#God loves you and your sin doesn't define you

[faithfullyfound]

Happiness, Who Cares?

In today's society, most people will say that as long as you're happy, you are fulfilled. That as long as you're doing things that make you happy, these things must be good. It does not matter if in the process these things hurt you because according to our flesh, as long as we do things that we like or find pleasure in it doesn't matter. However, happiness is fleeting and the heart is deceitful. As Christians, we may think that drinking, smoking, partying, meaningless sex, gluttony, gossiping, jealousy, etc. are ok because it's not like anyone is dying. But as we sin we actively are hurting ourselves.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

Last week I was on a prayer retreat and it was one of the times where I felt God's presence most. It was freeing and fulfilling because I was in God's presence I was surrounded by God's love, in the people I talked to, during church, during testimonies, and just in prayer with Him. Something I have struggled with all throughout high school is feeling behind. I have never had a boyfriend, I'm eighteen and have never had my first kiss, I've never gone to a party, I've never smoked or drank and because of this, I have always felt behind. Subconsciously I have thought that people constantly look down on me or feel bad for me because I've never had a relationship or done any of these things. I constantly felt inadequate compared to my classmates and unlovable. This is what led me to the sexual sin of masturbation. I thought I was not hurting anyone, but I clearly was hurting myself, and my relationship with Christ. These insecurities surrounding my self-worth also manifested in social anxiety. These insecurities are not a battle between me and myself but instead God and Satan. Because God has already established my inherent, intrinsic value constantly throughout, Psalm 139.

Our goal in life should not be to find fleeting happiness through the accumulation of things, or living a lifestyle that is perceived as desirable. Instead, to find fulfillment in the Lord doesn't mean our lives will always be wonderful (look at Job). But our ability to find comfort in the Lord and in community with other believers gives us the peace we seek all the days of our lives.

Proverbs 4 talks about two paths in our lives. "The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they don't know what makes them struggle" (Proverbs 4:18-20).

Happiness is nothing compared to the eternal peace and love found in the Lord. Lord, I pray that whoever is reading this learns to love you and find you. I pray they know that their sins do not define them. That Your love and goodness, that their identity in being a child of God gives them this fulfillment. I pray that if they do not know You they open their hearts to receive You and Your love. Amen.

#God loves you and your sin doesn't define you #christianity #christian girl #christian faith #bible study #faith in jesus #christian blog #jesus saves #jesus #happiness #peace

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Hi Slug!! I'm curious about some of the religious imagery in hypmic! Kuko is obvious and I think Doppo has talked about not believing in gods before but what's up with Jakurai? Is he meant to actually be Christian or is it just an aesthetic thing?

This ended up being so long Tumblr wouldn't let me put it all in one post. Hoo boy. Under a cut for length.

Usual disclaimer that I don't live in Japan, so I'm not talking about IRL Japan so much as Japanese media. Media isn't perfectly synonymous with real life and, of course, it's foolish to draw conclusions from the general (media and culture) and apply them to the specific (individual persons). With that being said, media is indicative of real life values and cultural concerns--for example, the American high school experience is a lot less interesting than in movies, but these movies reflect a romanticization of teenagehood so widespread in the US and areas with heavy US cultural influence that filmmakers take it for granted in their audiences--so I can talk about what assumptions inform the portrayal of religion in Hypmic.

As in a lot of Japanese media, religion is present but not explicitly mentioned outside of Kuukou. It's what I would call culturally religious as opposed to actively religious. Similar to how many works in the Anglosphere are steeped with Christian ideas and phrases even if the authors/works themselves aren't Christian (the Christian concept of sin, using "God" or variations as an interjection, etc.), many works written in Japanese are influenced by Shinto and Buddhist ideas. Some people in Japan are active worshipers of Shinto, Buddhism, or both, but many more have a somewhat relaxed approach. It's not uncommon for people to have a belief in a higher power, but the nature of this higher power isn't terribly well-defined. Many people will attend religious ceremonies for holidays or funerals but rarely pray to a higher power outside of moments of great stress. That is, being culturally religious. Traditions are fun and comforting, especially if they involve dressing up in fancy clothes, eating yummy food, and seeing friends and family. Even if you're not especially devout, it doesn't hurt to pray for a bit of luck before a big test, that your child will grow up healthy and strong, or that your recently departed ancestor will be at peace. For those in predominately Christian areas, you probably see plenty of this in your community--people who maybe go to church occasionally for companionship or holiday celebrations but aren't active worshipers. Or, perhaps, people who pray like, "Hey, if anyone's listening, can you lend me a hand?" Maybe you're even one of these people yourself. We can generally assume that most of the cast falls into this camp. Doppo and Hifumi go to a festival with a religious element--charms and rituals to bring good luck by appealing to Shinto deities--but I doubt either of them have a firm belief that these particular deities exist. They may think that there's some higher power...or not. But what's the harm in a good luck charm, right? And more importantly, it's fun to play games, eat, drink, and horse around with friends! But wait, does that mean these two are only Shinto or...Shinto-ish? Probably not. There's an expression that most Japanese people are "born Shinto, but die Buddhist." Shinto rituals tend to focus on matters of the living (although Shintoism has its own distinct funerary rites, sometimes combined with Buddhist rites), while non-devout Buddhists usually participate in Buddhist ceremonies only when loved ones die. We see Juushi and Hitoya with loved ones buried in Buddhist cemeteries, but it's safe to assume both observe Shinto holidays and customs in some fashion. We also see in the very beginning of TDD that Nemu and Samatoki have what appears to be a butsudan--a Buddhist altar--in their home dedicated to their deceased parents. "But wait," some might say, "I thought spirit worship isn't a part of Buddhism." That's true for some forms of Buddhism, but not all! Buddhism is enormously varied, and some of the (many, many!) forms of Buddhism practiced in Japan accept aspects of Shintoism. There's plenty of mixing, just as we see within individuals themselves. Again, the Hypmic characters may not fully believe that spirits exist. (Well, outside of Ramuda...) But it's a comforting thought that one's deceased family members are around in some form and can be a positive influence on one's life.

#not a translation #asks #hypmic asks

[thesiltverses]

I’ve been relistening to season 3 and I got to the second half of episode 33 and found I had to skip it. I think that sequence is some of your best and most disturbing work. It’s so intimate and visceral. Reminded me of hereditary with the way it wrung such terror out of something as mundane as domestic emotional abuse (and then physical abuse, but you know.) I loved it so much that I’ll probably never listen to it again lol. Would love to hear anything you have to say about that moment.

Thank you very much!

Hereditary is an interesting comparison that I hadn't thought of; someone also mentioned a similar domestic-horror scene in Jessica Jones which I didn't remember but had watched years ago, and you know what - yeah, on revisiting, I'd probably ingested that whole and stole it without thinking.

I don't know if I have anything insightful to say about the scene, really - it's cyclical violence, obviously, where an abuser blames the sins of their own abuser and finds righteousness in their own cruelty, and while Val's behaviour looks a lot like narcissistic rage, it also looks very much like the frustration of an artist, or maybe even a god (crumpling up the person you've made when they're not behaving as they ought to)

I guess it was also meant to hearken back to the central theme that almost all of our characters - except maybe Hayward, although he espouses the theme explicitly way back in S1 with relation to the police / his made-up wife? - are frequently caught up in some kind of struggle to free themselves from, or define themselves against, the influence of the thing that shaped them (whether that's a bad parental figure, or a god). Everyone's trapped in the endless birthing canal of themselves, trying to figure out how to kill their own creator.

Even Val is not immune to that, and all of her god-like power doesn't free her from her neurosis, it only gives her a bigger toolkit to self-destructively obsess over it.

#cw abuse

[cherryberg]

HI OK I HAD A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT IT, THIS IS ABOUT YOUR TEN 17776 POST.

i was talking to my bf about it. and he broguht up that ten is 'rude' at points. and that made me think.

people perceive ten's bluntness as her being like. mean or snarky? even though juice's entire intoduction is him insulting nine

like. juice is meaner than ten, ten is just serious.

i think in part because ten is female aligned, people view her bluntness as much *harsher* than it actually is - and since we live in a male focused world, a woman being rude is her worst sin. does that make sense

anyways. ten i love you

god forbid a woman does fuckin' anything, man

for a good chapter or so, i also perceived juice to be rude Because of his introduction, but ten being rude has never been a defining trait of hers to me. definitely blunt and stubborn, yes, but not rude. i partially wonder if how ten writes changes the way she's perceived, properly compared to juice's lax style of speaking ("Juice can do it because he’s European. You and I are NASA, born and bred. We have standards." 20020, Chap 4), and with it making her casual speak stick out like a sore thumb ("… listen, Nine, are you going to keep doing this? Is cross-talk just your … deal? Want to shut up for even a second?" 17776, Chap 1) - but yeah can't forget that, because she is female-aligned, people will probably, unintentionally or not, read her ruder than she is or have it stick to them more that she is rude. that isn't to say she's not not rude - she has her fair share of "Shut up"s ("Shut up. Shut. Up." 17776, Chap 1. "Shut the fuck up." 17776, Chap 13) - but god forbid women be abrasive

the line i brought up in that original post ("He’s the fun one, and by default, I’m the boring one." 20020, Chap 7) makes me nuts. juice is the fun one so BY DEFAULT ten is the boring one, and she knows this. it's so aligned with how people treat her, coupled onto the fact that she is indeed the "girl satellite". and it drives me nuts when people further the wedge on how different juice and ten is because juice is intensely goofy (an example being putting a period before juice dialogue but not for ten, when all have periods before their dialogue in videos - it's just a formatting thing!). especially when nine is the middle ground, and is more open to juice's shenanigans, it emphasises the stricter, more serious light on ten, which might be emphasised further by fans because, by default, she is the boring one

and it's not like ten doesn't have any whimsy herself. she does speeches and has calls with human friends and watches the sun rise, even if it is just a speck, and is great at handling the camera and changes the direction of her text to go up and makes mistakes that kills billions of people and "Yes you do, buddy." and she loved that light bulb and loves people and earth and loves her sibling, who is both older and younger than she is, and loves juice, despite it all. she loves her friends, and she loves football

even in real life, do you know how interesting pioneer 10 is? the first outer planetary mission? to jupiter, no less! there are Real Life Monetary Coins made of her, man - someone get me a 2009 $1 Australian gold coin with a space probe Pioneer 10/11-type on the back please!

i dunno, this is all just ramblings. don't take this as me hating juice, i love that guy. but i also love ten. more people should like ten #women #girl

#textberg #askberg #kitsumo #17776 #20020 #pioneer 10 #my art #other art #btw i do love your ten design .. she's so birds :] #and her little rtgs as ears and the magnometer trailing behind her #so cool

[honeygrahambitch]

Let's think about this possible scenario. Will pushes them both off the cliff. So when they hit the water, he doesn't intend to fight. He doesn't intend to survive. The last years of his life could be defined only by the word dilemma.

He couldn't live with him and at the same time he couldn't live without him. So the answer was clear for them both. He was going to play God and put an end to the dilemma. He was no longer looking for answers but rather running away from questions. He was not going to try and fix the broken teacup, no, he wouldn't rather take the little piece into the depths of the ocean so no one would ever try to fix it, as a reminder of what could have been.

Not even God had been able to put those pieces together.

He had felt the most powerful when he had defied God in the greatest ways by commiting the greatest sins in only a matter of 5 minutes. First, by killing Francis and second by giving up life like that.

But God didn't matter anymore. God was not his God. He couldn't care less about his judgement and punishments and sins and blessings. Hannibal was his God. Through the last years he had faithfully accepted Hannibal's punishments and sacrifices and all his blessings and believes. And it felt more intimate since he didn't have to share his God with other sinners who wouldn't be capable to understand the genuine trust you should have in your God.

Most sinners pray to God out of fear. Will prayed to his out of something that couldn't be put into words but for the sake of the narrative we shall call it love.

The cold water of the Atlantic rushed through his throat and lungs like cyanide and he didn't try to fight it. He allowed it to take control over his whole body. He felt a continuous pressure over his chest and for a split second panic entered his veins like fire as his whole body stiffened at the same time as the sensation of choking was slowly dominating him.

The rhythmic pressures on his chest continued and when he expected it less, he felt like he could breath. He knew he was probably going to be crushed by the force of the atlantic and by the enormous quantity of water that was pulling him to the bottom. But what was this feeling?

Was it death? Was it only a hallucination? His lungs and muscles ached and felt heavy and soon Will wondered if he had already reached the bottom since he could feel the sand between his fingers.

The pressure on his chest increased and he heard himself cough violently. How can one cough on the bottom of the ocean?

His eyes opened at once as if he had been awakened from a nightmare. He was violently coughing as a pair of strong arms helped him sit and then hit his back with enough force to make him throw up what felt like a few liters of water.

When his coughs quieted down, fatigue took over. His vision started to blur and he felt the same pair of arms catch him before hitting the sand. He was aware enough when he saw Hannibal's face.

He tried to murmur something but Hannibal didn't let him.

"I cannot allow you to die, Will." He had explained as if he had read his mind. As if he had felt that Will wanted to scold him. He knew it was futile. He had died back there, crushed by the waves but Hannibal, his God, had brought him back to life. He had collected every piece of the teacup which Will had tried to lose into the ocean and had fixed it.

"I am here and I am not leaving without you, Will. Not this time." He had said as he had brushed off Will's wet curls off his forehead.

All he could do was to nod and breath heavily. He was alive. He was more alive than ever right there on the beach in Hannibal's arms.

It did not feel like a dilemma anymore. Not at all. The question marks were replaced by clarity. The same clarity he saw when he looked in Hannibal's amber eyes.

He had the beauty of a dark angel banished from heaven because he had dared to fall for a human. And not only to fall for him but to bring him back to life as well. Hannibal had defied God just as much as he did by fixing the teacup. By playing with faith and circumstances.

"Hannibal, I..."

"Try to rest now, my dear Will." He had said softly but Will kept talking.

"I see my destiny in your eyes. All of it."

#a lil something #i can't shut up about deification #hannibal #hannigram #hannibal lecter #will graham #hannibal nbc #hannibal series #hannibal fanfiction

[clownfishbites]

Ok it’s time for the St Augustine Joker meta. Sorry if it got a bit long I just have a lot of thoughts.

I find it so interesting that he would bring up St Augustine in that moment. I wasn’t a huge fan of the run in general but I thought it had its merits and this bit was one of them because I’m a sucker for batjokes that is also religious fanaticism.

For St Augustine, ‘grace’ in this sense is not something that needs to be found or earned, the Catholic doctrine states that it is given freely, a gift from God to mankind.

Batman gives Joker grace when nobody in the entire world will, I mentioned it a bit in my last meta but think Batman: Cacophony, Batman: It's Joker time, Batman: Devil's Advocate and literally every time he doesn't kill him, or protects him from harm when nobody else would. He is giving him grace that does not have to be earned, it's a benevolent gift from the divine. Or at least that's how Joker is seeing it, a rationalisation for why Batman spares him when nobody else would.

St Augustine tells God that "it is only by Your grace and mercy that You have melted away the ice of my evil". St Augustine needs God in the same way Joker needs Batman, to act in opposition to his 'evil', to be worshipped with the intention of being the gravity that keeps him on Earth, or in his own words, the compass pointing true north.

I'm not going to get too carried away but I think it's a pretty interesting comparison that's existing here between St Augustine and God, and Joker and Batman.

"head towards God and remember, everything else is chaos"

If Batman is the entity that is salvation, the thing to be drawn to- he isn't just the opposite force, but the only other thing in existence, because Joker defines himself as chaos. There is Divinity and Chaos and that is all. It's a nice lens on Joker's perspective that every other living thing is a prop in his pursuit of Batman's love and attention.

Religion is a choice, but how could Joker pick any other divinity, when he freely acknowledges that Batman is his creator. One of St Augustine's concepts surrounding human creation is that of original sin- that being that everybody is born with sin, born tainted ever since Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden.

But if everyone is born tainted, lives tainted and there is no real assurance of redemption, what actually is the point in trying to be good, to be a virtuous person, if someone like the Joker can just come into the church and take your life. Or from the pov of the Joker what is the point in any of it if we are born ruined.

We return to the idea that Joker sees himself as beyond salvation in the traditional sense, he's in a sunk cost fallacy but with being evil. But just to push this to it's limit, his very existence shakes faith in a creator that is all good,

Where is the grace of God in a world that allowed him to exist?

In the absence of divine light and a creator that loves him, he desperately seeks the opposite, divine darkness and a creator that hates him. But Joker loves him no less for it because Batman is all that exists in his world.

"head towards love and everything else is chaos"

Here he's changed the words of St Augustine, altering it from following God to following love, and he says this while heading towards Batman which is...basically the entire point of this, Batman is his love, Batman is his divinity.

But even Batman has to devote himself to an idea bigger than himself, and he can only stand in opposition, his crusade would be over if he truly cleansed Gotham of all evil- OR, as Joker suggests in this comic, if he became happy. If he didn't have to exist in opposition, if the misery that fuelled his crusade was taken away

Joker can only stand in opposition too- we know this because we see how completely he crumbles apart when his opposition is removed.

Batman functionally exists as half of a whole, in his own way Joker's speech is confronting this reality, albeit in a much more roundabout way than he explains it to Selina.

And this is why neither of them can ever truly escape this cycle, their aspect of devotion would die the moment the other was removed from the equation, and with it divinity and chaos would cease to exist, and so would the world.

I love cosmic batjokes.

#batjokes #batjokes meta

[lunar-serpentinite]

Hariharan Nalin Potter

Heir of House Potter

Faceclaim: Anirudh Pisharody

Hariharan Nalin Potter, commonly known as Harry and famously as the Boy-Who-Lived, is the eldest child and only son of the Potter family's Head couple Lily and James Potter and their husband Regulus Potter. He is the older brother by four years to a younger sister named Madhuri Potter, as well as the godson of Sirius Black and Sharanya Patil.

More information below the cut

What's in a Name?

Hariharan ஹரிஹரன்

— from the the fused Sattvika characterisation of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara)

Hari – the one who takes away (sins)

Hara – Remover of sins

Nalin நளின்

— means close, abundance, pride; also a synonym for lotus

Follows the Evans tradition of naming their children after flowers

Also calls back to James’ middle name (Mooriyan, pride)

Picked by Regulus. In ancient Egypt, lotuses represent rebirth and the Sun and by god did he feel his life beginning anew the moment he laid eyes on baby Harry

The Snake With No Self-Preservation Instincts

When Harry entered Hogwarts at the age of 11, the Sorting Hat was torn between Gryffindor and Slytherin for him. Maybe even Ravenclaw if the Hat was feeling particularly experimental. In the end, the Hat put him in Slytherin, much to the delight of his baba Regulus.

Slytherin won the Hat over by just a small margin. In this universe, Harry was raised not with scorn nor contempt but with an overabundance of love and support. Many of the influential adults in his life inspired him to be as driven and goal-oriented as they are. Additionally, the inclusion of a third, Slytherin-to-the-core parent also influenced Harry's own personal choice in Houses.

Slytherins are also defined by their tendency to stick close to family traditions. Harry was raised completely immersed in his South Indian heritage of Tamil and Telugu and he's very proud of it. Thus he is completely dedicated to preserving and following the cultural and familial traditions he was raised with.

Finally, he has a brilliant and clever mind as well as a knack for leadership (regardless of how much he denies that himself). Growing in a house of love and positivity allowed Harry to fully lean into his gifts instead of focusing on survival. In this universe, Harry was allowed to shine and shine he did.

As per the hierarchy of Slytherin, Harry is naturally the most influential half-blood as the Boy-Who-lived and is considered by his half-blood and Muggleborn yearmates as their leader the same way the Purebloods consider Draco Malfoy theirs.

"You're a bloody Slytherin, why do you lack self-preservation?" "Maybe if you dig your pointy nose into my business some more, you'd find it."

One thing that does set Harry aside from his Slytherin cohorts is his apparent "lack of self-preservation". Sense of self-preservation is a signature Slytherin trait that is far outweighed by Harry's natural "saving people thing" that is apparently in every Potter's genes.

Harry simply doesn't hesitate to lend a hand whenever he sees that he could. He helps even when it is detrimental to himself, which gives him a sort of reputation as one of the more eccentric Slytherins of his year. This resulted in him gaining a close social circle that is composed of several non-Slytherins which is an unusual sight within the House that Keeps to Themselves.

Escaping from Death's Clutches

Harry's main claim to fame is his apparent survival from being hit by the Killing Curse at point blank when he was four years old. The incident was widely publicized by Voldemort himself who had kidnapped Harry as a child after years of failed attempts to pierce through the powerful wards of Nagaraja Hall. Voldemort had wanted to publicly execute Harry as punishment for his parents who had thrice defied him.

This backfired on the Dark Lord as not only did Harry survive his Killing Curse but the knockback from the protective Magics weakened Voldemort enough for a furious Lily Potter to land the killing blow on him, ending the First Wizarding War. Because of this, Harry and Lily share the title Lord Voldemort's Vanquisher, a title that both despise.

Harry sports a seemingly permanent lichtenberg scar above his left eye. According to all the Healers that have examined him, it may very well be the first and only known occurrence of a curse scar borne from being hit and surviving the Killing Curse. The scar runs deeper than it looks and has rendered Harry half-blind in his left eye.

He has little to no clear memories of the incident owing to how traumatic it was but the trauma has left its own imprints in him, namely his scar, partial blindness, and a certain discomfort whenever someone points a wand at him without any warning.

Collected Miscellany

Little bits of extra information/headcanons for him. This section will be updated from time to time.

As per the tradition of Nandhini's descendants, Harry is bonded to a boa constrictor and a Basilisk

Harry has Lily’s temper, James’ compassion, and Regulus’ pride

He has been said to be a promising talent in flying, combat magic, and transfiguration. He claims to have an “easier time” at performing wandless magic. He was also personally tutored by his grandmother Euphemia in the art of pearl-based magic.

Excels in the Seeker position but does pretty okay in other positions.

Produced a corporeal Patronus at age 13. His Patronus is an Indian sambar stag which is the same as his appa James

While he’s absolutely brilliant in the kitchen, he unfortunately didn’t inherit Lily’s talent at Potions.

This is because he was taught how to cook before he was taught how to brew. Potions requires precision and accuracy but he’s used to measuring ingredients “by heart, soul, vibes and the voice of his ancestor whispering in his ears”.

He’s surprisingly good at anything related to snakes, be it brewing antivenom potions or working with venom or any snake-sourced parts

Aside from English, Harry is fluent in Tamil and Telugu, and conversational in Sanskrit, Middle Tamil, and Classical Sanskrit. Regulus is teaching him and Madhuri Masri (Egyptian Arabic) and Demotic (a very, very late descendant of Ancient Egyptian).

Childhood friends with Ron Weasley since they were babies through the friendship of Lily and Molly

He is also friends with the rest of the Weasley siblings by extension

Also friends with the other children of the Magical Indian diaspora families, notably his godsiblings the Patil twins Padma and Parvati

Met Hermione Granger at King’s Cross Station where his mother befriended her mother, Monica Granger. Hermione then became Lily's protege and Hermione would spend a portion of her holidays at Nagaraja Hall

Met Draco Malfoy as a baby during the wedding of his parents to Regulus Black and made him cry

Particularly fond of Luna Lovegood who he met at a young age as she was the daughter of Pandora Lovegood, who was friends with Lily

Buddies with Neville Longbottom who is the son of Alice Longbottom, who is also friends with Lily

Paired with Blaise Zabini in Potions so they are within the acquaintances to casual friends range

Spent his childhood going back and forth between the Potter’s Nagaraja Hall and the House of Serpents

More information on the Descendants of Nandhini / the Potters Back to the family directory of this AU

Please feel 100% free to drop some comments in the reblogs, replies, my askbox etc. ! 🥰🫶

#harry potter #harry potter au #mine : au #mine : nandhinis legacy au #mine : nandhinis legacy character sheet #south indian harry potter #tamil harry potter

[hiss-kitten]

Things the Obey Me! characters would say/do to comfort you

I need this again just so I could get rid of these su1cid@l thoughts. I'm sorry. This is for you too if you ever need it.

: The things they'll say/do to comfort you crying because of failure.

Genre: Fluff, comfort

Warnings: Su1cid@l thoughts

(Let me know if I missed something/Added something incorrect.)

— · LUCIFER :

"If you are ready to talk about it, please speak with me."

*Would probably not act like the Avatar of Pride he is and hug you*

"I will not let you go. You will stay in my room tonight." ('cause he might lose you.)

— · MAMMON :

"Hey, human! Listen up, your stupid scores ain't gonna change who you are! You're more than it!"

Will let you cry on his shoulder while he comforting you.

"You done...? Ya know, it'll be nice if ya stay here with me for a little more while..." And then "HUH!? I-I-I-I DIDN'T SAY ANYTH-TH-THING!" But he won't let you go at all.

— · LEVIATHAN :

If you want, you could play games with him or read manga or even watch anime. Whatever you want to do. He'll wait until you're ready to talk about it.

Okay, it's not time to be nervous! Mc needs me! He says in his mind and then hug you.

"Are you ready to talk about it?" He asks after you stopped crying.

— · SATAN :

Will read you a book and let you cry on him. He's willing to listen and help you on what's making you struggle and feel stressed. He's not doing it out of sympathy. He's doing it for you. To help you.

"Would you like to talk about it now?"

Will massage your head to help you calm down. If you don't like it, you can tell him.

— · ASMODEUS :

"It's okay to cry, Hun! Better than carrying that heavy feeling all day!"

Would ask you to take a nice, relaxing bath with him. He says it calms him down, and it might help you as well. But you could always say no if you're uncomfortable with the idea.

Will let you cry, will listen, will comfort, will make you happy.

— · BEELZEBUB :

"Do you want to eat with me and talk about it?"

He'll let you cry on his chest or anywhere you want. He will listen to your problems and would do his best to cheer you up.

He doesn't like seeing you sad, so he'll try princess-carrying you and rock you gently like your a baby. Hoping it'll calm you down. If you don't like it, again, you could say so.

— · BELPHEGOR :

Will drag you to bed, cuddle with you, and let you cry. He'll listen. He will.

He doesn't really know humans that much, but he's trying to calm down his beloved.

He will say "If you had asked me to assist you, I would have helped. But there's always next time, so do not worry..." In a gentle voice.

— · DIAVOLO :

"Please have a rest. You did well. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you for trying your best, it is all that matters to me."

Will shower you with praises while you cry in his arms. Will tell you how much he loves you no matter what. Will tell you that your grades/scores does not define you. He believes you did amazing, and he's proud of you for trying to do more than that.

— · BARBATOS :

"Please take some time to rest. I say you did amazing. We are proud of you, Mc."

What he says are quite similar to what Diavolo did. But, he meant what he said and it came from his heart.

Will make you tea, and cook your favourite food. Tell him what to do, your wish is his command. He isn't the type to want rewards, but talking with him about it will be the bestest reward he's ever received. He loves it when you trust him enough to tell him how and what you feel.

— · SOLOMON :

He will hug you, and kiss your forehead. Telling you that you tried your very best and he's so proud.

"Would you like to talk about it with me? I would love to help you."

He loves you so much, that he'll do his very best to see you smile and be happy. "Fears are what you must avoid. I'm here for you, Mc." He says.

— · SIMEON :

"God says that failure is okay. It is not a sin. We're all proud of you."

He'll hug you. He will let you cry just so you could lift that heavy feeling off your chest.

Will wait until you're ready to talk about it. He loves you. He'll do anything to see you smile and happy.

#obey me #obey me mc #obey me x mc #mc #lucifer obey me #mammon obey me #levi obey me #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #angst #fluff #comfort #comfort post #asmo obey me #beel obey me #belphie obey me #headcanons #novel #diavolo obey me #barbatos obey me #solomon obey me #simeon obey me #for you #Spotify

[artist-issues]

i do have a question, not to attack your beliefs at all, but please could you elaborate on how you think rebecca sugar is attacking christianity? I read your post and I really don't think you're correct in thinking she's equating religion to an evil space dictator she made in her kids show.

White diamond is a powerful figure who can create beings, yes, but she also is imperfect. She is controlling and manipulative and unable to see anyone else as equal or even able to begin to measure up to her. God isn't anything like that. He is mostly seen (though it varies person to person) as a perfect all knowing, all seeing figure who created the entire universe in his image and has a plan for everything. White Diamond certainly isn't all seeing, all knowing and as far as we know the only thing she created was the other gems, most likely from the resources of the planets around her. Putting aside all of the LGBTQ+ things for a moment, and going off the basis that you're equating her and god, and that it was meant to mirror the real world, wouldn't it also make sense for the rest of the characters to then say Oh my diamond or something of that nature? It's a minor detail but instead they say oh my stars.

And with the LGBTQ+ portion of this, I don't think your opinion's going to be swayed by anything I say, but I can provide some possible perspective or insight. In steven universe there is a lot of LGBTQ+ representation, yes, especially for a children's show where that isn't widely accepted at all and they had to work very hard to include it at all. If you believe God has a plan for everything, then wouldn't it be impossible to go against Him and His will? And if that isn't what you believe, and that we can go against God, or that he's testing us to be able to go to heaven, do you think only people that believe in Him will go to heaven? There are plenty of LGBTQ+ people who believe in god.

You could make the argument that they're picking and choosing which parts of the bible they follow, isn't that exactly what you're doing as well? He not only said to love thy neighbors, do unto others as they will do unto you, but i might add that eating shrimp is mentioned as a sin about 12 more times in the bible than homosexuality is. There is slavery and rape and genocide in the bible as well, but i really hope you aren't following those parts.

(I do not mean any of what i said to be disrespectful to you or your religion/beliefs, just here to put in my 2 cents)

I don't think you can declare the fundamental message of Steven Universe--(which is, generally "your flaws are what make you incredible, you're perfect the way you are, and if you want to change yourself into something you like more, that's even better")--without attacking the fundamental beliefs of Christianity, and what God says, and who He is. (I made those points in my previous post.)

In Steven Universe, flaws are defined as "anything you do that deviates from what you were made for." Pearl is considered "flawed" by the bad guys, and by the "wrong" way of thinking, because she has no aristocrat she's serving. Garnet is considered "flawed" because she's a forbidden fusion of a Sapphire and Ruby who aren't doing their jobs. Amethyst is considered "flawed" because she came out of the ground undercooked and small and doesn't fight as well as other quartzes. But Homeworld (the bad guys, who the narrative call "wrong" are depicted as incorrect for believing that those are flaws. But, deeper than that, you have to realize that it's White Diamond who made them (with her injectors.)

White Diamond dictated what they were made for, and that they were made at all. Just like God. But she's "wrong" for believing that in the narrative, and "wrong" for trying to tell gems who they are (because supposedly they're the only ones who get to decide who they are, and they call it "freedom.")

Now, it is true that God is flawless and perfect. He makes no mistakes and has nothing to learn because He's all-knowing and always right. But that's why it's so clear that Steven Universe is against the God if the Bible. They acknowledge who Christians claim God is by setting up White Diamond (who goes on and on about how perfect she is, how she can make everyone else perfect by shining her light through them, and how she can return them to the function they were made for.) and then, after they acknowledge that by setting her up, they knock her down. And in doing so, they attempt to knock the Christian view of God down.

By having their God-parallel character suddenly have flaws, like all the main characters, she can both be proved wrong about her perfection philosophy, and be regulated to human status. "If God thinks we need saving from our flaws and wants to erase Nything that doesn't line up with His original purpose for us, He's wrong. And if He's wrong, He's flawed, too! After all, God is no higher than us."

And like I said, that philosophy, that mischaracterization of God, is exactly what the serpent said to Eve at the beginning of the world. Same old lie. They set up a God-like character, made her perfection a bad thing, and then punished her for it--and then regulated The God-like character to "no better or more in authority than us."

Now, about what you're saying about Christians and the characterization of the God of the Bible--

God loves us. That does not mean He loves the things we do that are wrong. Just like parents (imperfect examples though they are) love us in spite of the fact that we scream hurtful things at them when we're teenagers, and in spite of the mistakes we made. They don't love our mistakes and our flaws--they love us. God doesn't love your flaws--He loves you.

And, he has to punish sin. Because He's just and perfect--and at the same time, He's loving. If someone broke into your house and raped your spouse and killed your dog and stole your most valuable possessions, they caught him, and he appeared before a judge, would the judge be just and good to say, "I know you did all those things, but I'm a loving judge, so I'm going to let you go free with no punishment?" No. He'd be a terrible judge, and actually, an unloving one, too, because it's not loving to the victim of the sin or the committer of the sin to ignore the reality of the sin without punishment.

But God does love us, in spite of our flaws, sin, the fact that we committed cosmic treason: and you can tell because He punished His Son, Jesus, instead of us. And Jesus took that punishment that we deserved, willingly, so that what's broken in us can be restored, and more importantly, our relationship with God can be restored. That's what the Bible teaches: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16.) The Bible also teaches love in the context of what God defines as love. When you "do unto others as you would want done to you," the idea is that you want what's actually best for yourself. And what's actually best for yourself is not always what you feel like having. If you feel like touching the hot stove, that's not what's best for you; you'll get burned. If you feel like being sexually intimate with someone of the same sex, (or even someone of the opposite sex who isn't going to put your relationship with God first) that's not what's best for you; you're doing a twisted version of the good thing (sex) God made you to enjoy, and it'll lead to brokenness. So when you say "do unto others as you would have done to you," you have to remember the context.

It's Jesus speaking, and He finished the sentence with: "for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Well, the Law (Leviticus, Deuteronomy,) condemns homosexuality. So the context dictates that the Golden Rule is not just "leave others alone about what makes them happy, just like you want others to leave you alone about what makes you happy."

#Asked #answered #adding more in edits

[jessaerys]

Listen it is like this Any style of art is good when you like it and not for you when you don't. "Is purple prose still-" was it good? Did u feel enchanted? Then it good 😤

no no listen i get where you're coming from (i was gonna add a disclaimer about good being subjective in the post but decided against it for the purposes of the question), and i do ultimately believe that if a piece of writing manages to use language to convey a feeling to someone, somewhere, then it has been a successful piece of art, but for me the deep love of the craft compels me to think about and study what makes great writing great. bad writing is kind of like pornography in a way: you know it when you see it, and if enough people see it then there is a general consensus that exists and varies through cultures and eras, but can nonetheless be described and defined. it's literary theory and all of its schools, metatextuality, semiotics, structuralism and post-structuralism.

perhaps "good" is ultimately subjective but there are certainly universally recognized writing faux-passes (ie. verbosity, redundancy, cliches, over-describing, navel-gazing, and so on and so forth). i like to think of these as the anatomy of writing; much like with visual art, you need to learn the rules of your craft before you can begin to deconstruct them. arguably all acclaimed authors have committed "writing sins" and still their work has become part of the literary canon -- why? why does it work when they do it? what differentiates dracula from twilight? i want to know! that's what i mean when i ask these questions. i think it's essential to ask them if one is curious about the inner machinations of your own writing.

arguing/philosophizing about good vs bad art is a fundamental slice of the human condition. we have been doing it since the dawn of time and we will continue to do it until we no longer have art. ultimately i think this line of thinking falls dangerously close to the anti-intellectualism of "let people enjoy things!" when any kind of critical engagement with a text (whether moral or literary) is taken as a personal attack to those who enjoy it. obviously there's nuance: it doesn't mean i'm about to start handing out unsolicited critiques or that i think the essence of "good" is this cold equation of moving parts

storytelling is an arcane alchemy that took us from monkeys to weird melancholic guys who think about imaginary weird melancholic guys and have feelings about them. and on god i wanna open the hood and get my fingers accidentally crushed in the engine

#brothercrush.txt #brothercrush.inbox #allegedly writing

[sidebaxolotl]

hi!! I just discovered your page recently and you’ve helped me so much in understanding SSA and celibacy and side b so much better. I thank you so much!

I just wanted to ask, when talking to someone about SSA and discussing the topic of SSA relationships and unions, how should one respond to the argument of “love is love”? like basically someone saying “oh they love each other so much, SSA couples can love each other like a straight couple” etc etc. I’ve never really been able to think of a way to respond because I’m not sure what side b says about that. like, are SSA couples able to love each other in the same way as straight couples from the Christian POV? I don’t know D: Anyway I hope I don’t sound stupid asking this oof but I wish you the best with everything c:

Hello! I'm so sorry this took so long, I've really been meditating on my answer to this because I really wanted to make sure I'm careful with what I say here. And I think the conclusion I've come to is that you can't really respond to an argument like "love is love". Because its not an argument. Its an emotional appeal.

To be honest I don't think the issue is love here. I do think SSA is real love in the sense that you can care deeply and selflessly for someone of the same sex in a romantic way. I do think what I felt for my ex was real love. The difference between how Christians and non Christians approach this is that we know that God is good and powerful and all knowing. He has defined the appropriate parameters for expressing love appropriately which is a a marriage between a man and a woman. We know that any deviation or change to that parameter is defying God and sinning against him and against our own bodies (whether its specifically ssa or not). Christians are able to understand this in the right way because they know and respect God as an authority over their bodies even if they don't always understand why. As far as I know there isn't a convincing secular argument for the Christian view on ssa. I find it more helpful to focus on bringing the gospel first to someone rather than trying to convince them or debate specific points of theology/morality. It ultimately doesn't do any good for them to be convinced of any Christian morality if they don't have Christ, y'know?

I hope that was helpful :')

#honestly my theologically astute moots feel free to add to this cause im not sure if i ate here ngl #answers #side b ssa #side b

[ahyesmygoodomenssideblog]

Goats and forgiveness

Season 2 expands on Aziraphale's thing with forgiveness. It starts off with Aziraphale being a very nice landlord:

M: You can't just forgive me eight months' rent! A: Oh, I can. I'm very good at forgiveness. It's one of my favorite things!

Then it gets brought up again in the Job minisode, under very different circumstances. Here, God made a deal with the devil to test Job's faith. Aziraphale goes along with it up until he knows they're permanently killing 3 children. Gabriel tells him: "What we are doing is simply not stopping hell. What they do is up to them." From there, Aziraphale is able to shift the blame off of God and onto Crawly, and we get this exchange:

A: I get to do what God wants. C: Like killing innocent children to win a bet with Satan? A: I… I don't think that is what God wants. And I don't think you want it either. C: What do you know about what I want? A: I know you. C: You do not know me.  A: I know the angel you were. C: The angel you knew is not me. A: Then… Then you tell me that you want to do this. You look me in the eye and tell me. C: I want to. I long to destroy the blameless children of blameless Job, just as I destroyed his blameless goats. A: Then God forgive you.

Aziraphale decides that God doesn't actually want Job's children killed, so he asks God to forgive Crawly for (by all accounts) fulfilling God's will.

This is also the first time (chronologically) that we see Aziraphale reference the angel Crowley used to be. It comes up again in the bandstand fight. Crowley curses God's plan to *checks notes* end the entire world, so Aziraphale says:

A: May you be forgiven. C: Oh I won't be forgiven. Not ever. That's part of a demon's job description. Unforgivable, that's what I am. A: You were an angel once. C: That was a long time ago.

Here, forgiveness is tied directly to Crowley's status as a demon/former angel. The exchange hints at a fundamental difference in their views.

There's a scene that isn't talked about much, but it seems particularly relevant given that s3 is set to be about the Second Coming. Forgiveness does come up in it. When Jesus is getting nailed to the cross, he says:

Father, please, you have to forgive them! They don't know what they are doing!

Jesus' crucifixion is immediately followed by the Rome scene. The Rome scene has a notable distinction in that the title card for it doesn't give a specific year; it's instead defined in relation to the previous scene:

8 years after Jesus died on the cross, Aziraphale greets Crowley like this:

A: Crawly- Crowley? Well, fancy running into you here! Still a demon, then? C: What kind of stupid question is that, "Still a demon"? What else am I going to be, an aardvark?

It's a strange thing to say after knowing Crowley as a demon for ~4000 years, unless Aziraphale believes the Christian tenet that Jesus died to forgive everyone's sins. Crowley doesn't seem to consider this a possibility at all. But if it is true, then all that's preventing everyone from salvation now is simply asking God to forgive them.

Forgiveness is one of Aziraphale's favorite things.

Aziraphale seems to view Crowley as redeemable. He knows on some level that Crowley is a good person who doesn't deserve eternal damnation, but he's unable to reconcile Crowley's fate with his own concept of a kind and loving God. This can really only be resolved if Crowley is either forgiven for his sins or if Crowley is the one who chooses to remain a demon when he could be saved.

Crowley first brings up goats in the Flood scene. They play a bigger role in the Job scene. Crowley brings them up over and over again. The Job episode actually starts off with him talking to the goats directly:

You should know why you're about to die. God has abandoned you. The God who claims to love you, who demands your praise, has given you up to be destroyed.

Fun fact: the term scapegoat originally referred to literal goats. It was standard practice to sacrifice animals to God as atonement for sins. To clarify: slaughtering innocent creatures was a requirement to remain in good standing with God.

(Scapegoats specifically were goats burdened with the sins of the town and then cast off to wander the wilderness alone.)

These harsh methods of atonement became unnecessary under Christianity due to Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus was a scapegoat. He died for our sins and we continue to honor his sacrifice with the symbol of the cross he was executed on.

After Jesus died, forgiveness became easy. God became generally more palatable. Aziraphale loves forgiveness. He's very good at it. He's a kind person.

Thousands of years before Jesus' death, Sitis begged for her children to be spared:

S: But they've done nothing! They're innocent! C: So were the goats.

There are fundamental differences in Aziraphale and Crowley's belief systems. Aziraphale defines right and wrong based on whether an action is in accordance with God's will. Crowley defines right and wrong based on whether an action is right or wrong. He is against innocent people suffering regardless of whether or not it's what God wants. This matters because Crowley and Aziraphale both know firsthand that their God is willing to punish good and innocent people. They were there for the Flood. They were there for Job. They were there for Jesus' crucifixion.

Aziraphale is a bad angel. He has doubts. He tries to protect humans when he can. When push comes to shove, he'll defy God to do it.

But Crowley is a good person. Crowley does good despite being punished for it. He continues to do good despite the risk of further punishment. And when it comes down to it, Crowley was the only person in Heaven and on Earth who would defend even the blameless goats.

Aziraphale forgives Crowley several times in the show, and never for very good reasons. Crowley apologizes to Aziraphale when he wasn't really wrong. Crowley doesn't apologize to God. He never asks God for forgiveness. And by the time they part ways, Crowley rejects Aziraphale's forgiveness, too.

#good omens season 2 #good omens meta #crowley #aziraphale #Aziraphale should have known better since the Flood at least #Aziraphale does a lot of bad things because of his religious beliefs #Crowley has a stronger moral compass than everyone in Heaven and Hell combined

[reptiles-of-the-mind]

Could you explain what pantheism is? And what it means to you? Your intro post is the first I've heard of it

I'm glad you asked!!

To quote the Universal Pantheist Society (pantheist.net): "Pantheism derives from the realization that the cosmos, taken or conceived of as a whole, is synonymous with God - a concept that is re-discovered repeatedly over the centuries, from pre-history to today. In this sense, Pantheism is simple: The Cosmos is divine, and the Earth sacred. [...] Pantheists believe in Divine Immanence. To the Pantheist, divinity does not transcend reality; it surrounds, and is within. All share divinity. This leads the pantheist to personal ethics of tolerance and understanding."

From the same website: "Adherents of Pantheism understand it as a way of life, a way of viewing a world where human beings are but one of many living things. For the Pantheist, creator and context are one entity, the Universe being experienced holistically. Pantheists who use a theistic terminology define God as the Universe taken as a whole. The Universe is a creative process, thus our Creator; but at the same time we are a part of it. Pantheists derive their fundamental religious experience through their personal relationship with the surrounding Universe, recognizing that humanity is not apart from Nature, but that Nature is the ultimate context for human existence. Humanity's unity with the Universe is our fundamental religious impulse. Thus, those who are uncomfortable with deities and names for deities, can still find comfort within Pantheism. "But Pantheism remains more than a mere philosophy of life, because all Pantheists, whether approaching religious ideas from a theistic or non-theistic viewpoint, have a sense of reverence for the world. Thus, Pantheists oppose the world view of anthropocentrism - that is, a belief that the world was created exclusively for the benefit of human beings. [...] The Pantheist religion is seen as a system of reverent behavior toward Nature rather than anthropo- morphic deities."

This essentially sums up what I believe. The entire universe and everything in it is holy, and connected in its holiness. All the planets, quarks, humans, stars, & everything else form one big maelstrom of divinity we call the Universe.

This is all related to something I have a very deep connection with, which is the concept of the oceanic feeling. Wikipedia: "In a 1927 letter to Sigmund Freud, Romain Rolland coined the phrase "oceanic feeling" to refer to "a sensation of 'eternity'", a feeling of "being one with the external world as a whole", inspired by the example of Ramakrishna, among other mystics. According to Rolland, this feeling is the source of all the religious energy that permeates in various religious systems, and one may justifiably call oneself religious on the basis of this oceanic feeling alone, even if one renounces every belief and every illusion." This, indeed, is the source of my connection to the pantheistic God-Universe, and my other values of optimism and compassion. (You may have noticed that 'Oceanic Feeling' is the title of my favourite song!!)

Personally, I am heavily against the idea of an anthropomorphic God who created humanity, meddles in human affairs, &c. It's lame. There are so many reasons why I dislike this idea: its common use of controlling people, attached concepts of sin and retribution, science denial, straight-up gaslighting, &c. In this way I could be called an atheist or even an antitheist, but in reality I do believe in a God-- one that is one and the same as the universe, one that literally is humanity. We are all God!! Sin doesn't exist!! (Now we're getting into my Satanism. I am a non-theistic Satanist, and I believe in the seven tenets of the Satanic Temple while heavily condemning TST's fascist associations. Clearly they don't believe in their own principles. Additionally, I like to worship the Greek goddess Aphrodite as a symbolic representation of Love. It's an art history nerd / lesbian thing. Additionally additionally, I identify as a Humanist in the manner of the Renaissance and modern thinkers-- they love science, the arts, doing good for people, &c.)

I feel connected to the spirit of the universe by making art, witnessing art, studying philosophy (I've been reading Spinoza, the most famous Pantheist-- loving him so far!!), being around people, going for walks in nature, that sort of thing.

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this, but I hope I've conveyed the basics so that you may do your own research if you wish. :3

#pantheism

[thevagueambition]

Les Mis 1.1.4 thoughts

a lot of this post is about things that annoy me about christianity just fyi lol

Re Geborand, I'm reminded of something biblical scholar Dan McClellan has talked about (e.g. in this 2 min video) called the "prophetic critique" where various performances of piety are criticised in the old testament/tanakh. The context of that being that when the rich and powerful perform piety through these offerings and festivals while at the same time violating religious principles of mercy and charity, their offerings become sinful.

"There is M. Geborand purchasing paradise for a sou." is not quite the same thing, but it hits on this same idea of the public performance of piety with an ulterior motive in mind (whether social propriety or a ticket to paradise) not being paired with moral behavior

(I guess the text doesn't mention if Geborand starts behaving more morally alongside his charity, but how paltry said charity is certainly suggests not)

The bishop's use of local dialects contrasts with the FRev's dogmatic desire to define a french citizen as a speaker of standard french

Myriel's religious views frankly seem fairly similar to the sort of Christianity I was raised with (there are shitty conservative priests in my area as well, but not in my immediate community).

His virtue lies in correctly identifying the miserable as the inheritors of the earth and in acting according to his principles

The description of Myriel's beliefs does hit on a part of Christianity that deeply annoys me, though: the body as something bad which must be subordinated to the mind/soul ("Man has upon him his flesh, which is at once his burden and his temptation. He drags it with him and yields to it. He must watch it, cheek it, repress it, and obey it only at the last extremity.")

Why should the body be bad? It can cause you pain, of course. You can fall ill, you can get injured. But you can also embrace others, you can smell the smells of your home, you can eat your favourite dish. The body that hurts loves and feels pleasure, too. But then of course "pleasure" is exactly what's "dangerous" about the body – as if all pleasure was selfish and destructive 🙄

(I don't agree with the Descartean body/mind split in the first place. Imo you are your body. Your mind is part of your body.)

It relates somewhat to this other thing that irks me about Christianity -- and which I think might also actually be relevant to Myriel's development in this chapter, lol -- which is Christianity as a cope religion. It identifies the problems of the world -- illness, oppression, war -- and says "but if you're kind, if you dont break our rules, the afterlife will be wonderful." Like we don't have to fix the problems we have in the world because in the afterlife you will be free from suffering. Enduring the world piously is the goal, not making it better

(I'm aware that there are many Christians who don't think that way. My dad believes firmly in God and (his own personal interpretation of) the Bible and that's certainly not how his morals shake out. But that is an element in many permutations of Christianity)

Anyway where I think this might actually be relevant to Myriel is re "It is wrong to become absorbed in the divine law to such a degree as not to perceive human law." One interpretation of that is that if you focus exclusively on piety and the solace of divine judgement, it precludes you from perceiving injustice and brutality in the world and acting against it. An injust ruler may be condemned in the afterlife, but you should do something about him in this life, too

I think Hugo is probably right in saying that the death penalty is the sort of thing one can't be neutral on once one has seen it in action

Becaise it's one of the few pieces of leftist theory I actually have read and (mostly) understood, Walter Benjamin's Critique of Violence (Zur Kritik der Gewalt) it probably occupies an outsized prominence in my thinking on several things, buit in it Benjamin argues that the death penalty is the ultimate form of law establishing -- that the threat of violence(/force) behind law is what makes that law into a reality rather than a piece of writing and that in control over life and death being the ultimate form of violent power to hold over someone, capital punishemtn is useful for a legal system less because of its literal function and more because it so concretely manifests the law

"The opponents of these critics [of capital punishment] felt, perhaps without knowing why and probably involuntarily, that an attack on capital punishment assails not legal measure, not laws, but law itself in its origin. For if violence [...] is the origin of law, then it may be readily supposed that where the highest violence, that over life and death, occurs in the legal system, the origins of law jut manifestly and fearsomely into existence. In agreement with this is the fact that the death penalty in primitive legal systems is imposed even for such crimes as offenses against property, to which it seems quite out of "proportion." Its purpose is not to punish the infringement of law but to establish new law. For in the exercise of violence over life and death, more than in any other legal act, the law reaffirms itself." (online PDF version of source)

#lm 1.1.4 #lm 2024 readthrough

[haila-wetyios]

Character summary: Haila Wetyios

alias/nicknames: Wetyios, Love, Hels, Mistress Wetyios, Mistress Haven, GILF

gender: female

age: 103

zodiac: ----

abilities  + talents: Haila was practically considered an eminence in the study and restoration of Allagan tech back in the First. Though that was a very hard earned title that she spearheaded through sheer trial and error through the decades she was there. And... luckily for her, the First had more than enough tech to study and look into while having a foot ahead of the rest.

Other than that, her affinity for aether demands to have deep knowledge of aetherology to continue in her chosen fields of study. Knowledge is the best weapon, though if that doesn't work, she's not too behind on knowing how to at least defend herself physically. If all that fails as well, homemade guns are also a good alternative.

alignment: lawful / neutral / chaotic / good / neutral / evil / true

sins: envy / greed / gluttony / lust / pride / sloth / wrath

virtues: charity / chastity / diligence / humility / justice / kindness / patience

languages: Common Eorzean, very decent on Hingan, basic to intermediate knowledge of a now lost tongue of a Keeper clan, and basic Garlean and Allagan. Whether the First had it's own language or not, is something I'm still contending, but I might later update it to being my own true headcanon.

family: Oh boy, here we go.... Big post underneath

Wackwrulf Malurie (Biological father, deceased), Hilde Malurie (Biological mother, unknown), Hyola Malurie (Half Younger sister).

Leofric Wetyios (Adoptive Father).

Rutla Hann (Husband, deceased), Meam Carus Rhua (Eldest daughter), Rhea Meam Amatus (Middle son).

Luma Lee (Husband), Rohmio Lee ("Firstborn"), Helia Lee (Baby daughter), Howl Lee (Baby son).

friends: As expected from someone who has had a long lifespan and also thrown into one problem after another, most of the people Haila knows are either deceased or classified as missing in action. Even more, due to Haila's life experiences, the line between friend and Something More(TM) is almost always extremely blurry. Not to mention that people she considers friends on equal grounds are rare vs the unending number of unwillingly adopted manchildren she now has.

Among those where the line is just a smudge you can't read on your hand are Alexius Dion Edmont and Crific Storm. Both Alexius and Haila have agreed that in a different time, in a different life, they would have probably picked the other. But life circumstances didn't align at the right moment, so now they're just each leading their own life while still deeply loving and still caring about the other.

For Crific, the man is a walking disaster, and somehow she gained a taste for disaster (she is also a walking disaster). The easiest example of what kind of 'friendship??' this is, can be told in a single tale: There is no one who would walk into jail, hoist Haila over his shoulder and walk out the front door other than damn Crific.

As for friends who she considers as 'responsible adults' or on equal ish grounds, there's Sergius, the android that she keeps sending cute hand knit things to. Kazushige, the Au Ra who is on the verge of being demoted to manchild after his latest stunts. Rising, who's kept her spot on her list of 'responsible adults' (for now). Angel (who is also dancing between the line of adult and manchild). Cravendy, who is floating on a strange limbo that Haila still can't define at all. And Aislinn, the only person she trusts will remain as a responsible adult because everyone else is always at risk of being demoted to 'child'.

As for 'unwillingly adopted manchildren', there's quite a few. Among them are: Florus, Riylli, August, Mivo'to, Sosuke and Ino.

sexuality: heterosexual / bisexual / pansexual / homosexual / demisexual / asexual / unsure / other

relationship: single / partnered / married / widowed / open relationship / divorced / not ready for dating yet / it’s complicated

libido: sex god / very high / high / average / low / very low / non-existent / who knows

build: slender / average / athletic / muscular / curvy / other

hair: white / blonde / brunette / red / black

eyes: brown / blue / gray / green / black / other (Blue and gold/Red and Blue)

skin: pale / fair / olive / light brown / brown / dark / other

height: TALL

scars: Haila would probably talk of the burn scars she had on both of her hands which is why she wears gloves often. Or the mark right on the back of her head that would make one wonder what exactly stabbed her there and how she survived. But whenever her skin is on display, there's nothing to see of such scars there. The only predominant one is one in the shape of a nasty bite or tear on her right thigh, and even that one is subtle enough despite it's bloody history.

dogs or cats || birds or bugs || snakes or spiders || coffee or tea || ice cream or cake || fruits or vegetables || sandwich or soup || magic or melee || sword shield dagger or bow gun|| summer or winter || spring or autumn || past or future present

A few songs that remind you of them:

Yoasobi - IDOL (Huge recommendation despite the visuals being far brighter than the usual Haila aesthetic)

KOKIA - Karma

FGO - Koyanskaya's theme

Chainsaw Man - Sweet dreams

Madoka Magica movie - not yet

Tagged by: @snowbird-down (I did the last one you tagged me in with Rhua already!)

Tagging: @pollux-xiv, @riylli, @rhotanored

#haila wetyios

[shatar-aethelwynn]

Well, I think that the rejection of homosexuality as a major sin is something constant in the Bible, from the destruction of Sodoma by the wrath of God to Paul's Letter to the Romans, in which homosexuality is seen as the fundamental sin of the pagans and the cause of their punishment by God and of their perdition. Btw, I saw your definition of henotheism. I think that we talk about henotheism when all the gods and goddesses of a pantheon are seen just as manifestations of One Supreme Deity.

Yes, the Bible considers homosexuality to be a sin. And yes, it is pretty consistent about that, for all that it is only mentioned a small handful of times. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was a "major" sin though. It's not talked about anywhere near as frequently as adultery, for example. People today make it into a far bigger issue than the Bible ever does. It's not even one of the Big 10 (but adultery is). Nor is it the “fundamental sin” of Romans. The fundamental sin is rejection of God (1:21-23). Paul views homosexuality as a consequence of that rejection, not as a cause of it.

Because this is such a controversial topic I would once again like to emphasize that the way the authors of the Biblical texts defined homosexuality was not the way we define it today. The social situation was different. The laws against homosexuality were about the social status of the participants, the roles of men in society, the importance of having children, and the social consequences of being the penetrated partner. It was about an action not an identity. And on the rare occasion that it comes up the biblical authors seem to list it with other acts of violence, abuse, or subversion/violation of the social order in some way. Bringing Paul into things doesn't clarify anything about Sodom because by that point you're dealing with Greek influences and that means needing to address pederasty and the age/power dynamics involved. And Sodom and Gomorrah weren’t Greek. In fact, people have been speculating for a while that pederasty specifically is what Paul is referring to (it’s an ongoing debate as the topic is obviously highly contentious). And guess what, Greek culture wasn’t just saying “love is love” either, since age and social status were important aspects in determining whether a homosexual relationship between men was socially permissible – too close in age or status and the answer was usually “no”. Doesn't mean it didn't happen, but it was not necessarily seen as an approved thing. So, we are left with the question of what does Paul refer to when he talks about homosexuality, because the only thing we know for sure is that it’s not what we mean when we talk about it today.

Which is part of why it is possible to be in one of the religions that uses the Bible as a sacred text and be pro-LGBT+, because we no longer live in a patriarchal society where the male head of house (because let’s be honest, the laws at least are exclusively concerned with men being involved) cannot be shown as submissive to another man without placing his dependents in a more vulnerable social position. Hooray for societal advance despite the distressingly large number who would like to go back to those days. We also need to bear in mind that while the conversation is currently dominated by the voices of Christians, Judaism has many centuries of study and commentary on the matter as well, and they haven’t always come to the same conclusions that the Christians did many years later. Appealing to Paul only works with Christians, and that’s before we get into the debates on whether some of the New Testament books were written to refute Paul. Or whether we should be attempting Systematic Theology in the first place (personally, I’d rather not).

As for the henotheism. You might want to look into panentheism or monism. Henotheism does not conflate the gods, they're all separate. There just happens to be one Supreme God who commands all the rest. Panentheism is similar to pantheism but it separates God from the rest of the world. Both are forms of monism, which is a series of beliefs that claim everything goes back to one supreme source.