#basically sina's love of nature

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Frank Sinatra's self-inflicted tough-guy-party-animal-Rat-Packer image was not only childish and tiresome, it belied the fact that he was well-read, thoughtful, and a committed free thinker. In this 1963 interview with Playboy magazine, Sinatra speaks frankly (sorry) about the hypocrisy and dangers of "the witch doctor in the middle"--his term for organized religion.

Playboy: All right, let's start with the most basic question there is: Are you a religious man? Do you believe in God?

Sinatra: Well, that'll do for openers. I think I can sum up my religious feelings in a couple of paragraphs. First: I believe in you and me. I'm like Albert Schweitzer and Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein in that I have a respect for life — in any form. I believe in nature, in the birds, the sea, the sky, in everything I can see or that there is real evidence for. If these things are what you mean by God, then I believe in God. But I don't believe in a personal God to whom I look for comfort or for a natural on the next roll of the dice. I'm not unmindful of man's seeming need for faith; I'm for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniel's. But to me religion is a deeply personal thing in which man and God go it alone together, without the witch doctor in the middle. The witch doctor tries to convince us that we have to ask God for help, to spell out to him what we need, even to bribe him with prayer or cash on the line. Well, I believe that God knows what each of us wants and needs. It's not necessary for us to make it to church on Sunday to reach Him. You can find Him anyplace. And if that sounds heretical, my source is pretty good: Matthew, Five to Seven, The Sermon on the Mount.

Playboy: You haven't found any answers for yourself in organized religion?

Sinatra: There are things about organized religion which I resent. Christ is revered as the Prince of Peace, but more blood has been shed in His name than any other figure in history. You show me one step forward in the name of religion and I'll show you a hundred retrogressions. Remember, they were men of God who destroyed the educational treasures at Alexandria, who perpetrated the Inquisition in Spain, who burned the witches at Salem. Over 25,000 organized religions flourish on this planet, but the followers of each think all the others are miserably misguided and probably evil as well. In India they worship white cows, monkeys and a dip in the Ganges. The Moslems accept slavery and prepare for Allah, who promises wine and revirginated women. And witch doctors aren't just in Africa. If you look in the L.A. papers of a Sunday morning, you'll see the local variety advertising their wares like suits with two pairs of pants.

Playboy: Hasn't religious faith just as often served as a civilizing influence?

Sinatra: Remember that leering, cursing lynch mob in Little Rock reviling a meek, innocent little 12-year-old Negro girl as she tried to enroll in public school? Weren't they — or most of them — devout churchgoers? I detest the two-faced who pretend liberality but are practiced bigots in their own mean little spheres. I didn't tell my daughter whom to marry, but I'd have broken her back if she had had big eyes for a bigot. As I see it, man is a product of his conditioning, and the social forces which mold his morality and conduct — including racial prejudice — are influenced more by material things like food and economic necessities than by the fear and awe and bigotry generated by the high priests of commercialized superstition. Now don't get me wrong. I'm for decency — period. I'm for anything and everything that bodes love and consideration for my fellow man. But when lip service to some mysterious deity permits bestiality on Wednesday and absolution on Sunday — cash me out.

Playboy: But aren't such spiritual hypocrites in a minority? Aren't most Americans fairly consistent in their conduct within the precepts of religious doctrine?

Sinatra: I've got no quarrel with men of decency at any level. But I can't believe that decency stems only from religion. And I can't help wondering how many public figures make avowals of religious faith to maintain an aura of respectability. Our civilization, such as it is, was shaped by religion, and the men who aspire to public office anyplace in the free world must make obeisance to God or risk immediate opprobrium. Our press accurately reflects the religious nature of our society, but you'll notice that it also carries the articles and advertisements of astrology and hokey Elmer Gantry revivalists. We in America pride ourselves on freedom of the press, but every day I see, and so do you, this kind of dishonesty and distortion not only in this area but in reporting — about guys like me, for instance, which is of minor importance except to me; but also in reporting world news. How can a free people make decisions without facts? If the press reports world news as they report about me, we're in trouble.

Playboy: Are you saying that . . .

Sinatra: No, wait, let me finish. Have you thought of the chance I'm taking by speaking out this way? Can you imagine the deluge of crank letters, curses, threats and obscenities I'll receive after these remarks gain general circulation? Worse, the boycott of my records, my films, maybe a picket line at my opening at the Sands. Why? Because I've dared to say that love and decency are not necessarily concomitants of religious fervor.

Playboy: If you think you're stepping over the line, offending your public or perhaps risking economic suicide, shall we cut this off now, erase the tape and start over along more antiseptic lines?

Sinatra: No, let's let it run. I've thought this way for years, ached to say these things. Whom have I harmed by what I've said? What moral defection have I suggested? No, I don't want to chicken out now. Come on, pal, the clock's running

[the-mocha-pokepuff]

Professor Sycamore General HCs

~Authors Note: Wow Its Been A While. I Apologize To Everybody, I Promise I’ll Pick This Back Up Soon. Anyway, As A PerfectWorldShipping Shipper, I Already Made Lysandre HCs, How Could I Forget August?~

💌 Augustine is a hopeless romantic. His favorite stories are romantic love stories and his favorite shows are all romcoms

💌 He is autistic

💌 He’s a gentle soul, understanding and loving to everyone—no matter who they are, and can’t bring himself to yell or get mad, and sometimes, he can’t even bring himself to be blunt with his assistants

💌 This lead to Sina and Dexio basically treating him like a dad, when things go wrong, the first thing they think is “Oh man, we need to ask the Professor what to do!”

💌 He’s also very energetic and optimistic, trying his best to make the people around him happy, and also zooming back and forth trying to get his research and the Pokémon he cares for under control

💌 Although even he knows that it’s not always going to be happy—and one of the good things about him is if cheering you up wont work, then he will be more than happy to have you vent to him to get it out, as long as it helps

💌 Despite his kind and gentle nature and happy attitude, if you manage to piss him off (CoughCoughLysandreCoughCoughUltimateWeaponCough) he is HORRIFYING. He starts off with barely reacting when he’s mad, then he slowly starts getting more and more frustrated, until finally he snaps and starts yelling. And since he NEVER does it, it comes off 10x more terrifying

💌 But luckily he doesn’t get mad at tiny things, the most he gets is frustrated, and even that is mild

💌 His energy tends to bite him in the ass sometimes, since he often overworks himself without even realizing it, staying up late at ungodly hours trying to finish everything up from the day, claiming that he “can handle it!” even though his body is yelling at him to stop

💌 When he isn’t at the lab, he’s out taking a walk around Lumiose, going into some cafés that he visits almost everytime he goes out (only rarely going to Lysandre café when he has quite a bit of money to splurge, that place certainly isn’t cheap, or when Lysandre is paying) and he mostly does window shopping, there are also some times where he buys everyone at the lab something

💌 He likes sweet foods and pastries, and he prefers his coffee to have a bit of cream in it

💌 One of his big flaws is that he is way too trusting. He trusts complete strangers. It’s also hard for him to guess if someone is a good person or not. He’s not good with reading that stuff

[hauntkid]

Running from a bad home life Kara found herself lured to the places where she was safe from people, where no one else was willing to go. She quickly made herself at home in a cave, next to an abandoned graveyard in the middle of dense woods, one reclaimed by nature and inhospitable to most. There, amongst the graves she found a kindred spirit, a mimikkyu who wanted nothing more than to be loved, and the two formed a fast bond.

With one ghostly protector soon came more, weak and injured ghost Pokémon gravitating towards the child, who would gladly offer small amounts of life-force in exchange for companionship and stolen snacks.

If one listens closely they may be able to hear Kara talking to her "friends" by humming to them, but it is rare for her to be able to say a word to humans. Instead she writes, having learned the basics before running away, and then practising using the gravestones near her home.

Even she doesn't know her own age, but it is definitely more than a few years below 10, and she is not about to let adults tell her she's not allowed to do things. They had their chance to be grown-ups and parent her, they messed it up, so she is a ghost now.

Kara technically doesn't have a team, simply Pokémon that she lives with/around, but if she did they would include:

Ikyu: Mimikkyu, the first ghost to greet her and Kara's most loyal companion. The two are inseparable, with Ikyu's shadows often wrapped around her shoulders. Kara may have seen under Ikyu's rags, but never intentionally, and her friend's secret will always be safe with her.

Reve: Greavard, her second friend and unofficial service dog, as well as the protector of their graveyard. Reve takes their job very seriously, using Yawn to help when the nightmares prevent Kara from sleeping, and Thief to help obtain food from unwary humans (with a bit of a Roar if the humans need scaring off.) Reve is also incredibly fluffy, a real sweetheart despite their fearsome appearance.

Twi: Litwick, her "nightlight" who has brought her great comfort ever since they "ignited" from a small tea-light Kara had been using to try and keep warm. Twi has kept her alive on some of the colder nights, using fire-type moves to help warm their little cave. Though Twi is a troublemaker they are extremely attached to Kara, and to the snacks she shares with them.

Aria: Phantump. Kara believes that Aria was once another street child she had known, who had had a beautiful singing voice. It was Aria's erie song that originally lured her into the graveyard, though the Pokémon remained hidden until Kara became ill. It was only then that Aria came forward, offering one of her leaves to help cure the girl, and the two have been close ever since.

Sina: Sinistea. Inhabiting the surviving cup from a small toy-sized replica teaset that had been left at a child's grave decades ago, Sina is small even for a sinistea, but that's fine with Kara, because the little ghost fits perfectly in her hands. Occasionally Sina pouts until Kara takes a small sip, and by now the child finds the bitter taste comforting, especially since it was the only tea the ghosts had had available when Kara had gotten sick. Yes Sina takes a bit of her life-force each time, but Kara has more than enough to go around.

Pan: Trevenant, and the guardian of the forest and graveyard. He is an old and wise Pokémon that Kara believes to be some kind of forest god, and she will bring him offerings whenever she can. She also goes to him for "advice," thought usually she's just humming to herself until she figures out an answer. He isn't technically one of her "friends" exactly, but he will certainly protect her if someone came into their home.

////

Rules: Be nice, no godmodding, no smut (obviously), and don't engage in behaviour that makes me add more rules.

Also this is a sideblog, my main is orphanedshadow, though that's probably a much darker type of thing than what's gonna be over here. Here will just be feral child Pokémon adventures, because I need it in my life.

Mun is over 25 and has been doing this for over a decade, so I'm a little too old for getting involved in any kind of squabbling, I just want to enjoy myself and write a gremlin child causing troubles.

[blxetsi]

I was curious if you’d be up for headcanon of adopting Gabi Braun, or what it’s like being her older sibling?

If not maybe just Pieck relationship headcanons

Please and thank you

im so sorry im getting to this so late 😭🤚 ty for requesting ‼️

‼️CONTENT WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 AND CHAPTER 139‼️

adopting gabi braun headcanons (canonverse)

characters: gf!sasha braus x gn!reader, platonic!gabi braun x gn!reader, fatherly!levi ackerman x gn!reader, platonic!falco grice x gn!reader

warnings: death, angst, hatred for kids (fuck them kids‼️), peepaw levi 😁👍

- uhhhhhh,, your relationship w gabi had a very rocky start. Lol !

- it all started when your friend eren jaeger decided to run away to infiltrate marley causing the survey corps to go get him just as a war was declared between your countries, and then two kids snuck onto the airship you were using to escape and shot your girlfriend. and she died. Lol !

- you had a lot of hatred for gabi in the beginning, and it was understandable

- you blamed her for shooting sasha, but you also blamed yourself for not being able to save her.

- you were a trained medic, you were supposed to save people, and yet you couldnt even save the woman you loved. it was like a slap in the face, like god was playing some cruel joke on you

- you remember sitting against the wall with sasha's blood staining your hands. you could barely process what happened at the time, and then levi came

- he sat next to you, taking a handkerchief out of nowhere seemingly, and just wordlessly wiped your hands down.

- your relationship with the older man was never defined, even today, but you both cared for each other

- the next time you saw gabi, was in that restaurant, niccolo had attacked gabi and falco, injuring them both, and said she killed sasha

- your blood went cold, you felt so many things, the grief you had pushed down in favour of your job, anger, fear, among other things

- niccolo had said there needed to be justice, he said that gabi should die for what she did, he tried to get sasha's father to kill her, and all you did was stand there.

- your body went on autopilot, barely listening to mr. braus' speech, you watched as kaya pointed a knife at gabi, and you listened to her wails of agony as you blindly led mikasa, armin, and gabi to a different room

- you were scared of yourself, for what you were thinking. did you really want a kid to die ? she did kill your girlfriend, the woman you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, the woman that shared her food with you, the woman that held you when you got scared at night, the woman that promised you that after the war you two would live on a farm together, and have a family of your own.

- but she was still a child. she didnt know any better. you were conflicted in your feelings, especially after hearing what niccolo had said, but it all just emphasized what was already known to you. she was a child

- your blood was pounding in your ears, and you could faintly hear gabi asking your comrades if they wanted to kill her. when armin reassured her they didnt, she looked to you and asked "what about them ?"

- you didnt answer her, and continued to lead them down where eren would be meeting you all. you were supposed to drop them off, but eren made you stay, and then a fight broke out

- you dont remember when you did it, but you held gabi in your arms, shielding her from the fight. you think you needed to be held more than she did

- things got more complicated after that, and slowly the hatred you had for sasha's killer went away, until all you had left was a hole in your chest from guilt and sadness.

- at fort salta, you thought you were going to die there, next to your friends. you thought you'd become a mindless titan, like connie's family

- but you didnt, well you did, but only for a short time, and when you turned back, you reunited with your friends

- looking around for gabi, you saw her tackle falco into a hug, which made you smile

- "y/n !" jean called, you remember looking behind you in confusion, he sounded distressed, but you understood why when you saw sasha saluting the three of you

- you felt your legs move on your own, and you ran closer to her, before stopping about a meter away. she was dead, you knew she was dead, but she was there, wearing that goofy smile on her face and looking at you as if you'd hung the stars in the sky

- she looked at you. "you did good." hearing her voice felt like a dream. your mouth felt dry, and your jaw opened and closed like a fish before you felt tears sting your eyes. "i love you."

- she nodded, before looking at the sky. "i know." she replied. sasha looked back at you before giving you a soft smile. "you know what to do now." before she disappeared in the debris

- you knew what to do, so you did it

- you found levi sitting against a rock, and when you leaned down next to him he muttered something. "i saw erwin again. and hange. all of them." you nodded. "i saw sasha." he looked at you, and gave you the closest thing to a smile. "i guess we're both at peace now."

*****

- three years later, you've become a school teacher in paradis, teaching young children how to read, to write, and basic math. you teach them about art and music, and nature. its nice being surrounded by children all day, kids are lovely.

- you live with gabi, falco and levi, in a small house inside wall sina. levi's legs have gotten weaker with time, causing him to use a wheelchair and crutches. he's given up on his dream of a tea shop, but is content with the life he has now.

- gabi and falco have gotten more rowdy with age, but they've both matured quite a bit. they make you proud

- you send letters to sasha's family. kaya is growing up, and has taken over archery just like her sister. niccolo is living with them now.

- you'll never be able to let go of sasha, or what happened to her, but the pain in your chest has dulled immensely. you think about her sometimes, when youre in bed alone, wanting to feel the warmth of her body in your arms, you know you should move on, you get teased about not having a new girlfriend, even levi has made comments about there being "plenty of fish in the sea"

it was a late night, on a friday. you were grading spelling tests at the dining room table, one lone candle being your source of light. your pen moves swiftly across the different pieces of paper, adding check marks or x marks when needed, adding a note at the bottom of each test, before adding a smiley face on all of your students' hard work. it was tedious, but it needed to be done, and you had to remember to bring them in on monday, you couldn't forget like last time.

you heard footsteps coming down the stairs. they were soft, and slow, and at first you thought it was levi but realized it couldn't be since you couldn't hear the soft tapping of his crutches on the stairs. they came down to the bottom and stood there, it was gabi, dressed in a light pink nightgown that came down to her knees, and her disheveled hair in the braid you did for her before bed.

you pushed your reading glasses to the top of your head. "what are you doing up ? it's late."

she shrugged, and walked over to sit across from you at the table. gabi grabbed the stack of papers that you already graded and shuffled through them, giggling when she found a misspelling.

you rolled her eyes. "don't laugh, they're six."

she shook her head. "i was spelling ten times better than this when i was their age."

"uh huh."

"are you calling my bluff ?"

you chuckled. "maybe. you should be in bed though."

"why ? it's not like we have school tomorrow."

you shrugged. "i was thinking we could go on a picnic outside the walls. it gets stuffy in here."

she nodded. "that would be fun."

the silence came back for a while, until you finished grading and set your papers aside.

"you know, i hear you sometimes." she whispered.

you looked at the brunette in confusion. "how do you mean ?"

"when your in bed, sometimes you cry."

you scoffed, and leaned back in your chair. "yeah well, i try to muffle it."

"i don't think ive ever apologized to you," she started. her eyes welled up with tears and her hands shook on the table. her cheeks and nose became pink as she held herself back from crying. "i know i feel bad, and i regret killing her but, i've never actually apologized to you for-"

"don't." you said. you kept your eyes on your lap, you felt your throat growing tight. "please gabi, don't say anything."

"i need to apologize-"

"you don't. you killed her. she's dead, the war is over. it's done. just let it go." you said, your voice wavering.

"have you let it go ?"

your head shot up to her. "i lost the woman i was going to spend the rest of my life with. she promised me a safe home, a farm, and a family. and she promised we'd grow old together. and that didn't happen. i grew up with her, i've known her since i was twelve, we started dating when i was sixteen. of course i haven't let it go, gabi."

gabi looked shocked by your outburst, but nodded. she understood how you felt, and she felt so guilty. "you don't forgive me do you ? i get it, i really do. i'm sorry."

you shook your head. "gabi no, i do. i do forgive you. i just, i can't forget it." you whimpered, tears started streaming down your face and you choked back a sob. "i loved her with all of my heart, i still do, but i don't hate you-"

gabi rolled her eyes, tears coming out uncontrollably now. "you should. i killed her, i ruined your chance of a happy life ! she was your family and i-"

"gabi no !" you exclaimed, cutting her off. at this point you both looked like a mess, and you were worried you woke up the boys. you grabbed her shaking hands in your own and held them to you. "you are my family. you are. so is falco, and so is levi. i forgive you, and i love you with all of my heart." you said, a sad smile on your face. her eyes widened at your words, before she started sobbing.

you got up from the table to come to her side, and held her in your arms as she cried. her arms wrapped around your shoulders while she dug her head into your neck, tickling you with her hair.

you rubbed her back and cradled her head while shushing her. she sobbed out a muffled "i love you so much y/n." that you chuckled at.

"i love you too so much." you whispered back.

it took a long time for gabi to calm down, but when she did you still held her, rocking her and yourself back and forth slightly. you two moved from the chairs down to the floor, funny enough.

you kissed the top of her head before talking, the only noise in the room being your whispers, her sniffles and the living room clock. "you know reiner's coming home soon. are you excited ?" she nodded against your skin and sniffled again, clearing her throat too.

"i hope he brings me a gift or something." she whispered back, her voice hoarse. it made you laugh, and you had to cover your mouth to keep quiet.

"they're going to shiganshina district for a couple of days, to visit mikasa and eren, and then mikasa will come with them to the capital."

"do you miss her ?" she asked.

"so much. i miss all of them, but mikasa is a close friend of mine, she holds a special place in my heart."

"do you think you and levi will go to the meetings between the marley ambassadors and the jaegerists ?" she asked.

"maybe, if they feel as though they really need us."

you sighed through your nose, which was a bit stuffy from crying. "after we turned back into humans, i saw sasha again."

gabi lifted her head up from where it was resting on your shoulder. "what ?"

"yeah, i saw her ghost i think." you looked down on her with a smile on your face. "she told me i knew what i needed to do, and then i went and got levi and you and falco." you paused for a moment, thinking about how you would word what you were thinking. "i did what i needed to do, i got my family together." gabi's eyes widened. "sasha promised me a family, and although this wasn't the family i had envisioned, it's still a family nonetheless. i believe her last gift to me was you, falco, and levi. and i am so grateful to have you all in my life."

gabi smiled before hugging you. she opened her mouth to say something-

"oi !" a deep voice came from the top of the stairs. "you two woke me up with all of your crying. go to bed." before your heard the creaking of the floorboards and the closing of a door.

you chuckled before standing up, pulling gabi with you. you walked her to her room, and even tucked her in, you both exchanged 'i love yous' and 'goodnights' before you retreated from her bedroom, closing the door behind you.

across the hall, levi stood leaned on his doorway with his arms crossed together. "that family speech, that was cute." he commented. you rolled your eyes at the older man. "were you listening in on a private conversation ?" you teased.

the ex-captain scoffed and looked away. "go to bed y/n. we have a picnic to go on tomorrow." before closing his door.

you chuckled to yourself, remembering how you brought up the idea to him that morning, and he only replied with a curt "we'll see" before sipping on his morning tea.

you went back to your own room, and got into your bed. you turned on your side, and looked at the space you always left open for sasha, and brushed your hand against the pillow.

"goodnight love."

uhhhhh doesnt feel like my best work but whatevs 😁👍 enjoy my comeback to tumblr 🤩🙏

requests open mfs ‼️

[hiccanna-tidbits]

*kicking at your door, smashing it* DING DONG

Hello! 🥰🌸

from "Questions You Should Be Able To Answer For Any OTP" 1,3,4,5,9 and 10 for moanida!😅💜 But you can answer all of them or only few of them is it's too much ahaha

Ily, take care!!

YEAH BOIIII

Coffee shop AU: Who is the barista, and who frequents the coffee shop?

I'm just imagining Moana being a barista at some hole-in-the-wall authentic Polynesian coffee place by the beach, and of course Merida because she damn well needs her caffeine in the morning or she'll pass out, and Rapunzel insists on starting these fucking Squad Beach Days early. Merida was honestly willing to take the first cup of coffee she could get when the gang first went into town, but uhhhhhh oh GOD that girl behind the counter is cute!!! Merida starts "ending up" in there quite a lot, although initially she can barely string a coherent sentence together in front of that cute barista and can't make eye contact for more than half a second. Extroverted as she can be, Merida dissolves into an absolute mess as soon as a pretty girl is involved XD

Merida also pretends to only like black coffee to make herself seem tough, but in reality she kind of hates it and prefers sugar-laden lattes and sweet teas. After a while, when she and Mo have established kind of a friendship, and Merida can have an conversation with Mo without imploding and making an idiot of herself, Mo notices Mer making a face every time she sips her Plain Black Coffee and kinda smirks and is like “You know, there’s no shame in adding sweeteners. I mean, for god’s sake, my favorite drink here is the blonde vanilla coconut latte, and I’m still pretty tough.” Merida is just like “OH THANK GOD” and finally admits that she’d much rather be ordering an Irish crème, toffee, buttered rum, cinnamon, or caramel latte. If the seasonal flavor selection offers any apple-accented or apple pie-esque lattes, Merida’s all about that shit, too! Probably the most “intense” drink Merida actually enjoys is a pretty spicy cinnamon latte. She ends up ordering this pretty frequently to impress Moana with her spice tolerance, even though she really doesn’t need to.

Also, in case there’s any question about it--yes, Moana absolutely memorizes Merida’s orders! Moana also memorizes what flavor syrups Merida seems to like best (i.e. spicy cinnamon, apple pie, caramel, toffee, butterscotch) and gives them extra shots of them in her drinks. When the manager complains about all of Merida’s favorite flavor syrups running out frequently, Moana is like “Oh nooooo, I have no idea why THAT could be! That’s terrible!”

Rivals to lovers AU: Who takes their rivalry seriously, and who is half in it just to push the other’s buttons?

I love the idea of them having a super-petty sports rivalry in a modern AU! Merida strikes me as being competitive as hell, so I’m betting anything she’d be the one to take it way too seriously and get increasingly annoyed with Moana outdoing her, while Mo kind of gives in and indulges Mer but is also secretly amused and kind of flattered that Mer is like...that into their rivalry. Moana’s just like *Regina George voice* “Why are you so OBSESSED with me???”

Like maybe in a modern-day college AU, Merida has been the star of her college’s archery team basically since freshman year. She wins the championships!!! She gets the trophies!!! She’s very well-known within the tiny niche community that is college archery!!! Then, come junior year, this girl in Merida’s year who Merida’s never even SEEN before shows up out of nowhere and makes the cut for the team. She’s honestly way better than she has any right to be (like judging by how she is with that harpoon gun, Moana’s aim is pretty damn good) and is constantly stealing the spotlight, and Merida is a very angry lass. Like it seems like no matter what she does, Moana can always one-up her, and Merida wants to tear her hair out in frustration. Doesn’t help that every time Moana does ridiculously good on a drill and gets 7 bullseyes in a row or some shit, she’s insufferably smug and cocky about it. Merida very-nearly throws a fit every time Mo outdoes her, and Moana honestly finds the whole thing pretty amusing. She’s sort of flattered that apparently only she can get such dramatic reactions out of Mer, and that just tempts her to push Mer’s buttons all the more.

Then, come the annual Big Archery Tournament Finals! As usual, Merida’s college’s team wins--although this time, it’s through a combination of Merida’s and Moana’s skills rather than just Merida kicking archery ass for like 2 hours straight. On the individual evaluations, Moana scores higher than Merida, but only by a little bit. Merida is, of course, extremely salty, but she’s also grudgingly grateful that Moana being there was able to give their team a definitive edge in the competition.

Afterwards, the team goes out for celebratory drinks. After probably 3 drinks too many, Moana finally works up the courage to try and actually like...have a straight conversation with Merida for once, instead of just communicating with passive-aggressive show-offery. She wanders over, sits next to Mer at the bar, and half-slurredly asks if she can declare a truce just for one night, in honor of their kind-of-teamwork winning the tournament. Merida is also a few drinks in, so she’s just like “sure, fuck it, maybe yer not so bad after all. Now prove to me you’re not a pain in the arse!”

They chat for a while, and it turns out Moana is actually pretty easygoing and fun to talk to when she’s not mega-flexing with her archery skills. After a few more drinks, Moana is like “...can I tell you something?” and Merida’s like “why not?”

And then Moana just goes bright red and looks away and admits that the whole reason she got into archery and boosted up her skills enough to join the team in the first place was because she saw Merida making like 50 bullseyes at the previous year’s tournament, and developed a huge crush on her--to the point where she did all this extra-ass shit just so she could join the archery team and get to know Merida better. Also, every instance of Moana acting smug and cocky after acing a drill or perfectly hitting a target? It was honestly because she was trying to impress and show off to Merida, and also because she’s awkward as hell and has no idea how to actually flirt without being joke-mean and joke-cocky. Merida, a much more emotional drunk than she will ever admit, starts crying and gets super apologetic, because oh god, she was being so mean and rude to this girl who only ever thought she was cool and wanted to impress her from the jump??? How COULD she??? Moana lowkey loses her shit laughing because how mad Merida got at being upstaged was honestly kind of hilarious, and she was actually really flattered that Merida was, again, that obsessed with their rivalry. It made Moana feel weirdly special that only she could get to Merida that much, and she honestly liked the attention, even if it...wasn’t the most positive XD And Merida starts laughing, too, because she’ll admit that in hindsight, this whole thing feels a little ridiculous, and extracurricular college archery really isn’t that big of a deal.

Finally, Merida just rolls her eyes and says “C’mere, yeh bloody show-off yeh” and grabs Moana by the front of her archery uniform and smooches her!!! The entire archery team hoots and hollers because OH SHIT, DAT GAY!!! Merida holds out her other hand and flips the entire team off, which honestly just makes them cheer more.

Enemies to lovers AU: Which one switches sides?

Depends a lot on the conflict, I think! Maybe a war breaks out in an AU where someone other than Moana is chosen to return the Heart of Te Fiti--I’m gonna say Tui, for irony’s sake! Moana and Sina take over as co-chiefs while he’s gone, but he takes significantly longer than Moana did in the quest, so Moana’s tribe is eventually forced to flee Motunui to find new fishing grounds before their island is overtaken by darkness. The people of Motunui sail across the world, trying to find a new place to call home. Unfortunately, every time they find a habitable place, it’s already occupied, and the people who live there are uninterested in sharing their already-scarce food.

Eventually they stumble upon Dunbroch, far enough away from Motunui that the seas aren’t affected by the spreading darkness, and fish are plentiful. Naturally, Moana’s tribe sets up a camp on the shores and starts catching as many fish as they can, hoping they’ve finally found a place where they can have enough to eat again. Unfortunately Fergus and Elinor aren’t too crazy about this, and are like “yo, these oceans and these fish and other game belong to the people of Dunbroch and you gotta leave” and Sina and Moana are like “Pls we don’t have any place to go and we’ve been barely eating for a long-ass time, can’t you spare some food?” and Fergus and Elinor are like “sorry bro, it’s almost winter and we have our own entire kingdom to look after, we don’t need more mouths to feed. You gotta be on your way or shit’s gonna get real.”

So Moana thinks this sounds sketch as fuck because like...there’s an entire forest full of deer, rabbits, and other game, and they have NO food they can spare??? That night, Sina sends Moana to spy on the kingdom, since she can be pretty sneaky when she wants. Moana manages to climb the castle battlements and watch through a window, and she sees a bunch of people enjoying a massive feast in a huge dining hall. Her eyes are particularly drawn to a girl about her age with a head full of bright, fiery curls, wearing a nice dark green dress and gorging herself on pastries adorned with white icing and raspberries.

Moana heads back and tells Sina “actually it looks like these assholes have PLENTY of food to spare, and they just want to keep it all for themselves” and Sina is like “well shit...why don’t we raid their food store, then??? They’ve gotta have one somewhere!” And so the Motunui village storms Castle Dunbroch at dawn, catching them almost completely by surprise.

The first thing Moana does is seek out the redheaded pastry girl, whom she’s developed a particular disdain for. When she rushes her, she’s surprised that the ginger girl whips around and immediately sends an arrow sailing into her shoulder. When Moana gets close, the redheaded girl pulls out a sword. Moana takes out a long, sharpened wooden spear made from a particularly tough oar.

She turns out to be much more competent than Moana expected, especially for someone who was shamelessly shoving sweets into her mouth not 7 hours earlier.

They go toe to toe Raya-and-Namaari style, and the redheaded girl admittedly gives Moana a run for her money. The longer the battle goes on, the more Moana’s rage grows. She taunts the redheaded girl the entire time, calling her a spoiled, selfish brat who’d rather gorge herself with all the sugar in the world than share even one grain of it. Merida, who hasn’t exactly heard good things about these people from her parents, is just like “well, you’re no better, showing up and thinking you can just steal what belongs to Dunbroch and we won’t put up a fight!”

And thus the war begins. Motunui is never quite strong enough to get through the guards and raid the food stores, and Dunbroch is never quite strong enough to fully drive Motunui out of the kingdom. Fergus and Moana are both far too stubborn to surrender (despite the fact that Sina is kind of ready to), and so the battles continue. Casualties start to pile up. Dunbroch seeks help from the other clans, but they refuse--they did not take their leaders’ sons being scorned by the Dunbroch princess lightly.

Over and over, Moana can’t help but be drawn to the redheaded girl. She realizes after a few battles that this girl isn’t just anymore, but the Dunbroch princess--her resemblance to the king and his protectiveness over her can’t be a coincidence. It only makes Moana hate her more--but time and time again, she isn’t able to get the better of the princess. Moana can fight hard, and she can be vicious--but so, she’s discovering, can the Dunbroch girl. The princess is clever and cunning, and underestimating her has almost gotten Moana a blade in the throat one too many times.

Merida would be the one to change sides eventually, I think (wooo! Finally got to the actual question!). Once she finds out her parents didn’t tell her the whole truth about their first meeting with the Motunui village and sorta fudged what happened, Merida is livid that they turned away people who needed help. She said if she had known there were people who were tired and hungry and just needed a place to rest, she would have gladly given up some of her own meals for them! To prove this, she gathers up her dinner--plus some apples and some pastries she was going to have for dessert--and puts it in a basket, taking it to the Motunui camp as a peace offering. Moana ambushes her and very nearly slices the basket in half, if only because Moana was convinced it was filled with venemous snakes. After some bickering, Moana finally snatches the food away and, after testing it to make sure it wasn’t poisoned, brings it to Sina.

Unfortunately, one basket of food isn’t enough to feed the village, and the fighting continues. Merida tries to convince her parents to share their food stores with Motunui, but they still refuse, saying they need those stores for their own people and the Motunui people killed any chance of goodwill they might get when they attacked. Determined not to see people starve, Merida starts stealing from the reserve herself and sneaking the food out to the Motunui camp. Moana is feeling a lot more kindly towards Merida at this point, and feels a little bad about being so quick to judge her initially.

Eventually, Fergus and Elinor notice the food in the stores going missing, and figure some of the Motunui villagers must be running stealth operations to sneak in and get it. Dunbroch launches a full-scale attack on Montunui--while Merida is at their camp sneaking them food, in fact. Fergus makes a beeline for Moana. Word has gotten out by now of the times she managed to spy on the castle, so her sneakiness is well-known--and Fergus is all but certain she’s the thief. He charges at her with his sword, aimed to kill, when his own daughter steps in the way.

He barely manages to stop himself, but he does just in time. Merida admits she was stealing the food the whole time, and she can’t let Fergus hurt Moana. Fergus demands to know why, and Merida tearfully admits “Because I love her!”

Fergus, in a rage, takes out his sword again and charges Merida. Swords clash between father and daughter, and Merida looks like she’s just about to be overpowered. Moana can see the fear and betrayal in her eyes, appalled that her father would actually contemplate hurting her.

Not wanting to see whether he actually would, Moana steps in and helps Merida to fend Fergus off. “Enough!” she screams. “How can you live with yourself? My father risked his life to try to save his daughter and his people--and you’re willing to fight yours because she doesn’t agree with all this senseless violence?! You make me sick! I’m standing with Merida, because...because I love her too. I’ll leave if you want, but I want this to end.”

This finally snaps Fergus out of it, and he and Elinor decide that maybe the fighting has gone on long enough--and maybe it’s not worth it anymore, if it’s pitting them against their own daughter now. They end up trying to work out something with Motunui. Establishing a peace treaty and figuring out how to proceed forward is a long and messy process, but everyone is willing to put in the work--for the sake of Merida and Moana, if for nothing else.

Soulmate AU: Who is eager to meet their soulmate? Who absolutely does not want to meet their soulmate?

Neither of them want to meet their soulmate XD Merida has just been repulsed by the idea of marriage and commitment since she was young, mainly because she can’t not see it as just a means of taking her freedom away and making her be subservient to someone. Besides, given the, um...heteronormative culture of Dunbroch and all, she assumes she’ll get not just stuck with, but cosmically bound to a man and that idea just...doesn’t do anything but fill her with unadulterated disgust XD Like please no, she’s perfectly happy to go where she pleases when she pleases with no one but Angus for company. The last thing she needs is some stuck-up, snot-nosed boy telling her what she can and can’t do.

Moana has similar concerns, although maybe a bit less extreme. She’s mainly worried that when she meets her soulmate and, as per expectation, marries them, she’ll be expected to “mature” into a full adult and fully embrace her responsibilities as chief, leaving behind her childhood dreams of exploring the ocean. Same as Merida, she’s worried the person she’s destined for will tie her down and prevent her from exploring and going on the adventures she craves so badly. She’s also, like Merida, worried she’ll get stuck with some lame, boring dude who she’ll be destined for because...he loves her!!! And will be really nice to her!!! But will not stimulate or interest her in any way whatsoever!!! And Moana is pretty uninterested in romance and dating regardless, so the idea of any kind of romantic partner who she’d hypothetically have to run crazy ideas by before just doing them doesn’t sound too appealing to her. Like, she’s happy where she is and having her friends and family for company, what does she need an SO for??? It just feels like the whole “soulmate” business is just the universe attempting to give her a babysitter, and Moana ain’t about that. She can do things on her own, dammit!!! And what makes the great elder love gods think she wants another person to keep track of on her escapades, anyways?!? It’s enough effort keeping herself safe without worrying about someone else!

Imagine their shocked delight when each finds out their soulmate is a) a girl and b) a girl arguably just as chaotic, adventurous, and rebellious as they are!!! They meet and they’re like “huh...maybe the universe wasn’t being some big dumb fucking idiot binding us together after all. I can work with this!!!”

Pirate AU: Who is the pirate? Who is the member of the royal family who did not sign up for this?

Merida is the pirate! Or at least...the one who becomes a pirate first! XD Maybe to escape her betrothal she steals a ship and flees Dunbroch, and BOOM trouble on the High Seas time!!! Eventually she sails to the south Pacific on her naval escapades, and stumbles on Motunui. When she finds out Moana is a chief’s daughter, she naturally kidnaps her and holds her for ransom--because screw it, she hasn’t successfully pillaged any merchant ships recently and she needs some cash. But instead of being like “Noooo take me home!” Moana is like “Actually this fucks, I’ve always wanted to sail the ocean anyways and my dad wouldn’t let me before, so you’ve accidentally given me an avenue to achieve my dreams!!! Thank you!!!” And Merida realizes that a first mate would actually be a lot more useful in the long run than a handful of hostage money, so she just kind of shrugs like “aight, yer on the crew.”

Merida is a bit salty because Moana takes to the pirate lifestyle excellently--so much so that before long, she’s arguably a better pirate than Merida XD While Merida is a bit cranky about being outdone in the art of piracy, she also can’t help but admire Moana’s natural aptitude for sailing and propensity for mischief on the High Seas!!!

Their ship is called “The Arrow,” and Merida definitely uses her bow during pirate-to-pirate combat! She teaches Moana how to shoot a bow, but discovers Mo is pretty nifty with a harpoon gun as well!

Childhood best friends AU: Which one was super obviously in love with the other the whole time? Who was oblivious until they were older?

Oooooh, this is a fun one!!! Admittedly I don’t usually think about these girls in a Childhood Friends to Lovers AU (very possibly due to...geographical constraints lol) so this’ll be a cool thought experiment!

SO in order to fix my unfortunate geographical constraints, I’m gonna say that this is an AU where the people of Motunui were wayfinders from the jump, and while voyaging (admittedly a LONG way), they stumbled upon Dunbroch. Moana’s parents and Merida’s parents immediately hit it off, and established a political alliance of sorts.

Moana, meanwhile, pulled the classic “little girl on vacation/at an event immediately seeks out other little girl and becomes best friends with her.” Moana and Merida naturally also hit it off immediately, and are both pretty bummed out when Tui and Sina want to leave and continue voyaging and such. However, they make plans to visit as frequently as they can and Merida and Moana are super hyped about this! They both always get extremely excited for said visits, and Little Moana nearly falls off the front of her family’s boat several times because she’s leaning over so far and squinting so hard to try and see Dunbroch.

I love the idea that Moana was the one who was totally smitten from the jump, to the point where it took her years to realize she was aspec because she was like “Of course I can fall in love!!! I’m in love with Merida!!!” She just didn’t realize most people have romantic inclinations toward more than one person over the course of their lives XD

It absolutely does not help that Merida is extremely romance-repulsed when they’re kids--mainly because she associates romance in general with being docile and acting stupid to impress some annoying macho guy, and that thought kinda makes her want to puke. That, and given how, er...heteronormative things are in Dunbroch, it doesn’t reall occur to her that romancing girls is like...an option. So poor Moana has always kind of resigned herself to thinking she has no chance with Merida, and keeps her feelings under pretty tight lock since she doesn’t want to ruin their close friendship and all and she doubts Merida even swings that way.

THEN when they’re in their early teens, Merida is like “hmmm...I wonder what it would be like to kiss Moana?” but then IMMEDIATELY feels weird for thinking that and tells absolutely no one. She’s definitely starting to feel something a little different than just platonic friendship though, and of course she’s also convinced Moana only sees her as a friend and probably doesn’t like girls.

Then one day they’re wrestling around out in the woods, like they have since they were little, and at one point Merida leans down and just impulsively kisses Moana. She’s super flustered and apologetic afterwards, but Moana just stares in shock before being like “holy shit, I never thought you’d actually want me too. Holy shit!!!!” After that, they start secret-dating and everyone around just thinks they’re still “very good friends” XD

When Merida turns 16 and gets the news of her betrothal, she’s devastated. It takes her several days to process her emotions, and several times she tries to protest to her mother, but Elinor steamrolls her and talks over her at every turn. Finally, when Merida can get a word in edgewise, she tearfully bursts out that she can’t go through with this because she loves Moana. Elinor, traditionally-minded woman that she is, is horrified by this.

When Fergus finds out, he GOES OFF at Elinor and sticks up for Merida. He basically says that she’s their daughter and they should want her to be happy, and they should be happy for her that she did find someone she loves, even if it’s a bit...unconventional.

Later, at the betrothal ceremony, Merida picks an archery contest for the suitors with the hopes of cheating the system and winning her own hand. Imagine her surprise when Moana rushes in late with a makeshift bow on her hip, shouting “I am Moana of Motunui, and I’ll be shooting for the princess’s hand as well!”

Luckily, due to Moana’s years and years of informal archery training from Merida herself, the other suitors really don’t stand a chance.

It turns out that Elinor and Fergus set this whole thing up, deciding in the end that their daughter should at least be able to marry who she loves if she had to get looped into a political marriage. And honestly, they weren’t going to say no to a stronger alliance with Motunui at the end of the day. Merida is so pleasantly shocked by the whole thing that she forgets to be mad about the fact that she’s still being pressured into a marriage pretty young XD Luckily, Moana has no intention of trying to hold Merida back or take her freedom away! Their relationship really barely changes after they officially become wives, and they’re still just as in love as they’ve basically always been.

As for the issue of heirs, Elinor and Fergus just make Merida’s brothers the heirs of Dunbroch, and Tui and Sina are fine with Moana and Merida choosing an heir for Motunui who isn’t necessarily their biological child. Neither Moana nor Merida are crazy about the “leaders have to be from the chief/monarch’s bloodline” rule anyways, so they’re more than fine with this!

This is in reference to this post! Still answering these questions for Moanida and Hiccanna, if I haven’t done so already!

@takaraphoenix come get your daily dose of Moanida!

[lenacker]

Lovebirds

Summary: Captain Levi and Petra’s skill in titan-killing was definitely admirable but romance-wise? They’re just idiots. Erd was definitely much smarter than them combined. And he spent about 17 years to realize he’s in love with his childhood bestie.

Word Count: 1336

FFN | AO3

For two of supposedly the best soldiers in Survey Corps, Petra and Captain Levi were unreasonably dumb. Just a couple of idiots. Like, seriously. Assessing the battlefield and taking actions accordingly? Easy-peasy. Piece of cake.

Realizing they consider each other as more than superior officers and subordinates?

Nah.

Petra has been crushing on Captain for as long as Erd remembers. It’s not even a secret. Probably Captain Levi was the only one who didn’t know because, as he said before, he’s very dumb romance-wise. Petra went from a ‘Humanity’s Strongest’ hardcore fan to a disappointed fan (because he’s not as great as she thought-short and irritating), to just fell freely in love. If he got a coin for every time she mentions Captain in her sentences, he would be super-rich. Wait- that could be a fun dare for their next Friday night truth or dare!

She’s a very nice girl (woman, she definitely would scold him if he calls her girl once more. I’m a full-grown woman, Erd! Stop treating me like a teenage girl!) but her nice-ness increased tenfold for their very pleasant captain. She said he’s unapproachable, but she’s always the one who approaches him whenever he’s in one of his ‘you’re all so stupid, a waste of space and I don’t know why I agreed to take you little shits as my squad’ mood.

Every morning, she makes tea for all of the squad members - but with the captain’s preference. Black tea, with all its amazing earthy aroma, with a dash of sugar. She pours it to each cup (With your stupid manly egos, we would run out of the tea stock within a week! Not you, sir.), starting with the Captain’s of course so it’s warm and nice, and fresh.

If Erd doesn’t know them better, he’d say they have a secret-lover-rendezvous almost every night. They talk in his office until late at night, accompanied by another pot of tea and Captain’s stack of paperwork. He’s more of a hit-and-kill person rather than a sit-and-write person, and though he’s not gonna admit it out loud, Petra’s gift in writing and her diligence is about the only reason he can keep up with his paperwork.

There’s no way to know what else happened behind closed doors, but they never show any weird behavior or something like crumpled clothes, hickeys (and honestly it’s really hard to imagine the clean freak captain Levi doing not-so-clean activities).

Anyway, despite her obvious feeling to their superior, she’s surprisingly professional about it. She didn’t suddenly become a flustered-girl-in-love around the Captain, still the same fiery, determined, hard-working Petra.

Due to her smaller stature and different gender than everyone in the squad, when they first train together, Captain Levi tends to give her less or easier job and workout sets. To say Petra was angry was … an understatement. She felt insulted, confronts him and some riot ensues, and honestly, it’s still a mystery to him how the Captain managed to gain Petra’s respect back.

(Gotta investigate it! What a saucy subject, maybe he can ask Hange about it later)

On the contrary, Captain Levi was the one less professional about his feelings. He either sends Petra to the least dangerous condition possible or the closest to him so he could save her anytime. Not that Petra needs it that often anyway.

He talked to her with almost-affectionate (and by almost he means almost non-distinguishable), lower tone. Erd couldn’t even remember the last time he cussed her out, and he hung out with them pretty often. That's a huge thing, considering the intimidating man’s tendency to call people shitty-[noun] and using potty language as daily conversation.

Also, he’s suddenly a bit more chatty to her? Maybe Petra's friendliness started to affect him. Erd was the second-in-command, yet his interaction with his superior mostly consisted of strategies, formations, and a lot of ‘Erd, you’re in command’ with his classic cold, demanding tone. Oluo was often too scared to talk to him and Gunther was naturally silent.

But with Petra, the Captain could say not really necessary, trivial things like “Petra, you should write to your parents more often, they don’t live forever”, or “Do you think Erwin is in a good mood, I’d like to ask him for a new cleaning supplies fund“, or “Petra, brew the tea exactly 4 minutes to get the best taste”

Well, maybe that last two examples were important.

He wondered how much more time they needed to realize their mutual feelings. Erd himself took about 17 years to admit he considered Emily more than a childhood bestie. That’s bad enough. But he definitely was better at romance-field than both Captain Levi and Petra, for he knows their feelings more than they do. God knows how many years it will take before they become more than superior officers and subordinates.

Hmmm. Maybe they just need a little push. Or a lot.

-

Erd walked into the hall, it was the middle of the night and he’s hungry. He still had some food from his latest visit home, but he absolutely hates eating alone. Maybe there’s someone there he could share with. He basically knew everyone in the Survey Corps, so it didn’t really matter who that was.

Oh, actually it does matter.

There they are, the two lovebirds. You know, because they’re small and good at ‘flying’. They’re in that state where Petra gave the Captain his cup of tea and they just stare at each other’s eyes for 4 seconds too long. Erd cleared his throat.

“Good night, fellow insomniac soldier! Captain.”

Captain Levi just nodded his head slightly, Petra smiled.

“Hi, Erd. Why aren’t you sleeping? Missing the missus?”, she took two more cups, setting them side to side to pour the tea in.

“I always miss her, but that’s not why I can’t sleep. I’m starving, but can’t eat these chips alone so I’m looking around for eat-mates!”

Captain put his cup down (Erd still didn’t understand why he held the cup that way. Just training his fingers’ strength?), “Just don’t let the disgusting grease stain my papers”

“Done!” Who wanted to get near the paperwork anyway? Definitely not Erd. “You want some, Petra?”

She just grinned sheepishly, pointing the paper near her with a tilt of her head, “Sorry, don’t wanna stain them”

Ah, that’s a bummer. He really wanted to have at least an eat-mate.

“You sure? It’s divine, you know. Remember the curry you liked last time? These taste similar but better”

She shakes her head once more.

“I could feed you?” He’s really desperate now, he really needed to eat!

Oh. Maybe that’s not a good idea. If looks could kill, he would be dying right here, on the dirty floor by the scary Captain’s look. Alright. No more making that man jealous then.

Petra, oblivious of the shorter man’s reaction because she focused on stirring the two cups without spilling any drop of tea, just pouted, “Erd, I’m not a child! You don’t need to feed me! Just sit here and eat while we chat and do paperwork. Better than eating alone on your bed, right?”

Hmm, maybe. But he didn’t wanna spoil their moments together. So he just acted disappointed, with his best shoulder-slump and kicked puppy look.

“I guess I’ll just go back to bed hungry then, you guys are no fun. Good night Petra, Captain”

His steps towards his bedroom stopped by the Captain’s cold voice,

“Oi”

Erd turned back, “Yes, Captain?”

“Take over the training tomorrow. I need to go take care of something Sina.”

“Oh, okay, sir. You wanna take Petra with you?”

And accidentally get into a scenario where you two realize your feelings or are forced to sleep in one bed?

“Huh? Why would I take Petra? You want some time off, Petra? You should just tell me.”

See? He’s too caring!

“No, sir! I’m completely fine!”

“Okay, I’ll brief you all later. We probably get a new puny member soon”

A/N : This turned out about 3 times longer than I thought it would, writing Erd is a lot of fun!

[rockthistowninsideout]

What’s wrong with the Zamonia books

   Many aspects have been pointed out before in the discourse here on tumblr but I thought I'd compile them in one post. I've just completed the Bluebear audiobook and stumbled across some points that left a sour taste in my mouth... Please feel free to add what comes to your mind.

►  Bluebear is the typical Mary Sue/White Male Hero. If he was a woman written by a woman he'd be mocked to no end.

Tragic backstory (mom and dad kill themselves to save him)? ✓

Being naturally the best in most things? ✓

If he's not the best, he's the luckiest in the world?✓

Wise mentor there to rescue him when a situation is on knife’s edge? ✓ 

►   Same goes for Rumo, maybe without the brain capacity Bluebear has but he’s got people who do the thinking for him.

The blatant lack of women/non-male characters!

►   In the 13 1/2 lives, we have Fredda, who is the most emancipated in the book (not hard when there’s only two female characters). Still, she has to fall for the trope of love at first sight. Granted, Chemluth is cute (and Dirk Bach’s impersonation of him is just the best). But I don’t really see why Fredda would be into him from the very beginning? It feels more than shoe-horned. Just because Fredda’s leaving with the Invisible People and Chemluth is of no use for Bluebear anymore doesn’t mean they have to travel through space dating. 

►   Now, don’t get me started on Avriel! She’s not a real person, she’s exactly like Bluebear has seen her in his dream, for God’s sake! She has one (1!) sentence in the entire book which is also about Bluebear. She could be a walking stick for all I care. 

►   We might read the Babbling Billows as female, considering that the grammatical gender for Wellen/billows is female and that babbling and gossiping is oftentimes assigned as one of women’s main hobbies. (See how desperate I’m getting?)

►   I don’t remember much about Ensel & Krete, but from what I do, is that this is more about children overcoming obstacles. Need to reread at some point. At least we have our first female title character.

►   In Rumo, we basically also only have two female characters. Rala is a badass chick, and so is Oga of Dullsgard, but they deserve much better. For example, being less just badass and more balanced as characters. Rala, for some reason, is besotted with Rumo in her own special way (he’s the prey, she’s the hunter) even though there’s no discernible reason for that. She only becomes Wolperting’s swimming hero because she wants to get Rumo’s attention (though at least she does something). In the Copper Maiden, she has to prove herself to General Tick-Tock (”I have nothing to prove to you!” one might want to say and then blast Tick-Tock into oblivion like Brie Larson did to Jude Law.)

►   The issue of the Silver Thread has been discussed here before, why it only flows from male to female, never opposite; what happens when one of the designated couple (or neither) doesn’t actually want this relationship. We get a glimpse into that with Urs’ and Sina’s story but it’s never explained. While I love Urs to bits, I would have also loved to hear Sina on that topic. It’s also been brought up in the fandom how interesting it would be when the Silver Thread suddenly leads to another male, or when a woman suddenly has one. Fic material, I reckon.

►   I’m also still bitter of Oga of Dullsgard’s name change. As nothed in another post, she goes by Oga von Eisenstädt/Oga of Ingotville in the German original, which immediately evokes the image of a relentless, steely character. I like that, it fits her teaching role. Dullsgard is famous for its bogs, and that the inhabitants mummify anyone who enters the town. Which makes nearly no sense at all for a Wolperting who is clearly not undead. “dull” in English also means “boring” or even “imbecile”; Oga is neither. 

►   I think it’s really telling that the other independent female characters stem from a species whose name is either “ugly” (English) or “terrible, appaling” (German). Only ugly women are emancipated because they cannot attract the male gaze and therefore need another purpose in life. Or if they try to appeal a man, against better judgement, they will fail, in the case of Izanuela.

►   We only hear of Floria of Ingotville in Succubus’ story of their love, she’s basically held hostage by her father in an impenetrable castle made of steel, and can only escape her fate by an arranged marriage (her father’s plan). As we know, her try to outsmart her father goes wrong, and after she thinks Succubus is dead, she stays wrapped up in grief for a man her entire life. 

►   The only true heroic woman in the novels is Dylia, and only because of illustrator Lydia Rohde, whose illness Moers turned into a Zamonian story. If Moers had never met Rohde we would probably still be waiting for a female main character who is not a child. 

[lightninghikari]

Scrunchies

Pairing: Lysandre / Augustine Sycamore.

Rating: general audiences.

Summary: Lysandre can't help it; Augustine just looks so adorable wearing a scrunchie. (yes that’s the summary),

Author’s Notes: It was 8 am, I saw someone wearing a scrunchie on the bus, that reminded me of all the jokes about vsco girls I’ve heard, and then told myself, "why don't I write a perfworld fic about scrunchies?", then got bored in classes and this was born. Enjoy!

Read in AO3

When he walked in, the office was a mess, as usual.

The professor was behind his desk, frantically typing something on his laptop, while he still managed to cradle the small Chespin clinging to his right arm. Also, he had his hair tied back, which allowed Lysandre to appreciate better his face and the slight frown upon it.

How messy.

How adorable.

When Augustine lifted his gaze and realized he had arrived, and then just whined a bit surprised and stressed out, that indulgent, soft smile that spread over Lysandre’s lips whenever he saw him, once more, couldn’t be helped.

“Ah, mon ami!” He exclaimed. “I almost forgot you were coming over today.”

“Busy?”

“Pretty much,” Augustine mumbled after some seconds spent silent, and then, he shut the laptop. “But, you know, I can always make some time for you.”

How correct was for a professor to say that to their own very pupil?

Nothing that Lysandre minded, anyways. Maybe, if he didn’t know that Augustine was sometimes so clumsy with his choice of words, he would’ve liked to take that as flattery.

Augustine stood, only to have Chespin complaining with a sort of annoyed expression over his face, but at last, leaving his arms to go out of the office either way. And once Augustine had full move freedom, he smiled.

“I’ll get you the books I told you about, gimme a sec.”

“Okay.”

Then, he walked to where his bookshelves were, and humming, he started to search throughout all of his books until, one by one, he started to pick some and place them over his left arm.

But, something else caught Lysandre’s attention.

“Alright,” he turned to face him again, with that beautiful, wide smile of his. “Here you are, I think you’re going to like quite a lot these b-“

He stopped when he realized he was being stared.

“What?”

Lysandre stepped closer to him, and carefully placed a hand over his head, “is this…?”

What was the name, again? He surely remembered having listened to Malva cursing on them the other day, complaining about how basic, unclassy and unoriginal the people wearing them were, and overall how stupid those small pieces of cloth were for everyone to be paying so much attention to them and buying them indiscriminately. However, the name…

“A scrunchie?”

“Oh, that,” he chuckled nervously as now Lysandre was absentmindedly twisting the fabric of the scrunchie between his fingers. “My hair was getting on my face, and I couldn’t stand it anymore, and, well, Sina happened to leave her scrunchie here yesterday while we were working on something, so, yeah.”

As he kept playing with the tie, suddenly, Lysandre realized how close he had gotten to the professor already, and that made him grow a bit self-conscious.

“It’s red.”

“Yeah. Sina likes to match it with her uniform.”

Then, Lysandre chuckled a bit more lightheartedly than he was used to or felt comfortable with.

“Red looks good on you. Highlights all of your natural beauty.”

Did he really say that so blatantly?

Judging by how Augustine stiffened in his place right afterward… pretty much, yes. He finally made a comment on that.

“Why…” Augustine laughed coyly, shrugging a bit, his cheeks dusting with pink, his eyes going soft. “Thank you, the appreciation, coming from you…”

Augustine didn’t even seem to know how to finish his last sentence.

And, a bit encouraged by the suggestive closeness and the fact that Augustine didn’t seem like stepping back anytime soon, Lysandre stopped paying attention to the scrunchie to focus instead in stroking the soft, curly black locks.

After some seconds like that, Augustine finally dared to look up to him as if trying to find an answer, and… damn. How could a man like him, that stood tall himself, look so teeny tiny and adorable and so terribly kissable and irresistible and-

Succumbing to his gravity, to that magnetism that drew just too many people to him, Lysandre stared right at his grey eyes, flashed a gentle smile at him, and teasing himself he got closer to his face, parting his lips slightly, awaiting, until falling right onto his kiss became unavoidable, and their lips ended up smacking swiftly, oh so terribly sweetly against each other’s in a gentle, coy motion, and then-

A thud made them pull away.

And, all the books were scattered all around them now.

But Augustine wasn’t even attempting to pick them. He was frozen on his spot, with his eyes open with surprise and hesitation, his cheeks matching the red scrunchie he was wearing, and his knees shaking, while his antsy fingers played one with another to pretend that weren’t trembling at all.

“Umm…”

“W-Was that intentional?”

How could that possibly be an accident? Yet, as ludicrous as it was for him to think that Augustine genuinely believed that he just bent over to kiss him in such a tender way, that was a bit unlike himself, by mere accident… he decided to keep the sarcasm for himself that time around.

“Yes. It was intentional.”

After some aching seconds that felt like a whole eternity spent in uncertainty, Augustine spoke again.

“Could we… repeat it?”

Augustine always found new ways to sweep his heart and make him act like the silly, cheesy lover he always swore he’d never become.

“As you please.”

Now, Lysandre placed his hands on both of his cheeks, lovely, and pulled him in, and soon, after more seconds spent in indulgent sweetness, his hands decided to travel to his delicate waist and back and…

“Again,” he demanded with a breathy murmur.

Now Augustine was wrapping his arms around his neck as he took a step forward, cutting definitely all distance left between their bodies, and now their legs, their chests, everything was touching.

“You need another repetition to believe it?” Lysandre asked flirtatiously, at the edge of relieved laughter, already gasping.

“Please.”

Did he even mind that the door was wide open while he made out with the professor in his own very lab?

“I’m still not very convinced.”

And Lysandre kissed him each time more passionately, getting so damn drunk in the warm feeling of their lips and tongues smacking repeatedly, losing himself in the soft, tender, sweet humming noises that Augustine did each time he got more and more engaged with the action...

Completely out of himself, even pleading, Augustine requested once more, “again.”

Why didn’t he dare to kiss him sooner?  

[kdtheghostwriter]

SNK 122 - Avalanche

Who would have thought when it happened that Eren kissing Historia’s hand would be THE moment of Shingeki no Kyojin. Imagine you’re picking up this lovely series for the first time. You see a fresh take on the survival-horror genre and think, “I could get into this.” A couple volumes in, you discover the zombie horde tale was a clever cover for a fleshy mecha gimmick. “Weird,” you think, “but ok.” Now it’s ten years and 130+ chapters later. We’re all reading a retelling of the Norse Myth of Creation wrapped in a cozy WWII disguise.

What do any of these words mean? Join me under the cut. It’s time for lore.

Thoughts on the chapter first. We finally get to see the life and times of Founder Ymir. Not surprisingly, she appears to be of vague Northern European origin in what appears to be the Middle Ages. The ancient Eldians were Vikings basically, but back then they weren’t even Eldian. They were human just like everyone else…until they weren’t.

Founder Ymir’s story eerily mirrors that of 104th Ymir. As a small child, she was nothing more than a scapegoat. Born a servant girl, she empathized with the group of pigs that had been captured. She released them, no doubt ruining someone’s feast in the process. A soldier asks who the offending party is and we see a great panel of Ymir surrounded by pointing fingers John Wick style.

Much like Mr. Wick, Ymir goes on the run only in a much different context. John Wick, in his universe, is the most prolific assassin alive. He’s on the run, but he’s not defenseless. Ymir is a child and is defenseless. The men (and I do emphasize the grown men) that chase after her never perceive her as a threat. They’re having a sporting time terrifying and slowly killing this innocent child. Running out of energy and time, Ymir happens across a humongous tree and decides an odd hiding spot is better than none at all. Entering the base of the tree, she falls down into an unseen hole – like Alice into the looking glass – and just as she’s about to lose consciousness, she comes in contact with what can only be described as…this.

A parasite? An alien lifeform? An ancient Eldridge manifestation? Maybe. Just like another old Myth there isn’t really a clear answer nor will there be. ‘Tis the Source of all Organic Matter and it was always there it was, lad.

We get several lessons here about how history can warp our perceptions of the individual players in both a positive and negative sense. Ymir never made a deal with the Devil to get her overwhelming power. She literally fell backwards into a divot and came out big as a mountain. On the other hand, the Founding Titan was not this ethereal being of divine beauty. The First Titan was grotesque to look at. It had no true face and its ribs were exposed, which I guess makes sense for a creature that large. Founder Ymir was a victim of circumstance and oppression. She has the power of nature and God at her fingertips but has only known servitude. That’s why there is no objection when she hears the following.

Not only is there CLEARLY no consent here, but I’m fairly sure Ymir is barely a teenager here so – Double Dose of Yikes!

Fittingly (or tragically, who can tell at this point), Ymir has three daughters: Maria, Rose and Sina. She raises her children while helping her nation conquer the lands around them with her unmatched power. However, thirteen years after her eldest child is born, a rogue soldier makes an attempt on the king’s life and Ymir leaps in front of the spear; one final act of indentured service.

Sort of. She is told correctly that she isn’t in danger. No doubt she has come back from far worse injuries than a spear to the collar. King Fritz tells her to get up and continue being a slave and Ymir says fuck you with her whole chest and gives up the ghost right there.

This shocking development leads to two things. First, we see the most graphic panel in a series full of gore and body horror as the children of Ymir are forced by Dear Old Dad to cannibalize their mother’s still-cooling corpse in order to obtain her power. Then, we see Ymir wake up in what we now know as the Paths dimension. Here she shall stay until a certain someone is able to receive and respond to her call for help.

That’s all for the backstory, now what about the source? It’s been documented well that Isayama loves myth and folklore especially of the Norse variety. Near the beginning of #122 we see Ymir fall into a tree that Momtaku and her co-host Luna succinctly describe as “both phallic and vulvic at the same time.” This seems like a clear reference to Yggdrasil, The World Tree. Yggdrasil is an interdimensional bridge with each branch connecting to a different realm, not unlike the branches we see in the PATHS dimension. Then we have the spine-like creature that latches on to Ymir like Symbiote under the tree. See if this looks familiar.

Nidhogg is a serpent that is known for eating away at the roots of the World Tree. It also has a famous rivalry with an unnamed eagle that sits atop Yggdrasil. A constant struggle between freedom and entrapment which is of course a central theme to this story. I’ve seen meta theorize that if the briny parasite represents the serpent of the Tree, that Eren Jaeger would represent the eagle the overlooks it and seeing how he’s spent most of this tale with wings on his back, that makes about as much sense as anything else.

It’s all a lead-up to Ragnarok: the End of the World.

Yup, that looks like the end to me.

When the First King lined up those Titans to form those walls, he couldn’t have known someone would find the one loophole to circumvent his failsafe. The reason the Coordinate Powers only fully activate for those of Royal Blood. It isn’t because of their genes alone. Ymir is a slave to the Royal Family, even centuries after her physical death. It isn’t until someone gives her a choice that she even thinks to take a different course of action.

What a charmer. This panel and the one that follows are both very important to me. Zeke, in his frenzy is a spitting image of King Fritz. Yes, the are directly related but also, I think there is something to be said of him taking on the form of Ymir’s greatest oppressor. After she hears Eren’s pitch to lend him her world-shattering power we see her eyes, full of tears, for the first time. Not an accident. It’s the first time in 2,000 years anyone has treated her like a person.

This is not an official theory or anything but it’s how I interpret this. The title of this chapter ‘From You, 2,000 Years Ago’ is of great significance outside of how it mirrors the title of the very first chapter. Ymir was sending a message and when we remember the Attack Titan’s special trait of moving (and looking) forward it’s clear who the messenger was. The question then becomes, was Eren the only one who was able to answer the call? Yes, just not for the reasons you would think.

 Technically, any of the Attack Titans (or any of them, I guess) could have unlocked the PATHS with enough work. The problem is, the only knowledge of Ymir’s story and the history of the Eldian people was with the Coordinate which, historically, was possessed by the Royal Line. It wasn’t until that fateful night when Grisha stole the Coordinate away that a very specific set of conditions could be met.

Once a single person of their own free will got even a glimpse of the tortured history and fate of Founder Ymir it was enough to set an incredibly complex series of events into motion. This is why the Attack Titan, even during the Great Titan War, can never listen to reason. They know what the end game is, thanks to Eren sending them snaps of that scenery.

Eren was special after all. Just not in the way we first thought. Funny that.

  Stray Thoughts

- Keep in mind that the final panel of Eren’s new Titan exploding out of his severed head happens the instant it lands in Zeke’s hand. How must Gabi be feeling right now? You think you’ve slain the Devil of the Earth and all you’ve done instead is give him immense power and an army of unstoppable giants. Someone get the Bart cake gif in the replys.

- The most impressive part of seeing Ymir’s backstory is that it was largely done with no dialogue. Almost felt like we were reading a scroll or ancient tome. Credit to the author for crafting such a deep, rich world to explore. Somehow, Shingeki no Kyojin isn’t the story he’s always wanted to tell but it will rightfully be the one he is best known for.

- Once again Zeke blows a 3-1 lead by being an entitled shithead. He and the rest of his family knew the story of Ymir and the fate she suffered and still saw fit to not only keep her imprisoned but to use her as a tool to subjugate their own people. No tears from me, muchacho.

[questionsonislam]

Why is philosophy condemned? Can a Muslim oppose philosophy?

Let us give some brief information about philosophy first:

Philosophy is derived from the Greek word “philosophia”. It consists of two words: “philo” and “sophia”. In Greek,“sophia” means “knowledge and wisdom”. The word sophia was used in Greek literature for thinkers and philosophers up to Pythagoras, one of the philosophers of the First Age. That is, the philosophers before him described themselves as people with knowledge and wisdom.

However, Pythagoras said that the only being with knowledge and wisdom in real sense was God and regarded it impossible for man to have absolute knowledge and wisdom; he added the word "philo" before the word "sophia" stating that man could only be the lover of wisdom or knowledge. “Philo” means lover. Therefore, according to Pythagoras, man cannot have knowledge and wisdom in the real sense; so, he can only be the lover of wisdom.

Then, the word philosophy means love of wisdom and knowledge; a philosopher is a person who wants to be experienced and who loves and cares for knowledge. Wisdom, which is one of the basic principles of “Philosophia”, which was accepted as "love of wisdom and knowledge" in the first ages, includes the meanings of both knowledge and virtue. Accordingly, we can deduce the meanings of knowing what happens and discovering what is good from the word philosophy.

Famous Islamic philosopher, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) defines philosophy as follows: “Philosophy means man's having a grasp of objects and all truths as much as he can and trying to understand their secrets.” Philosophers thought everything about man's life based on the mind; thus, they regarded philosophy as an area that researches everything.

There are various views regarding what knowledge and wisdom are like and how to define philosophy. Therefore, it is very difficult to make one definition of philosophy. However, it will not be wrong to define philosophy as follows by taking into consideration the general properties of philosophy: “Philosophy is the activity of rational, critical, objective, consistent and comprehensive thinking on everything that exists.” Acting upon this definition, we can list the basic properties of philosophical knowledge as follows:

1. Philosophical knowledge occurs as a result of critical thinking based on research and examination.

2. Philosophical knowledge is knowledge in which the issues that are dealt with are interpreted in a system based on reason.

3. Philosophical knowledge is a kind of knowledge that proceeds cumulatively.

4. Philosophical knowledge is uniting and integrating.

5. Philosophical knowledge cannot be proved through experimenting or observation like scientific knowledge. It is nor a kind of knowledge whose trueness can be determined clearly due to its continuity and including new interpretations.

The topics that philosophy deals with are divided into three main parts: They are ontology, (existence), epistemology (knowledge) and axiology (values). Accordingly, ontology deals with the existence of the universe, how it came to being and everything in the universe; epistemology deals with the definition, source, criteria, possibilities, area and scope of knowledge, along with logic and science. Axiology is the activity of thinking on the basic issues like ethics, esthetics, politics and education.

After this brief information, let us answer the question.

It is necessary to mention the importance of something: The philosophy that our religion does not find appropriate is the wrong views of life that are on the agenda in this age rather than the philosophical views of the past. They usually lead people to unbelief and irreligiousness. The word philosophy is used for the "exact sciences", which examine the universe with its "literal meaning", examining the works only, without taking the creator into consideration.

The reason why philosophy in this sense is opposed is that people deal with rational sciences only, think that they themselves and this realm are without an owner and that they only work for this world, without thinking about Allah and the hereafter.

In his work called Munazarat (Debates), Badiuzzaman Said Nursi likens the religious sciences and the exact sciences to two wings and emphasizes that “the success of the student will soar with them.” In his work called Lamaat (Gleams), he likens the religious sciences to the black part of the eye and the exact sciences to the white part of the eye; he draws attention to the fact that the eyes function when they come together but the part that actually sees is the black part. Saying, "the light of the mind comes from the heart", he draws attention to the fact that dealing with the mind only by ignoring the heart, which is the place for belief, will leave man in darkness.

The philosophy that is opposed is the philosophy that is based on the mind only, the philosophy that has only one wing and that has no light. Otherwise, no Muslim opposes exact sciences. For, one of his most distinguished features is to see the universe and the things in it as evidence for the existence and oneness of Allah and for the endlessness of his attributes and to make use of these scientific facts to the utmost in order to explain and prove his cause.

People have moved away from spirituality due to dealing with matter too much; they have seen life as only the life in this world and the purpose of life as "living comfortably in welfare". This has made people move away from the religion, attached them to the world and led them to debauchery.

The mental struggle between the prophets who view events based on revelation and the philosophers who base their views on the mind only has continued throughout history. However, in this age of science and technology, there is not a philosophy in the sense of the philosophy in the past; there is a philosophy that regards the exact sciences, which are a product of the mind, as sufficient regarding all issues. The mental discussions of this age are very different from the philosophical currents Before Christ. In this age, some scientists who have moved away from the religion use nature and matter as a means of denying spirituality and have virtually raged a war against the religion. The philosophers who found it enough to utter their philosophical views and did not interfere with others are very different from the unbelieving scientists of this age. Therefore, the meaning of philosophy in the past is very different from that of this age.

Until recently, the currents of "atheism, evolutionism and materialism" were included in the school textbooks in communist countries; they tried painstakingly to bring up an irreligious youth. In the developed countries, "interest, matter and debauchery" started to dominate the community life as a result of the fast development in technology; consequently, a debauched and irreligious generation was brought up. They all occurred because people "moved away from the revelation and adopted the wrong thoughts produced by their own minds".

Accordingly, a Muslim opposes the philosophy that aims unbelief and irreligiousness; a Muslim does not oppose the philosophy that is in good terms with the religion.

[aion-rsa]

The Long Journey of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Comic Series

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Warning, this interview contains spoilers for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #50 and the final issue of Go Go Power Rangers.

All of the Power Rangers comics that have been published in the last few years were leading to issue #50 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. All the plot lines and characters came together for a triumphant and climatic showdown that not only provided a lot of action but also closed off some character arcs while also setting some things up for the future.

We talked with writer Ryan Parrott about this gigantic issue and needles to say, this chat features NOTHING but spoilers both for MMPR and the last issue of Go Go Power Rangers. Our discussion includes adding conflict between the Rangers (which the show did little of), bringing back the Solar Rangers, Jason v. Tommy, how being an Omega Ranger is like going to college, and much more!

This is the first part of our interview Ryan covering issue 50. The next part coming soon will look to the future and what fans can expect going forward in the universe of Power Rangers comics.

DEN OF GEEK: Before we get to MMPR #50, we’ve got to talk about (the recently concluded) Go Go Power Rangers for a hot second. You and Sina Grace both helped fill in a gap that was perhaps the most glaring in the original series, giving Jason, Trini, and Zack a proper sendoff. Talk about finally making that happen.

RYAN PARROTT: Oh, I mean, that was kind of the whole point from the beginning. I felt like having met Austin and Walter, and talking to them about what that was like, and I always felt, “Yeah, we should probably try and use the comic books to find a way to make that all make narrative sense,” as opposed to all the crazy background noise that was going on. So, we were talking about the idea of the Omega Rangers very early on during Shattered Grid. Kyle Higgins and I had talked about it from the very beginning.

So, it was finally nice to be able to give them that and then give them a sendoff, but also know that it’s not the end of their story. It’s like, “Yeah, we’ll end their story in the continuity of the show, and do that properly but also know that this isn’t the end and we can give them more adventures and hopefully build out those characters in ways that I think people wanted, as opposed to the way it was cut short when we were a kid. And we’re just like, “Why are they all just silhouettes? Why is no one on screen?

Why is Jason holding a guitar over his face? That never gets old. And so, on going off of that, one of the defining parts of the original series, especially by season two once the show got popular, was that the Rangers almost completely lacked conflict with one another. Unless they were under a spell 95% of the time they were buddy buds. How did you go about adding all of this conflict between them in Go Go and MMPR, especially between Jason and Tommy?

With MMPR, it was easy because I knew when we brought in the Stone Canyon trio I remember we were talking about “that must’ve been really hard.” Like the idea that you’re going to step in when these other people have been doing this for a really long time, they saved the world countless times already. And it’s like, “You got to live up to those shoes. Oh, and by the way, you have to take on a villain that’s twice as hard as Rita.” I always thought, “There’s got to be some natural growing pains there.” Right? So, I love that we were able to start to hint at that, and that that’s what gave us Necessary Evil. It’s going to be about the old guard and the new guard and how those two will mesh together.

And then, we were dealing with Go Go, I always saw it as, when we were trying to figure out what that series was, I’d say, “Well, that story is about Tommy who needs to learn how to stay and Jason who needs to learn to leave.” That’s why we started it where we did with the idea of Tommy losing the green power coin and losing his powers and running off to the cabin, which made no sense in the original. A lot of cabins in California. But he just runs off, and there was a lot of him leaving all the time. So he goes from a character in the first two seasons of Power Rangers, somebody who leaves all the time, to someone who stays longer than almost anyone, which I thought was an interesting choice. So it was about doing that.

It was about giving (Jason and Tommy) cross-purposes. The idea that Jason has to learn that there are bigger responsibilities in being a Power Ranger and that there’s a larger universe outside of earth. And so, I thought, if you have those two characters who are both dealing with diametrically opposed philosophies and feelings, it automatically created a lot of tension. And so, I always knew that I was going to basically build to those two conversations, the one in, I think MMPR 45, where there’s the Omega Ranger and Tommy comes out and he says, “Hey, man, I don’t know what I’m doing here.” And then, the other one in (Go Go) 32 where it’s basically him saying, “Stay.” And I always wanted to have it be in the same location and have it be basically two sides of the same conversation.

I really loved what you did with Jason, especially with his dad. Was adding his dad in there a further way of making him want to stay but ultimately helping him realize he has to go? Thank you. I really wanted to bring the dad thing back in because I felt like we dropped it. I know friends and family who when you talk to them and they’re in their normal life but they have all these personal problems that no one ever hears about. My mother has multiple sclerosis, so she’s always told me, “I don’t ever want what I have to keep you from being who you are going to be. I don’t want my sickness to stop you from achieving your dreams.”

And I thought there was something really interesting about having his dad, who is such a hard ass on him all the time, to be the one who actually, in a gruff way, says that very thing to him, saying, in a bad way, but, “Don’t let my sickness be an excuse for you not to be the thing you’re supposed to be,” which is probably the closest thing to an, “I love you,” you’re ever going to get from that character.

Did you worry that adding so much conflict between the characters would push the comic further from the events of the show? Because, after all, it feels like if you try to put them side by side, in the comic, they get mad at each other, but then in the show everybody’s buddy buddy and it’s fine.

The way that I looked at it was, the shows were 22 minutes and they’re short, and they didn’t show a lot of the stuff that’s going on. So, in the same way that in the early issues of Go Go we were filling in the gaps, I thought, “Well, there’s an opportunity to fill in the gaps here, too.” I felt like maybe the Power Rangers when we see them and they’re fighting villains, yeah they’re pretending everything’s fine. But then they take the helmet’s off 20 minutes later and it’s like, “You could have come back a little faster with that jump kick,”

So, that’s the way I rationalized in my head. When they’re a unit and they’re fighting, they’re keeping it real and they’re a unified front. But there’s always the background turmoil and stuff like that. And I just felt like if you were writing that show today, you would have more inner conflict. If anybody’s watching any CW show, that’s all of that.

I know when we talked over a year ago before Necessary Evil had even come out, I had asked you, “Is Beyond The Grid going to affect the story arc?” You said, “A lot,” I didn’t think it would take quite this long to get to that point, but in issue 50 you bring in Ari and Remy from Beyond the Grid. It was great to see them. Was it always your plan to bring them in at the end, and have we seen the last of them?

When we started breaking Necessary Evil, I was like, “Okay, I want to find a way to bring in all the arcs from Mighty Morphin zero and Go Go one all the way forward. There was a version at one point when we did the climax and I thought, “Well, I know I want the Solar Rangers to come in but how much do we want to bring them in?” There was a version where there was a much larger sequence, but ultimately, I felt there was so much going on that last issue, it just felt like, “Let’s just bring in the characters that we know. Let’s bring them in, in a way that, hopefully… We save their universe so they can come in and start to save ours.”

But I mean, the best thing about it was we created the Anointed and the Empowered, and they had this main line to the Morphin Grid. And I was trying to figure out like how we were going to defeat them. And I remember talking to Dafna (Pleban) my editor, and she said, “Well, in Beyond the Grid, they have the Solarix and it does suck up Morphin energy.” I went, “Wait a minute, you created a MacGuffin in another book that I can use for this so I don’t have to create a new one?” And she’s said, “Yeah.” I’m like, “We’re using that.” It was one of those things where I’d created this thing and I didn’t quite know how to solve it. I had other options, but I thought, “Oh, this actually works. It’s so much more seamless, and I don’t have to create anything new.”

So, yes, I always wanted to bring them in, and in the cleanest way possible so we can tie everything together at 50 and then hopefully use that as a way to springboard the next story. And could we see more of them in the future? Never say never.

Obviously, the editor plays a big role in the writing process for a comic like this. How much of the story is you versus the editor versus even the people who own the brands?

Everything starts with a conversation. For instance, when we first started figuring out Go Go I said, “That story was about what it was like for me in high school and when I had to go to another high school that my friends didn’t get to go to.” And I use that as the basis for (the Matt story.)

When the Omega Rangers came in that was about college. It was that thing where you step out into a larger world because when you’re a 17 or 18, that’s the first time you have real responsibility and real choices in your life. Up to that point, most people are just about what job you have and what your friends are doing or what person you’re dating. And this one was more like, “Oh, man, I have to figure out college. What am I going to do with the rest of my life?” And so, it’s that moment. Right

And then I love that moment when you go from high school to college where it’s all of a sudden you’re the small fish in a small pond. And you get to college and it’s all these new people and new experiences, and it’s overwhelming and you don’t know what you’re doing. And that’s how I saw the Omega Rangers.

What I liked about it was when we go into these things we always talk about them in regards to what are we saying with these characters at this time in their life. That’s where the conversation starts. And then, out of that, that’s when we start to create.

“Okay, wouldn’t that be interesting if we… Are there any unanswered questions from the show that we always wanted to address? Are there any characters you always wanted to use?” They start to come in and it basically becomes an organic process of you start with emotion and theme and you dig into that. THen you find how those characters can reflect that and then it folds out accordingly. But it’s never a straight line. That’s the fun thing about having people like Dafna and (editor) Matt Levine and all the other writers and all the people that matter, is that you start to find common ideas and themes and things that you like. “Oh, we all like this. We all feel this, so let’s go down that way.”

Stay tuned for part two of our interview with Ryan Parrott and some big teases for what’s coming next for the Power Rangers comics!

The post The Long Journey of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Comic Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Comics – Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2Z7Mpeq

[imaginesnkdorks]

Thank Goodness for Crazy

Part XII: Planning a Visit to Master Splinter 

| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 |

Pairing: Erwin/Reader

Summary: That time the Survey Corps finally plan on recruiting thugs from the underground...

Another expedition, another bloodbath. It’s sad how I’m used to this now. Like I said last time, I’ve been here for a little more than a year. I’m still a Survey Corps soldier (thank goodness), so basically nothing much changed except maybe that there are always new faces around me while the familiar ones are disappearing one by one.

I’m quite thankful that I have a knack for choosing friends, as almost all of my close friends are skilled soldiers and are still around. Speaking of skills, mine is one of the best. It’s not that I’m bragging, but I seriously think that I’m born to do this.

Though, I don’t use my skills to just kill every titan I encounter. What do I use it for? Saving my fellow soldiers. I chose to be the hero of heroes. They’re a bunch of innocent chaps who just want freedom for their people – people who won’t cheer them on and won’t believe in them.

I’d love to say that I’ve actually reduced death rates, but I didn’t. Though I save as many as I can, I could only be at one place at a time. Today’s expedition was no different. We’re still out in the field, preparing our campsite. Almost all of us are exhausted and stained with blood –the stain on me isn’t mine though.

Not bothering to wipe the blood off my face and hands, I continued my search for uncle Keith. I need to talk to that old fool. With that in mind, I naturally ignored everyone around me. A couple of soldiers tried to approach me, but I guess I look scary – especially with all this blood – that they immediately turned away. I finally found where he is – by the wagons and the line-up of bodies.

“Salvage any bodies you can. The least we could do is take them home.” The commander told a soldier, who saluted and went off, leaving me alone with uncle Keith. Noticing me, he was about to say something but I guess I’ll never know what it is because I cut him off. You know when your mom would scold you in public, and you’re on your last warning she would whisper threateningly? That’s how I said this:

“Do you have any idea how many people died on this expedition? Thirty ei-!”

“Thirty-eight. I know.” His face was calm, but there was a storm in his eyes and a crack in his voice – something I immediately noticed. Even though I recognized the emotions of the commander –  grief, and regret which is how I also feel right now – I still decided to give him a hard time.

           “We could have prevented those deaths if you only used Erwin’s formation!”

           This formation that I mentioned is tailored to how I used to play pokemon. After talking to Erwin about it, he actually made a brilliant formation based on it. If you don’t remember, I used to walk past trainers. If I see one, I’ll get as far away from them as possible, keeping my eyes on the prize which is facing the gym leader in a perfect condition. Erwin’s formation is like that. If possible, we avoid combat with titans that we see, focusing our energy on our goal which is to secure a base beyond the wall.

           At the mention of Erwin’s brilliant formation though, the commander shifted from sadness to anger, and he finally snapped at me.

           “You’re the one who’s been acting like a hero. Why didn’t you save them?”

           “Oh, so now it’s my fault? Well mister, If I wasn’t there you would’ve lost more men! I saved as many as I could, but I can’t be in all places at once!”

           I’d probably feel guilty about this later, but it’s too late to stop myself. Okay, I already am feeling guilty right now looking at his face. I can see that he’s not mad only at me, but probably also at himself.

           “I know we just both wanted to be heroes. But our strategies just don’t work. Maybe Erwin’s would. There’s no harm in trying. Soldiers die either way.” I told him calmly. I know I sounded confusing just now, but if you can’t imagine how a pessimist becomes a little optimistic I’m guessing that’s how it is.

           Despite my very subtle optimism though, my uncle chose to ignore me and fumbled with the maps and papers he pulled out of his bag. With an exaggerated sigh, I turned on my heels and was about to leave when he spoke in a pathetically tired way only he could do:

           “It’s your turn to clean the stables when we get back.” Keith told me as if I wasn’t screaming at him a few seconds ago.

***

                       Well, that went nowhere. I’ve nagged him so much that I know he wouldn’t just give in, but I guess this expedition is especially frustrating that I just literally want to scream at everyone. I walked past the neatline of dead bodies as if they were just a line of trees at a park, my mindset on how I’m going to clean myself.

                       I remember the first time I met Erwin, he gave me a set of uniform to wear. I now know why he had that spare lying around. Turns out expeditions are not one-day trips. If we’re lucky, we get to go as far as we could and actually having the need to spend the night outside. Bringing a fresh set of uniform is the norm. Even though we’re soldiers, there is just no way all of us could sleep in these filthy (and sometimes bloody) uniforms.

                       It’s really comforting to know that Erwin didn’t take that uniform from a dead soldier my size.

           “Hey, Andi!”  Breaking me away from my nostalgia was Hanji. My dear friend Hanji who is apparently one of those who don’t give a damn and just wear this dirt-ridden uniform for two days straight. Or sometimes even longer is she felt like it.

           “Hange. I heard you almost got squished to death today.” I grimly greeted her. The news was, she was baby talking to a goddam Titan! Said titan wasn’t impressed so it tried to bite her head off, and it almost succeeded.

           “He, well… I’m still alive.”

           “Uhuh.” Is all I could say.

           “Andi.” A man called to me.

Both of us turned to see Erwin. Just when I was about to approach him, Hange leaned closer and whispered, “Oooh! There’s your boyfriend! He’s been looking for you since we started making camp.” Cringing inside, I tried to keep my face as blank as possible. It’s been a year but Hange and Nanaba still can’t get over me and Erwin.

           “For someone who was just in a massacre and who also almost died, you are so cheerful.” I replied, rolling my eyes and approaching my squad leader. Yes, I am still under him. Apparently, I’m still too irresponsible to be a team leader, let alone a squad leader.

           “Hey.” I said nonchalantly as I approached him. Over the past year, I got closer to Erwin and we basically know each other really well. So well we could probably finish each other’s sentences. But there are times that he’s still a little too hard to read, especially around Theo who I am quite sure now he hates.

Speaking of Theo, I think he’s passed out somewhere. You got to give it to him, for surviving this long without any special skills aside from looking really good. I don’t know why but even after a year, his combat skills are still pathetic. I had to keep an eye on him on every expedition. Despite being useless in battle, he has become sort of my assistant. Those whom I’ve pulled from certain death are given first aid by Theo. So he’s not really useless.

Anyways, after greeting Erwin, we went off to walk together towards my horse. He knows I want to clean up as soon as possible, so he just talked to me while we walked.

“I need you to come with me to the underground city.” Erwin said, his face as calm as ever.

“The underground?” Now that caused me to stop on my tracks and look at him. “What underground?” I literally have no idea what he’s talking about. I’m not so sure if that’s some kind of code or if there is literally an underground city somewhere within the walls.

“It’s a real city. Underground, right below people’s feet.” He said, his face betraying no emotion. I guess I’m a bad influence on Erwin. Just look at that explanation.

“Uhuh, where the ninja turtles live?” Now it’s my turn to sass mouth him.  A knot formed on Erwin’s forehead as he tried to comprehend what on earth ninja turtles are. I guess I haven’t talked about them yet. Realizing that I am still the bigger asshole, he just gave a really audible sigh and decided to just explain it to me.

“As I said, it is a city literally underground. It’s within Wall Sina.”

“In the rich people district?”

“Well, yes. But the people who live underground are, less fortunate.”

“Oh. Okay. So when are we going?”

“Three days from now. There is a very interesting criminal that I’d like to recruit.”

“That’s odd, recruiting a criminal. Must be someone really talented, or valuable.”

           “He is.  Mike, Richard and Lissa will go with us.” I only nodded in response. Then I thought about this underground city. Yet another place that seems impossible to be man-made in this world. I was about to ask Erwin about it but he did something that irked me to the core.

With his face as calm and tranquil as ever, he raised his right hand and patted my head, as if I’m some kind of toddler.

“Uggh! Erwin!” I grunted, rolling my eyes, but I’m not even trying to swat his hand away. It’s not like I’m enjoying this, it’s because when I try to swat his hand, he’ll raise it so high and mock me for being so short. So yeah, Erwin’s an asshole I’m just a bigger one.

“I heard you talking to the commander earlier. Earned you another turn at the stables?” He said, hand still on the top my head fondly.

“He’s a dummy.” Crossing my arms, I continued “he never listens. He thinks he’s the chosen one like he could do anything big and wonderful.”

“If he’s a dummy, the corps should have long been dissolved.”

“Ugh, you know what I mean.”

Suddenly, my boots became so interesting. You know, even though they’re ugly as hell and a little too tight, they do the job. Thick enough to protect my leg from the knee down, and really comfortable to run in. As I try to list down all of the other advantages of my uniform, Erwin decided to finally break the silence.

“You should clean up and rest. You’ve been running around all day.”

“Yes, mom.”

***

A year ago, I never understood why anyone would want to go camping. Imagine; no Wi-Fi, no electricity, no indoor plumbing, frogs and lots of bugs and creepy crawlies. I still don’t understand, but I can’t say that it’s super bad. I mean, overnight expeditions are basically camping trips. But let’s face it, every day of my life here is like a freaking camping trip in the boondocks.

Anyways, I cleaned up for the night and am prepping to sleep. And nope, no pajamas. I’m wearing my spare uniform and am trying to make a bed out of blankets inside a pathetic tent. Good thing titans sleep at night. Hmm, maybe they’re solar-powered or have some kind of internal clock. We should really get one. I’ll try and bug Hange about it, so she’ll nag uncle Keith about it.

There’s no way I’m doing that, the nagging. I’ve received so many stable duties already that I know almost every horse we have by name. So I guess being a looked up upon titan slayer didn’t do shit about my personality. I mean, I do get depressed at times but I still go back to the sarcastic asshole I have always been.

Speaking of the past, I wonder how everything is back home. Is my mom freaking out that I’ve been gone for over a year? Or has time stopped since? I don’t know. As I ponder these useless things, waiting for sleepiness to hit me, a voice called right outside my tent.

“Andi, are you still up?” Oh, Theo. “Can I come in?”

Clearly, without thinking I answered right away. “Yeah, come on in.”

He raised the tent’s flap and went in, as I scooted over so he could sit. My tent could fit five people easily, as long as we’re sitting down with our knees up to our chest. So being there just us two, I can say we can sit comfortably enough.

Theo hasn’t changed since I met him. Same brown curls which just got a little thicker, and the same white and bedazzling smile. Even though I am no longer infatuated with him, I just can’t help but stare. He’s so good looking you just can’t help to look at him. So instead of awkwardly staring at him as I wait for him to speak, I busied myself with my water canister and bags of cookies.

Pouring us a cup each of water, I also offered him the cookies which he turned down. Well, ok. I’ll eat it then. As I’m eating, he finally spoke up. But of course, he started with a smile. That sweet, sweet smile.

“Tough day, huh?” He said awkwardly. He was fiddling with his hands as if he’s nervous.

“Yeah. But there’s nothing new about it.”

“Ha, you’re right.” He said before looking down at his hands. Great, another awkward silence. What’s up with that?

“Are you alright?” I can’t help it so I just went on and asked him. I really have no idea how to deal with the awkwardness. I wish this is something taught at school, but no. Instead, we got Pythagorean theorem and whatnot.

Clearing his throat, he looked at me in a very serious manner. Now I’m getting fidgety too.

“Andi, I …” Taking a deep breath, he seems to be composing himself as if he’s doing some kind of confession. Crap, confession?!

“I’ve been in the military for a year now. I promised my father that if I like how things are here, I’ll stay. But if I think I don’t like it I’m welcome to come home anytime.” He then scratched his head and gave a cute, nervous laugh.

Why do you have to look so good, Theo? Anyhow, I thought wrong. This is no way a confession. I think.

“You see, me staying here this long is accomplishment enough for a wimp like me.”

“Who said you’re a wimp, Theo? You're still alive after venturing out the wall more than ten times! You’ve seen and killed titans! You always know what to do with injuries. It’s so wonderful how anyone who’s under your care survives.” I said, a little too enthusiastically. I guess I also praised him a little too much because looking at him now, he’s beet red. And I don’t know what the hell is up but everything he’s feeling is rubbing off of me. I can feel my cheeks heat up. Dang.

Flashing his perfect white teeth at me, he began talking. “Thank you. But you’re always there to save me anyway. Which is a little embarrassing, to be honest.”

“Ha, yeah right. Like I’m with you the whole time. Give yourself some credit, Theo.” Then I gave him a friendly pat on the arm. I admit I’m touchy. I always pat people on their arms, shoulders, and back. I also like to hold on their arms and give it a little squeeze cause I’m a little creep. Anyways, after saying this, I took another bite of my cookie.

“This is why I like you, Andi.” He said looking straight at me. Like?

“Pfft!. Wa….ter!”

“Oh my, here drink.”

What the hell? I choked on the cookie that I was eating when Theo said that he likes me. Still coughing, I drank the water that he handed me. This is so embarrassing. Theo couldn’t hide the smile forming on his lips. Oh, you little bastard.

           “Hey! Stop laughing at me.”

           “Haha! I’m sorry. But your face was just so funn- er, adorable.”

           I just rolled my eyes at him and focused on my discarded, half-eaten cookie in front of me.

           “Before you choke to death, I’ll just go on and say it. Andi, I’m going back home to Mitras. And I’m hoping you’d go with me, as my wife.”

“Oh my god. It wasn’t just a confession! It’s a freaking marriage proposal! What is this? Saying that I’m shocked is an understatement. I don’t know what to say.

“I’ve always liked you, Andi. You’re not vain,”

Wrong.

“you’re strong,”

Wrong again, Theo!

“smart,”

If I were smart, I won’t be here beyond the walls.

“and very beautiful.”

Well, he’s not wrong there.

“I mean, I joined the Survey Corps to get closer to you.”

What do say in these kinds of situation? “I, I don’t know what to say.”

“I understand if you can’t answer me right away. But, I hope you’ll think about this. I’m serious, Andi. Our life here is, well, difficult. You deserve more than this and I can give it to you.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? You mean, you’ll marry me?”

Copyright © 2019 by imaginesnkdorks. All rights reserved

[wisdomrays]

HOW DOES THE QURAN REGARD “KNOWLEDGE”?

What are the differences between the Islamic and the modern scientific points of view on knowledge (ilm)? How does the Qur'an regard knowledge?

Genuine knowledge (ilm) is a source of infinite light covered with truth, which leads enlightened people toward the righteous path. Modern science is built and developed upon existing information gained through experimentation and correcting previous errors. In general, science represents theories and hypotheses that we devise and pursue in order to acquire knowledge. From this point of view, knowledge and science are not the same and must not be considered as synonyms. For example, sometimes ilm is mistranslated as science, because the translators do not take into consideration the genuine meanings of the words. This mistake can be excused when it is made by the general population, who might not be aware of the difference; however, we expect scientists and professionals to use these terms correctly, according to their core meanings, so that their different meanings become obvious and clear.

Knowledge is born and developed between our hearts and minds. On the contrary, science is totally material, belongs to this world and all physical beings, and depends fully upon Earth's natural rules. Science is born through theories, and its continued development always engenders doubt. Initially, science was built on rationalism and developed through positivism. It sprouts in the world of the five senses, and continues its life with reference to the theoretical mind. Most of the time, science rejects things that cannot be seen or heard. In fact, its eyes are blind to the concealed meaning of existence, and its ears cannot hear it. Modern science accepts only those objects and events that can be perceived by the five senses.

Scientific developments in the classical Islamic world have had a tremendous influence upon the achievements of modern science. Several Western scholars and writers, among them Maurice Bucaille, Jacques Cousteau, Alex Carrel, Thomas Carlyle, and Roger Garaudy agree with this fact, and state that the West totally owes all its achievements to the East. Andalusia, a Muslim state in Spain, was a perfect example of this process. In some cases, Western scientists considered the roots of the knowledge derived from the East to be abstract theories, and so they did not consider what they had given to humanity and upon what basics and pillars they had been built.

The West has mixed its materialistic ideas in the development of these ideas and sciences, and by restricting their analysis only to subjectivity, they alienated the roots from their origins. As a result, religion in the West was confined to the church and people could learn about their religion only when they came to the church to participate in religious ceremonies. Thus religion could not enter fully into the people's lives. In fact, after Constantine, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, proclaimed Christianity to be the empire's official religion in 315, the government strictly controlled its all relations with life. This approach toward religion was a bad luck for Christianity. The first 3 centuries of Christianity was the best time for this religion, despite the severe pressure that it faced, for it was a time of blossoming and purity. After became the official religion, Christians no longer faced oppression. However, the religion fell under the control of the government and was corrupted. According to the state, religion belonged in the church, and while people occasionally would come to the church to practice their religion, they could not make it an intimate part of their life. As a result, Christianity was divorced from everyday life, society had to accept that there was life without religion, and that there was religion without life. Given this reality, scientific research and implications had nothing to do with Christianity, and that religion became a moral institution whose only responsibility and activities were the ceremonies connected to birth and death.

The West's scientific roots lie in the classical Greek and Roman civilizations. This knowledge was incorporated into the Islamic civilization, whose scholars and scientists developed it, made original contributions to it, and passed it on to the West. Unfortunately, Western scientists developed modern science as an independent enterprise completely separate from religion. Thus, its scientific development was built of unbelief and differs dramatically from the understanding of science and knowledge in the East.

On the other hand, knowledge and science flourished for centuries in the Islamic world. Some of its luminaries are Jabir, Ibn al-Haytham, al-Khawarizmi, al-Zahrawi, Ibn Sina, and al-Farabi. Ancient Greek scholars claimed that the smallest particle of being is an atom. However, theologian Ibrahim al-Nazzam (d. 835/845) said that substance could be divided into pieces an infinite number of times, and spoke as a modern scientist who would say the same thing today. If we look at this from the theory of particles, it would be clear that al-Nazzam's statements are true.

Muslim scholars never rejected or separated their inventions and discoveries from religion. Rather, knowledge and science reinforced their belief and understanding of religion. Even though they argued about various scientific matters, their attitude toward religion never differed from one another. For example, a Muslim physician-scholar like al-Razi had mystically spiritual intellect. Muslim scholars explored the universe in the name of The Creator, and every single discovery and invention brought a new passion, a new enthusiasm, and a spirit of new devotion. That is why they always traveled in the horizons of is there any more? and they lived in a state of continual passion of searching for the truth.

It is true that Muslim scholars understanding of knowledge developed their understanding of religion and created metaphysical tension in their lives. Several Qur'anic verses, such as: Behold! In the creation of the heavens and Earth, and the alternation of night and day, are Signs for men of understanding(3:190), always attracted Muslim scholars. Using such verses to inspire them, they devised their theories with a feeling of prayer toward God and built their knowledge upon a foundation of such an understanding and approach. Muslim scientists explored the heavens and Earth in the light of such verses, and learned and researched the relationship between the universe and Earth, such as the connection between a flower and the sun, the association of the smallest animals and living things to the sunlight, and so on. As a result of this approach, and by reciting the Qur'n while studying the universe (the Book of Existence), Muslim scholars strengthened their faith in and closeness to God.

However, due to today's materialistic theories, Western scientists will never be free of the fear, anxiety, and unexpected surprises that might arise in their fields even though they reach the heavens and continue to solve the mysteries of the universe. On the contrary, Muslims believe that they can build castles even in the center of black holes, for: God's Existence, Divine Beauty, and Power are behind everything. Perhaps black holes are no more than dark hallways toward brightness and light. As we enter the grave and come out of it toward Paradise, these undesired and unwanted black holes just might be bridges between the heavens and this world.

Western society, confined within the limits of discoveries and scientific inventions, cannot see the true beauty of the material world. But Muslim scholars and scientists, while learning and exploring life by means of Divine guidance and assistance, could read the wisdom and hidden purposes behind the things and events occurring in the material world and see God's Divine Power behind everything in the universe. For example, consider the Islamic point of view toward the human face and appearance. Muslims never attributed such things to nature, which is unconscious and blind, but rather saw in that wonderfully beautiful human complexion the reflection of The Most Merciful and The Most Compassionate God. By seeking to increase their limited understanding, they made the limited unlimited and decorated simple mirrors with the most beautiful crafts and designs. From this point of view, Muslim scientists had the chance to see hidden wisdom and knowledge side by side, and could observe and witness clearly the things and events that were taking place in the material world.

The following Qur'anic verse describes such people: He grants wisdom to whomever He wills, and the one to whom wisdom is granted receives a benefit overflowing. However, none will grasp the Message but men of understanding (2:269). Such people with intellect can see the concealed wisdom. People who look to the universe without the glasses of wisdom and concealed truth see and observe things as unreasonable and useless.

Islam understands ilm to be that knowledge that was built and developed upon these fundamental basis. As a matter of fact, Islam considers the purpose of knowledge as bound to knowledge about God, His Divine Power, and His All-Mighty Wisdom. The result of knowing God is love for God, and the result of this love is spiritual happiness. Given this reality, Muslim scholars and scientists do not feel anxiety and hopelessness, for as they pursue their studies, they discover new existences, feel closer to God, and varying degrees of spiritual peace. For those who study the universe from such perspectives, knowledge is the way to reach material and spiritual happiness; for those who follow the path of materialism, knowledge can become the way to see the undesired consequences of existence and the final end of the universe. Such knowledge will cause them to be in a state of constant unhappiness.

For those who do not know The Most Merciful and The Most Compassionate Lord of the universe, the sun will burn out in 5 billion years. Such knowledge will spread fear into their hearts, for they will think that œafter the sun burns out, the horrible end of the worlds will begin and we will dissolve into atomic pieces and face non-existence. They will suffer from being a part of this universe. In short, following a materialistic approach to science results in hopelessness, fear, and disappointment. At this point, knowledge (in the Islamic context of this world and the Hereafter) gives confidence, and science (in the materialistic context of being limited to what the five senses can perceive) gives hopelessness. Thus, the two contradict each other. Those who follow the path of knowledge, by His help and guidance, always will walk in enlightenment and will never be disappointed or have doubts about the future.

In order for such things to happen, all of the aspects of knowledge (ilm) and science must be taken into consideration. That is why many modern scholars and scientists are trying to change and direct existing materialistic theories and approaches toward the Islamic understanding of knowledge and science. A number of them are convinced that the contemporary Western approaches are based upon unbelief and that they cannot be changed. If materialistic science makes no effort to find God, and if it does not strive to become a mirror showing His Divine Beauty, humanity's future may be unexpectedly dramatic.

[riddledeep]

Vatajasa For Beginners

Vatajasa is the traditional language of the Anti-Fairies, created by Anti-Shylinda (the first High Countess). Long ago, Snobbish was standardized by the Snobulacs as the official trade language between the Alien and Fae races, and was widely spoken in the cloudlands because of this. However, speaking Snobbish was a challenge for ancient Anti-Fairies.

Anti-Shylinda deliberately designed Vatajasa to be easy for Anti-Fairies to speak (which consequently means it’s a difficult language for Fairies to master). It’s comprised of more squeaking, chirping, and chattering sounds than any other language known to the fae, and is spoken in a staccato pattern of short bursts rather than long streams. You will find many sharp sounds in this language and very few liquid, melodic sounds.

Nowadays, Vatajasa is primarily spoken in the Far West (Maroon) Region of Anti-Fairy World, while the other two Regions (Navy and Teal) primarily speak Snobbish. Anti-Wanda and Hiccup are both fluent in Vatajasa. Anti-Cosmo speaks it with a strong accent (equivalent to Anti-Wanda’s accent while speaking Snobbish). Foop can get by in Vatajasa better than his father, but not as well as his mother.

In truth, Vatajasa is mostly a mash-up of Latin and Estonian words I picked out of Google Translate and played with until I had the snippets we see in my fanfics. This post will show you some of the basic building blocks of the language, without getting deep into verb conjugations and things.

You may also be interested in THIS post that translates the Vatajasa seen in my one-shot “Shadow” into English step by step.

Notes

When greeting someone for the first time, Anti-Fairies will typically greet the person verbally, extend their hands, introduce themselves by name, share what year on the Fairy zodiac they were born under, then ask their conversation partner to introduce themselves. It’s polite to ask, even if you already know.

In future conversations, all that set-up isn’t necessary, and a simple “Hello” is sufficient. It’s a minor faux pas to ask someone for their zodiac again if you’ve been formally introduced before, as it implies they weren’t important enough to remember.

Anti-Fairies usually speak softly because they have excellent hearing. They tend to view Fairies as loud and may back away from them if it’s possible to do so without being obvious or rude.

Shaking hands is not common in Anti-Fairy culture (although Anti-Fairies will shake hands with Fairies because they tend to defer).

The proper way to greet a subordinate is to make a dish with your hands, and accept their hands when they offer them.

The proper way to greet a superior is to hold your hands out, palms down, and wait for them to make the dish with their hands.

There is no actual word for good-bye in Vatajasa; Anti-Fairy culture revolves around fate. They believe that when you meet someone, you met them for a reason and you’ll surely meet again, even if it’s in a future lifetime.

Anti-Fairy body language becomes more expressive the farther they are from their conversation partner. When standing near each other, they don’t move their hands much, but apart they may wave their arms. Anti-Fairy eyesight is subpar, and they have difficulty reading expressions from a distance. Movement is easier to pick up on. They may not consciously realize they’re doing this; it’s simply a part of their culture.

Common Phrases

Hello (Formal) - Ben’argenta (“Silver day”)

Hello (Casual) - Ben’ara

King / Queen / High Count / High Countess - Vürstlik

Prince - Väika

Princess - Väikalle

My name is _ (Commoner) - Sina’tava [First Name] [Last Name] d’colimperia [Colony Name].

My name is _ (Noble) - Sina’rika [First Name] [Last Name] d’colimperia [Colony Name].

My zodiac is _ - Zodii d’[Year]

Who are you? / Can you tell me about yourself? - Koh sintu caneti? / Canetisana?

Would you dine with me? - Cy-tu liitua?

Yes - Vrei

No - Ku

I can’t / I’m sorry - Ku-ya

That’s a shame / I’m sorry - Ya

I apologize / I’m sorry - Tusu

Is that true? - Tepante?

I like that - Sina kova kai

I would like that - Si’vrei kai

I don’t usually enjoy that / I wouldn’t like that - Ku-vet

It’s good - Ko d’imaline (“It’s a gift”)

Farewell - Kittia’sa (“We’ll finish this another day”)

Farewell - Argenti’rima d’sõch. (“Silver blessings, dear friend”)

It’s your fate. It’s decided. Such is the command of the breath of life - Sintu d'saatar. Sin'tari zodiiasco. Sin'tari tõkklavie.

Zodiac Words

Nature Spirit - Ichordae

Love - Araembla

Fire - Süsigni

Water - Järveii

Sky - Caelumava

Soil - Maaterra

Breath - Higetõkklo

Leaves - Minafõlia

Intimacy

There are 13 sociosexual expressions of intimacy in Anti-Fairy culture, each with a name in Vatajasa. Read more about them HERE (but consider avoiding if squeamish). They are also listed below in simplified form.

PARTNERING:

Stage 1 - Leeõri - Acquaintances

Stage 2 - Tamsõsita - Early stage of friendship

Stage 3 - Lükkato - Casual Friends

Stage 4 - Avuuzi - Good friends

Stage 5 - Kaoas - Close friends, though you don’t see this person often

Stage 6 - Masõchu - Close friends / best friends / colony members

Stage 7 - Sõtako - Indicates a highly intimate and committed friendship

Stage 8 - Tükkiht - Long-term relationship

Stage 9 - Stevisi - Indicates very close long-term partners

Stage 10 - Naikuta - A high level of intimacy

MATING:

Stage 11 - Wei-ta - Dome pops open; mating partners; honey-lock partners

Stage 12 - Kar-ta - Karma sipping; a deep, genuine bond

Stage 13 - Kiff-ta - Kiff-tying; sacred to the nature spirits; practically taboo

Questions

Who / What - Koh (Objects are viewed as “who”s)

Where - Sota

When - Katta

Why - Hii

Can you / Will you - Cy-tu

How - Lo

And - Ex

Other Nice Vocab

My - Minjina

My mother, [Name] - Minjina d’nuttavum, [sinella’rija for noblility / sinella’ta for everyone else] [Title if applicable] [Name]

My father, [Name] - Minjina d’siisa, [sinvou’rija for noblility / sinvou’ta for everyone else] [Title if applicable] [Name]

You - tu (Always combined with another word)

You too / You as well - Dimtu

We / Us / Our - sa (Always combined with another word)

Today - Tänagenta

Yesterday - Tinta

Tomorrow - Estia

Always / For the foreseeable future - Vrestia

Never / Not at this time - Ku-vesti

Don’t / You shouldn’t - Abscon

This is - Sin'tari

Also - Autu

Cralái - Great / Cool

Meliorpa - Awesome / The best

Art - Vie

Friends - Sõsi

“Let’s be friends” - Kasa d’sõchu

Fairy - Põnnetolm (“Emotional dust”)

Insect - Dukku

Anti-Fairy - Rhabasatma (“Magical life from smoke”)

Bat - Rha

Refract - Sykuru (“Feathered traveler”)

Bird - Syk

These are the official building blocks of the language; when I need new words, I put the English translation or a synonym in Google Translate and toy around with the Latin and Estonian translations until I come up with something that looks like a nice fantasy word that’s reasonable to pronounce.

You may also be interested in THIS post that translates the Vatajasa seen in my one-shot “Shadow” into English step by step.

Click HERE for my Fairly OddParents worldbuilding masterpost

[belzinone]

verses

This is a running list of all the verses I’ve written for bel. First are her fanon (canonical) verses, followed by modern, fantasy, crossover, other fandom verses, & lastly, her Wallflower verses (+ link to a more in-depth description of my concept). I’m more than happy to create a verse that is compatible with your muse, let it be giving her a new modern occupation or adapting her to your muse’s universe (if you’ll be patient with my learning ) However, I’ll be applying her to new universes selectively because I’m not a fan of everything nor do I always have the energy/patience to invest in it.

hello it’s mz. hyde . undetermined // verse

~FANON VERSES~

HELL IS FOR CHILDREN . underground child // verse

a bright, curious, cross-dressing child who goes by the name “bailey” & gets into more trouble than her mother & older brother can handle. in attempt to control her behavior, risa lets her stay with a trusted doctor in town (former colleague of her late father) & he starts teaching her basic medicine & biology (which quickly turns into epidemiology come the shiganshina outbreak). she proves gifted with the material, a trait she shared with her father.

BIRD IN THE CAGE . underground citizen // verse

past adolescence, a teenage bel selectively relents to the feminine gender role designated by her mother as the small Zinone family works towards building a large enough fortune to buy surface citizenship. she does her homemaking & continues to pursue her medical apprenticeship while at home & in the clinic, but occasionally dons drag to explore the rest of the city under her family’s nose. when her brother enlists in the scouting legion for a vast sum of money (to those in poverty), he takes the light behind her eyes with him.

SLAVE TO THE GRIND . shiganshina citizen // verse 

a languid young adult who maintains a modest medical practice as well as helps with her mother’s homemaking business. she makes the occasional secret trip to scout hq to volunteer her medical expertise, where she momentarily rediscovers her lust for life.

TWIN ROSES . garrison soldier // verse 

giving up on her dreams following the year 845 fall of wall maria, bel dons twin roses & secretly composes her plans for 3dmg modifications. she lives a quiet, uneventful yet peaceful life with her mother & squad members.

LA GUILLOTINA . sentenced to scout // verse

having lost the majority of her squad during the year 850 battle of trost & committed murder to defend her mother during the retreat, bel finds herself with a accolade she detests, but would decide her fate as she faces her sentence

& TO DEATH WE SAY ; NOT TODAY . medical officer // main verse 

bel settles into the scouting regiment & lives out her dream of saving lives on the front lines. this verse leads up to the uprising arc.

FAMILIAR TASTE OF POISON . war criminal // verse

the uprising arc. forced to face the demons of her mother’s past as well as her legion being marked a criminal organization, she is also forced to come to terms with taking lives rather than saving them.

GRACE PERIOD . scout redemption // verse

this verse spans the time between the resolution of the uprising arc to her amputation. the scouts experience renewed glory as they return the rightful heir to the throne & prepare to reclaim shiganshina.

LA TRAVIATA . retiree // verse 

soon before the return to shiganshina, bel loses her foot to the leader of the underground mafia & is forced to retire from her military service. she departs for the snowy mountains of the north to research titan spinal fluid.

alternatively, she’s crushed by a boulder during one of the preparatory expeditions & amputates her foot to save her life either single-handedly or with the help of another soldier, i.e. yours?

LA RESORTA . amputee // verse

bel hangs up her lab coat & returns to her soldiers, where she comes to rediscover is where her heart lies.

RED SWANSONG . postwar // verse

paradis is clear of titans & the world is free of war. bel retires her military service for good & continues to care for the remaining military veterans while mourning the fallen. she dreams of settling with a family at this time.

~fanon divergent verses~

FELINE TITAN . shifter // verse

bel reawakens with the memories of a former queen who once ruled humanity before Paradisian allocation. her 10 meter titan is skinless, spotted, & sports long claws. [aimless meta]

AS ABOVE SO BELOW . noble // verse

instead of being born in the underground to a poor homemaker, bel’s born in the sina capitol to a rich socialite. she nonetheless dreams of becoming a scout soldier & practicing medicine like her father.

~modern verses~

CODE BLACK . emergency responder // main verse

as used in los angeles county hospital, “an influx of patients so great, there aren’t enough resources to treat them.”

G. O. M. E. R. YOU P. I. T. A. nurse // verse

nurse slang for “get out of my emergency room, you pain in the ass”

LIONESS . mother // verse

bel becomes a mother, let it be via adoption or a fertility miracle.

SO CLOSE ; AND STILL SO FAR . medical tech // verse

bel leaves medical school & lands a less than satisfying job

GLORY AND GORE . clinical doctor // verse

a cutthroat doctor who rose to her status by playing the game of the social ladder.

PRETTY HUGE DICHOTOMY . medical student // verse

bel studying for her phd & finding a stark divide between clinical & the average life.

BETA EPSILON LAMBDA . undergraduate student // verse

although not part of a sorority, the lack of social life experienced by this iteration could very much use a pledge.

VAGABOND . homeless // verse

after dropping out of high school, bel leaves her family & takes to the streets, convinced that she is better off on her own. she makes a living through stealing, odd jobs, & street performing.

YOU LOVE ME FOR EVERYTHING YOU HATE ME FOR . escort // verse

bel engages in transactional sex to survive.

RED LIGHTS PAID SIGHTS . sex worker // verse

cam girl, stripper, exotic dancer, nude model: bel engages in all these things & more, finding comfort in sensual attention.

SICK INDIVIDUAL . high school student // verse

a rebellious young woman spends her days challenging authority inside & outside the classroom while maintaining grades reflective of her interests.

IF IT AIN’T BROKE; IMPROVE IT . mechanical engineer // verse

rather than pursue medicine, bel finds a rewarding career in her other passions.

IT’S SUPPOSED TO HURT . personal trainer // verse

bel makes a living out of training others to thrive.

BODY LANGUAGE . professional dancer // verse

she started out as a street dancer before making her way through club after club & finally landing a contract with mainstream talent. belly dancing, burlesque, & pole work are her go-to styles.

~fantasy verses~

ABERRANT APOTHECARY . witch // verse

a life witch or necromancer? this woman manipulates the energies of life to do her bidding.

SEIS SEIS SEIS . concubus // verse

unbound by position & generally unaffected by a thirst for intercourse, this nonbinary asexual demon finds thrills elsewhere.

DON’T FALL ASLEEP AT THE HELM . merfolk // verse

a rather terrifying as opposed to conventionally beautiful mermaid, bel passes her time defending her territory & rummaging through shipwrecks

conversely, she’s an obnoxiously colorful mermaid that makes an easy target for predators

HURT LIKE HELL WHEN I FELL . angel // verse

bel’s an angel much like those from cw’s supernatural sans the dryness

SINGED FEATHERS . caladrius // verse

this magical bird takes blight unto herself & flies into the sun like a phoenix, dispelling the plague & curing her benefactor. feathers naturally sprout from various parts of her body. she uses a cloaking spell to appear human, but she nonetheless sheds feathers.

~crossover verses~

ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE TRUE WORLD . the115project // crossover verse

Commander 115′s army lands in Paradis & brings a new battlefront to the island (original multiverse concept from the115project)

FELINE FAUNUS . rwby // crossover verse

the transition from Paradis to Remnant brings out cheetah-like characteristics similar to her titan form her aforementioned fanon divergent verse. human skin with full body markings, ears & a body-length tail with fur

~other fandom verses~

MITOTIC REGENERATION . naruto // verse

a failed student of a legendary shinobi & excommunicated from her clan, bel wanders the ninja world in search of a way to revive her fallen brother as a missing nin from tsukigakure. she specializes in poison art jutsu, is developing her own version of mitotic regeneration, & agnostically practices jashinism.

GOLD DUST WOMAN . rwby // verse

subject to the discrimination of being a faunus, bel finds herself a member of the White Fang but begins to question whether their endeavors are really what’s best for her kind. her semblence is life transfer & manipulation while her weapons are dual-wield blades similar to those from her snk verse.

I WANT TO BE CONNECTED . sarazanmai // verse

bel, a fresh Wallflower devotee, soon throws herself at the mercy of the otters to save her brother, a police officer who died on duty. as punishment, she’s made to keep an eye out for kappa activity but maintains a dual relationship with those duties alongside her obligations as a Wallflower agent. she keeps her loyalties to the otters blurred while seeking to protect the sara trio as an undercover school nurse.

FAIRY; WHERE ARE YOU GOING? . fairy tail // verse

bel’s a caster mage from the Wallflower dark guild & specializes in disease & organic link magic

GRAND DUCHESS . anastasia // verse

anastasia (1997 film) plot inspired

FACE DOWN IN THE DIRT . fruits basket // verse

her work as an international Wallflower brings her to the Sohma clan, a hotbed of mysterious cries of abuse from its most closely guarded family members. quickly recognizing the fragility of the job, bel takes a much lower profile during her investigation. she takes on whatever role she must to get to the bottom of the sohma family curse & support its victims.

HALF GOD; HALF DEVIL . bnha // verse

[fandom verse profile]

THE DEAD SHALL SPEAK . atlus trauma team // verse

inspired by dr. naomi kimishima. bel’s a medical examiner that can hear a victim’s last words upon interacting with their body.

DANCING ON GRAVESTONES . dnd // verse

tiefling, bard, necromancer, commander of life energy & tells stories through percussion & dance. she uses magic to mask her tiefling features in order to escape prejudice & avoid scaring away her audience.

-wallflower verses-

BAD GIRLS’ WORLD . wallflower // main verse

[about] this verse traverses all universes, from fandom to modern to fantasy as well. i use it to designate her criminality/gang affiliation & the belief system she was raised in. whether or not she remains loyal to her cult (as well as the severity of the cult itself) will vary greatly by thread.

LA MADONNA HYDRANGEA . wallflower madame // verse

bel reigns over the wallflowers as madame, presiding over an immense, international criminal underworld.

[hoenn-hakase]

I gotta ask about the bad boyfriends-- I mean Sycamore and Lysandre.

Blast from the past! I can’t even find the original ask post this was supposed to go with, but I’m still glad to get to babble about headcanons for these two.

Both of them:

So I follow the Pokemon War Theory which says that there was some great war before the events of Red. Sycamore and Lysandre (and Diantha, though we’re not talking about her yet) all happened to start their journeys during the war, and honestly, it had a lot to do with shaping their world views as they grew up.

Sycamore:

Sycamore is a born and bred Lumiose native from a fairly prominent family. Being in the center of Kalos though, he was raised far from the fighting found in coastal towns and countryside. However, the war was naturally all anyone ever talked about and by the time he was old enough to leave home, it felt like anyone who was anyone had their stake in it. Honor, glory and the chance to take out those “heathens”, he was more than a little eager to jump in when he got the chance. And found a lot more than he bargained for…

He’d been with the Tower of Mastery at the time, but he more or less dropped out at the call of adventure like most naive schoolboys his age. One could say the war is what brought the trio together as they met on the road and quickly found they’d do better to stick together as they made their way along the west coast.

Augustine met Dexio during his time in Sinnoh while learning under Rowan. Though the kid seemed kind of fascinated with him (he’s very…. Different from anyone Dexio had ever known before) and because Youngster pride, trying and failing to beat him. Honestly Sycamore got curious about the kid and wondering what his deal was, and eventually got to getting to know him and showing him what they were doing in their field work. It got to be kind of endearing trying to pass on what he was learning to someone else since explaining also helped him to realize what he hadn’t memorized yet. By the time he was ready to head home, Dexio seemed pretty upset to see him off, so Scyamore asked if the kid wanted to come with him and see all his tales of home in person. Being a war orphan, there wasn’t exactly anyone ready to argue the matter, so off they went to explore several other small adventures. Obtaining Sina was a curious case after Augustine basically inherited her from a dear friend, though he didn’t know beforehand that his inheritance included her. Not that he minded. It’s been a joy to see how, despite how different they are, her and Dexio have become close as real siblings.

Lysandre:

The son of a Marques, Lysandre grew up in Snowbelle City. A proud family, he was raised never to forget that they were of royal blood and some of the few true nobility left to Kalos. By the time he was ready to leave home, it felt more like a civil duty than the call of adventure.

Receiving the Hero of Kalos medal in the aftermath of the war was simultaneously the best and worst thing to happen to Lysandre and his friends. Part of his claim to fame came from his and his partners’ ruthlessness on the frontlines, but the other part came with the ghastly machionary he helped to invent that lead to the end of the war. And while it did *help*, Lysandre never felt like much of a “hero” for his actions. Diantha relished in the wave attention, becoming a leader and household name with pride. Sycamore enjoyed it for a little while… and decided maybe it’d be better to leave until things cooled down. There was a lot still to see and learn about the world now that it was safe to travel more. Lysandre took his place at the Tower of Mastery at both his friends’ urging since the group was small and close knit and a bit closed off. Really Sycamore wished Lysandre would have followed him out of the country, but the noble insisted there was still far too much work to be done with the clean-up. So… much… work.

I really love learning about the international translation for names and Lysandre’s no exception. However, I don’t usually use other translations for hc stuffs, but his is… interesting. Lysandre Flordelis is his haji/kitty RP-verse name, but after he fakes his death with the bunker incident actually rendering him immortal, he uses Eliseo a lot when traveling abroad.