#any idea how to get banned from church?

[theoneandonlythorn]

quick TW before we begin for religious trauma, homophobia from church leaders and swearing.

Ugh......

So, I was raised Mormon; my family's been in the "religion" for generations. (Tracing back to the main man, Joseph Smith, himself) I'm also demifluid and most certainly not straight.

When I came out to my church leader, he...wasn't very happy. TL;DR, I'm banned from the religion's holy place, my job in the church ward and basically banned from church altogether. My mom was there during the whole shitshow and she agreed that I didn't have to go to church if I didn't want to.

Of course I didn't wanna go back!! Who would??? My family and I moved last week, meaning hooray, a ~new church congregation~ The people are...nice. I guess. They could always be worse, after all. But I've been hurt an ungodsly amount of times. I've begged my mom to not make me go to church, but she said "I should give it a try."

I've been trying for YEARS. Fucking years. When you're a kid, you're told you'll feel a "warm fuzzy feeling" when the "spirit" is near. I never felt that. I've never had a moment of "spiritual revelation", but believe me, I've fucking tried.

I have autism, so I've always been literal. If I can see something, I'll believe it. Baby Thorne always thought that one day when the world is ending, I'd feel it and have a huge "Oh my gods, heaven is real!" (Side note, the idea of the "Second Coming" always gave me so much anxiety as a kid. Like, from an early age you're told that the world is ending at some point in your life because it's "the eNd TiMeS!")

Anyway, I have an awesome therapist who's helping me with gender dysphoria and also good old ~religious trauma~ When you're growing up, you're told that church is the most wonderful place ever and you'll never be hurt. Ha ha ha.

no.

I was bullied at church by all the other kids from the ages of eleven to thirteen-fourteen. As you can imagine, that kind of fucks you up.

My therapist gave me a pass from church on the basis that "If I had a spiritual experience, I'd probably have a complete breakdown due to cognitive dissonance."

...but according to my mom, she knows better. I've begged my mom to stop forcing me to church, but no luck. I need to ask him (my therapist) if he'll tell my mom that I really truly shouldn't go to church.

So, long story short, does anyone know how to get excommunicated from the Mormon church? (Personally, I don't want to murder someone in order to get out of this shitty cult, but most other ideas are free game)

The rest of my family is in this church (cult, more like), so telling my siblings that I've lost my faith (never had it in the first place) is kind of out of the question.

[burningvelvet]

being a romantic era poet: a quick how-to guide

walk around in nature contemplating Things. start hiking, swimming, sailing, rowing, shooting, riding, etc. for inspiration

be obsessed with the french revolution and related enlightenment-era figures like rousseau, voltaire, mary wollstonecraft, and madame de staël. be more disappointed by napoleon bonaparte than you are by your own father. 

speaking of fathers, your parents and most of your other relatives are all either dying or dead or emotionally abusive. if you have any siblings (full, half, step, or adopted) who DIDN'T die tragically already, then you may choose to be close to them. you also may end up being much TOO close to them. various circumstances may also ban you from seeing them. 

be at least slightly touched by madness and/or some other severe illness(es) including but not limited to: consumption, horrors, syphilis, deformities, lameness, terrors, piles, boils, pox, allergies, coughing, sleep abnormalities, gonorrhea, etc. — for which you must take frequent bed rest and copious amounts of Laudanum (opium derivation)

consider foregoing meat and adopting a vegetable diet instead to purify the spirits. you may also abstain from alcohol for the same reasons. alternatively, you may attempt the veggie diet, end up rejecting it, and becoming a rampant alcoholic instead. in romanticism there is no healthy medium between abstinence and excess.

reject, or at least heavily criticize, christianity. refuse to get married in a church and consider becoming a fervent champion of atheism. alternatively, you may embrace catholicism, but only on an aesthetic basis. eastern religions and minority religions are also acceptable, only because they piss off the christians. 

if you’re not a self-hating member of the aristocracy and instead have to work for a living, do something that allows you to benefit society, be creative, and/or contemplate life. viable options include, but are not limited to: apothecarist, doctor, teacher, preacher, lawyer, farmer, printmaker, publisher, editor. there is also the possibility of earning a few coins from your art. if you were cursed to be born a She, no worries. we believe in equality. you may choose from these occupations: wife, nanny, housekeeper, spinster, amanuensis (copy writer for a man), lady’s companion, divorced wife, singer/actress/escort, widow, regular escort, tutor, or housewife. 

speaking of sexist institutions, try rejecting marriage entirely. Declare your eternal devotion to your lover by having sex with them on your mother’s grave instead.

if you do get married — elope, and only let it be for necessary financial reasons, or to try and save a teenage girl from her controlling family, or out of true love with someone you view as your intellectual equal, or because your life is so racked with scandals and debt that you can only clear your name by matrimony to a wealthy religious woman as your last resort before fleeing the country.

After marriage, quickly assert your belief in the powers of free love and bisexuality by taking extramarital lovers and suggesting your spouse follow suit. If they cannot keep up with your intellectual escapades then consider leaving them. Later on, propose a platonic friendship with them following the separation, or beg them for reconciliation.

If your marriage is happy, try moving in with another bohemian couple to shake things up. Alternatively, you may die before the wedding for dramatic effect.

If you beget children (whether in or out of marriage, makes no matter), do society a favor by choosing to raise them with your beliefs. Consider adopting orphan children, or even non-orphan children. If their parents are poor enough they probably won’t mind. Try kidnapp— I mean adopting — children off the side of the road if you can. 

DIE but do it creatively. ideally young. ideas: prophecy your own death, lead an army into war and then die right before your first battle and on your deathbed curse everyone and demand to see a witch, write a will leaving money to your mistresses or some random young man you have an unrequited romantic obsession with, carry a copy of your dead friend's poetry and read it right before you drown so that your washed up corpse can only be identified by his book in your pocket, die while staring at your lover's shriveled up heart that you keep wrapped up in a copy of his own poetry and then be buried with it, die of the poet's illness (consumption) while your artist friend draws you and then be buried with your lover's writing, get mysteriously poisoned (by yourself) after a series of scandals and accidents and then have your family announce that you were killed by god, die from romanticizing poverty or receiving bad reviews from literary critics, die from walking or horseback riding in the cold and the rain while poeticizing, etc.

[barbiesmuse]

FINE LINE. ₊˚⊹♡

;ֶָ 𓂃⊹ ִֶָsimon riley + reader

summary: you knew it was over, in fact, it never really began. but in your heart, it was oh-so-real.

tags: introduction to a new series! there is cliffhanger smut and talk of religion but that's mostly all!

head barbie's announcements: i'm back! after a long break that was totally needed because my brain was fried!! my masterlist will be updated, this will be a series so just think of this as the backstory, anddddd that's all! kisses and hugs for u always. if this is offensive or makes anyone uncomfortable i apologize and i will take it down without a problem!! this is just an idea for a fic! if you like it maybe i'll continue! “Am I making you feel sick?”

The hate you had for Simon Riley ran deep. Before you met him you were a good girl. You went to church every Sunday, volunteered to help in youth groups, and were the Priest's daughter. It was a life filled with love, community, and toxicity. Your father had been waiting to auction you off to his favorite usher's son. Your father judged a book by its cover; unfortunately for you, that meant almost no friends.

So when a young man and his mother come to church for the first time, your father is less than thrilled. His mother was known around town, she was a sleaze. She was outgoing, boisterous, and sometimes flirty. Your father called her a jezebel, although you tried to ignore his rude comments and welcome them into the church. Simon's mother thought you were the cutest thing since Polly Pocket, although you didn't quite resemble Polly your tiny stature was often compared to her. Her son, Simon was the complete opposite. He was quiet, shy, and often never spoke. That was comforting to you, everyone in the church always had something to say, except for him. You had tried countless times to invite him to youth groups and asked him for dinner! Your father scolded you, although you didn't care what he thought of the new followers, to you they deserve all the love. Once Simon had gotten to know you more, he had liked you. You were small, and kind, and your big eyes made him groan internally. You were the perfect kind of toy for him to play with. Gullible and bashful. The more you hung around Simon the more worldly you became. Your father took notice and made sure you knew how disappointed he was. Not only did he ground and ban you from seeing your new friend, but he also forced a purity ring onto your hand. Your father was a sick man. There have been many scandals surrounding him. He simply shushed them away with money. His only way out of any bad situation. In a way, Simon reminded you of your father before the church. Loving, caring, and gentle.

You had often snuck out late at night to visit Simon. The two of you would meet up at a park called “Condamnée.” The park was a safe place for both of you. After your father had put the purity ring on you, you needed to speak to Simon. Only he could make your sweet little heart feel better. To say you felt like a sinner would be an understatement. But you couldn't help it. Simon was like a bad habit, something you kept running back to. You didn't know if it was possible to let him go, you felt like there was a strong connection between the two of you. When Simon sees the ring on your pretty finger he can't help but smirk. You looked up at him with teary eyes and he caressed your cheek gently. “You've let a silly little ring get you all worked up like this, peaches?” He would say in a condescending tone. You simply nodded with a pout. What he did next surprised you, but you couldn't ignore the wet feeling in your pink panties as he did it. He slid the ring off of your finger and took off the silver chain he wore. He slid the ring onto the chain and then clasped it around his neck. You looked at him with wide eyes and he simply chuckled. “Oh my gosh, I'm going to hell!” You said with a quiver of your lips. He chuckled and pushed you onto the bench. He bent down in front of you and kissed your ankles.

“Y'r here for a good time, not a long one peaches.” He said as he kissed up your legs. It felt wrong, it was wrong. Yet the feeling of his tongue gracing the inside of your thighs made you squirm. He looked up at you with a sinister smirk. He had his hood on so all you could see were his honey brown eyes and the skull imprint of his mask. Sick. This was sick. You tried to tell yourself to push him away, but you couldn't. He felt too good. As his tongue reached your panties he looked up at you, asking for permission. “Can I touch you, sweet girl?” He asked, you could tell he was practically praying for a yes. So of course, you gave him a soft nod. He looked up at you, the pretty little sinner in front of him. Oh, what a fucking sight.

[secreteviltwin]

welcome to creek hill church! your friendly local evangelical congregation. we have childcare every sunday for the little ones :) if you take a peak in you'll notice most of our nursery volunteers are girls between the ages of 11-16, their brothers are nowhere to be seen. in fact the vast majority of all our volunteers are women, running summer camps, fundraisers, community programs, prayer teams, events, supporting every church need. sometimes their husbands volunteer as ushers. of course all of our worship team leads are women who have been volunteering with worship for 10+ years, the worship pastor who directs all of them is a 28 year old man. if you're an unwed women here over the age of 22 you'll start to notice that every conversation is about if you're seeing someone and what kind of family you imagine for yourself someday. the married couples may stop talking to you, especially after they have children. wouldn't want those kids getting any ideas. most of the deacons are male. all the pastors except the children's pastor are male. a woman has never given a sermon here, though occasionally we'll let one speak for a few minutes if she's a single missionary. if she's married her husband will speak for her. the sunday school teachers for the young kids are women but the older ones have male teachers, we want to make sure they are being taught proper biblical truth. there's a women's study every thursday where we go through a book about how to be a godly woman. this church is your entire social circle and support network now, aren't you glad to be here? women are explicitly banned from being church elders

[satirates]

New QSMP rules and why they needed to exist

1. The areas protected by the Administration/Federation cannot be broken, do not take advantage of bugs.

Or the admins "very bad, not good event". For people who weren't there, there was an event on Thursday for the liberation of Cellbit and Felps from the federation. The players tried to break in and discovered that you can destroy protected blocks with the symmetry wand. They spent hours doing it, only for the admins to erase the structure from the map so they would stop. On top of that, fit managed to find a way to vandalize the protected church using a watermelon gun yesterday.

This rule is obviously for story purpose. You can't really hide any structure in minecraft, so they don't have any other choice than putting the building in plain sight. If the players keep breaking the protected blocks, it can affect the story by revealing things that are only supposed to come up later. I can imagine the admins weren't happy to see all their hard work destroy by something they didn't know was possible, hence the ban.

2. XP farms are allowed as long as the spawner was generated naturally.

I don't know anything about XP farm in minecraft, but it's nice that they clarify this. There was always a doubt on the server about XP farms, which one was legal and which one was not. At least now, players know.

3. The video options are allowed as long as the range isn't excessively big.

Fun fact, yesterday I had a thought about how long before the video/audio became illegal due to things getting out of hands. So many things happen to justify this rule: Forever putting way too many blocks in Cellbit castle, The very loud Pac e Mike song, the bird block that cover the whole main area.

It's only a question of time before things get dirty with these. It can be very inconvenient for players (and viewers) that have sensitivity issues. Or really annoying at least. By restricting it, you ensure that players don't interfere in the enjoyment of others. (I'm pretty sure there were complaints about the bird noises. It was pretty harmless, but imagine if Forever had put something worse, like a loud music. It would have made La France, Favela and Phil's house unplayable areas.)

4. Do not modify too much the spawn area.

No ideas why this rules had been added now specifically. My only guess is that there is a significant amount of players going there now because of the Sharestone. But yes, it's a logical rule to ensure the spawn isn't the target of a Prank. If any of you know if something happen at spawn, I will edit this section.

5. It is prohibited to import or move structures with the Create mod or any other type of mechanisms.

Ah, This was quick. Yesterday, Bad and Dapper move a big tower on top of foolish dragon using the create mod for a prank. The problem was, the tower gives mining fatigue, making it almost indestructible. This discovery basically allows players to move anything, even constructions that are not their own.

You can imagine why this one exist. I was on Foolish stream yesterday, and he genuinely looked distraught at the alteration of is structure. Allowing players to move buildings at will? Terrible ideas. Not only could they do that to prank each other, but also they could break up lore building. Also, yesterday show that it's not that simple. Dapper destroyed part of the tower by moving it. The superglue is destruction and drama waiting to happen.

6.The deadline to complete the missions are 12am PST, after that, the missions will reset.

Not the twitter admins won't have to wait for BadBoyHalo to go to sleep so they could post the egg statistic update lol.

7. The eggs cannot have more than 2 immortality totems

This one is probably the most controversial, but logical for me. To paraphrase what Étoiles told Pomme yesterday: "with everything you have, it's impossible for you to dies. At least if the code isn't cheating". And I believe he is right. With the stasis chamber, the gears and the totem, it's almost impossible to kill an egg if the players are being careful. And we know they are trying really hard to take Pomme last life so the story could progress. The attack will not be like the last one, it will not be as unforgiving. So, with Bad doing totem traffic on the server, they needed a way to give a chance to the code and restricted them. If not, all eggs would have 30 totems by next week. X)

I really hope it increases the chances to have epic battle for the eggs while not dooming them.

[peachybutch]

How Good the RvB Main Cast is at Cooking, Ranked from Best to Worst

1. Donut

Donut gives off the vibe of one of those gay men with a baking channel on YouTube. This man's out here rolling up to the red team monthly dinner club with frenched rack of lamb with a pistachio mint crust and wine accompaniment, then earl grey souffle with creme anglaise for dessert. He spends hours experimenting with new and interesting ingredients. Remy Ratatouille, send-you-back-to-rural-France ass man. Donut's food fucks hard and everyone knows it.

2. Grif

You really think my man Grif loves food as much as he does and doesn't know how to make it? C'mon. He doesn't, like, relish the act of cooking as much as he does having a good plate of food at the end of it. And he's not typically much for sharing. But my guy makes a damn good short rib and bechamel lasagna. Give him the day to let something slow cook, and god damn.

3. Wash

Wash has been living off of MREs for probably his entire adult life, but I feel like he's got a few dishes he can whip out for a date night, or if he's feeling fancy. He knows how to read a recipe, and he has a pretty good idea of what flavors go together to make something good. He probably has a really nice papardelle with vinho verde sauce that he has sitting around in the back of his head for special occasions.

4. Tucker

Okay, Tucker isn't a bad cook by any means, ok? He's great with breakfast food specifically. It's just that he isn't especially fancy about it. He was probably, like, a line cook at Denny's in high school, so all his food tastes like food you would get at Denny's. Which isn't a bad thing! You would just never call Denny's "fine dining". He has his niche, and he does it well, and he never feels even a little bit inclined to do anything different or better.

5. Church (Alpha)

Church isn't much of a foodie right off the bat, but someone's got to pack Caboose's lunch, and he ends up learning how to cook fairly well after that. After a certain point, he figures out how to make things from scratch--mostly things like chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, pancakes.

6. Simmons

I feel like Simmons mostly lives off of shit like green smoothies and homemade granola. Like, hardcore, low carb, vegan, all organic, high protein diet. And, like, it doesn't taste BAD. But it definitely isn't the kind of thing you bring to the red team dinner club. He does make a really nice sunbutter brownie that he has to hide from Grif.

7. Caboose

Caboose has been banned from using any objects in the kitchen that involve a heat source--which isn't HIS fault! How was he supposed to know that you're supposed to take the spoon OUT of the mac and cheese before putting it in the microwave? That's just a recipe for a cold spoon! Anyways, he manages just fine without the microwave, thank you very much. He can make ants on a log like it's nobody's business. Cleaning up afterwards is another matter entirely.

8. Carolina

Carolina is one of the most competent individuals you will ever meet. She could kill you in under a minute, in 30 different ways, and that's just with her bare hands. The fourth time Sarge tries to recruit her into red team is by inviting her to the monthly dinner club. She shows up empty handed, and when Donut very politely asks what she brought, she replies that it's very interesting that they expected the only woman on the team to go all out with cooking. They move on. Carolina spent 5 hours in the kitchen this afternoon trying to figure out how to use the oven. But they don't need to know that.

9. Tex

Now, listen. Tex can't be called a bad cook, precisely, because that would require she cook for herself or others. Which is something she does not do. That's what Church is for, isn't it?

10. Sarge

Sarge refuses to step foot in a kitchen after the fifth shouting match about how flamethrowers are not a universally recognized kitchen appliance.

11. Church (Epsilon)

One time, while blue team is shooting the wind, Caboose asks Epsilon what his favorite breakfast food is. Instead of calling Caboose a dumbass, as per usual, he instead goes into extensive detail about how he eats computer keys like cereal. Caboose tries it. It isn't very good.

[xerith-42]

Minecraft Diaries Stoner Headcanons

Part 2 in the Aphverse Stoner Series!

Disclaimer: I haven't watched Season 3! I mean, I have, but I don't remember any of it other than that Blaze was in it-- And I just checked the wiki and he's a villain? Uhm. No, he isn't. Hatsune help me I'm going to have to make a whole post about that now... anyways, pretend Blaze is just like another guard Irena gathered because she just collects them like they're pokemon.

Blaze our beloved to start us off. Uh, pipe weed is really common in Ru'aun, it's actually a primary export. And well, Blaze is a pretty big fan of it. Once when he's smoking weed with his friend, he comes to a realization.

"Listen, listen. We use earth with the plant, fire by lighting it, and air to inhale it. What we're missing is water." I am saying that Blaze made the first bong in the MCD universe. Or that he at least came up with it and was credited for the original idea. These two are very proud of their idea and want to spread it everywhere.

Pipe weed is not allowed at the guard academy, and guards are expected to remain sober, even though alcohol is okay?? Doesn't really make sense to a lot of new cadets, including Laurance, who's able to smuggle it in, and hide it from Garroth.

Vylad does actually smoke pipe weed, particularly while on his own during those 15 years. It helps relax their muscles, and causes a sort of numbness that helps keep the calling quiet.

When he tells Laurance of this, both of them share it together at some point.

Dante used to smoke weed with Laurance on slow nights in Phoenix Drop, and even smoked it with Nicole a few times. He quit when he found out Nana was pregnant.

The number one smoker is Travis. His mom had a stock pile of it he found, enough to last years, and it's one of the main things he brings with him to Ru'aun.

When Travis and Blaze meet, they are instant friends. I don't know what happens in Season 3, but this is all that matters to me. They would be BESTIES!!

Despite being banned by the church, Zane is in a position of power so the rules don't apply to him. He never does it when he has something serious going on, but when Zane has some downtime, he'll light up a bowl to take the strain out of his shoulders.

A downside of being a Shadow Knight is that your lungs are much more used to inhaling smoke and dealing with heat thanks to the Nether, so they have some insane tolerance. Like, Vylad was smoking so much, and Laurance is never not frustrated at how much he has to go through in a single sitting just to feel something.

And Aaron? When he was a father? And a Lord?? Of course he was smoking. He was very careful about it, and kept it away from Jacob. And as he traveled with the rest of the cast, he was always careful to hide it from the kids. He didn't quite mind if anyone else saw, as long as they were smart enough not to ask for it.

Travis is not smart enough.

Also Aaron likes wearing the bandana when he accidentally gets a little too high so no one can see how bloodshot his eyes are. Irena can tell by the way he stumbles a little more than usual.

Zoey? Pot head. She's literally an immortal elf, she has tried every drug Ru'aun has ever had and then some. She stops smoking it as much when she's taking care of the kids, but after the group is gone for a few years and she spends more nights searching for a way to bring them back, she picks it back up to try and seem less stressed when people talk to her.

I feel like all Lords smoke just a little. Like, it's such a stressful job. You're constantly having to care for so many people, be a master of subjects you might not have studied, and who knows when one day you wake up to the news that you have to ready yourself for war. People need a way to relieve the stress.

Except Irena. She tried it once when she caught Aaron smoking and it tasted so bad and she did not enjoy the feeling at all. When she becomes friends with Blaze he tries to coax her into it, but she never caves, and he backs off.

LUCINDA on the other hand!! She's a witch! She's a bit of an herbalist! Does she know the perfect growing conditions for the plant of origin and how to cultivate it's harvest for maximum output?? You bet your ass she does!

Blaze x Lucinda x Travis polycule when?

The first time Lucinda and Blaze meet each other he tells her about his innovation of using glass devices to create water vapor that you can smoke, and Lucinda very eagerly drags him into her brewing room and just proudly goes "I have a cauldron!! >:)" And Blaze gets so excited!! He's already trying to figure out what he would have to custom order to work with this, but he needs to try it.

Wait why is that adorable I need to write that now.

[ftmtftm]

hi there, youve mentioned having done activist work in the past and i was wondering if you had any tips for like... "breaking in" so to say?? i really want to Do Good irl but i have no idea how and where to start, where to find other people Doing Good

Getting involved with/paying attention to local government / local politics, as well as finding ways you can intentionally disrupt the settings you're currently in.

At the very least that's how I got involved in the beginning. Like, just using myself as an example - my activism began by organizing my high school's Day of Silence and helping to lead talk backs about queer identity through our GSA (retitled to Gender and Sexuality Alliance, rather than Gay Straight Alliance). It got more disruptive when I helped organize a silent sit down during the Pledge of Allegiance in the wake of Mike Brown's murder - that almost got us all detention/suspended before my dad threatened to sue the school for violating our First Amendment right to not pledge to the flag.

That all led to me talking at local government meetings in protest of a city ordinance that would have allowed businesses to ban trans people from their restrooms when I was a senior - which in turn exposed me to my wider community activist scene where I was then able to get involved with things like our local memorials for Pulse and the creation of spaces for queer youth in our community.

(This is a total sidebar but that then spiraled several years forward into my grandma helping lead discussions on accepting queer family members at her own church and this 75 year old woman going to protest the high school in support of a teacher who was told to take the trans flag in her room down and I'm still so immensely proud of that.)

That's all to say: It builds on itself. You've gotta start by involving yourself in self advocacy, disruption in your own spaces in the ways you're able to, and involving yourself in your community - and then? Others see that, in both negative and overwhelmingly positive ways. Like, to be completely clear: I've gotten a lot of shit from people around me on top of all of the good but it was and still is so worth it.

I do think it can be really dependent on your community and environment, but people do find each other. If you just start doing good in whatever ways are currently within your control, people who do the same will start becoming more and more visible to you and you'll be more welcomed into those spaces and resources in time.

[yandere-fics]

I have an idea for the Anderson sisters on the childhood friend thingy!! Maybe darling was like a neighbor of their family and would see each other in passing glances like through windows or something! Or if the Anderson sisters had a garden then darling would sneak into the garden and play with them in secret!!

♡ How They Act With A Childhood Friend Darling ♡

♡ Skylar was never a good daughter, from a very young age she often snuck over to the neighbors house to learn how to read so she could teach her sisters so one day they could leave their family behind. This was how she met you. To be honest she was too focused on making sure her and her siblings could leave the manor to pay you any attention and while she enjoyed a friend, she was always anxious leaving her sisters at the manor. ♡

♡ So time passes and eventually you stop seeing her crossing the fence, she's too preoccupied with other things. Last you heard, she ran away from her arranged marriage and you didn't give it much thought. At the same time you moved to a small house on the seaside and was just prepared to forget the cult that controlled your former town, that was until you met your neighbors. ♡

♡ Skye didn't seem to recognize you and you didn't want to bring up painful memories but little did you know that since Skylar had left, she'd paid close attention to you, always happy to see an update about your life. She had missed her chance the first time you two met but she wouldn't let this chance go by. ♡

♡ Sophie was the good and pious daughter, mostly because she didn't seem to cause trouble. She was quiet and quick to disappear, often with a piece of contraband in hand, something that would get blamed on Darla or one of the other sisters. That meant she rarely made friends since she was more of the disappearing for hours in the rafters of the church type. Plus most of the kids knew she had a collection of stolen pocket knives so she was avoided. ♡

♡ Still you managed to grow close to her and she adored you for it. You couldn't tell if she actually wanted your company but she never stopped you from loitering around you so you assumed she didn't hate the company. She wasn't nearly as violent as the other kids assumed her to be, but she wasn't super pleasant company and it soon became boring to hang around someone who didn't respond. ♡

♡ She did not like you spending time with other kids instead of her because in her mind, you were HER best friend and so she tackled one of the others and beat them to the ground. An incident which resulted in you two being banned from spending time together in the future. When she left the house her first idea was to track you down but your family had moved away in fear of her family's power so there wasn't much she could do. Until you moved in next door and well, the rest was history. ♡

♡ Darla was given more freedom than the others, while they still didn't send her to school, she was allowed to hang out with a wider variety of people and so she always had friends even outside the church. This was mostly to keep her from getting close to her sisters, but she still liked the freedom. She was often the leader of the kids at the playground, directing them in whatever direction she wanted them to go. ♡

♡ Meaning if she wanted you as her best friend, then you would be, the other kids never tried to interfere cause they knew that Darla was kind of a monster when she didn't get what she wanted. No one could even give you a friendship bracelet, the only friendship bracelet you would get was from Darla. Of course as you grew up and stopped coming to the playground, it did upset her but she didn't let it get her down. Afterall it was just friendship, and sure she was oddly aggressive about it but lots of kids were. ♡

♡ Seeing you at the local coffee shop near her campus though was the perfect chance to catch up with you, reclaim her best friend. Unfortunately you were painfully aware of how manipulative Darla could be so you didn't fall for her tactics, you tried your best to stay as far from her as possible. Unfortunately even if her goons can't convince you, she has three very aggressive older sisters to help guide you into her arms. ♡

♡ You were her sanctuary within the church, she constantly ditched to spend time with you. Of course her parents would berate her for hours because of this but she always had her sanctuary to return to. If you were ever sick or unable to play, she would throw the largest hissy fit, tearing up all the things in the manor, blaming her parents for it, thinking they had managed to convince you to not spend time with her and her mood would not be fixed until she saw you again. ♡

♡ Ellie was nothing if not persistent, she knew from a very young age that she was going to marry you no matter what her parents said, she'd kill them if they dared challenge it. You were going to be her wife even if you didn't know it yet. She made you hold hands as you walked in town, claiming it was a normal friend thing, and she would take you to typical date places like on a stroll or to get ice cream together with money she took from her parents. ♡

♡ Of course it couldn't last forever, eventually you did stop coming to see her after you realized who her parents were and how scary they could be if they ever found out about the meetings. This was a betrayal in her opinion, you were the one thing that was solely hers in this world, how could her special one leave her? No no no, she'll get you back, afterall while she doesn't like asking them for help, her sisters all know how special you are to her, it's very easy for one of them to help her snatch you and lock you away. ♡

[midnight-omega]

Catholicism in Omegaverse hc

I have a real unhealthy obsession with making Super Catholic Characters and forcing them to Confront Their Catholic Guilt And Trauma all day every day and my omegaverse stories are no exception to this soo... I have some ideas on how to warp Catholicism to my omegaverses :))

Pls be conscious of any TWs i placed some of them in particular may be very upsetting pls skip them if needed! Also a long post so pls keep reading under the cut fr

📿 Most basic tenants, core beliefs, rites (things like confession and confirmation), and services (mass, funerals, and wedding ceremonies) don't really need much changing and can stay true to the real world

📿 Typically God Himself and the Holy Family are depicted as totally dynamicless or a combination of all dynamics (Revelation 22:13, Revelation 1:8 worth the google lmfao)

📿 Historical Jesus (jesus the person not the religious figure) was probably a Beta but it's hard to tell since Rome sacked Israel destroying most early Christian documentation and followers.

📿 However sometimes when referring to the Holy Trinity dynamics do come up just like the Trinity is coded with gender irl. The Father (masculine) as The Alpha, the Son (masculine) as The Beta, and Holy Spirit (feminine) as The Omega

📿 All Saints have defined dynamics as many of them were real people. You'd typically pray to a saint that follows your own dynamic (an omega probably wouldn't pray to an alpha saint for help with an omegean issue for example)

📿 Orders that follow certain saints (think Franciscan monks for example) must be the dynamic of the saint or they cannot live with the rest of the devotees.

📿 Though the Church discourages speculation on the Holy Family's dynamics and refuses to take a position, Omegas have kinda claimed Mary for their own. Most Catholics who find an extreme importance in worshipping Mary are omegas

📿 Priests are mostly betas

📿 Betas have the easiest time getting into a seminary and convincing church officials of their vocation (a vocation is like your holy life purpose and in traditional Catholicism its either to fuck and make babies or to be a priest)

📿 Alphas are allowed in the priesthood but it is much more difficult for them to be accepted into a seminary. The church traditionally sees the vocation of alphas and omegas as the filling God's kingdom kind. Ruts also complicate things

📿 Chastity vows are still mandatory for clergy (ur mated to GOD now)

📿 It is assumed that betas have an easier time renouncing mating compared to an alpha (this is NOT true but the church is the church)

📿 Omegas are banned from seminaries and cannot enter priesthood. They are considered unclean and sinful by nature

📿 Eve is an omega hence the original sin being pinned on omegas (just like its pinned on women irl)

📿 Painful heats are considered part of God's punishment for disobeying His orders and partaking of the fruit

📿 Betas are not part of the creation story oddly enough (Adam the first alpha and Eve the first omega) and they're a little absent from the Old Testament, but they have a huge presence in the New Testament.

📿 Omegas do have a place in the clergy if they can convince the Church of their vocation. Omegas exclusively become nuns.

📿 Nuns are actually very valued simply because certain fields require that omegean touch. Teaching (Catholic schools are still very much a thing), childcare (orphanages and stay houses), and other social work (homeless shelters, food drives, anything that involves helping people in need) rely heavily on nuns

📿 The Church tends to wrongly make alphas masculine coded only and omegas feminine coded only

📿 its a major reason why many no long actively practice the religion

📿 Just like irl the Church struggles to keep up with modern times and this can be seen in the pairings they endorse

📿 The Church only supports a/o, b/b, a/female b, and male b/o pairings as these are the parings that can breed

📿 When a couple wants to take the next step and create a mate bond the Church asks that they HOLD OFF

📿 the Church strongly frowns upon sex before marriage and therefore mating before marriage

📿 Couples must complete pre cana first! and must marry like a good Catholic couple, in a Church under God officiated by a priest.

📿 Then the church asks they mate and make as many babies as possible lets go

📿 speaking of the Church irl still frowns upon contraception, so so does the omegaverse Church

📿 The Church also considers suppressants a form of contraception (and as a way omegas get around suffering for the original sin if the person is like crazy religious) so they aren't allowed

📿 Only in a medically needed situation are suppressants allowed

TW// Slightly NSFW for the next 4 bullet points

📿 Masturbation is also a no no both in irl and omegaverse Church

📿 So... relieving yourself during a rut/heat is frowned upon as this is a form of masturbation and God created the rut/heat cycle for babies not for selfish pleasure !! You have your heat and you deal with it !! You lie in your sinful slick and you pray !!

📿 Devout dynamics and clergy sworn to celibacy struggle with this (tho there is a black market for priest suppressants)

📿 Nuns and devout omegas have some of the worst heats, possibly even worse than a first heat just because they ignore their bodily needs and basic instincts in the name of religion

📿 This is viewed very... holy? Not sure of the right word here but it's held in high esteem and part of why nuns are such a big deal. Normal omegas tho aren't held so highly just bc they are free to mate

📿 Alpha admission into seminaries is rare because of this as well, Church authorities are wary of them being able to handle a rut like this

TW// SA, pedophelia, molestation for the next 4 bullet points

📿 There's a false statistic claiming that almost all sexual assault perpetrated by a priest are the crimes of alpha priests

📿 as said this is false, since the vast majority of the priesthood consists of betas most of the predators are betas as well

📿 SA, molestation, and grooming are still massive issues in the Church

📿 Male omegas are the biggest target of these crimes, though anyone can be affected. Male omegas are considered more vulnerable and easier to manipulate since the Church is very confused on the crossroads between gender and dynamic and refuse to update teachings (by this i mean since they create images of masculine alphas and feminine omegas female alphas and male omegas get lost. To someone from a devout pack/family with one of these dynamics it can be incredibly confusing and distressing to listen to church teachings making them more venerable to manipulation by gross old priests)

TW// NSFW for the next 2 bullet points

📿 The Church still frowns upon anal sex fr. Sometimes this confuses people to think sex with male omegas is sinful but anyone who paid attention in health class knows penetrative sex with a male omega isn't actually anal at all.

📿 The Church rarely clarifies this making it even harder for devout male omegas

📿 priests, monks, nuns, and clergy in general are expected to be as scentless as possible. It’s like a metaphor for shedding earthly desires and instincts to become a conduit for the heavenly. To be scentless is to be close to God. Some really devout older Catholics also strive to be scentless tho it’s not required of laymen

📿 it’s customary to wear heavy sent blockers to mass and abstain from communion or mass entirely if you are in heat or rut

📿 nuns close to children (pre school/elementary teachers, orphanage staff) are allowed to have scent as this helps the pups

📿 Children and recent dams (a person who has given birth) are also exempt from scent blockers, but all other laymen are certainly expected to wear their patches and spray on their covering perfumes before mass

📿 If a pre heat/rut or full heat/rut is occurring during a fast day the person is exempt from fasting and participating in any religious festivities

Okaayy i think thats all for now fr might add on later

[fantasyinvader]

@deathbirby

Regarding the whole “empathy” thing, I think there might be a bit of cultural disconnect going on.

In the parley scene, Dimitri calls Edelgard out on wanting to push her ideas on others, saying it's the height of selfishness. This is where the issue lies, it's not him saying it's bad. It's that Edelgard is taking a very individualistic approach to what she perceives as problems, that she has to take action rather than relying on others to do so, and wants others to do the same as her.

In Japanese media, this is a negative trait at times as it ties into Japanese values. Personal aspirations is balanced against one's duties, individuality is balanced against conforming to the group and it's valued to have a place to belong to. There's an expectation to know where you stand in the world. An aggressive ego can cause suffering to oneself and others, and causing suffering is seen as immoral in Eastern spiritualism. But these sorts of things can be lost on Western audiences, for instance these same elements were misinterpreted back when Final Fantasy 9 came out. McGillis Fareed is meant to be the bad guy of Gundam IBO (he's basically a male Edelgard), despite being an ally of the protagonists, trying to reshape the world into one where people can simply take what they want if they have the strength to do so. He was more hated in Japan, but in the West people are more upset his big plan didn't work. Or even in protagonist characters, it can be seen as a negative trait. Digimon's Mimi, who lived in America and adopted their mindset) was called out in Adventure Tri by her classmates for being bossy and selfish, trying to get them to do what she wanted. Not to mention, her taking action to try by fighting to prove to people that not all Digimon are bad, only for a helicopter to accidentally be hit in the process.

Edelgard says it during the parley, she believes people are weak because they rely on others rather than themselves. Even her ending, in Japanese, is based around this. Her trying to build a “Free” country was added by the translation team, as various endings for Safflower are supposed to show that she's oppressing her will upon the people such as banning plays she hasn't seen, or having Hubert spy on them and put down any threats. As for independent, that's there but it's meant to be in a “doesn't rely on others” way. It's a society where the people will strive to become stronger by relying on their own power. This is what Fodlan was like before the Church, except the game tells us it was an era of bloodshed and wars as people stole and killed in order to gain more power for themselves.

But of course, this is all a matter of balance. Claude also expresses a belief in relying on your own power and is working towards spreading his own ideals to the world, but with Hopes in mind doing so as Edelgard does is wrong, as his Houses version ultimately works to achieve this through diplomacy and cultural exchange rather than violent conquest. Dimitri needs to learn how to live for himself, not just for the duties to the dead he believes he has. And Byleth's arc is about them becoming their own individual, not just being soulless.

Now, look at Edelgard. She says in Hopes she starts the war because of her ideals, which is consistent with her depiction in Azure Moon. She talks about how she's fighting for the weak, but she only rewards those who she sees as “strong” and if the weak don't become strong she blames it on them. She says this is for the silent, except that Edelgard silences those who don't support her regardless of their strength. She says she's doing this for the commoners but talks about how awful it is that the nobility have duties and responsibilities attached to their power with Hopes even has a reveal that she's intended to let the nobility keep their power but free them from their duties and responsibilities (her name even means “protector of the nobility”). She also sees it as her right to sacrifice her people for her beliefs despite her talk about how she needed to act to prevent more people from being sacrificed to the status quo, and her endings reveal that she causes even more bloodshed to uphold her rule. Despite her words against a false history she lies so often that she has a chapter named after her, The Lady of Deceit, where she starts by lying about her target to take Arianrhod by surprise only to end up lying to her army when it blows up in her face. Even the whole “relying on yourself” thing is undercut by how she needs the support of the likes of the Agarthans, Byleth, or Shez to win the war, Hubert to put down opposition from the shadows, Ferdinand to make her ideals workable, Petra to keep Brigid in line, Caspapa to get the army to support her. So relying on others is wrong, but everyone supporting Edelgard and her ideals is alright in her book. She even says she'll protect you if you believe in her and them.

Edelgard starts this was not out of empathy, but egotism and selfishness, so much so that she expects people to conform to her and her own goals. If you don't, then there's really no place for you in the world she wants to create, but at the same time she subverts her own ideals and rhetoric for her own gains. She can't understand why people would oppose her, or do so only to surrender at the very end. This suggests that Edelgard has very little empathy or understanding of those around her and is simply projecting her own thoughts, opinions and experiences onto others in order to justify her own actions. The fact her ending title is Flame Emperor indicates that she didn't grow from her experiences in Flower, she's still the same person she was when she put a hit on her classmates. Dimitri is given the title of savior king, Claude the king of unificiation, Edelgard remains the Flame Emperor.

And it's not just a case of her being an individual, as she's essentially the state and fighting to further increase her own power by centralizing it on herself while eliminating anyone who could challenge her. This is what the game talks about when it refers to her as a hegemon, or to her path as military rule (English) or “the path of supremacy” (Japanese). She's using her power to enforce her will upon an unwilling population. She's even depicted as using Argarthan technology to do maintain her rule. If anything, Dimitri's policies of giving the commoners a voice in politics does more to allow them to be individuals and support their own aspirations rather than simply following the orders of the strong.

In short, Edelgard's reforms are for Edelgard's benefit and no one else. Heroes even clarifies that no other lord in the franchise views their responsibilities to their people as a bad thing, as they can use their power to help others and Edelgard (even post-Flower) never considered that option. For all her anti-religion crap, her ideals are compared to Duma's and how they failed (with the added bonus of Edelgard having taken over the Church) with the question of whether Edelgard's attempt will be any different. This is someone, despite all her for humanity lines, is willing to turn people into mindless monsters as war assets, and is even willing to toss aside her humanity itself in order to rule the world.

Edelgard is everything she supposedly is fighting against.

[iwasforcedtomakethisbytum]

As a former homeschool kid there are sometimes characters that i see in a different light because of my personal experience and with wttt there are 3 characters i personally see aa having a homeschooled vibe, there's probably others but quite frankly i don't care about most characters outside of the main six

Firstly Florida for starters speaking complete full sentences but being unable to read (at least in English, he might be able in Spanish but that's hc to my knowledge honestly) and that's not necessary impossible for a non homeschool kid to be unable to read especially with a reading/learning disorder but homeschooling doesn't typically make it much better, and plenty of kids I've met have learned to read later in life because their parents simply didn't care to teach them, i think he'd have less issues with overly strict parents, and more with his parents just being neglectful, so i feel he would be just allowed to do whatever outside all day so maybe he'd be waiting for his friends to get out of school to hang out so he might be slightly more socialized

It could also explain how he acts in meeting, seemingly unable to talk in any formal manner for the most part, from my experience i didn't have much experience with formal conversation and i didn't really learn too much about formality aside from being nice to strangers honestly until i was a bit older sure it probably doesn't matter too much considering barely anyone speaks formally in the series but him especially is informal most of the time like most other characters seem capable of formality

California is the second one I'm listing here and i think he would get a fairly okay education, he'd learn how to read at an acceptable age and maybe know the most basic math, i personally like to think that his issue with homeschooling would come with religious shit and isolation, hence why he'd stop reading the Bible i personally would think he'd stop as an adult after realizing what actually happened when he was growing up i do imagine his church was quite fucked up

And his behavior in meetings, he's stated to not be friends with anyone even if he talks to them assumingly on a regular basis, he's fairly nice (i mean in comparison to others) but he is overly self righteous and I'd argue a bit uptight and thinks he's better than others, and it's not like they're the worse traits ever but yeah, that's not really fun to hang around without other traits to make up for it, which i cannot really think of anything i mean I'm sure there is but i just can't think of anything tbh

And lastly texas he's probably in a tie for most well adjusted with califlower (i simply just can't decide who handles their adulthood better) he's a jackass i mean what else can i say? I mean he could also be unaware of how to act in formal situations but yeah that's not as interesting as everything else

I personally think his religious trauma would be less extreme than California so he'd still be religious but he's probably gone no contact with his parents honestly, he does have a stronger accent and although i know it's really just an exaggeration of the real thing but i do think the idea of him only having his relatives teaching him how to speak would make a bit of sense because in our generation people typically in the us speak pretty similar (with a bit of difference but often not much) especially since the internet was invented and i could imagine his parents not liking it and banning it. Of course i would believe there was physical or emotional abuse, i could also see child labor a line a remember, i think it's an interesting concept, honestly overall he might see his parents as horrible people but not the fact he was homeschooled as horrible idk i just don't think he'd fully realize his trauma maybe somewhat but not fully

Thank you for reading this, what do you think?

also I'm not that old I'm just in highschool, i just wanted to clear any miscommunication about it

[dgknightblue]

So there is this AU swimming in my head where RVB characters are from different time periods and gets dumped into some place and are forced to interact.

Im not too sure on exact time periods for them, but an approximation of them.

But who is from the future, Wild West, and stuff?

Carolina and Church are future people trying to do something I don’t know what and accidentally pulled people at first before doing it on purpose kind of.

The people they pull they don’t get to choose who fits into what they are looking for.

But things….

All of our lovely sims are in the cast with a few of the freelancers.

Simmons is a trans man stuck in an era that doesn’t support him. He gets pulled after he finally runs a way. Well he was born with one leg and he kind of got hurt so he was bleeding pretty bad. Yeah he was a mess on the floor. He was scared and begged them not to hurt him or drag him back to his father.

I’m thinking he’s a lower aristocrat’s only child that was out of wedlock during a time of arranged marriages and stuff. He has his mother’s knife that his cousin gave him before going overseas for war. His father tells him that he’ll be marrying some merchant’s son named Gene or whatever and be grateful. He hates it and he feels bad being called his name. He likes his grandfathers name more.

Blugh what an xss!

Once he finally calms down and gets patched up, he accepts what’s happening and loves all the mechanisms he’s never seen before.

They all catch on to what he doesn’t see and don’t know what to do. Except Sarge, Kai, Donut, and Grif.

Sarge boasts about doing his own top surgery before growing a beard and enlisting into the army. Simmons finds himself drawn in and in full admiration for some reason.

Kai has Grif’s support, they would absolutely know how to get him accept little things to get him warmed up to the idea of him being him.

Donut is full of support and advice and is very friendly!

They get Simmons out of his shell enough to see his eyes sparkle some times. Sarge makes Grif Simmons’ personal carrier since they don’t have access to a wheelchair.

Grif is just glad Kai and Donut convinced Simmons it was okay to wear pants. He’d trip over that long xss dress that didn’t belong any where near Simmons.

So they end up spending a lot of time together and even sneak off. I can imagine them in the shallows of water at night talking and Grif teaching Simmons how to swim.

They get real close and Tucker and Kai and Donut try to spy on them sometimes. They individually have to cover each others mouths so they don’t blow their cover just to scream , “JUST FXCKING KISS ALREADY!!! DXMN IT!!!”.

Eventually as other things happen Sarge is more than happy to reintroduce Simmons to the group.

When Simmons gets a prosthetic leg, he gets so excited and runs up to Grif and pulls him a way to do what they usually do but Grif doesn’t have to care him any more!

He can still carry him once in a while though <3

On to other people….

Wash gets trauma sometime before getting pulled but I’m not sure which era and what gives him PTSD.

I know I said I was moving on to other people, I want to say this:

Simmons can cook really good, his father thought that was beneath an elite individual and banned him from going to the kitchen ever again.

Tricks and skills he’s learned:

Piano, violin, proper etiquette, dancing, knife things from his cousin, cooking from his mom, sewing from his grandmother, poison and plants from his grandfather.

The only one that has a problem with Simmons is his father and literally has no reason or excuse to be. Too bad Simmons got stuck with his dad being the only family member he had beside his grandmother. She refuses to die simply for Simmons sake until she gets murdered passes from natural causes.

She was actually the only reason he stayed after his cousin was considered KIA. Never found the body though. It’s been years, where did you go?

Simmons finds a book no one listens to him explain. (It’s the manual, for what? Something he has control of now :3) They are in for a surprise :3

Simmons is his cousin’s last name.

Anyways, I don’t want to separate Grif from pizza so he is in time period where there is pizza even if it’s one of the early versions that’s actually called pizza.

He found a thing called Oreos and worship them.

He also wants to kiss Simmons so fxcking bad, but doesn’t see all the signs. Simmons has no personal space with Grif and only Grif. Kai sticks to Simmons side at first to help him out and gradually slides farther a way to help her brother.

One night they find alcohol and they all talk.

They learn Simmons has more unwanted experience than wanted and that the only one that is considered experience (because it was wanted) is Simmons eating a girl out. Simmons is Bi.

Simmons invites Wash to the virgin club along with Doc. Wash declines and Doc agrees.

Tucker has Junior beside him sleeping. His baby boy <3

Carolina and Church still trying to figure out some bull crxp with the unground lab on the island they are on. Some are not helping like they think they are. Caboose.

The library in the villa is where Simmons is during the day when he isn’t with Grif.

Caboose, Donut, Lopez are sometimes making sandcastles competing with Tucker, Junior, Kai.

Grif is in the kitchen making food for Simmons and him when Simmons is in the library.

Wash is training with Sarge and whoever else from the freelancer group I haven’t a clue.

When Locus and Flex show up as antagonists somehow Locus enters the fold. He tries not to get too close to Simmons, Kai, or Junior for reasons.

Donut definitely didn’t throw a water balloon at Grif’s head from across the beach for revenge and spite.

Doc and Dr. Grey are having lessons on being a good doctor when she shows up.

Eventually things pick up when Temple and his (small) group + Zealot soldiers do the thing that start the problems that got them all stuck together.

When things get bad, Simmons realized what the book he found goes to. He summons Tex kind of and he’s under her protection now. He is also learning coding and glad he doesn’t have to go back to his era. He doesn’t exist until now after all.

Learning his cousin becomes the kings advisor was a shock, but he’s glad they are okay.

I didn’t write for everyone because I got stuck at Grimmons moments <3

[rayshippouuchiha]

Your last reblock (the one with Jon[?]) hit me about as hard as finding out that children in the USA apparently go through "school shooting practices" like children from my country go through "Feueralarm Übungen" (Fire alarm[?] practices. Like that they learn what to do and shit. Like...

What the fuck?!

There are a lot of people who own "firearms" (like everything form a Bow to "pea shooters"[?] to small fire arms) in my country as well, relative speaking... and also a bit baised, because I am a "weapons enthusiasts", or in better worlds, target shooting is one of my paartime hobbies. So of course I have meet many people in my local "Schützen Vereine" (no idea what the English word for that is...) that have somewhat of an "enthusiasm" for the sport and the things that come with that.

But like, we have rules for that... the former mentioned firearms? Yeah, "good luck" getting on those, multiple tests, psychological evaluation, letting the police know, showing that you can adequate store the weapon (ammo and pistol separate and all that stuff), and multiple other things (it's a bit different for veterans but my dad most probably sleeps and I have only so much time in my "lunch break"). And out guide lines are relatively lose over here... the USA thought? Do you guys even do checkups? Does your police know who has a gun/who buys one? How do get so many underage children in the position of them... like how come that I get in the legal age to drink over her the same time that you get to get your first firearm? Do you have any guidelines to store your weapons or do they just sit on the countertop? I have so many questions and legitimately don't want any of them answered whatsoever!

I don't know what this whole post is except genuine horror at nearly everything that I have heard from you guys... are you okay? Like Germany isn't the best either, but this is just scary!

Yeah that was Jon Stewart doing the good work as always.

Gun control in the US is a fucking mess and a joke. A messy joke where the punchline is a lot of dead people and now multiple generations of children growing up with the background radiation of being terrified they could die at school. Or at the movie theater. Or the shopping mall. Or while worshiping at their church/temple/mosque. Or just walking down the street.

And there are a number of factors that have led to that situation.

A lack of a functioning healthcare system where mental health awareness in children and adults alike is taken seriously plays a part.

There's also the sheer size of the US as a single country and how that impacts things to take into account. Because the US is broken down into 50+ states, all of which are, in a number of ways, like their own little countries.

And each state might have its own policies about things like guns.

But, all of that aside, it's getting the proper laws passed on a federal level that would go a long way toward the issue of gun safety and control reform in this country.

But that's where we run into the same issue we run into when it comes to fixing so many of the other glaring problems in this country

Money.

Because that's what it boils down to. For example, we have the NRA (National Rifle Association) and politicians being paid by them who will fight tooth and nail to keep restrictions to a bare minimum.

Plus guns are just generally politicized in the US in a way I don't really think they are in most other countries.

But without writing an entire thesis about gun control and the issues with the political Right and the Left in the US what I can and will say is this:

Most regular US citizens want gun control. The vast majority of us want there to be more checks, more bans, and more regulations.

We are tired of being afraid, tired of losing friends and family, and tired of seeing dead kids on the news.

In this, as in what feels like so many other things these days, the voices and pockets of the powerful few are outweighing the voices and the fears of the common many.

[jewishtwig]

Hi Twig, I have a little problem - I'm a Jewish conversion student but I fear I might be going *too* hard to a problematic level!

Judaism is for Jews and Jews alone, and I understand this. There's no obligation or expectation for gentiles (or even Jews tbh) to believe in G-d. Yet since joining a shul and starting on a conversion course, I've started to feel threatened when my atheist friends talk to me about faith or lack thereof. They will say "I fully respect other people's belief in G-d but it doesn't make sense to me, I don't see how something like G-d could exist." And in that situation I suppose the best most Jewish thing to do would be to hear them out and nod along. But instead I feel prompted to justify my faith, to debunk atheist misconceptions, and to 'well actually' my friends about theism. I know my friends aren't trying to tell me they have a problem with my faith, but it still feels scary, and I've started to verbally justify myself, and I'm losing impartiality! If I wasn't speaking from my own brain, I could absolutely mistake my own words as trying to convince someone else that they should believe in G-d.

Moreover, I understand that Judaism forbids proselytizing, which I wholly agree should be banned. Yet when my friends ask me about my conversion, I follow a compulsive want to tell them to come to service with me to learn more about the culture and religion, to come with me to classes with my rabbi. I've had a few nonreligious friends tell me that they heavily vibe with Judaism and would be Jewish if they were to choose a religion, but they know religion isn't right for them, so they happily remain as gentile allies. But some part of me wants to encourage them to explore Judaism, because that's how I felt too until I felt the calling to convert, and I think maybe some of my friends would convert to Judaism if they only knew more about it. I don't want to encourage people to convert because I know it's wrong, but I get all excited at the idea of someone else feeling the call and embarking on their own journey, and I've caught myself recommending to my friends that they should speak to my rabbi just for an enlightening conversation!

And of course, there's the issue with Christianity. We all know Jews are horribly oppressed by Christians, but most Jews I know are still chill with Christians existing, and it's a known Jewish value to be chill with other people practicing their own religions, including the Jesus fan club. Yet I've found that recently, whenever Christianity is mentioned or when I walk past a church, I feel the need to express my discomfort and distaste for Christianity, because of its appropriative relationship to Judaism. I don't think I should be doing that - after all I think everyone should have total religious liberty within the cultures that are open to them. I know it's not very Jewish of me to be going "I hate Christians!" every time I see a crucifix. But sometimes it feels like I can't help it! This is definitely because I live in a culturally Christian country, but I also recognise that there is a problem with me.

And finally, I've received permission from my rabbi to wear Judaica and kippot, and now I catch myself wearing them visibly wherever I go. I'm proud of my faith and I want to display it to the world! But I'm not Jewish yet and I don't want to catfish any Jews into thinking I'm part of the Jewish people when I'm not. But I really like wearing Judaica in public. I don't know if this is a problem but I fear it might be.

Is this something you experienced at all while converting? I don't know if this is something born Jews also experience, but it does feel like the reality of Jewish life has come crashing down on me, as well as all of the excitement in converting, and it's led to me getting overly emotional and behaving in ways I wouldn't agree with if I sat and thought about it for 5 minutes. Do you know how to confront thoughts like these? Is this something I should talk to my rabbi about?

Hi! I really hope you see this response. I'm sorry it took so long!

This is absolutely something to talk to your Rabbi about. It is good that you recognize that some of these behaviors are not appropriate. 

First I want to address the two that are okay:

Wearing Judaica visibly wherever you go is awesome! This is not a problem at all. If it were your Rabbi wouldn’t have given you permission to wear them. 

Answering friends’ questions about conversion and offering them resources if they are interested in Judaism is not proselytizing. As long as you are not telling them that Judaism is the only way or pressuring them into attending events with you I think you are in the clear on this one. If they are interested in learning, even just to better support you through your conversion, there is nothing wrong with telling them about Judaism. 

The other things you address like arguing with atheists and saying “I hate Christians” whenever you see something Christian are certainly problems. 

The hatred is something that very much should be addressed with your Rabbi. Hillel teaches that the entire Torah can be summarized as “What is hateful to you, do not do to others.” I’m not going to tell you how you should feel about Christianity, but making hatred such a prevalent part of your life is concerning. At the very least, I would highly suggest not speaking these thoughts out loud. Especially when other people are around.

As for arguing with your atheist friends. I learned a long time ago that, for both sides, it is just an exercise in futility. You are both locked into your position and it is very unlikely that either one of you will be swayed out of it during a discussion like that. There is no point trying to convince someone there is a G-d. You can talk about what your faith means to you if asked but I would suggest that you do not try to persuade other people. I usually tell people just that. Something like “If you are interested in hearing what my faith means to me, I will happily share that with you, but I don’t think it is productive for us to debate this topic.” 

Good luck!

[alphaman99]

Mary Sue Davis

Mary Sue Davis

So true! Copied and posted from a friend:

"NOT OPEN FOR DEBATE. IF YOU ARE OFFENDED EASILY THEN DON'T READ THIS.

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be very liberal, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying. Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?" She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over."

Her father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!"

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the conservative side of the fence."

If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him..

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and Jesus silenced.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.. A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative reads this, he'll post it. A liberal will delete it because he's "offended."

Copied and revised.

Well, I posted it. And feel it’s spot on. Your call."