Bewitching Beauty

if you’re ill (chronic or otherwise), it is productive to spend a day sleeping and resting up. your body needs you to rest so that it can heal.

but something that is true for everyone is that things like healing from trauma, learning new things, practicing hobbies, building relationships… are all productive ways to spend your time. just because you’re not making money doesn’t mean you’re not being productive.

looking after yourself is productive. looking after others is productive. hell, playing with your pet is productive.

productive means being in a state of producing something. that’s all it means. and when you’re doing the things your body needs you to do… you’re producing your own well-being. you’re producing neural pathways. you’re producing happiness.

But I sure did:

You can and absolutely should modify the chore/self care task if it makes life easier. Sit on the floor while doing laundry. Clean dishes while in a chair. Sit in the shower.

Here are some more “ambiguous” phrases which courts have found DO NOT invoke your right to a lawyer:

“Maybe I should speak to my lawyer first.”

“I might like a lawyer.”

“I think I should have a lawyer present for this.”

“Could I speak to my lawyer first?”

“How long until my lawyer gets here?”

And perhaps most egregiously – “Get me a lawyer, dawg – ‘cause this is not what’s up.”

Here are the magic phrases which you need to know if you want to invoke your Miranda rights:

1) “Am I free to leave?”

It’s worth asking this even if the answer is obvious. Even if the officer does not let you leave, by forcing them to admit that you are not free to leave, you are creating a record which your attorney can use to prove that you were in custody. Miranda rights only apply if the interrogation is custodial, meaning that police officers will frequently claim that their suspects were “not in custody” to get around their Miranda rights.

2) “I am invoking my right to remain silent.”

Simply staying silent will not invoke your right to remain silent. As absurd as this is, you must explicitly say that you are invoking your right to remain silent in order to invoke that right.

3) “I am invoking my right to an attorney.”

As stated above, you must be not only clear and unambiguous, but clear and legally unambiguous. Don’t get cute. Don’t get sassy. And on the flip side, don’t get intimidated and use verbal ticks to minimize your request. Say the line with those words exactly – say it clearly, and say it once, and then say nothing else.

Because even after you’ve done all this, the police can still try to get you to talk. They’re not supposed to interrogate you, but they’re allowed to make casual conversation, and if that conversation just happens to circle back around to the thing they wanted to question you about, well, that’s really your fault for talking after you said you wouldn’t, isn’t it? Can’t possibly fault the poor officers when you initiated – if you really wanted to have your rights respected, you wouldn’t have talked to them in the first place.

The police know this, and they will mercilessly exploit this loophole. So, once you’ve successfully invoked your Miranda rights, any and all conversation you have with police officers will put those rights back into jeopardy. 

Putting it all together:

Ask: “Am I free to leave?”

If they say no, say: “I am invoking my right to remain silent and I am invoking my right to an attorney.”

And then shut up and do not say a single thing to them for any reason whatsoever until you have actually spoken to an attorney. Yes, even if it takes hours. Yes, even if they start talking to you about something else.

Finally, a very important disclaimer:

Every single cop lies. Every single cop lies and manipulates and twists the situation around to get a confession. Even when they know that the person is innocent, even when they know that what they have isn’t enough to convict someone, even when they know that that confession has been made under duress or manipulation. All they care about is getting anything to put someone behind bars.

Okay this has been in my inbox for months and I really haven’t been sure how to answer it. Most would accept this as a compliment and it is a compliment. Honestly it’s not at the same time because there are so many African gods and goddesses that just get overlooked and well, I’m not Greek. I’m African. My gods and goddesses are just as beautiful and equally divine in their own right. To name a few..

When you just can’t practice self care, aim for basic hygiene and keeping yourself alive.

When you just can’t have positive thoughts, focus on ignoring the negative ones.

When you just can’t quit those bad habits and unhealthy coping mechanisms, be sure to take care of yourself afterwards.

When you just can’t make yourself eat enough, aim for something three times a day, even if it’s something small.

When you just can’t stop binge eating, just do your best to forgive yourself and focus on something else instead of dwelling on it for any longer.

have i eaten?

have i had water?

have i showered?

this is the recovery bee popping in, gently booping your nose and landing on your shoulder to remind you that things will be okay, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. you’re loved, you’re worthy and you’re important.

The title really says it all. Although I really hate this topic of conversation, I've noticed a mild panic spreading throughout the Hellenic community about the Gods being allegedly being involved with some intense drama. Even if They are having some issues, it's honestly not something we need to concern ourselves with; They are grown immortals and can certainly takes care of these problems Themselves - They don't need us to babysit, mediate, or supervise.

Most "drama" you hear rumors about, however, is NOT really happening. People love making things, mostly about Hellenic Gods for some reason, just to be grade-A assholes. Here are some warning signs that you can look for regarding assholes making shit up:

Your Gods actively deny that the situation is happening through your personal communications. If you're not sure when something is real, ASK YOUR GODS DIRECTLY!!! It's ALWAYS best to get direct confirmation from the Divine, first and foremost.

The person involved provides very little details about the situation and just makes vague, dramatic statements about it. A good example: "Hades has gone missing!" They tend to add detail after others have questioned their statements. "Hades has gone missing! He decided to leave without giving a reason!"

The person involved makes really wild and intense claims, typically hyping the situation up to be a "really big deal". A good way to point these types of claims out is by thinking, "Does this remind me of a soap opera?" "Is this something I would read in a fanfiction or fiction-based novel?"

The story makes the Gods out to be immature, irresponsible, unstable/dangerous, or helpless in some way. A good rule of thumb is that if it paints the Gods in an extremely unflattering light, it already has a 99% chance of being a made-up story.

The story has no real evidence to support it besides UPG. If someone relies solely on their own experiences with the Gods to "prove" their story as true, it's probably not something you should 100% trust in (remember that this is in relation to DRAMA; do not shame people for having UPGs).

The drama involves a God leaving, losing power, or starting a war/revolution. These things are just...false. Claims such as these have been proven to be false time and time again, so if someone is claiming something that includes one of these three things, you can bet your ass that it's total horseshit.

You get a bad vibe from the story itself, outside of general anxiety. Trust your intuition before you trust some super intense story about Gods doing crazy shit to each other or to humans. If it feels wrong, it's probably because it is wrong.

It does not align with your personal experiences with your Gods, but the person involved is pressuring you into accepting their story as fact anyway. If someone is trying to force you into believing them, they are spewing bullshit at you.

The Gods are acting extremely uncharacteristically within the story. Everyone, naturally, has different experiences with Gods, but for the most part, each God has a few widely accepted personality traits (e.g. Hermes is funny, Athena is reserved, Aphrodite is loving, etc.), and if the Gods are acting suspiciously unlike Themselves, you should definitely take that as a warning sign that something is not quite right with this person's story.