#and i am preparing to die

[queenlucythevaliant]

🪆would love one featuring Russian thoughts on God! ✝️

SO. I could have sworn that I've posted "Avvakum in Pustozyorsk" on this blog before, but I can't seem to find it so here it is.

(For context, this is written in the voice of a 17th century Russian Orthodox priest and religious dissident (an "Old Believer"). Avvakum was sent to the military outpost of Pustozyorsk where he was imprisoned four fourteen years, then eventually burned at the stake. It uses this historical voice to reflect on the religious persecution of the Soviet era. Also, it's fairly long, so I've highlighted my favorite stanzas.)

Avvakum in Pustozyorsk The walls of my church are the ribs round my heart; it seems life and I are soon bound to part. My cross now rises, traced with two fingers. In Pustozyorsk it blazes; its blaze will linger. I’m glorified everywhere, vilified, branded; I have already become the stuff of legend: I was, people say, full of anger and spite; I suffered, I died for the ancient rite. But this popular verdict is ugly nonsense; I hear and reject the implied censure. A rite is nothing – neither wrong nor right; a rite is a trifle in God’s sight. But they attacked our faith and the ways of the past, in all we’d learned as children, and taken to heart. In their holy garments, in their grand hats, with a cold crucifix in their cold hands, in thrall to a terror clutching their souls, they drag us to jails and herd us to scaffolds. We don’t debate doctrine, of books and their age; we don’t debate virtues of fetters and chains. Our dispute is of freedom, and the right to breathe – about our Lord’s will to bind as he please. The healers of souls chastised our bodies; while they schemed and plotted, we ran to the forests. Despite their decrees, we hurled our words out of the lion’s mouth and into the world. We called for vengeance against their sins along with the Lord; we sang poems and hymns. The words of the Lord were claps of thunder. The Church endures; it will never go under. And I, unyielding, reading the Psalter, was brought to the gates of the Andronikov Monastery. I was young; I endured every pain: hunger, beatings, interrogations. A winged angel shut the eyes of the guard, brought me cabbage soup and a hunk of bread. I crossed the threshold – and I walked free. Embracing my exile, I walked to the East. I held services by the Amur River, where I barely survived the winds and blizzards. They branded my cheeks with brands of frost; by a mountain stream they tore out my nostrils. But the path to the Lord goes from jail to jail; the path to the Lord never changes. And all too few, since Jesus’s days, have proved able to bear God’s all-seeing gaze. Nastasia, Nastasia, do not despair; true joy often wears a garment of tears. Whatever temptations may beat in your heart, whatever torments may rip you apart, walk on in peace through a thousand troubles and fear not the snake that bites at your ankles – though not from Eden has this snake crawled; it is an envoy of evil from Satan’s world. Here, birdsong is unknown; here one learns patience and the wisdom of stone. I have seen no colour except lingonberry in fourteen years spent as a prisoner. But this is not madness, nor a waking dream; it is my soul’s fortress, its will and freedom. And now they are leading me far away and in fetters; my yoke is easy, my burden grows lighter. My track is swept clean dusted with silver; I’m climbing to heaven on wings of fire. Through cold and hunger, through grief and fear, towards God, like a dove, I rise from the pyre. O far-away Russia – I give you my vow to return from the sky, forgiving my foes. May I be reviled, and burned at the stake; may my ashes be cast on the mountain wind. There is no fate sweeter, no better end, than to knock, as ash, at the human heart.

--Varlam Shalamov

[dizzybizz]

guys i think he came back wrong

[ahsokatanos-lightsabertechnique]

Because we all saw how she was looking at Sahar while bathed in lighting the colors of the lesbian flag

[lgbtlunaverse]

I know everyone here loves a good "A is injured and/or killed and their partner B absolutely loses it and puts the fear of god into everyone around them" as well as unhealthy devotion to the point of love superceding both self preservation and morality. They're classics for a reason. And I think it's fun that in mdzs basically every single one of the examples for either of these have not been romantic (I think lwj would be up for some wei wuxian-motivated murder if you put him in the right situation but the most he ever did in canon was injure some of his elders, and while intense his grief is mostly silent rather than explosive) but familial. All of the big revenge plans and post death/injury deadly freak-outs have been about family. Wei wuxian (and, honestly, Jiang Cheng) for Jiang Yanli. Wen qing and Wei Wuxian (again) for Wen Ning. Jin Guangyao for his mother. And, of course, the whole fucking plot is set in motion by Nie Huaisang going "I don't give a fuck who it sacrifices in the process i will get revenge for my brother's death" for Nie Mingjue.

It really is "unhealthy codependent family dynamics: the novel." I like it.

[bronzebluemind]

It’s been 0 weeks since the World Cup finale, 17 weeks to go until sgp and 34 weeks to go until next season.

[lotus-pear]

not to be that person but studio bones could and would change the ending of bungou stray dogs if they so desired. how do i know you ask? because that’s what they did with fullmetal alchemist and soul eater.

[daily-basil]

OK we're back I promise

[oso-nan]

envygraves/natgoose stuff. i like how many parallels there are between them, ex-nerds, both change names to seem “cooler”, still trying to best their exes, letting fame get to their heads… etc etc…. sighhh the wasted lesbian potential…..

last doodle is just an au where the league is just a big toxic nerd highschool club. like the eltingville club. thats just me intertwining my interests because im goated and unafraid

[glowstickblood]

Nothing like going through Alien Stage and coming to the slow realisation that somehow Ivan is the healthiest one

[ya-boi-haru]

Athena: So, Uncle Fable, that white streak in your hair, whats up with that?

Fable: Oh, I'm not too sure, I've had it for as long as I can remember. I guess it could be to my physical appearance, given roughly how old I would look if I were mortal?

Athena: So, it's an aging old man thing?

Fable: ... that's one way to phrase it, yes

Athena: Interesting...

Caspian: Can you stop?

[lovelytech9902]

This is not a “goodbye” or “see you later” post because I can’t say goodbye to these characters.

I’ve spent the last couple days on and off bursting into tears as I type and retype the things I want to express.

I feel like a massive baby for crying so much over pixels but I just love this show and these characters so much, words truly will never be enough.

As we enter the last 36 hrs (pre bad batch eve, bad batch eve) I have taken some time to rewatch some of my favourite episodes and moments - take in all the small details that I might have missed the first time I watched the show (I did binge watch it the first time, after all)

It’s truly remarkable all the work, effort, time and details that went into making such a beautifully devastating story.

This barely scratches the surface of what I feel but it’s all i can really come up with right now..

I can’t thank Dee, Ming, Michelle, Dave, Jennifer, Kiner Music, EVERYONE that had something to do with this show.

We don’t know what the final episode has in store for us and The Bad Batch, we can only hope and pray that they are given the ending they deserve.

Whether it’s delusional or not, I firmly believe this is not the end of the clones. We will get more content. We will see them again.

❤️

[martianbugsbunny]

if crosshair is killed I will be burning someone's house down

[hoziersredguitar]

I miss old tumblr in the sense that i could complain about board exams and worrying about not getting enough to be eligible for my medical entrance test and i'd have summoned half the indian side of tumblr to sympathize

[messessentialist]

i am begging people to learn the difference between peak, peek, and pique

[chungledown-bimothy]

I am The Wizard Sky. So as they sprint away, I turn and get the eyes of a soldier of the Citadel, point behind them, and say "Bring them to me."

FUCK. yeah man that's. god. fuck. okay i see how people foregoing critical thinking and/or media literacy would get mad about that. however. god i love that call. it's the harder, more interesting choice. it makes perfect sense for suvi to do. fuck. of course that's what she does. incredible. devastating.

[all-da-ladies-luv-leoo]

MEDUSA 👏 IS 👏 NOT 👏 A 👏 MONSTER 👏 SHE 👏 IS 👏 A 👏 SURVIVOR 👏