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#he literally belongs to another sphere in my head
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ε=ε=ε=ε=ε=ε=┌( ̄ー ̄)┘ ε=┌(;・_・)┘
For Admiral-Aralami
So many people want Ba'kif to apply whoop-ass to Thrawn after the Ba'kif/Pyrondi. Unfortunately, my upcoming surgery tomorrow has interfered with my writing brain, but I wanted to leave this WiP bit with you before I go.
For @admiral-arelami and everyone who wants to see Thrawn (eventually) get what's coming from Ba'kif.
Behold.
It's something, all right.
Eli did in fact know what Thrawn was planning to get Ba'kif moving. Yana didn't and everything hinged on her not knowing. While the strategy was successful, Ba'kif's promise to 'give hands' to Thrawn remains on the table, and true to his vow once Ba'kif gets out of that climate room, he goes hunting for the 'impudent little bastard.' As Eli says, there's a can of whoop-ass with Thrawn's name on it, and their Grand Admiral does everything possible to avoid the serving. This includes keeping carefully calculated distances between the two of them, and if distance isn't possible large items of furniture suffice.
"Your heart belongs to your Humans. Your soul belongs to the Ascendancy. Your ass belongs to me and I am going to pound it like a Sun's Day drum when I get my hands on you."
Ba'kif moves fast for a man his age.
Thrawn is twenty years younger.
It's like living with a pair of pusheen. There are ambushes, evasions, glaring across rooms, growled threats and hissed responses.
"And a certain amount of sexual tension," Eli posits and Yana agrees with his thesis.
There's also a certain amount of tension around Yana. It would honestly be yummy to see the Pillow Princess as the filling in a Yana sandwich. Yissa has a kink for watching her wyf with males and celebrated forward motion with Ba'kif by screwing the living daylights out of Eli's ass. Thrawn can be said to have sulked a little; Ilyana is his Ilyana and Eli is his Eli. Because of Thrawn's history, he does not like to have his people out of line of sight. On the other hand, Yissa is First Wyf to Ilyana and therefore the boss of absolutely everyone in the familial sphere the way Thrawn is the absolute boss of the Seventh and Ba'kif of the Stybla. When you are combining three families, there are going to be bumps.
It's when Ba'kif literally chases Thrawn up a tree that Ilyana decides that something must be done and speaks extensively with Ar'alani. Eli is not for the plan, but not against it, and while it is the simplest tactic it is perhaps not the smartest. Nonetheless, Yana is a pragmatist and what works works. Moreover, the two are so focused on one another - Ba'kif on giving hands and Thrawn on evading hands - that neither will see it coming. Both Eli and Yana agree that they can handle the aftermath. Ar'alani has one issue to point out.
"You are both tiny Humans." Both of them can walk under her outstretched arm without brushing it with the top of their head. "In this, I will have to play a part."
"You're smiling," Yana points out. Chiss do not show their teeth - if they do, it's NOT a smile. The curve of Ar'alani's smile deepens. "You already have a plan."
"I do. How fast can you run, now that you are mostly healed?"
"Fast enough."
Eli is concerned.
"Do not fear, Eli Vanto." A pat to Pyrondi's shoulder. "All will be well."
~
Ba'kif vents and Ar'alani listens.
It's been many years, and the liberties Ba'kif would not take with a younger Thrawn are still there - firmly put out of reach by Ba'kif himself. Ar'alani is not sure if Thrawn feels the same tension, but her friend has blind spots one could throw his flagship through.
The garden rooms of the Chimaera Nest are lovely. ISDs often transported supplies for new colonies and the surviving cargoes went to make a more homelike 'home' for the displaced humans. Eli and Ilyana have lured Thrawn, and if all goes well...
"It doesn't help that you threatened to beat his ass like a Sun's Day drum."
A growl is her answer. They exit the more temperate rooms and walk down the corridor to a room imitating a boreal coast. Ilyana and Eli wave to them, pausing at the entry. Greetings are exchanged and an eyeroll. Thrawn has ducked into the room as they knew he would, and Ilyana and Eli are innocent. Ba'kif turns, back to the door and facing her, Ilyana and Eli drop, arms bracing one another. Once good shove and over - and through - Ba'kif goes. The hatch slams and locks.
Their comlinks chime seconds later.
"My young friends and Ar'alani.' The nerve. "So deep. So very, very deep. We will discuss."
~
Ba'kif lands on his back.
There will be a reckoning.
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starktripleimposter · 2 months
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“I spend a huge chunk of time with people who have varying opinions on social and political issues. You can get along with them even when you're on the other side of the political spectrum. It's called being an adult”
this comment is so wild!! Like you’re ok mingling with ppl who would see you dead or dehumanise you or other of your friends ?? Like you telling me you’d be friends with a racist, nazi, right winger, pedophile, homophobe basically people who believe some sphere of the population should not exist? And all that because you’re an adult? Actually being an adult is having morals and knowing that people who actually are advocating for the demise of another group of people for their sole existence is wrong! But I guess if you’re not in the receiving end of the vitriol is fine, then?
like you’re talking as if the subject of discussion is trivial subject such as taste and preferences on clothes, pastries and all things that are not threatening ppl’s lives! I’m sorry but Zionists are currently celebrating the death of Palestinians and cheering on their complete annihilation and the whole principle of Zionism is colonisation and white supremacy so I don’t know how you can say “fine, he might be friends with ppl who dehumanise Palestinians and have been brainwashed to see them as a threat so killing them is the only thing to keep Jews safe” as being an adult?
And who said that being white/caucasian is wrong? Pointing out that having societal advantages in a racist while supremacy is not wrong! It’s actually stating a reality bc l, as a black woman, even have privileges because I grew up middle class and being aware of that helps me understand and use the necessary tools to uplift the ppl who have had less economical and cultural access in this society! And this goes for everyone! The better understanding we have of our position in society the better we can dismantle this racist, capitalistic, imperialistic system that is the cause of all issues in our societies! Yes Harry worked hard to get to where he is, no one is denying it! Yet, pretending his position as a cis white western man did not help is completely ignorant just like pretending that my position as a middle class black woman did not give me access to academic education and better work opportunities! I also worked hard for that but my position also granted me a heads up!
Lastly, Harry has been open about political issues (reproductive rights, voting rights, lgbtiq+ rights, the War in Ukraine, gun violence, BLM) so acting as if the man has not vocalised his political stances is you being completely hypocritical!
The amount of times I and many other anons called out Harry for having silence over the genocide, literally got us cancelled. Yes we know he has voiced out for other political issues and that he has said he wants to voice out on these issues, which is EXACTLY why we called him out! I could link you the asks! But what we're not doing here is assuming who he is based on the shit people around him, that we only see. Again is he our friend for us to say "oh these are his closest people"? The ones we only see through a screen? All of them are his work friends who have business connections to him. Have you thought about the fact maybe he could have friends who are just friends to him AND aren't Zi0nists? Ones who are Pro Palestinians? If Harry was this big of a hardcore zi0nist because of the people around him, why didn't he sign that list sent to Biden? What held him back? Bad for his image? Then why not drop the friends since he's being dragged?
What if he doesn't have to drop them because they really aren't his tightest friends?
During some long chats we've had here about Palestine here,I myself brought up about how I called out my own friends at Uni, for taking the side of the oppressors. They never backed down, neither did I. Just because the people around you have some political opinion doesn't mean YOU are also belonging to it because I've seen plenty examples where that is so not the case. I hope none of what I say gets twisted and be made to look I'm defending Harry because I'm so not.
Harry himself is aware of his privilege, he brought it up several times. He's clearly not ignorant about that status he has in life. The anon may have made that comment assuming it was a dig at all white people.
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Zhongli/Tartaglia Fic Rec List 1
All We Hold Within Our Hearts – series (teen, wip, 4k) A series of character studies featuring Zhongli and Childe and how they relate to each of the five love languages.
Begin Anew, O Lost Child (explicit, complete, 200k) You may find time is too relentless to control and you cannot change your role. Zhongli’s expression is painfully gentle. It sends a flutter through his chest that anyone would look at the bloodthirsty Harbinger like that. He is silhouetted beautifully by the golden light. A golden prince for a golden city. “They say that souls never truly die. One day we might be so lucky to meet old friends again. Perhaps those we cared for most will find us again and we might learn the foundations of our friendship once more. I always thought time a relentless enemy but maybe time gifts us these moments of joy as well.” The hero Ajax walked the lands of Teyvat and his legend shaped the future. Heroes die but legends live forever. Their names are passed on, one generation after another. Those who bear the names of heroes are forced to confront the legacy they inherit. Childe grows up in the shadow of his namesake and rises to meet the challenge of legend.
bottom of the bottle and at my wits' end (teen, complete, 7k) While he's hunting down Scaramouche to reclaim the Electro Archon's Gnosis, Childe spends a night alone with his thoughts and a bottle of Fire-Water. AKA Childe character study
hung up (explicit, 45k) Childe moonlights as a phone sex operator to pay for his bills. Zhongli is a grieving man looking for a stranger to listen to him, rather than help him get off. It breaks the growing monotony of his late night calls, but Childe eventually finds himself falling for the deep-voiced man he knows only as "Rex."
Hydro Resonance (explicit, complete, 6k, includes Tartaglia/Yelan) Childe is looking through his correspondence when Ekaterina arrives with a nondescript wooden box. "Sir, someone from the ministry of civil affairs left this for you." He opens the box without much thought. He gets a lot of letters, and a package or two isn't anything too unusual. He frowns at what, at first glance, looks like a very strange bead necklace and a bottle of oil. The beads are all different sizes, sphere after sphere of glimmering cor lapis connected by a stiff string. Why would anyone send him jewelry? His eyes widen as he notices the note lying innocently over the thing. For you to train with. -Y Childe almost drops the box. No way. The beads are supposed to go inside him. --- Yelan and Childe have a mutually beneficial arrangement. Mr. Zhongli is just a friend, or so Childe keeps insisting.
In a family way (explicit, complete, 12k) “You-“ Zhongli’s voice is hoarse, face contorted in utter bewilderment. Still, he does not move, keeping Childe’s legs straight in the air. “You asked to be my mate. You wanted me to breed you. Ajax, you said that to me.” Oh, Celestia, they’re still connected. It’s all going to his head. Childe thinks he’s delirious. This can’t be real. “That was-“ His voice breaks in an awful squeak. “-that was dirty talk!” He never thought- Oh, fuck. Zhongli moves inside of him, and he can feel the cum sloshing through his guts. All this time. He’s an idiot. The signs, in retrospect, were so obvious. Zhongli has been trying to impregnate him. … Or, Childe learns the hard way to be careful what he wishes of an (ex) god. It might just get taken literally.
Oceans Between Us – series (mature, wip, 200k) There was more to the contract than a gnosis and test of Liyue. It seemed like a simple deal five hundred years ago: so long as Morax never had a soulmate, the Tsaritsa would never harm Liyue and she would not get his gnosis. But the moment he gained a soulmate, all that belonged to him was forfeit. He thought the deal left Liyue safe—he'd lived thousands of years without a soulmate. The Tsaritsa would be dead and gone by the time she'd have a chance to collect. Five hundred years later, Childe appears in Liyue, Zhongli gains a soulmate mark, and everything falls apart. (The obligatory soulmate AU, featuring a Zhongli with trauma, an oblivious Childe, and demon-worshipping cultists.)
The Inaccuracy of Infinity (mature, complete, 250k) Zhongli finds himself in quite the conundrum when a simple day trip with Childe, gone wrong, ends with him turning Childe immortal instead... And how he fails to inform the harbinger about this new development. Though, Zhongli supposes there'll be time to fill him in on this small detail sometime during the journey around Teyvat Childe has managed to rope him into.
To the Rhythm of Your Racing Heart (teen, complete, 90k) A mysterious shopkeeper offers Childe a bottle of wine that will make him forget about the one he loves. Childe is more than willing to accept it.
Two Truths and a Lie (teen, complete, 13k) There is a popular game in Snezhnaya, one that originates as an activity to keep children occupied during the long winter days stuck indoors while arctic winds howl outside, knocking against doors and windows and carrying with it a violent storm of ice and frost. The game has since been adopted into a drinking game by bored young adults similarly trapped inside those cold, dark grueling months. The game’s rules go something like this. Each person takes a turn telling two truths and one lie about themselves while the rest of the participants have to pluck out the lie. If the guessers guessed wrong, the person telling the information gets the point. If the guesser guessed right, then the person gets no points. There is no real end to this game. Children play it until they become bored, adults play it until they become drunk. Childe plays it until… Come to think of it, Childe’s not entirely sure why he’s playing. -- A Childe introspection story where he tries to find his heart.
Weighing Contracts (teen, complete, 150k) The final contract of Liyue. That’s what Rex Lapis had called it. An agreement to test his people, to see how they would be able to stand on their own and to allow them to move on from the age of gods and monsters into the dawning age of man. Rex Lapis knew they would be challenged in ways they had never been before, but despite appearances, he would be there to catch them if they fell. However, there were things he hadn’t accounted for despite all his careful planning. He had known that the Tsaritsa’s Fatui were sent to cause chaos - that Childe was a Harbinger and therefore would be at the epicentre - but he hadn’t expected this. As his ancient foe rose from the depths of the Guyun Stone Forest, the Archon weighed the final contract of Liyue against the first and made his decision.
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thezfc · 2 years
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Sometimes I really wonder what I’m so into about Tom. I know you keep mentioning his penchant for wearing the same outfit for roughly 6 months but that’s not even the thing that strikes me most when we see recent pictures of him.
I love tennis, love love love Federer so so much. I’ve followed him for decades. This laver cup has been so special and uniquely emotional. I thought I’d be thrilled to see another one of my faves in attendance but urgh. Tom looks so greasy and gaunt, next to Henman he actually looks yellow skinned and sickly. What the hell is going on.
It’s so weird having the only two fandoms I belong to collide in one event like this… one of those heroes of mine has moved me to tears with his brilliance and humility, the other I’m sat here thinking - fuck he looks rough and he has no place on the court, please take a shower and stop embarrassing yourself. What fucking nonsense asking him about tips for Djokovic. The pandering to him because he’s a rich celebrity is so gross. He is literally surrounded by some of the most talented and extraordinary people in the public sphere and they are paying him excruciating lip service.
I know Tom loves tennis, I thought he’d probably go to the O2 given Federer his fave too and retiring but somehow seeing the two worlds side by side… i dunno. I feel bad saying this and I’m sure you will say “you’re not a fan then etc”… and maybe I’m not now. I don’t know. It’s like - I’ve liked him for so long that in my head I think he’s the Jonathan pine / Loki from the first Thor movie version. And I don’t just mean looks or age. It’s everything, how he conducts himself, what he says and does. Suddenly I see things like this and they conflict so drastically with the version of Tom that made me like him in the first place that I’m left seriously questioning what I’m doing here. Sigh.
Look, I’m not one to say that you have to have a squealing fit every time he shows up anywhere to be a “real” fan. If you’re not feeling it, you’re not feeling it. 
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idrilearfalas · 3 years
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A prompt in two images: Lokius | Loki Series (2021)
Hit me with your best shot, fanwriters out there. Context: Loki and Mobius have been working together for quite some time at the TVA, but nothing has happened between them yet... though it's clear that Mobius adores Loki and Loki is hopelessly devoted to our sweet TVA agent. (I guess a part of me just wants Mobius to look at Loki dressed like that, during a mission, and say "wow")
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messers-moony · 3 years
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Moony and Midnight | R.L
Paring: Young!Remus Lupin X Fem!Reader
Summary: Remus beings to realize that Moony is controlling his life even on non full moon nights so he decides to make his first Remus decision.
“What- What do you mean you’re done with me?” Remus asked nervously while his friends sat in the back corner of the library in case of something terrible happening, “Exactly what I said.” The girl - Brooklyn Mendoza - snapped.
Remus was hurting, “But why?”
“Are you daft, Remus Lupin? You’re a bloody monster!”
The four Marauders grimaced at the sickly words falling from Brooklyn’s mouth, “But don’t worry. I won't tell anyone.”
Y/n didn’t like the condescending tone the Ravenclaw used. Carefully without James, Sirius, or Peter noticing, she grabbed her wand. Close enough to the person in order to cast a spell. Y/n held out her wand and waved it, speaking the incantation in her head. Suddenly, Brooklyn changed demeanors. Brooklyn looked aimlessly around the library, making Remus furrow his eyebrows, but she left without another word. Her long brown hair was flying behind, and her blue eyes glazed.
“What did you just do?” Sirius whispered, “Obliviated her.” Y/n answered as she pocketed her wand.
“Are you bloody mental?” James queried.
“I'm protecting, Remus.”
“If that’s what you call it.” Sirius scoffed playfully.
Y/n elbowed him hard, “Oi!”
Remus’ head was downcast as he walked towards the table, holding his four best friends. The Marauders were there in case of something like this. Best scenario Brooklyn accepted him for who he was. In the worst scenario, she ripped his heart to pieces. Sadly, it was the latter. The chair in front of them moved sluggishly as Remus sat down. Tears filled his eyes.
He began to speak, “Before you speak, what she said isn’t true. You aren’t a monster.” Sirius interrupted.
“You’re Remus, the guy who lets us copy his history notes from.” James added, “The guy who gives me annotated books.” Y/n smiled.
“The guy who never makes me feel left out.” Peter finished, and Remus chuckled bitterly, “Wish she could’ve seen that.”
Y/n grabbed his hand from across the table, “She doesn’t deserve you. You aren’t a monster.”
Remus bit his lip. His closest friends watched as he tried to mask his hurt. Y/n rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand. James’ pleading hazel eyes bared into his green ones. Sirius’ blue-grey eyes doing the same, while Peter’s blue ones looked sympathetic. Y/n’s e/c eyes held every bit of care and love he craved. The comfort that she would always be there for him. The belonging James would present him with. The happiness Sirius always brought to his heart. The devotion Peter always appeared to give him. The Marauders would be there, and that made this more bearable.
The next few days sucked. Remus sulked and seemed to be sluggish, but his friends were always at his side. During library studying sessions, Y/n would bring him food and his favorite tea. Sirius would do extravagant tricks on his broom during Quidditch to make Remus chuckle at his idiotic best friend. James provided his undivided attention to him. Sometimes Remus would find pieces of ripped parchment in his textbooks in the famous James Potter scrabble with reassuring words. Peter would offer his sweets to Remus, which was a very un-Peter thing to do.
Recently Remus found comfort in the top of the Astronomy Tower. After his prefect rounds, he would make his way up to the metal attachment of the castle and stare at the moon. The beloved sphere people adored but that Remus loathed. He couldn’t comprehend what was so special about it. People spoke wonders about the famous grey sphere in the sky, but Remus saw it as it was - a grey sphere. He saw it as an enemy. Perhaps that was the problem.
“Maybe…” A voice began, “Instead of withholding Moony, you should embrace it.”
Remus turned his head to his left, meeting the familiar profile of his best friend who stared at the moon, “When- When did you-“
“Come on; you haven’t turned daft, have you? You forget we basically made the Marauders map together.” Y/n chuckled, turning to him, “That would’ve been a title.” Remus’ lips quirked up.
“Moony and Midnight.”
“Come on, doesn’t that sound awesome?!” Y/n exclaimed happily, her comforting e/c eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
“It does sound rather intriguing.”
Y/n nudged his shoulder playfully, looking back out at the sky, “Too bad Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail ruin the cover.”
The silence filled the tower again. Remus took his gaze back to the sky, but he couldn’t help but want to stare at her again. The moonlight was beautiful on her skin. It was ethereal. Her eyes seemed to light up just the tiniest bit, and sparkles filled the e/c. Y/n’s hair appeared smooth and silky. He almost wanted to run his hand through it. Maybe he could - if he just inched closer.
Before he could, she spoke, “Why do you think you’re a monster?”
“Are you daft?”
“No, just curious.”
“I can kill people, Y/n.”
Y/n shrugged, “So could I, with the right motivation, that is.” She winked jokingly.
“No, I mean literally.” Remus reiterated, “I’m dangerous, and I can’t control myself.”
“Werewolves are beautiful.” Y/n stated, making Remus narrow his eyes, “They’re intriguing. You’ve never hurt me before. You’ve never hurt the guys before. You’re losing yourself.”
“Losing myself?” Remus queried incredulously.
“Yeah, you’re letting Moony make your decisions even if he isn’t present. Perhaps instead of Moony making those decisions, you should let Remus make them.” Y/n explained, “You guard yourself like a monster when you aren’t one.”
“Moony doesn’t define who you are. Remus does. Remus is the one making the lifelong decisions, or he should be. Instead, you’re letting Moony control your life, your love life, your future.” Y/n turned to look at his eyes, “You’re losing yourself, Remus.”
Remus hadn’t thought about it like that. Maybe he was letting Moony rule his life. Obviously, it was shown through his actions if his friends were starting to notice. It was scary. Without realizing it, he let the monster take over his body and make decisions for him. It made him think about all the times he wanted to do something but denied because of his condition. Perhaps Y/n was right.
“Well, can- can you be my first Remus decision?”
Y/n tilted her head, “What do you mean?”
“Be my first Remus decision,” Remus repeated as a blush took over his features.
“Gladly.”
Now he moved those inches closer. Remus’ hand reached to move the silky hair from her face. Leaving that hand to cup her cheek. His other hand was placing itself on her waist as his lips embraced hers. Y/n’s arms went around his neck as Remus allowed his lips to move against hers slowly and gently. When they pulled apart, Remus and Y/n made eye contact. It was a silent promise - Remus wouldn't let Moony control him anymore. Instead, he’d embrace him. Moony and Remus would become one instead of two different people.
“Moony and Midnight.” Remus whispered.
“Forever?”
“Forever, my love.”
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homosexuhauls · 3 years
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Moira Donegan
In spite of the increasing crisis of gun violence in intimate partner abuse situations, gun control is still not generally thought of as a gender justice issue
Thu 13 May 2021 11.16 BST
Seven people died in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Sunday at a birthday party, after the boyfriend of one of the party guests showed up with a gun. The boyfriend came to the mobile home park where the party was being held and shot six adults, including his girlfriend. Five of them died at the scene, and another died later, at the hospital. Then he killed himself. He didn’t fire on the children who were there.
The Colorado Springs shooting comes on the heels of another shooting in Austin, Texas, last month, when Stephen Broderick, a former police officer, killed his ex-wife, Amanda, her teenage daughter, Alyssa, and Alyssa’s boyfriend, Willie, in their home. At the time of the murders, Broderick was out on bail after being indicted for sexually abusing Alyssa. In her court petition asking for a restraining order against her stepfather, filed in June 2020, 10 months before he murdered her, Alyssa wrote that she feared the worst. “I’m afraid that to him, a protective order will just be a piece of paper … I’m afraid he might hurt me or my mom for coming forward.”
Guns don't kill people, domestic abusers do. Take their guns away - Jill Filipovic
There is a grim ritual to America’s mass shootings: the condemnations and calls for gun control from the left, the callous and often-parodied bromides of “thoughts and prayers” from the right. But the mass shootings that so often capture media attention and dominate the American conversation about gun violence are the ones that happen in public – those incidents where a person with severe mental illness, or a fanatical rightwing agenda, opens fire in a crowded public space, like a church, a school or a grocery store.
But much of American gun violence, including multiple-fatality events, does not happen in those public places, and many of the perpetrators of mass shootings are not strangers to the people they kill. Instead, a disproportionate amount of America’s mass shootings are domestic violence incidents, in which a man (and overwhelmingly the perpetrators are men) who has already been abusive towards his family, murders the wife, girlfriend, mother, in-laws or children who he was already hurting. Often the victims, like Alyssa Broderick, were people who had already disclosed that they were being abused, people who had already asked for protection.
According to Beverly Kingston, the executive director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, 61% of mass shootings in the United States occur entirely within the home. Even when gun violence spills out into the public arena, domestic abuse is still closely related. The gun control advocacy group Everytown estimates that in 57% of the mass shootings that occurred between January 2009 and June 2014, the perpetrator killed an intimate partner or family member. A Boston University study establishes that the connection between public mass murder and domestic violence is even more longstanding: their findings indicated that of all the perpetrators of mass shootings in America between 1966 and 2020, nearly half had a documented history of violence against women before the massacres.
A 2003 study found that a woman in an abusive relationship is five times more likely to be killed by her partner if there is a gun in the house
Meanwhile, guns have become an increasingly large part of America’s domestic violence epidemic. An average 57 American women every month are murdered with a gun by a current or former partner. And while domestic violence murders in the US have thankfully decreased – at least before the pandemic – the number of gun-related domestic violence incidents has gone up. Between 2008 and 2017, gun murders in which women were killed by romantic partners rose by 15%. Even when the shootings aren’t fatal, they leave lasting scars: Everytown estimates that nearly one million American women have survived being shot or shot at by an intimate partner. And of course, an abuser does not have to use the gun at all for his access to firearms to become a crucial element of this threat and control.
Gun control opponents and groups like the National Rifle Association often preach that those who fear being victims of gun violence should get a gun themselves, and learn to use it. “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” the old adage goes. But in domestic violence situations, this proves untrue: a 2003 study found that a woman in an abusive relationship is five times more likely to be killed by her partner if there is a gun in the house. It doesn’t matter if the gun belongs to her or to him: the presence of any weapon in a home afflicted with domestic violence means that the abuser is more likely to use it to kill her.
Yet in spite of the well-established connection between private domestic violence and public mass death, and in spite of the increasing crisis of gun violence in intimate partner abuse situations, gun control is still not generally thought of as a gender justice issue. Maybe this is because of the old divide between the private and public spheres, where what happens in public places is considered to be a legitimate concern for policymakers and what happens in the home is not. Or maybe its because the prevalence of domestic violence in America more broadly is something many of us still can’t quite bring ourselves to acknowledge: it is estimated that one in three American women will experience intimate partner violence in her lifetime, a figure that represents so much pain it is difficult to wrap your head around.
But ignoring the link between domestic violence and gun violence has had, literally, fatal consequences. The failure to understand domestic abuse as a precursor to public violence has led us to miss the warning signs about men who later committed public mass shootings. The failure to act on the knowledge that domestic violence that does not use weapons is a precursor to shootings has left many women dead.
After Broderick murdered three people in a home in Austin, the city’s police department tweeted out a message advising to those nearby to stay calm. “There is no risk to the general public,” the account, @Austin_Police, said.
Isn’t there?
In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org
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whitehotharlots · 3 years
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A movement that cannot be criticized cannot achieve positive goals
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The hardest part of talking about malignant trends on the broad left is that, well, you’re not allowed to talk about them. It’s no exaggeration to say that criticism has become fully conflated with violence. If you attempt to engage critically with a left-liberal writer--regardless of how thorough and respectful you may be, and regardless of how powerful, public, or insulated the subject of the criticism--you will be accused of dismissing and erasing the writer, of inciting violence against the writer, and of committing some form of genocide against whichever identity groups the writer belongs to.
Conversely, if you don’t provide specifics, you’ll be accused of making stuff up. The same people who claim it’s an act of aggression to ask for proof when they make claims of victimization turn into immense pedants the moment they encounter a heterodox opinion. 
Unsurprisingly, a discourse milieu in which critical analysis is forbidden is a prime breeding ground for unsustainable (and even horrific) behavioral standards. Never mind improving the world that exists outside their sphere of influence... these people are perpetually on the brink of destroying their allies, their institutions, and themselves.
Today I dug into an especially profane case that highlights both of these points. It’s a matter of public record, so I hopefully won’t get accused of “doxing” anyone for discussing it. It’s also the sort of story where if someone cares about it, they’ll have an opinion of it within a second or two of reading a headline describing what happened. This means it’ll only be of interest to the sort of cranks who read this blog. My goal here isn’t to express outrage or advocate for one side or other--although it is outrageous, and you won’t have to try too hard to see which side I favor. Instead, I’m going to try to move beyond that, to use this instance as a broader cautionary tale in regards to the more horrific tendencies of the identitarian left, and to begin formulating some means of resistance. 
In other words, this might get boring. Even more so than usual. 
The story involves a court case, documented here, in which a young man named Kieran Bhattacharya is suing the University of Virginia Medical School. Mr. Bhattacharya (a white supremacist name if I’ve ever heard one) was subjected to formal censure, repeated psychological evaluations, suspension, and eventual expulsion. This all happened because he raised some concerns after a White Fragility-inspired panel on microaggressions.
This is one of those cases where both sides are going to assume there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface and, like I said, are going to be disinclined toward actually reading the available evidence. Thankfully, the court brief is fairly exhaustive and--importantly--the account provided in the brief has received the approval of both plaintiff and defendant. To stress, everyone involved in this case agrees, legally, that the account provided herein is an accurate picture of what happened. Additionally, we also have audio of the initial microaggression seminar (Mr. Bhattacharya’s comments start at around the 28:30 mark), as well as of the pursuant committee meeting that ended in his expulsion. 
Here is the initial exchange, as documented by the brief:
Bhattacharya: Hello. Thank you for your presentation. I had a few questions just to clarify your definition of microaggressions. Is it a requirement, to be a victim of microaggression, that you are a member of a marginalized group? 
Adams: Very good question. And no. And no— 
Bhattacharya: But in the definition, it just said you have to be a member of a marginalized group—in the definition you just provided in the last slide. So that’s contradictory. 
Adams: What I had there is kind of the generalized definition. In fact, I extend it beyond that. As you see, I extend it to any marginalized group, and sometimes it’s not a marginalized group. There are examples that you would think maybe not fit, such as body size, height, [or] weight. And if that is how you would like to see me expand it, yes, indeed, that’s how I do. 
Bhattacharya: Yeah, follow-up question. Exactly how do you define marginalized and who is a marginalized group? Where does that go? I mean, it seems extremely nonspecific.
 Adams: And—that’s intentional. That’s intentional to make it more nonspecific . . . . 
After the initial exchange, Bhattacharya challenged Adams’s definition of microaggression. He argued against the notion that “the person who is receiving the microaggressions somehow knows the intention of the person who made it,” and he expressed concern that “a microaggression is entirely dependent on how the person who’s receiving it is reacting.” Id. He continued his critique of Adams’s work, saying, “The evidence that you provided—and you said you’ve studied this for years—which is just one anecdotal case—I mean do you have, did you study anything else about microaggressions that you know in the last few years?” Id. After Adams responded to Bhattacharya’s third question, he asked an additional series of questions: “So, again, what is the basis for which you’re going to tell someone that they’ve committed a microaggression? . . . Where are you getting this basis from? How are you studying this, and collecting evidence on this, and making presentations on it?”
You can listen to the audio if you like. There’s nothing there, in my opinion, that is not captured accurately in the written description. Bhattacharya does not yell or raise his voice. He sounds skeptical, but in no way violent or threatening. Nor does Adams, the presenter, signal that she is experiencing anything that approaches fear or trauma. 
Immediately after the event, a professor who helped organize the discussion filed a “Professionalism Concern Card”--a cute academic euphemism for a disciplinary write up--against Bhattacharya, alleging he had displayed a troubling lack of respect for differences (the irony here probably does not need to be explicated).
Soon after that--literally still the same day of the panel--Bhattacharya received an email from faculty asking him to “share his thoughts” so as to help him “understand and be able to cope with unintended consequences of conversations.” The tone of the email is polite and professional, but the text hints toward an attempt at entrapment. You’ll see this a lot in woke spaces--invitations to come to an understanding with one another that are, in actuality, attempts to get a person to say something cancellable.
Bhattacharya took the bait, and, well… 
During Bhattacharya and Peterson’s one-hour meeting, Peterson “barely mentioned” Bhattacharya’s questions and comments at the panel discussion. Dkt. 33 ¶ 73. Instead, Peterson attempted to determine Bhattacharya’s “views on various social and political issues—including sexual assault, affirmative action, and the election of President Trump.” 
At this point, the kid was fucked. He soon after had an uneventful-seeming meeting with a dean. Two weeks after that, a separate panel found him guilty of “patterns of unprofessional behavior and egregious violations of professionalism” and strongly encouraged him to seek psychological counseling. 
Pre-Trump, Bhattacharya still probably would have been fine if he had just kept his head down, gone to a couple therapy sessions, and maybe issued an empty apology. Since 2016, however, the rules have changed. An accusation is now absolute proof of guilt and no amount of ablution can save someone in a vulnerable position. 
Eleven days after receiving the ostensible suggestion that he receive counseling, Bhattacharya was informed that he would not be permitted to return to classes until he had been evaluated. A day after that--before even having the opportunity to seek the mandated counseling--he was given a mere 3 hours notice before having to attend another disciplinary committee meeting. 
This meeting found that Bhattacharya’s continuing behaviors were proof that he posed an imminent danger to the campus community, although the committee did not bother to explain what those behaviors entailed. His behavior was simply noted as “unusual” and this was proof that “Any patient that walked into the room with [Bhattacharya] would be scared.” The following day, Bhattacharya was forcibly removed from campus and told he could not return until he had been screened. He was, subsequently, not allowed to receive sanctioned screening, because of his status of having been removed from campus after being deemed a security risk.
Again, none of what I have described is an exaggeration. None of these details are even being contested. 
Now for my own conjecture: the problem isn’t that anyone genuinely believes Bhattacharya poses a threat to anyone’s safety. The problem is that he attempted to question the ideological firmaments of contemporary anti-racist training. These firmaments are protected with aggressive viciousness precisely because they cannot withstand scrutiny. Had Bhattacharya merely scoffed at them, or even if he had been outright condescending and dismissive, he probably would not have received such a severe punishment. The problem was that he was right, and his accusers knew it.
Understanding speech in the manner prescribed by the peddlers of microaggression theory cannot possibly be codified in a way that won't result in arbitrary punishment. Bhattacharya’s experience demonstrates that with horrific irony. 
The assertion here is that the intention of a speech act should have no bearing on how we adjudicate the morality of that speech act--such a point was made repeatedly in the initial discussion, and stressed once again after Bhattacharya’s concerns have been raised. This standard contradicts how we've processed the morality of speech for centuries, but that's what people are very explicitly demanding.
How is this workable, when literally any statement could, conceivably, be considered offensive by at least one individual? This, I feel, was the point Bhattacharya reaching toward. If you were to say, I dunno, "I love trees" to a group of 1000 people, 999 of them could regard that statement as benign. But what if one person takes offense to it? What if they work in the lumber industry, or they were molested by guy in a Smokey the Bear costume? What if that person then files a report accusing the tree lover of offensive speech? Will the speaker be disciplined? Or will the powers that be take intention and effect into account?
Of course, we're not going to criminalize all speech in this way. Like all extreme and broad-reaching disciplinary standards, this one will only be selectively evoked in order to punish people with heterodox opinions and/or those whose presence threatens the status quo. Someone who says something much more incendiary, like "all men are rapists" or "white people shouldn't get social security" would not receive a reprimand regardless of how much offense their statements caused, because they're saying something that's acceptable in our current milieu. And right now, the least acceptable speech is that which shines a light on the manifest flaws and hypocrisies of corporate anti racism. 
Back to my hypothetical example, if the tree-loving speaker was on good terms with everyone, the complaint would most likely be ignored. But if he had said or done other things that for whatever reason displeased the people in charge, the specious accusation could still ruin him. What's worse, the person who filed the allegation of offense might not have even actually taken offense at the statement--they were just looking for a way to get rid of him.
Bhattacharya was attempting to voice legitimate criticisms about a political movement whose suggestions are functionally unworkable and that, even if it were implemented fully and uncritically, does not contain even a hypothetical explanation in regards to how its goals would result in improved racial equality/equity. Because of that, he was cynically labeled dangerous and expelled from a public university. 
You'd think a group that obsesses over power differentials and their own marginalization would have some grasp of this. Regardless of which side you fall into with this particular culture war, it should fucking terrify you that a movement that’s been tasked with addressing pressing social problems is designed in such a way that any substantial criticism is met with aggressive punishment. 
There’s no way you can win if this is you is how conduct yourself. This is why we’re losing. This is why even if you get all the censorship and deplatforming you can ever dream of, even if every major bank and multinational corporatation professes fealty to your movement, you will still lose. Because there’s no way you can win. 
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incarnateirony · 3 years
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15.15: The Absent Mother
I’ve had to take a great deal of time to pull my thoughts together on this episode because it was so MUCH. I’ve said in the past that I wasn’t a fan of Davy; he often layered his things very thinly. But today was a masterfully interwoven piece to the point I literally watched another show for an hour while thinking about it, went and took a shower for half an hour to scrub my head clean, and came back to this and STILL sat to write about it.
So if you’re new to my meta, I’m going to break the ice. You need to read my The Generational Family post to dip your toes in. It speaks in plain english things that will be less-plain english in this post.
If you’re less-new to my meta, but often floating in the occult references, I’m going to try to drop links to posts or tag folders of references.
But what a fantastic salute to the Empress this entire episode is.
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Now let’s dive in.
It’s no secret my blog bangs on about arcana on the regular. I have spoken of the four colors (represented in the above gif but also frequenting the #hues of involution tag). 
Frankly, I consider it invariable that the brother focused episode will summon forth The Emperor as a key focus. Somewhere in that chaos binder of tags I even predicted that much when I saw the color themes of the episode, but that’s a whole other aside--just something to put a pin in the idea of while I speak of the Empress, and the Generational Family.
(15.16 update: hahahahah)
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I’ve gone feral
BACK TO ORIGINAL 15.15 POST
Some time back I had made a post about Castiel’s tie to this path; be that his frequent association with Mary over time (be it storyline parallels in general arc, John and Mary’s meeting, mixtapes or whatever else); that he and Rowena served as mirror and foil from her earliest conception, back when his parental storylines hovered more in regret over Claire; that Amara and her forced bond were associations of the profound bond and many lines directly mirrored while other motions challenged each other (Eg, heart tie, profound bond>mark bond);
I even made a joke at one point that Castiel should wear a pink trenchcoat to match Rowena’s dress.
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This, of course, I joked equally was absurd, and that we would probably have to settle for the violet-pink light of Death on both him and Dean in 15.13′s alchemical Marriage of the Minds.
This Marriage of the Minds you’ll find plenty of topic on for my blog, and all in association with the Art arcana, from which the Occultum is drawn to begin with in its concept. This may seem like a long drift aside from the episode itself, but is more a preface of discussion based reminders.
Either way, @meta-mania-spn​ outright trolled in to my trenchcoat joke with this when it was released, saying “here’s your pink trenchcoat.”
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And how on point you were!
But I’m going to have to ask fandom to do me a favor before we continue any further in this discussion.
I’m going to need you to stop trying to shove everything in singular boxes applicable to one and only-one storyline. Go back to the Generational Family post. Make sure that’s anchored like, in your subconscious at this point. Know it, feel it. 
Okay, now we can continue.
Hah hah “You’re standing in The Trap zone.” Okay.
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So obviously, we have two major story ends going on right now: On the one hand, Sam and Dean go have a discussion to Amara where they plan to lie to her to pull off a stunt against Chuck; on the other hand, we have Castiel and Jack working a case. This seems simple enough in our structure.
Amara’s face of this ends up being entirely reflection. Of her cosmogenic origins (”We are the same.”), We Are Twins (I point to Thoth’s use of the twins in generational storytelling), etc. Of her history with Dean. Of her reasons of bringing Mary back.
Fandom may not like her reasons for bringing Mary back. They may even hate them. And we’ll get back to this later, but this is the sum of this.
On the other hand, Cas and Jack think a demon is involved. They even summon one. Turns out Rowena, in taking over hell, has adopted a new system. No more tricking and damning souls. People end up where they belong. The demon is bored (which has a funny shout out at the end on him trying to find a new purpose--as a cop, which is about six levels of commentary but I digress), but the continued path of Rowena renovating hell from welcome meetings for damned souls to lack of intentionally dragging others down is made clear, while evoked.
I point back to Rowena’s own history: at one point she aspired for power, but after Funeralia, she was stricken with guilt and grief over feeling like she abandoned her son. This is a thread that I have tried to put in videos over time as a still-binding tie; Castiel staring into Belphegor’s husked out eyes at one point, even if it wasn’t really his fault, just as we lost Rowena who went to essentially reclaim her son’s legacy and throne since she couldn’t atone for his loss.
But then we get to the case. It’s a whole long adventure, much of which has some bog-standard casework; we do have Castiel coming to speak that he found new meaning in becoming a parent (rolling back to the parental thread), and there’s a bunch of great imagery we’ll cover below. But before we get to that, let’s focus on the resolution.
It reveals a broken family structure: Mother was sick and felt shoved away, Father Changed Things, and the child ended up on a destructive path about following god.
Now when I talk about not boxing things in on one level, I’m going to break down this family a bit.  We’ll also just totes ignore the Joseph-the-Carpenter tattoo on the pastor that clearly has NOTHING to do with Joseph behind Dean only an episode ago and the entire Emperor theme with the sun behind his head. After the whole Mary behind Cas thing. Nope, nothing to see here. Has NOTHING to do with the generational stuff I’m about to talk below. That’d be silly right?
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You also have to think of it this way. If Pastor Joe (yes that’s his FKING name) a parallel, so is his dead wife. There are levels where it was felt she was mocked, and pushed away, which tied into Amara this episode. You have your Chuck and Amara level parallel. However, on the emotional level, the mother figure that Castiel actually ends up representing is also coming due to be absent. And this is about the father's atonement with that just as much as it is with Dean having his dialogue with Amara.
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On many levels. Dean and Amara’s dialogue trades of old grudges, old motivations, but also current events and learning to live in the now. 
The child, however, was still stuck in the past--a past the mother who told her to believe in God seemed to want, but the same kind of duty Castiel became aware of needing to change in the past. But she got stuck in it.
While she judged people by their sins, Jack and Castiel end up finding the poor unfortunate man judged by Lust, after an entire aside Castiel had with the pastor about one of the victims struggling as a gay man and what-not; For Reasons(TM). But this is an arcana post, not a “point out the obvious fucking screaming queer text and subtext being put in blinker lights this episode” post, so I’m going to generally show that the misguided and wrathful child thought she was carrying out God’s will.
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And then I direct you to my Lust tag.
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I have far longer stuff on it, but if you skim, you’ll find the loudest message is about not letting a wrathful god judge or punish you for sins. It involves the Whore of Babylon as a symbol of power riding a beast that represented (Aleister) Crowley; or in this case, Rowena riding Crowley to power, but also birthing and rearranging a new world. I point back to the demon in question, and then I gesture to the stuff about Castiel’s impending storyline overlap.
Did other sins get punished, sure; the one girl got greed, for example. If you check my posts on the Lust topic, there are other forms of debauch actually associated with lust beyond just carnal lovers, but the message about ignoring god’s wrath and making the new world remains in-tact.
This is the kind of wrath enacted by the girl. Who is furious about how the aeon changed. Because you changed everything, dad. They don’t worship God, they worship You.
So here’s the fun question: Is this a child of man furious that man is no longer the true god because Chuck in the corrupted Emperor path has changed the world to his whims, just flipped? That is to say, that they no longer see the Shadow as The One True God? Or is this someone throwing a tantrum on Chuck’s behest that the world of man is being reclaimed? Or is it a generalized moral of all of these things contingent on the choices The Ones -- Sam and Dean -- make moving forward? And what of Jack inevitably feeling like he has to do Dean’s commands, with the task laid out to destroy God as mapped by Death, in the inevitable absence of Castiel?
Now this has drifted a wide-berth from speaking of the Empress herself, which I’ll roll back to. I had mentioned, for example, the pink. So let’s talk about why that is.
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The Empress is the Matron. While she goes through many forms, this is sort of the central or individualized one. She represents a fertility in preparing to birth the new world. She holds a blossom, she takes a pose I’m not gonna bother breaking down in this post, and she is crowned in a sphere that is passed to her from the Emperor which she will wear until the next aeon from their union is born.
She is represented by the moon, and though her child will eventually become the new sun it must first be the earth, her emperor is her current sun; the son is the reflection of the father in the eyes of the mother; the Empress Moon lets the Emperor Sun shine on her face and brings life to the earth in their union, and again, I point back to the Marriage of the Minds post.
Now, see that bird in the corner? That’s a pelican. It’s frequently associated in old alchemy as the mother giving her life, as part of the birthing process is also death, for her next generation. I have spoken in the past that Byzantium itself is an ideal example of that. The pelican has intensive alchemical implications, but it was believed she “fed her child from her own heart.”
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Okay cool so there’s just a bleeding heart right there while Jack struggles with feeling like he has to deal with this alone, while Castiel tries to insist he doesn’t, with the renegade child taking it upon herself to carry out god’s work and essentially going mad/bad. Castiel not wanting to let that all fall on Jack.
There’s also giant posters about THE WORLD and a mirror shadow Safe Place poster which I’m not even going to talk on much beyond gesturing vaguely at my Shadow tag and Universe tag and move on, but I will take particular note of the hands reaching out to Cas and the world as a vague gesture to once again stick a pin in.
I mean there’s a few other themes I’m going to point out for general notes: hearts everywhere,
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Some stuff on Day and Night and hands all over/handholding, which I’ll point to my talk on Absence for false dichotomies
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And an admittedly offtopical “lmao fuck this news screen”
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But with that, I move forward:
The child here was dressed almost EERILY like Mrs Butters, for the record. And uh-- /wore her cross upside down/
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They both kind of represent the same thing of misguided ideals, though Mrs Butters proved able to be reasoned with at the end and went to go return to nature where she belonged, just as man should return to his place some day free of god’s machinations; but she didn’t break her cycle and her fate is to be decided after this by court and what-not, which.. you know, fine.
But that’s a note worth passing re: Mrs Butters, but again, it needs to fall to generational; child vs parent, with Mrs Butters being the lightly lamia-associated elder who lost her sons and went mad trying to protect them according to how she had been commanded, just like this story, too, comes to misguided commands in absence.
Add in of course that Butters pointed out Jack was “too much like his father”. This, of course, was a shot at Lucifer in a way, but the serpent she evoked isn’t truly symbolic of Lucifer in our show, it’s about humanity. And uh, who is synonymous synced to in SPN? Even ignoring the relevance of the serpent to the Emperor? 
Throughout this episode, Jack waltzes around imprinted on habits from Dean, taking on the weight of the world, sacrifice, doing it alone, and inevitably, small bursts of anger.
While... Amara tracks and polka dances sideways across the Mary issue of idealizations vs realities, of the Now being more important than the Then. Fandom gets stuck on how unfair it was to Dean and considers it torture which, human perspective, fair. But Amara isn’t thinking on your human level. In fact she very loudly flags around how Dean (and frankly, the audience) doesn’t properly perceive the scope of what she even is. 
Castiel, driving home, continues to try to be an improved parent. He talks with Jack, and tries to tell him he doesn’t have to do this alone. But Jack is stuck in that rut, and it’s a rut Castiel knows too well. He’s walked these paths and the audience has walked these paths and he can’t let the child handle this alone, though Jack declares it isn’t his choice. Jack has surrendered to what he believes Death commands of him, what the job is.
It’s going to be about choice.
But right now, Jack is too much like his father. And I point back to the Moon, who lets the Sun shine on her face, perceiving the world as a reflection of the Father, of Soul in the eyes of the Mind. This is the path to teach their son to avoid just as much.
Meanwhile, Castiel is punched in the FACE basically by Jack saying not to tell Sam and Dean he’s turning into Soul Bomb Take 2. He doesn’t want to worry them over something he can’t do anything about. Congratulations, Castiel is now living the mirror of Jack knowing the Empty deal and Sam and Dean not being told, and you can SEE the reality of it ALL slam him in the face. Not just because Jack blowing up would negate the point of his sacrifice; I don’t know if that even really plinks his mental armor; but the actual magnitude of that kind of secret.
Burying my clown brain’s fierce desire to talk at length of small details like Cas opting not to wake Dean up in the room, we see a recursion-yet-subversion at the end. 
We cut off, here, abruptly. In context of the episode, we know Castiel has at least learned one lesson and is going to try to tell Dean about his deal. But on some level, this all enmeshes thoroughly to Castiel’s Empty deal. Do I think Cas is going to tell the Empty deal in 16? No, I’m gonna guess on some level Sam gets his hands on it around 17 maybe, or nobody at all finds out--or at least Dean himself doesn’t find out--until 18.
In that time they *still* will not have stopped Chuck, that won’t be until 19. So I really wish this arm flailing about “oh god they’re making it all about Cas saving Jack and then dropping it!” would stop because man guys, I’m tired, I’ve been writing you the roadmap on this for two years and haven’t failed yet, pls listen.
Even after episode 18, Castiel’s role is inevitably going to be to take the burden from Jack. ...And Dean will too, but you won’t really even start to wrap your heads around the how and the why until at *least* 16 covers the Emperor path better in scale of the generational family. That’s going to be a joint thing.
Yes, I’m saying that’s going to be a joint thing after the Empty.
The show has taken a highlighter repeatedly to the fact that Jack was neither ready to rule or remove Chuck and that it was all a bad idea. Like “Then who?!” yes HMMM WHO. 
Who is sitting here following the path of all of these individuals in this very episode? Do I need to gesture people to literal years of Castiel being associated with every one of these women’s central stories in my meta, make everyone read literal compendiums of it to get the where and why, or is it at least enough in the collective subconscious to be recognized?
What is Rowena doing? What is Rowena doing, right now? She unbirthed an entire realm and is restructuring it; where people go only where they deserve to go, where they aren’t as boxed in but certainly aren’t out there being shitheads for the sake of being shitheads. But man, if only there was SOME ONE ELSE lined up on this whole lunar path, somewhere, with these women.
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(For more on the blossom, see my Albedo tag)
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For the full context and, frankly, mental breakdowns about 15.13 and what all that amounted to, I point you to the tags I linked above in discussion and lead-in to this post, because I’m not going to re-tread that ground right now.
But Castiel’s deal has always been about saving Jack. Castiel has been the Empress all year and before it. He will continue to be the empress, symbolized as feeding her young from her own heart, and--well, like that above gif (and also like 15.09, but with Sam in that generational rotation), receiving the sphere from the Emperor (Dean) and passing it to the new aeon to be reborn. Jack is the new Aeon. the mother will protect this at any cost.
But I don’t know why fandom pole vaults into assuming then that the Emperor suddenly has no place in this fascinatingly interwoven play. They are part of this cooperative birthing process together. Even in and beyond Death. As it is, there’s parts of Jack’s resignation that will inevitably tie to Castiel with Dean in 18.
As always, the case is a warning tale, but just what side of it you take really depends on where the characters choose to step. Is it a warning of man stepping away from god or god changing the rules on man? 
Even Amara’s message is multifaceted: Knowing when to walk away on your own path is not the same as betraying someone. And it’s only going to be by Dean’s manipulation that she would consider it, while he is in fact lying to her; but that’s NOT going to come without a long term price. And frankly, is itself a message for the endgame of this show, with some people thinking taking ones’ own path is tantamount to betrayal. It is not. But what matters it the truth. And the choice. And remembering that we all have a choice.
And what of Cas, after the Empty then?
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My soul went to heaven, big surprise.
In order to be in the Occultum, the Occultum must be in you.
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To know what he, himself, is also worth, Castiel will have to make that place within himself. And that will also be the place for his child, and his family, and humankind as he has come to adopt as his people.
...But there was a two step phase to that spell and I remind you Rowena wasn’t alone in that image.
The pink of fertile rebirth.
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For more on the Empress, click here. 
Anyway
#CASTIELSUTERUS2020
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teabooksandsweets · 3 years
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Pandorian Problems
It’s time for my occasional, that is sporadic, what I mean is unregularly-but-now-and-then-happening post about SSO, and also SsL, and even OSS, which you can interpret as meaning Old Star Stable or Original Star Stable, depending on whether you consider those games the old games, or the original games.
As not-exactly-usual, but certainly as often, my current concern is Pandoria. You might have guessed so from the title. And it’s about some problems, which you might have gathered as well.
I really wonder just how pink Pandoria is supposed to be in Star Stable Online. And I also wonder how much it’s supposed to be the “pink hell” (which it really isn’t, but I’m not sure of SSE understand that) as commonly called on here.
The “pink hell”
Is Pandoria pink in SSO? I wonder. We see it as a rather muted purple, with some pink sky and details, but not nearly as pink as it is in SsL. But then again, it is described as extremely pink in the Soul Riders books.
Now there’s three possibilities:
Pandoria looks the way it looks in SSO and that is meant by the pink description in the books, because that’s clearly pink enough.
Pandoria used to be extremely brightly pink but somehow got darker and more purple.
The part of Pandoria described in the books is also the part that appears in SsL and therefore bright pinkt, whereas the darker, purpler part of Pandoria we see in SSO is an entirely different part altogether.
We know for sure that it is a different part in SSO. The part with the Fripp statue, and the old temple-ish building, etc. is obviously in a different area of Pandoria. Why shouldn’t it look different in different places? It’s a whole planet (we’ll get to that later) and one might expect a planet to have different landscapes. But is it like that for sure? And if it’s the second possibility, then what turned it so dark? (The first would be easy to explain—just as the nights are rather light in SSO compared to OSS, for instance, it’s just made to be better for the players’ eyes.)
The “pink hell”
This is a fact: Pandoria is not Star Stable hell.
It definitely isn’t in Starshine Legacy, and it couldn’t logically be in Star Stable Online. Not only does hell imply something at least loosely based on the concept of hell, which it clearly isn’t, Pandoria is not even, as usually claimed, an evil place.
Pandoria is different. Pandoria is not some sort of underworld, or just a magic dimension, it is actually a planet that could be physically reached, if one had the necessary technology. Even though SSO strayed far from the canon of the old games, and even though the UFO has been ignored by SSE for years, the references to aliens on Jorvik have never really ceased, they were even mentioned in the most recent quests.
Pandoria can also be reached on a magical or spiritual sphere, it is “a place within all of use” (and of course, that could be a sort of internal heaven or hell of mind or soul, or whatever intended here) and its connection to the Soul Riders is on a different level than just some other planet in space.
But Pandoria is not evil. It is, essentially, a different place. It has a different atmosphere (literally, not meaning a different mood, but an actually different atmosphere) and its different sense of scale and realness, etc. is not due to being evil but being simply and plainly a planet that works differently than Earth.
The only definitely Pandorian creatures we ever met in the game (aside from the rays) are Fripp and Ydris. Ydris is a definite example of a being that isn’t intentionally evil, but in every sense alien to our world, and unable to really function in accordance with another world’s nature and physical (as well as, yes, moral) laws.
I know there’s many theories about Fripp actually being evil, maybe because his entire demeanor is so different from his portrayal in the old games and comics, but even those don’t make sense with an “officially” evil Pandoria. If Fripp were evil, then why should he and his followers claim that his home was basically hell? No, no matter if Fripp is good or bad (or different, as he clearly is!) it’s clear that Fripp loves Pandoria, that he longs for Pandoria and that he would never consider it a place of an evil nature.
(In fact, I am quite convinced that Fripp needs Pandoria, and that his exile has a terrible effect on his physical and mental state, and that in order to recover him he might actually need to go there, but that is a different matter.)
The evil in SSO—or supposed evil, for those who love the “the baddies are good and the goodies are bad” theories—came to Pandoria and to Earth/Jorvik from a different planet altogether. Garnok and his Generals are not Pandorian, and they have a terrible influence on Pandoria as well as on Jorvik.
And I have to say, a real problem for me is the effect Pandoria supposedly had on Anne. If it was actually Pandoria. For Evergray, it makes sense, as he is a normal man from Earth, and therefore in a place so physically against his nature, that he simply couldn’t endure in the atmosphere of another planet without long-term damage. (This, again, is why I honestly think that Fripp needs Pandoria, and that Ydris might not be too well of on Jorvik either.)
But Anne is the Sun of Pandoria. All Soulriders are connected to Pandoria, in some ways, deep down, from Pandoria, and so are their horses. But Anne belongs to Pandoria in a whole different way, she is essential to it, Pandoria needs Anne, and Anne naturally belongs there. Of course, she does have a human body, and maybe it was damaged by the atmosphere over a long time (although not nearly as badly as one might expect) and I personally think that DarkCore did much worse to her than the place itself.
But Anne is practically a goddess to Pandorian people. If Pandoria were a “pink hell” then Anne (and Lisa, and Linda, and Alex, and we—and the horses) were evil. Anne would be the Sun of Hell. Which she isn’t—obviously.
But Anne can be negatively effected by the harm done to Pandoria. And of course, physically she is a human of our Earth. That’s absolutely clear. She isn’t a Pandorian, in that sense. But she isn’t unconnected to it either.
Pandorian Problemsolving
I know that SSE have strayed fundamentally from the storyline of Starshine Legacy. But they still use some old pictures, reference old places and plots, and even mention the extraterrestial parts of the game. The observatories still play an important part (they even brought an astronomer and an alien together) and they never really made a clear cut from the old stories.
I don’t see why it should be difficult to put it all together. I mean—I made up all sorts of plausible, interwoven storylines to fill plotholes in the gap between SsL and OSS for an imaginary MMO set on Jorvik before SSO even existed, and before I knew what an MMO is, and I continued to do so after starting to play SSO and could still logically put a lot together with all the new storylines and inconsistancies brought into the game.
It is still perfectly possible for SSE to make sense of it all, to show Pandoria as it truly is—not good or bad, but different, and deeply connected to the Soul Riders—and fit in the old aspects of the stories with the new.
As for Fripp, I know many dislike him—but he, too, is a being of Pandoria, and his concern is to fight a very specific evil (that is, Garnok, and his followers) and to protect Jorvik as well as his actual home, without having much understanding for every personal sensitivity of every single human being he works with, and who belong to a species he simply cannot really understand.
Pandoria is dangerous, but it is also endangered, and the Soul Riders are partly beings of Pandoria, their souls are connected to Pandoria, and the common enemy is of an entirely different nature altogether. Pandoria really shouldn’t be portrayed as safe or cute, but also not as a sort of evil otherworld, but as a connected, but different place of great importance, and with deep connection to the story and its actors, including the good and the bad.
Ideas / Theories / Suggestions / Whatever
maybe Pandoria got darker because its sun was darkened
Garnok and his Generals are also from a different planet and also of a different nature than Earth and Pandoria and maybe that could be important for future storylines, except I don’t know how
Mario is an astronomer and Ydris is an alien and I want to see how that plays out in the future
does it make difference to travel to Pandoria by actual space travel rather than through portals/rifts, and if yes, how?
really, what about Fripp’s physical state, and what could bringing him to Pandoria (I know he’s in exile) or bringing him something from Pandoria do to him (e.g. food, medicine, whatever)
what about Pandorian people, more Pandorian people, especially horse people
I still wonder if those Pandorian horsepeople work like Egyptian gods—maybe they don’t have human bodies with horse heads, but can actually appear as humans or horses—who would be seperated into a human and a horse on Earth
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jackambrosemodeling · 3 years
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Boy Talk || Jack & Brandon
When: May 2, 2021
Where: Jack’s apartment, Santa Monica, California
Featuring: Brandon Kelly (dialogue provided by Katie @itsbrandonkelly)
Triggers: Allusion to alcoholism
After firing off a You’d better be home. text to Jack, he realised that he really should have checked first to save him from waiting outside their apartment but that’s why there were so many saying about hindsight. Still, he knocked to let his presence be known instead of texting again, hoping he’d timed his visit well.
Jack was coincidentally home when they received Brandon's text. They got out of the shower when they saw the message. After texting him back with a 'bitch I might be', Jack unlocked their door as well as the entrance door to the apartment building. They followed up with a 'door's open' text and went to go find clothes to put on before Brandon came inside.
He huffed out in amusement at the first response he got and then knocked again at the second before letting himself in. “Who leaves their door open? This is the start to every horror film ever, then again just letting yourself into someone’s home is also how they start.” He called out, heading to the kitchen instead of looking for Jack. He figured they would have answered the door if they weren’t occupied with something else and so they’d join him when they were done. When he found glasses, he settled himself on the couch and shrugged off his jacket.
"I do when I know someone's coming over!" they yelled from behind their closed bedroom door. If someone had actually broken into their apartment for nefarious purposes, Jack was more than prepared to deal with the situation. Once they were presentable, they looked around until they found Brandon in the living room. "Comfy there?" they teased. "You know I love seeing you, but a little more of a heads up would've been nice. I could've still been in the shower. I could've been actively having sex!"
“Who’s supposed to be coming over? I can’t believe you were inviting people to chill and I wasn’t one of them?” Brandon had taken out his phone to sit on the couch with him and had even gotten as far as pouring them both a drink before Jack had come to meet him. “Yep. I made myself at home.” He gave Jack his best smile, even fluttering his eyelashes for good measure. “If you loved seeing me that much you would invite me over to do those things with you. Besides, it’s not much of a surprise visit if I tell you about it, is it?”
“You! I opened the door for you, silly!” Jack looked at the two glasses, then back to Brandon. “Oh shit, the wine that Nyle sent as a moving present! I forgot I had that.” They didn’t want to be rude and throw it out, and figured it would be good to have in case of guests, so they hid it. The fact that they managed to not drink any of it themself was a miracle. “Yeah, I’m not sure how Viv would feel about that... speaking of which. Fun update in my life. I’m kind of seeing someone? Still figuring out labels and whatnot.” Though there were rumors floating around the gossip sphere, Brandon was the first person they confirmed the rumor to.
“Then the door wouldn’t be open so it wouldn’t matter if you were showering or fucking, would it?” Jack’s comment had Brandon looking at the bottle again and picking up the glass closest to it. “Mine is alcoholic. I brought you some appley juice recommended by the best palate I know.” He patted the space beside him before his eyebrows raised in surprise. “You settled before you boned me? Disgusting. Unacceptable.” Despite his words, he started grinning. “I’m so happy for you, babe. That’s cute.”
“Brandon, stop making good points,” they huffed, sitting down on the couch next to Brandon. “Oh, thanks.” While Jack had never explicitly told Brandon why they quit drinking, it appeared that he had gotten the hint. “I’m sorry. It turns out I have a SIMP gene that was activated by me moving to Santa Monica. Who would’ve thunk it?” they joked, knowing damn well that they’ve simped over every person they’ve ever dated.
“I can’t help that I’m brilliant. Sorry buddy; you just gotta live with that I’m afraid.” He hummed quietly in amusement. Brandon simply offered them a smile at their thanks. They never joined in whenever B was drinking and he was nothing if not attentive. Sometimes, at least. “Literally no one because the simp gene has always been in you and always been active but I’ll keep that to myself if it really makes you feel better.”
"All my friends are hot and smart, but I'm just hot. Story of my life." Jack sighed, taking a sip of the juice that was so graciously provided to them. "Excuse me?!" Jack exclaimed overdramatically. "Are you calling me a simp? In the comfort of my own apartment?! I don't know what I did to deserve this treatment. I don't know how I'll go on!" They busted into  laughter, unable to keep the act up.
“You’re hot and smart. What the fuck are you talking about? Be nice to my friend or I’ll kick your ass.” He reached his foot out to nudge Jack with, an amused smile on his face. “Plus, you’re also super hot, own it. And yes. I’m calling you a simp. You’re the themperor of simpington. Population... Uh, I don’t know how many people are in Santa Monica but that’s the population.”
“Brandon, I was a straight-C student in high school and have the common sense of a bag of potato chips. I know my strengths and weaknesses.” Jack knew they weren’t book smart and it didn’t bother them. “Excuse me, I am not Themperor Simpington. That title belongs to Sunwoo Seong. Have you met them? But they did skip town a while back... shit. I didn’t ask for this title. I need to find a new non-binary friend to bestow this title on. I just need more enby friends in general.”
“You don’t have the common sense of a bag of potato chips, Jesus Christ Jack.” Brandon laughed as he slapped Jack’s arm. “You’ve survived this long in this industry, babe. That’s not down to potato chip brain, even I nearly crashed out a couple of years in.” He raised an eyebrow, head tilted as he fixed them a look of disapproval. “You are Themperor Simpington. The queen has spoken. I met Sunwoo once and obviously offered to climb that tree but they left and Joonie was sad so I’m no longer a fan of tall, hot and dimpled. If it makes you feel any better, I’m a huge simp for my sweet boy.”
“Hey, I’m funny. Fuck you,” they retorted, chuckling. “I’ve been told that I’m charismatic, and that’s helped me out in the industry. I’m still not that famous though.” While Jack was relatively well-known in queer circles, heterosexual circles were a whole other ballpark. Being friends with Brandon and recently befriending Vanessa did help their social standing though. “Themperor Simpington my butt,” they grumbled. “Wait, when you say ‘my sweet boy,’ do you mean Minjoon or do you have another boo I should know about?”
“Bitch, I been trying to get you to for so long now. I was starting to think you needed glasses.” Bee broke into a laugh before he even finished his sentence, nudging Jack’s arm in his giggling. “Yeah, you have to have a look and you have to be charming to start work in this industry but to survive in it? You have to be smart. About that though, I know I keep promising you a space on my next project and it’s had a few.. speed bumps I guess? Not really speed bumps but personal delays? Either way, I know enough now to be able to tell you that Queen B’s.. that I’m releasing a trial perfume.. fragrance line. Five scents to start, each will have its own colour have theme shots with, each will have its own model to associate with and I want you, if you’re interested?” Their mumbling made Brandon grin, coughing as a terrible fake attempt at covering up the ‘Simp.’ he titled them with again. “Minjoon is my sweet boy. I don’t have another boo, not even a little bit but if you hear simp alarms going off whenever I like the instas of a very beautiful friend of mine then mind ya business.”
"Oh my god. Brandooooon!" Though Jack had quite a few friends with benefits in their days, whenever the thought of doing anything with Brandon crossed their mind, they thought about the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed seventeen-year-old they met all those years ago. Jack's eyes lit up when he started talking about his fragrance line project. "Oh hell yeah I'm interested. Just remember, my favorite colors are purple and pink." They winked at Brandon. Aside from one photoshoot in L.A. that they did after fashion weeks, their work schedule was dryer than a desert. Of course they wouldn't tell him that though. They didn't want to sound desperate. Jack would've taken this job even if they weren't in need of work. "B, you're gonna have to be a little more specific than that. I know you. You don't befriend ugly people."
The laugh that left him this time was more of a giggle and he scrunched his nose up, shaking his head. “I tease but honestly, you’re practically family. Did you know that my parents ask after you? They know as much about you as I do but.. Well, they’re embarrassing. Eh, mom’s okay. Dad’s embarrassing so you’ll probably never meet them but yeah.. They get told about the important people in my life and you’ve been in it longer than Joonie.” Brandon groaned, setting his glass down. “Can’t believe I’m being gross and emotional already. Moving on..” He said, a little louder. “Purple would be fantastic for you. It’s a very royal colour and I’m going to do the obvious and lean into that a little but silk, not velvet. Pink was going to have a sweet-candy-lace vibe to it but if you want pink I can give you pink.” Brandon rolled his eyes, despite the heat he could feel spreading up his neck. “I have a... friend called Kian and he’s... There hasn’t been a word invented yet for how beautiful he is and it’s ridiculous and gross because I don’t lose my mind over pretty boys but he’s.. He makes me blush, Jack. I don’t blush.”
"Brandooooooooon! Stop, you're gonna make me blush. I'd love to meet your parents. Parents love me. Well, actually, I just love milfs and dilfs," Jack cackled at their own dumb joke. "But in all seriousness, let me know when they come to town!" As much as they wanted to meet Mr. and Mrs. Kelly, they didn't want to go to the Kelly home to do so. Jack knew that they shared a home state with Brandon, and didn't want to reenter North Carolina at the risk of running into their family. "Ooh, purple and silk? Now you're speaking my language!" Jack wiggled their eyebrows when Brandon mentioned Kian by name. "A yes, the cute delivery boy. You've mentioned him before. We're Instagram mutuals!"
“Do it! Blush, you coward!” Brandon laughed, leaning against Jack’s arm to nudge them. “Oh my god. I can’t believe I have to say this but if you’re gonna fuck my parents, please don’t date them and wait until I’m out of the room if you’re going to flirt, I don’t need to see that. They really would love to meet you though, they’ve been waiting for permission to come to town.” Brandon grinned at Jack at their approval, giving a small nod. “I’ll get some things drawn up for you. I do have a few already as rough drafts but now I know you’re taking it, I can design something a little more tailored to you.” The warmth spreading across his cheeks and colouring his face a darker shade of pink only grew worse as Jack wiggled their brows at him. “Yeah.. Well.. He’s almost perfect. The only thing I’d change about him is his last name.” His reaction to himself was instant, throwing himself against the cushions to yell out a laugh. “And I keep saying dumb cheesy shit like that! I’m a bumbling mess around him. Like.. Like I start off all smooth and collected and then he smiles and I’m just.. fucking applying to be hired by hallmark. It’s.. It’s so cringe and gross and... I’m happy.”
"Brandon, I'll become your new step-parent and ground you, don't tempt me," Jack joked, cackling. "Well give it to them! Don't deprive me of your loving parents!" Jack didn't have loving parents of their own, so if Brandon's parents were anything like Brandon, Jack was going to latch to them like nobody's business. "Oh my goooooooooooood, that was so coooooorrrrnnnnnyyyyy! Damn, and you call me a simp! I'm not out here reciting poetry on main about my crush. And if you bring up the fact that we have keys to each others' apartments, mind your business." Jack knew they were simping hard over Vivian, but now it was Brandon's turn to be in the hot seat. "So have you considered, you know, talking to him?"
“Their ex girlfriend actually tried that once. Oh my god, it was kind of funny though. You’ll have to treat me better when our guests arrive and do as you’re told or I’ll have you cut off until you learn some damn respect.” He mimicked in a too high voice, rolling his eyes afterwards. “Like.. Honey, I’ve only just noticed you’re not the last guy they were dating and that’s only because you started pterodactyl screeching.” Despite his playful tone, Brandon could feel warmth spreading across his face. “Yeah, okay. I’ll.. I’ll invite them up to meet you.” Having made peace with the fact that he‘d made himself into a product, his parents were off limits when it came to the people in his life, knowing how fickle and superficial a lot of his relationships with people were. It was different with Jack though, Jack really was his friend. “Honestly, I’ve been an absolute mess. I pulled the whole ‘My friends call me B, you can call me any time.’ Thing on him when we met and now I just blush all the time and feel nauseous over butterflies.” He waved his hand quickly at Jack’s news, shaking his head. “NUH uh.. We are not going to just gloss over that? Oh my god? Keys? You’re entering domesticity. Like.. Me and Joonie levels of domesticity and my parents are the founders of the BranJoon wedding fan club. Like.. You’re getting into that territory..” There was a small pause before a smile spread across his face. “I’m happy for you, babe. Honestly. You deserve this.” He couldn’t help but sigh at the question, sinking into his seat a little with a pout on his features and a small shrug. “I’ve been so obvious about it. Short of getting a neon sign to carry around, I don’t know how much more obvious I could be and sometimes it feels like he’s being obvious back? Like.. It feels like it’s not just one sided? And then I start having a gay panic and do something dumb because he’s way out of my league which is a new thing for me. I do want to though. Should I?”
"Hold up, hold up. I said that as a joke. You're telling me that your parents are actually non-monogamous?! And you didn't tell me until now?! I came out as polyam like, 2-3 years ago! And now I'm in a monogamous set-up again. I missed my shot. I'm hurt." Jack put their hands over their chest and sniffled, but almost immediately returned to their usual cheerful demeanor. "I'm kidding, I'm not gonna become your step-daddy, or... I don't know what a gender-neutral equivalent would be besides 'parent,' and that doesn't roll of the tongue as well." This wasn't something they had to think about right away. It wasn't like they were going to wake up tomorrow with a child. "Ah yes, your infamous pick-up line." Jack's face turned pink when Brandon acknowledged the keys. "Okay, I actually do have an explanation! I initially gave her my spare key because I asked her to water my plants when I was away for Fashion Week. Granted, she didn't do a good job and managed to kill both plants, but that's an aside. But yeah, I just never asked for the spare key back." Jack gave Brandon a shoulder pat. They really didn't know Kian, so couldn't tell what the full situation was. "What I've learned from my many years of dating men is that men are dumb and sometimes you literally need to spell things out for them."
“As momma dearest says, monogamy is for the weak. Anyway, they were already in a relationship when you came out. Also? I don’t want to be hooking my parents up with my hotties?” Brandon pulled a face at Jack, nose scrunched up in disapproval. “To be fair though, you and Viv wouldn’t even be the first couple they’ve dated. You’d be the first I’d... somewhat approve of but..” He shrugged before laughing. “Oh my god. There are a couple.. Zaza or zeze instead of dada and mama but given the chance I’d mash up dad and mom and just refer to you as my dom to make everyone in the room uncomfortable.” He shook his head, laughing quietly. “I hate this so much, Jack please.” “I think it’s funny, definitely in my top 3 introductions.” He found himself sitting up straighter when he noticed the blush on Jack’s cheeks, a grin forming on his own features. “Oh my god. She killed your plants and you let her keep your key? Say it with me, babe. Simp. You’re cute though. I’m totally 100% on board with the two of you. She was one of my heroes.” When the conversation turned back to him, Brandon tilted his head as he weighed his options. “Not Kiki but... You’re right, I guess. He’s probably so used to everyone being in love with him that my flirting is just baseline niceties. Okay, yeah. I’ll.. I’ll tell him that I’m crazy about him. Or I’ll just text him that aggressive meme about wanting to hold hands.”
"Aaaaah, your parents are so cool! I wish my parents were cool like that. Mine are just homophobic." There was a lot more to Sofia and Tony Corleone than just that, but very few people knew about them. This was very much intentional. They made a face at 'zaza' and 'zeze.' "Yeah, not really digging those ones... Wait. Dom?!" Jack paused to laugh. "Fucking hell. Yes. That's definitely what my future kids are gonna call me." Jack never brought up the topic of kids to Vivian. They were still very early in their relationship and Jack was afraid they were too old to be a parent. It was still a nice thought though. "Yeah. I got back from Paris and she was having a bad day, so I ordered a pizza and we just... talked. Had a real heart-to-heart. I ended up staying the night, and we've basically had an open-door policy with each other ever since. And then the next day I went back into my apartment and found out about the plants."  Jack grabbed a pillow from the couch and lightly smacked Brandon's arm with it. "I know, I know! I'm a big sappy simpy mush. I'm a Cancer, I don't know what you expect from me." It took Jack a long time to accept their emotional side, but now they openly embraced it. "Or he might not know how to recognize flirting. I've met many people like that. Like the cute DJ at that bar where Minjoon used to work. Or Minjoon himself!”
“My parents have a big bank balance and even bigger hearts. That’s why I don’t approve of a lot of their partners but yeah.. As much as I give them shit for being lame, they’re the coolest. I mean, they’re the only reason I’m even.. y’know... Around.” Brandon let out an unattractive snort and sat forward to retrieve his glass, pouting when he realised it was empty but simply sat back instead of refilling it. “Please, I am begging you, think carefully as to why I’d find calling you my dom funny before you commit to that decision.” He pressed his lips together to fight his laugh before he let out a soft hum. “Do you think that’s where you’re headed with her? Is she someone you can see yourself having kids with?” He asked softly, his whole demeanour changing from playful now that they had ventured into serious topics. “You don’t have to say yes and you don’t have to have an answer right now. Things are still new with you both and y’know... Take it from the adopted, some people don’t want kids and some do.” He shrugged a little.
“Ew. You talked to each other over pizza because one of you had a bad day? That’s disgusting.” When hit with the pillow, Brandon grabbed it to tug it away from Jack so they couldn’t attack him again and he hugged it to his chest, propping his chin on it. “I live for that kind of domesticity.” He sighed wistfully. “You are a big simpy mush and I love that about you. It’s gross and honest and just very sweet. I’m really glad you have someone who makes you feel that way, babe.” Brandon  rolled his eyes and gave the pillow a small squeeze. “Vito really doesn’t recognise flirting? The dude wants to be an actor! With a face like that a lot of his roles are probably going to have it. I wanted to ask if he wanted any help getting into it because he was good to Joonie when they worked together and I always appreciate people taking care of the babie but I also feel like I don’t know him well enough to just give him a shout about a job. Eh. Maybe I’ll get Joonie to text him about this perfume thing and actually see what skills he has. Joonbug doesn’t count for the whole flirting thing though, attraction isn’t really his thing.”
"I gotcha," Jack stated, nodding. They had a similar problem when they first started modeling. They loved to spoil their loved ones-- and still do-- and people often took advantage of their generosity. As Jack grew older, they learned how to weed out the moochers. Of course Brandon was never a moocher; he wasn't the type to take without giving, plus he had plenty of his own money. Jack watched for Brandon's reaction, then chuckled in response to his face. "Babe, I know. I was joking. Could you imagine?!" They shrugged at Brandon's question. "Honestly, I have no idea. I think it's too soon to talk about that kinda stuff. I thought I was never gonna become a parent because Sage didn't want kids, but, you know, they're not my fiancé anymore." Sage not wanting kids wasn't the main reason the engagement was broken off, but it was a bone of contention in the relationship.
"Oh hush. One day you'll have a heart-to-heart over pizza too. Well, maybe not because of the whole gluten thing, but some food that you enjoy." They stuck their tongue out at Brandon. "Ohh, that's his name! At least he didn't recognize me flirting with him. Could just be that he wasn't into me because he's straight, but I'm hot so that's dumb." Jack didn't want to have sex with straight dudes anyways, so they didn't consider it a major loss. "Attraction isn't his thing? Is he asexual or something?" they asked curiously. "Wait a minute, you're deflecting!"
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darkpoisonouslove · 3 years
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Winx Club Season 8 Thoughts Part 2
Well, this is it. Last part of the last season (that has come out) and I haven’t even watched any of it (though, I have heard things). Part 1 can be found here.
8x14:
- Why is this opening with a concert scene when literally the second to last scene in the previous episode was a musical number? At least there was that cute Stella and Brandon moment after to make up for it.
- This is actually a legitimate issue but I do not expect the show to handle the fact that Sky has clashing responsibilities on his shoulders well. They’re already implying that it’s more important for him to be a Specialist rather than a prince and that is not true. Eraklyon will suffer without a good king. Though, on the other hand... how good a king would Sky be? Maybe this is better, after all. At least someone actually interested in doing the job can take over.
- They legit made Erendor a lot thinner than he originally was? And somehow ruined his design also. As well as Diaspro’s. Ugh, why is there gonna be drama with her again????????????????? How many times?!?!?! For fuck’s sake! Just let it end!
- Seriously? They’re all blaming Stella for Bloom’s gloom? Stella has the right to talk about her own relationship as well. And when the fuck have Musa and Riven ever talked? Not to mention that now Riven is trying to communicate with her but she doesn’t even want to give him a chance!
- Valtor has become more cringe than he used to be. At least the Trix seem to have become smarter. We didn’t need him to tell us who they were, however. Also, why does he think that they will not use the star for themselves.
- His new powers literally come from stolen star energy and he just said that stars are made from the sparks that witch and fairy magic are also made of. Aka his magic should be compatible with that of Winx and the Trix as well.
- Oh, great! Now they belong to him. They really didn’t have to make season 8 Valtor a Darkar 2.0 and yet, they thought it was a good idea. I just... nggggggh!
- The Wishing Star... is a woman? And wait, what... They’re saying that Valtor is over a 1000 years old now? Yeah, ‘cause a 1000-year-old sorcerer/demon will totes lose against a bunch of high-schoolers. Makes fucking sense.
- How did Stormy summon an asteroid field?
- What... the hell just happened? Don’t tell me the Star made herself fall apart in the different colors of the color spectrum and they’ll need to gather all of them in the stupid star-shaped box!
- Twinkly is back on Lumenia? Did we really need her back? And why is the star-shaped box chasing her?
- If I were Sky, I probably would be scared to tell Bloom that it is Diaspro texting. She can have terrible reactions to just the thought of Diaspro. Though, to be fair I have no idea why Sky keeps speaking to Diaspro. He has every right to just cut her off completely after what she did in seasons 3 and 6.
- Brandon, you know very well who Diaspro is! And no, I don’t care that they are giving a really crashing crash course to the new audience. This is terrible! Also, you have to love how Sky didn’t even think about calling Erendor to ask about the mission. He just took Diaspro’s word for it. Because she is sooooo trustworthy.
- I was almost right. Instead of colors they are going to be collecting Prime Stars instead. I still got the right idea, though. It is a bit... lame.
- Enchantix looks a lot less elegant and a lot more... second-hand fabric sewn together poorly. Also, I hate the fact that they had the transformation song from the first movie and not the original. And they basically used the same sequence as the one for Sirenix but they are only popping their Enchantix on instead.
- “I didn’t think it would be so easy.” Same! Finding that Compass was the easiest thing ever and it doesn’t matter that things will get heated now that the Trix are here because the Compass didn’t pose a challenge of its own.
8x15:
- I am living for the dramatic opening of this episode.
- Why aren’t the rest of Winx covering Bloom so that she can grab the Compass? Five against the Trix should be enough for her to take it.
- Really? You can’t figure out who freed them? I love that they told Bloom to ask herself. That was great!
- I was getting excited that Valtor showed up but it was just an illusion of Darcy’s. Anyway, the question that came to me involves the Trix as well so... How come they followed Winx in the box since Winx needed to use Enchantix to miniaturize?
- So it turns out that it wouldn’t have been so easy to take the Compass even though it looked that way in the beginning.
-Tecna!!!!!!!!!!!! What Musa is hearing is the key to getting the Compass, you idiot! It is important and not something to leave for later!
- They’re just gonna chase after it without paying attention to what the voice told them? Fucking amazing! And Bloom is sending her Dragon after it? I am so glad that this is not working!
- Lmaooooo @ Layla catching Bloom in a baseball glove. XD
- Why are they so fucking dumb? The whole thing is controlled by the notes Musa heard SINCE IT’S A FUCKING MUSIC BOX, NOT LIKE THERE’S MUCH TO IT! and they just need to figure out the pattern. That’s what they were told. “Only the one who listens” Come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- I love the spells they’re using, though. They seem to be more creative with their powers here and it is actually interesting enough to distract from their zero comprehension skills and abilities to make deductions.
- Oh, I love the balance thing in the labyrinth! And the Compass hitting Icy on the head was just priceless! But why are you so rude to Stormy, Icy? Don’t be like that.
- Yes, you will make the same mistakes because you are still not FUCKING listening goddammit!!!!!!!!!
- Oh, come on! Don’t tell me Bloom will be the one solving this!
- Good! It was actually Musa that fixed the whole thing. I still cannot make sense of the musical theme of this challenge in-verse but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be so I’m gonna close my eyes for that.
- Why didn’t they try to capture the Trix or something? They just let them go.
- Arken got this right in no time at all and knew it had been Valtor who had freed the Trix. Why is he the only one thinking?
- Is Valtor really going to try to pit the Trix against each other once again? God, please, tell me that they will not be falling for that this time! It is ridiculous!
- Why would Wizgiz be in a trashcan? And they just destroyed the entire classroom looking for him while I suspect he is actually truly just running late... Yep, got that right.
- Don’t tell me Bloom will see Sky with Diaspro at Red Fountain! He’s supposed to be on a mission, not at school!... Oh, good. He’s not there. But why is Bloom weeping? He is on a secret mission! It may endanger the job, him or anyone that knows anything to reveal details! Can she just not be a baby for 3 seconds?
8x16:
- HE’S ON A MISSION! HE MIGHT BE TIED UP!!!!!!! CHILL FOR A FEW MINUTES!!!
- Diaspro is actually climbing? She could just fly! But I guess they didn’t want to draw her fairy form. Don’t tell me they’re retconning her being a fairy! I will smack someone if that’s true!
- She legit threw herself off the rocks just to make sure Sky wouldn’t text Bloom? Crazy much? What if he hadn’t managed to catch you? Girl, you need some perspective! Sky is so not worth this.
- Griffin looks and sounds horrible. And why the actual hell is she exactly as tall as Faragonda?!?!?!?! She used to be half a head taller!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Disguise? You call that disguise? You changed your goddamn hair color!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And what is worse - IT ACTUALLY FUCKING WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How did Stella not recognize them? You’d think that she will when she is supposed to be such an expert on fashion and makeovers! And this didn’t even have magic involved in it! (they could have changed their hair without magic is what I’m saying)
- Wait, they actually extended the Cosmix song? Is that new or did I just not notice because I’ve been skipping the transformation sequence?
- I LOVE Griffin and Faragonda’s opening! They are both showcasing the fact that they’re opposites and also being the dramatic bitches that they are and I am so here for it! Yes, this is everything I have wanted (if only it could have been in the old art style).
- The plants won’t speak to Flora? I actually like the fact that they have to work all together AND it is not convergence! This is more like it!
- No! I don’t want the Trix fighting because of Valtor again!
- Why is Stormy playing twister? XD But I love the implication that there are different tests given to anyone who enters but they all require teamwork! That is awesome! Just, please, make something good with it!
- I just thought that Winx were really gonna beat the Trix with a lot this time but it turned out they are not paying attention to their colors! This is kinda like the finale of season 2, except it doesn’t feel as dumb for some reason. Maybe because Stella is just as useful as everyone else.
- Another game? I actually like this? There is the need for logic to be applied here.
- I wish the Trix would just stop fighting! Well, it’s just Icy and Darcy. Stormy is being calm and thinking! I honestly thought that their portal would close while they were fighting but it sucked them in instead.
- They’re gonna be having more fun with the spheres again. Just like with the Compass, I have a feeling there is a catch here.
- Wait, what did Darcy do? Weren’t they supposed to work together? How did she figure that out on her own? That didn’t make sense but okay.
- I love how Valtor is actually gonna fuck himself over because he is trying to make the Trix fight but in order to find the Prime Stars they’ll need to collaborate. This is some delicious irony!
- And Winx found it!
- If I were Diaspro, I would actually have a fake map at the very least instead of a heart of me and Sky on the parchment. If he takes one look, he’ll know she’s deceiving him!
8x17:
- They’re having a test about their biggest insecurities in the episode in which they’ll be looking for the Prime Star of Confidence? And why are these things always about Stella? The Gem of Confidence back in season 5 was also on Solaria and she was the one to get it. Also, I am not thrilled about the fact that they will be pushing each star on a single girl from now on since there are six more to get after the first one that they had to get through teamwork.
- Musa’s biggest insecurity is making mistakes? They could have done something that would speak about why she is so unwilling to get back with Riven but no. Instead Bloom’s biggest insecurity is about Sky because of course it is! God forbid she has something else on the brain!
- Why are we doing the Stella and her parents’ divorce again? And in the exact same old way we have already seen it back in seasons 1 through... about 5? Issues evolve! They could have put a new spin on it!
- How is making a dress going to solve this?
- At least Stella asked for help after she figured out she can’t do it on her own! And I always love seeing Tecna and Stella moments! Stella and Musa are good too!
- We’ve seen that dress already. Stella wore it in season 6. Come on, writers!
- Ah, I see. Stella is trying to please both her parents and is not being herself aka not being confident. Fucking fantastic.
- I think Stella and Stromy passed because they were the first ones to do so and the challenge accepted them as contenders. So now they are separated form the rest because they have to handle it on their own.
- Awww, poor Stella! I think that kids of divorced parents are not the only ones that can relate to her problems! This is so heartbreaking!
- I am getting some bad vibes from Stormy over here, though... Oh. No. She actually totally rocked this because she has confidence in herself and her sisters! That was pretty awesome!
- Woooooo, the Trix actually got the second star? And they left with it?! They are actually making this interesting????? I cannot believe it!
- I absolutely love how both Winx and Stella’s parents showed her how much they love her. And Luna and Radius are not fighting! *wipes away tear* Beautiful!
8x18:
- Bloom is so not here. And Palladium really chose her even though she is distracted after Stella would injure herself because she was so eager to do the potion? Fuck you, show!
- Well, he got what was coming for him! XD And Stella got the last word. Yes, I stan that!
- Damn! I’d completely forgotten about Twinkly. And I could have had that continuing but they had to bring her back.
- If Bloom doesn’t lose her shit over the unicorns and finally stops thinking about Sky, I will be so mad. They already gave her the unicorn obsession! They are obliged to put it to good use at the very least!
- Aaaaand cringe! They had to bring back “starsome” as well.
- Oh, god. They really retconned the fact that Diaspro is a fairy, didn’t they? Otherwise, why would they give her a gadget to fly? Also, please, don’t tell me that they’re at the same place that the Winx are.
- Well, the unicorn lumens seem to imply that they’re at the same place that Bloom and the Winx are.
- See? This is why you need an actual fake map instead of just a doodle of you and Sky! Now he found out! Love how it took him a while to grasp the fact that there is no medallion as well. And wasn’t that a pendant the first time they spoke of it?
- I honestly thought he would let the lumens handle Diaspro but he didn’t. I can’t say if I’m disappointed or impressed. Or kinda both.
- At least Winx missed Diaspro and Sky and the drama that would have started. Thank everything sacred!
- So that’s what Twinkly was for. To make sure Winx don’t have to fight the other lumens. But the Trix will probably have to so that will give Winx an advantage. Just don’t tell me this will stretch for over an episode.
- I loved the way Layla was holding Stella bridal style... right until she threw her to the ground. Dammit, Layla! Be a little more patient! You know how Stella is. And you don’t have to risk breaking all her bones!
- Well, what luck that there are exactly six unicorns. I would be a little worried about Stella’s outfit because that is what allows her to travel through space. So what if it doesn’t work when it’s damaged? But damn, they’re really trying to stretch this to take up two episodes! After they retconned Stella already being a cowgirl as we’ve seen in season 1.
- Poor Stella! She has a fear of heights and her unicorn seems to be an asshole for no reason.
- Why are Sky and Diaspro still there? At least Sky is actually not letting her get away with everything just like that this time. But Diaspro’s arguments are stupid.
- THAT’S “him”? A black uni-pegasus? It looks evil but it probably isn’t. *sigh* And why didn’t Sky just fly up when he faced that rock? It would have ended eventually and he could have passed above it!
- Oh, come on! The drama will be in the next episode and that is why they were stretching out this one? W.H.Y?????? Also, how is Sky flying in the synopsis for the next ep if he broke his flying gadget? Don’t tell me he actually gets Diaspro’s and they leave her there to sulk while they go get the star? (That might actually be the one good thing coming out of all this.)
8x19:
- Of course, Bloom would fly right into Diaspro! (Well, Diaspro was screaming for help but still).
- What happened with Sky? The black unicorn was about the blast him into oblivion at the end of the previous episode but now he somehow got away? And how did Diaspro get there as well? He left her on a much smaller rock island.
- Well, of course, the black unicorn isn’t evil even though he’s just been trying to kill two people. Didn’t I tell you so?
- Ah, so Tecna fixed Sky’s gadget. I thought that would be the other option to fix it.
- I was just gonna say that the horn of the black unicorn looked chipped. Poor guy. They actually made it understandable that he was so mad.
- And Bloom is absolutely exploding. I can understand that she would be angry Sky didn’t tell her and hid the truth from her. But that was not what she was mad about. She was mad that he even WENT on the mission which is stupid because, for all she knows, it could totally be an official mission ordered by his father.
- I knew it! I knew the black unicorn would pick Diaspro. Except, I have zero idea why the hell he would do that. Why, after being hurt? Diaspro is not the most polite person and he saw that for himself. Wtf, writers? I could understand it if Diaspro had been like she was in season 2. But this?!?!?!?! And that was just,.. there? Like, there was nothing more to it. Just a loose end. We didn’t even get to see what happened with Diaspro.
- At least Bloom and Sky are actually talking about the hiding things issue. I have to say, though, that I can’t fully support Bloom because Sky is right. She freaks out over just hearing Diaspro’s name which, again, would have been a totally reasonable reaction considering Diaspro brainwashed Sky if they hadn’t COMPLETELY IGNORED THAT FACT AND PRETENDED IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED. Bloom is not mad because of how much Diaspro has hurt them both but because she doesn’t believe Sky will keep choosing her if Diaspro is around. And this is an issue SHE has to work on.
- The Trix are still bickering. But at least they look a lot more competent in this season. But did they all really think that Stormy wouldn’t have her dramatic ass entrance? If I could summon thunderstorms, I definitely would for making my entrance. Just saying.
- Layla’s morphix bubble was so powerful! I love!
- Wait, Sky and Icy will be fighting for the Prime Star while Bloom was left looking at them disappearing after she stopped her own fall like she should be able to do instead of having to be saved despite being able to fly? Wow. This is getting interesting.
- I should have known they would fuck it up! They should have left Sky and Icy to fight it out instead of having Bloom go in there and “trust” Sky to get himself out of a cage that wasn’t even closing in on him? She could have just went after Icy and freed him after she was done. There was no immediate danger for him. There was no reason for their great trust.This scene had so much damn potential and they wasted all of it. Great going!
- Why is there a musical number when the only public is the landscape (okay, and the lumens and unicorns)? This was so unnecessary. We got it that they trust each other now. Stop driving nails in our heads.
8x20:
- Dammit! I thought that they would head to Linphea right after the unicorn realm. But they’re back at Alfea? And since when is Griselda teaching about plants? That was always Palladium’s job! Wtf?!?!?!
- You’d think they already know all of this about plants considering that Butterflix was a GODDAMN NATURE TRANSFORMATION!
- Griselda is cutting them slack because of saving the universe? Yeah, right.
- How long will Stormy keep bragging about getting the Prime Star? They act like that’s the only thing she ever did. Also, why is she so hung up on being the one to bring Valtor the Prime Star? Her test was legit about her standing up to him (which went over too easily considering Valtor is supposed to have control over them since he even put his mark on them but that did not appear in the vision for a second in order to make it actually complex or something).
- Well, Miele looks younger than she used to in season 7 but they didn’t totally reverse her back into a kid. Yet, it’s stupid that they are still having the argument of “this is too dangerous for you” after season 7 and her saving them. Besides, Flora should know damn well that Miele will follow. She always does! It’s like the writers have no idea who Miele is if they aren’t having her following secretly and proving that it is not too dangerous for her to go.
- They can’t use magic in the forest? Come again? This is such bullshit. It has never been the case on Linphea. I hate it.
- Why do they have to do ballet to open a stupid gate? But I love the fact that Darcy made illusions of them to perform the dance and let the Trix pass as well. She was using her head. And her magic in a really cool way. Plus, it would have been OOC to have the Trix dancing ballet. Can you imagine? XD
- So we’re learning to plant seeds and water flowers? Since when is this one of those shows that are for ages 0-3?
- Is that... a carnivore radish or something? And yeah, Flora, that totally doesn’t look aggressive!
- When is Flora gonna stop treating Miele like she’s three after all the times she’s proven herself (I don’t care if this is a soft reboot)? Though, Miele would have been more convincing if she hadn’t thrown a tantrum and then started crying much like toddlers do.
- Of course, Darcy will use Miele. That was so damn obvious. Love how Miele didn’t even get to transform. Honestly, at this point I am not even sure whether I want Winx or the Trix to get this Prime Star. They’re all being annoying and I don’t care enough for either side to root for their victory.
- Now you’re taking Miele with? When she can’t move? Fucking sound logic!
- Ooh, I guessed that that was actually Darcy disguised as Miele a few seconds before she revealed herself. But if I were Flora, it might have been enough to regain the advantage.
- Darcy just left Miele sleeping out there in the forest? Not that evil. She could have done something much worse.
- What, Layla? Like none of you ever got tricked?
- They are really playing it as if this was Miele’s fault? Man, this season is really starting to waste opportunities which is really annoying because they actually have interesting premises. They just need to do better during the execution.
- At least I hope that Stormy will shut up about recovering a Prime Star now that Darcy has done the same. Ironic how Icy is the only one that hasn’t managed yet. But I suppose that she will also recover one for a 3 on 4 with Winx and a final battle turned cooperation for the usage of the Prime Stars.
8x21:
- At least Griselda is back to self-defense classes. Though, why the hell is she teaching them deflection spells? They should know those already! They had that lesson in season 2! And why are Knut and Kiko assisting her? Kiko has been sidelined with Knut all season! It feels like he’s not Bloom’s bunny anymore!
- Why does this show hate Kiko so much and has him getting hurt all the time? At least Bloom caught him when he got catapulted. But poor Griselda. I have to say that this is her most OOC moment yet. And she even let them go again. She didn’t have to end the entire class, though. She could have kept going with the rest of the students but once again, the world revolves around Winx.
- You want Riven to SHOW his feelings? Which he has been doing ever since he came back so, like, ALL FUCKING SEASON?!?!?!?! WOW. Fuck you, Musa!
- Whyyyy did they think the Trix wouldn’t show up on Melody? But I am glad we skipped the obligatory Valtor scene because it is unnecessary.
- Galatea doesn’t look too much like herself.
- Bullshit. Stella made them much better outfits when they went to Magix in season 3. And there were other designs that were better than these that, frankly, look pretty bland.
- Sooooo... Musa, the fairy of music, isn’t going to be in the dance competition? Are they trying to level up things? And are you seriously telling me that the Trix are going to dance? Ugh, what the hell?!
- Awwwww, look at Riven! He really wants to try and he is even opening up to the guys about his relationship problems. I love it! Idk what Musa’s stupid problem is.
- This dance competition is so dead. You can only hear Galatea. The public isn’t cheering. But aww, at Bloom catching Stella when she got yeeted off the dance floor. That was really cute.
- I guess competitiveness can make even the Trix dance. It doesn’t change the fact that the competition is still fucking dead! And their dancing feels so arhythmical and slow. The music is fucking dull and practically non-existent.
- Ho-boe doesn’t feel like himself either. And doesn’t the house look so different as well? Also, did they ever do anything that doesn’t involve music? I know they’re a musical family but they must have done something else as well!
- Tecna is killing it! But Stormy’s abundance of energy seems to give her a big advantage here. Though, I still love how confident Tecna was! I have to say that this would have been absolutely epic if the music had been intense enough to match their moves. Why did they have to do these scenes so dirty by barely having any tune to them?! If I’m watching a dance competition, I want it to be good!
- Musa and her dad are talking about Riven? And there is a Riven and Darcy confrontation?!?!?!
- Scratch that! They fucked it up in 0.3 seconds! Are you serious? This is literally Riven and Darcy’s first meeting ever since they broke up in season 1 and THIS is how it goes?! She hypnotizes him to use against Musa?!?!?! I hate this! At least let this be the end of their stupid drama.
- Why did the synopsis of the next episode instantly spoil that Stormy will win the fifth Prime Star? You just revealed all the surprise there will be next ep! Man, they really don’t know how to advertise, do they? Also, this dance battle is really stretching over two episodes?
8x22:
- Now all I wanna do is write a fic in which Darcy gets really violent and there are heavy consequences after Riven’s fight with Musa.
- Wait! “...rough and soothing combine artfully and that perfect sound will yield the Star of Harmony”? And the harp that Ho-Boe says needs to be played by two people? That’s gonna be Musa and Riven, isn’t it? And they’ll get the star which will be the twist and that is why they spoiled Stormy wins in the teaser at the end of the last episode.
- Thank you, Musa! It took you long enough! He is so obviously spelled. Though, I kinda love how Darcy was there like “You can’t resist”. This could be so dark if it weren’t a kids show. And now I wanna write it!
- Dammit, Musa! You have your stupid Enchantix in this season! Use your goddamn fairy dust! Or any other kind of magic! And you’re really so damn surprised that it is Darcy?! It was obvious!
- That was the big idea? That Riven is “finally” proving his feelings by refusing to hurt her? Gee. And that’s how the battle between Riven and Musa and Darcy is going to go down? With some stupid formless monsters?
- Well, of course, Bloom beat Icy. But I suspect that Layla is gonna lose against Stormy so it doesn’t matter much.
- You’re now starting to get used to fighting alongside Riven even though he’s been gone a year and they were together for 4 years before that and fought together for about 5-6 years? Really? And that was the big battle with Darcy? They all had about 3 movements!
- Why is Bloom still in this? They should have given us Layla vs Stormy! We know Layla is the best at dancing (or tied with Musa).
- Why doesn’t Ho-Boe know how they met? They used to date for years before Riven left!
- When have you ever felt harmony in your relationship, Riven? Don’t start lying now! And why does he know how to play the harp? I saw this coming but it still kinda doesn’t make sense!
- Finally! The Layla vs Stormy dancing duel we deserved! And the music is more lively now! At last!
- Oh, come on! That’s how Stormy beat Layla?! By distracting her?!?!?! I wanted it to be a fair fight. And why the hell is there goo or jello or whatever falling on Layla? This is terrible. You wouldn’t catch me taking part in that dancing contest. Not to mention that they competed in vain. Although, it was a nice touch to have them misinterpret the riddle.
- Okay, but Riven is definitely not the rough part in that “rough and soothing” combo. He has been nothing but amazing all season while Musa has been pouting and whining!
- The sad thing is that the Trix would have gotten the star if Stormy hadn’t blabbed to Layla where Darcy was. But her cheating came back to bite her in the ass.
- It would have been nice if Musa had saved Riven instead of having Bloom melt him.
- Oh, Riven is a part of the band now? But seriously, will we ever see them talking? Like, actually communicating which is always where their problems lie? Of course not. Why would that be important?
- They’re really saying that Layla is more impulsive than Bloom? Yeah, fuck that big time! Also, don’t tell me that the last star will be obtained by all six Winx again and that is why they will be combining Tecna and Layla in the next ep. Or even worse - by Winx and the Trix together.
8x23:
- “An ounce more or less won’t matter”? That is so not like Layla! It is more like Stella and even Bloom! What the hell? I hate what they’re doing just to set up their stupid conflict for this episode!
- Okay, that shot with the Trix sitting all over Valtor’s throne was pretty cool! And I actually like the fact that he is not exploding at them about the fact that their last mission failed. That was a nice change of pace! Also, digging Darcy and Stormy taking over the throne and the way Valtor is collecting the Prime Stars when he doesn’t have the box. It is... symbolic.
- Be my guest, Flora, and get between Stella and her tanning!
- Reasonable question, Stella! I was also gonna ask why the hell there are corals on dry land. And the Compass is going all crazy.
- Oh, goodie! Hawaiian lumens. In case we’d forgotten about the first half of the season. Which I honestly had.
- Bloom, you really have no other choice but to split up because Tecna and Layla will kill each other otherwise. And yes, Stella sure doesn’t sound distracted now. Only panicky and possibly on the verge of becoming hysterical over the volcano.
- You mean, this isn’t Valtor creating the lava gollems? At least it’s implied that there is one for each girl so the split-up doesn’t put them at a disadvantage.
- Poor Stella, being used as bait. And they just made more of the monsters. I guess her shining personality is not going to be enough to spare the others the notice.
- Did Valtor actually say “boo”? Wow, okay.
- How is a shell the symmetry between light and shadow? It is on the land and not halfway between land and sea! This was absolute bullshit! Meanwhile, Stella and Bloom are getting overwhelmed back there at the volcano against six opponents!
- Valtor cut in just in time! I thought his presence would have been useless. But he upgraded to adapt to his “inability” to touch the Prime Stars even though the source of his magic is literally stars in this season!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just cannot even anymore.
- Yeah, and this bullshit choice again between two things that are important. We’re using this for the third time in ten episodes! Really need to come up with something else over here.
- And we didn’t even see Bloom and Stella really do anything. This episode is put together in a horrible way. Plus, how the fuck are you getting in a volcano that is already erupting! I would have loved for Bloom to use her Dragon Fire here because at least that would have made sense instead of this bullshit we got!
- At least we got that cute Layla and Tecna hug!
8x24:
- Tecna turning into a sheep seemed OOC. And Flora choosing a tiger? Why didn’t she just stop chasing after “Stella” when she saw she was scaring the poor thing? That was unnecessary.
- Stella skipped classes to write homework? And why the hell did Wizgiz give everyone homework when it was obvious that they didn’t know about Stella’s deception?
- Icy could have played that *dramatic pause* cooler. She was being obviously panicky about going to Diamond. She’s better at pretending than this. And her keeping a crystal flower? Waaaay OOC. I don’t care if it is about her dead/lost sister which they totally pulled out of nowhere to make her “relatable”.
- Shouldn’t Sky have asked if he can come along instead of just tail them? He can help resolve things faster... or he can become the reason for their defeat.
- The architecture on Diamond looks kinda... Russian (which would make sense if they’re trying to parallel Siberia with the frozen land). But I am dying at the idea of Icy being Russian. XD
- What trees, Bloom? Where did you see trees? Everything is deep frozen!
- Don’t tell me that fox is Icy’s sister. That will be too dumb.
- Well, of course Bloom doesn’t like Icy’s home planet. How could she? That would have been too mature a notion for the writers. After all, she must hate everything icy.
- What temper? That fox has legit not done anything. Also, it has got to have something to do with Icy. Look at its eyes! And now Icy is attacking Stormy because of it?
- Aaaaand now we’re getting a flashback. You have to love how they made it look like Icy is the little sister when she’s not, And I hate how they made her younger and “untainted” self so different! Like, dammit, a tragic backstory does change you but you need to keep something from your core personality! She is being a totally different person and this totally came out of nowhere! I hate it!
- Took Sky long enough to catch up. Why is he the one saving the fox? And Icy totally went nuts here. This is more like her but still... the dissonance between season 1 and this... Why?
- I knew he was gonna fuck up this whole thing.
- Damn, the fox is looking so lovingly at Icy. It might as well be her sister. But it may just be one of those foxes we saw that isn’t aging because of the ice that appears to be magical. I still can’t decide what they’re doing here.
- Why the fuck do they need Sirenix? But I have to say that Crystal Sirenix (which they totally just made up here because that was never actually a thing and would have been nice to have been mentioned when Daphne was using elemental magic in season 6 since she is the Nymph of Sirenix) looks better than ordinary Sirenix. Except for the... capes? The animators need to consult Edna Mode!
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8x25:
- Sky is actually fine? Well, in the very real danger of drowning but still fine-r than I thought he would be. Sky, think about yourself. Bloom is not the one that is this fucking close to dying!
- Aaaaand... she saved him. He wasn’t even underwater that long! Why wasn’t he waking up?! Man, the Dragon Fire healing is getting annoying.
- Yes, spend time together while putting yourself in mortal danger. Sounds like fun times! You can even be buried together!
- Sky is supposed to be a Specialist aka capable of handling himself. And how many times is Tecna gonna be fixing his gear? Though, I am at least glad that Icy’s first instinct was to damage his flying gadget.
- So the fox is her sister. Fucking great! Why are they alone and talking about leaving? Where the fuck are their parents? Also, how does that fit in with the fact that the Trix are descendants of the Ancestral Witches?
- Firing all my thoughts here at high velocity: Who the fuck is that? We don’t get a name? Fucking splendid! Why is Sapphire still transformed? Icy is super powerful at this point and if the Shaman Witch is so powerful, why the hell hasn’t she conquered any other realm? Why does she need a whole planet that is completely frozen? Where is she now? What the fuck is up with all of this? And what happened to Icy’s mother? Was Icy a witch all along? Her being so “obedient” in that flashback is so totes OOC. I hate all of this. And we didn’t need the parallel between Bloom and Icy.
- Icy saying that the Trix are “friends maybe” and the the only real sister she has is Sapphire? Worst moment of the whole season! How fucking dare you?! I never thought that they were related by blood but that didn’t mean that they weren’t sisters!
- Yes, Stormy, tell everyone else (aka Winx) where you are! Or bury all three of you in an avalanche. Such planning! Much consideration!
- Icy, stop being a wimp! Yes, this is all hard but she is not behaving like herself at all! You need to get it together if you want to help your sis, girl! And how do you plan on getting the power to save your sister without the Star to bring to Valtor?
- Why is the Star going in the box? Oh, it’s not. But I hate the implication that only “sisterly” love can get the Star. Icy has been sisters with Darcy and Stormy since season 1 and Winx are all like sisters as well! Fuck that! Also, why is it that this one could have only been earned by two blood sisters? That means that Winx didn’t have the chance to take it at all! This is really stupid!
- The Trix are free now? How did that happen? And Sapphire is back aga- Oh, wait, no! Wtf????? Do they even know what they’re doing anymore? This is becoming such a mess! And why is the finale only one episode long when we wasted two episodes on 3-4 of the Stars? This is stupid!
8x26:
- What the fuck are these things? “Brothers from the Dark Dimension”? What the absolute honest genuine fuck? Why have these things never been introduced if they have always been a part of his plan? What the fuck, writers? You just sent the whole structure of the season to hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How was any of this a good decision?!?!?!?!
- The Trix just showed up at Alfea? And Kiko is beating them single-pawed-ly? Why? But I like the idea of the Trix at Alfea.
- Oh, it was actually Winx. This is part of the plan for beating Valtor, isn’t it? Damn, I was just getting hyped that the Trix decided to work with Winx to fix this whole mess and make sure Valtor won’t trap them again once they disobey.
- Is Icy going to give him the star? Oh, no. She wants to challenge him to get the other Stars. Goddammit! But I love how excited Darcy is about getting to explore more of her illusion powers! Also, Icy both being grateful that they’re with her but telling them to save themselves if things get rough? THAT HUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stormy was so ready to cry! Ugh, that was so amazing! Almost enough to make up for the bullshit they said about them not being sisters!
- They didn’t feel it? That was like a goddamn earthquake!
- I have a question, though. Why didn’t the Trix try to take on Winx? That implies that Valtor is weaker than Winx. But at least the Winx’ plan is actually pretty good.
- Why isn’t Stella Darcy, Layla Icy and Musa Stormy? They could have covered if they needed to use their powers! Stella could have dimmed the light as if Darcy is using her darkness powers. And the other could have pretended to be Stormy and Icy as well!
- Okay, but Winx’ voices are still the same! Why can’t Valtor tell that it’s not them? He’s literally so not paying attention and they fucked up with the spell because it is incomplete!
- And now the plan went to hell because Bloom decided to crash the party! Great going! So it was all for nothing.
- Now Valtor is back in his demon form? That was a curse his mothers put on him and Bloom destroyed that form in 3x26! But at least the remake looks better than the original!
- Why would Valtor destroy the universe? Where is he gonna go after that? Also, what the fuck? You’re making this Icy’s motivation?!?!?! For helping the Winx?!?!?!?!?!?! THE TRIX LITERALLY WERE ABOUT TO DESTROY THE MAGIC UNIVERSE IN SEASON 1 AND IT WAS THEIR ORIGINAL PLAN! NOW SHE’S LIKE “I WON’T WATCH ANOTHER WORLD GET DESTROYED”???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? FUCK ALL OF THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Is it only me or does this really remind of 3x25? Because the writers were probably trying to cash in even more nostalgia?
- If they don’t bring Icy’s world back, it will be really stupid because that was why she was even doing any of all this (according to this whole season).
- They wished for a power-up? I’m sorry, a power-up driven by how noble they are? The bullshit is unreal. I cannot even.
- No one cares about all the lumens! They should have given the Trix something for their trouble after all of this bullshit and used the screen time in a better way.
- OH, COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY GET A CONSTELLATION NOW?!?!?!?!? THEY WOULD HAVE NEVER WON WITHOUT THE TRIX WHO WERE LEFT WITH A BIG DAMN ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (except for being freed, that is)
- In my book this is the absolute worst finale this show has ever had! It contradicted everything we know about certain characters as well as events from previous seasons, had a theme that sucked completely and had Winx make a seemingly selfless wish that actually seems super shady, gave them glory they do not deserve, introduced a new plot point at the beginning of the very last episode, fucked over the Trix (or at least Icy), did not tie up their loose ends and just completely failed to be thrilling in any way because everything was upside down! I cannot even.
This season started out so well. The first three episodes were extremely promising and had the writers kept their streak, this season could have risen to the levels of the first seasons or even surpassed them. However, things quickly started derailing. First, just lightly and then totally going off the rails. The two halves of the season felt super disconnected, the villain plan sucked, Valtor was destroyed as a character (and as a villain) and the Trix were just... what happened there? The new backstory Icy was given was dreadful because of how much it contradicted what we know about all three of the Trix and it destroyed their sense of unity by obviously placing the narrative emphasis on her not just as the leader but as the one that is most important of the three. The second half got stupider and stupider until it reached a finale that just didn’t logic in any correct way. There was so much wasted potential here that it is unreal. Season 7 had nothing going on but it did not enrage me as much as this one (and especially the last few episodes) because there wasn’t so much absolute waste of perfectly good opportunities. Season 6 retains it’s place as the worst season in my book but the end of season 8 annoyed me enough to make me feel like I could put it over season 7 for worst of the series.
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noshitshakespeare · 3 years
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Kate Percy: underrated? or just over hyped by the girls that discover her and ditch their love for Lady Macbeth?
It’s nice to see Kate Percy in my inbox! She’s a great character. The teasing comedic nature of the interaction between Kate and Hotspur is quite an endearing representation of one kind of married relationship. ‘Out, you mad-headed ape!’ (2.3.74) to the person who is too distracted to listen to you and who replies to your serious concern ‘What is it carries you away?’ with a literal ‘Why, my horse, my love, my horse’ (2.3.72-73), is both amusing and kind of realistic. It’s quite easy to imagine them as the kind of couple that will slap each other playfully when the other says something ridiculous. And, the sweet thing is that they obviously do care about each other, even if Hotspur does mockingly phrase his reply so that it’s not clear whether he’s calling her or his horse his love... Although they don’t appear together very much, the way they have all these pet names (mostly animals) for one another and keep riffing off one another paints a pretty vivid picture of their relationship. 
But even if it’s said jokingly, there is something to Hotspur’s way of denigrating Kate’s worry and her love that’s revealing. He tells her, in response to her saying that if he loved her, he’d tell her what’s on his mind with, ‘Love! I love thee not; / I care not for thee, Kate. This is no world / To play with mammets and tilt with lips’ (2.3.86-88). He’s saying, essentially, that he has no time for love, and the feminine, which he characterises as things like playing with dolls or kissing. Hotspur considers the female sphere of life as frivolous and thinks that’s where his wife belongs. He loves her, but only has time for her when he has time for kissing. Of course, it’s important to recognise that this is partly a joke still, as is evident from Kate’s response, which is half hurt, and half amused:
Do you not love me? Do you not indeed? Well, do not then, for since you love me not I will not love myself. Do you not love me? Nay, tell me if you speak in jest or no. (2.3.92-95)
Kate herself isn’t sure if Hotspur is joking, so she’s not taking it entirely seriously, and in asking whether he jests, shows that he is the kind of person who would say such things mockingly. Still, she’s certainly a little shocked that he’d say he doesn’t love her, even as a joke (she repeats ‘Do you not love me?’ twice). 
The thing is, Hotspur is speaking something of what he actually thinks in his joking manner. He never answers her straight: ‘When I am a-horseback, I will swear/ I love thee infinitely’ (2.3.97-98). And though he does love her as much as a man like him is capable of, he’s still fundamentally misogynistic, and doesn’t consider her his equal:
I know you wise, but yet no farther wise Than Harry Percy’s wife; constant you are, But yet a woman; and for secrecy No lady closer, for I well believe Thou wilt not utter what thou dost know, And so far will I trust thee, gentle Kate (2.3.103-108)
In Hotspur’s mind, Kate is always defined in relation to him. She’s wise for a wife of his, she’s secretive, but only because she knows nothing. He thinks Kate is the best woman, but only as good as a woman can be, which is always less than a man. It’s to Kate’s credit that she’s not particularly happy with his idea of her. When asked 'Will this content you?’ she answers ‘It must of force’ (2.3.113), which is to say she has no choice but to be contented with her lot, and how her husband treats her. It’s rather brilliant that Shakespeare shows in her being able to tell that ‘I fear my brother Mortimer doth stir / About his title, and hath sent for you / To line his enterprise’ (2.3.78-79), showing very concisely that whatever Hotspur thinks of her, she’s perfectly politically savvy. And of course, in the only other scene she appears in she shows again that she can give as good as she gets from Hotspur, and refuse to do what he says, even as he continues in his light-hearted(?) misogyny. She’s great because she maintains character and strength even though she’s in a weak position, and because, whatever his weaknesses, she loves her husband, as is obvious from her eulogy of Hotspur in Part 2, Act 2, scene 3.
I personally don’t see why one need choose between Lady Percy and Lady Macbeth. Why not like both? They’re both interesting in different ways. And since their respective roles in the plays they appear in are not really equivalent (Kate only appears three times in two plays), it’s difficult to compare them in any significant way. Kate is not as important to her play or as fully realised as Lady Macbeth, nor as powerful, in some ways. Though she will get back at Hotspur in words, and play around, ask questions, Lady Percy ultimately seems to accept that she has no choice but to obey if her husband chooses not to tell her something. Lady Macbeth, for good or for bad, won’t take no as an answer, and if the female realm allotted to her is not what’s needed for the task she wants to undertake, she’s willing to abandon it, to be unsexed. Of course, Lady Macbeth has the benefit of a husband who listens to her, confides in her, and considers her his ‘dearest partner of greatness’ (1.5.10), so her situation is different too. I wouldn’t say Kate’s underrated, only rated according to her general importance. Which is to say, she’s well appreciated for the kind of support character she is, in a play that’s not as famous as Macbeth (for good reason). But I think Shakespeare’s strength is partly in creating two such different women and two such pictures of married life; I’m happy they both exist, and that we don’t have one at the expense of the other.
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bisexualhobi · 3 years
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wait I think I agree not today is really bad but now rank all their title tracks from best to worst pls
lmaoohdksjjdjf i love this question so much anon but due to the fact that i’m me this would get way WAY too long. so i’m doing the top 5 best title tracks and then top 5 worst ones okay? i’m looking at google and apparently they have 26 korean singles so yeah that’s too much.
to rank them as objectively as possible I'm gonna try to take into account gp impact (which is not the same as chart impact since the fandom inflates those numbers), production, creative value (how innovative/different from other pop songs was it?) and the concept of the music video/aesthetic in general. 
BTS TITLE TRACKS: TOP 5
5. Black Swan (2020)
am I cheating by putting here a pre release single? maybe. but it would be a disservice to leave this one out so bear with me
⭐gp impact: this song made more noise as a pre release single than the title track. I saw it in at least 3 end of the year editorials for best kpop songs of 2020. and the thing is it could have been WAY bigger but a lot of stuff happened that sadly made it go away too soon. I don't think this one is as famous or recognizable as the others in this list which is why it's going last, but also I think this song is the most underrated gem in bts discography so it's still going here.
⭐production: this song beat out the front runners (I need u, save me, DNA) solely because of its production. there are not a lot of kpop songs out there that manage to pull off what this song does. it's powerful, it's nostalgic, it's a dark and sexy song without being too on the nose. the mixing is SUPERB I remember the first time I heard it I thought "this would blow the fuck up if it was a Travis Scott song" and I will DIE on that hill. this is an example of heavy autotune on a song done right, not like the rest of their super autotuned songs that sometimes come out unrecognizable and empty sounding.
⭐creative value: it's not truly a new concept in pop to make a song about the Death of the Artist. it’s also not something a rookie group can do, this song needed to be released at exactly the time in bts’ career that it was. there’s just no emotional impact if you just sing about how the music makes your hear beat and you’ve been in the industry for,,, 3 years. this is the type of Swan Song you release at the peak of your career, so that really contributes to the message. mixing a trap beat with a ballet motif is GALAXY BRAIN SHIT.
⭐️concept: the ballet influence is just beautifully executed, this song is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship on all fronts. i think they could literally build an entire ALBUM off this concept, so the fact that they jampacked it onto one single song is both amazing and a little sad for me. i wanna hear more of this. i want a literal Black Swan (the darren aranofsky movie) horror concept where the protagonist falls prey to his own madness because he strives for perfection. but yeah, the song itself and the orchestral version just make this a complete golden concept in my book.
4. IDOL (2018).
⭐️gp impact: i think a lot of people that didn’t know anything about kpop vaguely knew about this song when it was released. i know i wasn’t into kpop at all but in my pop culture circle there was a small bleep from this song bc of the concept and the dance. i think it’s a great “embassador of kpop” track, like if you wanna explain to someone with no previous knowledge what kpop is about you can show them a performance of this song.
⭐️production: the production is a little all over the place for me. the instrumentals are amazing and really creative tho, but like in terms of mixing vocals and the structure of it, it might be a little too grating. it’s not the best produced song in ly: answer by any means but it still makes it work
⭐️creative value: the whole hanbok thing is a 10/10. bts weren’t the first ones to do it, but they did it in such a tightly executed way that honestly that “classic korean roots meets the edgy western feel” concept belongs to them now. groups are still recreating it. it’s a really innovative concept in general.
⭐️concept: the music video is,,,, something. you might love it or hate it, but it’s memorable. i think the purposeful way in which they made it as loud and brilliant as possible can be taken either as a camp adjacent or just as the group going nuts with the budget, which props to them. the choreography is also a BIG plus. the south african influence is really well executed and they made sure to do it as cultural appreciation and not appropriation. definitely the most memorable thing from this song is the choreo
3. Run (2015).
⭐️gp impact: this was their second song to have a music show win. it was the lead single from hyyh pt2 and honestly it might be the best song off hyyh as a whole. it cemented bts as not just another kpop group, because it made non fans turn their heads too! from what i gather this really propelled them forward and made the fanbase grow a lot.
⭐️production: hyyh pt2 is super well produced. i feel like this song in particular makes a fine job of mixing the vocals but it’s not outstanding. the best part is the instrumentals. but overall it’s a really good song with amazing lyrics and a great melody.
⭐️creative value: this built off of what they did with pt1 so they were already in a comfortable place, when they found this sound they really explored it well and deep and it works! i’m glad they went this emo pop route because it was a good contrast to what was dominating the charts in kpop in 2015.
⭐️concept: the aesthetic is PERFECT. there’s not a single other thing that i could add or that i wanted gone. it’s the perfect mix of coming of age teen film and heartfelt, dreamy pop. the music video is by no surprises the favorite mv of a lot of the fandom. the cinematography is beautiful and the song and the video perfectly capture that fleeting moment in life when you’re in the brink of adulthood.
2. Mic Drop (2017).
⭐️gp impact: this song was the first bts song to chart on the billboard hot100. back when the fandom had no idea how to chart, mass buy etc. that’s enough said. (personally i think mic drop is the quintessential bts song and their best release so the fact that i’m not putting it first should count as something).
⭐️production: for the purposes of this ranking i’m using the original mic drop and not the steve aoki remix even tho it was the steve remix that was released as the single. the song has the BEST mastering i’ve heard in kpop. the transitions are flawless, the beat is pure fire, the entire first minute is literally the hardest hype rap i’ve heard in kpop. everything about it WORKS.
⭐️creative value: it’s kinda funny how this song got released the same year as kendrick lamar’s humble, because imho it’s the best hiphop song of that year after humble. 2017 was truly the year of the diss tracks. bonus points for including it right after the billboard acceptance speech skit in ly: answer. SUPER refreshing among the ed sheeran type of pop that dominated that year.
⭐️concept: it’s a great concept but not innovative by any means. still, it works and bts managed to exploit it to the max. the choreo, the mv, the styling, everything was amazing!
1. Blood, Sweat & Tears (2016).
⭐️gp impact: it's probably the first song to put bts on the map beyond the kpop sphere. it really set the tone for their 2017. it's one of their most famous and recognizable songs to date.
⭐️production: this song is STUNNINGLY arranged. the mix, the ambience, the progression,,, it's all brought together to make a very well crafted song. it has a distinctive electronic/pop sound to it that still manages to set itself apart from the trend that was going at the time. black swan is probably the closet single they have to this in terms of production.
⭐️creative value: the song itself is very in compliance with the 2015/2016 trend of hype songs with edm influence, (ie. closer, shape of you, cheap thrills, let me love you, something just like this, etc.) but it still packs that punch that makes it sound fresh even for 2021.
⭐️concept: it wasn't the first song to sound like this in kpop ofc but it was the first truly sexy concept for bts. the aesthetic is innovative and very well thought out, the mv is amazing and the choreography too. i read somewhere that j-hope had a lot of input for this choreo so that's amazing. also blond taehyung is literally the best thing to come out of big hit.
WORST BTS TITLE TRACKS
ok so here we go with the worst ones! this is in ascending order as i prepare myself to pick the worst of them all, but please remember this isn’t meant to be mean spirited, i am simply applying the same criteria to their most underwhelming songs but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own merit! it’s just that out of 26 singles, SOME of them have got to come out at the bottom right?
5. Life Goes On (2020)
⭐gp impact: this song is not memorable with the general public, its #1 on the bb was the product of mass buying and even though it's a feel good song made to comfort fans in the times of pandemic it's still bland and boring. I think it had no music show appearances either, and as far as bts ballads go this is just bottom tier. it’s not that it’s terrible, it’s just very underwhelming 
⭐production: the autotune in this song is very poorly executed, it doesn't add to the song the way black swan does for example. it's just off putting and the melody is really forgettable. it's funny bc the chorus is directly pulled from the 2018 reggaeton super hit "La Canción" by J Balvin and Bad bunny lmaooo 💀 so I can't get that out of my head either. the structure is just fine and has nothing of substance 
⭐creative value: the song is attempts to be a heartfelt acoustic song but it really has nothing that sets it apart from other songs product of the pandemic like Justin and ariana's stuck with u. for a song in a self produced album it's the song with the least input from the group. the lyrics are good, but they're not as sincere or groundbreaking as for example Spring day. 
⭐concept: as a ballad ofc I'm not expecting it to have a grand choreography, and the mv being filmed in their personal dorms to reflect the lockdown is actually a nice touch but besides that there is nothing exciting, innovative or even sincerely comforting about the song and the concept. the greatest thing abt it is the fact that jk directed the video, which is actually pretty good.
4. We are bulletproof pt 2 (2013)
⭐gp impact: this song made no noise back in the day and to this day its just beloved by the fandom due to a sense of nostalgia and "remembering bts' roots". don't get me wrong it's amazing that bts still perform it in the year of our lord 2020 because you can't forget where you came from, but it's not a good or memorable song by any means. 
⭐production: I went back to listen to it for this and oh god. I can't remember the mixing being THIS bad. jimin, jin and taehyung sound exceptionally bad, they don't sound like themselves especially jin. it's just a really poorly mastered song, but then again the rest of their debut album isn't far better. 
⭐creative value: this is straight up ripping off early 2000s black culture from the US. not only the music, the styling for this era in general is unfortunately really bad and culturally appropriating and overall it's a mess. 
⭐concept: there is nothing of substance to be said about this song. it's just really a miss. the mv is terrible, the only thing that can be salvaged from this is the choreography, but besides that the whole thing feels sloppy, rushed and is also kinda cringey.
3. N.O. (2013)
⭐gp impact: no noise. this song was just a really weird pick for their first comeback when attack on bangtan or coffee was right there. not to be mean but no wonder they didn't have a music win this year. 
⭐production: it's an objectively bad song. it's just really underwhelming, the whole mixing feels amateur. it's not a good hiphop song and it's not a good vocal arrangement and the chorus is also a rip off of a late 90s American song I can't find right now 
⭐creative value: this song isn't innovative in any way, it's just..... there. very meh in general, I have nothing more to say about it 
⭐concept: the storyline kinda wants to go somewhere with the music video but it doesn't manage to make a connection. the styling is plain, simple and not flattering at all. it tries to make a protest of the Korean school system but it doesn't say anything beyond "school bad" which we already knew
2. Not Today (2017)
⭐gp impact: its a very middle of the list song for a lot of the fandom. I literally know of no one that claims this as their favorite mv/era/song. when you ask people about their least favorite bts songs they won't mention this one either, you know why? because it's that irrelevant. it had no music show wins either. it's precisely because of this why I put it so high up on the list. there's nothing worse than an unmemorable song, if it was widely hated then at least that would be a response. 
⭐production: it's a really mediocre song in terms of structure and melody. it tried to be hype but it falls short. the chorus feels half finished and the message of the song is just “the revolution has begun”? which okay? but it adds nothing to the You never walk alone album either.
⭐creative value: there is nothing exciting about this song, and the chorus is too grating. the rhythm is repetitive and nothing new either in kpop or pop in general. 
⭐concept: sadly there's not a lot to be said for the song. it says nothing of value and what it says falls flat. there's no innovation. you can actually see a lot of idol in this song, and also ON. those two songs are what this one tried to be but failed.
1. War of Hormone (2014)
⭐gp impact: thankfully none. this song got the treatment it deserved, if they had won a music show for this one it would feel tainted lol. now it's just a meme in the fandom but overall it made zero noise and contributed nothing to bts' evolution 
⭐production: the production is very lazy, which is odd because dark & wild has some pretty tight tracks. but this one is just meh, nothing outstanding and the melody is just annoying 
⭐creative value: this is a song that was probably born out of the desperation to have a gp friendly hit. it tries really hard to replicate an outdated idea of what boy bands should be, and it does it badly. simply put this song is very mediocre and misogynistic and the fact that it's a running gag in the fandom that "feminism isn't important when war of hormone comes on" isn't funny and it's actually cringe. please stop 
⭐concept: the styling is so ugly :( the mv is very low budget which isn't surprising but they managed to make more with less in past releases. it's just embarrassing and I wish this song didn't exist, there's a reason why they never play it anymore lol. overall a dark mistake in bts' career
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lilfriezatyrant · 4 years
Text
The Gilded Appearance
A few minutes have passed since he disappeared from this terrestrial hell...or rather he was recruited for a very special tournament.
This lousy monkey had actually managed to convince him. But he can't blame him. Anything is better than to have to be exposed to this cocoon and listen to horrible parades with disgusting fairy songs. He is in a gate that connects this world with the beyond...some human with magical powers had brought him here. A circumstance he does not consider important. His body seems stiff. This repulsive shell hanging from a cherry tree tightened him up very much and he had no freedom of movement at all. What an annoyance! And audacity!
He lets his tense neck circle, whereupon a cracking sound can be heard immediately, his pure ivory-coloured skin appears slightly turquoise due to the blue flames flickering in the portal. One eye looks slowly upwards and he immediately notices a glow over his crystalline skull. Immediately an annoyed sigh sets in. "How degrading for me...of course I have to keep this grotesque halo," he closes his eye again, had briefly determined where Goku is and puts his hands on his hips while he slowly struts to him. His tail flickers elegantly with every step behind him. "Hey, Frieza! I am Glad you're he--!" But he interrupts the mouthy voice with a glorious stroke in the pit of this stomach. "Oops, pardon me...my hand slipped...", he opens one eye again, it is almost like a cheeky wink and he rejoices in the pain of this simian barbarian. His white fist bores into his stomach one last time, but before he could react, his face distorts itself into a painful expression. This monkey had started a counterattack! Also a punch in HIS very stomach. He gritted his perfect teeth and heard the cheeky words of the Saiyan. "Oh, I am also sorry. Mine too." Inside he is loaded with wrath, but he keeps the control he has acquired over the last years. A real anger vein pulsates at his temple, but he smiles slightly, his vermilion eyes glowing at his counterpart.
"Okay Frieza, no more hand slipping. We have to hurry. We only have a few minutes left." The emperor stands upright again and immediately recovers from this little unexpected punch. He seems only slightly confused, his eyes widening as Goku gives him a hand. "Take my hand. I will take us away from here immediately", he himself, in his slight amazement, only brings a quiet "Oh?" as an answer. He chuckles slightly amused, "Then what shall slip next?"
But he doesn't take the hand of this monkey, because a ghostly creature floats panickedly towards them...probably it belongs to this other being. "Baba! We are in trouble! There are several creatures outside! We're surrounded!"
The Emperor puts his hands behind his back and cackles slightly. "A welcome party? You did not tell me that, Goku." He jokes with a smirk. But he does not get an answer, and the other goes out of the building.
His tail flickers enthusiastically behind him for a moment before he slowly follows him.
Oh? Fighters from another universe? This should be interesting. Unknown assassins who probably want to destroy fighters from other universes so that they can no longer participate in the tournament. A...perfidious manner, yet effective.
He watches the action, stands at the entrance of the building, his view directly to Goku and the... locusts in the sky. The unsuspecting monkey asks him questions, but his voice only meets with deaf ears. Clever assassins. Loyal people who understand their work...or they will be subjected to even worse torture if they fail?
Although the Saiyan's contact person gets on his nerves...the same answer follows constantly, namely none.
"I won't tell."
But in the next moment the chest of this dog-like alien is pierced and he falls into the water, rises again, his face screamed in pain. It was a deathbeam, straight from the deadly index finger of the Ruler of the Universe. But he had deliberately missed the vital organ so as not to cause an initial death here on Earth...at least not yet. But his shot was so precise and so close to Goku that he had poked his cheek. "Oh...I am sorry again...I guess my hand slipped after all." his smug grin remains and he can see a certain seriousness in Goku's eyes. Of course he has perfectly memorized his previous words in his head. He never forgets. I guess they will have some minutes left for a little warm-up exercise. "You know, my body has become quite soft in hell...", his smug manner can be heard on the outside and his body slowly covers itself in a golden aura. "And I thought I could loosen it up.", his changed ki continues to grow, it jst like a golden flame in which he is blazing and that's exactly how his inside feels: His body is exposed to so much heat that even the strongest material could melt...but he has got used to it, his body and his organs know this procedure...besides he is a cold-blooded being, literally and heat is very pleasant for his organism. Everyone here isn't moving... nobody is talking. Everyone watches this divine transformation, everyone seems to be spellbound. Just the kind of attention he was hoping for. Very good. A promising audience and it will be his greatest pleasure to eviscerate them. Every single being here.
At the moment, however, he is completely focused on this new power, which he has mastered after another stay in his own hell. Glaring light is emitted as his body takes on a new form in this shell. He has spread out his arms, his back is leaning backwards, almost forming a hollow back, his piercing eyes are closed and he still wears his perfect smug grin. It is the coming anticipation of the bloodbath with which he will inaugurate his golden skin.
Although his posture is inviting, every single limb is under tension. He has to bundle this incredible energy before he can release it and each of his metamorphoses is painful, an irrevocable fact. But it is never visible to an outsider.
Every single cell of his slowly changing body takes on an even more resistant form, micro scales merge together to become more robust as well. The purple spheres on his shoulders disappear completely under a stable golden layer. More muscle mass is formed on his membrane. His perfect transformation is almost complete...the colour gold to humiliate every still living Saiyan and to be superior to this monkey race.
And the hot feeling inside does something very curious: slight signs of goose bumps are visible...but only Frieza himself knows this, no one else would noticed. This unbelievable increase in power causes this. He is excited about what is imminent...he  is bloodthirsty and will show no mercy with his finally mastered power.
His strong toes briefly brace themselves, his nails claw into the stone floor before they glow golden for a moment and relax again. The same tension can be seen on his upper body and arms, which have increased considerably in muscle tone. His facial features are also briefly tense for a millisecond before it turns purple and his smirk is still clearly visible with his black lips.
The glistening light had spread over several kilometers during the night and is now slowly fading as his body completes the transformation.
His upper body makes a forward movement. It is like a bow, an invitation for the honour that all attendees were allowed to experience and it is also an augury for the coming disaster. Executed by the Golden Deity who is reborn.
His scarlet eyes open again in a sharp gaze, his golden and massive tail wagging briefly and swiftly once behind him, before he in his sublime form announces his arrival: "Behold the true power of the Golden Frieza!"
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@dragonblobz I promised you I will give you a golden terror, didn't I? uwu
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claudinei-de-jesus · 3 years
Text
The Second Coming of Christ
1. The fact of your coming.
The fact of Christ's second coming is mentioned more than 300 times in the New Testament. Paul refers to the event about fifty times.
Someone has already said that the second coming is mentioned eight times more than the first. Entire epistles (Cl and 2Tess.) And entire chapters (Mat. 24, Mat. 13) are dedicated to the subject. Without a doubt, it is one of the most important doctrines of the New Testament.
2. The way of your coming.
It will be personal (John 14: 3; Acts 1: 10,11; 1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 1: 7; 22: 7), literal (Acts 1:10; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; Apo . 1: 7; Zec. 14: 4), visible (Heb. 9:28; Fps. 3:20; Zac. 12:10) and glorious (Matt. 16:27; 25:31; 2Th. 1: 7 -9; Gal. 3: 4). There are interpretations that try to avoid the opinion that the coming of Christ is literal and personal. Some teach that death is the second coming of Christ. But the Bible shows that the second coming is the opposite of death, for the dead in Christ will rise at that time.
With death we will go to Christ, but when he comes he will come to fetch us. Certain passages (Matt. 16:28; Phil. 3:20) lose their meaning if we replace death with a second coming. Finally, death is an enemy, while the coming of Christ is the glorious hope. Some maintain that the second coming was the descent of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Others teach that Christ came at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, but in each of these cases there was no resurrection of the dead, nor the rapture of the living, nor other predicted events that will accompany the second advent.
3. The time of his coming.
Attempts were made to determine the date of Christ's coming, but in none of them did the Lord come at the appointed time for men! He declared that the exact time of his coming is hidden in the divine councils. (Matt. 24: 36-42; Mar. 13:21, 22.) It is a good thing.
Who would like to know in advance his exact time of death? Such knowledge would have the effect of disturbing and rendering the person useless. It is enough for us to know that death can come at any moment; therefore, we must work "while it is daytime because the night comes when no one can work". The same reasoning applies to the end of the present dispensation. That day has not been revealed to us either, but we know that it will be sudden (1Cor. 15:52; Matt. 24:27) and unexpected (2Ped. 3: 4; Mat. 24: 48-51; Rev. 16:15). The Lord warns his servants: "Negotiate until I come"
We give below an overview of Christ's teaching on the time of his coming: after the destruction of Jerusalem the Jews will be banished from all nations, driven out of his land, which will be subjugated by the Gentiles until the end of time, when God will judge the Gentile nations (Luke 21:24). During this time, the servants of Christ will carry on their work (Luke 19: 11-27), preaching the Gospel to all nations (Matt. 24:14).
It will be a time of delay during which the church will often be tempted to doubt the return of its Lord (Luke 18: 1-8), when some will prepare and others will become negligent, while the Bridegroom will delay (Matt. 25: 1-11). Unfaithful ministers will stray, saying to themselves, "My Lord is slow to come" (Luke 12:45).
"Long afterwards" (Matt. 25:19), "... midnight (Matt. 25: 6),‹ the hour and day that none of his disciples know of (Matt. 24:36, 42.50) , the Lord will suddenly appear to gather his servants and judge them according to their works (Matt. 25:19; and 2 Cor. 5:10). Later, after the Gospel had been universally preached and after the world had it rejected, when the people are living completely ignorant of the impending catastrophe, as in the days of Noah (Matt. 24: 37-39) and in the days of the destruction of Sodom (Luke 17:28, 29) the Son of man will come in glory and power to judge the nations of the world and to reign over them (Matt. 25: 31-46).
4. Signs of your coming.
Scripture teaches that the appearance of Christ ushering in the Millennial Age will be preceded by an eventful time of transition, in which there will be physical upheavals, wars, economic crises, moral decline, religious apostasy, infidelity, general panic and bewilderment. The last part of that transitional period is called "The Great Tribulation", during which the whole world will be under the rule of a government against God and anti-Christian. Believers in God will be brutally persecuted, and the Jewish nation, in particular, will pass through the furnace of affliction.
5. The purpose of your coming.
(a) In relation to the church. Thus writes Dr. Pardington: Just as the first coming of the Lord extended over a period of 30 years, so the second coming will influence various events. At the first coming he was revealed as the Child of Bethlehem; later as the Lamb of God, when he was baptized, and as the Redeemer on Calvary. At the second coming he will appear to his secretly and suddenly to transfer them to the Wedding of the Lamb. This apparition is called the rapture or "Parousia" (which means "apparition" or "presence" or "arrival" in the Greek language). At that time believers will be judged to determine their rewards for services rendered (Matt. 25: 14-30). After the rapture, a period of terrible tribulation follows, which will end in revelation, or open manifestation of
Christ from heaven, when he will establish his messianic kingdom on earth.
(b) In relation to Israel. He who is the Head and Savior of the church, of the people of heaven, is also the promised Messiah of Israel, of the earthly people. As Messiah, he will free these people from tribulation, bring them together from the four corners of the earth, restore them to their former land and reign over them as their long-promised King over the House of David.
(c) In relation to the antichrist. The spirit of the Antichrist is already in the world (1 John 4: 3; 2:18; 2:22), but yet another final Antichrist will come (2 Thess. 2: 3). In the last days he will rise from the old world (Rev. 13: 1) and will become the sovereign over a resurrected Roman Empire that will dominate the whole world. He will assume great political (Dan. 7: 8, 25), commercial (Dan. 8:25; Rev. 13:16, 17) and religious (Rev. 17: 1-15) power. He will be anti-God and anti-Christ, and will persecute Christians in an attempt to extinguish Christianity. (Dan. 7:25; 8:24; Rev. 13: 7, 15). Knowing that men desire to have some religion, he will establish a cult based on the divinity of man and the supremacy of the state.
As an embodiment of that state, he will demand the worship of the people, and form a priesthood to enforce and promulgate that worship. (2Th. 2: 9,10; Rev. 13: 12-15.) The antichrist will take the doctrine of the supremacy of the state to the extreme, which teaches that government is the supreme power, around which everything, including itself man's conscience, has to be subordinate to him. Since there is no higher power or law than the State, according to them, God and his law must be abolished in order to worship the State. The first attempt to establish the cult of the State is recorded in Daniel ch. 3. Nebuchadnezzar was proud of the powerful empire he had built. "Is not this the great Babylon that I have built? ..." (Dan. 4:30).
So dazzled was he in the face of human power and government, that the state for him became like a god. What better way to impress men with your glory than to order them to have the symbol of that government worshiped! Therefore, he built a great golden image and ordered all peoples to prostrate themselves before it, under pain of death. The image was not that of a local deity, but it represented the state itself. Refusing to worship the image was considered atheism or betrayal. When instituting this new religion, Nebuchadnezzar as if saying to the people: "Who gave you the beautiful cities, the good roads, and beautiful gardens? The State! Who provides you with food and service, who founds schools and sponsors temples?
The state! Who defends you from enemy attacks? The state! then is the State, this power, not a god? So, what greater god do you want than your exalted government? Prostrate yourselves before the symbol of great Babylon! "And if God had not humbled him from his blasphemous pride (Dan. 4: 28-37), Nebuchadnezzar perhaps would have demanded the worship of his own person as head of state. Like the three Hebrew children (Dan. 3) were persecuted for refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's image, so first-century Christians suffered because they refused to pay divine homage to Caesar's image.
There was tolerance for all religions in the Roman Empire, but on condition that the image of Caesar as a symbol of the state was venerated. Christians were persecuted, not so much for their loyalty to Christ, but because they refused to worship Caesar and say, "Caesar is Lord." They refused to worship the state as a god. The French Revolution offers another example of this policy. God and Christ were thrown out and a god, or goddess, made himself the "Fatherland" (the State). So said one of the leaders: "The state is supreme in all things. When the state speaks, the church has nothing to say." Loyalty to the state has risen to the position of religion.
The assembly decreed that altars should be erected in every village with the following inscription: "The citizen is born, lives and dies for La Patrie." A ritual was prepared for baptisms, weddings and civil burials. The state religion had its hymns and prayers, its fasts and feasts. The New Testament recognizes human government as divinely ordained for the maintenance of order and justice. The Christian, therefore, owes loyalty to his homeland.
Both the church and the state have their share in the divine program, and each must be limited to its own sphere. God must receive what belongs to him, and Caesar must receive what belongs to him. But it turns out that many times Caesar demands things that are from God, with the result that the church, very against his will, clashes with the government. Scripture predicts that these conflicts will peak in the future. The last civilization will be anti-God, and the antichrist, its leader, the world dictator, will make the laws of this superstate supreme over all other laws ", and will demand the worship of his person as the personification of the state. The same Scriptures predict the victory of God and that on the ruins of the anti-Christian world empire, he will raise up his kingdom in which God is supreme - the Kingdom of God. (Dan. 2:34, 35, 44; Rev. 11:15; 19: 11-21.)
(d) In relation to nations. The nations will be judged, the kingdoms of the world will be destroyed, and all peoples will be subject to the King of kings. (Dan. 2:44; Mic. 4: 1; Isa. 49:22, 23; Jer. 23: 5; Luc. 1:32; Zec. 14: 9; Isa. 24:23; Rev. 11:15 .) Christ will rule the nations with an iron rod; he will remove all oppression and injustice from the land and inaugurate the golden age of a thousand years. (Ps. 2: 7-9; 72; Isa. 11: 1-9; Rev. 20: 6.) "Then the end will come, when he has given the kingdom over to God the Father and when he has annihilated the entire empire , and all power and strength "(1Cor. 15:24).
There are three stages in the work of Christ as Mediator: His work as a Prophet, accomplished during his earthly ministry; his work as a Priest, begun on the cross and continued during the current dispensation; and his work as King, beginning with his coming and continuing during the Millennium. After the Millennium has accomplished its work of uniting humanity to God, so that the inhabitants of heaven and earth form one big family where God will be everything and will be in everyone. (Eph. 1:10; 3:14, 15.)
However, Christ will continue to reign as the God-man, and to share in the divine government, for "his kingdom will have no end" (Luke 1:33). .. A segunda vinda de Cristo
1. O fato de sua vinda.
O fato da segunda vinda de Cristo é mais de 300 vezes no Novo Testamento. Paulo refere-se ao evento umas cinqüenta vezes.
Alguém já disse que a segunda vinda é mencionada oito vezes mais do que a primeira. Epístolas inteiras (Cl e 2Tess.) E capítulos inteiros (Mat. 24, Mat. 13) são dedicados ao assunto. Sem dúvida, é uma das doutrinas mais importantes do Novo Testamento.
2. Uma maneira de sua vinda.
Será de maneira pessoal (João 14: 3; Atos 1: 10,11; 1Tess. 4:16; Apo. 1: 7; 22: 7), literal (Atos 1:10; 1Tess. 4:16, 17; Apo. . 1: 7; Zac. 14: 4), visível (Heb. 9:28; Fps. 3:20; Zac. 12:10) e gloriosa (Mat. 16:27; 25:31; 2Tess. 1: 7 -9; Gál. 3: 4). Há interpretações que procuram evitar a opinião de que a vinda de Cristo seja literal e pessoal. Alguns ensinam que a morte é uma segunda vinda de Cristo. Mas a Bíblia mostra que uma segunda vinda é o contrário da morte, pois os mortos em Cristo ressuscitarão nessa ocasião.
Com a morte iremos para Cristo, mas na sua vinda ele virá para nos buscar. Certas passagens (Mat. 16:28; Fil. 3:20) perdem seu significado se substituíssemos morte por segunda vinda. Finalmente, a morte é um inimigo, enquanto a vinda de Cristo é a gloriosa esperança. Alguns sustentam que a segunda vinda foi a descida do Espírito no dia de Pentecoste. Outros ensinam que Cristo veio no tempo da destruição de Jerusalém no ano 70 d.C., mas em cada um desses casos não houve ressurreição dos mortos, nem o arrebatamento dos vivos, nem outros eventos preditos que acompanham o segundo advento.
3. O Tempo da sua vinda.
Tentativas houve para determinar os dados da vinda de Cristo, mas em nenhuma delas o Senhor veio na hora marcada pelos homens! Ele requer que o tempo exato de sua vinda está oculto nos conselhos divinos. (Mat. 24: 36-42; Mar. 13:21, 22.) é bom que seja assim.
Quem gostaria de saber com antecedência a hora exata de sua morte? Tal conhecimento teria o efeito de perturbar e inutilizar uma pessoa. Basta que saibamos que a morte pode vir a qualquer instante; portanto, dever trabalhar "enquanto é dia pois a noite vem quando ninguém pode trabalhar". O mesmo raciocínio serve quanto ao fim da presente dispensação. Esse dia também não nos foi revelado, mas sabemos será repentino (1Cor. 15:52; Mat. 24:27) e inesperado (2Ped. 3: 4; Mat. 24: 48-51; Apo. 16:15). O Senhor avisa seus servos: "Negociai até que eu venha"
Damos em seguida uma visão geral do ensino de Cristo sobre o tempo da sua vinda: após a destruição de Jerusalém os serão desterrados entre todas as nações, expulsos de sua terra, a qual passará a ser subjugada pelos gentios até o fim dos tempos, quando Deus julgará as nações gentias (Luc. 21:24). Durante esse período os servos de Cristo levarão sua obra avante (Luc. 19: 11-27) pregando o Evangelho a todas as nações (Mat. 24:14).
Será um tempo de demora durante o qual muitas vezes a igreja será tentada a duvidar do retomo do seu Senhor (Luc. 18: 1-8), quando alguns se prepararão e outros se tornarão negligentes, enquanto o Noivo demorar (Mat. 25: 1-11). Ministros infiéis desviar-se-ão, dizendo consigo mesmos: "O meu Senhor tarda a vir" (Luc. 12:45).
"Muito tempo depois" (Mat. 25:19), "… meia-noite (Mat. 25: 6),‹ a hora e no dia dos quais nenhum dos seus discípulos sabe (Mat. 24:36, 42,50) , o Senhor repentinamente vencido para ajuntar seus servos e julgá-los segundo como suas obras (Mat. 25:19; e 2Cor. 5:10). Mais tarde, depois de ter sido pregado universalmente o Evangelho e após o mundo havê-lo rejeitado, quando o povo estiver vivendo completamente ignorante quanto à catástrofe iminente, como nos dias de Noé (Mat. 24: 37-39) e nos dias da destruição de Sodoma (Luc. 17:28, 29) virá o Filho do homem em glória e poder para julgar as nações do mundo e sobre elas reinar (Mat. 25: 31-46).
4. Sinais de sua vinda.
As Escrituras ensinam que a aparição de Cristo inaugurando a Idade Milenial será precedida por um tempo agitado de transição, no qual haverá distúrbios físicos, guerras, crises preventivas, declínio moral, apostasia religiosa, infidelidade, pânico geral e perplexidade. A última parte desse período transitório chama-se "A Grande Tribulação", durante a qual o mundo inteiro estará sob o domínio governo contra Deus e anticristão. Crentes em Deus serão brutalmente perseguidos, e uma nação judaica, em particular, passará pela fornalha da aflição.
5. O propósito de sua vinda.
(a) Em relação à igreja. Assim chamado ao Dr. Pardington: Assim como a primeira vinda do Senhor se estendeu sobre um período de 30 anos, assim como a segunda vinda influirá em vários eventos. Na primeira vinda ele foi revelado como o Menino de Belém; mais tarde como o Cordeiro de Deus, ao ser batizado, e como o Redentor no Calvário. Na segunda vinda anunciada aos seus secreta e repentinamente para trasladá-los às Bodas do Cordeiro. Essa aparição chama-se o arrebatamento ou "Parousia" (que significa "aparição" ou "presença" ou "chegada" na língua grega). Nessa ocasião os crentes serão julgados para determinar as suas recompensas por serviços prestados (Mat. 25: 14-30). Após o arrebatamento, segue-se um período de terrível tribulação, que terminará na revelação, ou manifestação aberta de
Cristo proveniente do céu, quando ele estabelecer seu reino messiânico sobre a terra.
(b) Em relação a Israel. Aquele que é a Cabeça e Salvador da igreja, do povo do céu, é também o prometido Messias de Israel, do povo terrestre. Como Messias, ele libertará esse povo da tribulação, congregá-lo-á dos quatro cantos da terra, restaurá-lo-á na sua antiga terra e sobre ele reinará como seu, há muito prometido, Rei sobre a Casa de Davi.
(c) Em relação ao anticristo. O espírito do anticristo já está no mundo (1João 4: 3; 2:18; 2:22), mas ainda virá outro anticristo final (2Ts. 2: 3). Nos últimos dias ele se levantará o velho mundo (Apo. 13: 1) e tornar-se-á o sóbrio sobre um Império Romano ressuscitado que dominará todo o mundo. Assumirá grande poder político (Dn 7: 8, 25), comercial (Dn 8:25; Apo. 13:16, 17) e religioso (Apo. 17: 1-15). Ele será anti-Deus e anti-Cristo, e perseguirá os cristãos numa tentativa de extinção do Cristianismo. (Dan. 7:25; 8:24; Apo. 13: 7, 15). Sabendo que os homens que desejam ter alguma religião, ele estabelecerá um culto baseado na divindade do homem e na supremacia do Estado.
Como personificação desse Estado, ele exigirá o culto do povo, e formará um sacerdócio para fazer cumprir e promulgar esse culto. (2Tess. 2: 9,10; Apo. 13: 12-15.) O anticristo levará ao extremo a doutrina da supremacia do Estado, a qual ensina que o governo é o supremo poder, em torno do qual tudo, incluindo a própria consciente do homem, tem que estar subordinado. Visto que não existe poder ou lei mais elevados do que o Estado, segundo eles, Deus e sua lei precisam ser abolidos para prestar culto ao Estado. A primeira tentativa para estabelecer o culto ao Estado está registrado em Daniel cap. 3. Nabucodonosor orgulhou-se do poderoso império que edificara. "não é esta a grande Babilônia que eu edifiquei? ..." (Dan. 4:30).
Tão deslumbrado ficou ele diante do poderio e governos humanos, que o Estado para ele se tomou como um deus. Que melhor maneira de impressionar os homens com sua glória, do que ordenar-lhes que o símbolo desse governo fosse venerado! Portanto, ele edificou uma grande imagem dourada e mandou que todos os povos se prostrassem diante dela, sob pena de morte. A imagem não foi a de uma divindade local, mas representava o próprio Estado. Recusar cultuar a imagem era considerado ateísmo ou traição. Ao instituir essa nova religião, Nabucodonosor como que dizia ao povo: "Quem vos deu as belas cidades, as boas estradas, e belos jardins? O Estado! Quem vos provê de alimentos e serviço, quem funda escolas e patrocina templos?
O Estado! Quem vos defende dos inimigos? O Estado! não será então o Estado, esse poderio, um deus? Portanto, que maior deus quereis do que vosso exaltado governo? Prostrai-vos perante o símbolo da grande Babilônia! "E se Deus não o tivesse humilhado do seu orgulho blasfemo (Dan. 4: 28-37), Nabucodonosor talvez tivesse exigido o culto de sua própria pessoa como chefe do Estado. Como os três os filhos hebreus (Dan. 3) foram perseguidos por se recusarem a curvar-se perante a imagem de Nabucodonosor, assim os cristãos do primeiro século sofreram porque se recusaram a render homenagens divinas à imagem de César.
Havia de tolerância todas as religiões no Império Romano, mas sob a condição de que fosse venerada a imagem de César como símbolo do Estado. Os cristãos foram perseguidos, não tanto por sua lealdade a Cristo, mas porque se recusaram a adorar a César e dizer: "César é Senhor." Recusaram-se a cultuar o Estado como deus. A Revolução francesa oferece outro exemplo dessa política. Deus e Cristo foram lançados fora e um deus, ou deusa, se fez do "Pátria". Assim disse um dos lideres: "O Estado é supremo em todas as coisas. Quando o Estado se pronuncia, a igreja não tem nada a dizer." A lealdade ao Estado elevou-se à posição de religião.
A assembléia decretou que em todas as vilas feitas levantados altares com a seguinte inscrição: "O cidadão nasce, vive e morre por La Patrie." Preparou-se um ritual para batismos, casamentos e enterros civis. A religião do Estado possuía seus hinos e orações, seus jejuns e festas. O Novo Testamento reconhecido o governo humano como divinamente ordenado para a manutenção da ordem e da justiça. O cristão, por conseguinte, deve lealdade à sua pátria.
Tanto a igreja como o estado têm sua parte no programa divino, e cada qual deve limitar-se a sua esfera. Deus deve receber o que pertence, e César deve receber o que pertence. Mas acontece que muitas vezes César exige as coisas que são de Deus, atualizando a igreja, muito contra sua vontade, entra em choque com o governo. As Escrituras prevêem que esses conflitos futuramente chegarão ao seu ponto máximo. A última civilização será anti-Deus, e o anticristo, seu chefe, o ditador mundial, tornará as leis desse superestado supremas sobre todas as demais leis ", e exigirá o culto à sua pessoa como a personificação do Estado. As primeiras Escrituras predizem uma vitória de Deus e que sobre as ruínas do império mundial "anticristão, ele levantará seu reino no qual Deus é supremo - o Reino de Deus. (Dan. 2:34, 35, 44; Apo. 11:15; 19: 11-21.)
(d) Em relação às nações. As nações serão julgadas, os reinos do mundo destruídos, e todos os povos estão sujeitos ao Rei dos reis. (Dan. 2:44; Miq. 4: 1; Isa. 49:22, 23; Jer. 23: 5; Luc. 1:32; Zac. 14: 9; Isa. 24:23; Apo. 11:15 .) Cristo regerá as nações com vara de ferro; tirará toda a opressão e injustiça da terra e inaugurará a Idade áurea de mil anos. (Sal. 2: 7-9; 72; Isa. 11: 1-9; Apo. 20: 6.) "Depois virá o fim, quando houver entregado o reino a Deus, o Pai, e quando houver aniquilado todo o império , e toda potestade e força "(1 Cor. 15:24).
Há três estágios na obra de Cristo como Mediador: Sua obra como Profeta, cumprida durante seu ministério terrestre; sua obra como Sacerdote, começada na cruz e continuada durante a dispensação atual; e sua obra como Rei, começando com sua vinda e continuando durante o Milênio. Depois do milênio ter cumprido sua obra de unir a humanidade a Deus, de forma que os habitantes do céu e da terra formem uma só grande família onde Deus será tudo e estará em todos. (Efés. 1:10; 3:14, 15.)
Contudo, Cristo continuará a reinar como o Deus-homem, e compartilhar do governo divino, pois "o seu reino não terá fim" (Luc. 1:33).
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