#christians would have you believe - god is like actually quite pleased that on this day people smoke weed which makes them
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watching good omen season 1
ep 1 pilot
haven't seen a lot of it, mostly that people like it, that it's made by people people really like and that it's gay (or at least people make it gay) so you know, good pick for me. and i just watched to animations/animatics on youtube with bad endings and bad endings fuck me up, so hopefully this is happier.
intro is a fucking banger. also god has a fem voice? nice.
accurate skin colour for the earliest humans. not surprised, but appreciated.
making fun of theology and great banter? i love it.
ominous picnic basket. oh... actually quite biblically fitting it seems.
i REALLY hope they don't expect me to remember these names too well. many of the characters seem fun though.
of course the american politician says bs like "a regular y chromosome son". which i'm sure has not been tested as you 1: don't know the gender yet. 2: phenotype does not denote genotype.
i wonder who and how they'll figure out who has the wrong baby.
"i don't recall what horror of history we had a lunch over, but i do recall what we had." the BEST dynamic.
will they even figure out they got the wrong one?
ok, i know that working with an actual 5 year old would be a nightmare... but that kid is like 12.
well done making both heaven and hell look like shit. do you want grime overpopulating or empty, liminal, office spaces?
brilliant end of episode 1.
ep 2 the book
damn the forces of hell are so bloody rude and evil.
and so many quick jokes.
question: what are the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse supposed to be in christianity? both biblically and in modern belief? they are separate from devils and angels.
i love a witch that also uses an ipad in her rituals.
"sorry, right number" seriously the humour in this show is so brilliant. i really hope the story is able to match it.
ep 3 hard times
a black knight shrugging is way too funny.
i love these two. just two old friends helping each other out, it's just that that's diametrically opposing one another. the angel doing some tempting, the demon some miracles. and upper management doesn't care.
awh, they are just so cute together.
excuse me you are playing intro now? 28 minutes in? that's not an intro. that's a bloody intermission!
they really succeed at making heaving seem so extremely bad. extremely wide shot or extreme close-up. it's so incredibly uncomfortable.
the prime minister has a nice flat chested fucker in his bed.... good for him if he's not cheating.
"mend it all"/"end it all" whispers. really neat.
ep 4 saturday morning funtime
of course he was condemned for nothing more then asking questions.
ah, they got rid of pestilence to replace them with pollution. it's a good change, but feels pretty pre 2020.
oh no, i find his death so sad. he had a love, why kill him? i know the apocalypse is coming but still.
i still really hope that the presidents son turns out to be trans to just break the things he said at the start. then again it wouldn't really work as it's not the kids he said it about. idk, i guess i hope of screen son turns out to be trans to spite the person that'll never know... yea i'm holding out hope for something that doesn't matter.
azi being send to heaving is SO bad. his bookshop possibly burning down is emotionally worse. it was going to be the last episode of the day. but i started watching because i couldn't deal with bad endings, so i guess i'll have to watch one more.
ep 5 the doomsday option
Azi going full rogue (finally).
man that's the most obvious cold reading ever.
the guard reads a neil gaymen book. cute.
sir... your car is... more then a little on fire.
ep 6 the very last day of the rest of their lives
are we doing a flash back episode for the last episode of the season?
oh, please let him rebuild the car just like i want the bookshop rebuild?
the way to defeat the end of the world is to believe and stand (and i hope work) for a world that wouldn't end. a bit on the nose but very nice.
and of course with Terry Pratched being involved death is not to be defeated, just not hastened along.
a kid not doing the one thing they were supposed to do.... there's a trans/gay message in there. also That's Just What Kids Do! you wanted an 11 year old to do what they were told? that's the first part of the problem.
for a TV series that's a pretty good satan.
oh that is SO clever. kind of time fucking, but not really so long as you never introduce time travel so it's only true from now on.
oh, is it a nicer ending then i though? YES IT IS! \o/
it "ends" as it starts: with a garden and an apple.
ok, make it more explicit why don't you.
oh, you subtle bastards. i love it.
other scene's now make more sense too, oh how i love it.
ok, yea it makes sense people go wild over this as it's really bloody great.
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I think we should keep something in mind this Christmas/holiday season. As the Christian narrative floats around, the white swaddled newborn plastered on billboards, and the focus on what's "sacred" and "holy" circulating through churches around the western world...
The body being "sacred" has nothing to do with some fucked white European idea of chastity or purity. It has absolutely EVERYTHING to do with making sure people are able to feed themselves and their children, not be straight up poisoned by pollutants, or fetishized and exploited for profit. Holiness has nothing to do with being clean or looking your Sunday best.
It was never actually about "purity" or "virginity" or "cleanliness". If it was, why the hell would Jesus have been crucified? The real historical dude said stuff that pissed off people in power so much they fucking merked him. Nothing pisses off agrarian feudal lords or modern capitalists more than telling the masses that they aren't simply morally justified, but on the side of GOD when they steal medicine and food for their children. If you don't believe me, I highly recommend reading William Herzog's "Parables as subversive speech", read about what theologians actually think historical Jesus was talking about all those years ago. Whether you believe in God or not, think religion is a plague or pray a rosary every night, I think keeping this in mind is like super important.
Christianity becomes dangerous and, in the opinion of this demon girl, blasphemous when it is removed from the context of its social cause, when it's co-opted by those in power and disarmed of the radical rhetoric that it was born from originally. I think that's exactly what we see in broader society. I think that an entirely rational response to this is to equate all of Christianity or even all of religion with evil... But I think there's nuance here.
To be clear, I stand with the satanists who support the fight for separation in church and state by chastising the corrupt institutions who have become the opposite of what they claim to espouse. I stand with the atheists who keep the naive theologians in check, and offer peace to the people who have been ravaged by the monster modern Christianity is to so many. Don't stop doing what you're doing. If Jesus was standing here today he'd be standing with you. You're fighting modern day pherisees out here and I'm for it.
Now, this is not to say there aren't problematic things that were always present in the Christian religion, of course there are. And they're quite abundant. I think Christians need to be very aware of that as well. There's nuance there. What I'm calling for here is a realization that the religion of the oppressed is not the same as the religion of the oppressor, and that the religion of the oppressed, when not stripped of its merit and co-opted by systems of greed, can be a force for good. And when we use that lens to look at this bizarre spectacle we call "Christmas", we can learn some interesting stuff.
What I'm saying is, if you're trans, gay, whatever, for the love of God, literally, please LIVE. Listen to your friendly demon izalith. By existing as who you are, you are sacred. Don't let the people wearing robes and claiming to be on the sides of angels and "God" tell you who you can or can't love, or what you can or can't be. If there is a God out there, and he's with those punks, then he's no god. I spit on his name. Angels are overrated anyways... It's the demons, the poor person who steals from Walmart to feed themselves and their children, the prostitute who is proud of their job and the life they work hard to sustain, the fat trans person who goes to Christmas mass in goth makeup... It's those people who the religion was originally made for. It wasn't made for the rich, the white, the straight, the normative. It was made for us. For all those people who are downtrodden, cold this winter, unable to buy food, scared and tired. Fuck that shit they used to traumatize us and belittle us when growing up. It's all lies and venom anyways. If no one loves and accepts you, this demon will.
#christianity#counter-culture Christian#some demon theology#blasphemy is kewl#jesus would scoff at whatever the hell y'all been calling Christianity. especially if we're basing that off the greek orthodox jesus#queer theology#liberation theology#religious commentary#religious trauma#trans#Christmas#tw: religon
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youtube
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the ULTIMATE OMORI fanfic recs because one of my favs just ended and it deserves more recognition!!
Okay lets start this off with the one in question (also not in any particular order)
These Days Without You by Smitty1899. absolutely beautiful, please read it this fanfic needs more of a community around it
By Your Side Once More, or, How Sunny Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Occult by Keltikknight. the suzuki siblings and their immaculate sense of humour. thats all i have to say
A New Dawn In Sunless Skies by letos. i wish this one would update again its got such a cool premise.
Sinking and Heroism by TenPes. linking them together because they're not part of a series.
The Faraway Event by kinemortomoli. me putting this here is actually a cry for help. i dont think this fanfic is dead but i cant suffer alone
Tired by Sunburner. this is pretty short and sweet (more like sad, depending on your ending preference)
DEADSPACE by Es_Novels. this one is so eerie as many zombie fanfics are, but i think the imagery makes this one take the cake
Car Trouble by Smitty1899. oh my god
Birthday Picnic by ToxicPineapple. poor kel. he saw mari like a big sister
stuck on one day for the rest of my life by lowbatteryhealth. we as a fandom need more hero angst
Reciting Wrongly by JonRightBackAtcha. not gonna say anything, just read it
Other Half of The Whole by JonRightBackAtcha. did not realise this and 11 were written by the same person. huh.
Fates of Damnation by Anonymous. oh my got two electric boogaloo
heat haze by crowcinthus. as someone who knows nothing about kagerou project wow
The Healing Properties of Reading a Book Out Loud to Your Loved Ones, and Other Domestic Bullshit by Prince_Enby. this ones good even if it hasnt updated in a while
In Which Sunny Is Bad At Naming Things by Prince_Enby. let me introduce you to the chatfic ever
I'll Cherish You Forever by phoeberrie. tiny bit hesitant to recommend this one bc of the themes but there is another fanfic later on this list with similar themes that is basically on every omori rec list ever so just a warning for stalking, obsession and gore. also, heed the tags. its good but not everyone will be comfortable with it.
Sorry as Can Be, For Whatever That Means by JonRightBackAtcha. quite a few fanfics by this author on here. but what can i say, they're great.
sinking. by marlkarx1. this is really good, also pretty dark. heed the tags.
Despite everything by Aisenic_Warrior. another legendary fic with no updates for over a year.
Sometimes a Knife Fight at 3am Can Mend Any Friendship by Shrimp_fry_rice. i dont believe it. you're telling me a shrimp frying rice wrote this fic?
Overwatered Garden by otomerson. rip flower boy lmao (im crying)
Picnic with Mari AU by Gornkleschnitzer. just gonna recommend the whole au
One More Time by GalileoGalilei. think of a 'watching the show' fanfic but its omori post-bad ending. now that i think about it, a version of this fic but they're watching an unserious playthrough on youtube would be kind of funny.
Sometimes Goodbye is a Second Chance by Smitty1899. whatever you're expecting to happen, you're wrong.
Amusia by JonRightBackAtcha. the legend. i wonder how many times this author has appeared on this list.
Kel kicks Sunny's door down by otomerson. attempted hikkikomori route
The Everyday Shenanigans of Something by Practicallyunethical. obsessed with the references in here.
Reality Check, Please by Paramocks. this fanfic has the kind of humour that could kill a christian grandmother.
Endless Dreaming by otomerson. this fanfiction is so beautiful it can make a grown man cry and thats okay (i dont know the quote dont kill me) please read it
Their Time by ShardOfHope. man this fanfic HURTS. you better read it.
The House That Breathes by Shifting_Walls. THIS IS SO GOOD
Broken Space by SpoonusBoius. yes, this fanfic is dark, but i feel people greatly exaggerate it. its not darker than pursuit, don't worry.
The Sun in Another Solar System by TellThemNaegi. if you look through this entire list while only reading one fanfic from here, please let it be this one. i have been totally fixated on this one and it deserves a mini-community of its own just like some other aus.
You're back, Mari by Anonymous. i hope you all expected this one. this is the mentioned one on no.17. im not sure how many trigger warnings i need considering this entire fic is so infamous i'd be shocked if someone didn't know. i don't want to risk spoiling it so just look at the tags. i was debating putting the sequel on here but decided against it. after all, the absolutely visceral reaction the pursuit au can garner from the fandom after just being mentioned probably has enough potential for a case study.
And there it is. the ultimate omori fanfic rec list consisting of 35 fanfic recs (I was originally gonna put way more on here but i got lazy near the end and put only my all time favourites)
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Why there is a Man in the Moon
The book of numbers is probably the weirdest book from the bible. And that's really saying something. But I love weird so here we are. The man in the moon is often talked about and referenced when discussing iconic Fable characters. If you've ever seen Dreamwork's Rise of the Guardians, the Man in the Moon is like the Nick Furry to the Holiday Avengers. He's often mentioned in European folktales to explain why the craters of the moon kind of look like a face to some.
But it actually goes back further than that. The story of the man in the moon is a Jewish folk tale about a man gathering wood on the Sabbath, and was placed on the moon as punishment for working on the day of rest. In the book of Numbers, I believe the man is stoned to death as ordered by God.
Similar retellings can be found in many other cultures, and has mostly been retold in Europe. Most have been Christianized, thus having the day be on a Sunday rather a Saturday. In some retellings, the man is actually Cain who has been doomed to a life of immortality wandering the earth. Placing him on the moon cause like "What else can we do?".
This version is quite a short one, from the 1902 Book of Nature Myths. It's a tad funny upon reading that the man fears his wife more than God or God-like being.
"Goodman," said the goodwife, "you must go out into the forest and gather sticks for the fire. To-morrow will be Sunday, and we have no wood to burn."
"Yes, goodwife," answered the goodman, "I will go to the forest."
He did go to the forest, but he sat on a mossy rock and fished till it was dark, and so he brought home no wood. "The goodwife shall not know it," he thought. "I will go to the forest to-morrow morning and gather sticks."
When morning came, he crept softly out of the house when it was hardly light, and went to the forest. Soon he had as many sticks as he could carry, and he was starting for home when a voice called sternly, "Put those sticks down." He looked to the right, to the left, before him, behind him, and over his head. There was no one to be seen.
"Put those sticks down," said the voice again.
"Please, I do not dare to put them down," replied the goodman, trembling with fear. "They are to burn, and my wife cannot cook the dinner without them."
"You will have no dinner to-day," said the voice.
"The goodwife will not know that I did not gather them last night, and she will let me have some dinner. I am almost sure she will," the goodman replied.
"You must not gather sticks to-day," said the voice more sternly than ever. "It is Sunday. Put them down."
"Indeed, Mr. Voice, I dare not," whispered the goodman; and afar off he thought he heard his wife calling, "Goodman, where are you? There is no wood to burn."
"Will you put them down, or will you carry them forever?" cried the voice angrily.
"Truly, I cannot put them down, for I dare not go home without them," answered the goodman, shaking with fear from head to foot. "The goodwife would not like it."
"Then carry them forever," said the voice. "You care not for Sunday, and you shall never have another Sunday."
The goodman could not tell how it came about, but he felt himself being lifted, up, up, up, sticks and all, till he was in the moon.
"Here you shall stay," said the voice sternly. "You will not keep Sunday, and here you need not. This is the moon, and so it is always the moon's day, or Monday, and Monday it shall be with you always. Whenever any one looks up at the moon, he will say, 'See the man with the sticks on his back. He was taken to the moon because he gathered wood on Sunday.'"
"Oh dear, oh dear," cried the goodman, "what will the goodwife say?"
#man in moon#food and folklore#book of numbers#fairytale#folktale#fable#folklore#Jewish#klickwitch#November#moon#story#witch#pagan
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Ásatrú, Gender, Polyamory, and more.
A friend in Port Callahan asked about these things, prompted by the following image, and well. I suppose I can catalogue my journey with heathenry up to this point here, you know?
So, as you probably know, I am a practicing - and learning - Ásatraur. What is an Ásatraur, though?
Well, colloquially we're known as Norse Pagans. We worship the Gods known as Odin, Thor, Tyr, Freyja, lots of Gods. Like there are a lot. Also, Loki! Loki gets a bad rep, but he's... Kinda' just a force of change? Like you can't really say "Odin bad Loki good" it does not work that way, that's a Christian-influence simplification.
Loki does make for a great antagonist in narratives based on the Eddas though, haha.
Anyway, let's get back to it. We mostly just vibe! We don't really actively recruit, we just let people pick up the phone, so to speak. That's what I did. I felt a pull to the Norse Gods as early as 11 years old. That was a... Jam packed time in my life, let me tell you.
The first real piece of it was this funny little emblem from Halo 2.
"Valkyrie"
This has been my go-to emblem for a looooong long time. The emblem isn't significant in its own way to my religion I don't think, but it stuck with me. What was another piece? Well, any number of things - growing up a curious young boy, curious about the world. The idea of pagans was interesting - and even as a young non-denominational christian, I didn't want to discount folks' religions. I didn't see any reason they couldn't coexist. My dad called me a Pagan for believing that, but, well he would be right eventually.
This is Van. Vanessa Thrace. She was my first attempt at a Truesona, back when I was dating a friend - wanted someone that was closer to me. Both of those things changed at some point, but keyword - changed! They didn't end! Because when I moved here to my dear wife @opashoo, I suddenly was in a Filipino household - a proudly Filipino household. These were second generation immigrants born here from a first generation immigrant. They'd brought back quite a bit from the homeland, culturally. The kids were raised American but the mother is anything but.
And I... sort of felt out of place. Over the last few years I'd become immensely disenfranchised with how I was raised - simply American. No heritage. No traditions. Just American. What was my heritage? War, apartheid, glorification of war, consumerism, food, whiteness and an overbearing reliance on Christianity.
Fuck that. Fuck all of that dude.
So I asked myself, what do I have? Can't just take any old culture, that's appropriation. But, then I remembered... "Hey, wait. My dad did a genealogy test. He came up mostly Scandinavian. We already knew this but we thought it was scottish ancestry - no, turns out it was Vikings. Huh."
And theeen a loooot of things clicked.
Now in this moment I need to detail something I skipped over.
Oh Kara Thrace, you crazy cunt. You crazy crazy bitch.
Definitely one of my biggest fictional crushes ever - Kara Thrace was the baddest bitch on TV when I was a young boy. I'd had a handful of pilot idols, sometimes they were women and all that mattered to me was, "Were they good pilots?" - and Hel the fuck yeah they were. Especially her.
Kara's the best pilot. The best fucking pilot ever. Luke Skywalker? Please. Wedge Antilles? As if. Darth Vader? IDK they're pretty supernaturally gifted both of them. Fox McCloud, Han Solo, Spike Spiegel, Hoban Washburn?
All great, but none of 'em are Kara Frakking "Starbuck" Thrace.
After all, who could be? Well, that was a worthwhile question to answer. So... I took the name, Kara. I decided it would be my promise to myself. "Live up to the name. Be the best pilot you can be."
Even if my Deuteranopia had other plans. For a little while there I was, actually, extremely good and known to be, extremely fucking good.
Oh boy was I ever.
Firaxa-1 "Dodger". A name that's gonna' live in a lot of heads for a loooooooong time to come. But that's a story for another day.
Well you see, choosing Kara was accidentally... prescient.
You see, Kara, really Kára, is a name of Scandinavian origin. It is the name of one of the Valkyries - a particularly tempestuous one. I can relate. They say that it's Italian but... Nah, it's not solely Italian.
Well, this was the name I picked. It pretty accidentally lined up with my faith-to-be, so that was really fucking cool. I think I sort of knew though, having played God of War 4 recently and beating every Valkyrie that wasn't named Sigrun.
Anyway. With my love's permission - because... Well, we have a lot of loud racists in the Asatru community - I had to make sure sure trusted her new girlfriend with this exploration, and not to get weird and crazy with it. And she did - I got her permission and abandoned Christianity after many years of disillusionment, feeling unwelcome, unwanted, and uncared for by the faith.
There's still so much I'm learning. I still haven't read the Eddas. I REALLY need to. But I've celebrated Midsommar, Yule, a couple of times, a couple of Blots, and I personally got my mother in law into Mead - she LOVES the stuff and she doesn't even drink.
Anyway.
That's how I ended up an outspoken queer heathen. So... What about the subject? Well, here's where Van comes back in.
Van was the one I targeted for heathening up - as, at the time, Sal was in a different kind of slot. So I used Van - who had been a somewhat cynical truesona (Unemployed, played gigs at bars, lived out of a Van, etc.), into something a lot more aspirational.
Van stopped being just a Shark, and ended up a Ru, which are the shark folk of my own setting, Beacon.
It was certainly a choice to prominently feature Heathen imagery in Beacon as I continued to develop it, but it was, I think, the right choice. Through Van I explored Ru identity - and now they're Shark Orc Vikings who are kinda' fuzzy, in space. They're also huge. Like, 7 feet tall. (Hilariously, not huge by furry shark standards, but I'm not talking about my gripes with Furry Shark Twitter HERE... Not yet... Not today!)
And out comes the chief representative of the people to the audience thus far, as a character. Van had become something more solid in my setting and was a... "Fully realized" me. She's loud, she's boisterous, she's hot as fuck, she's heavy but tough, she's a badass and she's a Valkyrie! She's just cool.
And yeah, that's Van. But my relationship to heathenry does not stop there. Because, for you see, I am transgender. I am very very transgender.
And I make no effort to hide that I am a Heathen. I tell people, when relevant, that I'm transgender. At least when it feels safe to. I do not hide that I am MADLY in love with my beautiful wife who is very much not white. I do all these things in opposition to the bastards who try to steal my ancestors' symbols and use them for eugenics, bigotry, hatred, segregation - evil shit. Evil shit that they should NOT be safe for advocating.
There will come a day where someone gets the wrong idea. Maybe they'll think I'm a horrid bigot for wearing these symbols - I wouldn't blame them. I'm over six feet tall, pale as shit, blonde and blue eyed- I'm like, the PICTURE of what weirdos think Viking women should be.
lol, too bad for those types, I'm transgender.
But, also, like... There'll come a day where some other heathen who wants to stir shit up will figure out I'm not like them, and want to get into a scuffle.
I'm ready for both of those things. One can be handled by talking, the other needs some fists.
But, yeah. It's part of why I'm so outwardly, loudly, a heathen. Why I wear every single thing proudly. Because if I don't all we collectively are gonna' be known for is hate. We can't have that. Not when we're gaining more members every day, not when we can set good examples, not when we can CHOOSE to oust fascists, bigots, and other bad faith actors.
We have to. We cannot let them own what is ours and use it for hate, when our own ancestors didn't give a single shit about genes, about where you were from, what you did - just who you were. And - when I say ancestors, I don't mean blood, I do mean ideological ancestors. I may have blood roots but Ásatrú is for all races, sexuality, genders. But not all politics or beliefs. No sir.
Be whatever gender you want, date whoever you want, have as many partners as you want and it's completely fine for beating the shit out of someone who calls you a slur. That's what I, what we, believe in.
The original post refers to Ergi, by the way - and it is not a term used lightly. It was a pretty grave insult and saying it made you fair game for getting an axe to the face, so if you did you... pretty much had to be ready to bite the dust. Dunno' about the polyamory, but I'm pretty sure our Gods aren't pearl clutchy about several partners. The Aesir and Vanir got busy wildly in the Eddas.
Anyway, hope this is clarity enough. Glory to the Allfather - and that's ALL father, not SOME father.
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i remember you made a post like how “white nationalists are different than christian nationalists” or something like that, can you talk about that again? it was really eye opening!
Ah, so I think I remember the post you're referring to -- to summarise briefly, I made some comments on the idea of white nationalists and supremacists supporting Christianity. To be frank, I have no clue where this idea comes from but if I had to guess, my guess would be that it's coming from the perception that the American KKK is a supposedly Christian organisation. I'm sure ''Christian'' white nationalists are bound to exist somewhere, but the general picture looks quite different.
Most white nationalists reject Christianity because they see it as an extension of Judaism (which is actually is). White supremacists believe Jews to be racially inferior to them since Jews are a Middle-Eastern people (this includes Ashkenazi Jews, who tend to have relatively little European DNA). Given this context, why would white supremacists believe in Christianity, a religion that states a Jewish man to be God in the flesh? Christians worship a Jew as their God and white supremacists despise Jews.
I think Americans tend to see Christianity as a European religion because of European colonial history, but this is not the full picture. Christianity started as a Middle-Eastern religion and grew out to become a world religion. It was spread to Africa before it reached Europe and Europe initially rejected Christianity, with Christians being persecuted in the early days of the Roman Empire. In the current day, Christianity is losing popularity in Europe whilst gaining popularity in parts of Africa and Asia.
White supremacists (at least the European ones) tend to perceive Christianity as a foreign religion forcefully imposed on Europe by Jews. It is seen as a religion that replaced the ''truly'' European religions (various different pagan religions). It is for this reason white supremacists can be found in pagan communities like Odinism and the like. White supremacists have little respect for Christians and refer to them as ''Christcucks'' since many European Christians support Middle-Eastern migration to Europe for humanitarian reasons. They find Christianity to be too passive and have greater respect for a more violent religion like Islam. (They might refer to Islam as ''based'' for persecuting homosexuals and tend to say things like ''Islam is right about women''.)
Another interesting factoid: European white supremacists tend to think only 2% of the global population is white since they don't count white Americans in that figure. Most white Americans have low percentages of American Indian and/or African DNA and are therefore considered ''racially mixed'' or ''mutts'' (insult for people of mixed racial background).
Christianity is regarded as a foreign and false religion made up by Jews to divide European peoples, or to cause the downfall of European societies. It is an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, essentially. Below I'll post some pictures to demonstrate this principle. (Please don't take this as my support for this racist theory -- I reject all forms of racism and anti-Semitism and this is purely to demonstrate how white supremacists think.)
Note: In the last image, D and C stands for Divide and Conquer. The word ''Christianity'' is spelled with those brackets because this is a popular anti-Semitic dogwhistle.
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campaign 3 episode 58: brb flying to la to steal matt's shins
I got sick again today but I'M TRYING
they got him!!
"we really should give all our producers a raise"
marisha that top
I believe the trope is magipunk but obvs I haven't seen it yet
HOWEVER magipunk is one of my favorite tropes so I'm hoping
game now called Taliesin's Baby
I hate literally every second of this
"teeth, tentacles and terror" hate that too
mapphew strikes again
"the trees have bones"
"we had a real estate agent but they ghosted us" BOO
"it's a bit much"
"I think you grabbed the one that was too big"
augh the wolf snouts coming out of it
"six :D"
HATE THAT NOISE
matt's noises are also hurting my brain so this tracks
nobody gets freaked out by legendary actions like travis gets freaked out by legendary actions
"BUT THAT'S METAGAMING"
"he's actually half butts"
matt says Make Expensive Choices
why does laura sound like she's on Old Timey Radio
I WARNED YOU ABOUT STAIRS BRO
it's a Wet Monster it should take double from lightning
Chew Again
BIT IT AND QUIT IT
"how many of its butts fell off"
guiding bolt upp the butt(s)
FEARNE
"matthew how DARE you roll a natural 20"
NINE
FRIDA
somebody curse matt's dice
trade matt's dice with laura's
frida pulling every available feat out to throw at the meat tower
Action Surge Sharpshooter Grit Point is the fighter version of Reckless Great Weapon Master
"please gif that"
"aRe YoU uSiNg ThE sAmE dIcE"
"say parmesan if you want me to hit him" "PARMESAN"
"OKLAHOMA SAFE WORD"
a whole lot of rules just got flung around and I zoned out in self-defense
"a weird divacup for this massive period stain"
AUNT FLOW
"does it have eyes" "occasionally" "you can't SAY THAT"
hey I hate it
"a roll I wish I had failed"
gay
"tree trunk of skin" [lenny]
"it's not the holy grail!" "if you read enough dan brown - kinda!"
liam is here in spirit
AND ON SAM'S GAS CAN APPARENTLY
"GIVE HER BANGS"
"no, we just got the art"
oh hate
oh HATE
please run. please leave.
it is going to Eat You
"I rolled a 1 but it comes out to 23"
this is the closest we've gotten to matt breaking out an hourglass in a while
"paper - not being humanoid - because it's a piece of paper - "
"it's nOT A DILDO"
"frida - take this down"
CHRISTIAN
"and then I burn the notes and leave" okay arkhan
"just be a little smarter, okay?"
and then it WORKED
"this gargamel motherfucker stealing smurfs"
"I've never read a book. I'm actually older than books."
not the dot matrix printer
"be careful, link….the yuck moon rises once again…"
"I only saw her from the back but my god was she beautiful"
"abs for days"
COBOSO
"I don't know why wizards would have abs"
"it was very sad, he died, clearly"
irl gifts IRL GIFTS
SHIRTS
"I invented polyester"
and in the COLOR SCHEMES
"it's segmented, sepratated" sasha nein's mindscape
"you're a mess"
don't chase the rabbit!
if there are stars when you look down -
everybody gets presents
"it's a sweatshirt made out of wood"
YOU ARE WHO YOU CHOOSE TO BE
"one more?" "…….ka-put"
EVERYBODY GETS PRESENTS
eabria come get your smut
their collective quest to get travis to turn into a tomato
I can't believe this is canon
they almost have to swap back now right. right? this is such a good place to wrap up. please return the other half of the table.
thank you for not being That Guy matt
;-;
HEY MATT??
YOU'VE SUFFERED A TERRIBLE FATE HAVEN'T YOU
the RED END
did fcg just become a champion?
IS DEANNA BEING MADE A CHAMPION?
gods going through their whole rolodex sending out SOSes
I forgot how much of a dick pelor is
I'm sorry, the ~dawnfather~
wait is the spider queen freaking out at opal? is this a disaster on both sides of the aisle?
where's opal, I wanna talk to opal
imogen is the kid who grew up secular and heard about every different religion from pop culture osmosis
(imogen is me)
it's a Stuff-Doing-Coin
see in scripted media her giving him the ring would be an enormous death flag. it still kind of is because I'm a paranoid panda but still
you have to give travis the inventory it's the rules
SDKJFLKSD
matt
THE RTA
sam sploded
this is tonight's real lore drop
just throw a dart at the map
it does DAMAGE?
"why does he say it like that"
MATTHOLOMEW MERCER
"WHAT'S NEW JERSEY"
liam's not even here to do the accent
"that's more fun" FOR WHO
NO FUCK YOU
LAURA
MATT
I HATE EVERYONE HERE
"I can't tell if she's doing a bit"
BEEN A WHILE SINCE I WANTED TO FIGHT THEM IN THE PARKING LOT AFTER THE SHOW BUT HERE WE ARE
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Tags from @sky-sogira
*cracks knuckles*
Alright. Let's get into this. My faith may not be as strong as it once was, but my knowledge is unshakable.
Disclaimer: I am not a scholar, I am not a theologist, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I LOVE Sky.
Second disclaimer: I am not trying to preach to anyone, just put in my perspective as someone who grew up in Christianity.
So! The easy one. Lucifer was actually NOT really the devil's name first- Lucifer was the name of a minor Roman god. The god of the morning star, which shines very brightly. The name "Lucifer" MEANS "Bringer of light" and is the base for the names of the chemicals that make fireflies glow- Lucifern and Lucifrase? I probably spelled them wrong. When the Bible was being standardized, they took this name to show that Satan had once been both powerful and beloved, at least.... That's how my father told it. He was wrong about a LOT of things, so take that with a grain of salt. What IS certain fact is that Lucifer means "bringer of light" and WAS a Roman god of the morning star. This I am sure of.
Sky takes design elements from MANY sources, but the story is undoubtedly biblical. And that really shouldn't be a surprise, given that the bible is really freaking old and has quite a lot of stuff in it! Like.... A LOT of stuff and some of it doesn't make any sense at all. I mean, there was a law about if a thief got away before the sunrise, it was their stuff now or something? It's been a while since I read those particular verses, forgive my casualness but it's 7 am and I'm doing this off the top of my head while getting ready for the day.
Okay. Take a breath. You still with me? Good. Because I'm about to basically speedrun not only the bible, but my church's scripture as well- The Book of Morm-n.
I am censoring it because I have the name blacklisted after seeing so much hate and ignorance and straight-up MALICE on this website, so if you reblog this, PLEASE don't actually spell it out or I will not be able to view the post. Thank you.
So God (by whatever name you'd like) has his "chosen people". He helps and strengthens them and shows them miracles, yes? And as long as they listen to Him, they are blessed. Seems like a good deal to ME, but you know how it is with humans. Give them too much success and they get cocky. Turn their backs on God and start giving THEMSELVES the credit- Which.... Doesn't sit too well. Consequently, they lose His favor and his help until they humble themselves and realize it WAS thanks to Him they were able to get this far. Rinse and repeat for a few thousand years or so.
Basically, God is HAPPY to help out as long as you don't forget He IS helping. But humans are forgetful and they eventually fall away and need to learn they need His help. We call it the Pride Cycle in my church, and it IS a cycle. You see it over and over again.
Now, if we draw parallels and look at Megabird as "God" and perhaps Resh as "Satan", more things click.
Whatever happened in Eden was BIG. Like major ultimate, plain apocalyptic. And now the cycle of the spirits returning to Megabird can't continue because SOMEBODY had to mess it up with something more powerful than simple indifference. This wasn't just the ancestors turning their backs on Megabird, this was them PHYSICALLY UNABLE to return to the light because of the darkness.
And that's why Skykids were created. To do what they no longer could.
Now, then, if- As I believe- Resh is the king and Alef is the prince and they are not the same, then it also seems likely that Alef was the FIRST Skykid. Like an olive branch from Megabird- "I want you to come back. Please don't go further. There IS a way back, and I will give it to you."
To continue the comparison, it would be appropriate to compare Alef to Christ in this sense- The sense of being "firstborn", of being a PRINCE rather than a king.
And all the other Skykids ALSO fit this comparison because of the fact we lose our light and life so the spirits can go home.
But UNLIKE what is taught in Christianity, it is not a PERMANENT saving, evidenced by the fact that the spirits- and the Skykids- RETURN to the world. It is also possible that Alef was sent BEFORE the fall of Eden as a warning almost- Telling Resh all was not yet lost and he could STOP and be forgiven still.
But Satan's crime was pride and I believe it is the same with Resh. They want the power and the glory and the credit that rightly belongs to another- The being which MADE them. So of course he would not have stopped.
Of course, the Ark, Eden's name... There are other parallels to be made, and this is all just speculation from me based on what I think.
#sky: children of the light#that sky game#sky: cotl#holy ship that was long#uhhhhh#tw: christianity#I swear I am not preaching merely informing
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Increasingly The Norm
“For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. …When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.” Mark 5:4-5,15NIV
When he grew up his parents fought frequently. He worshipped Mom, who generally spared him confrontations with his father. Dad expected him to actually do physical labor at home, even spanking him for disobedience occasionally. Mom became ill. While Dad became an evil monster in son’s eyes. As a teenager, he began dabbling with the dark side. Adulthood found him being fired from every job for failing to work; smoking dope, defaming Dad in the eyes of everyone.
Over the years, he embellished his stories in size and severity; figured out how to permanently keep from working by staging mental breakdowns, cutting himself, yelling nonsense to the top of his lungs; returning to his previous normal, (when not around psychiatric clinics). Social Security Disability came through because of his ‘severe abuse’ as a child and inability to cope. Next he discovered and embraced Transgenderism. Now he’s a she, believes every lie he’s told to be truth— living a life of pure hatred wreaking revenge on good old dad. He lives among the general population, owns a home, but just seems slightly strange to most observers. Demon possessed— probably— just like the man from Gadarenes.
I daresay, there are millions of people walking among us who have demons. Some demons live inside— possessing —progressively descending into worse conditions. While other demon-possessed people live the high life of celebrities appearing to be in good condition. Others have demons come for a visit, stay awhile, mess up the person’s world, Then leave while they’re left picking up the pieces. Millions more whose lives are hindered with demons of hatred, lying, rage, murder, alcohol, drugs, sexual demons, even spirits of infirmity— keeping people sick. “…Behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years” Luke 13:11NKJV.
Our world is in trouble. Believers quit caring about the demoniacs. Christians don’t lovingly confront, bringing the lost to deliverance. What are we afraid of? Do we believe our every act as Believers needs to be done inside a church building? Are we afraid of making waves? Drawing attention to ourselves? Showing off Jesus? Acknowledging the possessed?
The rest of the story— “When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret… As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was… wherever He went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged Him to let them touch even the edge of His cloak, and all who touched it were healed” Mark 6:53-56NIV. This can be the rest of the story for the lost around us.
Have we grown accustomed to these demoniacs being in our lives? Fact is, these abnormalities are becoming increasingly the norm. Do we even recognize them anymore? What if Jesus’ Believers suddenly began setting the demon possessed and oppressed free, like Jesus did with the man of Gerasenes? We have His name. His authority, His power— see Luke 10. Would bystanders be even more afraid of those Jesus’ delivered people?
We are commissioned to be like Jesus, read Mark 16. Will we awaken and do as He told us to do? It’s your choice. You choose.
LET’S PRAY: LORD God help us to wake up and help those who are possessed. Give us discernment to know those who need freed, in the name of Jesus Christ.
by Debbie Veilleux
Copyright 2023 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional, as author. Thank you.
#Jesus Christ#lord of lords#word of god#holy spirit#god#it's your choice#devotional#increasingly#norm#demon possession#oppressed#accustomed to#commissioned#love#hope#faith
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Not really an "update" but definitely a note
So Hera is one of the new spirits who saw me having a meltdown a couple of days ago, was shocked/horrified that I apparently lose my shit and start screaming for help all the time, and she's wondering why the fuck nobody's HELPED me yet.
Especially not 97% of the anito. Hera is extremely concerned that the only named Tagalog spirits who have shown up are three sea-gods that I have a REALLY hard time believing are the actual anito, what with the reading I got saying that the anito abandoned me and I guess I'm shit out of luck (my phrasing, not the reader's). So I get the fun conflicting emotions where I want to believe them, but I also know that any Tagalog spirits claiming that they're the anito and they actually DO care about me are just AUTOMATICALLY suspicious now.
--
Anyway, so a couple of days ago, the Water-Spirit and I were talking about something or another and then Spirit-Me devolved into screaming, "HELPPPPPPPPPP!!! HELLLLLLLP!!!! LET ME OUT!!!! LET ME OUT OF THIS FUCKING NOTHINGNESS I'M STUCK IN!!! SOMEONE WHO'S WILLING AND ABLE TO HELP ME, PLEASE!!! I CAN'T FIND A JOB AND NOBODY WITH MONEY CARES ABOUT MY ART, AND I CAN'T MOVE OUT OF MY MOM'S SHITTY ANCIENT APARTMENT BECAUSE I HAVE NO JOB!!! I SWEAR I'LL STOP BOTHERING THE SPIRITS IF SOMEONE JUST FIGURES OUT A WAY TO HELP ME, PLEASE!!! I WOULD NOT BE BEGGING SPIRITS FOR HELP IF THERE WAS ANY NORMAL WAY TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!! PLEASE!!! LET ME OUTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!"
Hera just stopped and stared in horror as the Water-Spirit and Dionysus started frantically trying to calm me down, and she said, "That's it??? That's all you're doing??? Where are her people's gods?!"
And Dionysus was like "Hera, we told you already--most of them aren't here. A reader told her that the anito hate her poor-person begging and quit on her. And they said the anito think her blog, her fantasy writing, and basically everything she did regarding the anito, are blasphemous."
And Hera said "Yes, I know that! But getting a house and a job has nothing to do with her art, so they could at least help her with that! How is she going to make LESS-BLASPHEMOUS art if she's always miserable and stuck with her mother?"
So Dionysus said "Well we don't know WHY they're not here, but they're not."
And Haik Number Four arrived and he just wearily went, "Is that what people think of us now? Even if the others are mad at her, they are not like the Christian God--most of us shouldn't think suffering makes you WORTHY or BETTER or anything like that. You pray for help, and most pagan spirits think you should GET IT."
That just sent me into another frantic wave of begging Haik specifically for help, so Hera just "dragged me out" of the Otherworld for a few minutes going, "STOP. STOP. I DON'T LIKE THIS."
I may have heard a spiritual "door" slam shut, so the others couldn't talk to us.
When I found out my brother died, the Dagda (Irish Pantheon) did something similar and reluctantly "kicked me out of the Otherworld" entirely for a few days. He said I needed to process my grief the normal way instead of trying to feel better using the spirit-world as a coping mechanism.
But this was only for a few minutes, and Hera told me, "Honey. Please. Why are you doing this? I don't like it."
And I said, "I don't like it either, but if houses here didn't cost a million dollars, and if rent was less than two thousand a month for a fucking tiny studio apartment, I would not be begging the spirits for help!"
She told me, "I know. I don't like that you are reduced to doing this. You should have gotten help WAY before this, and the ones you want help from don't seem to want to do it! It's already degrading for people to beg for help, and you've been begging whoever listens for who knows how long?!"
I got irrationally mad and just seethed at her, "DEGRADING??? THAT'S FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT TO LOOK BAD. I NEED SOME FUCKING HELP, HERA--LIKE AN ART CAREER AND A HOUSE! OR A MILLION DOLLARS TO GET THE HOUSE, AND THEN I CAN FOCUS ON MY ART!!! I DON'T CARE IF I'M DEGRADING MYSELF! I WILL KEEP BEGGING THE SPIRITS FOR HELP UNTIL I GET SOME GODDAMN HELP!!!"
So I didn't attack her or anything, but I started screaming and thrashing in anger/pain, and then Lola Buwaya came around to just grab me and shake me. She's done that a couple of times when I have an especially bad fit of rage/despair.
And it's not GOOD, but it gets me to stop, so it's "the stuff we have to do for now." Like how Hypnos made the obvious comment that a lot of my sleep problems are due to stress, and if I had an income and/or my own place, I would sleep a lot better. But I don't have either, so I have to constantly ask a sleep-god to put me under.
Hera didn't like the shaking, either. She just went, "EXCUSE ME, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! She's not a fish!"
Lola told her, "You all are too nice! You pretend she's a normal person! One who can control her feelings and listen when people want her to calm down! She is not, and she will not be until she can get the hell away from her mother!"
The cursing surprised me because Lola does not curse a lot. Much like the Water-Spirit, she talks formally/archaically most of the time and it's really jarring when she finally drops a swear-word.
Anyway, so she left now that I wasn't screaming anymore, and Hera just sighed and went, "Where are your people's gods in all this? You have three possible sea-gods and one water-spirit husband, but they don't tend to deal with buying a house or artistic pursuits. I suppose I'll help you with what I can, sweetheart. Just keep doing what you're doing with the Water-Spirit."
And she's already said she'll try to help me a couple of times, but this time was really striking because I was in a shitty place and having someone be NICE felt weird. It was so foreign that it almost felt painful, especially since she wasn't asking me to do anything (different/new) in exchange for her help.
So I told her "Hera, why are you so NICE to me? I mean, your relationship with Zeus kind of precedes... both of you."
She said, "Well, you and him are not me and Zeus. You two have a GOOD relationship. That is my concern, so that's why I'm helping."
And the "closed door" was probably open by now, so Dionysus came in and went, "Fuck my dad, babe. What are you girls talking about?"
I went, "The same shit I keep talking about, Dionysus. I need money for my own place, and I can't seem to get any. I want to do art for a living, but most people I ask about it never answer me back, or they take weeks or months to finally say they can't actually help, but my art sounds REALLY REALLY cool. And how it seems like every other spirit thinks something is wrong with the sheer absence of the anito in my life, and the reasons that people have told me for why the anito aren't here makes a lot of the Tagalog spirits freak out."
And Dionysus sighed and went "Well, this day was too exciting. Go to sleep now, babe, it's 3am."
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How to Parent The Christian Way! Raising Godly Children: The Divine Calling of Christian Parents (Part 1)
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)
Note: This article is not going to be helpful for you if you are outside of Christ, and if you are.. then repent of your sins and believe in Christ, so you may be saved from your sins and have eternal life in Jesus. For in him alone is life (read this first, and come back — If you are not Christian)
At some point in our lives, we were all children, and chances are that we will all experience the joy of parenting before leaving this earth (either biological or non-biological children). Notice I used the term joy because indeed children are a gift to us from our benevolent Lord (“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him” — Psalm 127:3 ). As parents, we are required to raise them in all Godliness. It is necessary to prioritize the inculcation of Godly morals into them, for indeed that is what is demanded of us as parents by God —
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)
As my leading verse (which I always place at the top) says — If we train our children up Godliness they will not depart from it. Paul Washer once asked something along these lines — “How is it that we get so caught up, in taking our kids to football training and piano lessons and all that, but do not prepare them for the most important day — The day the stand face to face before the Lord”. Once again just like my previous article on Forgiveness (check it out after this if you haven’t seen it) please allow me to tell you a story from my life. Well, this isn’t as funny as the previous one but also quite insightful, It goes like this: so when I was younger, I had this (bad) habit of throwing stones indiscriminately. I would throw them into houses, farms, schools, churches, offices, etc. (you get the point). So one faithful day, I threw a stone, and it landed on some kid named Kofi’s head and almost shattered his skull, (that might be a bit of an exaggeration). With blood spewing out profusely, I immediately went into a panic, and now that I think about it, I might have changed the shape of his head (no kidding!). To cut this tale short, I was well disciplined for my unruly actions by my Father, and I never repeated that act. What I am trying to say is, that the disciplining of my father, actually instilled a level of fear in me, and thank Christ I never repeated that action. The rod and the reprimand, instilled wisdom in me.
“A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.”
Proverbs 29:15 (NIV)
Godly Discipline and Love
The question now is how we discipline our children, and the answer is with the word of God in an act of love and not merely by lashing out in anger at them when they offend us. In our parenting, we should try as much as possible to make Christ be at the very center of our parenting. We must be examples of love, integrity, patience, trustworthiness, and courage, exhibiting the very character of our Lord and Saviour who is praised forever.
Importance
In living like this, or striving to do so, we will be very good examples to our children who tend to emulate characters they see and interact with as they explore the world. Remember the purpose of your parenting is to raise Godly children who will reflect Christ to an ungodly world, to the glory of God the Father and the Son.
Nurturing Faith in Christ Your Children
As parents we must take up the task of not only imbibing our children with Godly principles but also nurturing and building up their faith in Christ Jesus, this should be done, by praying together with them, and teaching them the word of God, if your children are young, I would say that while children bibles are great, try to get them up to reading the real bible as quickly as possible.
There is only so much that can be said in one article, and I will stop here, since I am not feeling too great, and have a lot more to say on this topic than I feel I can write in one article. Thank you so much for actually making it to the end, please join our family, I would love to hear from you as well, yep really! My contact mail should be all over your screen, but here it is anyway “Contact me!” . I try to be as theologically accurate as possible, but if you have any concerns, i.e. “You are out of line”, “Why do you keep telling us stories of your life?”, etc. Please voice them’ out, and once again, thank you!
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who called us to fellowship with him through the gospel of reconciliation guard our hearts and minds, and may the Holy Spirit who is at work within us will and work for his good pleasure, conform us evermore to the glorious image of Christ who is praised forevermore.
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road when you lie down, and when you get up.”
Deuteronomy 6:6–7 (NIV)
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Entry #221 dated March 04, 21’
Many of you believe (my) poetry is a battle rhyme. All the wars I’ve waged, I’ve lost. In the name of love. I have a god complex for redemption through salvaging others from the shipwreck of myself ? Poetry is a way to be found, in this labyrinth of loneliness; to be seen, in shades of intimacy; to be loved, when one is lost…
I shut my laptop again, when I hear her footsteps approaching. My mother enters my room with an air of entitlement. “It’s prayer time”, she says. “Give me five ?” I ask her. She lingers by the door. Unlike my nature of reticence, my mother cannot sit with her thoughts without spitting them out like sapota seeds hitting the back of a spoon. “Did you upset that poor girl again ? She’s going through a great deal of stress, now is when you can actually be supportive; you see your sister going through the same thing. It’s not easy.” You see, my mother sees what she wants to see; my side of the story is usually a blindspot. “She’s just studying. I’ll speak to her, don’t worry.” I reassure her. “I pray for her often and I think of her like my own daughter.” Only cause she’s Christian. “Okay Ma” I tell her. She turns to leave the room, I jolt my laptop back open slightly. Mother harks back “Why are you so indifferent to us ?” “What did I do? I didn’t even say anything”, I plead. “That’s the problem isn’t it ? You don’t do anything. You barely ever step out of this room. Your father is anxious about your future. All I get are a few words out of you. The only real thing you ever say is within those blank pages you share with your internet friends.” My tongue is stuck in her rat trap, I make a home in that discomforting silence.
I fathom the words in compliance. “I only want a moment to breathe” I tell her. She lays it on me with a left hook. “You’re at your best when you’re rife with excuses.” Most of my scars are from her words; I tell no one. An uppercut. “Don’t you have anything to say?” she demands.
Ma, you know you do that thing where you bog me down with this verbal onslaught and I forget to speak; no chance of being heard. The faculty of listening is lost on you, which has made it incredibly difficult for me to navigate this terrain of communication in my relationships too. I burrow inside this hole of my own which most people don’t understand, so I invent language all over again. I try to make them understand but no one stays long enough to learn. It’s difficult living the same cycle of misunderstanding but I’m trying so hard and I’m tired all the time. I step out of the safety of my mind, I scrunch my toes and answer. “No, I’m just tired”, I tell her. “It must be because you were doing the dishes all day, walking the dog and cleaning up after, going to the doctor…” she pokes at an open wound. “Ma, please”, I beg her. Another laceration, close to an artery.
In a perfect world, you would be standing at the edge of the horizon besides me, holding my hand, seeing how far we can throw our voices into the ocean. It’s ironic how you should be an abode for love, yet all I want to do is run away from home. I hold myself together in refusal to be vulnerable in front of her. “You got to make your choices, be with the person you love, build the life you dreamt of. Why don’t I get the same chance to be… happy ?” I ask her. “You can’t make a choice. You’re a confused boy. Now, please just talk to that girl. Make us proud and do it right.” she snickers. I choke on blood and words.
I rub the corner of my eye, from where a stray tear wants to escape. No woman has ever broken my heart, quite the way she has. My mother. Tears erupt over the landscape of my skin. Love has always been too far out of reach for me. “It’s just not fair,” I whimper.
She kisses my forehead and whispers slyly, “Life isn’t meant to be fair.”
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Gallowsnovel Chaotic Sword God novel - Chapter 2643 - The Fate of Traitors (One) weary vacuous suggest-p3
Deevyfiction Chaotic Sword Godblog - Chapter 2643 - The Fate of Traitors (One) existence sprout to you-p3
Domestic Manners of the Americans
Novel-Chaotic Sword God-Chaotic Sword God
Chapter 2643 - The Fate of Traitors (One) guide anger
But soon after, he noticed Jian Chen, who descended out of the sky and vanished into the Tian Yuan clan. He regained some self confidence. In basic fact, some enthusiasm and eagerness flashed through his eyes.
Nevertheless, he had misjudged the situation and personally forced the Heavenly Moon Business towards devastation.
Every one of the formations in the Tian Yuan clan experienced dropped. Ruining the clan was only reliant on some mere seconds, and so the small superstar lord could presently see glory. He obtained already been prepared to view the destruction on the Tian Yuan clan and was contemplating the ultimate way to record Shangguan Mu’er still living. As a matter of truth, he was wondering about how he should ravage Shangguan Mu’er.
“Do you think to become a slave can compensate for the disloyality on the Incredible Moon Business?” Jian Chen did not waver. He stared on the ancestor from the Heavenly Moon Business coldly as his eyes brimmed with wiping out motive.
christian mysticism quotes
Even so, he possessed never thought that in a few seconds, the 3 Chaotic Primes he moved would all perish, and many types of the cultivators who assaulted the Tian Yuan clan would flee with regard to their day-to-day lives. The Tian Yuan clan which should happen to be damaged actually actually maintained to generate a turnaround that has a crushing benefit.
Every one of the formations on the Tian Yuan clan obtained decreased. Destroying the clan was only a question of a number of just a few seconds, so the little celebrity lord could actually see victory. He acquired been prepared to observe the devastation with the Tian Yuan clan and was planning on the ideal way to capture Shangguan Mu’er lively. In fact, he was contemplating how he should ravage Shangguan Mu’er.
In less than a century, the ancestral emperor that Mo Xingfeng once believed to be impossible just knelt there this way. He felt stunned, struggling to calm down for quit some time.
To any or all very pleased persons, leading them to be kneel was even more complicated than eradicating them, in addition to the person at present kneeling was an ancestral emperor in the Perfect Moon Kingdom. He had been a superior presence who had the ability to choose their fates using a solo expression before the Tian Yuan clan experienced even been built.
Jian Chen’s facial area immediately turned out to be extremely sunken in what he discovered. Nubis’ cuts were far even worse than he got envisioned. Nubis was basically holding on with a line. He had a feet inside the jaws of dying currently.
The Cruise of the Elena
“I’ve appear for my discipline!” At this point, the one living through ancestral emperor of your Heavenly Moon Business came within the Tian Yuan clan. His vision were actually hollow and filled with death while he stared at Jian Chen. Afterwards, he reduced his head before everybody in the Tian Yuan clan, discarding his pride like a Primordial realm professional since he slowly knelt straight down.
The explanation was that he or she have been stunned from the quick reversal. For just a moment, he could only hover there blankly. He stared with the corpses of your three Chaotic Primes as they declined out of the skies and been unsuccessful to go back to his feelings.
The small superstar lord was the one individual that failed to flee. Exactly why he did not flee had not been while he was the foster son of your Nine Splendor Legend Lord and was confident that no one would injure him offered his identification.
It absolutely was not because he could not acknowledge pretty much everything. It possessed just happened excessively easily.
Despite the fact that a large number of individuals acquired actually run away and off to search lower those who got fled, some of them still continued to be at the rear of. Currently, the many members of the top echelon, the guards, the servants, and many others stared in the ancient man who knelt downward before Jian Chen in impact. It had been completely calm.
“Jian Chen, I’m high-quality. It’s only some tiny injuries. Go check up on Nubis. His wounds are a lot more extreme than mine,” reported Shangguan Mu’er. She smiled almost like a pressure ended up being picked up from her.
“How did this happen?” the younger star lord murmured to themself. Right then, he experienced like he was dreaming, as though all that got taken place before him had not been real life.
The Evidence in the Case
To everyone proud individuals, which makes them kneel was even more difficult than hurting them, not forgetting how the man or woman presently kneeling was an ancestral emperor in the Perfect Moon Empire. He became a supreme living who possessed the capability to determine their fates by using a single expression until the Tian Yuan clan had even been founded.
Jian Chen fed Nubis the perfect drugs that they acquired. He withstood beside Nubis because he slowly looked all around. When he observed the annihilated provincial town past the Tian Yuan clan, getting rid of objective immediately erupted from the foot of his heart just like a volcano.
He had not been kneeling away his individual great pride, although the take great pride in in the Incredible Moon Kingdom likewise.
Shangguan Mu’er failed to know regardless of whether the Martial Soul lineage could end specialists like Xu Zhiping and Huangfu Yuigi, as Jian Chen is at outer living space sooner. Because of this, she was very concerned about his safety. Ever since he obtained shown up before her unscathed, she could finally avoid being worried.
INSIGNIA OF THE EYES
While a multitude of people got definitely jog off and away to hunt downwards the people who experienced fled, a portion of these still continued to be right behind. At this time, most of the people in top of the echelon, the guards, the servants, etc stared in the ancient man who knelt down before Jian Chen in impact. It was completely private.
Pretty much everything taken place inside an extremely short length of time. He obtained decreased from heaven to heck. It turned out unattainable for the younger star lord to not be heavily affected.
“Do you imagine becoming a slave can compensate for the betrayal on the Incredible Moon Kingdom?” Jian Chen did not waver. He stared in the ancestor in the Divine Moon Kingdom coldly as his sight brimmed with wiping out motive.
Shangguan Mu’er failed to know whether or not the Martial Soul lineage could cease authorities like Xu Zhiping and Huangfu Yuigi, as Jian Chen was in outside room before. As a result, she was very worried about his safe practices. Ever since he experienced made an appearance before her unscathed, she could finally quit being worried.
“I’ve occur for my discipline!” At this point, the only living through ancestral emperor with the Divine Moon Business turned up during the Tian Yuan clan. His vision were actually hollow and loaded with death since he stared at Jian Chen. After, he decreased his travel before everyone in the Tian Yuan clan, discarding his great pride for a Primordial world pro as he slowly knelt decrease.
His Genius Wife Is A Superstar
That had been while he was the ancestral emperor on the Perfect Moon Kingdom, the sole other ancestor of the business.
“Do you might think to become a slave can compensate for the betrayal of the Perfect Moon Kingdom?” Jian Chen did not waver. He stared on the ancestor from the Heavenly Moon Empire coldly as his eye brimmed with hurting purpose.
“If my measly sturdiness will not attention the patriarch, I am able to kick the bucket in the interest of the offense. I only desire the patriarch could be merciful and gives our Heavenly Moon Kingdom an opportunity to redeem ourself,” continuing the ancestor of the Divine Moon Kingdom. He possessed completely acknowledged loss, emotion no anxiety towards it in anyway. The one thing he could not quit being worried about was the Heavenly Moon Empire.
Even though a huge number of individuals possessed already manage off and away to search down the people who acquired fled, a percentage ones still stayed at the rear of. Currently, each of the people in top of the echelon, the guards, the servants, and so on stared in the older mankind who knelt downward before Jian Chen in impact. It turned out completely private.
“Jian Chen, I’m excellent. It’s only some little wounds. Go check into Nubis. His wounds are a great deal more serious than my own,” reported Shangguan Mu’er. She smiled as though a burden were picked up from her.
Jian Chen fed Nubis the top tablets that he obtained. He stood beside Nubis because he slowly looked approximately. When he found the annihilated provincial community past the Tian Yuan clan, killing purpose immediately erupted from the bottom of his coronary heart just like a volcano.
Right then, he turned out to be all on your own.
Which was because he was the ancestral emperor on the Incredible Moon Empire, the one remaining ancestor on the kingdom.
The primary reason was that he had been stunned with the quick reversal. For just a moment, he could only hover there blankly. He stared at the corpses on the three Chaotic Primes as they decreased through the atmosphere and failed to go back to his feelings.
A Florida Sketch-Book
Nevertheless, he obtained never imagined that within a few seconds, the 3 Chaotic Primes he introduced really would perish, and all the cultivators who attacked the Tian Yuan clan would flee regarding their life. The Tian Yuan clan that will are already wiped out presently actually handled to have a turnaround using a crushing advantage.
He was not afraid of dying. Whether it be the Divine Moon Empire’s disloyality before or him kneeling lower now, it had been all with regard to the empire’s emergency.
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•ʙʀᴜɴᴏ's sᴜᴘᴇʀsᴛɪᴛɪᴏɴs•
Because Encanto is very popular a lot of people have misunderstood some things about Latin American culture and one of these things are Bruno’s superstition, these are not tics, but superstitions which shouldn’t be a surprised considering Latin American countries are very religious and we tend to have a lot of these weird superstitions.
Throwing Salt~
Throwing salt over your shoulder is present and has been present in a lot of cultures around the world.
The Sumerians believed that spilling salt was of bad luck so they nullified the bad luck of spilled salt by throwing a pinch of it over their left shoulder. This tradition would later spread and be adopted by Egyptians, Assyrians and Greeks.
Other cultures have different superstitions about throwing salt over your shoulder like for example Mahayana Buddhists do it to ward off evil spirits.
In Latin America we Christianized this tradition so we throw salt over our shoulder to blind the Devil and stop him from performing mischief.
Knocking on Wood~
This superstition actually comes from the ancient pagan cultures/religions such as the Celts who believed that spirits and gods resided in trees so knocking on the wood would rouse the spirits and call for their protection.
In Latin America is not quite like that. When we are talking of something bad that could potentially happen for example let’s say that your mom says ‘Look at both sides when you cross the street or a car can hit you’ she would then proceed to knock on wood in order to avoid ‘tempting fate’
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PSA: Please stop saying that Bruno it’s autistic because he does this stuff which are at the end of the day, superstitions, it was so weird to see people talk about how Bruno was autistic for doing things that I and thousands of Hispanics do on a daily basis.
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Adventures in Aphobia #1
So I was scrolling through Tumblr the other day (a regrettable mistake as always), and I had the great pleasure of seeing this joyous post.
*deep breath*
Not gonna lie, posts like this make me real pissed. Pissed because the person who posted this exists in a space where they feel comfortable enough to post this online. Pissed because these posts are so common and often face little backlash. And pissed because there’s nothing better than allosexuals condescendingly explaining to asexual people why they’re dirty attention whores who invent their own oppression. Ace people deserve to be defended against this horseshit. Young people see these posts, and it’s extremely damaging to have your identity be nothing more than fuel for people in discourse to mock you and demand you bled in order for them to notice your pain.
Anger aside, many people do not see why this post is wrong, so why is it? Let’s unpack this clusterfuck of bigotry:
“would love to see substantive evidence of systematic “aphobia” that isn’t actually just misogyny, toxic masculinity, or rpe culture.”
God damn, we are not mincing our words here XD. A few things: systematic in bold, which tells you if you do not make a blood sacrifice on the altar of queer pain you will not be taken seriously. Potential nitpick, but systemic and systematic are not the same thing. I believe systemic is the word they’re looking for. Systematic implies a lot more intentionality that can be hard to prove. Systemic merely means that systems, in their current state, do aphobic things, which they absolutely do.
“Aphobia” in quotes is absolutely rich. Not only will this person refuse to acknowledge systemic aphobia, which is only one type, but this poster casts clear doubt upon the mere concept of aphobia in and of itself. We love to see it.
There’s a lot to unpack here. The statement, as clearly condescending as intended, is sort of correct, though it doesn’t mean a whole lot. Systemic oppression is about the systems in a society (government, healthcare, etc) discriminating against people. Systemic oppression is not bigotry faced on a person-to-person level. In short, systematic oppression is something a person experiences in their overall life, while personal discrimination is experienced on a personal level by people who are not singularly in control of the systems. This post boils down the negative comments ace people face into being called “weird”, which is an understatement for sure, but calling a gay person weird isn’t systemic oppression either.
It’s still bad and discriminatory.
This is such a snotty way to dismiss aphobia as some mere, insignificant comment with no meaning as if it doesn’t reinforce society’s painful aphobic views in the same way casual homophobic comments reinforce heteronormativity and society’s hostility toward gay people.
Ace people face discrimination in healthcare, most notably, which is systemic discrimination, but the systemic discrimination of asexuals really ought to be its own post if I’m to nosedive into it. Even if ace people faced no systemic discrimination, it wouldn’t make this point anymore correct. Discrimination is a perfectly valid reason to feel disregarded by society, and often only ace people are denied the right to feel this way and are instead gaslit into admitting what they face is no big deal and they’re just making it up for attention.
The experience of being pressured to have sex when you’re allo vs ace is very different. The vast majority of allo people do not plan to be celibate their whole lives. Many ace people do not want to have sex, ever. “Waiting for sex” in much of western society and in Christianity is seen as pure and honorable. Yet being asexual and never wanting sex is seen as a deviant disorder and people are accused of robbing their partner of sex forever.
There’s really a specific flavor of sexual pressure that is unique to ace people. Sex being to “fix” someone or because they “just need to try it”.
In this respect, aphobic sexual pressure is better compared to that faced by gay people and lesbians. Lesbians especially often can face this same struggle, men pressuring them to have sex because they think lesbians just need to “try it” or to “fix them”. I can imagine this poster would have no issue acknowledging lesbophobia being the root of lesbians coerced into sex with men, yet she does not give ace people the same.
Imagine if someone said (and knowing our fucked world, someone probably has): “Lesbophobia doesn’t exist. It’s just misogyny. Straight women are coerced into sex too!”
It’d be pathetic bullshit. Toxic masculinity, misogyny and many other issues can all tangle into combined messes with other forms of bigotry. Lesbophobia is an experience that deserves to be recognized apart from misogyny, even if the two are linked. Please stop erasing ace people’s experiences with this when it’s not the same thing.
Honestly, though, this post, as trashy as it is, if anything, is perhaps, really asking: Is there any type of aphobic experience that’s inherently exclusive to ace people?
I still wager to go say, yes, yes there is, but I must make an important point first:
Most experiences of queer discrimination are not limited to queer people.
Homophobia and transphobia are both experienced by cishets in certain instances. Feminine straight men can be victims of homophobic harassment. This does not disprove the fact that it’s homophobia just because a straight man is the victim of it. A tall cis woman with broad shoulders and a lower voice may be the victim of transphobic remarks or comments. The basis of these comments is rooted in transphobia, however, so the fact that the victim is cis does not erase the transphobia.
People who argue that experiences ace people complain about can be experienced by allosexuals are not poking a legitimate hole in doing this. Certain experiences related to aphobia can and are experienced by allosexuals. If you do not acknowledge this, then homophobia and transphobia aren’t real because cishet people have sometimes experienced them.
Despite cishets sometimes experiencing queerphobia, most of us acknowledge that their experience of that bigotry, however unfortunate, is not the same as that experienced by actual queer people. It’d be quite homophobic for a feminine straight man to claim he knew just as much about the gay experience as an actual gay man. Similarly, when allosexual people relate experiences that were rooted in aphobia, it’s overstepping a line when they claim asexual discrimination isn’t real because they experienced elements of it too.
Cishet (cishet including allosexuals) people do not experience their doctors telling them their sexuality might be a disorder or caused by trauma. Allo queer people can experience this with their sexualities too.
“using sex appeal to sell products is misogyny, it is not engineered to gross sex-repulsed people, it is meant to objectify women.”
This is a strawman thinner than my last nerve. Uh, what? What ace people are you seeing that literally think sex appeal was engineered to gross-out sex-repulsed people?? I don’t think this is a core argument??
Yes, sex-repulsed ace people sometimes complain about sex appeal in media being uncomfortable. But that’s it. Every time an ace person shares a discomfort of theirs doesn’t mean it’s the entire basis of their oppression. For the love of God, let ace people discuss their experiences without being blow-torched over not being oppressed enough with an individual discomfort.
BONUS ROUND
(This was in the tags)
“Completely vilifies celibate individuals”
...no…? What…? Huh…?
The most charitable interpretation of this vague accusation is that the poster means celibate people face aphobia as well, due to not wanting to have sex. I have no idea how this “vilifies” anyone, but that aside, as said before: people who are not queer can face aphobia. Also worth noting that society treats celibate people way better than ace people, which is really another example of aphobia. Celibate people can be told they’re missing out (which could be at very least related to aphobic ideals), but they’re rarely called broken. Celibacy is seen more as a respected, controlled ideal in allo people, but when ace people want to do it, they’re just mentally ill.
Anyway, the post was aphobic trash, and it needs to be debunked more often. Mocking ace people online is not a good look anymore, guys. Don't be ugly.
#discourse#queer discourse#LGBT discourse#Adventures in Aphobia#ace discourse#asexual discourse#aphobia#ace discrimination#asexual#asexuality#LGBT#queer#ace#rant#aphobes have no shame but they should#imagine having a brain smoother than a banana peel
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Love and Love Making Among the Vikings
Below is an infodump post which focuses on these topics:
Courtship: The Viking Way
Good Personal Hygiene
Sex Before Marriage
Homosexuality being Acceptable (with limits)
Some Viking Marriage Customs That Survive Today
Viking Sexual Euphemisms
Acceptance of Adultery in the Viking Age
Viking Women Divorcing Their Husbands
Vikings in popular culture are often viewed as the brutes of the Dark Ages, robbing, raping and pillaging people and goods. However, an analysis of their personal lives shows a much different side. Family life was important to Norse men, and every proper, upstanding Viking aimed to marry and have children. And although their parents arranged their marriages, Norsemen liked to court their ladies- and made a special effort to impress them with their appearance.
As for Norse women, although they had to put up with their husband’s affairs with live-in mistresses, slaves and even other men, they had the right to divorce their partners for violence, neglect, and various sexually related issues. In fact, Norse customs of love, marriage, and sex set a high standard in their time- and some even survive to this day.
Courtship: The Viking Way
Courtship wasn’t strictly necessary in Norse culture as marriage was more about alliances than love. The prospective bride and groom’s families would command the negotiations, to create a match that would bind the two clans as allies – and sometimes end feuds. Many brides were promised as "peace pledges" to smooth troubled waters between rival families. Although the couple in question could voice an opinion, it was fair to say they had little choice but to go ahead with the match.
That didn’t mean there was no romance -but Norse men had to handle it carefully. If a potential groom was too slow in making advances to his prospective bride, the lady’s relatives could take this as a slight and seek blood vengeance. Eighteen courtships in the sagas ended in this messy fashion. On the other hand, it also didn’t pay to move too fast or stretch out the courtship too long. If the couple liked each other too much to wait for the wedding night, matters could become complicated by an unwanted pregnancy.
So attempts to cultivate what the Norse called ˜inn matki munr’ (‘the mighty passion’) were intricate and involved specific rituals. Meeting and talking was one way to forge a relationship. But some odd practices were also employed. For instance, if a girl wanted to show her man she liked him, she made him a shirt. As for Viking men, they would go out and handpick their lady a bunch of purple flowers- and then slap her around the face with it!
Love poetry, although a favorite of the Norse gods, was viewed with suspicion. In fact, Icelandic law forbade skalds to compose Mannsong, (‘maiden songs’) for women who were not married to them under the threat of outlawry or death. This suspicion came about because the Norse believed that the poems could act as spells to seduce and bind women. Worse still, such praises could suggest that the skald or his patron knew the lady more intimately than he should.
Even if they were not in love before the wedding, the couple would try and cultivate it afterward. Husbands would seat their wives next to them if they wanted to show affection. Couples could also express their closeness by sharing the same drinking horn. If a husband were feeling very affectionate, he would ˜put her on his lap’ where he and his wife could indulge in “kyssir hana’ – a kiss and a cuddle. Or he would put his head on her lap, and she would stroke his hair.
Good personal hygiene was a must
Central to making a good impression on a potential or actual partner was good personal hygiene and pride in one’s appearance. This practice applied to both men and women. Norse graves are packed with grooming essentials for the afterlife- regardless of whether they belonged to a man or a woman. Combs, toothpicks, tweezers and ear spoons were all familiar, demonstrating the Norse liked to be neat and tidy-and clean. The Arab, Ibn Fadlan may have felt horror at the Viking practice of sharing a communal wash bowl, but at least his Norse acquaintances washed their face and combed their hair daily.
In fact, the Norse were probably the cleanest people in the Dark Ages. According to the Saxon cleric, John of Wallingford, they bathed weekly, on a Saturday. Wallingford complained that this, and their habit of changing their clothes regularly, was to “ undermine the virtue of married women and even seduce the daughters of nobles to be their mistresses.” However, the Norse were not content merely to be neat and tidy. Ibn Fadlan also noted the Rus- Viking traders who occupied what is now modern Russia-favored bleaching their beards to a saffron yellow, using a strong lye soap.
This method was probably also used on the hair of men and women. Norse women would have been particularly keen on achieving the long, fair, shiny hair that was the feminine ideal, although the white skin that men also coveted was probably only managed by the wealthy. Men also favored long hair, as only slaves wore their hair close cropped. However, this did not mean they were unkept. Figurines show Viking men wearing their hair trimmed and their beards well groomed- either styled to a point or shaped as a goatee.
Finally, there was the question of clothing. When it came to making an impact, the Norse liked to dress to impress. As well as being clean, garments were brightly colored and adorned with the most costly array of jewelry you could afford. Cloak pins and arm rings all showed off status, impressing the object of your desire not only with your appearance but your wealth and prospects in life.
Sex before marriage was acceptable
It wasn’t always possible to marry the one you loved - or lusted after. The sagas make constant reference to “the illicit love visit.” In such cases, a young couple, forbidden from marrying would meet in secret. The sagas never mention sex occurring. However, it is highly unlikely the young man would risk a secret tryst simply to ˜talk’ to the object of his affections. The lovers, however, were said to ˜enjoy’ each other. A document detailing a wife’s dissatisfaction with her impotent husband because she couldn’t ˜enjoy‘ him suggests this is a term linked to sexual fulfilment.
Indeed, although female virginity was the ideal, it was just about acceptable for a woman to have had sexual relationships before her marriage-with certain provisos. First, she needed to have been discrete and not too prolific in her pre martial encounters. However, most importantly, she should not have had any children out of wedlock. This restriction was not for moral reasons. Illegitimate sons could become their father’s heirs- if he recognized them. Rather, society censured Illegitimacy because of the burden it placed on the maternal family, not because it was deemed wrong or shameful.
Illegitimate children were the responsibility of the mother’s family- and so a burden to it. It was they who ultimately supported the child. Even if the father acknowledged his child, he and his family were only obliged to provide two-thirds of its support. Worse yet, the mother probably lost all hope of marriage, as few men would want to take on the responsibility and expense of another man’s child. Thus her family would lose out further as she would gain no bride price and no family alliance. Thus chastity was often the safest bet.
For men, sex outside marriage posed no such strictures. They were free to indulge themselves however they pleased-as long as they submitted to marriage in the end. For to remain unmarried in Norse society was unacceptable. A man accused of shunning wedlock was said to be ˜fleeing from the vagina.’ Women who did the same were “fleeing from the penis.’ Such people risked becoming social outcasts because they were not fulfilling their ultimate role: the procreation of children for the survival of their families and society.
Homosexuality was acceptable- with limits
Pre Christian Norse views on homosexuality weren’t simple. On the face of it, Norse society accepted sexual relationships between men. However, there were restrictions. Firstly, such relationships could not interfere with any future or current marriage. So the man still had to marry- whatever his views on the opposite sex- and his wife and her family had to be prepared to ignore her husband’s male lover or lovers. It was most important that the man did not neglect his conjugal duties. He still needed to have sex with his wife.
More important was that no free Norse man was the passive partner in a homosexual relationship. Vikings would rape males and females when on raiding trips to shame, degrade and weaken them. To be penetrated was to be submissive. It was acceptable to gain pleasure from penetrating someone- but not from being penetrated yourself. One of the worst insults an enemy could hurl at a Norse man was “sordinn” (penetrated). Any man branded as such would fight to the death defend his honor. These conflicts led to Scandinavian law codes making such types of insult illegal because of the bloodshed, with the slanderer often outlawed- if the injured party didn’t kill him first!
However, if such abuse was believed or proven, it had grave consequences for the man in question. Although Norse myths tell of gods such as Loki and even Odin taking on a submissive role in sex, Norse mortal society did not tolerate passivity in men. The man in question would become a social outcast, branded "ergi” (unmanly). Such men were believed to lack the ability to be vital and virile members of society. They were deemed liable to be ineffectual as fathers and fighters- and as such of no use. Dominant homosexuals were quite another matter.
There is no mention of lesbianism in the tales. Nor are there any references in other Old Norse texts to female homosexual relationships, so we cannot gauge pre-Christian attitudes to female homosexuality. However, Icelandic Christian law suggests lesbianism did occur in Norse society. In the 12th century, Bishop Porlakr Porhallson decreed “if women satisfy each other they shall be ordered the same penance as men who perform the most hideous adultery between them or with a quadruped.”
The Eddas and some of the sagas also specifically mention Freja having sex with other women. In fact at a banquet Loki accused her of having slept all the other Aesir at one time or another, a claim which Freja never denied.
Some Viking Marriage customs survive today
The Norse held their weddings on a Friday, the day of Frigg, the goddess of marriage and fertility. The time of the year was also crucial. Late summer or autumn were the preferred times. This period of the year was harvest time, a time of abundance and plenty. A good supply of meat, fruit, and grain was essential to ensure an amply provisioned wedding feast.
One beverage was of particular importance. The ˜bridal ale’ was first consumed in a loving cup by the bride and groom at the marriage feast. The couple would use the mead-like brew to seal their union with a toast to Odin and Freya. The bridal ale was brewed with a good deal of honey, to ensure the fertility of the newlyweds. Their families gifted the couple with enough of this sweet beer to last them a month- a custom that gives us the modern term ˜honeymoon.’
Before the wedding, both bride and groom took a ritual steam bath. Although they did not wear special clothes for the wedding, both wore specific tokens on their special day. For the bride, this was a floral wreath upon her head. For the groom, it was a sword, purposely robbed from one of his family’s burial mounds (or an old family sword buried in a fake mound that he ritually disinterred.) This sword was presented to the bride at the exchange of vows, as a way of making her a custodian of his family line.
As is common today, the bride and groom exchanged rings- both finger rings and arm rings as they spoke their vows. Once the ceremony was complete, the “brud hlaup” occurred. This was a race run by both wedding parties to the feasting hall. Whoever arrived last served the ale. But before the bride could enter, she had to be escorted over the threshold by the groom. The Norse, like many pagan peoples, believed thresholds were dangerous places for in transition to a new stage in their life.
The groom would then thrust a new sword, a gift from his bride, into the central pillar of the house. The depth of the resulting cut was used to determine the success of their union. Then, after the feast, eight witnesses lighted the bridal couple to bed. The groom then removed the bridal wreath from the bride- a ritual deflowering before the real event.
Viking Sexual Euphemisms
The Vikings could be quite ˜direct’ about certain matters. However, they could also be rather coy about sex – or at least, so their stories suggest. The sagas had various ways to refer to sex that describe it in a rather round about way. A man about to have sex with a woman was said to ˜turn towards’ her, “laying his hand/arm/thigh ” on her. The rest was up to the audience’s imagination. However, what was clear was the man was in charge. He took the lead. His partner followed.
Once the action warmed up, the sagas implied the increased activity in similarly guarded terms. A couple in the throes of passion would ˜crowd together in bed” (hviluthrong) and ‘enjoy each other. ‘ If things were particularly raunchy, the tales would describe the man as enjoying a good old brolta a maga or ˜romp on her belly’ or describe the couple as ˜travelling together.” Once they had exhausted themselves, the couple spent the aftermath at ˜hvila meth henna ” (rest with her), or he would ˜amuse one’s self.’ This activity referred to him enjoying a quiet conversation or game of cards with his partner.
However, the everyday terms used by the Vikings were probably not quite so reserved, judging by sexual words they have bequeathed to modern times. The Old Norse ˜thviet’ for a cut or slit began life as a sexual euphemism for a particular part of the female anatomy. Gradually it evolved into the old English ˜thwat’ and later into the more familiar twat which is used today as a term of abuse. The same occurred with another Old Norse word for the female genitals “Kunta’.
However, not all euphemisms were this crude. In contrast to these rather basic sexual terms, the Old Norse for sexual desire was “munuth.” This word derives from the root word for love “mun‘ and that of thought or memory ˜hugr,’ making the sexual impulse a ˜love thought.’ So perhaps the Vikings could be romantic souls after all.
Adultery was acceptable for Viking men, but not their wives
Many Norse men adored their wives, judging by the last words of one man just before he was hung:
” Happy am I to have won the joy of such a consort; ” said the condemned man of his wife. “I shall not go down basely in loneliness to the gods of Tartarus. So let the encircling bonds grip my throat in the midst; the final anguish shall bring with it pleasure only, since the certain hope remains of renewed love, and death shall prove to have its own delights. Each world holds joy, and in the twin regions shall the repose of our united souls win fame, our equal faithfulness in love “(Saxo Grammaticus)
Sadly, however, not everyone practiced “faithfulness in love” The basic requirement of a Norse man was to produce children with his wife. He was not, however, obliged to be faithful. Norse men could keep concubines known as frilles – lower status women who they did not marry and who lived with the man and his wife. According to Adam of Breman, a man could keep as many frilles as he could afford. Society regarded any children from these liaisons as legitimate.
Norse men also kept bed slaves. These unfortunate women had little choice in whether or not they lay with their master. Nor was it a great advantage to be the master’s favorite. Ibn Fadlan described witnessing a Viking funeral where the favoured bed slave of the deceased man was killed to accompany him to the afterlife. However, the one taboo liaison for a Norseman was to lie with another man’s wife. For this, he could be fined or killed.
Wives, however, were expected to remain faithful, probably because of the possibility of falling pregnant with a child that was not her husband’s. It’s unlikely that every wife did remain constant. However, if anyone caught a woman being unfaithful, the penalties varied. At best, her hair would be cut off. At worst, she could be divorced or fined- or killed. Adam of Breman even states that she could be enslaved.
Viking women could divorce their husbands
Viking women may have had to put up with their spouse’s affairs. However, they didn’t have to put up with their husbands ‘until death‘. Although a Norse wife could not divorce her husband for being unfaithful, there were other circumstances where it was perfectly acceptable. If her husband hit her, a woman could fine him. If he abused her in front of witnesses, not only did the fine apply, but his wife could divorce him after the third blow.
There were also various sexual reasons why a wife could divorce a husband. Men who dressed in feminine clothing such as low cut shirts, for instance, could be cast off, as could those who were homosexual- even if they were the dominant partner. A wife could object to the lack of discretion in homosexual liaisons – or the attention they distracted from her relationship with her spouse. In each case, the now ex-wife could claim back her original dowry and any inheritances she received during the marriage.
Another, perhaps surprising reason for divorce was if a man did not satisfy his wife sexually. A man who had refused to have sex with his wife for three years could be set aside. Likewise, if he could not perform or was leaving his wife sexually unfulfilled, he was at risk of being divorced. For if a couple wasn’t having sex, they weren’t producing children. Also, an unhappy marriage bred bitterness and resentment that could boil over into violence and family feuds. So it was better for a sexually unsatisfied woman to look elsewhere for a partner.
Judging by the sagas, it was the women who generally instigated divorce. All that was required was for them to assemble witnesses, cite their reasons and declare themselves divorced. This had to occur three times: in their bedroom, in front of the house and before a public assembly. It was Norse women’s one significant freedom. For if they were to remain tied to one man, run his home and land and put up with his lovers, the least they could expect was satisfying sex life.
#Viking infodump#vikings#nordic history#norse paganism#pagan#paganism#norse heathen#norse deities#norse pantheon#norse gods#norse mythology#old norse#heathen#viking society#viking#norsemen#norseman#history#culture#viking culture
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