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[kitsmits]

odysseus absolutely does present a threat to penelope if he perceives her as at all unfaithful, and i feel the unfairness of this, and i think people tend to undersell how much tension at least potentially exists between odysseus and penelope. but i'm also like. his reaction, all speculation aside, his actual reaction in the odyssey to her flirting with the suitors is delight, because he immediately ascertains that she is running a con. sorry that they're so in-sync in spite of the forces that try to drive a wedge between them, including their own misgiving hearts. sorry that they invented homophrosyne ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[kitsmits]

On the subject about parents needing to control their child's reading and invade their privacy in order to "protect" them from "inappropriate material:

Until I was in....college? At least? The vast, vast majority of the books I read were either a) assigned by my school or b) (the vast majority of my reading) provided to me by my mother.

My mom is a librarian. She filled our rooms with books, picked especially for us. She pointed out books on the shelves in our home library (separate from our bedroom shelves) that she thought we would like. She bought us books for birthdays, Christmas, and just stacks of recommendations. She once paid me $10 to read one of the Cirque Du Freak books because she said I needed "to be exposed to bad literature."

She respected my privacy in room, didn't go through my belongings. She explicitly pointed out to us that she wouldn't know if we took a particular book of the shelf, as long as we returned it, if we didn't want her to know we were reading it. She purposely brought us books that she didn't care for herself, because she thought we might find them valuable or enjoyable.

And if we wanted to read something she thought might upset or disturb us, she would explain why. She wouldn't stop us from reading it - just ask us to check in with her, to talk through it.

And so when I read something that upset or disturbed me, I would go to her. She would listen and talk through it with me.

If she said she didn't think I would like something, or that a book might disturb me, or that she thought I should wait until I was older, I listened to her.

She didn't need restrictions or control to protect me. Because she proved I could trust her.

Controlling kids is never about "protecting" them. It's just about control.

[kitsmits]

NEW CHAPTER of Mono no Aware is UP!

Fiiiinally finished this damn thing, and it's a monster! We're barreling toward the finale of the past arc, folks. Strap in, give it a read, and if you feel so inclined, let me know what you think!

[kitsmits]

[kitsmits]

Sosuke Aizen, Theology & Esotericism, "Angel" of the Hogyoku

In the Bleach fan reviews, I have often seen comparisons of Aizen to a fallen angel. I find such a comparison superficial in light of the theology of Orthodox Christianity and the religious context that I present in all parts of this essay. I think it is much more complex. Aizen is a human after all, because the focus of the narrative is his personality. The existence of both Shinigami and Hollows depends significantly on what kind of personality they had in life, even if they do not remember it. Therefore, in order to “ascend” to heaven, he must choose between theurgy and theosis. And it was because of the attempt to reject his own personality that Aizen failed. He chose power over himself, and Ichigo chose himself over power. In addition, Aizen relied on fear as a basis for development, but fear is an alien state for a perfect person, which must be defeated by courage (which Aizen realized later). (That is why there is a special rank of saints - martyrs. And courage is one of the Christian virtues.)

As I wrote earlier, Aizen is a true king in every sense - we understand this primarily due to his energy, his reiatsu (read more here). In addition, he is a genius, richly gifted with various talents and has a strong will. Although he was not born into a royal family, everything indicates that for heaven he is a king. More precisely, he is a king born of heaven, but in the context of those religious-esoteric coordinates that we rely on.

It is precisely his royal status that is indicated by the first transformation of the Hogyoku. The four "cuts" of his clothes correspond to the four cardinal directions, and his long hair indicates his functions as an intermediary between heaven and earth, because shamans and magicians usually do not cut their hair, especially in the Far East. And, of course, the "royal purple" of his eyes and the lining of his robe.

The second transformation of the Hogyoku already points to the "angelic" nature of the transcendental state that Aizen is trying to achieve. However, this is not the nature of God, but the nature of His creation. Angels are "firstborn spirits", whose nature is often compared to fire, like the nature of God Himself (but this is a symbolic comparison). Angels were created by God before the world and man.

In Orthodox iconography, angels are depicted as beautiful men (like God the Trinity, they are all men), in armor (after all, they are "heavenly warriors") and with headbands that symbolize royal crowns. God is the King par excellence, therefore His "holy royalty" is transmitted to all His servants, angels and people. At the same time, Orthodox theology claims that the human soul is no different in nature from an angel. Both angels and people receive their "divinity" from God. According to the Tradition of the Orthodox Church, there are 9 angelic ranks: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, Angels. It is believed that Satan was a Cherubim.

Satan wanted to be equal to God because of his pride, so he "died" and was cast out of heaven. Having fallen away from God, he lost his "divinity". And since there is nothing outside of God, he died an eternal death and became a receptacle of darkness. A third of the angels followed him. Paradise is in the 7th heaven - this is what the devil was responsible for when he was an angel. Therefore, he hated Adam, who was created more perfect than the angels, and decided to drag him with him into the darkness of eternal death, non-existence. The fallen angels, following Satan, wanted to be worshiped as gods, so all the statues of gods are actually "bodies" for the fallen angels. These "bodies" are conductors of death and darkness. Therefore, the concept of deity is often associated with the concept of "sacred horror", when a person even gets goosebumps from fear of a statue of a god. This is a painful horror.

In the iconography of Orthodox Christianity, fallen angels are depicted simply as black, because they contain darkness. The monstrous features of their bodies are a departure from the iconographic canon. They are black in body, usually without clothes and with disheveled hair. Darkness, deprivation of royalty (royal clothes) and madness, from which they tear out their hair.

It is interesting that the Hogyoku seems to show Aizen the other side of the world, because there are no "angels" next to the Soul King. If the Soul King were a real God, then his Right Hand would have healed Ukitake, and would not have destroyed his body. The Soul King is a "divine" corpse that requires human sacrifices. Eternal death.

Why are Aizen's transformations different from the state of the Soul King himself? I think it has to do with Aizen's will. He always strived for the truth, taking into account all the facts. And the fact that he rejected the rule of the Soul King allowed him to break through to the truth for a moment. However, Aizen is sinful, so his "ascension" ultimately became false. He is a proud killer who believes that he has the right to judge people, that is, a killer twice over. He is possessed by darkness, which was shown in the third transformation of the Hogyoku. (But it is worth saying that Aizen always hopes for reciprocity even from those who have already rejected him. He expects a change from everyone he knows.)

Since becoming a god (theosis) is accomplished only with the help of God's energy, all other "transcendental" states are "false theosis", that is, possession. The "royal sanctuary" of God, man, becomes the temple of death. The opposite of the saints are vampires.

The vampire myth as we know it was born in Orthodox countries, in Eastern Europe. In reality, vampires are sorcerers or people buried outside the Orthodox rite. Often these are noblemen, since under the influence of the politics and wealth of the Catholic authorities they converted from Orthodoxy to Catholicism, that is, they became heretics. Their thirst for blood was associated with the fact that in Catholicism, for the laity, the Eucharist is performed only with bread. Therefore, a typical vampire is an aristocrat who has become interested in the occult or has rejected the "Greek faith", Orthodox Christianity. After death, his personality is deformed, loses the "image of God", and he returns "different".

Moreover, in the Western European esoteric tradition itself, magical knowledge is considered a gift from fallen angels. This is enshrined in the fundamental texts of the tradition - in the Hermetic Corpus and in the Book of Enoch. According to Orthodox Christianity, this knowledge is given so that man cannot approach God. So that he does not even know about theosis or rejects it himself. Because theosis is a path created by the sacrifice of God, Christ, specifically for the salvation of man, which is possible only in becoming a god. After all, this is what Adam was created for. This is probably why all the transformations of the Hogyoku were a "shell" over Aizen's real body. Because while a person is alive, he can still choose the truth, choose theosis. And after death, immediately judgment. Moreover, Adam's body was created before his soul.

[kitsmits]

MnA writing update!

As of 8/5/25, the latest chapter of Mono No Aware is finally done! It’s HUGE - over 15K words, about 41 pages…I’m debating whether to split it up, but as of right now, it’s gonna be a monster chapter.

I know y’all have been waiting a while for it (thank you for your patience 🙏), but I am going to wait just a bit more before posting. Still need to do the final read through/proofread, and I want to get a bit into the next chapter before posting.

Soooo yeah! Still alive, still writing, just been hella procrastinating. This chapter is super important in the story and I wanted to do it well.

[kitsmits]

[kitsmits]

Not like my usual posts, This is a personal Story.

but I can’t stay silent about what’s happening in the United States with immigration and ICE. I’m “American” now—but before anything, I’m Latina.

When I was six years old, I migrated to the U.S. with my mother in search of my father, who had left for America before us. We left our hometown in Honduras at night. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to any of my friends.

We traveled from bus to bus with our coyote—the person responsible for guiding us across mexico up to the border. Sometimes we had to walk for hours. My mother remembers us trekking through mud that reached up to my knees.

Eventually, we arrived at a house near the Mexican-American border, where many others were waiting to be transported across. Some were sent back to their countries if their payments couldn’t be met.

That house was also where we said goodbye to our original coyote—his job with us was over. I cried. He had once told me to pretend he was my father in front of some men, for our safety. I missed having a father so much that I sat on his lap, called him papi, and didn’t want to let go. For a brief time, I believed he could be mine.

And then, just like that, another father figure was gone.

I remember when we finally made it to the Rio Grande. The water was calm that day. We sat on a small floating boat, and after nearly two months without seeing a river, I reached down excitedly to touch it. My mom quickly warned me not to. She told me about the dangers hidden beneath the surface—the animals, the current. I pulled my hand back.

Once we reached the American side, we quietly said goodbye to everyone and split up. My mother and I ran toward U.S. territory. Once your feet touch American soil, they have no choice but to let you in.

I still remember the detention center. There were so many other Hispanic families being held—men, women, and children. We were given foil blankets to sleep with. My mom gathered extra, bundling some into a pillow for me, using the rest to cover our bodies, head-to-toe since the lights never went out.

There were maybe 20 to 25 people in one cell. No privacy. We all shared a single, open toilet. I had to use the bathroom while my mom shielded me with her body.

One of the border patrol agents took a liking to me. He’d bring me a box of snacks just for me, and I’d share it with the others. The people in the cell would even ask me to talk to him again so he’d bring us more. That was my world for about a month.

Then they released us. My father met us, and I remember hugging him tightly. He showed us around the city, took us to our first Walmart. Everything felt so big. So new. So American.

But even now, it’s not fair—what ICE agents are doing to my people.

I know these people. I come from them. My family—like so many others—worked jobs no one else wanted. Underpaid, undervalued, but necessary. I’ve seen my people work long hours, get home late, and still keep going because they didn’t have another option. Because they came here chasing the promise of opportunity.

And still, they live in fear. Fear of being stopped at night. Fear of being asked for papers. Fear of being separated from their children.

It’s not fair what ICE agents are currently doing to my people. I see the news. I see the raids, the cruelty, the indifference. But I also see the mothers, the fathers, the kids—the families just like mine—who still believe in this country because they have no choice but to.

I was taught to love America since I was little. I recited the Pledge of Allegiance in school. I memorized all the holidays. I chased the dream like everyone else.

But the truth is—America has never fully loved my people back. And yet we continue to love it. We show up. We work. We raise our kids. We start businesses. We live with dignity even when it’s denied to us.

My story may seem difficult, but there are other people who go through worse. Guiding themselves through Mexico alone. Or going through the Mexican desert. This story may not be new to the world. But it’s mine. It’s my mother’s. It’s my father’s. It’s the story of millions of us.

- To my people, who welcome me back with open arms when the Americans look at me differently.

[kitsmits]

Sorry about the rant I'm just SO sick of this "we have to be on all the time never look away if you aren't upset about politics and traumatizing yourself watching people die on Twitter you're wrong and complicit and evil" like I know things are fucked and we need to stay angry but we can do that while also taking a minute to crack open a cold one with the boys or have gay sex or get tipsy at the line dance, we HAVE to have joy to remember why the fuck we're refusing to give up in the first place. Fight like hell for your loved ones and then also go home with them to smoke weed and drink sweet tea and make biscuits covered in honey and butter please, please don't deprive yourself of joy, you're allowed to be happy BEFORE the work is done. You're allowed to be happy.

[kitsmits]

[kitsmits]

If it comes from parents who model the behavior they want to see, then this is good parenting.

The problem is that many parents don't model this behavior. Many parents are authoritarian and rule by fear. Many parents take advantage of the fact that they're bigger, they control the finances, their power is upheld by society, and their children are dependent on them. And they complain when their child starts treating people the exact same way.

[kitsmits]

Do kids today even understand why podcasts are called podcasts?

[kitsmits]

>Be me

>Make bowl of panda express leftovers

>Chow down on 2/3rds of it before father calls you over to show you memes

>Leave bowl unattended

>Laugh about memes for a good ten minutes

>Return to room

>??Bat? In bowl? ?

>Don't have anything to grab bat with that are bite proof

>Offer bat the head of the Winston Churchill marble bust to climb onto

>Bat does so

>Slowly carry Churchill and the bat to the window

>Bat won't let go of Churchill

>Pry bat off of him with nearby plastic skeleton hand

>Bat sits on windowsill for a second before flying off into the night

[kitsmits]

A selection of comments on a video of a Jewish woman and her children explaining that Jews don’t believe in Santa.

Imagine being so angry that a Jewish family doesn’t believe in or celebrate Santa or Christmas. This isn’t the kind of violent antisemitism I usually highlight here, but it is antisemitism nonetheless.

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[kitsmits]

Caption From @ essenceofblackculture on instagram:

Kristi Williams

@kristi_williams_black_history, a Black woman whose aunt survived the Tulsa Massacre, saw Oklahoma trying to silence Black history-and answered with action. She started "Black History Saturdays," free community classes to teach what the schools won't.

Now the room is full, the lessons are real, and the legacy lives on. end caption

____________

This is a heroic feat that shouldn’t be needed. But because it is, a hero emerged.