happened to be religious themselves. But no need to worry; these kinds of demons are peaceful for the most part and do not mean anyone any harm unless provoked or threatened. (This understanding comes from the knowledge I have about my religion uwu)

≧ω≦ ω ≧ω≦ ω ≧ω≦

Winfryd Wright

General:

Full name: Winfryd Wright

Nickname(s): Winnie (by Zinnia), Win

Age: 37

Birthdate: 30th January, Aquarius

Gender: Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Nationality: British-American

Religion: Islam

Relationship status: Single (for now (・ω<) hint: it’s Zinnia, my very first oc)

Occupation: MD / Military Psychiatrist; Medic (previously)

Title/Rank: Doctor / Major

Physical appearance:

Complexion: White

Eyes: Light blue

Hair: Blonde

Height: 6′ 3″

Build/body type: Muscular and well-built

Weight: ~210 lbs / 95 kg

Unique trait(s): Polydactyly; 6 fingers on each hand with the 6th one, the pinky finger, being fully functional

Voice Claim: Jason Isaacs

Family:

Oliver Wright (son)

Zinnia Frost (girlfriend for now >:3)

Peter Wright (paternal uncle)

Wilhelmina “Mina” Wright (paternal aunt)

Anthony Winters (cousin)

Emma Winters (cousin-in-law)

Jody Winters (nephew)

His aunt and uncle don’t have children of their own. They raised Winfryd when his parents passed away when he was a child.

Psychology:

Moral alignment: Chaotic Good

Personality: Ambivert, benevolent, kind, sympathetic, open-minded, patient, polite.

Likes: His family, helping people, keeping a strict doctor-patient confidentiality, terrifying his enemies to death.

Dislikes: Those who harm others especially his family & friends, disorderliness, injustice, inequality.

Demonic Characteristics:

Physical appearance: (Since no one knows what demons really look like, my headcanon is that demons have two natural forms; their human form and their demon form. And they can willingly switch between those two forms)

Winfryd’s demonic form consists of:

Tough, pale skin.

Black sclera.

A third eye 👁️ - The ones on his hands aren’t always there. They are a product of his shape-shifting abilities.

Extremely sharp teeth; Unfortunately, his teeth remain same even in his human form.

Forked tongue.

Four long tentacle-like appendages protruding from his upper back. (Inspired by one of my favourite characters in MGS4, Laughing Octopus. I just love her design and how she moves :3).

Two black horns (Can’t have a demon without horns uwu).

Claws.

Powers & Abilities:

A very capable psychiatrist.

Proficient at close-quarters combat.

Knowledge in firearms.

Superhuman strength (not superhuman to the extent of superman. imagine Captain America).

Supernatural Durability.

Is religious himself so not repelled by artefacts or places of religion.

Sharper senses.

Accelerated healing.

Pyrokinesis.

Razor-sharp teeth.

Telescopic vision via third eye.

Human possession.

Can use his tentacles to bludgeon, impale, grab and smash or wrap and crush enemies easily. He can use them to climb and hold on to structures, even walls, ceilings etc and even use them for locomotion.

Claws sharp & strong enough to tear apart bodies without breaking or snapping off.

Umbrakinesis: He can generate and manipulate darkness and travel through shadows and phase through matter. Thus he’s untouchable as a shadowy. Can also draw the shadows to him if in dire need of healing, 

Very acidic blood. Not exactly a power though... It’s said demons bleed fire since they are created from fire but that felt too over the top so I’ll stick with acidic blood.

Shape-shifting: It’s said that all demons can shape-shift to a limit, being able to take form of other humans & animals but Winfryd takes it to a whole other level. He can shape-shift into anything & when he wants to scare his enemies to death, he either appears in their room at night as a shadow figure or turns into eldritch things like these (an expert in body horror >:3):

All in all, Winfryd is a pretty powerful demon, not invincible but more powerful than most. And many things people use, for example the bible, the cross etc don’t work on him because he’s not a “Satanic demon” so to speak. He’s not repelled by religious things. He can even go inside the church and other places of worship.

Weaknesses/Limitations: Now, he may be powerful but that doesn’t mean he has no weaknesses:

Can be forced to reveal his demonic form by those who have knowledge on the occult.

Weak against ultrasonic weapons: Since demons have sharper senses than humans, these weapons would affect them more readily and would do a pretty good job of incapacitating them.

Extremely limited shadow manipulation in both total darkness and total light.

Intangible in his shadow form so can’t deal out any physical damage to his oponent.

No wings so can’t fly.

His pyrokinetic abilities weak against water.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD): a personality disorder that’s characterized by extreme perfectionism, order, and neatness. People with OCPD will also feel a severe need to impose their own standards on their outside environment.

≧ω≦ ω ≧ω≦ ω ≧ω≦

Oliver Wright

General:

Full name: Oliver Wright

Nickname(s): Ollie (by Zinnia)

Age: 3

Birthdate: 30th March, Aries

Gender: Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Nationality: British-American

Occupation: He’s a baby! >:O

Physical appearance:

Complexion: White; with freckles (cause freckles are cute uwu)

Eyes: Light blue

Hair: Blonde

Height: 2′ 11″

Build/body type: Small toddler

Weight: ~30 lbs / 14 kg

Family:

Winfryd Wright (father)

Zinnia Frost (stepmother; later on uwu)

Peter Wright (great uncle)

Wilhelmina “Mina” Wright (great aunt)

Anthony Winters (uncle)

Emma Winters (aunt-in-law)

Jody Winters (second cousin)

Unknown mother: His mother (also a demon) abandoned him so to speak. When he was born, she wanted to give him away but Winfryd said that he’ll look after the child. That didn’t sit well with her because she never wanted kids and so she made him choose between her and the baby. (Later on, this would be one of the reasons Winfryd will come to love Zinnia so much. That she treats his child, that’s not even her biological child, like her own.)

Psychology:

Moral alignment: Just a smol bebey.

Personality: A very sweet & well behaved little kid, albeit a bit possessive of his stepmom.

Likes: His stepmom i.e. Zinnia, his dad, his great aunt & great uncle, his cousin Jody, playing with building blocks, candies, cartoons, hugs.  Definitely also gonna develop a liking for video games cause of his stepmom :3

Dislikes: Mean people, being yelled at - it scares him qwq, other people hugging or kissing his stepmom even if one of those people happens to be his dad.

Demonic Characteristics:

Physical appearance:

A third eye 👁️, just like his dad.

Yellow eyes.

Tiny lil razor-sharp baby teeth.

Cute lil bat-like wings.

Pointed ears.

Forked tongue.

Two horns (seems to be the right height to ram a person in a certain delicate spot 👀).

Powers & Abilities: Practically a baby so there aren’t much & those that he has aren’t fully developed yet & thus has no control over them:

Pyrokinesis: Ability to create, shape and manipulate fire. However, since Oliver is so young, he’s unable to control it. For now, it’s affected by his emotions for e.g. if he happens to be feeling frustrated, something nearby will spontaneously light on fire.

Adhesion Manipulation: basically can stick to surfaces, walk on walls, ceilings etc. But doesn’t have full control over it either.

Sharper senses.

Accelerated healing.

Very sharp teeth: Will resort to biting anyone who provokes/threatens him.

Acidic blood.

Telescopic vision via third eye.

Not repelled by artefacts or places of religion.

Weaknesses/Limitations:

Physically, he’s as strong as a normal human child so no superhuman strength.

Weak against ultrasonic weapons.

Can be trapped by those who have occult knowledge/practice. (But seriously, who would want to trap this cute lil kid? :’3).

Powers not yet fully developed.

Wings aren’t big enough to enable him to fly. Can only glide for now.

No claws yet.

His pyrokinetic abilities weak against water.

Is a baby so can’t possess.

Can’t pronounce Rs and Ls very well

Is a lil, innocent baby and must be protected at all costs.

≧ω≦ ω ≧ω≦ ω ≧ω≦

Peter and Mina Wright

General:

Full names: Peter Wright (left) & Wilhelmina “Mina” Wright (right)

Ages:  Peter: 65 & Mina: 60

Birthdates: Peter: 21st March & Mina: 23rd March, Aries

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Genders: Peter: Male & Mina: Female

Pronouns: Peter: He/Him & Mina: She/Her

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Nationality: British-American

Relationship status: Married to eachother ;3

Occupation: Dentists/Farmers (They met at dental school :3)

Physical appearance:

Complexion: Peter: White & Mina: Light Olive

Eyes: Peter: Light blue & Mina: Green

Hair: Peter: Grey & Mina: Blonde

Height: Peter: 6′ 0″ & Mina: 5′ 6″

Build/body type: Thin but lean, I guess? They’re getting old but they’re demons so still fit

Weight: Peter: ~159 lbs/72 kg & Mina: 117 lbs/53 kg

Voice Claims: (TBD)

Family:

Winfryd Wright (nephew): took him in after his parents’ death when he was a child. Treat him more like a son than a nephew.

Zinnia Frost (niece-in-law later on. Think of her as more like a daughter tbh)

Oliver Wright (grandnephew)

Anthony Winters (nephew)

Emma Winters (niece-in-law)

Jody Winters (grandnephew)

Psychology:

Moral alignments: Neutral Good.

Personality:  kind, sympathetic, open-minded, patient, polite.

Likes: Their family, showing kindness, helping people, their jobs.

Dislikes: Cruelty, rudeness, inequality.

Demonic Characteristics:

Physical appearance:

Peter: Black wings, two horns, sharp teeth.

Mina: Red wings, red horns, sharp teeth.

Powers & Abilities:

Superhuman strength.

Supernatural Durability.

Sharper senses.

Accelerated healing.

Sharp claws & teeth.

Flight.

Acidic blood.

Human possession.

Weaknesses/Limitations:

Weak against ultrasonic weapons.

Can be trapped by those who have occult knowledge/practice.

Lack telescopic vision.

≧ω≦ ω ≧ω≦ ω ≧ω≦

[slytherin-team]

On Petunia Evans Dursley, or how I imagine & re-imagine her character

So, I re-read HP and Snape’s memories of Lily and Petunia really stood out to me. 

Since re-reading the whole series, I’ve become a bit obsessed with Snape and Petunia.

I want to talk about Petunia’s character.

Now, I like starving-her- nephew- and -locking- him -in- a- cupboard Aunt Petunia as much as the next person (which is to say, not at all)

However, Petunia’s character has to be one of the things that bothers me most about HP or one of the things that I see as the biggest missed opportunity on JKR’s part.

Now, I don’t entirely blame JKR for making Petunia a one-dimensional villain. HP started out as a children’s book and the Dursleys are very much like Matilda’s family. They’re just there to be entirely awful and also to contrast muggle “ordinariness” with wizard “specialness.” Additionally, everyone is familiar with the fairytale evil stepmother and Petunia fills that cliched trope as well.

But as the series becomes darker and less for children and as we learn more about the complicated history between muggles and wizards, the presence of only one-dimensional (Dursleys, at least the parents) or barely present (the Grangers) muggles becomes rather irksome, considering how the war is all about prejudice towards muggles and muggle-borns.

These things didn’t bother me or even occur to me so much as a kid reading the series and that’s why I can’t entirely blame JKR on this one thing. She knew her target audience (kids) would identify with the witches and wizards, see the muggles as boring and dull like the adults around them, and not care so much about the broader picture. 

I don’t know if my new way of looking at the series comes from simply re-reading it, or more specifically, from being an adult re-reading it, but I find myself super interested in examining what it means to be a muggle who is aware of the magical world and this what draws me to Aunt Petunia.

If I could make any change to the series, I would make Petunia a more gray, nuanced and fleshed out character, much like Snape (who I actually think she is very similar to and I’ll get into that). She would still give preferential treatment to her own son, but she would not outright abuse Harry by starving him or locking him up. She would ensure he’s well-fed and healthy but she would not be affectionate with him, but rather cold and distant, so similar to how she already acts but minus the serious abuse. 

 I would pepper in moments where Petunia stares at Harry with empty eyes or glances at him while he’s not looking. I would have Harry notice these small moments from time to time and wonder why his Aunt takes care of him yet is so cold towards him. He would unravel this mystery of her behavior, just as he unraveled Snape’s and Petunia would get a redemption arc, like Snape. I haven’t thought of all the details but I like the idea of her getting more involved later in the series and being a useful muggle character. Eventually, she would open up about Lily as well and reveal her regrets. She would also have a heart to heart with Harry and wish him luck before going into hiding.

Vernon would still be a jerk but not outright abusive because Petunia wouldn’t allow for that. Dudley would still get away with his bullying, particularly when Petunia is out of sight, but maintain the growth he did show in the series, perhaps taking it a bit further.

As much as I prefer my version of Petunia, the actual Petunia we get, while not a good or redeemable person by any means, is still really great as a character and as a villain, she has a good origin story.

Hate adult Petunia all you want, but child Petunia, in my opinion, is nothing but sympathetic and probably one of the most relatable characters in the series, and I will go through this.

We all wish the HP world was real, but of course, if it was, we’d all want to be witches and wizards. We all want to go to Hogwarts. 

Severus tells Lily, “It’s real for us, not for her.”

He’s right and he’s wrong. It’s real for Petunia, she just can’t be a part of it.

Now, personally, I think being a squib would feel a lot more unfair than being a muggle with muggle parents whose sibling just happens to be a witch and even if Petunia’s parents did favor Lily for being a witch, they can’t be prejudice towards Petunia for her lack of magic when they lack magic themselves. 

But squibs might actually be looked down upon by their magical parents and they seem to have no choice but to enter the muggle world even though they grew up in the magical world, and if they do stay in the magical world, they’re seen as lesser and I can’t imagine there’s much for them to do. Maybe they could work in Muggle relations but that’s not given much prestige (even though it should be an important thing) Petunia feels barred from the magical world but at least she doesn’t have to leave her own world. 

Still, Petunia is just a kid and she doesn’t know about all the intricacies of the magical world or about squibs. She just sees that her sister has abilities that she doesn’t and access to a really exciting world that she doesn’t. So, her jealousy and feelings of inferiority are totally understandable. 

Of course, in her jealousy of Lily, lack of knowledge about the intricacies of the magical world, and overall myopic view because of her youth, I think there’s something that Petunia doesn’t realize.

Lily is also in a difficult position, perhaps in some ways more difficult than Petunia. At least Petunia has a clear line. She’s a muggle and can fit into the muggle world.

Lily is a witch, so despite being born into the muggle world, she’s different, but that doesn’t mean she can fully integrate into the magical world. In some ways, the prejudice against muggle-borns and the specific slur for them makes them seem more hated and distrusted by certain segments of the wizarding world than even muggles themselves. 

And Lily graduated Hogwarts at the time of Voldemort’s rise and we’re told that the first wizarding war was much more intense than the second. Marlene Mckinnon and her entire family were killed. Voldemort had a bunch of creatures on his side. Petunia could be blissfully ignorant of all this and cocoon herself in her safe “ordinary” world at least. Safety didn’t seem like a choice for Lily, although she certainly had agency and chose to fight for the Order. But it seems that muggleborns would be hunted regardless.

Perhaps if Petunia had realized this, she would have had more sympathy for her sister and also realize that she herself  is lucky in some regards. Maybe she could have cultivated her own talents and focused on them instead of putting all of her energy into being jealous and petty.

I also have this other idea I like, of Petunia developing healthy coping mechanisms to deal with her jealousy and then finally embracing the magical world - instead of turning away from it entirely to be as “ordinary” as possible- and then becoming the muggle version of Arthur Weasley- that is, a muggle who is a bit of a “magicphile” 

Getting back on track, Petunia’s ordinariness could be her strength, at least as a character, it makes her relatable. Young Petunia, like young Severus, is the underdog, and that sort of makes you want to cheer for her or at least see her get a slice of the cake at least once in her life.

While I’ve grown to like Lily as a character more because of my re-analysis of her situation - which makes her an underdog too- I used to really hate her, for the same reason Petunia hated her. Like really? This girl has powerful magic, is beautiful, gregarious, kind, brave, strong, loved and desired by everyone...yadda yadda yadda...gimme a break! 

And so many fans who love Lily don’t realize that they’re probably Petunias, not Lilies.

Even looking at the flowers themselves- petunias are actually really beautiful and come in such a wide variety (the night sky petunia is my favorite) - and yet they’re often overlooked because they’re so common.

James is an awful bully but at least that counteracts his perfectness in every other area (looks, school, sports, etc) What are Lily’s flaws? What does she struggle with other than being muggleborn? It seems that maybe both she and James were too naive and trusting (not to victim-blame her for her own death or anything) but what else? We’re not told and so she just seems perfect, not very interesting for a character.

A lot of the things Petunia says as a child that fans interpret as mean or revealing of her hatred of magic from a young age, are actually things she seems to regurgitate from the adults around her. 

For example, when Lily is flying from a swing, Petunia chides her by saying, “mom, told you not to do that!” Although we know Petunia’s parents favored Lily, I get the sense that their favoritism and even awareness of Lily’s magic didn’t come until after the Hogwarts letter, which is when a representative would have come to the family to explain things. Before then...I’m not sure but maybe her parents didn’t realize what was going on and just didn’t want her jumping out of swings? Anyway, I think Petunia is just trying to be the responsible older sister and is repeating her mother.

I’m pretty sure when Lily makes the flower grow, Petunia gets a bit freaked out and maybe also says something about how she shouldn’t be doing that but she’s also described as asking Lily how she does it, with “longing” in her voice. So she’s juggling trying to be the responsible older sister with being totally weirded out because how the heck is her sister making flowers grow in her hand, to being curious, and this is when her burgeoning envy (totally understandable) starts to emerge as well.

Then little Snape enters the picture to unintentionally erode the sisters’ relationship even further. It’s also here that Petunia makes another comment that fans point to as proof of her snobbery and cruelty from a young age, but actually, it’s just proof that she took what adults told her to heart, and since she was older than Lily, she probably heard more gossip and knew more about their town in general.

After Snape pops out to tell Lily she’s a witch and that he’s a wizard, Petunia is the first of the sisters to speak.

Here’s the direct quote from Petunia: “Wizard! I know who you are. You’re that Snape boy! They live down Spinner’s End by the river,” 

This little statement is endlessly fascinating to me, it raises so many questions.

Why does Petunia know who Snape is? Why does she recognize him? How does she know his name and what he looks like? We know adult Petunia is nosy and loves watching all the neighbors. Was child Petunia snooping around, if so then how close did Snape live to the sisters? How close is the sisters’ house to Spinner’s End and the river? 

If she was snooping around, then it’s kind of ironic that she was spying on Snape while he was spying on her and Lily ( he says he’s been watching Lily but Lily is always with Petunia outside so even if it’s not intentional, he’s watching Petunia too) Even if she was snooping around, why would Petunia wander to Spinner’s End? Does she share Harry’s deathly curiosity and adventurous streak? She says “they” so does she know what Snape’s parents look like? How much does she know about the family and his home life?

My first thought actually wasn’t that she was snooping around but rather, that she was regurgitating the nasty things that adults had said. But this raises another question, which adults? We’re told later that Snape and Lily sneak into Petunia’s room to read her letter to Dumbledore, which means that Snape was in the Evan’s family’s home, and we also know that the Evans parents are impressed by witches and wizards, so it would seem that they approved of Snape. 

So then, who would have told Petunia about the Snape family? Did she just hear rumors and gossip about them from older townsfolk? I always imagine Lily as either 9 or 10 and Petunia as either 11 or 12 in this scene, only a two year difference between them but at that age, it’s enough for Petunia to be more involved in what adults are saying and for Lily to be oblivious.

From here, Petunia asks Severus why he’s been spying, and again, she seems like the protective sister. I really like her in this scene. I don’t interpret her as snobby or classist. She’s too young. I see her as a kid influenced by the adults around her and as sort of a gryffindor/slytherin hybrid, bravely stepping between her sister and the strange boy calling her a witch, while also being judgemental of outsiders.I think she possesses a lot of the qualities of both Lily and Severus.

This scene is also when Sev spitefully calls Petunia a muggle, a word she had never heard before but immediately recognizes as inferior. 

“Haven’t been spying. Wouldn’t spy on you any. You’re a muggle.”

It’s shown later that all three of these kids love to spy and snoop around (not unlike the golden trio - except they’re not spying with each other but on each other) but Sev and Petunia definitely share a heightened nosiness, a certain degree of haughtiness, a superiority complex coupled with an inferiority complex, and a strong sense of self-preservation and pride that is very slytherin. Opposites may attract but I think it’s the couples with common ground that last, and enemies-friends-lovers will never go out of style, so the potential set-up for Snetunia is just too good to pass over and plays a big role in why I love shipping them together.

Okay, and after this, Petunia then spies on Lily and Sev. The “she’s jealous. You're special. She’s ordinary” line is in the movie not the book but I love it because it encapsulates Petunia’s insecurities perfectly and also shows how Sev puts Lily on a pedestal, and the magical world as a whole on a pedestal. It’s sad that he gets abused at Hogwarts after being abused at home but it also just goes to show that wizards, witches and muggles are all just people and not necessarily inferior or superior to one another.

Petunia overhears Sev telling Lily about the dementors and that’s when she loses her footing and gets caught spying. Sev then shouts, “Who’s spying now! What d’you want?” I find it interesting how Sev and Petunia mirror each other so much.

This is when Petunia insults Sev by saying “What are you wearing anyway? Your mother’s blouse?” She obviously has nothing to say in regards to the spying accusation because she was so obviously spying, so she tried to deflect it with an insult. She’s just as defensive as Sev. After she says, the infamous tree branch incident happens, in which Sev gets revenge by making a tree branch fall over her head. This is what prompted Petunia, years later, to refer to Sev as “that awful boy” when she reveals to Harry that she knows what the dementors are because she “overheard that awful boy talking about them.”

Okay, onto the Hogwarts letter, which raises many questions as well.

“You shouldn’t have read – ”  Petunia had whispered, “that was my private – how could you – ?”.

Lily gave herself away by half-glancing toward where Severus stood nearby. 

Petunia gasped. “That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!” 

“No – not sneaking – ” Now Lily was on the defensive. “Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn’t believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that’s all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of – ”

Okay, so this is soooo interesting. 

Adult Petunia is presented as a woman with a long neck who always has her nose in other people’s business and she’s not much different as a child. But despite this trait being used to amplify her villain role, it seems the “good guys” and the “grey guys” love meddling in this way as well. 

I really feel for Petunia in this scene. I think that Hogwarts letter and Dumbledore’s reply rejecting her (even if it was kind) was one of the biggest moments of failure, disappointment and embarrassment in her life and remember, she’s probably about 2 years older than Lily so she would be 13 here and that’s just not a nice age either and I think that makes losing her sister and being rejected hurt even more. Privacy is such a big deal when you’re 13 too, that’s like peak private diary age, so to have your little sister and her gross friend sneaking into your room at that time, what an invasion that must feel like.

But….what the heck was going through Sev’s mind?!?

I doubt Lily suggested that she and Sev sneak into Petunia’s room. Why would Sev want to go into Petunia’s room? She’s just a muggle after all. He sees the letter, but how? After going into her room?

He couldn’t believe a muggle contacted Hogwarts? Was he secretly impressed by her? He thinks there must be wizards undercover in the muggle postal service...well we’re never told how Petunia sends the letter but it’s often said that there’s more to her than meets the eye. I like to think she was cunning, determined, smart and slytherin enough to find out how to send the letter on her own and that’s probably what made Dumbldore even reply. I think she’s someone who always had a lot of potential but was crippled by feelings of inferiority and self-doubt, much like Severus.

Petunia and Severus both obsess over Lily to the point that it destroys them. Petunia, in her jealousy, deep down worries that Lily is better than her and compensates for this by calling her a freak. Sev never takes Lily off the pedestal even as they begin to grow apart and just as Petunia sinks deeper into her “ultra ordinary” prejudiced persona, Sev sinks deeper into his half-blood prince persona. He hates muggles because of his father, while Petunia hates magic (or pretends to) because of her sister. Sev and Petunia are two sides of the same coin then. They both also never go on to reconcile with Lily and they go on to resent her son while also protecting him.

I said it at the beginning of all this rambling, but I’ll say it again - I wish Petunia had been as layered and grey as Sev, instead of just the bland evil stepmother figure.

So, just to be clear, the adult Petunia we get in the actual books is deplorable but I still love her character because I love how many more satisfying ways there are to re-imagine her and what she could have been. Snape’s memories - the only time we see Petunia’s past - are so rich and revealing and just have me endlessly fascinated about Petunia’s potential.

This was super long but I’ve been dying to word vomit about this character - and I’ll probably do some more word vomit meta about Snape & Petunia later on ~

Oh and regarding what it means to be a muggle in the magical world or adjacent to the magical world - don’t even get me started on the statute of secrecy! Maybe one of the reasons Petunia did turn out so awful was because she had to bear the burden of knowing about magic but not being part of it all by herself, like she couldn’t just tell her friends her sister is a witch and vent. So, maybe she had to bottle everything up.

She also mentions in the book, her sister bringing home frogs and turning them into tea cups - to an outsider maybe that looks like animal abuse or raises ethical questions.

Obliviating muggles certainly seems unethical to me and the ministry does it with great abandon.

I wish this was explored more in the series.

Petunia has a right to be skeptical it would seem, and naturally fearful as well.

[prorevenge]

Abusive mom is ruined and wanted

It's a rough story to start, so I'll just go chronologically.

The first exmaple of how evil she was my older brother told me. Back when I was really young, my dad was in the Army and managed to score some leave (vacation time) from Desert Storm to surprise my mom for her anniversary. When he knocked on the door, all my mom said was "Why aren't you dead, I need the money." Her new beau then started backing out of the garage in my dad's mustang cobra.

He got revenge, but that's a story for later if you guys want.

The divorce was pretty much what you expect, mom got custody of me. My dad later tricked her with some money and got me for a visit, then filed for custody since my mom had warrants out for her arrest.

A few years later my dad remarried to your typical evil stepmother who doted on her daughters and hates her stepson. For example, for Easter my step sisters got huge baskets of candy and chocolates, a couple toys, etc. I got an old soup can with my name painted on it (poorly) that "I could use for pencils."

This witch managed to talk my dad into sending back to my mom, and here the story begins in earnest.

Where my mom was living was an old two bedroom, one bath house. My sister's shared one room, my mom and stepdad shared the other, my brother got the whole basement, and I got a "room" so small that I could touch fingertip to fingertip each wall, and it was double that long. I had a curtain instead of a door.

I got nothing. I hated life there. I was one of only a few white kids at school, so I got beat up alot for being white, it was low income area in Michigan, so I was the one who always had to shovel, rake, mow, and then my mom would "rent me out" to the neighbors, and they all just paid her. I did all the chores and was "grounded until she felt like ungrounding me." I basically sat on my bed for six years anytime I was not in school, cleaning, or making her money.

I learned this later, but my mom was "extorting" money from my dad. She would demand $3000 for a school photo, and he willingly paid $700 a month in child support, even though there was no need to. (He worked in the oil field business after he retired, on a corporate board). She would make stuff up like "Our car broke, etc" and demand money. My dad had to fork over $12,000 for me to go visit him for a week. He couldn't take me in at the time, he wasn't home enough (lots of travel) and he was single, but I found out he was sending me Christmas and birthday gifts every year, and I later found out from my brother she pawned them all. He bought me a brand new Color Gameboy, which was promptly taken away because "I was grounded." She pawned that too. She would often hit me for stupid reasons, like when I once put the dishes away a bit damp or if I managed to get a chocolate milk from the school cafeteria. Once I got fed up and pushed her, she called he police and he chided me.

In short, it was hell.

Meanwhile my sister's got upgraded to a private school and lots of amazing toys. She took custody of my grandfather who had MS from the waist down and couldn't even use the bathroom by himself. She got power of attorney and took all his money and blew it, as well as taking half his pain meds (like Vicodin) and giving them to my brother to sell. This will be important later, kinda.

Now the revenge part. This is going to be a bit long, so I apologize in advance.

In my junior year of high school, I got to working in the library. My teachers were amazing and supportive, and knew my situation. I got my dad's email, and we started planning. He figured once I finished high school, he would personally come up and get me. Finally when my mom decided to have a "graduation party" for me, complete with inviting all her friends and none of the like, two people I could call a friend, a couple days before my graduation ceremony. About two hours before the party was going start, my dad pulls up. I invite him in, and he looks around, looks confused. He leans in and asks me "Where is she?" I point. She was right in front of him lying on the couch. He screwed up his face, and said he'd wait in the car.

While I was gathering all my stuff in a single garbage bag, my mom finally realized who this stranger was, and lost her shit. She tried everything from bribing me with Nascar tickets (I hate Nascar, she liked it but I knew she didn't have any) to physically obstructing me. She had pulled out all the stops for this party, spending a couple thousand and lots of time cooking, err making me cook. I get outside, throw my stuff in the truck, and we take off.

(Side story. We get halfway down the street and my dad has to pull over. He laughs uncontrollably for awhile. I asked his what's up, and in his Texan accent says "Boy, when I was a kid I always wanted to marry a movie star. I just didn't think it be Jabba the Hutt." Evidently they didn't recognize each other at first, she put on ALOT of weight after they divorced.)

We get to his place, and it starts. I get updates from my sister in law. The party was f*****d. She was humiliated. Since she didn't have me, my dad stopped sending money. They had months worth of unpayable bills. She had to pawn her jewelry, pull my sister's out of the private school and back into public school, sell one of the cars she had. Soon she started calling for money claiming someone stole the mail all the time so they couldn't pay their bills and needed money to replace the mailbox so they wouldn't steal it anymore.

It was refreshing knowing I was free, and I could say no with no repercussions. I was happy to live and let live. I vowed to leave her be and let her sink or swim by her own hand. I was elated to be free, and had no desire to look back at that part of my life.

But she wasn't done with me.

I decided to follow my dad's example and join the service. I decided the Navy was the place for me. My job required a top secret clearance, so they do a very thorough background check, to include a credit check. Turns out I was delinquent in mortgage payments, I was receiving social security, and I owed a power company alot of money among other credit card debts. That b****** stole my identity and ran me into debt since she couldn't get anymore money. I knew about identity theft, it just never occurred to me that a parent has everything they need to do so.

This couldn't stand. After I finished basic training and my technical school, I spoke to my Chief (supervisor). Chief was awesome. She managed to wrangle me a "temporary assignment" to a recruiting station in my old town where my mom lived so the Navy would buy my plane tickets. I spoke to the police and filed a report. One by one I managed to clear most of the debts from me and send all the debt collectors after her.

Then I made a visit to the social security office. I was in uniform at the time, and spoke to a clerk about how I was somehow getting payments when I never got anything. She looks up the account, and boom. My mom was here. She claimed I was permanently mangled and disabled in an accident and I was physically unable to sign, giving her permission to cash my checks. The clerk read that last part out slower as it dawned on her that I was clearly more than able. She opened a case. For the monolithic bureaucracy that was the government, they move pretty fast when someone's stealing money from THEM.

Turns out when they went to investigate, she had already skipped town. They issued warrants for her arrest and she is on the run.

I got cut a check for $20,000, the amount that was garnished from my wages for what she stole from the social security administration, and she now owes that much to Uncle Sam.

So this was ten years ago.

So evidently my brother found out that not only am I doing great, I am very successful. I recently left the service and I am starting an even more exciting job. So he told Mom, and she came crawling out of the woodworks via Facebook for money for a "doctor", but I told her prison gives free medical care, and it felt good. Turns out when my aunts (her sisters who lived in another state) found out about how she treated me, she was cut out of everyone's will, to include my grandmother. Unfortunately we didn't get to my grandfather before she cashed in on him.

So heavily in debt, with no family to turn to, no way to get a job, with fraud on her record as well as selling prescription medication, and warrants out for her arrest, my mother, Jabba the Hutt, is receiving hers.

I got cut a check for $20,000, the amount that was garnished from my wages for what she stole from the social security administration, and she now owes that much to Uncle Sam.

Sorry if this is the wrong sub, but I thought I'd share.

(source) story by (/u/Admiral_Bismarck)

[beanenigma]

Having step-parents - a writing guide on new families - part 2

Cinderella’s  evil stepmother? Having a new mom? Which one really is it? What about a stepfather? Are they always as bad as they sound in media? 

Hi, I’m Isabella and last week I told you about my nine half and step siblings. You can find it HERE. That guide was getting pretty long, so I decided to break it into at least two parts. So today, I’m talking about step-parents. My credentials is I had 6 step-parents along the way. 

Still, as I said in the previous part of the guide, I want to give a disclaimer that this is based on my particular experiences (and my siblings’) and it doesn’t pose the absolute truth - but it’s still more real than what I normally see around. 

Getting a new step-parent is a very interesting process. There is a myriad of aspects that can influence how this experience is going to go: how old you are, how well all of the parts handled the previous divorce (mother, father, child), if said stepparent was involved in some way in the aforementioned divorce, how mature are all of the parts, how willing the stepparent is to accomodate for you, etc. I’m going to try to go over all of the parts, focusing on the roots of this experience, hoping it can be useful in your writings.

Mommy? Daddy?

How your character calls their step-parent is really a matter of how they feel about their step-parent and when they met said step-parent. 

I always feel like it’s so weird characters in books and movies call their step-parents coldly by their names, even if they met these people when they were children. 

In the distant times of 2002, when I was about 5 years old, my dad introduced me to his friend. At the time, he told me to call her aunty Lena. 

Aunty Lena became my step mother months later. She was my darling companion for the next 6 years. She gave birth to my sister and she made sure her two older daughters were nice to me. And I loved her like another mother. I kept calling her Aunty Lena, though, and I still did even when she divorced my dad. Because that’s how she was introduced to me, and it sounded like someone who was family. Because I grew up with her.

Around the same time, mom started dating Luiz, who she introduced to me as Uncle Lu and I later started calling Uncle Lulu (including in front of his employees, which embarrassed him). He would come to live in our house, meaning he would be as close as anyone could be. I never thought of him a new father like I thought of Lena, mostly because I thought him to be sort if weird and uptight. My mom told him this, which made him loosen up which made him ever weirder, but sort of endearing, because I knew he was actually trying to impress me by being more casual. I still call him uncle to this day. 

HOWEVER, later, in the cringy times of 2010, when I was around 12, my dad introduced me to Melissa, who had become my stepmother just recently. Despite loving her two boys - and later my sister -  for the next 6 years, I tried to call her anything other than her name. I tried nicknames, but it never felt natural. My middle sister (Aunty Lena’s daughter) had more success in this area. 

The reason for that is because our new stepmom would pick at any detail she could and continuously sabotage our attempts to feel at home on her house. She never antagonized us directly, but in several occasions it became clear she was competing with us for our dad’s attention. 

Alternatively, I frankly don’t remember when my mom introduced Eddie into our lives, but I’ve been calling him by the nickname from the start. Not having any other children, he walked into our family with open arms. He pampers me and is always getting me stuff and taking me places. I’m not sure I’d call him a new dad - because out of the two of us, I’m the responsible adult - but he surely is my family now. 

Finally, just last year, when I was 20, dad introduced the three of us to my new stepmother, who I have no problem calling by her nickname and that was super kind on accommodating the three of us in her life.  

So as you can see, how your character refers to their step parent depends on a variety of factors, and it’s up to you to choose how it goes in your story. 

Previous divorces

After a couple of divorces, things start to get hairy. Children miss their parents, resent the new step ones, have to addapt to new routines, to seeing their parents less, learn how to deal with this new set of circumstances, including new siblings, new houses, new people. But parents also have messy business going on inside their noggings. 

Sometimes, your current step parent was unvolved in the previous one’s abandonment. When you’re a kid, that hardly matter because people won’t tell you anything and even if they do, you don’t understand what it means. When you’re older, there are decisions to be made. If you’ll take a stand and chose one of the person’s side. 

Previously, I always took my father and mother’s sides. I regret that decision only once in my life, but what’s done it’s done and I know I did the best I could at the time. Your character will be under a lot of pressure from emotional change. He won’t always make the best or most logical choices. But just know that supporting their step-parents when their parents frick up is an option and it should be considered. 

In other times, divorcees might see themselves getting involved with their children’s new siblings that have nothing to do with them. My step mother’s ex-husband grew to really like my youngest sister, for example. These new kinds of families get real complicated really quickly. And taking advantage of that would be a great idea and I’d love to read something like that. 

Maturity

Some people are not ready for the responsibility of receiving a sad child of divorcees into their homes. Some people are not used to a reality where not all children are shared and attention from their betrothed needs to be divided. Or they’re not mature to divide how they feel about their spouse about how they feel about their children or their spouse’s children. 

This section is here because of one of my stepmothers. She frequently competed with me and my sister for my father’s attention, frequently invented plots we it our mother’s would plan against her and her daughter, and one time even vandalized one of my books because she was mad at me. All the while, trying to make me and my middle sister feel bad about not liking her. When my dad divorced her, she constantly tried to guilty my sister (her daughter) into pitying her and spy in my dad - which my super smart 7 year old of a sister refused and told her to get lost.

She was everything that media said she would be. But when I think of her, I’m not angry at her. I never did anything to antagonize her when they were still together. Because I pity her. She’s not evil, she’s not a bad person. She’s just immature and we all knew it. Out of my six experiences, this was the only truly bad one.

But also, no one is obligated to accept this treatment. At one point, I told my dad I loved him and my sisters, but that from that day forward I would not go to this woman’s house again. I was mature enough, at around 18, to separate what I felt about my dad and sister from  what I felt about this woman. And to feel confident in my dad’s love for me to tell him I wasn’t comfortable with this in a non-violent way. And I had the luck that my dad did the same and eventually chose me. Once again, this is not a choice that worked for me and it’s not one  everyone can make.

Certainly it would make things interesting. Want examples? Instead of killing parents, try a hard divorce. Try someone choosing themselves over feeling bad at a house. It doesn’t have to be traumatic to work or feel realistic. 

Accommodation

The main reason for me to love some of the step-parents that I had is because they accommodated me in their lives, in their homes. Like Aunty Lena, who gave me a bed and closet space in her house. Like Uncle Lulu, who got over his distaste for dogs because I loved them so much and wanted one.

Again about my stepnightmare, she would never have a bed for us at our house and refuse to give us closet space. She’d put down matresses for us and they had to be at their daughter’s room and nowhere else we wanted to choose. These were things that at the time didn’t seem like a big deal - we were hardly ever there - but when comparing to the way Aunty Lena treated me, it was clear that something was wrong. 

And this is a major thing I think good step-parents do and it breaks my heart in fiction when it goes under appreaciated. Because it’s no easy feat to open your heart and house to a little person who is literally the product of a love that came before you. And to do it graciously, treat them as your own and help provide for them is such a great effort that I would love to see it praised more. 

My sister’s grandmother and my ex-ex-stepmother’s sister

Getting new step parents doesn’t stop at having step and half siblings. It means that you have a whole new step family. Step grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and everything else.

It gets confusing so easily when telling stories. I’ve grown accustomed to asking people if they want the short version of the long version. If it’s the short version, I say “an old lady did this when I was at their house”. If they agree to the longer version (and they normally do), I say my sister’s grandmother was a german old lady who would make pickles and plant flowers. They ask why is she not my grandmother too, and then I explain the whole three divorces thing. 

This would very much vary from person to person: how easily they get attached to people, if they live with the new family, if they’re welcomed by the new family. In wife #2’s family, all of the aunties and uncles were my a uncles and aunties because I was still a child. Their mother, however, wasn’t my grandmother. She was Mrs. Paula, because I didn’t feel like she felt like I was her grandchild. 

In angry lady’s house, all of her siblings I called by name - because I was older by then and I didn’t feel like they wanted me in the family ( just like said wife). HOWEVER, gossip I heard points that these people were the ones who constantly told this woman off for being rude to me and my sisters and wanted us to stay around. Their children, my sister’s cousins, I love them to death - and I recently found they still love me too. 

So take into consideration all of the family mess that can happen. In a post-apocalyptic environment, for example, I would go looking for some of those people. Just imagine someone trying to leave a resistance for your lost sister’s cousin. The leader doesn’t understand: “this person isn’t even your family”, but they don’t know. 

You never know until you’re in it. 

As I said before, this is a very short guide and it could never encompass the myriad of experiences that compose new types of families, but I did my best. If you feel unsure about any step-situations in your story, shoot me an ask. Also if you have any suggestions on topics you’d like to hear about for your writing. 

And again, I’d really really appreciate any adition you can make with your own experiences.

Happy writing!

[asongforbabybirch]

hi, dear, if you're in the mood can i ask all of those soft and ethereal asks?

You know I will for you!!!!

1.secret garden or forest? Hmmmm….secret garden!

2.the stars or the moon? The moon

3.neck kisses or french kisses? Neck kisses

4.1700’s/1800’s or 1900’s/2000’s? I’m going to be difficult and say 1800′s/1900′s :) 

5.poetry books or illustrations? Illustrations. I’m surprisingly not that into poetry, and people always expect me to be. Depends on the poet. If it’s the right writer, I’m in love with it

6.itunes or vinyl? Vinyl, always. I have an addiction I’ve been coping with since I was a little tween

7.fairies or pixies? Fairies

8.water nymph or forest nymph? Forest nymph!

9.kittens or baby lambs? BABY LAMBS 100% (although I love our little catten girl who is sitting right next to me. I wouldn’t trade her in for a lamb even though she’s naughty all. the. time.)

10.rainbow or sunrise? I enjoy sleep way too much for sunrise. And I still get way too excited when I see a rainbow. Soooo….rainbow :)

11.new moon or full moon? Full moon

12.fiction or short stories? Fiction!! It’s my favorite. Although I write fiction short stories :)

13.green tea or jasmine tea? I have a cup of green tea every morning and plan to keep that habit up until the day I die.

14.lavender or roses? Roses. But I like both.

15.sunshine or rain? I’ve been questioning my answer to this over the last couple years. I moved to Oregon five years ago telling myself rain was the best and now I wish for the sunshine when I get tired of the never ending rain in the winter and wish for the rain once I get tired of summer (which happens quickly).

16.misty forest or sunny meadow? Oh dang. These are literally both my daydream destinations. I’ll say misty forest to keep my Pacific Northwest girl image intact. 

17.cake or pie? Pie! “Damn fine cherry pie!” (nobody can expect me to not quote Twin Peaks rn). Actually my favorite is pumpkin and my grandma’s chocolate mousse pie but cherry is damn fine too. 

18.happiness or luck? Happiness

19.silk or cotton? Silk

20.love story or fairytale? Fairy tale. Bring on the Bluebeard and evil stepmothers. 

21.dreams or reality? Lol dreams

22.diamonds or gold? Gold I think?

24.chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla

25.series or books? Books!

26.romance novels or mystery novels? I’m actually not a big fan of either of these genres. I mostly read classic novels, so I do like both romance and mystery elements within those novels. But you won’t normally find me in those aisles of the book store. That being said, I’m definitely going with mystery for this one because I grew up obsessed with Nancy Drew (I’m still a little obsessed with her) and I also read The Hardy Boys, Sherlock Holmes, my aunt’s old Bobsy Twins and Trixie Belden books, etc. 

27.smooth jazz or classical music? Smooooooooth jazz. I love jazz.

28.dancing or cooking classes? Cooking. I’m that girl who hates cooking shows and reality shows in general and then I sit down and watch a full season of the Great British Bake Off like an elderly woman and then try to make things.

29.cocktail night or cinema? Cinema!! With cocktails.

30.concert or play? Concert.

31.cherries or cream? Cherries. Specifically Flathead Cherries from my home state. 

32.candles or pillows? I’m notorious for going overboard with both. But I really do need 6 pillows on my bed, and I only need one candle at a time, so pillows lol

33.ocean or lake/river? Ocean.

34.time turner or flying? Um, time turner. Hermione Granger is my girl. (Haha actually one of my professors used to call me Hermione and used to joke about getting me a time turner because I went way too hard in school)

35.mermaids or angels? Mermaids.

36.coffee or tea? Tea

37.makeup or natural? I am really struggling with trying to go more natural but I just have this fear of going out in public without makeup. I can be around friends and family without it, but I always am too afraid not to put makeup on for work or going out or running errands. Ughhhh. I’ve started putting less on. Like just some shadow and mascara and that’s it. Still makeup though. I’ll get there. 

38.black or white? White

39.drawings or paintings? Paintings!

40.early bird or night owl? Night owl, most definitely. 

41.introvert or extrovert? Introvert, also most definitely. 

42.winter or summer? Winter. 

42.spring or fall? Both! The cherry blossoms are out here right now so I’m pretty obsessed with spring.

43.classic or modern? Classic

Thank you!!! This was fun :) A lot were really difficult haha. I hope your Monday was a good one! Sending my love your way!

[greencultureforum]

Robin

My name is Robin Gellately Smith. I’m initially from Dundee in Scotland. My middle name “Gellately” is actually translated from Gaelic; meaning “go lightly”, which means I walk very softly and I tend to have the habit of creeping up on you. That aside, around the year 2000 a friend of mine went on holiday to Dubrovnik and got bored, so she took a bus to Montenegro and when she came back she showed me some photographs. When I look at people's holiday photos I tend to glaze over, but these snaps caught my attention and I had a strong feeling that this should be my home. Within a month I came here to see for myself what Montenegro was like and it confirmed my feelings. If you believe in reincarnation, then for sure I was born here before, lived here and died here. In Montenegrin history they have a character who appeared on the shores of Montenegro and decided that this is the place he wanted to stay. This was in the 18th century and he let rumors multiply that he was related to the Czar of Russia. He was a brilliant organizer so he started schools, an education system, and the administration for governing the area. He became very popular and I think people’s jealousy became too much so he was eventually assassinated. Here I am again back in Montenegro, not organizing schools or organizing the government. In fact, I don't say anything in criticism of the montenegrins because anything that people criticize here, I can think of  being ten times worse in the UK (especially now with the elections and traumas of the Brexit).

Q: How long have you been living here?

Robin: I’ve been living here for 17 years. People say: “You’ve been here 17 years and you don’t speak the language, how come?” That’s because whenever I try to speak the language I tend to provide some kind of comedy show and people burst out laughing. Once I was invited to a saint day with my montenegrin family and a woman walked in, so I said in a very loud confident voice: “Dobra cosa, dobra rosa” and my friend turns around to say: “Robin, you just called her a goat! It’s ‘corsa’, not ‘cosa’! Please don’t speak our language, you just embarrass me.” So that’s my story, but I’m generally quite bad at languages. I also married a girl here and I now have a 12 year old son.

Q: What kind of environment were you raised in? Did you grow up in Scotland or did you live in England?

Robin: No, you can probably tell I don’t have a Scottish accent. My family sent me off to boarding school in the UK, so I was educated there - hence the rather distinguished English accent. But when I go back to Dundee and visit family (which no longer exists because they’re dead), I very quickly turn into my old Scottish brogue. My stepmother used to say: “Robbie, would you mind nipping into the shops to get some messages for me?” This is Dundee speak for: “go and get something from the shop”. It doesn’t take me long to wheedle back into the Scottish accent. In the first part of my life, I was in the royal navy for 6 years. I came out of that and went into construction, so I spent quite a lot of time in London, which is where I made my base and got involved in all sorts of construction projects. The ending of my construction era was when I was a property developer and got caught in the 1980’s property slump. That meant I was in a bad way - having been a millionaire I reverted back to being broke, so I took the opportunity to study in the evenings and I managed to get qualified as a cross between an architect and a structural engineer - mostly building surveyors tend to err on the side of report-writing, analyzing buildings, and the faults of buildings. Then I got interested in the renovation of old buildings. I’m a member of the organization SPAB (Society of Preservation of Ancient Buildings). In the UK I did that a lot; mostly acting on behalf of investors who bought old buildings and wanted to renovate them with English Heritage trying to stop them. Obviously English Heritage have the responsibility of trying to maintain the preservation of the old style/architecture and the new investors want to take advantage of altering them for modern needs. When I came to Montenegro I was lucky, because I had the opportunity from foreign investors who bought old stone houses to be able to advise them on how to alter their homes in a sympathetic way. I was involved with the Montenegrin Heritage on the other side of the table - very similar to English Heritage, which is good. It adds into the dichotomy of what the investor wants to do and the need to preserve old buildings. This is my forte now and I was given the opportunity to design an old stone house in a famous area in Montenegro. For that I won an international award which I received in London, so that helped put Montenegro on the map. I then joined a group and am a founding member of the Montenegro Green Building Council, which is part of the World Green Building Council and we try to promote sustainable development. The thing about using the words “green” and “sustainable” is that a lot of people have their own interpretations of what they mean. “Green” is used to describe various things, but the principle is to try to limit the amount of damage the construction industry does to the world. Over 60% of our contribution to pollution comes from construction. I mean all construction - not just houses and buildings but also roads, bridges, tunnels, civil engineering and the associated industries that provide all materials for them. This is a big industry making a major contribution to the world’s greenhouse gases. Developing countries want to produce as much as they can in terms of construction, in development for their people, for their industries, to advance their way of life, etc. so this tends to be an expanding problem. The idea of the World Green Building Council is to try to limit that as much as possible without stopping production - to do that, we concentrate on businesses rather than individuals. As an individual all you can do is stick a finger up in the air and say: “this is where I stand, this is what I believe in”, but you need millions of fingers up in the air with a common goal to be able to make an impact. Businesses control thousands of people and management controls sways of the population, so that’s why it’s good to get businesses on board rather than individuals. That’s why the WGBC has grown exponentially and I firmly believe this is the way forward. I think there is a balance of what we all need against a balance of what we should all preserve.

Q: What was the moment (or series of moments) in your life that lead you to become passionate about sustainability and the environment?

Robin: Not a single moment as I recall. I’m 71 now, so I’m reaching the twilight of my life and I have children and grandchildren. I look at people my age and think: we are the custodians of the world and now the youngsters have to take it on. I don’t want to leave them with a mess to solve, so encouraging youngsters that this is a very serious problem they’ve got to fix for their children and their grandchildren is important. This struck home in the same way as my children saying to me: “You're the last surviving member of our original family” because my mother, father and most of my aunts and uncles are dead. They said: “Dad, you really need to pass down all the information you can about our family to us and write it down so we can preserve it and pass it on to our children.” That’s the sort of responsibility I feel on a grander scale we should do with the world. Our time on this earth is not a rehearsal. You don’t get to live it again, unless you believe in reincarnation, and that doesn’t necessarily mean you will come back as a human being. I might come back as a beetle.

Q: What would you like to tell someone who doesn't believe we need to seek sustainable solutions for our environment?

Robin: There are quite a lot of people who don’t believe in climate change and most of those people are in this world for profit and gain. Trying to pass the message along is like trying to sell fog; it doesn’t have any sort of substance you can produce against the argument: “Well, what’s in it for me?” What’s in it for them is their life on this planet because there are no rich people in graveyards. Whatever they do and make in this world they can’t take with them, but what they can leave behind is a sort of heritage. A space in which their being or life existence can be passed on and has some sort of meaning people can talk about. You can pass on money, but in a limited way because of taxes and what people do with it, so I think this is the way forward - encouragement and experience count for a lot. When people finish their lives’ work, they think that retirement is the end of the story but it’s not. There is a lot more that can be contributed and people have the time to do that. I think that this is the strongest message: leave a legacy rather than a profit.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Robin: I’ve done these interviews before and the last question is always: How would you sum up your life? I came up with a brilliant summing up, which is: “I’m one of God’s souls on this planet that tried to do the best he could”. Everything in life is a balance; there is good and evil, rich and poor, fun and work. I think it’s important to have a balance and not too much of one or the other, otherwise you distort the natural way of things. I’m incredibly amazed at the planet and what it’s provided and how it’s evolved.

[vileart]

Majuli Dramaturgy: Shilpika Bordoloi @ Edfringe 2017

Majuli

Shilpika Bordoloi

Preview:

11 Aug | 18.00 | £10.00 (£8.00) | 50 mins

Opening:

12 – 20 Aug (Not Mondays) | 18.00 | £12.00 (£10.00)

50 mins

Dance Base (Venue 22)

14–16 Grassmarket, Edinburgh

0131 225 5525 | dancebase.co.uk | @dancebase

Guwahati-based dancer and choreographer Shilpika Bordoloi has created a physical theatre performance piece based on the social, cultural and spiritual life of the river island Majuli. Part of India@UK Year of Culture 2017, Shilpika Bordoloi presents Majuli; a performance based on the stunning and picturesque island in Assam’s mighty Brahmaputra river, which is also the world’s biggest river island. Located in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra, Majuli is the world’s largest freshwater mid-river delta system, and has been the cultural heart of the Assamese civilisation.

                        What was the inspiration for this performance? The island of Majuli, amid the mighty Brahmaputra in Assam, India, has fascinated me from my early childhood days, through frequent boat rides that I shared with my father, who used to travel to the island for work. This is the world’s biggest river island and gets flooded every year during the summer; people are uprooted and quaintly re-settle themselves as the season changes. Constant floods and soil erosion on the banks are the major threats to the existence of Majuli. This unique relationship of a land with water, an interaction of people and nature form the basis of my work, my inspiration.

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? I hope so. This is the first time I will be performing in UK.

This show is much more than my artistic ambition. This project is part of a research-oriented process to bring together artists, of creating a body of knowledge of the hopes, aspirations, culture, identity of the people inhabiting the bank of the river Brahmaputra.

The sync of traditional knowledge systems and

practices with modernity has been the challenge that has engulfed the entire world in many ways, and this piece is an attempt towards sharing stories of adaptability, striking a balance between traditional and modern knowledge. These experiences and stories resonate well beyond Majuli and the mighty Brahmaputra of India.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I was learning Indian Classical dance from a very early age. Much later I wanted to find other ways of expressing, sharing my stories... I got drawn to other forms including Martial-Arts and Theatre.

I see dance and movement as a way of life, wherein the journey of experimentation, discovery unfolds through the emotive medium of the body. I am engaged in a research-oriented process of the body where the process of movement is deep and intuitive in creativity. Making performance was just an organic part of the journey so far.

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show? Sometimes when one views a place, the perception or the way one views it, is a coming together of so many things… memories, conditioning, dreams, notions etc.

When was the first time I saw the river? I asked myself this question as I started my work in New Delhi in September 2012. I realised that I had accepted the Brahmaputra as my own, as a space that I had heard and knew. As a kid, every time I crossed the river I felt like I owned it; in retrospect perhaps, it owned me. The vastness of it, the quietness and all consuming, unifying nature was never a question in my mind since it was home — a space that brought with it comfort, a warm feeling of wholesomeness, and content.

      I thought of how perhaps I could blame photography for being the culprit that took away my actual or real memories of my first meeting with this river. I grew up in Jorhat, a town close to the Brahmaputra, and my early memories are a product of the photos of a picnic on its banks — a journey with a group of uncles, aunts, food, and the wind trying to take my hat away as I sat on the roof of our boat. I also danced my first creative dances to the songs of Bhupen Hazarika telling me about the massive armed river or the angst-ridden voice of the Luit.  I came up with motifs of my impressions of Majuli and the river as I began the process of improvisation that led to this production you are seeing today.

I went back to Majuli during the course of this process many times. My collaborators joined me many times.

In the studio later I had to create these visuals that I was seeing. My process is about generating the content from within, without being restricted by any pre-conceived notion of the shape of the body. In this dance I embody the many emotions that I have experienced in my trips to Majuli, and portray my intimate relationship with the island through the medium of my body. As I become man, woman, monk, river, land, lotus, demon, god during this performance, I attempt to portray the shifting terrain of imageries that have inspired me. Within the piece of ‘Majuli’, there are places where I have used traditional form and folk but that is the sync that is my form, a sync of Modernity and Traditional, a sync of Theatre and Dance.

5. Does the show fit with your usual productions? During the process of making Majuli, I re-located to Assam from New Delhi.  The previous works were experiments created in the studio in New Delhi. This work was part documentation and part re-imagination of the ways in which a river becomes so mingled with the identity of a culture.

Let me share with you some moments/processes that is very different in this production to earlier works:

1) Every time I have lived in Majuli the soundscape around me has created pauses for my mind to wander. Sitting by the river in the evening and hearing the far away sound of naam (devotional singing) or the unfettered sound of someone singing aloud while maybe working in the field, or even just sitting in the field, sounds of laughter and sometimes dialogues of mythological plays spoken aloud inspired me. The soundscape of this production weaves together the Deori, the Mising and the Assamese communities of Majuli. It is a process that also brings together my historical and geographical identity, and allows me to present pieces of my intimate relation with the space over a period of time. The audience hears natural sounds, far away sounds and tunes, which then invoke sounds from my memories, like my father's dialogue as the evil Kansa from the mythological performance of Raaslila).

In our initial attempts to create 'Majuli,' we used already available instruments to create the sounds that were to accompany the narrative. But soon, we realised that we would need to create certain sounds for the drama. We made three new instruments for this production; one is perfect for water, another for birds, and third for dramatic moments of the performance.

I also wanted to include as many extinct instruments as we could, and sourcing them has been a journey of its own. We have 32 instruments playing in the soundtrack. Unfortunately, many of these are now in states of disrepair, because they are made from natural material. So we are trying to re-make, re-source them. It is a continuous process of a struggle with dying practices such as these.

2) The seasons make us different people because we sense different things… one such favourite time was winter in Majuli. The fog enveloping us when I took a boat ride, not seeing much at first, but then beginning to see things that emerged slowly. One such foggy morning I was on a boat that was just tied to the bank... on a marshy wetland. I had vivid imaginations of all kinds of things. It struck me that this was a subconscious conversation with the landscape. I was looking at a few lotus flowers bloom and it reminded me of the story of Tejimola. Lakhinath Bezboruah’s Tejimola is a story of a little girl much loved by her father, but tormented and killed by her stepmother when her father is away. Her dead body thrown away comes to life as a tree, bird and finally as a lotus. I saw myself as a character in that story– her father or perhaps the boatman looking at the lotus flower, only to realise later that this was Tejimola herself in a new form. Perhaps the writer too was inspired by such moments spent alone with nature. I present this vignette as a tribute, an ode, to the artists, who like me, find themselves moved by nature.

6. What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope the audience will resonate in a deeper way and connect with the performer. It is not about technique of dance or theatre but a sharing. This experience of Majuli – the island.. the movement of the island, the music, the rhythms of the water, the hopes and aspirations of people inhabiting it - will hopefully be a wonderful evening of their lives. And they will engage with us, wish to experience it again and invite to places around them.

7. What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience? Majuli is a Physical Theatre performance. The audience with experience this story through the coming together of the movement, music, visuals, light, costumes and set design. Every medium is like a co-actor for the solo performer on stage.

ENDS

The piece is a celebration of the spirit of Majuli and the flow of the Brahmaputra, which are woven together to signify the intricate bond of people with their land, and their resilient and adaptive relationship with the river told through an intense and evocative narrative of movement, dance and theatre.

Set to music created by instruments played by the Assamese, the Deori and the Mising communities of Majuli, Shilpika meanders in the rhythm of a river. This mesmeric solo is a celebration of the spirit of Majuli which stands peaceful and resilient in a land still torn by strife and conflict.

Talking about the work, Shilpika Bordoloi said: “This production is an earnest effort to share the story of Majuli through a personal vocabulary of movement, dance and theatre. The island has fascinated me from my early childhood days through frequent boat rides that I shared with my father. The performer travels like the river water; the rhythms, flirtation of the folk, the tragedy of one’s house getting washed away, the pleasures of rain, the spiritualism of the Satras, the structures, along with the imagery of a boat, create ‘Majuli’.”

·      About Shilpika Bordoloi Shilpika Bordoloi has always been headed for a life of dance. From the age of three, she trained at the Indian classical dance form of Manipuri under Guru Rathindra Sinha and later on with Padmashree Darshana Jhaveri. She went on to study the Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam under Padmashree Leela Samson and later worked in her company, Spandan. Shilpika has deliberately not trained in any of the Western dance forms allowing her to generate her own language. http://ift.tt/2tCXPt1

·      Majuli is part of the India@UK Year of Culture 2017. http://ift.tt/2sCUucM

About Dance Base:

·      Dance Base is Scotland’s National Centre for Dance, situated in Edinburgh, and encourages and celebrates the potential for dance in everyone. Providing classes and workshops for the community, masterclasses and residencies for professional dancers, and an extensive programme of outreach work, Dance Base reaches out to inspire wellbeing and creativity, and cultivates a future for dance in local, national and international communities. Dance Base is a Regularly Funded Organisation (RFO).

·      Dance Base’s festival programme is curated by Artistic Director, Morag Deyes, MBE.

·      Dance Base’s Festival 2017 programme has 21 shows from 12 countries including Scotland, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Argentina, Canada, Egypt, India, Lebanon, Palestine, South Korea and Taiwan.

·      During the Festival, Dance Base supports performers and visiting companies in Edinburgh with a special programme of classes and workshops. It offers a high-class venue for professionals to rehearse, a space for their practice and low-cost studio hire.

·      Throughout the year, the £7m dance facility is visited over 50,000 times, for 130+ different classes and workshops. Alongside this, Dance Base’s professional programme exists to support and nurture professional dancers and their work at all levels through classes, workshops, and a programme of residencies.

·      Dance Base was recently accepted as a member of the European Dancehouse Network (EDN). With its acceptance as a full member of EDN, Dance Base is making history for dance in Scotland as it is the first Scottish dance house to be accepted to the network; opening opportunities for Scottish dance artists.

from the vileblog http://ift.tt/2tCAOGx

[basicsofislam]

ISLAM 101: Your Family: Part 2

Categories of Women in Relation to a Man

Women in relation to a man fall into three categories:

1) She could be his wife:

In this case, he is allowed to enjoy her company in any way he likes, Just as she is allowed to enjoy his company. In fact, Allah describes each one of them to be a ‘garment’ for the other, revealing an excellent image of a perfect physical, emotional and mental union: “They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them.” (Soorat Al-Baqarah, 2:187) (See page 213)

2) She could be a relative whom he is never permitted to marry at any time in his life whatsoever (mahram):

This category consists of the following:

1. The mother and above (the maternal grandmother, the paternal grandmother, etc.) 2. The daughter and below (granddaughter, great-granddaughter, etc.) 3. The sister, paternal stepsister or maternal stepsister 4. The paternal aunt, maternal step-aunt or paternal step-aunt, paternal aunt of one’s father and paternal aunt of one’s mother 5. The maternal aunt, maternal step-aunt or paternal step-aunt, maternal aunt of one’s father and maternal aunt of one’s mother 6. The brother’s daughters and stepbrother’s daughters and below (brother’s son’s daughters, for instance) 7. The sister’s daughters and stepsister’s daughters and below (sister’s daughter’s daughters, for instance) 8. The mother-in-law, whether he is still married to her daughter or has divorced her, and grandmother-in-law 9. The stepdaughter 10. The son’s wife and below (such as the grandson’s wife) 11. Stepmother and above, e.g. the stepbrother’s wife (from the step father’s side)

3) She could be one he is allowed to marry (ajnabiyah, literally, foreigner, not related to him):

Such a woman is one who does not belong to the category of women known as mahram stated above, whether she is one of his relatives, such as his maternal or paternal cousin or sister-in-law, or she is not one of his relatives at all. Regarding this category of women, Islam has laid down a number of rules and criteria which govern a Muslim man’s relationship with such women. By doing this, Islam aims to protect people’s honour and block all the means that are bound to lead to evil. Allah (swt) who has created man knows exactly what is best for him, as the Qur’an states, “Does He who created not then know while He is the All-Pervading, the All-Aware?” (Soorat Al-Mulk, 67:14)

Every day, we read new reports and statistics of cases of rape and illicit sexual relationships that have ruined countless families and societies that do not implement Allah’s laws.

Rules Governing the Relationship between a Man and Women he Is Allowed to Marry

1) Lowering the Gaze

Lowering the gaze to avoid looking at things Allah has forbidden leads to modesty and protects one’s honour.

A Muslim man must not look at other women or at anything for that matter which is bound to sexually arouse him, nor should he unnecessarily look at women.

Allah (swt) commands both men and women to lower their gaze, for doing so leads to modesty and serves to safeguard one’s honour, while lustful looks generally pave the way to sins, as the Qur’an states, “Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. That will make for greater purity for them. Allah is aware of what they do. Say to believing women that they should lower their gaze and remain chaste.” (Soorat An-Noor, 24:30-31)

However, if a Muslim accidentally sees a woman, he must divert his eyes from her. In fact, the order to lower the gaze applies to anything that is bound to lead to sexual arousal, including those scenes that are presented in the media and on the Internet.

2) Observing Modesty in Speech

Islam has laid down rules which govern the relationship between men and women.

When talking to a woman who is not related to him, He must observe politeness and modesty and avoid any words or gestures which may lead to sexual stimulation. It is for this reason that:

- Allah (swt) warns women against speaking in a coquettish and too soft a manner when addressing men, as the Qur’an states, “Do not be too soft-spoken in your speech lest someone with sickness in his heart becomes desirous. Speak correct and courteous words.” (Soorat Al-Ahzaab, 33:32)

- Allah (swt) warns them against using suggestive gestures and manner of walking or displaying their charms and some of their ornaments: “They should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments .” (Soorat An-Noor, 24:31)

Avoiding Private Seclusion with Non-Mahram Women Altogether (Khalwah)

The Arabic word khalwah means the state of being alone with a non-mahram woman in a place where no one can see them. Islam strictly prohibits this as it could, through Satan’s temptations, lead to illicit sexual relationships. The prophet (saw) once said, “Never is a man alone with a woman except that Satan is the third.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhee: 2165)

Wearing the Hijaab (the Modest Muslim Style of Dress)

Allah (swt) commands women, but not men, to wear the hijaab because women in particular enjoy a natural beauty and attraction that could easily tempt men into sinful acts.

Islam commands women to wear the hijaab for a number of reasons, including the following:

- So that they could carry out their mission in life and society in scientific and academic fields in the best possible manner while at the same time guarding their modesty.

- So that they would reduce chances of temptation in order to purify society, on the one hand, and safeguard women’s honour, on the other.

- So that they would help male onlookers control themselves even more and thus treat them as civilised and educated human beings and not as sex objects that only serve to tempt men and stimulate them.

What Must the Hijaab Cover?

Allah (swt) commands women to cover all their bodies except the face and the hands, as the Qur’an states, “They should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof.” (Soorat An-Noor, 24:31) However, in cases of likely temptation due to their striking beauty, they may have to cover their faces and hands as well.

The hijaab safeguards women’s honour and affords them the chance to carry out their mission in society in the most modest manner mankind has ever witnessed.

Criteria of Proper Hijaab

A woman may choose any design or colour she likes for her hijaab as long as the following conditions are met:

- It must appropriately cover the parts of the body which must be covered in public.

- It must hang loose and must not fit very closely to the body, so that the shape of the body is not revealed.

- It must not allow the wearer’s body to be seen through its fabric.