#land of creation daniel

[whencartoonsruletheworld]

Okay so since there’s soooo much fucking transphobia rampant, here’s a post for those of you who either are Christian and/or surrounded by Christian queerphobes. Here’s a list of rebuttals to when they start talking about how being trans is ungodly.

Most of these rebuttals are religious as that is the base they will be arguing from; however I did include  bit of a science to make their heads spin.

“Genesis also says that God made morning and evening. Are morning and evening strictly binary? Is there nothing inbetween? Can you define 'morning'? How about the binary of darkness and light?”

“So if we're born the gender we are, what are intersex people?” [when they inevitably say there's just "so few of them"] “There are more intersex people than there are redheads. 1.7% of the population are Intersex, while roughly 1.5% are redheads. Does that mean that redheads do not 'count' when discussing hair color?”

[to “God doesn't make mistakes”] “Yes, of course. They just do impossible things. After all, if God could put a baby into a virgin, or could bring life to the dead, why could they not put a boy's soul into a girl's body, or vice versa?”

Feel free to also say “God literally made such a mistake with all humanity that they flooded the planet.”

This line is from a Jewish source, Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel Mallory Ortberg: “As my friend Julian puts it, only half winkingly: 'God blessed me by making me transsexual for the same reason God made wheat but not bread and fruit but not wine, so that humanity might share in the act of creation.'”

Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.“

If they're using the Deuteronomy verse (22:5, about not crossdressing or w/e), know that line is mistranslated. Quoting https://hoperemainsonline.com/index.php/transgender/, “A more literal translation from Hebrew reads 'The weapon of a warrior shall not be on a woman, nor shall a warrior put on the robe of a woman, for all who do these things are a hateful thing to the LORD thy God.' The word “robe” is translated from the Hebrew word simlah, which was a garment worn by both sexes. Clearly, this cannot be referring to cross-dressing. What could it be referring to then? A much more likely answer to that question is that it is about ritual purity and the mixing of blood. Both warrior’s swords and women’s garments would get blood on them, one from battle and the other from menstruation. To have a man wear the robe of a woman, or vice versa, would mix blood, which was considered an abomination under the law.”

Similar mistranslations result in the homophobic verses they spew as well. just browse through hoperemains for some inspo

This last one is long, but it talks about how all humans, including women, were created in God's image; therefore, God is both male and female. If it's wrong for humans to be, why is God enby themself? 

From The Africana Bible, edited by Hugh R Page Jr:

“The term occasionally translated as 'human beings' in the NRSV and generally as "man" in most other English versions is  'adam or ha'adam. Now this is clearly not a personal name (that is, Adam) as the KJV ill-advisedly begins to indicate at about Gen. 2:19. A better translation of this term, however, would be “the earthling” since the term is derived from the term ‘adamah, meaning “land” or “earth.” Such a translation clarifies better than “man” or even “human being” that the original intent of the author is to emphasize that God made “earthlings” as a whole, not just males, in God’s image[...]”

[...]“Such a translation takes into consideration that the term ‘adam is meant to function as a collective term referring to both the male and the female. Thus, we should note that ‘adam here is not a name or an ascription of gender but a collective term for “earthlings” in general; this is emphasized by the author’s choice of the plural pronoun ‘otham, and the use of the plural verbs veyirddu and urdu, meaning in 1:26 and 1:28, 'let THEM have dominion,' further reiterates the inclusive nature of the term ‘adam. [...] In Genesis 1 and 2, both genders were created with equal expressions of God’s image, equal authority over the earth, and equal value as human beings.”

#transphobia / #transphobia m / #christianity #christian #mine

[deathsweetblossoms]

Flower Face: an Elain Archeron playlist

This is my love letter to Elain Archeron, my interpretation of what she sounds like were she to exist as music. Consider this more as an experience and less a list of songs with lyrics that relate to Elain. @elainarcheronweek

My Elain is made up in part of deeply personal headcanons, plus versions of her in works by @bloomingdarkgarden (What Bloomed in the Dark Garden) and @thefangirlofhp (sillage). She is Danielle De Barbarac, a quiet girl with a rich internal world and a heart capable of feeling every emotion ten fold. She has one foot in The Dreaming world of the mystics, and one foot in her rapidly evolving life in Velaris. She wants to be seen for who she is and loved for who she is, gardening-scarred hands and all. She quietly yearns for someone she can't have, never once sharing her woes with any of her sisters. She brings things to life and values learning, creation, travel. This is a musical journey that represents my interpretation of Elain's soul, her internal world, her life in Velaris, her hopes for the future. (It is Elriel leaning, as a disclaimer, because ... I simply cannot help it.) I started off the journey with nature sounds, because Elain is so deeply tied to the land in my mind, and with lush, atmospheric music representing how she presents to the world. As the list goes on, we go deeper and more secrets are revealed until the songs become almost entirely instrumental (moody and brooding in nature to represent an emotional landscape). There are songs in different languages or without words entirely, to represent her displacement into an unfamiliar land, in a changed body, and the uprooting of her ingrained beliefs about that land and the creatures living there; about her integration into the Night Court and her insistence that she belongs. It ends with her prayer to The Mother.

SONGLIST

(Sometimes I will include my decisions for including certain pieces. Other times, I hope you can glean your own meaning <;3) PART I

(nature sounds)

I often imagine Elain waking up at sunrise, before the rest of the city, and just imbibing the land, the birds, the flowers. Noticing things other's don't notice. Seeking solace among nature.

James Newton Howard - A Hidden Life (instrumental)

Mariee Sioux - Wild Eyes tiny darling ghost holder you our soft spirit breather... you plant your burderns way deep down in

Wickerbird - Llewellyn sleep, interred within old Avalon

A song that evokes visions, dreams, prophecy, distant lands

AURORA - Under the Water under the water, we can't breathe we can't breathe under the water, we die hearts will dream again lungs will breathe in feet won't fail you now arms won't let you down

This song has been on my Elain playlist since the start. I always reminds me of her journey into the cauldron, the terror and grief that befell her afterward, and learning how to keep going despite everything.

Flower Face - Cornflower Blue i wanna lay on the kitchen floor with you i wanna do all the things that lovers do bruised on your face like a watercolour bloom moonlight paints your skin cornflower blue

Elain develops feelings for a quiet Shadowsinger...

Steven Price - Ophelia (instrumental) Jean Luc Lenoir - The Mermaid's Croon (instrumental)

"The quiet dreamer"

Ane Brun - Joga (live version) all that no one sees, you see what's inside of me every nerve that hurts, you heal deep inside of me you don't have to speak i feel emotional landscapes

This is a quintessential Elriel song for me, so perfectly capturing how I believe she feels about him (how they feel about each other, honestly).

AURORA - Exist for Love and then you take me in and everything in me begins to feel like I belong

Joe Hisaishi - Heartbroken Kiki (instrumental)

Rachel Portman - Three Women (instrumental)

Elain, Nuala, and Cerridwen's blossoming friendship. Them in the kitchen learning how to make bread, them teaching Elain how to slyfoot, them whispering secrets about lovers and childhood to each other.

PART II (Powers Awakening, Hidden Secrets of the Magic of Velaris, Witches and Mystics)

AURORA - The Forbidden Fruits of Eden (an interlude)

Powers brimming just below the surface, unseen, but felt by Elain.

(nature sounds)

Elain starts visiting the Sidra more and more as her powers develop stronger. I just imagine her sitting by the water, with a scarf around her head, and a small picnic basket, just enjoying the quiet and thinking about her visions and dreams.

Thomas Newman - Starlit (instrumental)

Night-blooming Jasmine, Elain discovers her place in the shadows of Velaris

Karliene - The Fields of Ard Skellig

Elain digs her fingers into the soil of Velaris and night-blooming flowers blossom all around her. She learns the secrets of the mystics and how to control her powers. Our Lady Kingslayer comes into her own and surprises everyone with her strength of spirit.

The Naked and the Famous - Teardrop night, night of matter black flowers blossom fearless on my breath Runah - Witch how she bathes in it she never had a lover that said her name before the way it drops from his lips it's like she's never heard her name sound like a song and she craves it oh she has woken the witch she's becoming Kati Ran - Vinda slowly the journey goes like the walk of an old man seeking in waves and seeking in sand hear the psalm of the wind, its being sung over the mountain and you, will you listen to the melody in the evening Mykur - Nordlys (instrumental) Thomas Newman - Luthien Tinuviel (instrumental) Agnes Obel - Rosian (instrumental) Helisir - Brisingamen (instrumental) Johannes Bornlof - Wolfpack (instrumental) Honey Gentry - Aphrodite Aphrodite, hear my pain I want to fall in love again Not in love with a man of this world Fall in love with life itself

Elain's prayer to the mother

#elain archeron #elainarcheronweek2023 #elainweek2023 #acotar #trembling fawn #JUST KIDDING #SHES DONE #HERE YOU GO #IF YOU HATE IT DONT TELL ME BC I POURED MY WHOLE HEART INTO THIS LOL #ELRIEL #pro ELRIEL #Spotify

[hermenoodle]

Christian Resources on Palestine

Since I am seeing a lack of resources for Christians concerning Palestine from a faith based perspective (aside from the usual Christian Zionist fervor), I tracked down some sources, religious and secular, to bridge that gap. Even if you're not Christian yourself and know some Christians who have questions about what's going on, please share this with them.

Christ at the Checkpoint - A ministry and conference from Bethlehem Bible College in Palestine.

Friends of Sabeel North America - A peacemaking, ecumenical Christian voice for Palestine.

Christian Zionism - A resource that critically analyzes the intentions and theology of Christian Zionists from a Christian perspective.

1948: Creation and Catastrophe (YouTube)- A documentary where Israelis & Palestinians who witnessed the Naqba in the late 1940s talk about their experiences as well as detailing the trail of the ordeal.

With God on Our Side (YouTube)- From Vision Video, a Christian video distributor, analyzing Christian Zionism and giving voice to the Palestinian perspective.

Peacemakers: Crossing the Divide - A film that features both Messianic Jewish and Palestinian Christian believers' peacemaking efforts in the Holy Land. You can watch it for free in various languages.

Musahala - Faith based organization focused on reconciliation between Jewish people & Palestinians regardless of ethnic or religious backgrounds.

Theology in the Raw Interviews:

Eli Bonila, Jr. - married to a Palestinian.

Dr. Gary Burge - questions Christian theological support for Israel

Alex Awad - Palestinian Christian

Daniel Banourra - Palestinian Christian

Lisa Loden - Israeli Jewish Christian (Messianic) featured in the Peacemaking: Crossing the Divide film.

Rabbi Hanan Schelsinger - formerly Zionist rabbi

Rev. Munther Isaac - the Lutheran pastor behind the Baby Jesus in the Rubble photograph from Bethlehem (also check out the first episode of OnScript where he's featured).

Hope these will serve as an aid to understanding this a bit more than some streams of theology would want us to think.

#palestine #christianity #christian zionism #israel #christblr #christians on tumblr

[gatheringbones]

[“The United States is a militarized culture. We see it all around us and in the media. But, as military historian John Grenier notes, the cultural aspects of militarization are not new; they have deep historical roots, reaching into the nation’s racist settler past and continuing through unrelenting wars of conquest and ethnic cleansing over three centuries.

Grenier writes, “Beyond its sheer military utility, Americans also found a use for the first way of war in the construction of an ‘American identity.’ . . . [T]he enduring appeal of the romanticized myth of the ‘settlement’ (not calling it conquest) of the frontier, either by ‘actual’ men such as Robert Rogers or Daniel Boone or fictitious ones like Nathaniel Bumppo of James Fenimore Cooper’s creation, points to what D.H. Lawrence called the ‘myth of the essential white American.’”

The astronomical number of firearms owned by U.S. civilians, with the Second Amendment considered a sacred mandate, is also intricately related to militaristic culture and white nationalism. The militias referred to in the Second Amendment were intended as a means for white people to eliminate Indigenous communities in order to take their land, and for slave patrols to control Black people.”]

roxanne dunbar-ortiz, from loaded: a disarming history of the second amendment, 2018

#roxanne dunbar-ortiz #history stuff #cw racism #cw genocide

[thechanelmuse]

My Book Review

I finished this book a week ago. I’m still struggling to put my thoughts into words because this book jam packs a load of history in 430 pages. Where does one start? 

Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams travels back in time to the founding of what would be Los Angeles in 1781 by a group of eleven families—forty four Black Spaniards— before building upon the land and establishing what would be the home of the film industry. This book spans six decades within the history of Black actors in Hollywood beginning with Madame Sul-Te-Wan, the first. It even includes those surrounding the Hollywood scene like dancer Carmen de Lavallade and Paul Williams, the foremost trailblazing Black architect who created the blueprint for the eye-catching structures and homes of the stars still standing firm today. 

Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams is a lot to take in from the bad to the good. It’s partly because the wealth of info would be more digestible had it been fleshed out further without creating a sweeping effect (like snippets) through moments in time to build the larger framework. After all, we’re talking sixty years. 

I’m a cinephile so I would’ve enjoyed more focus into the actual creation of a number of films, particularly the all-Black productions in those days. As for the gossip scene and the 👀 happenings in their world, here’s a snippet: Duke Ellington had an affair with Freida Washington, whom she felt was the love of her life. Duke wouldn't leave his wife so Freida did work in Paris to keep busy and get over him. When she returned, she ended up marrying a member of Duke’s band 🙃. Also, Lena Horne had an on and off-again affair with heavyweight boxer, Joe Louis. Might be hella messy and pearl-clutching in our world, but you gotta remember Hollywood is its own world. Small. They operate differently and nothing is swept under the rug in their society. Though discreet, everyone knew everyone’s biz.

I can’t even imagine the amount of research that went into making this book. It’s def worth the read. Just know that it may feel a little dense because it’s so many actors, gigs ands so forth spanning decades.

PHOTOSET: Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Ernest “Sunshine Sammy” Morrison, Ethel Waters with Freida Washington, Daniel L. Haynes with Nina Mae McKinney, Mildred Washington, The Nicolas Brothers, Eartha Kitt with Sammy Davis Jr, Joe Louis with Lena Horne, and the Dandridge sisters: Dorothy and Vivian.

SN: Off-topic. The author’s surname, Bogle, caught my attention when I first got this book, which had to be about about 10 years ago now. (Yes, this book has been sitting on my shelf for that long...among the other 600+.) The only Black Americans I’m familiar with with that surname are from Philly dating back to chef Robert Bogle, the creator of catering: 

Whad'ya know? The author too is from Philly. I’m curious if they’re related. That’s a book in and of itself.

#bright boulevards and bold dreams #donald bogle #robert bogle #thechanelmuse reviews #black history books #madame sul te wan #paul williams #carmen de lavallade #dorothy dandridge #eartha kitt #black hollywood

[jasper-book-stash]

January 2024 Reading Wrap Up

As y'all know, I started this blog anew to record my thoughts on some books I read. Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of reading a lot more books than the average human should, and they knock each other out of my noggin. This is why I maintain a color-coded spreadsheet with columns to keep track of things. I also took on a winter reading challenge, and I've read most of the 17 books I was looking to read. With that said, let's see where things landed this month!

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable (thank the gods).

2/10 - Trash

Creating Magickal Entities: A Complete Guide to Entity Creation | David Michael Cunningham, Taylor Ellwood, T Amanda R Wagener

This one was...rough. Painful, even. This made me retroactively rate the other occult books I read higher just to cope.

3/10 - Meh

Heartbreaker | Julie Garwood [reading challenge]

I was hoping this one would be fun, considering the author is from Missouri and the summary seemed promising, but the main male character (not the antagonist) came across as a creep the whole time. I hated him very much.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists, & Other Creatives | T Thorn Coyle [reading challenge]

With all due respect to Mx. T Thorn Coyle…this book sucked. It originated as a zine and tbh it should have stayed that way. There was a lot of fluff to get the page count up that could honestly have been removed (and should have been). I didn’t feel like I came away from this one learning anything new about sigils or how to incorporate them or my writing into my craft.

The Whittiers | Danielle Steel [reading challenge]

Unlike my surprisingly good experiences reading The Wedding Planner, The Whittiers was a sludge to get through. It was a bit annoying to hear Danielle Steel talk so much about how the characters weren't rich when they were clearly living a rather rich lifestyle without much financial problems in the beginning, and I eventually gave up on the book. The characters just...weren't too compelling to trudge through the repetition for.

The Stranger Upstairs | Lisa M Matlin

YOU. This book took a bit too long to get to the point (the plot), but at least part 2 was absolutely riveting and the epilogue was intriguing. I honestly think None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell did this better, even though The Stranger Upstairs is more about a house than a person. Just...read None Of This Is True instead. Trust me.

Liber Null and Psychonaut | Liber Kaos | Peter J Carroll

Part of what I'm doing is research into chaos magic, starting with its foundational texts. And boy howdy, is this a severely middling book to me. Pointlessly obtuse, refuses to get to the point, spends too long sucking Aleister Crowley's dick... But utterly fascinating from a retrospective point of view, seeing what chaos magic looks like now.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Dracula | Bram Stoker [reading challenge]

I'm going to beat Bram Stoker with a broom. Good with the caveat that you have to read it with the context of it being a product of its time. Also, post-vampire Lucy Westenra can GET SOME.

Strawberry Shortcake Murder | Joanne Fluke [reading challenge]

I "read" this one in audiobook form, thanks to my library having a Playaway of it. This one…aged a little poorly in some aspects. I might skip into more modern entries to the series rather than trudge through the older stuff to get there.

The Leftover Woman | Jean Kwok [reading challenge]

This one was a fucking TRIP. This book was full of twists and turns and physically pained me at points. It absolutely fucked me up and I was crying by the end, so I was lucky that no one came into work while I was reading it. I can't say much about it for fear of spoiling it, other than that it delivered upon what it promised.

The Midnight Library | Matt Haig [reading challenge]

This did NOT help with the crying! This book also fucked me up! It’s absolutely wild from the get-go. Content warning for animal death early on, though, because that did not help my anxious ass.

Marrying the Ketchups | Jennifer Close [reading challenge]

With all of the things this book was juggling, it ended exactly how it needed to.

Spells for Change: A Guide for Modern Witches | Frankie Castanea/Chaotic Witch Aunt

I was expecting something entirely different from this book.

Condensed Chaos: An Introduction to Chaos Magic | Phil Hine

Exactly what it says on the tin.

Magickal Servitors: Create Your Own Spirits to Attract Pleasure, Power and Prosperity | Damon Brand

Far more effective and to-the-point than Creating Magickal Entities was, but still far from perfect.

9/10 - Very Very Good

The Puppets of Spelhorst | Kate DiCamillo [reading challenge]

This book is one I've been meaning to read since the library got it in. It's an adorable story with great illustrations and plenty of drama for the 8- to 12-year-old in your life. Or for you, if you want a touching low-stakes story with an open ending.

Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea | Dav Pilkey [reading challenge]

From the guy who brought us Captain Underpants comes an adorable graphic novel about…honestly a lot happening, there was a lot. Luckily, even though it’s late in the series, there’s enough context provided that you can get a good grasp of the characters. Doesn’t have much to do with Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, though, so I’m deducting a point for that. I read Jules Verne's work and there was nothing about a dog-headed cop in there, nor a cat man who used to be a criminal and is having the worst redemption arc of his life.

Honestly, it was still fun.

Practical Gods | Carl Dennis [reading challenge]

Read for both my reading challenge AND my book club's Pulitzer Prize prompt, this is such a lovely collection of poems and really gets into the crossing of religious belief with modern problems. How does it do this as a book of poetry? I’m not sure! But it did! Definitely worth the multiple prizes it has won. I ordered my own personal copy and I'm waiting for it to arrive.

Gods of Jade and Shadow | Silvia Moreno-Garcia [reading challenge]

I AM GOING TO EAT THIS BOOK BECAUSE I LOVE IT SO MUCH. We love a book in which the main character dies but that's not the end of their story!

Warrior Magic: Justice Spirituality and Culture from Around the World | Tomas Prower

I did a little write-up of this one.

Give-A-Damn-Jones | Bill Pronzini [reading challenge]

This one was great because the titular character respects women and protects minorities and keeps getting into situations. We love a guy who doesn't want to be here! This was the first Western I've read, and I think it was a good pick.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

Well, everyone who's into the genre these fall under, at least.

Sappho: A New Translation | Mary Barnard

I was so worried that this translation would...well, straightwash Sappho, but from what I see, Mary is dedicated to translating them as close to intentional meaning as possible, including Sappho's bisexuality. Hell yeah.

Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales | Mhara Starling

This is an in-depth look into a Welsh witch's practice. It's delightful to read someone talk about their own craft, and you can really tell that Mhara loves the place she lives in.

Exodus 20:3: A Monster Romance | Freydis Moon

We love a gay angelfucker romance between a trans man and an angel, complete with smut. Honestly, a great time.

The Salt Grows Heavy | Cassandra Khaw

Do you want the mermaid from The Little Mermaid fairy tale to murder people? Do you want a nonbinary plague doctor? Do you want to hear about murderous child cannibals and freakish surgeons? Do you want your protagonist to McFucking Snap? Do you want a happy ending in the weirdest way possible in this setting? Read The Salt Grows Heavy! A mere 112 pages that will fuck you up while you're trying to poop in peace!

#jasper post #books #bookblr #authors #reading wrap up #2024 #january 2024

[the-everqueen]

look. this fic started as crack taken seriously except now it's getting longer than a one-shot and we haven't even reached the crack yet. so i'm posting a snippet to like. encourage myself to finish it.

.....................

One thing has proven consistent in Matthew’s life, both as a human and as a raven to Dream of the Endless: changes in management are never smooth. It doesn’t matter how much you plan in advance, it doesn’t matter whether the new boss is qualified—things are gonna go sideways, at least until everyone adjusts.

Don’t get him wrong, Matthew doesn’t doubt that Morpheus did everything he could to ensure the Dreaming’s wellbeing before the Kindly Ones came for him. But jeez. Daniel Hall was a toddler just a few months ago and now he’s the next Dream King. Which Lucienne keeps telling Matthew isn’t quite right: the boss isn’t gone, the Endless are their functions, in some cosmic-fate sense Daniel was always already going to be Dream, yada yada.

Matthew doesn’t buy it. He went to the wake. He gave his tribute.

The kid is all right. But Matthew can’t shake the memory of him clutching the emerald at his throat, the echo of that familiar deep voice cracked down the middle. I am afraid. Hard to hold anything against him—he couldn’t have known what he was signing up for, and this ain’t exactly the kind of job that attracts volunteers. Still…the newness is unsettling. The realm feels like it’s on edge, waiting with bated breath to see what happens.

Which is how Matthew finds himself in search of a delinquent Nightmare.

The Corinthian, Dream tells him, has not shown up to work for the past several days. Dream doesn’t use those words, says failed to perform his function with a kind of detached precision like he’s reading from a script. It makes Matthew feel a little sick, though he’s ashamed to admit it: Morpheus’ words in an unfamiliar mouth.

He ignores that for the more pressing question: “He’s back in the Waking World?”

“No, he has not departed the Dreaming.” Dream’s brow furrows in transparent concern. Weird weird weird to see an identifiable emotion on that face—at least, one that isn’t annoyance or resignation. “I would know what he is doing, if not attending to dreamers.”

“Can’t you—I dunno—check in? You’re the boss.”

What Matthew doesn’t say is, that bastard promised me a reprisal. What he doesn’t say is, I heard Lucienne say he was supposed to be your masterpiece, but he gives me the creeps.

Morpheus would have heard these unspoken protests and said, You don’t need to like him to fulfill your duty to me. This Dream frowns and says quietly, “I don’t know that he would welcome my intervention.”

And that’s new, Dream taking into account someone else’s feelings, particularly one of his creations whose past incarnation—pardon the French—royally fucked him over. Then again, Daniel would have known the Corinthian as a protector of sorts. Maybe he’s feeling a residual fondness, that kernel of humanity come back to haunt the rest of them.

The thought makes Matthew sad. He ruffles his wings. “Yeah. Yeah, all right. I’ll fly around, see whether I can find him.”

Dream doesn’t give him any hints about direction, but Matthew figures it can’t hurt to swing by the Corinthian’s house. Well, “house” is a generous term for the architectural Kleenex box where the nightmare chooses to reside, as close to the shoreline as Dream would tolerate. Matthew wasn’t around to know whether it’s a relic of the first Corinthian, but he thinks it’s an eyesore regardless.

He swoops in through an open skylight. The place is too fucking massive for just one person, in his opinion, so it might take him awhile to search—

“Hey, birdie.”

Matthew lets out a croak of surprise and banks to land on something that might be a side table, might be a piece of driftwood enlisted for Aesthetic Purposes™. The Corinthian is sitting cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by skeins of colorful thread. Instead of a knife, he’s got a needle pinched between his fingers, which he’s stabbing into…surprisingly not a body, but a piece of fabric stretched across some kind of wooden hoop.

“Man, what the fuck,” says Matthew.

“You’re the one who came here uninvited,” the Corinthian says with a shrug. He resumes the stabbing. Matthew can make out the vague outline of something that might be a duck, embroidered in grey and orange thread. It’s got a knife in its beak. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Delivering an HR report.”

“That’s a lie, Lucienne wouldn’t talk to me even through a middleman.”

“It’s from our mutual boss.”

“The Dream King?” The Corinthian frowns. “What’s he want?”

“For you to do your job, apparently.”

“I’ve been doing my job.”

“Uh, no, you haven’t. Not in the past week or two.”

If the Corinthian were a normal human being, Matthew would say the expression that passes over his face is guilt. The fine lines around his mouth(s) tighten, his eye teeth grind together in a gesture that might be glancing from side to side. But then the Corinthian refocuses on his embroidery project. “Well, tell him not to get his panties in a twist. I’ll be on the clock tonight.”

“If you want PTO—“

“—we don’t actually get paid—“

“—you gotta talk to Lucienne—“

“—I know, I know, submit the requisite forms, blah blah blah—“

“—and not just fuck off on your own, I mean, you of all people should know that.”

The Corinthian tilts his head. Something about the motion makes Matthew’s feathers stand on end. “Me of all people?”

“Well. Yeah.”

“No, no, birdie, why don’t you say what you mean.” The Corinthian flips the needle over his fingers and it transforms into knife. “Tell me how I’m special.”

Matthew lets out a nervous kraw, spreading his wings. “Man, you’re on thin fucking ice, you think Dream is gonna be chill about you killing another one of his ravens?”

“Alex Burgess shot Jessamy.”

“Because you made sure she was cut off from the Dreaming.”

“That wasn’t me.”

“Close enough.”

“Really? You think the current Dream King is close enough to Morpheus?”

Matthew shuffles from one foot to the other. He ought to take flight, tell Dream that he found the Corinthian and his lord’s former masterpiece has taken up arts and crafts. Let Dream decide what the punishment for that offense is. But he feels the need to protest, to prove his loyalty. Maybe because he’s the New Guy (if not as new as the latest incarnation of the boss). Maybe because the Corinthian doesn’t get to question his commitment to the job.

He says, slowly, “He’s Dream of the Endless. That’s all there is.”

The Corinthian barks out a surprised laugh. “Guess you’ll stick around,” he murmurs cryptically, and the knife is a needle again. He lowers that awful not-gaze back to his embroidery hoop. “You can tell our Lord Shaper that his renegade hammer will be back to pounding nails tonight.”

“Was that an innuendo? It felt like it wanted to be an innuendo.”

“What doesn’t?” The Corinthian’s smile is all teeth.

Matthew ignores that. “So is this what you’ve been doing while AWOL? Making home decor?”

“What’s it to you, birdie?”

“I dunno, seems out of character. Shouldn’t you be plotting murder?”

“Maybe I’ve been slipping into the Waking World.”

“Nah, you aren’t stupid. You wouldn’t be that obvious about it.” Matthew pauses. “Besides, Dream said you hadn’t left the Dreaming.”

“So he is keeping tabs on me.”

“You’re dreamkin.”

“Yeah, veritable tracking chip built right in.” The duck is gaining feet, bright flashes of color making a pantomime of long strides. “Like knowing where your right hand is.”

“Does it bother you?”

“Would it bother you?”

“Not really. I mean, it doesn’t. When the boss rides along. Uses my eyes or whatever. Feels weird, but that’s what I’m here for.”

Matthew looks around the room. It’s organized like a human apartment, albeit one of those fancy places in Architectural Digest: sleek white sofa and matching chairs, glass coffee table that doubles as modern art, hardwood floors so gleaming Matthew can see his reflection in them. He’d assume it was for show except for details like the discarded books and the blood-spattered “Home Sweet Home” cross-stitch framed on the opposite wall.

“Are you…bored?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Taking up new hobbies, skipping out on work.” Matthew gestures at him with a wing. “I dunno, feels like burnout.”

“And what do you care?”

“Well, the last time you got dissatisfied with your job, a lot of people died—caw, fucking shit!”

He takes flight just in time to dodge the wicked blade that comes at him with eerie accuracy. It sticks in the table with a thunk, before it dissolves into sand.

The Corinthian snarls in triplicate, “That. Wasn’t. Me.”

“Okay! Okay, sorry, fuck.” Matthew circles in the air a few times before landing on the back of a chair. “You could just say so, don’t gotta get all murderous about it.”

“S’my nature,” the Corinthian says, mulish. His fingers sort restlessly through the rainbow of thread. It’s a minute before he chooses a sprig of green and starts threading it into his needle. Sunglasses materialize on his face, hiding his terrible eyes. “What are you hangin’ around for? Don’t you have a report to deliver?”

You don’t have friends, huh. Matthew is smart enough not to speak his observation out loud this time. Makes sense, though. The Corinthian is a Nightmare, and in the narratives he inhabits, all his overtures end in murder. Probably other dreams don’t want to get too close, even if this incarnation is supposedly collared and muzzled. Hell, Matthew didn’t want to come here just to see what the fucker was up to. In hindsight, he assumed something nasty. Not…whatever the fuck this is.

He thinks about what it might have been like, being Morpheus’ favorite. He thinks about Dream saying, I don’t know that he would welcome me.

He thinks maybe the Corinthian is lonely.

“I’m not a messenger pigeon,” Matthew says, ruffling his feathers in mock outrage. “Besides, Dream asked me to check out what you’re doing. You really want me to tell him you got distracted making home decor? Won’t that tarnish your image or something?”

The Corinthian frowns at his wobbly duck.

“He already caught me slacking on the job,” he says.

“Look, I’m just saying—if you want me to tell him you got distracted by some cute nightmare, I’ve got your back.”

The Corinthian curls his lip like a dog. “Why? You think I’m gonna forget about you ditching me back in Svartalfheim? I know you don’t fucking like me.”

“What, I can’t do a favor for a coworker?” The Corinthian’s fingers twitch, and Matthew croaks. “Fine, fine, sure, if it makes you feel better. I cover for your ass and you stop threatening to kebab me, how does that sound?”

The Corinthian stitches a whole patch of grass before he says, “All right. You got a deal.”

“Cool.” Matthew tries not to dwell on how it feels worse than if he’d made a pact with the literal Devil. Okay, no, that’s an exaggeration, Matthew went to Hell the once and he’s not keen on having another interaction with Their Unholiness anytime soon. But keeping a secret for the Corinthian feels a lot like betraying Dream, even if it’s harmless.

At least, he thinks it’s harmless.

Man, he’s going to feel so stupid if it turns out the embroidery is part of some scheme.

He mantles his wings, preparing to take off.

Hesitates.

“You got anything you want me to tell the boss?” he asks.

“Thought you said you weren’t a messenger pigeon.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t pass a word along. As a favor.”

The Corinthian doesn’t respond for a long minute. Matthew starts to think that’s his answer, but then he says, all lazy cheer, “Nah. I got nothing to say to him.”

And Matthew thinks that’s the biggest lie he’s ever heard but it’s not his job to argue, so he heads back to the palace.

#sandman #sandman fic #my writing #the corinthian/matthew the raven #enemies to friends to lovers #daniel!dream #the second corinthian #corimatt #i like the buddy cop dynamic they had in the dreaming comix #but mostly i think i'm very very funny

[scotianostra]

24th December 1914 saw the death of John Muir, noted naturalist, explorer, writer, and geologist.

John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland, on April 21, 1838. He was the third of Daniel and Anne Gilrye Muir's eight children. Muir recalled in The Story of My Boyhood and Youth that his father was religious and extremely strict, keeping his children in line with frequent whippings. In 1849 the Muirs moved to the United States and bought farmland near Portage, Wisconsin. Muir's father worked him hard on the farm and would not allow him to waste daylight hours on reading. Muir asked for and received permission to rise early in order to study. He invented an "early-rising machine" that dumped him out of bed at one o'clock each morning so that he could read. In 1860 he displayed this and other inventions at the Wisconsin State Fair.

In 1861 Muir entered the University of Wisconsin to study science. He also tried studying medicine but soon gave it up for various jobs that challenged his skill at inventing things. His interest in nature, particularly plants, was growing; he made frequent trips throughout Wisconsin and nearby states to observe plant life. In 1867 he gave up his own inventions "to study the inventions of God." He set out on the walk described in A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf. Actually, he went as far as Cuba. In 1868 he travelled to San Francisco, California, and worked on a sheep ranch. Exploring Yosemite Valley occupied much of his next six years. On all of his explorations he kept a journal of scientific and personal observations and also pencil drawings.

In 1880, after returning from exploring in Alaska, Muir married Louie Wanda Strentzel, the daughter of a Polish plant grower. They would have two children. In 1881, after another trip to Alaska, Muir settled on a fruit ranch near Martinez, California. He worked for ten years to make enough money to enable him to stop. Having provided permanently for his wife, two daughters, and himself, he turned his full attention to the study of nature. Glaciers and freezing particularly interested him, and his work contributed to an explanation of the process by which glaciers are formed. He also went on expeditions to Europe, Asia, and Australia.

In 1889 Muir argued in Century magazine that Yosemite Valley should become a national park. The passage of a law in 1890 making that happen owed much to Muir's influence. The Mountains of California, Our National Parks, and his many articles in popular magazines greatly advanced the conservation movement, as did his creation in 1892 of the Sierra Club, an organization dedicated to preserving wild lands such as Yosemite. Muir served as the president of the club until his death.

Muir's wife died in 1905. From then until his death Muir published four books, including Stickeen, which was a popular dog story, and My First Summer in the Sierra.

He died in Los Angeles, California, on December 24th, 1914. John of the Mountain, drawn from Muir's journal of his 1899 Alaskan expedition, was published in 1938.

#scotland #scottish #history #east lothian #naturalist #explorer #writer

[kerwynlar]

I haven’t posted here in a while but this idea belongs here instead of my main.

Sandman Dreamling Mpreg

Content warning: we do fluffy romantic kink here but this is a pregnancy/belly fetish blog. Don’t like? Don’t read further.

When Dream goes to confront Lyta and Hector, Lyta decides that she doesn’t want to be parted from Hector and wants to go with him to the Sunless Lands. Dream is fine with this except he knows that he needs the child and the child is not yet ready to be born. So he reshapes his form and takes the child into his own body.

When they reconnected at the New Inn, Hob and Dream agreed that they didn’t need to wait 100 years to see each other again, and Dream has been making semi frequent visits which include a LOT of flirting.

This time when Dream shows up, he’s moving awkwardly and keeps touching his abdomen in a way that doesn’t make sense for its shape. Hob finally asks what’s up and Dream tells him he’s pregnant and the basic outline of how that happened. Hob has Seen Some Shit in his 600+ years, and it’s not like he ever thought Dream was human so he takes this in stride and just asks Dream if he’s ok.

Dream admits that he’s not used to physical discomfort but he’s had a lot of it while trying to figure out how to accommodate another being within his body. He further admits that it’s harder for him to control his form in the waking world, especially to the extent he needs to in order to not appear pregnant to everyone in the inn.

Hob immediately suggests that they go to his place and Dream agrees. Once they’re away from prying eyes, Dream lets his physical form take a more comfortable shape and he is suddenly very pregnant. Hob’s brain goes ping and he finds himself in doting mode. He taps 400 year old memories and offers Dream a foot rub which the Ruler of the Nightmare Realm bemusedly accepts. Finally relaxed and somewhat comfortable, when the baby starts kicking mid foot rub, Dream guides Hob’s hand up to his belly to feel. Hob is entranced and, with permission, moves from massaging Dream’s feet to his belly. Dream is pleasantly surprised to discover that this feels amazing.

Dream begins to let Hob visit him in the Dreaming more and more frequently. Dream is much more comfortable there than the waking world, but even so the pregnancy is taking a toll. Dream is almost constantly exhausted, and unable to create new dreams and nightmares, all of his creation energy being used for the baby. He finds this frustrating and even though he doesn’t sleep, he needs to rest frequently, which he finds much easier with his head in the lap of a certain immortal human, and strong fingers carding through his hair.

As the pregnancy progresses, Dream is constantly hungry no matter how much he eats. Eventually he realizes that this is because the baby is partially of the waking world and needs nourishment from there. Hob takes it upon himself to make sure Dream is fed in the waking world and puts his centuries of cooking knowledge to use to come up with dishes that Dream will enjoy. It takes Dream some time to figure out digestion of food from the waking world, how much he should be eating, etc. and Hob is there throughout with belly rubs and moral support.

Dream has no way to know how long the pregnancy will last since the timing was so strange even for Lyta.

He goes into labor while he’s with Hob in the waking and is caught off guard by the onset of contractions. He does manage to use the sand to transport them both to the Dreaming where he tries various forms to make labor easier and Hob helps him through it.

In the end an exhausted Dream is holding baby Daniel.

#mpreg #dreamling #the sandman #sandman netflix #belly kink #belly rubs #pregnancy kink #dream of the endless #hob gadling

[wellntruly]

Happy Day After Oscars Day. Honestly, pretty darn sweet & moving time, a lot of that!

Which was really nice for me, because honestly again, this was an odd year for me in movies. While I was going wild on things from 20-70 years ago, just so many of the 2022 releases I reacted to like, sure! A gentleman's 3 out of 5. I eventually petered out at 38 new releases, my lowest number in a few years.

But when I closed off the list yesterday right before the ceremony, fussing again one final time over the order, I found that I did actually care quite a bit about a few of these. There were some that really did reach me, ones that stuck. And so I want to share them with you.

My top ten list for 2022, new ones this time

(Title link is to my original Letterboxd log; apologies that some are basically mini essays and others are like, a line. Keeping it unpredictable!)

1 The Fabelmans, dir. Steven Spielberg

My curse to bear this season has been that all the marketing for The Fabelmans makes it look like the most saccharine celebration of ~the magic of movies~, when in fact it's like, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Disassociator. It's a depiction of movie-making that's ambiguous and complex and in many instances quite dark, if not even quite fucked up, and also it looks like a Steven Spielberg movie: glowy and perfect. And that itself becomes part of what is fucked up and complex and ambiguous in this context! Best scenes are all the ones where, to paraphrase Emily St. James again, you can feel Spielberg's screenwriter, bestie & off-book therapist Tony Kushner, going, huh, do you think we should maybe unpack this a little, Steve?, and Steve going oh, no thanks!, that's what making it a movie is for! This is one of the most legible filmmakers of all time, an incredible skill that often gets discounted as "populism" because he presents scenes and ideas and emotions just so understandably, here presenting scenes and ideas and emotions that sometimes he still doesn't understand, for which he has no answers, just knows that everything that was going on here was important. And that shimmering push & pull between his clarity as a filmmaker and the thorny, confused memory project he's engaged in, seems to either not land (many viewers, of those who even saw it), or land so fucking hard (the few, the brave, the Sammy Fabelman fans).

2 Aftersun, dir. Charlotte Wells

It has a tragic fragmentary dream ballet they keep returning to with incrementally building context like the Christmas party flashback in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, obviously I am heart-sore in love with this one.

3 Hit the Road (جاده خاکی), dir. Panah Panahi

Do you know about the Iranian family road trip movie? It's a jewel. Alive and inventive and funny and beautiful, and tragic, as while the rest of the family is hiding the purpose of their trip to the Turkish border from their irrepressible youngest, we understand all too well why they're taking his older brother there. Of the top five needle drops in film this year, three of them are in this movie. I love everything about the way this film constructs itself. Hit the Road!

4 Everything Everywhere All At Once, dir. Daniels

I ping-ponged between this and Nope for my fourth slot for ages, but finally I just kept thinking about how Dan Kwan accidentally wrote a line from the Nine Days song 'Absolutely (Story of a Girl)', and then decided to just do it a few more times and make it a ~motif~. There is simply such renegade joyousness in the creation of this movie, and it pours through in every earnest unhinged minute. I'm so proud of them!!!!!!

5 Nope, dir. Jordan Peele

I LOVED this. This year's best marriage of ideas and filmmaking, and also somehow about filmmaking without ever feeling too recursive, instead feels frankly--hi to number one--most of all like a '70s Spielberg horror movie. And not for nothing, also several of the best performances of the year. I actually wrote quite a lot on Letterboxd about this one, more there! (spoilers!)

6 Benediction, dir. Terence Davies

The film equivalent of the time someone sent me this message and I replied like this

I mean of course it was for me.

7 Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, dir. Dean Fleischer Camp

A remarkable and wonderful amount of depth packed into this movie about the tiny shell.

8 Decision To Leave (헤어질 결심), dir. Park Chan-wook

The Really Kept Growing On Me champion of the year? I just kept thinking about images and vibes from this movie! THE romantic drama of 2022, understanding that something that is so romance is a pair of sad weirdos surveilling each other.

9 TÁR, dir. Todd Field

And the Meme champion of the year, which is like, you know how at the start of a project it's good to define 'what would success look like for us?'

10 Catherine Called Birdy, dir. Lena Dunham

Do you know how hard it is to make a movie this watchable and winning?? Buoyant with talent and colorful textiles, I laughed, I cried, what a treat! Give it a watch! Give us something like this every year!

*****

And some assorted specific performances and crafts not part of the awards conversation that I'd like to single out too:

Cinematography: Gregory Oke, Aftersun, and Hoyte van Hoytema, Nope

The perspective in Aftersun, I've been talking about it everywhere. You are so rooted to this young girl, who sees a lot, and yet you are also piecing together things that are going on that you can tell she isn't quite seeing. Just gorgeous filmmaking.

And are you KIDDING me with what they pulled off in Nope! Depicting not looking at something immense, but still capturing the immensity of it--the finesse! Also that day-for-night, kiss.

Supporting Actors: Steven Yeun, Nope, and Andrew Scott, Catherine Called Birdy

The best supporting male performance of the year actually won and that's so fucking incredible, LOVE you Ke Huy Quan. But I also want to mention these two guys, who similarly do beauuutiful supporting work in each of their films, rich and dynamic and perfectly elevating the work as a whole at exactly the right moments, with exactly the right notes.

Lead Actor: Jack Lowden, Benediction

The best lead male performance of the year, astonishing, real ones know (my parasocial critic friends who also kept bringing him up)

Supporting Actress: Kristen Stewart, Crimes of the Future

Haha what the fuck <3

Lead Actress: Tang Wei, Decision To Leave

She's so key to the lingering quality this one had on me. A masterclass in rendering an enigmatic performance that somehow isn't opaque. Enchanting, in a magic trick kind of way.

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

This man deserves more credit for spending seven years carefully making a stop motion movie with his brilliant ex-wife and managing to find exactly this emotional balance of soft and spiky and grieving and hopeful. Lovely work.

Adapted Screenplay: Dan Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison, Prey

Tight, tight, tight action filmmaking. And love you, Amber Midthunder!

Costumes: Alex Bovaird, Nope, and Amela Bakšić, Murina

Two words: Keke Palmer, and those two swimsuits.

#Wellntruly's Watch Log #Oscars

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Famous stories in the Bible

The top ten favourite Bible stories

The Birth of Jesus (Luke 2.1–7 and Matthew 2.1–12)

Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6.9–9.17)

The Good Samaritan (Luke 10.25–37)

The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus (Mark 15.20–41; Matthew 28.1–21)

The Exodus (Exodus 14.1–31)

David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17.1–58)

The Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5.1–22)

Jesus feeds the five thousand (Mark 6.31–44)

Jesus turns water into wine (John 2.1–11)

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5.1–7.29)

The 100 best-known stories in the Bible

From the Law collection

Creation and the fall (Genesis 1–3)

Noah and the flood (Genesis 6.9–9.17)

The tower of Babel (Genesis 11.1–9)

The call of Abraham (Genesis 12.1–9 and 17.1–8)

Three visitors to Abraham (Genesis 18.1–15)

Joseph the dreamer (Genesis 37–45)

The birth of Moses (Exodus 1.8–2.10)

Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3.1–15)

The ten plagues (Exodus 7.6–11.10)

Crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 13.17–14.31)

Manna and quail (Exodus 16)

Exploring Canaan (Numbers 13.1—14.12)

Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22.21–38)

The Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5.1–22)

The death of Moses (Deuteronomy 34)

From the Historical books

Entering the Promised Land (Joshua 3)

The fall of Jericho (Joshua 5.13–6.27)

Deborah leads God’s people (Judges 4–5)

Gideon fights the Midianites (Judges 6–7)

Samson and Delilah (Judges 16)

Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1–4)

Israel asks for a king (1 Samuel 8)

God chooses David as king (1 Samuel 16.1–13)

David kills Goliath (1 Samuel 17)                      

David becomes king (2 Samuel 5.1–12)

David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11)

Solomon and the wise judgement (1 Kings 3.16–28)

Solomon builds God’s temple (1 Kings 6)

Israel rebels against Rehoboam (1 Kings 12.1–24)

Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18.16–46)

The still small voice (1 Kings 19)

Elijah is taken up to heaven in a chariot (2 Kings 2.1–12)

Judah is taken into exile in Babylon (2 Kings 24—25)

The people are allowed to return from exile (Ezra 1)

From the Major Prophets

Isaiah's vision of God (Isaiah 6.1–8)

Isaiah’s prophecies about a Messiah (Isaiah 7.10–17)

Isaiah’s message of comfort (Isaiah 40.1–11)

The suffering servant (Isaiah 52.13—53.12)

Jeremiah and the potter’s house (Jeremiah 18)

Jeremiah and the new covenant  (Jeremiah 31.1–34)

Ezekiel’s vision of a chariot (Ezekiel 1)

Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones (Ezekiel 37.1–14)

Daniel and the fiery furnace (Daniel 3)

Daniel and the lions’ den (Daniel 6)

From the Minor Prophets

Hosea told to marry a prostitute (Hosea 1)

Joel’s vision of the future (Joel 2.28–32)

Amos’ condemnation of the king (Amos 7.10–17)

Jonah (Jonah 1–4)

From the Gospels

The birth of Jesus is promised (Luke 1.26–38)

Mary gives birth to Jesus (Luke 2.1–7)

The shepherds and the angels (Luke 2.8–20)

The visit of the wise men (Matthew 2.1–12)

Jesus is taken to the temple (Luke 2.22–40)

Joseph, Mary and Jesus escape to Egypt (Matthew 2.13–23)

Jesus gets lost in the temple (Luke 2.41–52)

John the Baptist announces Jesus (Matthew 3.1–12)

Jesus is baptised (Mark 1.9–11)

Jesus is tempted in the wilderness (Luke 4.1–13)

Jesus calls the first disciples (Mark 1.16–20)

Jesus changes water into wine (John 2.1–11)

Jesus heals a paralysed man (Mark 2.1–12)

Jesus talks to a Samaritan woman (John 4.4–42)

Jesus calms a storm (Matthew 8.23–27)

Jesus heals Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5.21–43)

John the Baptist is beheaded (Matthew 14.1–12)

Jesus feeds five thousand people (John 6.1–15)

Jesus walks on water (Matthew 14.22–33)

Peter recognises Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 8.27–30)

The transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9.28–36)

Jesus rescues a woman caught in adultery (John 8.1–11)

Jesus heals a man born blind (John 9)

The parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10.25–37)

Mary, Martha and Jesus (Luke 10.38–42)

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11.1–44)

The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15.11–32)

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16.19–31)

Zacchaeus the tax collector (Luke 19.1–10)

Mary anoints Jesus’ feet (John 12.1–8)

Jesus washes the disciples’ feet (John 13.1–30)

Jesus has a last supper with his friends (Mark 14.12–26)

Jesus is arrested in the garden of Gethsemane (John 18.1–13)

Peter denies Jesus (Luke 22.54–62)

Jesus is crucified (Mark 15.20–41)

Jesus is buried (Matthew 27.57–66)

The resurrection (Matthew 28.1–15)

The road to Emmaus (Luke 24.13–35)

Mary meets the risen Jesus (John 20.1–18)

The great commission (Matthew 28.16–20)

Jesus forgives Peter (John 21)

From ‘The Good News Spreads’

Jesus ascends into heaven (Acts 1.4–11)

The Holy Spirit is sent to the disciples (Acts 2.1–13)

Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5.1–11)

The stoning of Stephen (Acts 6.8—7.1 and 7.54–60)

The conversion of Saul (Acts 9.1–19)

Peter’s escape from prison (Acts 12.1–17)

The council in Jerusalem (Acts 15)

Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16.16–40)

Paul preaches in Athens (Acts 17.16–34)

Paul is shipwrecked (Acts 27.1—28.15)

Paul preaches in Rome (Acts 28.16–31)

[lizeng]

Mistakes I made and lessons I learned as a founder

Recently, I've been reading a lot on Startup School from Y Combinator and realized that the biggest mistake I made in building something was starting with an idea (a solution), rather than a problem.

Since 2016, I've undertaken three major projects with the goal of turning them into full-time companies, but none of them succeeded. Despite sticking with each project for at least a year and learning a great deal in the process, I made the most common mistake that many creatives make when starting something: beginning with an idea instead of identifying a problem that people face. Even with more experience in building scalable digital products, I still tend to start with an idea in my most recent project at FunKudo.

FunKudo

When my engineer friend asked me to build something, we started brainstorming to come up with startup ideas. I was inspired by a product I saw on Indie Hackers, as well as my past experience creating visual cards for co-workers. Almost immediately, I decided to work on this idea and mocked up the interaction flow for FunKudo. One friend commented on how impressive it was that I landed on this idea so quickly, but also found it somewhat alarming.

However, the biggest struggle I faced later was that I didn't know what exact problem I was solving or what audience I was targeting. Even when I joined an accelerator program, my elevator pitch didn't start with a problem I was solving, but with a vision/opportunity I saw. This is a mistake and I should have focused on falling in love with a problem instead. These problems can naturally arise from past experiences or from a space where co-founders are already familiar.

Another lesson I learned is the importance of finding co-founders to bounce ideas off of, especially those with different backgrounds and skill sets. From FunKudo, I realized that I have limited knowledge of GTM, sales, and growth. While I'm comfortable building and testing the product, I need someone in sales and marketing to take care of the selling side of the business. Of course, I hope to learn new skills along the way, but it will be more efficient to allow co-founders who are experts in their field to do their magic. I also need to conduct research by talking to founders in this space, as well as potential users who may be interested in the product.

Peach Plum Lab

I founded Peach Plum Lab in January 2019, which continued until almost August 2020. During that time, I was also working at another company, a community building platform for creators and entrepreneurs. I was inspired by the work of marketers and solo entrepreneurs such as Amy Porterfield's Online Marketing Made Easy, Steve Chou's My Wife Quit Her Job, and Daniel Leslie's Course from Scratch. I learned how these individuals started their journeys and built successful businesses from the ground up. I thought that building an audience through a podcast would allow me to promote any courses, products, and future ventures to that group.

At the time, I was extremely passionate about the educational space and, combining that with my work at Little Launchers, I believed that kid entrepreneurship was the way to go. So, while still working full-time, I started a weekly podcast and interviewed parents, educators, and kid creators. I also connected with several founders who were dedicated to the kid entrepreneur space. It required a lot of persistence and hard work to produce a weekly podcast, but I learned a lot. However, even after more than 50 episodes, when I was ready to launch a live course with Ashly So, a young fashion designer, my podcast had no impact on course sales. The only three students I had were friends' kids and their friends. I was discouraged and realized how difficult it is to build a business that's not scalable and relies on content creation.

The biggest lesson I learned from this experience is that creating a routine of posting on social media or publishing a podcast/video doesn't guarantee an audience or conversion to customers. If there's no customer base or traction to the channel, it can also be a waste of effort.

Little Launchers

In 2016, my friend Erica and I started a project to develop a series of books. We spent more than 6 months interviewing entrepreneur kids and running a Kickstarter campaign to raise $20K. The campaign was successful, as we reached our fundraising goal.

Working with Erica, who is an amazing marketer, writer, and business person, was a great learning experience. We complemented each other's skill sets well. However, I also learned that a niche market can limit the growth of a product or service. Entrepreneurship education is not mainstream for today's kids, and it was more of a passion project for Erica and me. Many parents were not aware of this space, and it was not a real problem they or their kids faced. Although kid entrepreneurs and authors value this type of content, parents would not typically search for entrepreneurship solutions for their children. Despite this, we saw an interesting opportunity and pursued it.

Overall, my biggest mistake throughout all my projects was starting with an idea instead of identifying a problem that people face. Additionally, finding co-founders with diverse backgrounds and skill sets is crucial. If I were to start a new venture, I would first focus on finding the right co-founder and then identify a real problem that I am passionate about solving. The rest will follow, and I know there are many paths to success. Through trial and error, the way forward will eventually become clear.

#entrepreneurship #founder

[brightgnosis]

March Calendar Nonsense

🌊 Wednesday, March 1st: Lá Céadamh

Paying of the Spring Rents to the Genii Locorum, and drawing of the waters for the Spring Rites.

🎭 Monday, March 6th: Fast of Esther

Ancestral Observance (not observed)

🎭 Tuesday, March 7th: Purim

Ancestral Observance (not observed)

🌿 Tuesday, March 7th: Green ᶠᵘˡˡMoon

Annual Esbat and Full Moon Message Divination

😌 Tuesday, March 7th: Ritual / Lecture with Dr. Daniel Foor

Risking Joy and Happiness: On Thriving in Troubled Times

🕯️ Sunday, March 12th [through] Monday, March 20th: Novara

Similar to Novena (which lights the way to Winter's Beginning), a candle is lit at dusk each night for the 9 days leading up to the Liturgical New Year at Spring’s Welcome in order to usher in the light of the year and light the way for the Great Queen to come forth from the Great Tomb.

💍 Monday, March 13th: Wedding Anniversary!

Celebrating 8 years married!

🦋 Tuesday, March 14th: Lepitera

Celebrates Butterflies and Moths as the representatives and heralds of Spring (especially those which are endangered or at risk).

🍀 Friday, March 17th: St. Pádraig's Day

Ancestral Observance (semi-observed out of habit)

🍑 Monday, March 20th [through] Tuesday, March 21st: Pevitnia

Peach Blossom Festival and the beginning of the Orchard season, with a secondary emphasis on the internal family, the Hearth, and the Home.

🌿 Tuesday, March 21st: Green ᴺᵉʷMoon

Celebrates the reawakening of The Great Queen, and the subsequent beginning the Overworld Era of the Sabbat Cycle; Chava is ritually stirred from her slumber and then drawn out of the Temple Beneath the Earth with song and bells- then plied with lush gifts of welcome for her return as Our Lady of the Green (and in order to curry favor for the yearly renewal of the Contract of Faith and Land).

🥮 Tuesday, March 21st: Vernal Equinox

Adoration / Elevation of HaShem as The All; Center of the Universe and creation.

🍵 Wednesday, March 22nd: Ritual with Baelyn Elspeth

Tea, Ceremony, and Daily Practice

⌛ Wednesday, March 29th [through] Friday, March 31st: Hagging Out

Equinox Redux!

Someone save me. This month is so busy- and how are so many things on one day all at once this year ?!

#2023 #Personal #A Direct Look At My Practice #Calendar Nonsense #Full Month Calendar Outline #Religion & Magic #Oklahoma

[leeyanyanyaaan]

Levanter - Dystopian Celestial AU (ft. Time and Memory Cast)

Dystopian Celestial AU [Copypasted from a conversation]

i wanna make a sub au where its supernatural/holy entites mixed w dystopia (+ redesign my fallen angel oc designs)

inspired by ff7, horizon and probably a bunch of other games i forgot

mainly ff7, even tho i havent even played the game LMAO

but ive seen a few clips and i like the environment/graphics/vibes

so for now just think of a dystopian setting where the angels demons and allsorts exist

nothing too supernatural

probably conflict within society

the setting i think it has a junkyard type vibes

for fits they'd have more streetwear/cyberpunk (as in the game, not so much the modern full of belts) fits

knowing tetsuya nomura, designs might be on the more obscure side (if youve seen some of the kh designs you might(?) get a bit of the feel??)

i'd think abt a lot of leather, heavy duty jackets, worn out clothing, cargo pants, combat boots

and dark color schemes

as for lore

the world is kinda in a state of poverty (typical dystopian setting), humans hate the holy supernatural thinking they're the cause of their misery

its like the gods abandoned the humans

and humans think the supernaturals are so full of themselves

the supernaturals think humans are idiots for blaming their problems on them 

and basically theres tension/conflict between the two sides (not to mention between heaven and hell but even then, they're more on neutral terms than with humans ironically)

i think even supernaturals feel abandoned by gods in this world

theyre not necessarily holy

theyre questioning their own existence

demons dont care as much but angels are probably lost and just doing what they can”

NEW ADDITION: 4 DISTRICTS - Protection(Earth), Power(Fire), Creation(Water), Liberty(Air) - used to be united until conflicts raised and differences in opinion. [NAMES TBD]

now for what could be an upcoming project/story i might write...

Levanter

(Title inspired by this song)

Summary: Lee, being fed up with having to be an angel and her overly devoted angel family and their ways, ran away and ripped her wings off in the process. The escape process was a dangerously risky one, having been hunted down by the angels who refused to let her leave, resulting in her suffering heavy injuries as she collapsed after venturing as far away as possible. a nearby settlement [Liberty], alerted by the disturbance, finds the girl upon their investigation and brings her in. When Lee wakes up, she is only able to remember her name, but is nonetheless accepted refuge in their settlement. Basically, what happens throughout the story is that Lee learns to be human, slowly gets back her memories, and starts turning into a fallen angel.

Cast 

Lee - Cornelia Lee Santo ('04) - Fallen Angel

Elijah - Elijah James de la Cruz ('03) - Half-Angel (front line) 

Elena - Elena Mae de la Cruz ('03) - Half-Angel (front line) 

Joshua - Jeongseok Lee ('03) - Human (logistics) 

Jessica - Jisoo Lee ('03) - Human (logistics) 

Mariel - Angelina Mariel Bautista ('01) - Angel (medic) 

Samsul - Samsul Hakim ('00) - Human (strategist) 

Yuki - Yukiteru Sakimoto ('04) - Human (watcher) 

Zack - Gabriel Zackary Santiago ('04) - Nephilim (versatile/future high ranker) 

Beatrice - Beatrice Abigail Mendoza ('04) - Angel 

“Shun” - Shuchang Chen ('05) - Cyborg/Android (experiment, from the land of Creation)

Vincent - Vincent Nathan Khan ('05) - Nephalem

Daniel Chanyeol Yoon ('02) - Half-Demon [these three are from the land of Power]

Seonghoon Kim ('03) - Human

Caleb Jayden Ramos ('04) - Angel [+3 more undeveloped OCs (all ‘05/’06 line)]

#original character #original characters #oc #oc original story #oc work #original work #orignial au #leeyanyan's work #time and memory universe #levanter #levanter au #levanter; leeyanyan #levanter: time and memory au #dystopian celestial au #fallen angel au #Youtube