#Will To Power

[whoisthetank]

Once again waking up at a crazy hour because of Ateez. And for what? To discover that half of the group found KQ's scissors and decided to cut their hair, but mainly to see the prince catholic yaoi aka Yunho becoming a ninja to avoid a kiss and making everything look 10x more gay. I mean, you can see the moment when Yunho realizes that Mingi is going to do something and holds his hand so he can't kneel (and propose, now with Yunho family on audience) or maybe kiss Yunho's hand. I don't know. And then the moment when Mingi realizes the opportunity to kiss Yunho since he's being pulled and he spins to avoid it, very impressive. Ninja.

Tomorrow is the last show. Apparently it's the last time Youth will be part of the show and it's going to be Yunho's birthday. I'll wake up early again and probably be impressed by some another dodging move from the prince.

[acupoftaewithsomesuga]

Yeah I’m definitely already caught. I need this man BAD!!!

[halavibe]

park seonghwa at towards the light: will to power in milan

[arabdoll]

“Love the hand fate deals you, and play it as your own”

Marcus Aurelius

[nonon0pe]

July 20th will mark 1 year since Ateez saw this sign I brought to their concert.

Yunho - YUNHO’S REACTION STILL BRINGS TEARS TO MY EYES. He pointed at me, put his hand on his heart, and gave me an air hug.

Mingi - I DEEPLY APOLOGIZE TO THIS MAN, LOL. Yk that pose/face he does when he’s trying to read something? YeAh that’s what I got. He stood there for a hot minute trying to read it. He also pointed it out to Seonghwa!

later on in the show-

Wooyoung - THIS MAN- THIS MAN LOOKED RIGHT AT ME WITH THE BIGGEST SMILE AND JUST POINTED AT ME EXCITEDLY. I kinda froze but it did feel like that one spider-man meme ngl lol.

Ateez as an artist have been one of my biggest supports and have honestly saved my life (i credit The World: MOVEMENT with being the album of theirs that saved me, i’ll prob make a post about it later on). This concert filled me with such joy and completeness and I can not be more grateful to both ateez and atiny for making this an unforgettable experience. Being able to hear and see the songs that saved me in person is not something I could ever find the proper words to describe but I hope someday I do.

Thank you Ateez and Thank You Atiny for being on My Side.

[melodramat-photography]

[sictransitgloriamvndi]

“We have art in order not to die of the truth.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

[crooked-wasteland]

The Existential Separation of Heaven and Hell

The first question to ask is why are the settings of Heaven and Hell? 

It is why this is a rewrite or fanfiction and not being drafted as its own fantasy world devoid from the lineage of Hazbin Hotel. While Medrano’s version could have been set anywhere, separate of questions about God and religion, mine cannot. In fact, the entire story hinges on this dichotomy of cultural perception and history through the lens of theology. 

But more than being a critique of religion as a construct, it is a tomb in which a part of myself is buried. I’ve spoken briefly about my background in religion. My relationship with religion is the focus of the design, as is the state of Hell being a meaningless continuation of current life being the embodiment of my experience walking away from all the gods. Because I didn’t lose faith in my God as it were, I realized God has always ever been an apathetic observer to life itself. It made me see God himself as being morally bankrupt. 

The idea that he would help me pass a test but allow an entire family to die in a freak accident. That God was more concerned with two lovers—pure in their devotion—not presenting themselves before him for approval, than he was with children being beaten, tortured, or killed by their own parents. That it was more important that I hated people who loved differently than it was to hate those who wish harm to others. 

I didn’t see contradiction in that God; I saw a chaotic continuity. It wasn’t something made of love, but a creature drenched in apathy. My nihilism wasn’t born from a void left by an absent God; it was born from the void I saw inside Him. 

And that is a fundamental part of this story: My truth that God himself is an empty throne. He may sit upon it; he may not, but the outcomes are ever the same in his absence and his presence. 

Meanwhile, the origination of Hell as a human continuation of existence cut off from any god is to challenge you, regardless of your personal beliefs, to enter a world where nothing you do matters because you are cut off from that divinity. You are no longer required to keep striving for anything, no longer forced to seek sovereign approval. To confront you with that radical freedom to live purely free without consequence and be whoever you want to be. 

Will you become violent, cruel, debased?  When given no authoritarian consequences for your actions are you suddenly a demon, or are you simply you? 

I am of the firm belief that when faced with that ledge, what Camus would call “Absurd Freedom”, they quickly look away. There is an existential anxiety attached to that place, what Kierkegaard called “Angst”. Kierkegaard wrote, “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” The feeling of this concept is like standing on an edge over which you see nothing but darkness below. Would you have the fortitude to leap—or do you believe you would simply sink; becoming undone by freedom. For all the misery you have lived through to this point, regardless of whether it is great or comparatively small, is your sense of self so brittle that, without the threat of punishment, it crumbles? And if it crumbles—was it ever truly yours, or merely something you were assigned? 

My position is akin to a Kierkegaardian ‘leap of faith’, but not toward a god. Rather, a leap toward the human spirit. My world asserts that, no, most of us would not suddenly abandon our humanity just because the divine scaffolding has vanished. In fact, I believe many wouldn’t even confront it – they would simply continue, propelled by inertia. 

This state of drifting inertia, of surviving without living, is not new. Many have written about it from varied perspectives: 

Albert Camus – What he calls a “refusal to revolt” or assert one’s own existence; continuing to live while pretending you don’t have to choose how to do so. Soren Kierkegaard – What he called the “aesthetic life”.  Living for a beauty defined by wanton pleasure, detached irony, and distraction is a refusal to confront the radical freedom of choice in the name of silencing the anxiety it brings. Friedrich Nietzsche – What he named “herd morality”: the values we’ve constructed out of fear of the unknown, the resentment of the other, or for a convenient comfort rather than our own initiative built from will. What many erroneously see as a disavowal of social responsibility is actually Nietzsche’s attempt at demanding personal responsibility for our social beliefs. Simone de Beauvoir – What she called “Bad Faith” or the rejection of personal responsibility by pretending the systems we live in weren’t chosen. Her philosophy asserts that there is nothing wrong with living inside these systems, but it is a wicked lie to say we couldn’t choose something else. Michel Foucault – What he metaphorically called the “Panopticon Prison” or the state of internalized discipline and self-regulation for the benefit of institutional control. Carl Jung – What he would call the “Unintegrated Shadow”. Jung, though a psychologist and not a philosopher, is included because his theories reflect the same “institutionalization” of the Self—one that begins within us and which many live their entire lives denying responsibility of. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel – His philosophies compliment the rest by his mere definition of a “self”; not simply a thing, but a process in the same constant motion as the Solar System. You don’t exist on your own—you become who you are by being seen, challenged, and understood by others. His theory is hard to explain plainly, but think of it like this: You can’t understand a bird by looking at a feather. You have to see how that feather works with the wind and the anatomy of the bird’s hollow bones, and the motion of flight. The same is true of people—truth isn’t in the pieces; it’s in the synthesis. And that synthesis doesn’t have a clean ending; it can continue infinitely unless it is intentionally stopped short.  His definition of inertia, then, is the willful refusal to engage with the process.  Martin Heidegger – What he would call “Inauthenticity”, much like de Beauvoir’s Bad Faith, is a passive avoidance of one’s own truth. But where her philosophy focused on awareness of the self, he fixated on the awareness of time. Our pursuit of comfort and safety in the present is simply a means of ignoring that the inevitability of death gives urgency to life. We will die no matter what but living without agency is to act like we shall live forever. 

This is what defines the state of Hell. Not just what it is (a continuation of life without access to any god) but also why (to confront the material reality of the human condition we are living in). My Heaven and my Hell are a challenge unto you to radically accept the raw reality of life through fantasy. To travel through the valleys of the shadow of death without a god and without comfort and see how far you can go. See if you can create divinity rather than hide beneath it. 

[sonochiara]

damn

[baron-amaro]

Have a break. Have an Übermensch Kit Kat.

[colourofmagic]

take me back to Ateez World Tour 2025

[shortyinblue]

Mingi actin' up to Dreamy Day during SOUNDCHECK is diabolical

My man you do not need to be doing all that but thank you

[halavibe]

(mostly) park seonghwa in japan x

bonus coloring

[arabdoll]

“An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

[a-book-dragon]

i hate the term 'masculinism' or 'macho' being thrown around by certain types of leftists to decry any type of strength, aggression, assertiveness, individualism and will to power.

i remember last year's annual antifascist protest in my country (bulgaria is the only country that allows a fascist march by the name of lukovmarsh, and we protest against it every year).

some anarchists, including myself, were dressed for black block in order to protect our anonymity and communicate that we're ready to fight that we must. we didn't have to (the protest is sadly legal and there's always cops around).

despite nothing violent happening, there were a bunch of activists who were also there - liberal as well as 'anarchists' - who complained on social media about us (especially the boys among us i suppose) 'looking like nazi football hooligans', being 'macho' and 'scaring away the immigrants and roma people who would have otherwise joined the protest' (there was a whole bunch of them there; also, implying they're some scaredy animals who can't understand our slogans and read our signs is deeply disrespectful to them).

that was a long time ago... but it is ingrained in my mind to this day still. such a clear example why the left is failing. if this is not the result of some sort of state propaganda to debilitate the movement, i don't know what is. ngo's and liberals are infiltraring leftist and anarchist circles with their disgusting pacifism.

building power is necessary to any movement and violence doesn't necessitate hierarchy or oppression. will to power is a beautiful thing - if it is power TO do something and affirm yourself, not power OVER someone. fighting to protect a cause, being a shield between harm and those who can't fight for some reason - now that's noble.

violence and aggression are also not necessarily restricted to men. implying so means being disrespectful to women and queer people's abilities, their capacity for aggression, their dignity in fighting back (yes, women tend to be physically weaker - we got projectile weapons from pepper spray to guns to bridge the gap!). the answer to fascist and macho aggression is not simply building mutual aid and taking care of each other through the trauma they're causing, laying low, appealing to the public in a moralistic victimizing way (look at us - we're peaceful and helpless and can't defend ourselves! we're martyrs! help us daddy government!)

although mutual aid is imperative, sometimes we gotta beat a fascist to a pulp. we have to have the capacity for violent retribution. buy a weapon, learn some martial arts. don't appeal to the morality of mainstream society - it's a doomed affair from the start.

especially women and queer people, who are more or less socialized in not showing overt power and aggression - you have every right to take up space, to follow your desires freely, to be furious when patriarchal forces infringe on your dignity! build community, build power, and show the men you're no lesser than them! not through moralistic pleas, but through actual threats to patriarchal power.

now, some spaces in anarchist movements do tend to be more masculinized (the antifascist black block i was in, for instance, was made up of mostly cishet men). all feminist of course - but not perfect, still condescending sometimes, still holding on to antiquated forms of chivalry (i love chivalry; i hate that it's seen as a 'men only' territory). does that mean that as a woman i gotta restrict myself to mutual aid, community gardens, solidarity kitchens ('get back in the kitchen' much?).

no! all of the above is important and hard work, i've done it and deeply respect people who do it. but i will not reduce myself to this type of resistance only. being in masculinized spaces means that i get to reclaim my space in them. men have become the sole occupants of things that are for everyone. every day, i demonstrate to my male friends and comrades that women are not weak, we're not to be messed with. i speak my mind assertively, get into intellectual conflicts, always affirming myself through affirming feminism. i treat them like complete equals and expect the same in return. i don't hesitate to interrupt them; i adopt a confident body language. i strategically observe how they assert themselves and get what they want. i take what i like from masculinity and fight against the rest.

so what if the mosh pit in the punk concert is mostly men? i'm not 'uncomfortable' and don't feel 'unwelcome' - i get in and fiercely dance and shove and punch to show these boys who's boss.

so anyway, this got way too long. the point is - respect and assert yourself, fiercely defend yourself and your community, and don't let the state, men, or anyone else have a monopoly of violence. also, fuck pacifism (A)