#Jesus example vulnerability

[bdking71]

The Silent Battles No One Sees: Finding God in the Quietest Fights

963 words, 5 minutes read time. Not long ago, I shared a story called “I Lied and Said I Was Fine: A Hebrew Slave’s Confession from Egypt’s Brickyards.” In it, I imagined a man worn down by brutal work and silence, forced to hide his pain behind a mask of “I’m fine.” That mask—like Nahshon’s stubborn self-reliance and hidden doubts—can become a prison. The author’s note on Nahshon’s story…

[talentforlying]

interesting to think about how constantine isn't commonly read as being the most morally upright of characters, and that's generally a fair assessment. but at the same time he can still be a surprisingly ethical character, particularly in terms of the values he holds synonymous with being a good community member.

a couple examples of (what i think are) his most consistently held values throughout the hellblazer series:

constantine feels very strongly about things like defending people's bodily autonomy and showing kindness & compassion towards society's more vulnerable demographics, especially kids & unhoused people.

he frequently & sincerely upholds the basic principles of xenia (showing hospitality towards foreigners, guests, and anyone whose fate is in your hands), and possesses a deep, innate sense of justice that he is unafraid to uphold when he feels it necessary to do so.

he personally values survival above honor but still has a healthy appreciation for people that are committed to a code,

he respects integrity more than he'd respect a good liar (even if he fucking hates you, at least you're being true to yourself; can't help it if yourself is just a prick),

and he is CONSTANTLY PLAGUED by a deeply personal sense of social responsibility to try and nip potential threats to the world, to his city, or to his friends in the bud if he thinks it might be within his capabilities to do so.

of course, it's key to note that constantine's code of ethics was also founded primarily in accordance with the principles of '70s-'80s counterculture + still largely abides by the social beliefs of the same-era punk community, and thus also includes more subjectively-judged tenets such as challenging the establishment, defying the government, protecting individual liberties, taking direct action in support of your community, putting people above possessions at every turn, and actively addressing social issues wherever / whenever you encounter them. so he's not always viewed by other characters (particularly upper-class bootlicking ones) as being particularly ethical. doesn't change the fact that constantine still adamantly maintains certain major ethical principles in accordance with the social systems he inhabits and was raised in.

[obsessivefangirl]

If true Christianity could be spread through peer pressure and forceful actions, wouldn't you think Jesus would've taught through that?

[o4o41]

We've missed a big time on a female big-name representation.

Hello.

How are you?

I have an idea for Mona Lisa.

Tell me your thoughts.

Since the female turtle ban is over. She can be more a female turtle and be named after a "Frankenstein's Monster" autor Marry Shelly what do you think? And she is an artist, like living marks on desks of a mysteriously smirking woman.

Sounds like you're trying to make an OC, not a Mona Lisa. Which is totally cool. I think you should explore that idea as a character. As for me, I love Mona as a lizard girl of one kind or another. And will probably always keep her that way. At least for my little corner of the fan community. Thank you for the ask!

[avelera]

Unwell thinking about how the possibility to push Viktor to ask for more of Jayce's attention, or even to remove Mel from the picture, didn't even OCCUR to Future Viktor. Because he truly thinks that Jayce can't possibly unconditionally accept him and his flaws. He NEEDS to be physically perfect first.

So the timeline of Jesus Viktor keeps playing out as an inevitability, partially fueled by Jayce's attention being pulled towards the Council and missing a lot of red flags happening with Viktor.

When all it would have taken was Viktor directly asking Jayce for help or attention instead of skirting around the issue/generalising it to "people need our help". That sweet dog of a man would have dropped anything if only you asked, Viktor

Jayce would have dropped EVERYTHING, E V E R Y T H I N G if just ONCE Viktor had given him an unambiguous, "Help me!" I believe this in my bones.

And this gets into something I love about S1, which is how airtight it is written (S2 has a lot of bigger events but lays less groundwork, it's why I give it a 95% instead of a 100% like S1, just as a writer). Because you can go back to S1 and see every single moment that people could have prevented what comes later, and exactly why they were unable to do so.

You can see that Silco wants to shut down the bridge to trap Vi in the undercity -> He tells Marcus to find a way to shut down the bridge -> Jayce as a new Council is flustered and overwhelmed so when Marcus says the only way to be 100% safe is to shut down the bridge he says sure, let's do that then, because Marcus deliberately only gave an engineer one solution so the engineer listened -> Viktor gets trapped in the blockade after acquiring Shimmer, he's nervous and on edge because he has illegal drugs on him for an illegal experiment -> Jayce is overwhelmed and harried and freaking out because he's been summoned down to the bridge to collect Viktor. He's also freaking out because he's now worried for Viktor's safety because he's been getting fed crisis after crisis about how it's the people from the undercity who are dangerous, he just saw death for the first time after Jinx's explosion and he grew up with Piltover prejudices that are resurfacing under the assault of Silco's machinations, Jinx's attacks, and Marcus's manipulations -> Jayce freaks out and yells at Viktor out of fear for his life -> Viktor who was in an emotionally vulnerable place, fearing for his own life and worried he'd lose Jayce's regard if he proceeds hears Singed's voice in his head saying Jayce might not understand, decides not to tell Jayce about the Shimmer. Jayce's prejudices also push Viktor to clam up instead of going to him for help like he might have otherwise -> overall the chaos on the bridge and the Molotov further heightens the tension and robs Jayce and Viktor of a moment where Viktor would have felt comfortable coming clean, asking for Jayce's help, or bringing him in on the experiment -> Sky dies as a result -> EVERYTHING that happens in Act 2 as a result of Viktor doing those Hexcore experiments alone.

Like that's just one example of how that one bridge scene argument is caught in an incredibly intricate web of human cause and effect, it's fucking genius.

But we see why Viktor didn't ask for help, even aside from that one conversation on the bridge. He generally doesn't ask for help, perhaps because of his disability and his pride, perhaps out of shame because he knows these experiments are extreme, perhaps out of fear because he doesn't want Jayce to know how close to death he really is and fear clouds your judgement, perhaps because it's a very human, self-defeating thing to do.

And as for not asking Jayce to dump Mel... how could he? He's dying. When he dies, Jayce is going to be alone in the world, how can he begrudge him a new partner? Even if he despises her existence in Jayce's life with every fiber of his being? Especially when she seems to represent that he and Jayce's paths in life have diverged, and maybe that's what's best for Jayce! He has a promising future elsewhere, even if Viktor hates it, he's dying and he doesn't have the right to ask Jayce to change, not unless he can cure himself. Not unless he can offer himself as a real alternative.

Which is what makes the Mel-inspired look for his robot in 2.08 so fucking bonkers. Like wow, Viktor did it! He cured his disease and transcended humanity and he's working on their dream like they always wanted and he's BACK and he's ready to FIGHT for Jayce's time and attention, while effectively cosplaying as a robot version of Mel, in the Council Chamber that stole so much of Jayce's attention as if he needed to do any of those things to get Jayce's attention other than just ask him for it directly using his words.

[muzaktomyears]

The secret messages Lennon and McCartney hid in the Beatles’ songs

As Ian Leslie’s superb book John & Paul explains, the greatest songwriting partnership in pop history was a volatile and tortured one

★★★★★ 5/5

John Lennon and Paul McCartney in November 1963

John Lennon and Paul McCartney may have been only half of the Fab Four, but don’t expect Ian Leslie to write a “George and Ringo” book. The Beatles’ beating heart was always Lennon and McCartney. In John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs, Leslie, whose previous books have focused on applied philosophy, examines their relationship through the lens of individual tracks. We’re taken from Come Go With Me, the doo-wop number that Lennon sang at a Woolton church fete in 1957 when the pair met, to Here Today, McCartney’s 1981 tribute to his murdered friend.

The Lennon-McCartney songwriting powerhouse, which would produce around 180 songs, began in earnest in 1962 after the two men made the decision to sideline George Harrison. (Ironically, the latter’s Here Comes the Sun, from 1969, is today the most streamed Beatles song on Spotify.) Their partnership became a private dialogue, even as millions fell in love with the music. Few knew, for example, that Lennon’s I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party, a 1964 Beatles song, was raking over McCartney’s real-life 21st birthday celebrations a year earlier, during which Lennon had savagely beat up Cavern compère Bob Wooler for joking that the singer’s holiday with gay Beatles manager Brian Epstein had been a “honeymoon”. 

Wracked by self-doubt even as the Beatles conquered the world, Lennon developed what Leslie describes as a “charisma of vulnerability”, evident in the lyrics of Strawberry Fields Forever, a track “finely poised between dream and nightmare”. It inspired McCartney to write the single’s flipside, Penny Lane. Both lyrics swathe in surreality various Liverpool locations that were significant to their writers. Leslie imagines the songs “facing each other, deep in conversation. Radically different, but umbilically connected.”

Early Lennon-McCartney songs were written “eyeball-to-eyeball”, quite literally: Leslie notes the “intensity” of the duo’s eye-contact in Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary The Beatles: Get Back. “When John wasn’t being looked at by Paul,” Leslie writes, “he didn’t know who he was supposed to be.” (Or, as Lennon tells McCartney in Get Back, as they work on Two of Us: “It’s like you and me are lovers.”) In the Beatles’ final public performance, on their Savile Row rooftop in January 1969, Leslie suggests that “Paul can see that John is happy, and because John is happy, Paul is euphoric.” In recent live concerts, McCartney has used the footage in a virtual “duet” with Lennon.

Leslie’s analysis, empathetic and carefully sourced, reaches its apogee with his account of the rift that emerged in India in 1968. The Beatles had gone to Rishikesh for meditation and enlightenment under the tutelage of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Lennon and McCartney wrote scores of songs there, including most of the “White Album”. 

But in this spiritual and creative idyll, Lennon suffered a breakdown. He had long harboured feelings of betrayal and loss: abandoned by his parents, he was brought up by an aunt; when in his teens he got to know his mother, she was killed in a road accident. His close friend and original Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe had died; so, more recently, had Epstein. The Maharishi hadn’t brought an end to the trauma as Lennon had hoped: worse, to Lennon McCartney seemed indifferent to his pain, and left Rishikesh early without him. Back in London, in a drug-fuelled madness, Lennon announced to the rest of the Beatles that he was Jesus, and howled with pain on the song Yer Blues. 

Lennon in 1975, post-Beatles break-up, with Yoko Ono (l) at a London protest 

After the Beatles stopped touring in 1966, the two men had spent less time together. Lennon sank into depression. His musical dialogue with McCartney continued, even after the Beatles split in 1970, but it took a darker form: listen to How Do You Sleep?, a 1971 anti-McCartney diatribe that contains the line “The only thing you did was yesterday.” Yesterday, the first Beatles recording to have featured just one member of the group (McCartney), remained as much a source of bitterness for Lennon as of wonder. He asked a friend whether Imagine was “as good as Yesterday”. Conversely, in his 1973 song I Know (I Know), by which time post-split tempers had cooled, Lennon would sing: “I love you more than yesterday.” 

John & Paul is an elegantly written and original telling of the Beatles’ story, which is as enthralling and astonishing as their music. There are fresh insights for the most seasoned Fab Four fan. Decades after their split, listening to the Beatles can still yield new rewards, and Leslie is an expert listener. As he puts it, describing Hey Jude: “What started so modestly, one human addressing another, culminates in this massed glory.”

(source)

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Okay so here, I think, is why I think Red, White and Royal Blue succeeds spectacularly as a romcom, and actually to me is a better-than-average take on the genre.

First, the leads have absolutely scorching chemistry. They are incredibly believable as two men absolutely infatuated with each other. They each kiss like drowning men shown water, right down to how each grabs at the other, at hair or back or neck and face.

They each have developed their character having a specific characteristic even when flirting or kissing. Henry grabs Alex's hair, for example, every single time, in a way that makes it clear he spends serious time thinking about that hair.

Fair enough, Henry.

They also do something even goddamn better.

They are friends. They are believable as two people who could actually get along long enough to fall in love.

They are allowed to become FRIENDS.

They are given time to get to know each other before they get physical. You can feel their interest in each other growing. And, to my opinion, you can tell that Henry is feeling Alex out through texts to see if the interest might be reciprocated even though he thinks it can't possibly be.

One thing that kills me about romcoms is how the leads will have witty "sexy" banter but don't seem to actually like each other. They are enemies who fall into bed but aren't really believable as lovers.

Henry and Alex are believable, because they... Well. They're impossibly silly even when tearing at each other's clothes. They have awkward moments.

They laugh.

Alex laughs in bed. He holds Henry in a way that is romantic, openly so. Henry is overcoming the conditioned hesitation and avoidance he has, his smiles and warmth and laughter come with rare vulnerability - Alex is a man who throws himself head first into life and has no such compunctions in the moment. He laughs because this is awesome and Jesus Christ, Prince Henry is too hot to be real.

They like each other, they stumble, they laugh.

But also, another reason this works so well?

The sex scene isn't scorching.

Watching the sex scene felt realistically intimate. It felt like I had walked in one real people and needed to leave. It was intense in a way that felt like something I maybe wasn't meant to see.

It was filmed so well. So much romanticism and deeply felt adoration in a simple grasping of a hand, the look in soft eyes, a hand pressed against a back. The edge of a knee just in frame. Looking up and looking down.

It felt like we walked into their room during and saw them both laid utterly bare.

Henry's look of vulnerability and nerves and pleasure, Alex looking slowly over his face to take it all in. Moving slowly, then, when everything they do before this is hurried or hidden.

It works as a romcom because you believe 100% these two men could get to like each other, fall in love, and stay that way.

You believe Henry's very real terror of rejection from the public because he already knows his family, beyond his sister, will reject him. You believe that Alex is a headstrong idealist who is sure that you can bulldoze through any wall too tall to climb.

And you believe that between the two of them, they can find a way around the wall entirely.

This movie is a master class on how a movie can get you to suspend so much disbelief if the leads sell their characters. The importance of believable chemistry.

And also... Isn't it nice to see a queer love story in a world that is, in some ways, just a few shades better than our own?

P.S. you cannot tell me Stephen Fry did not chew the goddamn scenery in circles all around everyone during his single scene. That man was having a ball.

[achromatophoric]

Three girls discuss the new student that just entered the far side of the Quad.

Bianca: He’s a what now?

Enid: Gacha werewolf. It’s like a stupid rare subspecies of lycanthrope.

Wednesday: They are more of a mutation than a true subspecies.

Bianca: I’ll bite. Tell me more.

Enid: Okay, so like gacha werewolves are one of the contagious lycans, who can—

Bianca: —transmit lycanthropy. I know. I was actually awake during the lecture.

Enid: *blushes* Right! Well um—the bizarro thing is, the bite of a gacha doesn’t pass on full werewolfism.

Bianca: Huh? What’s that mean?

Wednesday: The recipient of the bite only receives a single lupine aspect associated with lycanthropes.

Bianca: You mean just—

Enid: Just the fur or claws. Or only the ears. Maybe the nose. Basically, they get ONE trait—

Bianca: 😦

Enid: —and they usually won’t know what that trait even is UNTIL the full moon.

Bianca: Jesus. That… that’s some kinda F’d.

Wednesday: It is delightfully tragic, especially since additional infections will bestow further traits. This leads many infected to continue pursuing bites in vain hopes of becoming a “complete” werewolf.

Bianca: Huh. I guess that makes sense. But why is it in vain?

Wednesday: Firstly, the traits differ in rarity. For example, fur is notably more common than canine teeth, while accelerated healing is exceptionally rare.

Bianca: So becoming a complete werewolf takes hundreds of bites? Less if you’re lucky? That doesn’t sound too terrible.

Wednesday: Secondly, the traits compound.

Bianca:

Bianca: What?

Enid: She means they stack. Just ’cause a gacha werewolf already has a trait doesn’t mean they can’t get the same one again. Multiple times, even.

Bianca: Shit.

Wednesday: Quite. That includes the far less desirable traits, such as vulnerability to silver or wolf’s bane, or even latent canine instincts like the juvenile urge to chase their own tail.

Enid: Yeah, it can get super bad. I once knew a girl who, on a full moon, would grow like thirty-six nipples, three tails, and fur only on her legs.

Bianca: 😟

Enid: She also could and would a smell a butt from over six miles away. *shudders*

Bianca: 😬

Bianca: That’s… geeze, that is fucking awful. So is that why they’re so rare? Because of how messed up the whole thing is? I’m guessing werewolf society closely monitors and regulates them.

Enid: Uhhhh… yes and no.

Bianca: What do you mean by—

Some student: HELP! GET A NURSE! SOMEONE SAID “SILVER” AROUND RALPH!

Other student: STOP SAYING SILVER AROUND—OHFUCK!!

Gacha werewolf Ralph: 😵

Bianca: 😨

Wednesday: As I said, some traits are more common than others, and Lady Luck can be a dreadfully cruel mistress.

Enid: Yeah, that dude really shoulda stopped at just one. I mean like seriously, what kind of dumbass—

*Ding!*

Enid: *checks phone* Ooh, my resin just replenished! Gimme a bit. This girl’s gotta grind herself some Genshin!

Bianca/Wednesday: 😑😒

Across the Quad: 😱😱 ���

[toweringclam]

Who is Kris? pt 2, Kris the Human

Kris is a human. They're the only human in the game. This is, unsurprisingly, very important to understanding their character.

So what does it mean to be a human in this world?

Well, we know that humans and monsters coexist. They were either never banished underground, or emerged a long time ago. Monsters in this world have Determination, therefore they would not be quite as vulnerable to humans as they are in Undertale. Still, there's an understandable fear of humans, to the point where one of Noelle's childhood terrors was a human under her bed.

There also seems to be a de facto, if not de jure, segregation between humans and monsters. Susie is implied to have lived with humans, and it was not a pleasant experience for her. Her piano story sounds like textbook racism.

So humans are racist against monsters, while monsters fear them. That makes sense. It also makes things difficult for Kris.

It's clear that from a young age, Kris had some sort of complex about being human. They cried when they found out they were never getting horns, but Asriel gave them a set of fake horns to wear. A sweet gesture that I think might have been misguided. Kris needed to be reassured about their humanity, not given monster prosthetics. Every other disability discussed in my previous post is not unusual for monsters, but Kris is still unavoidably the only human most monsters will see in their lifetimes. That has to have an effect on them. Does it hurt to be made of blood?

Yeah. It really does.

Worse, we can't ignore the effect of the prophecy on Kris. Even though most parts of the prophecy have been lost with time, and that parts that have survived have been retold and adapted so many times it's hard to tell what is even real, Kris must have known that they could have a role in it. Did they flinch every time the "human parts and soul" were mentioned in Sunday Saturday School?

It's no wonder they started to act out. They terrorized other children, playing up their nature as a weird and scary human. Noelle was a frequent target of their pranks and, though she came to enjoy it, sometimes they went too far.

Does this sound familiar?

This is very similar to how Chara behaved, terrorizing Asriel instead. Chara also was uncomfortable with humanity because, as loving as monsters were to them, they still feared humans. Both of Kris and Chara had the vague suggestion they might be some kind of savior hanging over their head, the one who could break the barrier or the cage with human parts and soul.

This is why Kris sometimes seems like a merger between Frisk and Chara: They are Frisk raised under the same circumstances as Chara. Of course the outcomes are similar, but there are still key differences.

For example, from what little hints we get about their backstories before falling, it seems like Chara suffered more abuse while Frisk suffered more neglect. As a result, Kris never developed Chara's hatred of mankind as a whole. Instead, they just came to hate their own humanity. The thing that kept them apart from others. And while Chara internalized the view of themselves as a potential savior of monsterkind, Kris clearly rejected the prophecy, becoming the monster equivalent of an edgy teenage satanist. They didn't want to be human at all, even if it meant being Jesus.

Next time, I'll get into some of the specific events that shaped them

[aestariiwilderness]

Abortion is Murder & Unbiblical

The Bible does not use the word abortion. How could it? The term itself as a procedure wasn't invented yet! However, the Bible does cover: 

Humanity's inherent value and rights as (uniquely among creation) made in the image of God

Murder

Child/infant murder as something abhorrent to God

Life's beginnings, indirectly (although that also has biological support) 

Legal ramifications of killing a child in the womb 

How God sees and interacts with children in the womb 

How we as His followers are meant to treat children 

What He expects us to do for the defenseless and vulnerable (i.e., the most defenseless and vulnerable human imaginable is the one in the womb) 

And how the question of following Him and His Word is what makes or breaks the difference between a Christian and someone who claims the name but is tragically unsaved  Below are some verses and some additional explication (partial credit: @glowsticks-and-jesus)  

Proverbs 31:8 

Luke 1:44 

2nd Kings 17:17 

Jeremiah 19:5 

Genesis 9:6 

Exodus 21:22-25 

Matthew 7:20 - 23 

John 15:14 

1st John 1:5-10, 2:3-6 

Exodus 20:13 

Mark 10:13-15 Leviticus 20:3-5 (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/mizzaro_2233.htm) 

Matthew 18:10, 14

Psalm 22:10

Jacob & Esau, John the Baptist, Samson, etc. 

Judges 16:17  Glowsticks-and-Jesus Collection:

"Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.'"Jeremiah 1:4-5

"The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name."Isaiah 49:1

John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary greeted her cousin (Luke 1:39-45), an example that babies in utero are responsive human beings already aware of the outside world.

The righteous Hebrew midwives at the time of Moses pleased God by saving babies deemed unworthy of life by the authorities of their day (Ex. 1:15-21).

 As an additional note -- these references are included above, but worth a second mention -- it's plain that child sacrifice - child murder - is something that God abhors and explicitly does not command. I'd look here (https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/19-5.htm) and here (https://biblehub.com/2_kings/17-17.htm) and check out the cross-references as well. Likewise, there is direct support for laws against murder and the protection of the unborn (up to capital punishment) in the Bible (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:22-25  -- an additional reference here included about the common misunderstanding of the latter verses: https://www.str.org/w/what-exodus-21-22-says-about-abortion).

In summary -- it's possible (although, I believe, it does deprive its proponents of a foundational basis for the value of life) to be both secular and anti-abortion. But it is not possible for a Christian who truly understands their faith, their God, and His Word to be pro-abortion.

[crk-kr-to-en]

I’m thinking about what you said (at least, I think it was you?) about English Shamil being like Walmart Bill Cipher/Discord. I largely do agree but with one suggested correction- EN Shamil is like the fanon/surface level interpretation of these two characters. Ya see, I’ve been in both those fandoms and engaged with and enjoyed the shows for both- but what I’ve been seeing from your translations from Korean is that Shamil is an incredibly desperate character- and so are Bill Cipher and Discord! What the EN translation turned into “haha look at me I’m crrrraaaaaaaazy 🤪 killing and chaos is fun, who needs a reason?” from the KR source of “Pay attention to me or I’ll blow this whole building up. Also I don’t actually know what I even want and I’ll crash tf out if confronted on it in a way I can’t just lie out of,” is INCREDIBLY similar to Bill Cipher and Discord. Problem is, it is wholly UNLIKE early fanon interpretations of those two. Really, the fanon interpretations of Bill and Discord + the EN Shamil are how they want to be perceived, because of their insecurities (well not Discord by the end because he’s the only one who did NOT fumble a baddie but that’s a different discussion).

In conclusion, all three of them are incredibly desperate and lonely characters who want nothing more to be known, seen, and loved for who they are by someone who can keep up with them but will literally die before they allow themselves to become vulnerable and trusting enough to let that happen, even and especially when it comes to admitting it to themselves (except for Discord everyone say Congrats Discord for actually changing /j).

Hope I didn’t misinterpret Shadow Milk Cookie and that this analysis made sense and was relevant.

Yessss!!! You're right!!!!! (Approved by me and my friend who are certified Korean Shamil enjoyers lol.)

"Discord by the end because he’s the only one who did NOT fumble a baddie" RIGHT!!! HELL YEAH!! LET'S GO DISCORD!!!! I did use Discord as a comparison example for him but only on a comment lol. Anyway, they all share the blueprint of control freak(or emo, edgy and depressed) x some random guy who holds the kindness of a thousands suns(bonus if Jesus coded) in different flavors.

[hazamacore]

Eva's crow motif & Wolfgang's sheep motif - the relevance of animals in Project: Eden's Garden going forwards

As a disclaimer, Wolfgang of course has two animal motifs - the sheep and the wolf. In this specific post I will only cover the former as I believe it is most relevant in relation to Eva and this first chapter in general. I personally think that his wolf motif will become more apparent as the story progresses and Wolfgang continues to haunt the narrative. As for Eva - many of the things attributed to crows also apply to ravens and some have absolutely pointed out the associations ravens specifically have (Aesop's fables, the Tower of London myth, Edgar Allen Poe) that relate to Eva. I will not be touching on that in this post and am instead focusing on the different species of crow.

With that out of the way - major spoilers for chapter one of Project: Eden's Garden ahead!

& This is a text only version of my tiktok post, if you are more visual and would prefer to read it there!

WOLFGANG & THE SHEEP

The most blatant is that sheep hold great Biblical significance not least because Jesus Christ himself is referred to as the "Lamb of God" and the term "sacrificial lamb" derives from exactly that in Christ's sacrifice to atone the sins of humanity. Wolfgang as a Christ-like figure being killed by Eva named after the first to sin paints the perfect picture for the commencement of the killing game.

Wolfgang is treated by the majority of the cast, barring Eva, Damon and arguably Ulysses and Wenona, as a "saviour". The most explicit example of this thinking is asserted by Desmond after Eva's trial as he refers to Wolfgang as "one of the only people who could've handled this situation" who could have "made progress on escaping". He acts as this guiding light towards salvation for them as sheep are social, flock animals, and shepherds symbols of guidance. Until he is killed and the ideas of atonement and salvation die with him, even as Diana attempts to "resurrect" his image.

"And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord." (Bible, Moses 5:7, Adam and Eve sacrifice a lamb to God)

If we take Tozu's role in the academy and killing game to be equivalent to that of God, then his animal motif being a ram/goat neatly links to Wolfgang's sheep and Christ symbolism. Tozu is the father, Wolfgang is the son, and Eva (as the bird) is the Holy Spirit and all three are bound together as one in this murder case that implicates them all. Not to mention how Eva literally sacrifices Wolfgang, the lamb, to Tozu, the God.

Shakespeare is an interesting perspective to take into account considering Tozu's theatrical nature and the consistent references to theatre within P:EG (EG: Tozu referencing Horace in the prologue). In Shakespeare's plays, sheep are often symbolic of vulnerability and used as a means of "peripeteia" - the turning point where the narrative's tone darkens. Wolfgang's murder, the first murder, abides by this perfectly. His death symbolises the death of any semblance of order and justice within this situation and opens the way for the killing game to truly begin.

"We were as twinn'd lambs that did frisk i' the sun, And bleat the one at the other: what we changed Was innocence for innocence." (William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, 1.2.85-7)

While lambs are symbolic of sacrifice in many cultures, they are not entirely passive and become aggressive when cornered, usually by gearing up to ram or buck. This reflects how aggressive Wolfgang becomes when drugged and essentially herded in a corner by Eva, leading him to lash out at Diana. Wolfgang is the only character whose animal motif is an animal classed as livestock which is another way upon his sacrificial lamb symbolism that he was destined to die - he has been slaughtered and his metaphorical fleece has been repurposed for Diana to wear instead.

EVA & THE CROW

Firstly, crows tend to be seen either solitary or paired in nature. While they can be social animals, this is not the trend. Instantly this relates to how Eva has endured isolation and exclusion throughout her life, including in the academy. Damon is the first person she forms any sort of bond with and from the moment they wake up in the same area they are cemented as a "pair". P:EG overall has "pairs" as an extremely prominent theme due to the entire concept of Eden.

Her isolation can connect also to how crows have been observed to hold grudges. Eva's history as a victim of bullying instilled in her a victim complex and "me vs them" mentality where she takes any sort of negative reaction as "proof" that people are out to get her - something her Ultimate peers triggered with their mocking of her actual talent and confusion over her lies alike. Her targeting of Wolfgang was based in a grudge born from him singling her out as untrustworthy and how she believed he was turning everyone against her with his influence. Crows are opportunistic creatures - Eva saw the opportunity to get rid of Wolfgang and frame Diana in one fell swoop and took it. Much of her plan relied on that opportunity.

General populations deem crows largely as pests and they are, as a result, vulnerable to hunting by humans which ties into not only how Eva was and believed she was viewed by her peers, but also in how she was being "hunted" by Tozu every moment she did not kill after claiming the perk. That traitor's perk giving Eva access to the cameras essentially provided her with a "bird's eye view" of the happenings around the academy - something made further apparent by how she was watching from right above the murder as it happened.

Crows are known widely as thieves much like magpies both in the sense of them stealing prey from predators and the reputation they have gained in many human cultures for stealing precious items for their nests. It does not feel unintentional, then, that her plan saw her steal from her peers' rooms ("nests") to kill her prey. Additionally, crows have been reported to cause power outages through contact with power lines/poles which directly parallels the blackout during Eva's murdering of Wolfgang.

Most glaringly is how crows hold the familiar associations with evil and the Devil in Gael culture; in the 18th century, shepherds in the Scottish highlands would make offerings to hooded crows ("hoodies") to deter them from attacking sheep.

"In Pennant's Tour in Scotland (1771) there is described a curious ceremony in which offerings were made by Scottish herdsmen to the hooded crow, eagle and other enemies of sheep to induce them to spare the flock. (...) The crow killed lambs and annoyed sickly sheep." - Ernest Ingersoll, 1923, Birds in legend, fable and folklore, p.165

This blatantly links to Eva's murder victim being Wolfgang, whose animal motif is literally a sheep to her crow. The only "offering" made to Eva was Diana's extension of friendship, but at that point the crow had already taken flight. The hooded crows indigenous to the highlands would migrate down to the more temperate southern England during winter where they gained the local name "Royston crows" due to how they feasted on the carcasses of sheep in the sheep fields of Royston, Herfordshire.

In Shintoism, crows are associated with the idea of rebirth after tragedy strikes due to the image of them feasting on the slain after great battles. Much like Wolfgang's "Lamb of God" symbolism, this will likely come to fruition in Eva's presence never truly dying, that she will be remembered after death, and that Diana will "resurrect" her image just as she is attempting to do with Wolfgang.

So: HOW MUCH SHOULD WE CONSIDER THE ANIMAL MOTIFS GOING FORWARDS?

The plain and simple answer is that it depends and must be applied on a case by case basis. Our analysis cannot start and end with the animal motifs nor can it hinge on them as they are one angle of analysis among many - most prominently Biblical allusions and characterisation and, above all, how all of these aspects link to each other. For instance, you cannot just say "this character will kill because their animal motif is a predator" because there are far more layers to it than that.

The animal motifs are important and should not be disregarded as Diana, Eva and Wolfgang have proven - they just cannot be the sole point of analysis at a stage where we have everyone's characterisation to consider in conjunction with them.

For example, while Wolfgang's sheep motif is absolutely relevant and noteworthy, I don't personally think there is as much to say about it as Eva's crow motif based on what we have so far. How it acts as a springboard for Wolfgang's Biblical allusions especially RE his Christ symbolism is the most notable element of it so far in my opinion. And this could very well be because he has two animal motifs for us to sink our teeth into - I just have not found enough with him and the wolf to warrant a full discussion yet.

My thoughts on his wolf motif becoming more relevant later on in the story relates in part to his name, Wolfgang, meaning "travelling wolf" and being taken from an actual German saint in Christianity - which connects deftly to how Wolfgang is already being treated postmortem. In his book "Teutonic Mythology", Jacob Grimm defines the name as one held by a victorious hero. Overall, I think the wolf beneath sheep's clothing is yet to be truly revealed.

On the whole, Wolfgang and Eva prove without a doubt how important and relevant everyone's animal motifs will be beyond mere aesthetics - as does Diana's speech at the end of the chapter! What must be taken into account when looking into what everyone's motifs could mean is their individual characterisations and other elements of their characters. The animal motifs are only one piece of the puzzle, but they are a necessary piece in my opinion.

Thank you for reading please feel free to add more thoughts! I have no doubt I missed stuff, especially in regards to Wolfgang's sheep motif. There is absolutely something to say about him and being an undesirable “black sheep” in relation to his background but those thoughts aren’t fleshed out enough at the moment.

[yuri-for-businesswomen]

the way we treat our most vulnerable really says so much about our society. for example the mentally ill. imagine if instead of therapy, a girl with an eating disorder was prescribed a liposuction. or a schizophrenic who thinks he is jesus gets surgery to get stigmata. or a suicidal person was sent to euthanasia because thats their wish. or imagine if there was a bunch of young homosexuals in a homophobic society, and a bunch of girls in a misogynistic society, and they were told its not society thats the problem, but their bodies, and they were prescribed medication and surgeries and lied to that a sex change is not just necessary but also possible in the first place.

wait what

[whatever-imagines]

“Princess POV Change”

Princess through Logan’s point of view.

Tags: Logan’s basically a U-Haul lesbian and they aren’t even dating. Weird possessiveness. I dunno you let me know.

—-

Logan was a simple woman, she likes to think. She likes solitude, good booze, and pretty women. Not gorgeous, not beautiful; pretty.

She seemed to forget, as she is reminded now, that pretty women make things not so simple sometimes.

You, for example, were causing a whirlwind of emotions.

Xavier hires only super models apparently, you being no exception in Logan’s opinion. You were shorter than her impressive stature, soft in all the right places, face warm and round and you were cute, you were pretty.

And you were avoiding Logan like the plague.

It was probably because she was so rude to you on her first day at the mansion; shouldering past you with a growl of some vague threat as you stood there, just trying to hand in paperwork. The image of you, wide eyed and star stuck, mouth slightly agape, was burnt into the memory of Logan’s mind. You were so painfully pretty; Logan wished she had the forethought to flirt with you rather than try to scare you.

The second time she ran into you, you ran into her. She smelled you and your meek perfume in plenty of time to know you were heading her way; in a rush of some kind with an armful of papers and file folders and a determined look on your face (until you literally ran face first into her chest).

Logan was a sturdy woman, metal skeleton and all, years of taking hits. Your flighty frame didn’t stand a chance and you bounced off her and dropped all your papers.

And she fucked up again.

“Jesus, watch it, squirt!”

“I’m so sorry!” You say it so breathy it almost chokes Logan up. The sound of your voice sounding so vulnerable…

You scatter to collect the paper, and Logan couldn’t help but gravitate towards your hunched over figure. She could practically taste the anxiety wafting off of you. Hear your heart beat faster, smell the sweat gathering at your temple. It was almost as intoxicating and tempting as a good cigar.

“I’ve seen you around…” Logan settles on saying. “You’re Scott’s secretary.”

Logan neglects to mention how insanely jealous of the time you spend with Scott. Hell, she’s been hitting on his girl just to piss him off because of you. The scent of you and Scott mingle too casually for Logan to be comfortable.

Maybe it was mean to call you a secretary. Logan sees all the menial work you do, all the effort you put in to make up for your weak mutation.

Logan sees your eyebrow twitches. “I’m the team’s assistant. I just-“ you gesture to the papers around you. “I handle the boring stuff. Help out when I’m needed. Heal scraped knees and alike.” You state as you rise from the ground.

You’re still unsteady, and in a moment of concern breaking through the laissez-faire attitude, Logan reaches out and steadies you with a warm and heavy hand.

You stiffen instantly, and Logan almost scowls. Were you really so uncomfortable around her?

“Um, Scott really needs these, I should go or else he’ll become more annoying than normal, so-“ you gently shoulder yourself away from Logan’s hand and you scurry down the hall, leaving the fighter behind.

You didn’t see Logan scowl, or how her fingers curl into fists at the mention of Scott. Her lip twitches into a scowl involuntarily.

—-

Logan watches you more after. Your meek behavior, your steadfast loyalty to the school, and your closeness to some extremely powerful mutants intrigues her. It annoyed Logan to an extent, what a goody two shoes you were, how you seem to never be beaten down by what goes on around you.

It also drives her crazy. You were kind to everyone, polite. When Jean clearly irked you, your smile never wavered. Whenever the professor spoke over you you’d snap your mouth close and let him finish. Would you have the same kind of patience for Logan? Would that saint-like mindset extend to her? Her and all her fucked up rage issues? God, if only.

Ororo exits your room, smelling like your perfume and she’s all giddy and it makes Logan’s stomach turn something ugly. And she sees you leave from the window. When you get back to the mansion, for once, your endless gentle optimism seemed to be gone. You looked defeated, tiredly fishing a soda can from the communal fridge where Logan silently followed you.

“You look nice.” Logan says lowly, steadily.

“Oh!” You slam the fridge door shut and quickly snap to attention, turning to face Logan; surprise coloring your face so prettily, she almost missed you thanking her for the compliment.

The Wolverine side of Logan can smell another person on you, cigarette smoke and red wine on your clothes. “Any particular reason for the get up?” It’s a trap, and Logan only feels slightly bad for putting you on the spot. Just slightly, because right now she needed to confirm some suspicions and get some answers. And Logan typically gets what she wants.

You swallow, nervous. “I had a date.” You state firmly yet casually, like you were reiterating the sky was blue.

A low deep hum emits from Logan’s throat, too low for you to probably hear. “Oh? Have fun with him.” The bite in her voice was withheld so firmly there was hardly any, she sounded almost civil. Hopefully.

Your chin juts out, defiant, annoyed. “She was quite boring, actually.”

There was fuzz in Logan’s head after that. Relief of sorts filled her. Still jealous, but relived. You liked woman; she could work with that. Hopefully you liked women like her.

“… don’t like the studious type?” She says after there was a pause for her to respond.

You seem to ponder for a moment before answering. “I like reliable but not dull, if that makes sense.”

It does. Someone to excite you everyday you come home. Logan can do that. Probably. If she doesn’t scare you off, that is.

Words tumble out before the fighter could even process what she wants to convey. “You don’t look at me a lot.” Her sentence was quick and only added tension to the air. “Everyone stares… except you.” Her hand was on your shoulder again, and Logan has to restrain herself from squeezing to get her point across. You don’t look like you could handle a squeeze.

“… it’s rude to stare.” You say after a moment.

You’re… funny. Logan couldn’t help but snort a laugh. “Smart-ass.” She hisses with laughter, before leaving. Logan needs to come up with a plan, now that you gotten her interest so viscerally.

—-

The party exchange shifted something in Logan, now you had a kinship. You both were experiments at some point. When Logan gets her flashes from before 15 years ago, all she feels is fear and pain and weakness. You were already so frail compared to her, how could you have survived anything even similar to what Logan had gone through?

It made Logan want to protect you, especially after your rant. You want a peaceful life, so did Logan. Jean once said you flirt with danger and married safely, Logan could be safe. She could keep you safe, if she tried hard enough.

She keeps you close now. Logan hangs about you to keep a watch on you. Logan curbs Scott’s ego when needed and watches out for you, always quick to greet you with a careful fondness so you feel not threatened by her. She’s putting in the work.

So imagine Logan’s surprise when she hears Ororor whispering to Jean about you trying to date again.

Logan couldn’t have that.

When she sees you next, you’re rushing somewhere again, but Logan stops you. She stops you dead in your tracks, making you look up to her.

She love that you’re shorter than her.

“Let me buy you a drink.”

Logan’s seldom been a nervous person. Worst thing you can do is reject her and she’ll just pine over you for moons to come.

You look flabbergasted. It’s cute. “I’m sorry?”

“Let. Me. Buy. You. A. Drink.” She enunciates, leaving no room for misinterpretation.

You breathe in shock, but not displeasure. “Why?”

Bold as always, Logan lets a rough hand come up and grazes your face.

“I like your face.” She explains, smiling wolfishly. “Let me buy you a drink.”

Your eyes are glossy looking up, face still written with surprise, but when you speak you say, “Okay,” in such a cute shy way, Logan almost kisses you then and there.

She leans closer, relieved, “Thanks, princess.”

[sillystimmings]

jesus okay i’m trying not to make silco meta posts every hour but i feel like im being driven insane. when i and others say we want him to be acknowledged as jinx’s father it’s not because we think he’s the prime example for a dad and did everything right (the amount of silco fans that genuinely think he did no wrong are far and few they’re just really loud so you think everyone’s like that but that’s really not it) no we want an acknowledgment because, like it or not, he was a father to her and the writers have said as such

jinx saw him as a father, he saw her as a daughter. he had an impact on her development due to taking her in during such fundamental years and that cannot be erased. JINX doesn’t want it to be erased. she misses him she’s disassociated herself from the action of killing him (“someone put those holes in you”, “then he shouldn’t have died”) she talks about him like he’s still alive and talks TO HIM like he’s still alive. she wishes things came out differently (vanders letter)

i’m posting this before act 3 so if the writers pull some shit saying she doesn’t care keep that in mind but as of this moment she does care. you cannot denounce her as his daughter.

jinx is trying to figure out her identity. she’s not powder, hasn’t been for years, but also says that ‘jinx’ is gone. a big part in her crafting a new identity for herself will be acknowledging everything that’s happened to her, good and bad, and silco falls into both. he was a bad father figure, he took advantage of her in a vulnerable state, but he gave her a home he gave her purpose and was there. he cannot be written out of her narrative

[d3ad-squid]

ARCANE S2 ACT 1 & 2 SPOILERS!!

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Ok most people have figured this out I believe but here’s to those who haven’t

The hexcore like a parasite using Viktor as its host to feed.(here’s my proof)

So in act one Mel reached out to touch the hexgoop that Viktor was defrosting in and the hexgunk reached back and tried to grab her (signaling that it is hungry).

We also know that the hexcore can straight up pulverize people (Sky) but after she was “absorbed” the hexcore’s animation almost replicated a burp.

When Viktor became robo jesus the hexcore used Sky’s likeness to pull on Viktor’s guilt of killing her to lead him to a group of very desperate and vulnerable people willing to try anything to change the situation they’re in. (very culty) (also easier to convince to “heal”)

When Viktor does the “healing” magic the subjects lose they’re entire personality (Huck and Salo for example) and when Jayce came back in the room with Salo, Jayce had visible breath while Salo did not.

Jayce’s “hallucinations” also show everyone as mindless husks, shells in the shape of a human with a hole in the head showing the shallow and mindless nature of these “people”.

I think the hexcore is feeding on these innocent people while keeping their shell intact to make Viktor think that he is helping people so that he will keep unintentionally feeding it.