#''timshel'' from east of eden

[atlantic-riona]

actually I'm very curious to know what lines and/or live rent free in everybody else's head

[rarephloxes]

I said I'd keep my blog updated on reading East of Eden but the truth is I didn't have the strength for it. I think I'll need to read this book three times over to understand it fully and still, I don't think I will ever have the guts to. I never had a book change me, or chisel away some part of me, or add a little clay to my own clay bar (you know? the one people use to make little cups and plates), but I guess it was about time.

[ninadove]

That makes a man great and that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.

— East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Alt text under the cut! ⬇️

TEXT: This was the gold from our mining: ‘thou mayest.’

SCREENSHOT: Felix holding the camouflaged Peacock brooch for the first time (S4 E26: Strikeback)

TEXT: The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin (and you can call sin ignorance).

SCREENSHOTS: Master Fu spying on Marinette under the cover of an umbrella // A zoom on Mari’s earrings during her first transformation (S1 E23: Origins part 2 — Stoneheart)

TEXT: The King James translation makes a promise in ‘thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin.

SCREENSHOTS: Chat Noir offering Ladybug a helping hand after she lost the Miraculous, while a thunderstorm rages in the background // Ladybug blushing as she reaches back (S4 E26: Strikeback)

TEXT: But the Hebrew word timshel — 'thou mayest' — that gives a choice.

SCREENSHOTS: Felix wearing his amok for the first time (S4 E26: Representation) // Flairmidable looking away as Strikeback dies (S4 E26: Strikeback) // Argos saying his goodbyes to Red Moon (S5 E18: Emotion)

TEXT: For if ‘thou mayest’ — it is also true that ‘thou mayest not.’

SCREENSHOT: The Miraculous and Adrien’s amoks, abandoned in the crypt as Gabriel makes his wish (S5 E26: Recreation)

[at-thestillpoint]

weird questions for writers: 22, 32, 38

[ask me weird questions for writers!]

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

I use Google Drive to write and organize myself. I have a nested folder system broken down by ship, then story universe, then individual fic (if needed). Each fic doc is titled with the pairing, a number, and the title of the fic. The number is honestly for aesthetic purposes—it corresponds to the order in which I had the idea, though 000 is always the headcanons, blotter, and darlings catchall for that ship or fic. I write each fic in a single doc, and use headings so I can quickly jump from chapter to chapter. When I’m in editing or finalization mode, I’ll even use subheadings to tag the areas I’m still not happy with so I can easily navigate from place to place via the Google Doc outline sidebar. I also have a spreadsheet to track all my WIPs, ideas, and completed fics.

So, yeah…I’m quite an organization freak for my writing, but I have to be because I write out of order, and things would otherwise get lost.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

I’ll give you lines from a poem and a novel, because I couldn’t pick!

“There are years that ask questions, and years that answer them.” (Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God)

I read Their Eyes Were Watching God in high school, but didn’t realize how much this line had stuck with me until I’d graduated college, and faced some tough, uncertain years in my early 20s. I used it then as a reminder that answers would come—things would get more clear, or better, or whatever it was I was looking for. I still come back to it as a reminder that the moments I’ve felt most aimless, most lost, most overwhelmed, those are the moments I look back on with the benefit of time and now realize the impact they had on my life.

“Life is short and the world / is at least half terrible [...] / though I keep this from my children. I am trying / to sell them the world” and “You could make this place beautiful.” (Maggie Smith, Good Bones)

I get goosebumps just thinking about it, in particular, I got actual chills when I read this the first time. There is something devastating and poignant in how this poem summarizes the despair and the hope I feel about the world every day. 

Honorable mentions go to the entire timshel passage from East of Eden and “and time yet for a hundred indecisions” from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

I feel like my entire writing process is Really Weird, but the weirdest thing I think I do is act out dialogue in the shower. I struggle with the beat of a conversation when I’m just typing, and find characters’ spoken voices come more naturally when I say them out loud, so I will have the conversations with myself, as the characters, over and over again, and just hope that I don’t forget the words while I blowdry my hair.

[hardly-an-escape]

Ten Books to Know Me – I was tagged by the lovely @landwriter and @valeriianz to share 10 (non-ancient) books for people to get to know me better, or that I just really like.

it was practically impossible for me to choose just ten (and in fact I didn't) and I definitely provide WAY more background info than probably anyone is interested in, so this got looong and I'm gonna put my commentary under a cut! but here is my list, in no particular order:

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkein

Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith

Momo, Michael Ende

The Blue Castle, LM Montgomery

The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell

Gaudy Night, Dorothy L Sayers

The Great and Terrible Quest, Margaret Lovett

yes I know there are eleven shut up

(1) Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë if you physically forced me to choose one book that is my favorite of all time, it might be Jane Eyre. I can't swear to that, but it's a good contender. I couldn't even tell you when I first read it, but it was some time before my sophomore year of high school (we were assigned it in an English lit class and I was already intimately familiar with it). I just adore Jane so much. she's so smart and stubborn and weird and self-aware and strong in a way that young Nora identified with and envied in equal parts. I frequently re-read this book when my life was feeling overwhelmingly negative, because it comforted me to think that if everything could turn out okay for Jane in the end, it might turn out okay for me, too. would I love it as much if I read it for the first time now, as an adult? maybe not. the whole crazy-wife-in-the-attic is... not a good look. I get why people don't love it. but I do and I always will.

(2) East of Eden, John Steinbeck I can pick this book up, open it to any page, and there's a better-than-even chance it will immediately make me burst into tears. (actually, as I'm writing this I'm realizing that I'm really due for a re-read.) listen.. I come from a sprawling dysfunctional family and I love a good sprawling epic about a dysfunctional family. I love religious metaphors. I love detailed and loving descriptions of nature and beloved land. is it a bit heavy handed at times? yes. is it still one of the great American novels? yes. timshel.

(3) The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkein (insert Gimli gif "That still only counts as one!!") I associate these books very closely with my family, especially my dad. one of my earliest memories is of my dad reading The Hobbit out loud to me when I was very young – I remember crying so hard when Thorin died that I just about made myself sick. look, you know why I love these books. you love them for the same reason. everyone loves them. they're perfect. the movies all came out around my dad's birthday and we went to see them as a family every year. my sister and brother and I have literally gotten drunk and cried on the couch whilst holding hands during our millionth rewatch of Return of the King. I don't know who I would be if these books weren't on my list.

(4) Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein this is one of those books I read under exactly the right circumstances, during my senior year of high school, in a literature of fantasy class filled with a bunch of other intense artsy nerds; we were all figuring ourselves out and finding our places in the world and learning how to be humans and to develop those deep, intense friendships that you can only form when you're 17 or 18 years old. we all wholeheartedly adopted the concepts of grokking and sharing water and we would go around telling each other thou art God. it's dated, as is a lot of sci fi from the early 60s; the casual sexism and homophobia are not pleasant to read and in retrospect some of the religious symbolism is a little heavy handed. but I still have a soft space in my heart for it (in fact I just loaned a friend my copy this winter). I also love the concept of a Fair Witness.

(5) The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett this has been one of my favorite books since I was about six years old. as a kid I was obsessed with the idea of secret worlds, and especially when kids had things going on that grownups didn't know about or couldn't access. (I loooved stories like Narnia.) it's just such a sweet book. let's all heal our trauma with the power of pale green points and singing the Doxology to a bunch of birds.

(6) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith I was probably just a little bit too young to read this book the first time I picked it up. I didn't know novels could tell stories like this. I didn't know you could write a book that was so painful and beautiful at the same time, or that things that are true can be so ugly and so beautiful at the same time. it cracked open something inside me when I finished it. I think I actually woke my mom up so I could cry at her about it. I think Francie is another protagonist that I identified with to an almost uncomfortable degree, and I think a big part of the power of this book is how accurately it depicts the inner life of a weird little kid in an intense world she's only just beginning to understand.

(7) Momo oder Die seltsame Geschichte von den Zeit-Dieben und von dem Kind, das den Menschen die gestohlene Zeit zurückbrachte, Michael Ende (the older English translation is titled The Grey Gentlemen, but I think a newer translation uses the original title) definitely another children-save-the-day-with-their-secret-child-knowledge story; one that also makes incredibly insightful commentary about consumerism and technology and the speed of modern life – a message that's only gotten more and more relevant since it was first published in 1973. Momo herself is a one of my favorite members in the pantheon of weird little kid characters whom I adore. and the Grey Gentlemen are one of the creepiest, most inexorable antagonists I can think of from children's literature. I haven't read the English translation and I'm not sure how it compares to the original, or how difficult it is to find in the US. but it's absolutely worth tracking down a copy.

(8) The Blue Castle, LM Montgomery as much as I adore the Anne books, and really all of LMM's work, my absolute favorite of hers is this one. it might even be the book on this list that I've re-read most often, and as you might have gathered, I re-read books a lot. (there was a time during the peak of the pandemic when I was having trouble sleeping and I probably read this book, or parts of it, about every week or two. it was like eating my favorite food, it just made me feel better.) it's one of her few more adult works, and a straight-up romance, and it's CRIMINALLY unknown and underappreciated.

(9) The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell this book has it all. aliens. linguistics. space travel. Jesuits. philosophical questions about what it means to be a child of God. like... the main character is a space traveling polyglot linguist priest. that hits ALL my buttons. anyway this is an absolutely gorgeously written sci fi novel that's not really a sci fi novel, kind of the way Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel and another honorable mention on this list) is a post-apocalyptic novel that's not really about the apocalypse. it's one of those books that I'm just constantly recommending to other people because it's so so good. (it is also kind of heartbreakingly tragic and involves some fairly serious trauma of both the physical and psychological/religious varieties, so if you pick it up be aware of that.)

(10) Gaudy Night, Dorothy L Sayers I adore all of Lord Peter Wimsey (except maybe Whose Body? and even that has its merits) but Gaudy Night is my favorite, although Murder Must Advertise is a very close runner-up. I have such an enormous crush on Harriet Vane, you don't even KNOW. I want to be best friends with her and also steal her away from Lord Peter and marry her myself. she is such a perfectly imperfect heroine AND she is absolutely his intellectual equal and that's why he's madly in love with her. swoon. again, this is a book that has it all. mystery. romance. esoteric academic rituals. philosophical questions about what it means to be a woman in a world where your gender will always be the most important thing people perceive about you no matter what you do. life imitating art imitating life imitating art. WWI changing the fabric of society. consider my buttons pushed.

(11) The Great and Terrible Quest, Margaret Lovett yes, I'm adding an extra eleventh book. I can't help it. this is another criminally unknown and underappreciated book and since nobody's ever heard of it I am required to shout from the rooftops about how great it is. it's a classic fantasy story (I guess you could call it a fairy tale, but there isn't really anything magical about it, just knights and kings and stuff) about a young boy who lives with his cruel grandfather. he saves a mysterious man from a terrible head wound and gets swept along in the man's quest. it's simple and beautiful and has one of the best endings of any book I've ever read. Lovett only published a handful of books, but they're all marvelous. please find them if you can.

I really haven't been online this week so I have no idea who's already done this and who hasn't and I don't know who to tag, so I'm going to take the coward's way out and just say if you're seeing this and looking for an excuse to answer these questions, consider this your sign.

[wulfhalls]

Hey babe!

Reader anon here with another recommendation ;D

Firstly, how are you? What are you reading? Did the vanity fair treat you right?

I have just finished east of eden by Steinbeck and it fucks. Not doestoevskij style because, yk, he is american, but the cyclity, the daddy issues, the brotherhood bond, the biblical references, the only woman present is the devil incarnated but also she is right, for some things. Timshel! i wanna tattoo this word on my forehead.

also it's strangely modern about what people expect from strangers and how we adapt our lives to these expectations.

had my east of eden/cathy ames breakdown at the beginning of the year! so true of us to keep having exquisite taste and correct opinions only <33

[clare-with-no-i]

100% agree, Clare!! I think that’s why I’ve always been so drawn to Lily and don’t necessarily get the appeal of aus that try to change that about her or even James. It’s just makes them into different characters 🤷🏻‍♀️

yeah, absolutely. making them ooc instead of just pivoting to another ship has always baffled me, lol. these two characters lived and died by their goodness, by their desires to see the world improve and to be a part of that improvement. by their commitment to justice. I always come back to the Hebrew word timshel (which, yes, I learned from the song!), when I want to sum them—and, in my mind, especially James—up succinctly. this quote from East of Eden always takes my breath:

that which makes a man great and that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he still has the great choice. he can choose his course and fight it through and win.

[spynorth]

LIST 5 SONGS THAT INSPIRE YOU TO WRITE YOUR MUSE.

never let me go - florence and the machine //  looking up from underneath, fractured moonlight on the sea. reflections still look the same to me, as before i went under. and it’s peaceful in the deep, cathedral where you can not breathe, no need to pray, no need to speak, now i am under.

i’ll be good - jaymes young //  My past has tasted bitter for years now. So I wield an iron fist, grace is just weakness, or so i’ve been told. I’ve been cold, I’ve been merciless. But the blood on my hands scares me to death, maybe I’m waking up. I’ll be good, I’ll be good. And I’ll love the world like I should. I’ll be good, I’ll be good. For all of the light that I shut out, for all of the innocent things that I doubt. For all of the bruises I’ve caused and the tears, for all of the things that i’ve done all these years.

control - halsey  // I sat alone in bed ‘til the morning, I’m crying they’re coming for me. And I tried to hold these secrets inside me, my mind’s like a deadly disease - I paced around for hours on empty, I jumped at the slightest of sounds. And I couldn’t stand the person inside me, I turned all the mirrors around. 

doesn’t remind me - audioslave  // I walk the streets of Japan until I get lost, cause it doesn’t remind me of anything. With a graveyard tan and carrying a cross, yeah it doesn’t remind me of anything. I like studying faces in the parking lot, because it doesn’t remind me of anything. I like driving backwards in the fog, because it doesn’t remind me of anything. The things that I’ve loved, the things that i’ve lost. The things I held sacred that I dropped. I wont lie no more you can bet. I don’t want to learn what I need to forget.

the sound of silence - pentatonix  //  In restless dreams i walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone. Beneath the halo of a streetlamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp. when my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light that split the night. And touched the sound of silence.

& LIST 5 QUOTES THAT INSPIRE YOU TO WRITE YOUR MUSE.

“Going to another country doesn’t make any difference. I’ve tried all that. You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There’s nothing to that.”    // Ernest Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises

“But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.” // John Steinbeck - East of Eden

“From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached.” // Franz Kafka - The Trial

“No,” Widget says. “On people. The past stays on you the way powdered sugar stays on your fingers. Some people can get rid of it but it’s still there, the events and things that pushed you to where you are now.” //  Erin Morgenstern - The Night Circus

“  I wander thro’ each charter’d street, Near where the charter’d Thames does flow. And mark in every face I meet, Marks of weakness, marks of woe. // william blake - london

tagged by: @twistedwit tagging: @starsspin (amelia or qui gon or spartacus!), @trickstercaptain, @everafteriing (aurora), @vamporn, @coldreads/ @balldwin (you pick which!) + you!!! just tag me please. I want to see it.

[cosmicwhimsyexplorations]

Hercules here!!! I am 31 backwards!! X

In Genesis 1:1, the Bible declares, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." This powerful opening verse establishes God as the Lord of all creation, emphasizing His role as the ultimate source and architect of the universe.

Psalm 24:1 further affirms, "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." This verse emphasizes God's ownership and sovereignty over the entirety of creation, reinforcing His position as the Lord over all.

The New Testament echoes this theme in Colossians 1:16, stating, "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him." This verse emphasizes the divine origin and purpose behind all of creation.

In summary, these biblical messages underscore the belief that God is not only the Lord of all creation but also the purposeful and intentional Creator who holds authority over every aspect of the universe.

FREE WILL! Xx_. | 2024; the year of FREE WILL!! X

Not now!!

Rationality is the ability to think, reason, and make decisions based on logic and evidence. It's considered a powerful force in enlightenment as it encourages critical thinking, scientific inquiry, and the pursuit of knowledge. Embracing rationality promotes understanding and challenges unfounded beliefs, contributing to progress and a more informed society.

Elliott Buckley = The anomaly!

The anomaly is Jesus Christ.

FREE WILL!

The concept of free will is a profound and complex aspect of human existence, often encapsulated by the phrase "timshel," which means "thou mayest" in Hebrew. This concept originates from John Steinbeck's novel "East of Eden," where it is explored in the context of human choices and the struggle between good and evil.

"Thou mayest" encapsulates the idea that humans have the power to make choices, to shape their destinies through their decisions. It is a celebration of autonomy and the freedom to determine one's path. However, intertwined with this freedom is the acknowledgement that "thou mayest not." The notion that choices come with consequences, limitations, and responsibilities is an integral part of the human experience.

This duality of "thou mayest" and "thou mayest not" reflects the intricate balance of free will. While individuals possess the freedom to make choices, these choices are not made in a vacuum. They ripple through the fabric of existence, affecting not only the individual but also the world around them.

The importance of free will lies in its capacity to define individuality, morality, and the human experience. It grants the power to shape one's character, to pursue virtues, and to navigate the moral complexities of life. However, with this power comes the responsibility to discern, to consider the consequences of one's actions, and to understand that the exercise of free will is not without its ethical boundaries.

In essence, the acknowledgment of "thou mayest not" tempers the freedom of choice with the awareness of consequences and moral considerations. It invites individuals to exercise their free will with wisdom, compassion, and a recognition of the interconnectedness of their choices with the broader tapestry of existence.

- **Immortality:** Immortality refers to the state of being exempt from death or unending existence. It can be conceptualized in various ways, such as physical immortality (ongoing bodily existence) or spiritual immortality (enduring existence beyond physical death).

- **Free Will:** Free will is the ability of individuals to make choices and decisions without constraint, coercion, or predetermined influences. It implies the freedom to act according to one's own desires, beliefs, and values.

- **Freedom of Speech:** Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right that allows individuals the liberty to express their opinions, thoughts, and ideas without fear of censorship or punishment. It is a cornerstone of democratic societies, promoting open discourse and diverse perspectives.

These concepts touch on fundamental aspects of human existence and societal values, influencing how individuals navigate life, express themselves, and contemplate their place in the world.

FREE WILL! Free will! Timshel!

Free will! FREE WILL! X

… Lmfao 😹!! I am the space invader - 👾!!! Xx_. | 💭!!! X

Certainly, one powerful reference is found in the New Testament in the Book of Matthew:

**Matthew 20:28 (NIV):** "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

This verse reflects the essence of Jesus Christ's mission on Earth, emphasizing service, sacrifice, and the profound impact of His life on humanity.

I am 15!! Piss myself! Area 51 backwards! Lmfao - 😹!!! 𝐗

[nateimages]

Week 9 Prompt: An Ending

This is the final paragraph of East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. The book takes place across 3 generations within a family and displays the concept Timshel. The word directly translates to "thou mayest", which represents the idea that you free yourself from evil regardless of your circumstances. In the book, those circumstances are the evils of the previous generation(s).

[quill-does-crafts]

[mobiused]

How did you find info on the song on the one teaser for yyxy? I cant find anything beyond basic information :(

When you say "info" what do you mean? 'one' is intentionally vague, having the blank brackets and no mv description, so yeah there's no information to "find" really, my own thoughts are just a product of some detective work. Though below I'll go into more detail on my perspective on various aspects of the teaser for you :)

(1.5k of one teaser insanity below)

The book quotes from Douglas Adam's "the restaurant at the end of the universe" [...do what you like guys, oh, but don't eat the apple], which is a sarcastic quote about how God is kind of a dick for pointing out the one thing in Eden that would lead to the fall of man and expect them to resist temptation when he designed them as fallible, basically hinting that god wanted them to bite the apple and get exiled, so real humanity, with all its flaws and temptation and free will could get started, that it was somewhat an inevitability.

I think this links well to exposition from Yves' new mv description:

It's interesting to think about in terms of the illusion of freedom though, the Christian argument is that Adam and ...Yves chose freely to disobey God, and Yves here argues it's better to "stand up...against that fate", but both God and the serpent - to varying degrees - manipulate and coerce Eve into making her "choice", it wasn't exactly of her own volition. These link to ideas about determinism, with philosophers like Laplace and Leibniz supporting the idea of a clockwork universe. (I was reading this article about it, which coincidentally features the czech clock that is in the 12:00 teaser.)

This contrasts ideas from 'East of Eden', which yyxy are in part inspired by. The central takeaway from the book is the idea of 'timshel' (which isn't actually a real hebrew word), that by the end of the book, Cal (who Olivia Hye is meant to be analogous to) is left with the fact that the ability to be evil, and also the ability to do good, will always be his choice, and he's not like his mother Cathy (who is meant to be analogous to Yves, kind of), and that rather than his father's blessing, which was what he wanted to hear, this fact of timshel is what he needed to hear. Despite all of Cal's badness, impulsiveness and wrongdoings, he always has the choice to turn it around and be a good person again. Idea of timshel explained below

“Don’t you see?” he cried. “The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin. . . . The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’—that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’ Don’t you see?”

So that kind of covers how I feel on the Douglas Adams book reference in relation to yyxy.

Next up is the 3 virtues and 1 sin:

Yves is faith, Chuu is love, Gowon is hope and Olivia Hye is... anger? Kind of want to strangle bbc for this one!! anger as a translation for 분노 (the word used as the korean translation) is totally busted - 분노 is meant to evoke the idea of wrath, as in the cardinal sin. From the namuwiki page below is a table which shows that even though 분노 can be translated as anger, I think within the context that the other 3 words are biblical, it should be gathered that they're trying to assign Olivia Hye specifically wrath, and not just anger.

As for the other three - faith, love and hope come originally from St. Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, but is most famously repeated in 1 Corinthians 13, most commonly at weddings lol. but I think Thessalonians 1:3 is more pertinent:

"...calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope"

The letter is St. Paul speaking fondly about the community of Christians in Thessalonica, praising them for their community work (i.e building the city of god is a labor of love). But does this really apply to the girls? The girls are certainly building a community - the whole message of the entire loonaverse is about improving circumstances for all "loonas" around the world, and we're constantly seeing imagery of the "outsiders" (foreigners, queer people, androids, socioculturally outspoken people) finding community after being 'enlightened' to Yves' -- and loona on the whole's -- message.

Yves' loses faith in her God, but gains faith in herself. She becomes an egoist (🧐) and develops faith in areas such as her own performance skills (as discussed briefly in this post) and her mission over all, completely turning her back on God.

To me, the first three girls are "perversions" (for lack of a better word) of these virtues. Augustine of Hippo comments that love is the best out of all three, becuase hope isn't hope if its object is seen, and faith can turn into delusion

Chuu's love for Yves is stalkerish and objectifying as her "fan", and is completely infatuated with, and obedient to her despite knowing very little about her past the image Yves projects. Chuu's love certainly "...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7), but we see that her love for Yves (aka love4eva) is to her detriment, as it leads her to freezing to the point of unconsciousness in the Heart Attack MV.

Gowon's hope gets soured once Yves gives her everything she's hoped for. Gowon wanted a future where she was respected, independent, beautiful, unashamed (and so on), and as soon as Yves crowns her, she no longer has to hope for anything, because she just got everything. "You have seen, therefore you have not believed" "For if a man sees a thing, why does he hope for it?"

We know a theme in the loonaverse is that what society/organised religion deems to be a "bad" girl, and what the loona members' opinions of what a "bad" girl should be are two different things - this applies to Olivia hye too right? We see this most clearly in the 'Why Not' lyrics (trimmed to the relevant lyrics):

If those guys are perversions of the virtues, what does that mean for Olivia's wrath? Is she just simply the bringer of wrath, or does she pervert that too, by embodying its opposing virtue of patience, enduring her time in Eden until the right moment comes for her emancipation, and come out stronger? Despite all of Olivia's cathartic burning of objects reminding her of Eden/Yves, do we really see her demonstrate wrath? That is, opposed to righteous, healthy anger, demonstrated in stories such as the Cleansing of the Temple.

The song theme is (in part) about choosing your own morality, and not letting the traditionalist and reactionary views of others make you waver in those morals, no matter what they say. Olivia may come across like a "bad" girl, but do her actions really reflect a girl who is the embodiment of wrath? This also links to her connection with East of Eden's Cal, who gives off every impression of being a "bad" boy, except its a grey area... Like her symbolic color. Not a coincidence!

Lastly, a look at the German operatic song in the background, where the lyrics line up with the members on screen like from this post, which is kind of unsettlingly cool how well it matches up with the respective characters.

Yves is the leader, who never discusses her own trauma from Eden.

Chuu secretly longs for a woman who she doesn't truly know, who seems to be(?) unaware of how much she emotionally affects her.

Gowon retreats into religion, and her inner world as an unhealthy(?) coping mechanism similarly to how Aron from East of Eden (though isn't the meadows and stars reminscient of LCM?)

Olivia Hye is so ostracised and pained, we don't even get to even hear about her "heavy pressed heart", as 'she' is silenced before it gets to be articulated.

A lot of people have kind of crackpot theories (just kidding all theories are valid...! ^-^) on what the ending of the 'one' teaser is meant to mean, and the ones about yyxy all being one person, or having DID, or more shit like that. I really think that's a fundemental misunderstanding of what is trying to be conveyed. Cinematically, we see the girls one by one to be shown following in Yves' footsteps, all walking to the same direction, to the same end goal, of eating the apple and leaving Eden.

To me, the teaser is more about Olivia Hye realising at the mirror that her "choice" to eat the fruit was never really a choice at all.

[steveyockey]

“what is the word again?” “timshel—thou mayest.”

supernatural // east of eden (dean)

[image description: three screencaps of castiel from supernatural overlaid with a quote from john steinbeck's east of eden,

the first is of castiel sitting on the bench from "the man who would be king" (6.20), staring down at his hands thoughtfully. in the middle of the frame are the words "it set him free. it gave him the right to be a man, separate from every other man."

the second shows castiel mournfully looking out the front window of the gas-n-sip from the end of "heaven can't wait" (9.06). over his right shoulder against the ceiling of the store are the words "that's lonely."

the third is castiel in "despair" (15.18), smiling with a tear streaming down his cheek just before the empty takes him. to his left are the words "all great and precious things are lonely."]

[ninadove]

Recently, I’ve seen many posts (well… ‘many’ as per East of Eden standards, so like, 3 or 4) regretting Steinbeck’s treatment of Cathy/Kate. And I must admit, it puzzles me, because I am absolutely convinced he wanted us to feel sympathy towards her.

Many of her thoughts and alleged crimes are reported by an unreliable narrator who has no way of verifying any of this information. Most importantly, Steinbeck himself admits he is an unreliable narrator and that he is not equipped to understand or judge her:

[Chapter 8] You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that to a monster the norm is monstruous.

[Chapter 13] It doesn’t matter that Cathy was what I have called a monster. Perhaps we can’t understand Cathy, but on the other hand we are capable of many things in all directions, of great virtues and great sins. And who in his mind has not probed the black water?

[Chapter 17] When I said Cathy was a monster it seemed to me that it was so. Now I have bent close with a glass over the small print of her and re-read the footnotes, and I wonder if it was true. The trouble is that since we cannot know what she wanted, we will never know whether or not she got it. If rather than running toward something, she ran away from something, we cannot know whether she escaped. Who knows but that she tried to tell someone or everyone what she was like and could not, for lack of a common language. Her life may have been her language, formal, developed, indecipherable. It is easy to say she was bad, but there is little meaning unless we know why.

And, interestingly enough — even this kinder diagnosis is disproven later on.

What supposedly sets Cathy/Kate apart from the rest of humanity is the concept of timshel, the great choice that should ‘give [her] stature with the gods’: something she should be pitied, not demonised, for lacking. But does she actually lack it? Does she?

[Chapter 50] Kate was not thinking. Her mind drifted among impressions the way a bat drifts and swoops in the evening. She saw the face of the blonde and beautiful boy, his eyes mad with shock. She heard his ugly words aimed not so much at her as at himself. And she saw his dark brother leaning against the door and laughing.

Kate had laughed too — the quickest and best self-protection. What would her son do? What had he done after he went quietly away?

She loves Aron because she (erroneously) believes he is the one good thing that came out of her. She is terrified of Cal because she (erroneously) sees him as the incarnation of everything that is wrong with her, and paradoxically of a choice she thinks she does not have herself:

[Chapter 39] Cal said, “I was afraid I had you in me.”

“You have,” said Kate.

“No, I haven’t. I’m my own. I don’t have to be you.”

“How do you know that?” she demanded.

“I just know. It just came to me whole. If I’m mean, it’s my own mean. […] I don’t think the light hurts your eyes. I think you’re afraid.”

“Get out!” she cried. “Go on, get out!”

“I’m going.” He had his hand on the doorknob. “I don’t hate you,” he said. “But I’m glad you’re afraid.”

Were she truly incapable of doing good, she would not care that much. Which makes her a stellar foil to Adam (much like the twins are foils to each other), who is obsessed with the concept of timshel and keeps making all the wrong decisions in the pursuit of a noble ideal that causes more harm than good.

The bottom line is: Steinbeck did an incredible job writing Cathy/Kate and deserves much more credit than he gets.

[thefogoflife]

I feel like being naturally good is inferior to being purely good.

I feel like it's praised as superior, but it can't be.

Being inherently good and never knowing/conquering evil in yourself in order to become good, or to choose to be good, is so hollow. Yet it's a worshipped trait in a character, a sign on strength and purity.

I can see it being admired in terms of naivete and blind strength/faith, but I could never see it as being preferable to a goodness borne of hard lessons and conquering cruelty within/done to oneself.

One that is always good and gas never known anything but goodness isn't pure, or special, they're merely following a path of inertia, what they know. It's habit, not practice, and that cheapens the goodness.

Further, I think that someone who has only known good is detached from the people they help. A lack of empathy from a lack of experience, and a sense of zealotry/superiority from being comparatively clean. This further cheapens the image.

I think the purest kindness/goodness comes from those who have been wronged, or have committed wrongs and seen error in their ways. There is nothing more pure and strong than somebody that chooses this path after having been exposed to the others. It's more absolute, there's no hesitation or superficiality.

You could argue that its cheapened by guilt, or the desire to atone, but I disagree. I think that guilt or a desire for atonement is only delayed desire to be kind. Why does it matter if you want to be good or kind because of the past or the present, as long as you are doing so genuinely?

I think that this is a common misconception in mythology and religion too. Those that are "damned" are actually sent on a path to redemption that is a conscious and genuine decision, and not an act of inertia.

Take Cain vs Abel for instance. Abel is seen as good and pure, but that's all he knows. He is killed, and that's all he learns. He goes to heaven and is surrounded by the goodness he embodies, and never knows anything more.

Cain, on the other hand, is marked, and lives on to see the horrors of the world, and to live with his sin. But he also populates humanity, and gets to see his descendants grow and advance. He gets to see human kindness, and the building of communities. He gets the chance to be surrounded by evil and come out of it choosing to be good.

Another example is Lucifer (the show, not the actual devil, if you believe that). It's pretty clear that he's on a redemption arc, I think anybody can see that, but it's a great example anyway. He goes from completely selfish and a total heathen to selfless, self aware, and compassionate. In his club, and hell, he creates a den of badness/evil/etc and grows out of it...and when he is good, it's really good, arguably more moving than when other characters are.

I swear I'm not trying to make this a Christian post, because I'm not religious, but only Christian examples come to mind. I think of St. Paul coming from killing Christian to being the penultimate example of one, I think of Faustus realizing his hubris, I think of a priest I knew that used to be an addict and a gang member, and how he was more genuine than any of the stuffy permavirgin regular priests, because he was relatable and clearly flawed.

But honestly, fuck my brain for only coming up with Christian examples, use yours and find other ones. Think of someone purely/naturally good at something, and somebody that grinded like hell to get there, and tell me side by side that the latter doesn't look better. Doesn't just have to be in respect to morality either, could be anything.

Sports: Somebody like Tom Brady, who's naturally a superstar (I know he works hard, but he has had everything line up for him in terms of team, schedule, talent, coach, etc), or somebody like Peyton Manning, who came back from a string of mediocrity and serious injury to retire on a superbowl. Or Pat Tillman, who was tiny in his position as safety (I think) and grinded and worked nonstop until he went pro, and then worked his way up that roster as well.

Damn, these examples are making me furious. I'm not religious and I fucking hate sports, but I really want to make this point.

I've been staring at my new timshel tattoo after finishing East of Eden again and my intp brain is just on fire.

[midrashic]

17 | FAVORITE QUOTE FROM A FAVORITE BOOK | EAST OF EDEN | JOHN STEINBECK

i’m not really a quote person! i choose favorite books for thematic unity & the sheer narrative pleasure i get out of reading them; lyricism is certainly nice, but plain prose isn’t a deal-breaker. another problem i have is that often quotes strike me because of how deeply they resonate with their context, and taking one line and holding it out for people to see strips it of much of its meaning. could i pick a favorite line from danez smith’s “summer, somewhere”? jr mahung’s “we can look back to the first green we saw in the field at washington park when we drove past & said like we do every year that if we survived that last winter we can make it through anything” barely means anything if you don’t realize it’s the last line that compares chicago’s bitter winters to the Black experience of police brutality.

so here’s a line, from a stalwart of the old canon, that has stuck with me & stuck with me, which is the best a line can really hope for:

But the Hebrew word, the word timshel [sic]--“Thou mayest”--that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open.

yeah, i’m a basic bitch! what of it!

In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. The masterpiece of Steinbeck’s later years, East of Eden is a work in which Steinbeck created his most mesmerizing characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love’s absence. Adapted for the 1955 film directed by Elia Kazan introducing James Dean and read by thousands as the book that brought Oprah’s Book Club back, East of Eden has remained vitally present in American culture for over half a century. 

[ april in books ]