#but selfishness masked in what he believes is righteousness

[zaffiri-saffici]

Thinking about how tragic it was for the soul of the Earth to be consumed by man but how from that tragedy new power grew of god-like capacity. Thinking about the juxtaposition between a god-like man consuming the soul of a planet, becoming an all-powerful, nearly immortal but ageless being. And how that god-like human was granted power over other bodies and bones and souls, to do with what he wished. And how he shared this knowledge (some, not all) with his closest comrades, but failed to make any mention of the potential they too could uncover like he. So he named them Saints in his worship.

Thinking about how when this god-like man faced the destruction of an entire solar system, he very abruptly stripped the souls of nine planets in their resurrection, creating monsters from their ashes. A swarm of Beasts who continued to haunt him and chase both him and his Saints for thousands of years. And it is by His hand these Beasts continue to exist and continue to haunt and haunt and haunt, at the expense of both himself and his dearest, unknowing Saints.

Thinking about how close he keeps the secret of the First Beast to his chest away from his beloved Saints of worship, who possess power like he but not nearly to the same degree. And how endless their quest to destroy these beasts must feel as they attempt to atone for the sins of their god-like man who has chosen to reveal only so much.

Maybe, just maybe, the solution is not to destroy more planets, to take more life — rather, they must consume the beasts whole and eat, and eat, and eat like this god-like man once did to obtain his god-like power.

Perhaps, that is the ultimate tragedy of it all, and the burden of this god-like man’s secret.

That while the resurgence of humanity worships his status and only His, it is only because he lacks the honesty — the selflessness — to create more god-like souls of his own, and so he too has fallen victim to the extent of his power over bodies and souls and bones for far, far, far too long.

[moontheoretist]

"It was true that Anders had been changed by his union with Justice.  But Justice had begun to change him even before that, from the moment of their first meeting.  

Back before Kirkwall, before Hawke, in Blackmarsh near Amaranthine, where the Veil had been stripped tissue-thin by dark magic, Anders and his companions had been thrown into the spirit world, and there they had found Justice.

Anders had, on occasion, encountered other friendly spirits in the Fade.  But those were like shy woodland creatures, fleeting about, silent and inscrutable.  Intelligent in their own way, but preoccupied with matters in which human beings played little part.

Justice was different.  Imposing, undeniable, like something out of a storybook.  Like something out of Anders's own childhood dreams, when he had drifted to sleep in petrified silence each night during his first lonely months in the Circle.

From the beginning, Anders had felt a sort of silent awe in Justice’s presence.  But with time, he realized that what he felt, more than anything, was shame.  

He could see, now, his own veneer of carelessness, of casual disregard, for what it was.  A protective posture.  Armor against the world.  He had long ago learned that selfishness was something to hold onto when cruel experience made believing in anything else too painful.  Selfishness meant that he was permitted to save himself, even if he could save no one else.

But in Justice's presence, all of this, everything of his former life, suddenly struck him as pale and wanting.

There were, Anders knew, certain beliefs that he had always held onto, in a locked away, guarded part of his heart.  That the vulnerable would someday find the strength to unite against their oppressors.  That their oppressors would be cast down and face atonement.  And in Justice, these ideas suddenly stood before him, given form and voice.  They suddenly seemed not only possible, but necessary.

For his part, thrown into the mortal world and confined to the decaying body of Kristoff,  Justice could not help but take note of Anders as well.  It first struck him as odd that a person who burned with such a painful longing for righteousness was regarded by his mortal companions as little more than a charming scoundrel.  Then came the realization that this was intentional on Anders's part - a disguise.  Then, the realization that the disguise was not for others' sake, but for that of Anders himself.

He noted this, for example:  Anders liked to speak about the Circle's cruelties, or the templars who now hunted him, in an attitude of annoyance, glibness, arrogant superiority.  Always masking pain, masking anger.  

When Justice finally named those things in earnest - You were a helpless child when you were taken and caged.  They should never again be allowed to lay their hands on another mage as they did you - Anders looked at him in real fear.  

He was afraid because he knew what this would mean:  to acknowledge that feeling, to face it, to give it weight.  He knew where his desire for retribution would lead him.  

That part - the endgame of all of this - was never in doubt.

But even back then, when Justice was still Kristoff and not yet Anders, his presence at Anders's side was a source of strength, almost intoxicating.  When they fought the templars who had come to recapture Anders, Justice did not hesitate to deliver the killing blow.  He seemed to regard the act as unquestionably right, as no more blameworthy than removing a dangerous weapon from the hands of a child.  

Anders envied this certainty, fed off of it, felt emboldened by it, and desired it for himself.

[...]

Justice was able to recall the first moments of their union in a way Anders could not.  Feeling the different weight and motion of a living body around him, overcome by the blinding flare of a living consciousness, colliding with the surge of conflicted emotion that Anders carried within him, and, finally, merging with the mirrored longing for justice already present there.  More painful than Kristoff, more bewildering, but more ecstatic as well.

For Anders, it was different.  Unconsciousness, panic, a sense of absence, of his body suddenly becoming foreign to him.  The experience of possession.  He was lost for some time, even as Justice worked solicitously to help him find himself again, to lead him back to the surface.  

In the days and weeks that followed, Anders found that all of the old parts of him were still there - memories, desires, fears, faults.  But something had cracked open inside him.  He had a sensation as though his innermost heart were suddenly bared to the world, raw and unprotected."

~ unison by zerodignity

I dislike people who prefer Awakening Anders and sneer at DA2 Anders, not because I dislike Awakening Anders (I didn't play it, so I can't say I dislike him), but because they miss the point of his character, just like the writers of his did. Anders is not a "bipolar terrorist" that was destined to blow up the Chantry in a misguided act of heroism that is actually a villainy. Anders is a person who commits something unthinkable because there was nothing else left. He tried for 7 years to change the fate of the mages and the only thing he got in return were more oppression, abuses and injustice. If he didn't do what he did, if he didn't remove the status quo forcibly, there would be no foundation to build mage's future on. His action was necessary. He didn't start the war, as it was started by the Templars themselves when mages voted for independence from the Chantry, but it had to be done to show that mages have enough of the status quo, that the change needs to happen. Anders before Justice was a man who hated Templars and desired justice, but never could actually pursue it, because his survival was far more important at the time. He acted the way he did, because it was easier, it was a convenient mask to hide behind, so he didn't have to face the reality of his own feelings. Justice changed all that. He allowed Anders to be truly himself. And albeit I mourn his ending in which he lives happily with the Wardens (which was retconned for the sake of DA2), Anders needed this change in himself. He needed this realization that his own survival is no longer the most important, and that he finally can put his anger to good use.

[im-pure]

God of War: Ragnarok, Sindri

I like Sindri. He's my fav character in the game. This was the only GoW game I played so I only have this one to reference. But I really am a sucker for characters who are so kind and so giving and tries their best and always wants to do good, always does good, always aims for good. Nothing but good. But even when all they aim to give to the world is nothing but good, the world isn't karmic. "What did I get out of it?" he asks. "Not even family anymore," he says. They get pain in return.

And I like characters who are weak. Who get ugly. Was it really Atreus and Kratos's fault his brother died? Did they kill him? Of course not. He knows that. "I thought we were family too" Atreus says. "We were," Kratos says. It's why Sindri tolerates Kratos at Brok's funeral. Lets Kratos even carry his corpse.

Despite knowing that, Sindri changes around them completely. He was once someone who welcomed both into his home, assured all their needs were met and that they were comfortable, helped with all sorts of favors and even shared secrets with them: Atreus especially. Then he turned into someone who spouted nothing but bitter blame towards Atreus, who has to hold himself back from rushing at Kratos with rage. Someone who won't even be around them anymore when he once tried to keep them company.

They both really were his family. No matter how he feels about them after loss doesn't change that fact. And losing Brok didn't have to change that. They could help Sindri. They could support him in his grief. It's a shared one. He knows that. Yet he can't accept them as family anymore. He rejects them. Loss does terrible things to someone, and for Sindri it's isolation and blame. He lost his family, and it wasn't just Brok. He didn't have to lose everyone else. But he did. Grief turned him to a spiteful monster. He's not a perfect picture of a person handling grief with grace. They let him transform. Let him be irrational. Let him be ugly.

My favorite characters in general fall into this type.

Sayaka Miki from Madoka wanted to uphold justice and righteousness but eventually crumbled under the weight of the reality she brought upon herself (with some trickery by her contractor), even so far as murdering two men in the manga version. She wanted to be a savior but hid from her hypocrisy, wanting to be good-hearted and selfless but unable to reach this, turning bitter and hateful when she realizes she actually wants something in return for the good she does. I like characters who fail.

Leander from Touchstarved has associated lyrics going "The life I've had can make a good man bad." He behaves and speaks for what is morally right yet we know he's a monster just like all the other main characters. He's the leader of good samaritans for the struggling...and likely also a gang. He's got failure to be good going on. Masking.

And of course the funny guy that's taken over my whole blog lately, Baxter Ward of Our Life. Another case of self-perpetuated despair. All the hurt he deals is in an attempt to mitigate it. He fools himself into believing it's for the sake of Jamie, but realizes in the end that he was also saving himself the pain of possibly being left behind. Selfishness in the guise of selflessness. (Not that he's not selfless; he just hid from his own selfishness for a while).

I like characters who are so good, but turn out so bad. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.

[d3sertdream3r]

Loved your Saurondriel love analysis! I was wondering what are your thoughts on if Galadriel had chosen to follow Sauron would he go good again?

Thank you!! I'm glad that it made sense to you, I always worry that I'm not getting across what I'm going for when I type up things like that, lol. This is going to be another analysis, so strap in!

This question is super interesting to think about. What would the world be like if Galadriel had joined Sauron? There are so many possibilities and AU's waiting to be written on AO3 to answer that!

The way I personally see it, we have to be careful not to put the responsibility on Galadriel's shoulders. Sauron went back to evil because of him, NOT because of her. He was definitely hurt and offended when she rejected him and it made him really angry, but I don't like the idea that her rejection caused him to go evil again or that if she chose to go with him he would become a good person again. That absolves him of his own choices. Ultimately his path was up to him alone, as all of ours are. Outside influences have an impact, but we are the ones responsible for who we become.

From my perspective, Sauron was at his lowest point when he met Galadriel, and probably feeling like he could never achieve his goal of creating perfect order. That is what he's always wanted, and he sees the Valar and those that follow them as too self-righteous and hypocritical to do it right.

(Side Note: The Ring bringing out the worst in people has many reasons for doing so; the biggest of course is to get anyone that has it to return it to him should he be separated from it. I like the idea that at least part of it is to show The Good Guys™️ their dark side as a way of saying “This is who you truly are. You’re just as selfish and twisted as those you’re fighting against. You’re no better than me; you crave power, praise, and blood as much as I do. Your righteousness is a mask.” )

We all have our dark parts, but we have true goodness in us as well; Mairon the Admirable was Sauron’s true goodness. When he talks about healing Middle-Earth, he’s talking about what Mairon wanted: peace through perfect order. However, his version of peace could only be achieved by taking away the ability to make choices from those lower than the Valar and Maiar; hence why he wants the “power over flesh”. His original motivations were admirable as his name suggested, but his methods were far from it. He followed Morgoth because he believed that he was the only one willing to do what needed to be done to create a perfect world.

But over time, his quest for peace evolved into a power trip of control. His motivations became as selfish as his methods. After losing everything, he becomes repentant out of fear of what the Valar will do to him, but he still has that dark need for control nagging at his heart. Control over everyone and everything. The sad thing is, I don’t think he even realizes how dark his motivations have become in RoP. I believe he still thinks he’s doing what must be done for his idea of true peace. He thinks Galadriel would be of great help to him in getting there.

I think he WANTS to love her; he certainly wants her by his side. But he wants to control everything even more; including her. As I said before, truly loving her would mean putting her before his dark desires. When he had the opportunity to do that, he didn’t. He resorted to manipulating her friends, exploiting her fears, and leaving her to drown.

There was still a bit of Mairon the Admirable inside of him, a shred of light that surfaced after he lost everything and wasn’t sure what to do with himself. That’s what Galadriel latched onto when they met. Interestingly, I think her dark side was drawn to Sauron as well. They both have immense god complexes, fiercely passionate emotions, wills of steel, uncontrollable anger issues. They both feel broken and lost, and their searching for their own versions of peace. Their goodness and their darkness are communicating with each other as they bond. The writers and actors did an amazing job exploring that.

In Sauron’s mind, he may even think that he IS loving Galadriel by subjecting her to his control and manipulation. He believes he knows what’s best for her and everyone else in Middle-Earth. But true love, selfless love, doesn’t come with the weight of control.

The thing is, we know that Galadriel can be quite power hungry as well, and she says in Fellowship of the Ring “In place of a dark lord, you shall have a queen”. Not beside the dark lord, in place of. That’s an important distinction. She also said that “two rings will divide”. If she got a ring of her own and took her place beside him, I think they would’ve both become too corrupted by their dark sides and ended up battling each other for ultimate control anyway. It would be like a hurricane vs a volcano eruption.

TL;DR I don’t think he would’ve become good again if Galadriel chose to join him. As far as a romantic relationship, I don’t think Saurondriel could’ve made it work in canon even if he chose to become Mairon for any reason. Celeborn is still alive and I think Galadriel would stay loyal to him once she learned that.

I am excited to read all the fanfic about the two of them finding both holy and unholy ways to be together though! 😉😂

[ayankun]

a lil essay of self-psychoanalysis re: hsmtmts & s2 finale

I have this outsider, "objective," kind of 3rd person observation that the stories crafted for Ricky, Nini, Gina, and EJ are great! In the context of, "how nice it is to have these modern, healthy stories modeled for the youth to absorb into their precious minds" spoken by a wise old millennial with a knowing nod.

And I do think that. But what I really mean, deep down, is "!!!!!????? I NEEDED THESE STORIES (?????!!!!!)."

I'm chewing on the fact that youth's media is celebrated when it's successful in Teaching The Youths(tm), or, you know, is just wholesome and positive by whatever standards are deemed wholesome and positive by the adults who are creating it in that moment, even while there's this assumption that in order to do or be those things, the overall product has to be, well, immature. Lacking nuance. Cheesy. Easily digestible by developing minds. ie, developed minds should not be able to enjoy the end result, and will in fact be looked at strangely when they admit that they do. (because enjoying products intended for immature minds is a sign of immaturity)

So yes, I do and have grappled with a need to "manage" my interest in this franchise, specifically the movies, as an adult. To casually never bring it up, you know? Because they're dumb movies for dumb kids, and I was a legal adult when they came out. Fifteen years ago. Even though, over the last fifteen years, it's constantly been something that I can engage with as-is, AND I've seen it evolve with me as I evolved, in that I have been consistently able to project some hyper-specific perspectives back into it and still see them echoed back to me when I needed the external validation (Troy Bolton is AFAB, Taylor is ace, etc).

High School Musical is just fucking important to me.

So now this new show comes out, and obviously it's millennial-bait because we're the only ones who would care -- we were the Youths targeted by this Youth Media, after all -- but it's fifteen years later and the post-Youth Adults are told it's not cool to be into kids' shows, and the kids (Gen-Z folks, who are themselves also sometimes literal adults today), may or may not even targetable by commercial media at all, much less tempted by a bygone relic of a prior culture. So who is this show for? The fans or the kids?

And the answer is yes. Yes. It's for the fans and the kids. Anybody who can get something out of it should get something out of it. And they show this by having Gen-Z characters alongside Millennial characters, and they're having these Millennials speak from experience, not all of us grew up to be Troy Boltons, some of us (and some of you) will be Coach Boltons, and Ms. Darbuses, or whatever else you want to be, because we were told we had to want to be championship basketball players and Broadway stars, and we had to learn on our own that being a pizza man or helping out on the family farm is okay, too.

So that's my appreciation of the standards that are deemed wholesome and positive by the adults who are creating Youth Media in this particular moment. BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, the craftsmanship of the vehicle for these messages is astronomically higher-brow than most mature media created by and for mature adults, so I'm also having to re-learn something that I already knew, in that Youth Media = Trash is just an unfair stereotype that perpetuates the righteousness of those that will bully others for engaging with "trash" when they ought to have better (less immature) tastes, and perpetuates my state of "oh, better never tell anyone about the things that are important touchstones for me and my personal history, because they'll get the wrong impression & think less of me." Which is, as you may know, a perspective that bleeds into every last aspect of my social life, and generally has made just being a human pretty overwhelming to date.

I need to (attempt to) stop wasting my time on people who are going to judge me for being authentic. If anything, I need to start judging them. I need to learn that I'm not doing anything wrong, just being me. I honestly don't know if that sounds believable, that I haven't learned this yet.

So yeah, HSMTMTS. I'm not a kid who needs a helping hand through my formative years. That's what HSM was for. What can this show offer me, someone who is 15-20 years older than its target demographic? Oh, only everything?

When I say, I'm so glad to see these stories told --

I'm glad Ricky gets to understand how his unexamined trauma has affected his (social) life, and I'm thrilled that he gets to work on finding productive ways forward even though that path looks different than the one he thought he wanted;

I'm glad Nini gets to find her voice, her independence, her sense of self through creative expression, and get to feel that validation from putting herself out there and getting something back from an appreciative audience, even when doing the thing that's right for her appears inherently selfish, I'm glad she gets to be selfish;

I'm joyous that Gina gets to take a risk on dropping her mask and being her authentic self, to find a place where she can be the person she is, where she's appreciated for being exactly that and not some can-do persona she's constructed, that she gets to find satisfaction in being vulnerable and understanding her own needs, and that she's told time and time again, "stop running, you idiot, this is home, we want you here;"

I'm staggeringly sympathetic with EJ's sense of "shit, I'm so dumb and I overstepped and ruined everything, shit shit shit what's wrong with me," 'cause hell I've been there too many times and it's all-consuming and awful, but I'm euphoric at his courage to go out on that limb, and I'm vicariously smitten as all heck that he gets to experience what it's like to have those feelings reciprocated in the end --

I don't really mean that I'm glad the Youth of America get to have their impressionable minds sculpted while there's still the chance to sculpt them, I'm saying any person of any age can find resonance in these stories, and that I, SPECIFICALLY, AN OLD-ASS MILLENNIAL, FIND AN OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF RESONANCE IN THESE STORIES THAT ARE PAINFULLY AND BEAUTIFULLY IMPORTANT FOR ME TO ENGAGE WITH TODAY AND CERTAINLY FOR MANY DAYS TO COME.

And I'm going to stop judging myself for that.

[davidgeorgevartanian]

III. Beatitude:

When a rich young ruler asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life, he replied with a reference to the 10 Commandments. Probably, because being rich and young is a combination given to lack of impulse control. That is what the commandments address. Their ethos is about creating order and containment, self-control and identity, which is needed to transition a person away from excessive behavior, aimlessness, and delusion that in Moses’ time characterized pagan religion and in our time emotional and spiritual immaturity. But these commandments only provide a lower level of spiritual consciousness, because it leaves room for our ego to center itself around hierarchies, status, and othering. That’s why Jesus started his exposition on the ethics of the gospel in the Sermon on the Mount with a complementary standard of righteousness, called the Beatitudes. This list of characteristics describing a blessed person are about embracing disorder and weakness by moving beyond the need for identity-reinforcing binaries and seeking self-validation through judging or controlling others. The inverse characteristics of the beatitudes are: ego-centrism; embracing compulsive behavior instead of healing; mistaking aggression for strength; confusing pleasure for fulfillment; being quick to judge and condemn; being double-minded or hypocritical; and being self-serving through divisiveness and domination. Does this not describe the world, your workplace, family, and sinful nature? Remaining stuck in this way of being is a curse. But fortunately, Jesus embodies all of the Beatitudes and shows us how our curses can be lifted.

Consider this: of all the sinners Jesus interacted with, whom did he punish? No one. And he only condemned blasphemers of the Spirit. When the Pharisees wanted to stone a women for adultery, Jesus called out their hypocrisy, and they immediately fled to protect the pride they had in their legalist and false selves. Jesus asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” With mercy, he called her to purity of heart, or single-minded devotion. Nothing makes our faith more pointless than glorying in God’s mercy and forgiveness, while continuing to delight in the pleasures of selfishness and sin. Jesus called that a being a white-washed tomb; James called it a dead faith; Peter called it nearsighted and blind; and John called it remaining in darkness. It is not enough to believe in redemption. Our humility and devotion should be allowing the Spirit to actual redeem us from sin and produce oneness with Christ in increasing measure.

His goal in discussing the sins of others was not to uplift himself and his apostles, but to offer people healing and opportunity to repent. His meekness and grace stood in high contrast to the Pharisees. Jesus often called himself the Son of Man, instead of the Son of God, and even refused to call himself, “good.” He expects us to be as humble, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit, which is what he was calling the rich young ruler to be. When Jesus told him to sell and trade his wealth for treasures in heaven, his face fell down to the earth, instead of up towards a higher plane of consciousness with God. He did not receive this kenotic (ego-emptying) wisdom as good news, because following the Ten Commandments had given him a strong moral center, but had not taught him to value meekness and poverty of spirit above his worldly status. When Jesus challenged him, “If you want to be perfect…,” he provided an excellent preface to a moral command, because everyone wants to be perfect, or complete; or to at least be “good enough” (which often feels as impossible as perfection.) But our imperfections make us prone to hide behind masks (personas), projecting strength to others instead of vulnerability. The mask worn by the rich young ruler was his wealth and he was not prepared to ask himself: who was he without it? So much of the turmoil we experience within and in our relationships stem from insecurities and idols that we mostly hide from others for fear of judgement and rejection.

In response to this, Jesus offers us an enlightened path to spiritual maturity, as we walk in the light of our true maskless selves before God. Having been made in His likeness, our capacity to mirror the divine image remained veiled until Jesus and his Beatitudes revealed to us the transformative calling of his gospel. The mind-change and renewal that Jesus inspires us to surrender to feels like a series of losses and crosses, because the veil of our ego with it’s vain conceit must be stripped away. The wealth of our possessions, judgements, co-dependent relationships, and positions of authority must be submitted to Christ, so he can alchemize curses into blessings by turning possessions into tools used for service, and judgmentalism into discernment, and worldly relationships into fellowship or opportunities to love. While that process might sometimes feel like falling and self-abasement, Christ’s atonement gives us the confidence to “bear the disgrace he bore” for our sins in confession, in fellowship, and in continual praise (1 John 1:7; Hebrews 13:13-15). The family of believers should provide a safe and loving space for that inner work. The reason why the word adelphoi, “brothers and sisters,” is mostly used to refer to believers in the Epistles, and never mathētēs, “disciple,” is undoubtedly and simply because the church is not an academy, but a family. Family encourages, embraces, and supports; all things needed to compensate for the emotional pain we can experience when we walk in the light, exposing the shame of our sin and vanity. God uses the love of yokefellows to reconcile us to him. This ministry of reconciliation is a calling to perfection based on Christ’s covering up of our weaknesses and failures, producing the humility and heavenly wisdom needed to live a blessed life.

[hasquetzorkukudoneanythingwrong]

Quetzal woman: the movie

(Pt. 1)

For ages, humanity depended upon the gods to provide, care for, and guide them. How the gods viewed humanity varied greatly. Some saw humans as pawns, and that their rightful place was under their boot. Other gods cared greatly for humanity, they found joy in helping them. Eventually tho, humanity gained independence from the gods. They developed technology and sciences that lead them to no longer have need for the gods. Many gods hated this, seeing this as the ultimate blasphemy. But others still, found joy in their newfound independence, tho were sorrowful at no longer being needed. Regardless of the feelings, it could not be avoided that the gods were no longer needed, and so the gods shut themselves away, as to not interfere. Even in times where humanity seemed to need their protection again, they would not interfere. Or atleast that's how it should've been...

The mesoamerican goddess, Quetzalcoatl, watched upon the humanity she cherished so much, as they marched onward without her. But in recent times, it seemed like they may have needed her guidance once again.

Quetz: ...humanity is not doing well. Starvation, war, the changing of the climate, corruption, and so on. Many humans have the resources to change it all singlehandedly, but choose not to in favor of hoarding said resources greedily. They need our guidance once more...

Then a mysterious voice spoke up, it was not clear who they were, but what was clear was that they were powerful. More so then even Quetzalcoatl.

Voice: we are not to interfere Quetzalcoatl. Even in their darkest moments, we are to no longer meddle their affairs.

Quetz: they clearly need it!

Voice: you said it yourself, they have the resources to help themselves. Even if those resources are currently in the hands of greedy and selfish individuals, things will eventually take a turn for the better. It has happened before and it shall happen again.

Quetz: I understand what you mean... I'd love for humanity to overcome this hurdle, and reach great new heights. But... they are currently lost. Even a nudge in the right direction would be enough.

Voice: interference is interference. No matter how small.

Quetz: *sigh*

As this went on, Quetzalcoatl noticed something specific in the tropics, near the Caribbean. A lone young man, on an isolated beach, was being attacked by creatures who should no longer have a place without the gods.

Quetz: look upon that island!

Voice: hmm?

The young man was being attacked by sirens. Horrid bird like beasts, that were long lost once the Greek pantheon was no longer needed by their people.

Voice: what!? Sirens?!

Quetz: that young man is being attacked by them! Now can I interfere?!

Voice: hmmm... fine. But this is only because it would seem the Greek pantheon is interfering in mortal affairs themselves. It was only a matter of time.

Quetz: yes!!

Voice: but before you go, make sure they longer interfere in mortal affairs! No matter how long it takes, but once it's done return to the heavens at once. You understand?

Quetz: of course!

Voice: then go! He doesn't have much time!

The the sun goddess left, and went to save the young man.

At the beach.

???: wtf are these things?! Some kind of bird monsters?!

Sirens: *horrendous screeching*

???: I should've brought backup, I'm fucked now since I'm alone!

Then suddenly, a large storm appeared overhead. Lightning struck and thunder roared!

???: wtf!?

Then a huge fireball flew from the clouds, striking the earth near the sirens. The impact left the beasts flying, even injuring them.

???: holy fuck...

The sirens weren't done yet, but they focused their attention on the impact sight instead.

Then, arising from the impact, was Quetzalcoatl.

???: woah... she's... beautiful...

The sirens immediately went to attack her, but were met with tremendous force. Powerful flame attacks, along with lightning and wind aswell. She was a force to be reckoned with.

After the beasts were taken care of, the goddess went over to the young man and offered her hand to get him off the ground.

Quetz: are you ok?

???: yeah... I am now. Are you... a goddess?

Quetz: si, actually. I am!

???: oh... wait! For real?!

Quetz: si! I am the goddess Quetzalcoatl!

???: well... if it wasn't for the lightshow and that monster beat down I wouldn't believe you... that was amazing...

Quetz: gracias! Now I've told you my name, what's yours?

???: oh! Right, my name's Rex! Nice to meet you... Quetzalcoatl...

Quetz: you can just say Quetz, and nice to meet you too Rex!

Rex: Quetz huh...?

Rex: wait a minute, if you're real then, how come we don't hear about you and the rest of the pantheon anymore?

Quetz: because humanity no longer needs gods. So we shut ourselves away. The only interaction anymore is once a human goes to the afterlife.

Rex: oh... I mean, I'm not one to question the choices of gods but... sometimes it feels like we could still use a bit of help...

Quetz: I agree actually, but we aren't supposed to interfere anymore. The only reason I can now, is because it seems others have decided to interfere themselves.

Rex: ah... explains the... birds.

Quetz: right, I need to find out whose involved and put a stop to it, then return.

Rex: oh... how do you plan on doing that?

Quetz: well... I planned to blend in with humanity for the most part, until I can find whoever is responsible.

Rex: oh! OK.

Quetz: um... but I'll need some help doing that... I don't exactly have access to normal human things...

Rex: I can lend a hand...

Quetz: oh really?! I mean, I don't want to impose.

Rex: I insist, you literally saved my life. And you're a literal goddess! It'd feel wrong not to help!

Quetz: gracias! That's so nice!

Rex: of course!

Eventually the two leave for Rex's current living space on the island.

Rex: make yourself at home! It's not much but it'll do...

Quetz: oh... it's not so bad.

Rex: gracias! So... any idea how you're going to start looking for whoever caused those... things to show up?

Quetz: well... the only surefire way is to look out for other signs of divinity. Creatures such as those are a pretty good sign. But I'm note sure where else they'll show up...

Rex: there's also the fact that you can't just bust in and kick their asses like that so easily. It was whatever last time because there were no witnesses other then me but... it'll be crazy to see a woman just... do those things!

Quetz: that's a good point... how do I handle that?

Rex wasn't sure, but then he looked over at a shelf of books nearby, and inspiration struck!

Rex: hold on

Quetz: ok...

Rex went over to the shelf and picked up a comic book, then showed it to the goddess.

Rex: you could be a superhero!

Quetz: eh...? Ques eso?

Rex: these heroes with amazing abilities and colorful costumes! They protect people for good and righteousness and such!

Quetz: oh! That'd be amazing! That's exactly why I'm here so it fits!

Rex: yeah! But we need to make a costume...

Quetz: hmmm...

Rex: oh! I know, back to our homeland! Kinda...

Quetz: eh?

Rex: it's been a while for you, but the people of Mexico have invented a new type of fighting style called lucha libre, it fits the superhero image perfectly! They wear masks, and perform bombastic moves that look like flight! It'd fit you perfectly!

Quetz: wow! That sounds increíble!

Rex: then let's make you a lucha hero!

After an extensive montage of gathering the materials, learning the moves, and practicing a bit, Quetzalcoatl was ready to be a lucha themed superhero! She wore a red leotard, with red boots and gloves, green cape, and a red and gold lucha mask!

Quetz: wow! With this, I feel like a new me!

She said this with much excitement as she floated off the ground.

Rex: I'll say! It's incredible!

She zipped towards Rex, grabbing him by the shoulders, with a grateful look on her face.

Quetz: thank you so much Rex! You've been a big help!

Then without thinking she kissed him as thanks. After she finished tho, she realized what she did and the two got embarrassed.

Quetz: ah... sorry about that...

Rex: no it's... fine... kinda nice actually.

Quetz: really? Well... gracias...

The two stood together awkwardly, before an emergency broadcast was heard on the radio!

Radio: emergency alert! Emergency alert! There seems to be a huge whirlpool in the middle of a highly trafficked fishing spot in the sea, and it appears a large monster is at the center!

Rex: looks like it's time for your debut!

Quetz: looks like it! Let's go!

Then Quetz picked Rex up, ready to take him to the location.

Rex: uh...

Then boom! They were gone!

Meanwhile, in a secret underwater base, a shady old man is discussing his plans with an unseen partner.

Old man: charybdis has been unleashed master, just as you requested.

Master?: excellent! These foolish humans have gone long enough without us gods. soon, with enough sacrifices, I'll regain my full power then they'll see!

Old man: and you shall grant me great power in return for assisting you, right master?

Master?: of course! I always make good on my promises! Just do not screw things up!

Old man: of course not! I am an unparalleled genius! I shall make no mistakes!

Master?: see to it that you don't! Or there will be consequences!

A/N: so! Finally the first part of the movie event rewrite! Took too long, and the event's long since over but here we are! Hopefully I'll finish it off in one more part, but I'm fine with 3 parts! Hope you guys like the story!

Tags

@hasspartacusdoneanythingwrong @haspaulbunyandoneanythingwrong @hasishtardoneanythingwrong @hasereshdoneanythingwrong @grievouslyxorvia @exmeowstic @renmeo @kazosaurus

[missrkl]

The Temple Chapter Five

Rachel had to face someone today, someone in The Temple that she liked but didn’t trust. Windsock was his name. He was part of the Elites, he was a leader, a very good leader at that. He was also a friend of Kai, Rachel’s sore point in her life. They were to talk about how she was doing at The Temple. This was how they controlled their constituents. Manhandling each and every person. Their names were recorded by the secretary Berry was his name. He was in charge of holding all information about every single person that was part of The temple. Rachel felt nervous as she sat in the main hall of The Temple near the platform. She liked Windsock because she liked looking at him, he was gorgeous to look at. He reminded her of a warrior man, muscular and tanned skin, light brown hair and a somewhat mixture array of colours for his eyes. He was lean, he was strong. When he walked he would stride along the floor like a lion, silent but deadly. He carried himself like a warrior. He even stood like a warrior. His legs were like tree trunks, solid good and strong. He also had this annoying habit of running his hands through his hair every once in a while when talking, which sent shivers down every woman’s eyes who was watching or listening to him. His training sessions was always on point, powerful and effective. He was young too, around the same age as Rachel, but slightly older.

Rachel saw Windsock approaching. She stood up straight. She put her eyes to the floor. They were never allowed to make eye contact with their leaders. Windsock was one up above the Elites, but still part of the Elites because he was young. Every other leader there was years older. Windsock approached and summoned Rachel to join him in the back room. As they sat down on the comfortable sofas in the Back Room Rachel felt tense. She was The Voiceless, but they still wanted to control and manage them. Keep the people in their place. Remind them of what worthless pathetic people they were. How much they would amount to nothing. Windsock sat down opposite Rachel and asked her how she was doing in her group placement. Rachel said she was doing fine, that she was happy and content. Windsock was happy to hear that. He asked her if she had been taking her daily dose of Temple Discipleship. This was the training groups that placed people into small groups. The TD was to make sure that each person within The Temple only ever ate customs from The Temple. Any outside interference was strictly forbidden. Rachel knew it was forbidden because they wanted to train the people their way, make products of their own kind of people perfected in their way. Little clones of the leaders. So if anything were to ever happen to the leaders, the place would practically run itself. Rachel said she was still attending her TD group. What she didn’t say was that she didn’t believe in it anymore. She knew it was just another ploy at being controlled and manipulated. Rachel still kept her eyes to the floor. Windsock asked her to look at him. She knew this part was coming. He was going to look into her eyes and see if there was any form of rebellion in there. Rebellion to Adon, rebellion to their leadership. Rachel had practiced long enough in front of the mirror at home to make sure her eyes were placid enough to not cause a stir. Windsock looked into her eyes for a moment. After what seemed like an eternity to Rachel, Windsock was satisfied with what he saw. Placidity was everything around here. Any rebellion or having your own opinion and mind within The Temple was highly forbidden and punishable by solid isolation, lockdown and severe social distancing. Masked for a time for the safety of the rest of the House. Rachel looked down at the floor again. Windsock seemed satisfied with her answers and her looks. He had concluded that since she’s been here a long time and been seen as clearly obedient to their ways, she had earned the right to volunteer at the up coming social gathering this weekend. She could socialise and be a little bit more vocal. Seen, just for a little while. Rachel could hear his lips stretching into a somewhat awkward smile. He didn’t know she found him attractive, but he must know because practically every female fawned over him, it shouldn’t be a surprise at all. A vain man will always be a vain man.

Rachel got up from the couch and thanked Windsock for the social opportunity and was about to walk out when He said “Miss Rachel, one more thing. We need a volunteer to help The Elites every Thursday at their worship meeting. They need someone to setup the refreshments table at the start and someone to take it down after. The caretakers can take care of the rest. During this time of waiting for their session to finish, you can either sit and watch them rehearse or go into another one of the empty rooms available and wait there. Understand?” Rachel turned and said she understood and thanked Windsock again and left. Great, now she had to face Kai, her kryptonite.

Rachel went to meet Ecclesiastes and the gang. She was the one to talk tonight, even if it was just for five minutes or longer. There was no time limit, they just let the Spirit of Adon guide them. Rachel freshened up in the bathroom first in The Temple. A narrow bathroom that Practically had no windows and no air. Not the best bathroom, but at least it was clean. Much cleaner than the fast food store down the road, that’s why Rachel always used this one, even if she was going to go out or go there. Rachel washed her face and redid her makeup. This time making her makeup way more elaborate than when she had that meeting with Windsock. Sometimes beauty gave you a lot of privileges in this place, but Rachel didn’t want special treatment just because she could be beautiful. She wanted to be worthy because she was valuable, precious, not because she pleased the males eyes perspective. She had once used her feminine beauty to her advantage at a work place once, wearing an off shoulder top that showcased her delicate shoulders. The man who had once hated her and seen her as nothing but another man, she had to work with him that day and she made things easier for herself by getting him to succumb to her feminine charms. He treated her like the female she was, unlike before where he had zero respect for her. This was something she would never dare use to Windsock. Windsock was a man that was NOT easily stirred. She was afraid that if she failed he would eliminate her completely, that was his strength, eliminating people to the outskirts of The Temple, treating those he found despicable as lepers to the society and that was the last thing Rachel wanted. Satisfied with her look Rachel took down her hair. The woman’s hair was her crowning glory Adon had said, she had kept it up whenever meeting Windsock, the last thing she wanted was for him to see her at her full glory. He might get astounded and taken aback and therefore ruin her chances with the gang. With Rachel’s eyes no longer looking placid, she walked out of The Temple.

Rachel met up with the gang and Ecclesiastes and as she stood up on the tiny raised platform at speakers corner this is what Rachel had to say:

“Adon tells us blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. To be poor in spirit means to be humble, to be emptied of our spirit, in the depth of our being, not holding on to the old things of the old dispensation but unloaded to receive the new things, the things of the kingdom of Adon, Elysium. We need to be poor, emptied, unloaded in this part of our being that we may realize and possess the kingdom of the heavens. Not like the Elites at The Temple who are so filled with themselves that they make no room for Adon’s spirit.

Adon says blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. The entire situation at The Temple is negative, toxic even towards Adon’s economy. Full of sin, selfishness, darkness and worldliness predominate there. Yah’s glory is insulted, Mashiac is rejected, Adon’s spirit is frustrated. The Temple is therefore desolate, self corrupt almost evil. Adon wants us to mourn over such a situation. It is much our fault as much as theirs. We too have played our own parts in this. We need to repent, have a change of heart.

Adon says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. That is the only way we can enter into Adon’s Elysium. If we do so, Adon will grant us that desire.

If we want to make a change at The Temple, if we want to convict to repentance and hearts of change, then we must seek Adon’s righteousness for ourselves. We must become stable and strong on the Gospel of Mashiac Yeshua. As Adon says blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. We will be persecuted for the sake of this righteous message. This is the price we must pay.

We are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men. Salt is an element that kills and eliminates germs of corruption. The Temple has now been corrupted with The Flesh and we as the salt seeking Yah’s righteousness are the element to help keep The Temple from being FULLY corrupted. The Temple has become tasteless, they have lost their salting function. They have become the same as the earthly people and are indistinguishable from the outsiders. The Temple Guardians have corrupted Adon’s glory by NOT EXPRESSING Adon in their BEHAVIOUR and good works. Instead they have segregated us, isolated us, masked us, labelled us, trampled upon us, like Yah never created us to be alongside them. This is not the time to be sitting by the sidelines crying into our ice-cream. This is a time for war.

(References Matthew 5 Recovery Version LSM)

Rachel got down off the podium and felt the breeze push her hair back. She was a secret fighter, battling things nobody knew, and now she was ready to take down The Goliath that was before her. Religion.

[7amaspayrollmanager]

Its been like a minute since i finished a reaper at the gates (part of the an ember in the ashes quartet) and while i really love sabaa tahirs storytelling and her twists and turns its her characters that are surprisingly weak.

I can pretty much reduce them to ya tropes

- laia: the young mc with powers no one has

- elias: hot love interest that can do no wrong

- helene: the "flawed" white woman

In the beginning, laia reminded me of alina starkov from the grisha trilogy. She knows that shes not exceptionally strong or cunning or brave and thats refreshing to see from a main character. You know that theyre not extremely talented and they survive on luck..but thats literally all there is. She doesnt change and i dont mean in a physical sense like she figured out how to fight for herself but i mean personality wise laia was impulsive and selfish and she stayed that way throughout the series. Like shed have moments of deep regret (you know the "i shouldn't have done that") but..shed continue to make rash decisions. There was no learning from her mistakes and that is incredibly frustrating for me to read. Apparently sabaa tahir admits that she wrote laia as a selfish character which is new to get from the "hero," but she gives me youngest sister energy so i dont vibe with her. When she jumped into the library that was on fire that was the moment i was done with her

I really love elias but in the third book my love like tapped out. It just felt like we were on a character journey with elias because in the first two books hes this exceptionally kind person full of guilt that thinks he deserves the worse but it suddenly stopped in the third book. All of a sudden it seemed like his mindset regressed and he was not consistent with his decisions. The whole time i wanted to walk into his universe and yell at him "go back to the waiting place fool." Im hoping this is sabaa tahirs intention to give elias this up and down character arc because i was sort of disappointed to alot of the conclusions elias was making for himself. When i was saying his mindset regressed, like in the first two books elias wants to stop being the weapon that he was conditioned to be but in the third book he gave into that. Whenever he was like "I'll be the mask. Emotionless no attachments" it gave off the message that you cant help but be who you were supposed to become. When laia said that his eyes reminded her of the commandant, i was disturbed. It just seems like elias never had a choice. His destiny was chosen for him.

So helene. *sigh* i think ive mentioned this before but i think sabaa tahir really mishandled her character. I have to admit that her chapters are the most interesting because theyre full of political intrigue and basically a ton of action but without it i dont know what to think of helene. One of my pet peeves from an author is them trying to force you to like a character, and with helene that is what tahir is doing. Its constantly "shes a good person she cares deeply about her people and shes a fighter" and those are all true but having good intentions is not the same thing as being a good person. She has the potential to change but tahir just reinforced Helene's beliefs in the the righteousness of the empire and whatnot. And that herein lies the problem, she believes the empire is good. She canonly defended slavery and the empires conquests and she has not yet renounced those beliefs. She really is a bunch of contradictions. Sabaa tahir is really treading on complicated lines. She has this character that not only believes in this awful empire but this character perpetrates this empire's imperialism and violence as well yet we're expected to believe shes redeemed herself. And by redeeming her, tahir redeems the empire.

And thats also another problem i have in that i think that sabaa tahir is trying to give the empires people a redemption. By having livia be this slavery hating queen the empire can change and be good....but No??? I was under the impression that the Empire was fated to fall and needed to and now its worth saving?? Its such a passive neoliberal message if thats what shes trying to communicate

I just hope that there is more to elias and he doesn't end up as this mindless soulcatcher and he is able to have his humanity and duties coincide. I also want more to helene and laias characters so i can actually like them. And i want a little more effort and nuance to the subjects shes writing about

[nadziejastar]

Isa’s TRUE Personality: The Beautiful, Tortured, Selfless Moon Goddess of Love (Part 1)

Saix’s weapons are an absolute goldmine of esoteric symbolism. There’s no way I can cover it all in one post; there’s just too much. But I want to do a series analyzing everything, to show just how differently his character ended up in canon, compared to how it was originally conceived. I think the original idea for Isa’s character and his relationship with Lea is extremely unique and utterly fascinating. According to the symbolism, Isa’s TRUE personality is exactly as the title describes. A tortured, beautiful, selfless Moon Goddess of Love who was clearly intended as a love interest for Lea.

Part 1: The Tortured Moon Goddess

Cool, collected, and mature beyond his age. He’s good friends with Lea.

— Jiminy’s Journal (Kingdom Hearts Union χ)

Saix’s title, Luna Diviner, is a reference to Selenomancy, named after the Goddess Selene. It is a specialized form of divination that examines the various aspects, phases, and appearances of the moon. According to diviners, moon phases are associated with certain personality types at the time of birth. There are several specific moon phases used as names for Saix’s weapons. Gibbous represents someone who is a healer and humanitarian. They care about other people; sometimes more than themselves. The pain and suffering of others is something that they are not only highly sensitive to, but also want to help transform.  

Balsamic Moon, is the waning crescent that is the trademark symbol on Isa’s jacket. It’s the final phase of the moon. This is a phase of decline and darkness—a rich opportunity for your soul to experience. It is considered the most Yin or Feminine phase. Balsamic means soothing or restorative. If you are born under this Moon, you will be aged and mature in some way. Balsamics are quiet, retiring and resilient; they are often seen as “old souls”. They are complex and wise beyond their years, as well as loners who usually only enjoy the company of a select group of people.  

New Moon is also known as the Dark Moon. It is the phase where the Moon’s energy is weakest. Even though the New Moon is invisible in the sky, those born under it are cloaked in darkness. They tend to lack self-awareness. They may be known for being selfish, callous, or unable to see things from other people’s perspectives. This weapon has the same shape as Berserker and Werewolf.

Saix’s Pandora Gear is Dichotomy. This word has several definitions. It means “a division or contrast between two things that are entirely different.” Or, “the phase of the moon in which half its disk appears illuminated.” It represents the clear division between the past and the present, Isa and Saix.   

Many of Saix’s weapons incorporate ♐︎ the astrological symbol of Sagittarius into them. I believe ♐︎ is meant to represent Lea. Sagittarius is a part of the Fire Trigon of the Zodiac. As an archer, he is said to never fail in hitting the mark. Sagittarius represents the centaur Chiron, an immortal centaur, who was renowned for his gentleness. After being accidentally shot by a poison arrow, he was in agony, but unable to find release in death. So he decided to offer himself as a substitute for Prometheus, who was punished by the gods for giving fire to man. Zeus saw the kindness of Chiron and immortalized him in the stars.

Axel’s weapon Prometheus is a combination of ♐︎ and the symbol of Mars ♂, and ALSO ♋ the Cancer symbol. Mars was known as the Roman god of war. He was said to love the violence and conflict. He carried a spear that was often depicted as covered in blood. He was the patron God of soldiers and was worshiped prior to battle. Soldiers in the Roman Army prayed to Mars before battle, hoping that he would protect them and lead them to victory.

Selene is shaped like a torch combined with ♐︎ the symbol of Sagittarius. In ancient Greek mythology, Selene is the Titan goddess of the Moon and is said to drive her glowing chariot powered by beautiful white horses across the sky each night. Her symbols were the crescent moon, a chariot, and a torch. Selene was very well known mostly because of her beauty. She was a very peaceful goddess and did not approve of war. Her personality was said to be secluded and timid.

Most Ancient Greeks looked to her for healing. Selene also had many powers that you would not think a moon goddess would have. Mythology states that she had powers surrounding dreams, she could harness the ability to awaken intuition and she could also catalyze psychic visions. As the patron of femininity, she was known to have the power to ease childbirth, to inspire love, to mask reality, and to pierce illusion.

Artemis has been commonly associated with Selene. She was the goddess of the Moon, the ruling planet of Cancer, and the daughter of Zeus. Her personality was individualistic and free-spirited, yet kind. She was a patron goddess of hunting and childbirth, and she was also the protectress of little children and baby animals. In Greek mythology, Artemis was usually portrayed as a very tall, beautiful young maiden with a hunting bow the shape of a crescent moon and golden arrows. She is often accompanied by either a stag or a dog. One of her special talents is calming animals, meaning that when she walks near them they come towards her and become calm.

Artemis is one of the ‘virgin’ androgynous goddesses, along with Athena and Vesta. Due to her well-integrated masculine energy and independence, she possesses an introverted temperament, preferring solitude. She was also known to be friends with mortals. Her assets were courage, confidence, and strength (both mental and physical). Her weaknesses were vengeance, impulsiveness, and being quite aloof. She was afraid of men, which is why she used to live in the woods and only went for walks at night. She rarely had any male companions; she only loved one person, Orion, but she ended up unintentionally killing him due to trickery. In her pain she appealed to Zeus to immortalize Orion in the stars so she could be with him.

A quiet and cool-headed youth. Though he does come out of his shell when talking to his best friend Lea, toward others he is distant and untalkative. Often scolds Lea and his contrasting personality.

— description from KHBBS Light Novel 2 (Best Friends)

The design for the weapon Astrologia incorporates ♋, the sigil of Cancer into its design. Cancer is associated with Artemis, who is similar to people born under the sign of Cancer. They are very modest, shy, and extremely emotional individuals who love children and pets. Artemis exemplifies the caring, nurturing and protective qualities of the mother. Deeply intuitive and sentimental, Cancer can be one of the most challenging Zodiac signs to get to know, but they are sympathetic and very attached to the people they keep close.  

Being ruled by the Moon, they are mysterious— they can struggle with sharing their innermost feelings. Cancer was known as the “dark sign” because of the obscured visibility of its constellation in the night sky. They have a tendency to brood and can be very moody and pessimistic. They often don’t have enough coping and defensive mechanisms for the outer world, so they can be prone to introversion and slow to warm to strangers. Cancers are quick to retreat into their shells if it suits their mood. The crab is a perfect symbol for the Cancer sign, symbolizing how a sensitive soul hides beneath a tough exterior.

A Cancer is caring and vulnerable, however callous they may appear on the outside. They are introspective and serene folk, who love solitude yet care gently for the people surrounding them. This receptive nature, however, makes them easily hurt. Cancer is the most emotional sign of the zodiac but at times they might appear icy and separated. Empathy for others is likely to be strong, and they will have an intuitive ability to sense what others need. They have a tendency to be quite clingy. Cancer’s shyness comes from their insecurity and deep fear of rejection. They are a cautious and shrewd people. 

Moon Rabbit is known as the Jade Rabbit in China. The Jade Emperor disguised himself into a poor, starving old man and begged for food from monkey, otter, jackal, and rabbit. Rabbit could only gather grass. Knowing well enough that grass can’t be offered as food to humans, rabbit decided to offer its own body, sacrificing itself in the fire the man had started. Somehow, though, rabbit wasn’t burned. The old man suddenly revealed himself to be the great Jade Emperor. Touched deeply by rabbit’s selfless sacrifice, he sent it to the moon to become the immortal Jade Rabbit.

More than just cute, fluffy, and white, the Jade Rabbit is a sign of selflessness, piety, and sacrifice. The Jade Rabbit is on the moon so that no matter where we are on Earth, we always have the ethics of righteousness and self-sacrifice to look up to. In East Asia, the Jade Rabbit is a widespread cultural symbol. When the bunny isn’t busy making immortality elixirs, it keeps the beautiful goddess Chang’e company in the Moon Palace.

Saix’s weapon Crescent is based on the Phoenix’s wings. This weapon represents the albedo stage of magnum opus. Following the chaos of the nigredo stage, albedo involves the washing away of impurities. In this process, the subject is divided into two opposing principles to be later coagulated to form a unity of opposites during rubedo. The aura is light blue, meaning truthfulness and serenity.

Psychologist Carl Jung equated the albedo stage with “unconscious contrasexual soul images; the anima in men and animus in women”. Jung described the animus as the unconscious masculine side of a woman, and the anima as the unconscious feminine side of a man, with each transcending the personal psyche. This makes albedo a phase where insight into the shadow side of the self is gained, while inflated ego is removed from the psyche.

So, that makes it VERY interesting that the weapon has a similar shape to ⚸. Even if they never planned to actually show it explicitly, the writers seemed to be inspired by Black Moon Lilith. Which raises very disturbing (though very interesting) implications about what happened during the experiments on the “darkness of the heart”. It would certainly explain how Axel’s personality became so warped. It would also explain why he didn’t find Saix’s personality change that unexpected, either, and why Axel seemed to always give him the benefit of the doubt no matter how cold he was. 

Astronomically, Lilith is considered an asteroid. Yet, some astrologers identify Lilith with the “Black Moon”. It’s the mathematical point that’s exactly in between the earth and the moon–essentially, empty space. Astrologically, it represents the cosmic void; the very energy Black Moon Lilith embodies. Psychologically, it is a point that represents how we react to emptiness and isolation. It brings up deep and primal issues like repressed feelings of rejection, rage, and the refusal to give in. This particular archetype is associated with sex, death, obsession, addiction, transformation, resurrection, magic, the occult and the taboo. These things are seen as the entry way between the spiritual dimension (or the underworld), and life on the physical plane.

Put simply, Lilith is the dark side of the moon. She represents animus, the feminine shadow side—What society rejects as appropriate for the feminine, Lilith takes up. The vilest manifestations of sexuality like pedophilia, rape, and satanic ritual abuse are all the domain of Lilith. She was actually said to be a hermaphrodite, so she could act as both a succubus and an incubus. Trauma based mind-control, through the use of sexual torture is another area connected with Black Moon Lilith. She symbolizes the transformation that occurs after going through a dark night of the soul. Usually, the trigger is great suffering, mourning, pain or torture. I can only imagine what poor Lea and Isa must have gone through.

Astrologically, Chiron (Sagittarius) stands in total opposition to Black Moon Lilith and all she represents. He is a symbol to remind us to look at the vulnerabilities we face in light of our connection to Divinity. Through the exploration of our wounds, we are called to heal all that creates a rift or disconnection with our Spirit.

[hyliancourage]

VERSE DETAILS POST :  THE FIERCE DEITY

please note: this verse is mainly self interpretation, based off of what we know about the fierce deity from majora’s mask and the manga! it’s also mixed with information of the ancient ones and the interlopers as mentioned in MM and TP. since there is very little known about the fierce deity, most of his backstory will be my own portrayal and imagining of him. 🤗

BASICS

name: unknown

age: unknown, easily over 10 millennia old

race: an unknown form of a god, but appears to be Hylian

birthplace: not of this earth

status: spirit, trapped in a mask

height: 6′7″

build: MUSCULAR he is beefcake city 💪

appearance: white hair that reaches his lower back, pale blue eyes. after death and being sealed into the mask, his eyes are completely white and glow.

ABILITIES / WEAPONS

double helix sword: a two handed greatsword with incredible power, strong enough to cut air. able to fire magic-powered blasts shaped like buzzsaws, as well as sword beams.

drums of time: when played, they are able to stop, speed up, or reverse time. can be narrowed down to a single area as well to work on a single target (as seen in the manga).

self-healing: regenerates health and heals wounds over time.

enhanced durability: most attacks do little to no damage on him. magical attacks with great strength need to be backed by power from another deity, god, or goddess to really harm him.

three stone necklace: three blue stones filled with the captured essence of powerful creatures from beyond, whose powers grant high magical resistance

PERSONALITY

lawful neutral: he takes a middle ground between good and evil. this causes problems with cosmos as time goes on and he goes against their rules to follow his own, as he sees fit to intervene whenever he feels that balance and justice is unfairly shifted or maliciously disrupted.

cunning / sneaky: it’s easy for him to play a role, to act innocent and unassuming when he wants (as seen in mm manga), in order to get the answers or results that he’s looking for. however, this is only ever when in search of those answers or a goal. when he doesn’t have to play a role to get answers or restore balance, fierce deity is incredibly honest, as he sees no reason to lie.

bold / brave: he shows very little sense of fear, and is able to remain calm even in the face of danger. 

calculating

strong sense of justice

fierce deity, in the beginning, was very warm to people. he was kind and welcoming, especially towards friends and family. he cared very much for people and their well being. as time went on however, and as he became more fierce deity than human, he became more aloof and cold. he isn’t mean or rude or malicious towards people, but he can be rather dismissive. it’s only when someone catches his eye or interests him, or if they can help him carry out his plan and sense of justice that he talks to someone. 

he doesn’t harm innocents either. he can be intimidating with his silence, stature and power, but he has no interest in hurting people, and is in fact vehemently against it. part of his humanity remains still in the sense that he does care whether people get hurt or not, and will stop it. 

HISTORY

fierce deity is a godlike creature originating from beyond hyrule, beyond termina, and beyond the three goddesses. he knows of the goddesses din, nayru, and farore, but is not bound to them nor does he serve them. the cosmos created him, alongside the power of the goddess of time. he was originally part of a race called The Ancient Ones. they were a tribe of powerful sorcerers and magical ability. eventually, when he was 20, he was chosen by the goddess of Time to serve her and the cosmos. It granted him new abilities and godlihood. Since then, he has traveled many worlds and lands in their name, carrying out their plans, returning home when he can.

over time, however, he began to question the cosmos’ methods of justice, seeing them as unnecessarily cruel or excessive. the ancient ones believed in balance, but with a sense of justice and fairness, and despite being a servant of the cosmos, the fierce deity could not look past this or ignore all that he had been taught and raised to believe before. this culminated upon hearing of and meeting the evil being, majora.

when fierce deity killed majora, it hadn’t been out of hatred or fear or dislike: nor empathy. it had been out of pity, and his own sense of justice. he knew majora needed to be stopped, but thought it cruel and unnecessary to trap it in time forever. he knew that keeping majora alive and in a world where time didn’t move wouldn’t stop others from seeking majora out either, and would only cause the cycle to repeat. so he went against the plans of the cosmos, and stopped majora himself. 

" I heard there was a monster here that called himself a man-eater. And I wondered, how much time he had spent here alone...? Not able to vanish from this world, but not able to live, either. Have you been in this frozen world ever since you were left here by the cosmos? To remain? A thousand years? Ten thousand years? Forever? How...harsh. "

“ Is that how you see me?! I am a fierce, evil man-eater! ”

“ There’s no one left to eat. ”

                                                      - fierce deity and majora

he followed the wishes of his people, The Ancient Ones, and using the method taught to him by them, sealed Majora away in a mask - created with his own hide - so that he would kill no longer. 

he considered both a mercy and a punishment to majora, who would no longer be forced to suffer a timeless existence, but also never be able to act upon his greed and bloodlust any longer either.

" Your power has been firmly sealed into this mask. Your power will no longer be a menace. I hope you sleep forever. "  

                                   - fierce deity to majora’s mask

however, this caused a shift in the cosmos, upsetting the powers that be. the cosmos were unhappy by his actions, but the fierce deity found himself protected by the goddess of time herself, backed by the powerful wishes of the ancient ones who sought to protect him as well. the cosmos relented, allowing him to live, but not without a price. for his actions and selfishness, he would never be able to return home. his people were no longer his. and to ensure he should never transgress again, he would no longer be a part of his people either. he would have no memory of them, no memory of his life before his duty to uphold and protect the cosmos. his true name would be lost to time, and he would only know himself as the fierce deity from thereon.

so the fierce deity continued serving the cosmos and doing as asked for a few millennia longer, but despite the seal on his memories, he continued to serve with a sense of wrongness and anger, his sense of justice disagreeing with all he heard of and saw occurring in other lands and worlds. eventually, the seal on his memories cracked, and he remembered what had happened: his people, and majora and the mask. however, he kept quiet of his revelation, choosing instead to quietly forge his own path in secrecy but with no lack of determination, boldness, and self-righteousness.

as he was her champion, fierce deity had his current armor (as seen in MM) blessed by the goddess of time, with a prophecy inscribed into both breastplates in the form of a crescent moon and triangle. she wouldn’t tell him the prophecy in full, only giving him a clue and a warning. the clue: one day, his past will catch up to him. and a warning: should he continue in his quest against the cosmos, he will surely seal his own fate away.

not long after, the fierce deity acquired his double helix sword through a series of trials. each trial served a purpose -- to show his worth, his power, and whether he was of true intentions or not. they tested him and his abilities, often pushing him to his physical and mental limit as the trials were not only in the beasts and monsters he defeated, but also in whether he was capable of handling the power that they wielded. he would need to seal that power away and carry it with him, without succumbing to want or desire or greed, back to the trial master at the end of all the trials. after successfully completing all the trials, the seals were then imbued into the metal that would become his double helix sword, granting him all of that immense power. it also is the reason behind the blue and red markings on his face, and the white of his eyes: in order to be able to wield and handle all of that power without succumbing to madness or being completely destroyed by it, enchantments, blessings, and powerful magic was stored into his being.

despite the goddess of time’s warning to him, fierce deity continued, and eventually it became known to the powers above that he was working against the cosmos, a rogue deity that had accumulated a vast amount of power and used it to deliver justice that often did not align with what had been predetermined or agreed upon.

he was too powerful to stop for a long time, but eventually was found and bound into the form of a mask -- the same as majora. the goddess of time’s warning had come true after all. 

however, he was not bound by the cosmos or any other power. he bound himself, to trick the cosmos into thinking he was no longer a threat. he lives on still in the mask because of it, incredibly powerful and waiting to return.

[wadey-wilson]

Essay essay pls! I actually enjoyed the TASM films but I watched them when I was like, 10, so my actual perception of them is super skewed

re: 

I usually never talk much about things I hate because I don’t wanna care about things I hate. it’s a waste of time and nerves. but given that you asked nicely, and that I have a lot to say, and that I should sleep but we all know it never plays out, let’s go.

right off the bat, I want to say that I believe you can change some things about characters or stories if adapting them for the silver screen either requires it, or the director has a really good idea as to how the character should be done. that being said, I also believe there’s a line you can’t cross. you either change the character to be more appealing and to have them resonate with the audiences more (see: Thor in Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of The Galaxy), or to have it fit the story better (see: Mandarin in Iron Man 3). I have no problem when a director goes ‘I have an idea for this character’ and he actually has, let him do it. however, when you change too much about a story (see: Civil War) or a character, they become unrecognizable and completely off. you ever read Superior Spider-Man? they become that. a shell of someone we know but with completely different behaviour, manners, mind, and character for that matter. you can’t change a character to this point, because it ruins them. say Iron Man doesn’t drink alcohol at all, he’s a granddad of a random kid taken from the streets, and kills innocent people. doesn’t really sound well, huh?

and that’s the huge problem with that small series of films. the producers don’t understand Spider-Man (don’t @ me with Spider-Verse, Sony didn’t touch Spider-Verse, it was written by the ever great Phil Lord and Chris Miller), and they never will because they frankly don’t give a shit. they ruined Spider-Man 3 by forcing Raimi to put Venom in there despite Raimi not being able to handle the material and not being interested in that character. reason why they made the TASM films? money. reason why they keep the rights to Spidey? money. so since they don’t understand Spider-Man, they can’t make a good Spidey movie as long as it’s them making that movie.

I also want to add that I like crap movies. Spider-Man 3 is half a solid movie, but you can’t have a bad time while watching it - it’s hilarious, has great action scenes, the characters feel like characters, and the tone is consistent. Venom movie wise is like 4/10, it has 2 prologues, and 179 plot holes and/or stupid choices, but it’s entertaining, funny (even when unintentionally), has some very good dialogues, and the Venom/Eddie relationship (right along with Tom Hardy himself) saves the movie. so I like crap movies when they’re fun, comedy gold, or just so stupid that you can’t help but laugh (see: Twilight). but when a movie is shit, and does none of those things, I can’t sit through it.

with all that said, here goes: reasons why The Amazing Spider-Man movies suck balls and are offensive towards the character of Spider-Man:

comic wise:

- Peter Parker - let’s google Peter Parker.

caring. kind. loyal. brave. scared. worried. intelligent.

that’s the basic core aspect of Peter Parker. you can’t change the core of a character or else they become a different person. the core aspect is what makes them them. Peter Parker is ‘with great power comes great responsibility’, he’s a struggling one because he made a choice to save lives and that choice often ruins his day-to-day life, he’s constantly trying to be a better man, but all while bad things are happening, he remains kind, loving, caring, loyal, respectful, and worth of the powers he’s carrying.

TASM Peter Parker? that dude’s a selfish dickhead. i could go scene by scene to prove my point, but off the top of my head, he:

stalks, creeps, breaks (important) promises, is rude 24/7 towards his aunt and uncle, risks people’s lives, damages public property and doesn’t even say sorry, sneaks into Oscorp by stealing someone’s righteously earned intern badge (plus literally laughing at the guy who got kicked out bc of him, what the hell).

other than that, Andrew Garfield does not look socially awkward or nerdy in the slightest. the movies are really trying to portray him as one and terribly fail. he’s not a good fit for this Spidey. Superior Spidey? yeah, that asshole, sure. I’m not saying he’s a bad actor, he’s an amazing actor. he’s just not good for the role of Peter Parker.

I mentioned Thor before and how making him a goofball actually worked out fine, and that’s because the core aspect of him never disappeared. he’s still Thor, courageous, righteous, loving, kind, but with more jokes. Peter Parker is a nerdy outcast, he’s socially awkward like 95% of the time, and doesn’t even know how to walk straight. Andrew’s Spidey? obnoxious-skateboarding-cool-looking-Edward-Cullen-like-tall-and-model-like cute. I have no words.

to add to his terrible traits, Peter’s only motivation to put on the red-and-blue spandex is revenge. revenge. I don’t care about that scene where he’s sitting with his mask wondering if he should go after the Lizard. that doesn’t mean a thing. it would if his behaviour changed, but it never did. he made a mask and then a suit so people wouldn’t see who commits the crimes (assaulting at nights while looking for Ben’s killer, that’s crime), that’s down-right fucked up. this is not Spider-Man. speaking of…

- Spider-Man - he doesn’t care about people’s lives at-freaking-all, and it just wounds me. he jokes around while people are being murdered (see: TAMS2 scene with the Rhino where he didn’t stop Rhino when he had the chance, instead letting him run over tens of people and kept. on. joking., or putting on a fireman’s hat while people are being killed). jokes? what jokes? that guy’s a jackass. he threatens a man saying he’d kill him if he’d be the one who killed uncle Ben. he publicly humiliates a guy, I don’t care if he’s a criminal. 

see this:

(the amazing s-m #797)

vs this

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

- Ben Parker - he’s 100% useless in the movie. in the comics and in the Raimi’s movies, he plays a huge role. he’s Peter’s moral compass right along with May Parker, which…

- May Parker - her presence in the movie is pointless. she’s got no impact on the plot. cut out all the scenes with her, and it changes nothing about the movies. her presence only makes Peter look more like an asshole bc he’s one towards her 99% of the time. she’s there to be… I don’t even know. she’s useless. oh, no, wait, she’s there to make Peter break his promise to Captain Stacy. amazing.

movie wise:

- tone - inconsistent, all over the place. TASM1 is dark, silly, dark, lighthearted, funny, dark, funny, dark. why can’t it be just dark or funny? same goes to TASM2, except TASM2 is way worse due to the unconnected subplots. examples of well-toned movies: Homecoming (a comedy starring Spider-Man), Iron Man 3 (consistently cartoonish with balanced humor and action), The Avengers (consistently funny and cheesy).

- character arc - there’s none. Peter learns absolutely nothing. at all. he’s selfish and remains selfish. puts people’s lives at risk all the time. breaks promises, not learning any lesson. I mentioned Venom before and how it’s a dumb movie, but even that one has Venom have an arc. rushed one, yes, very rushed, but still an arc. 

- music - stock music + bad pop music + elevator music + something that tried to sound like dubstep but wound up being what comes out when you scratch your nails across the board ft. growling dying dragons from bad cartoons. I’m really sorry for Hans Zimmer that his name is in the credits bc the amazing Pharell Whilliams literally ruined the TASM2 soundtrack.

- directing - it’s shit. the movie’s shot with no life to speak of. boring shots, lower than average. there’s no scene that makes me ‘whoa’. there’s no scene that makes me ‘this is a really good shot. I very much like this shot.’ ok, I’m lying, there are two shots in the entire 2 movies. there:

these are the only shots that I like. out of 2 movies. please, take all my money.

on top of that, the colors are just ugly. Deadpool has greasy colors but they’re consistent and fit the creepy tone of the movie. TASM movies can’t decide what the hell they are so they are just a mess.

- villains:

x the Lizard. he wants people to be lizards, and that’s it. he wants his arm to regrow but then he goes ‘forget arms, now I want people to be lizards.’ and it’s sad bc he’s a very good villain in the comics.

x Green Goblin. motivation is weak, plus why did he crawl towards the suit? if he crawled towards the Doc Ock arms, would he become Doc Ock? how did he know hot to fly the glider? ‘you took his picture, so you know him’ - first of all, that shot was taken from 64508098 meters away, and second of all, how does this make Harry think Peter knows Spider-Man? he’s still better than Connors, tho.

x Electro - quite an odd one, weak motivations, what the hell was that with the corny speeches pulled out of his ass and completely out of the place? why did he even have shorts? where did he take his suit from? that’s a PG-13 movie, I get it, we don’t wanna watch an electric p*nis swing, ok, we get it  still, bad motivations, makes no sense 80% of the time, and... he’s just off. he’s such a badly-handled and poorly-written character I want to cry,

- other characters:

x Gwen Stacy - so called generic love interest. that’s it.

x I don’t even care.

- stupid bullshit - when a movie is good, I don’t care about plot holes or stupid stuff like visible reshoots (see: Tony’s hair in IW) or just idiotic moments (see: Black Widow knocking a guy out with her hair in The Avengers).

however, when the stupid bullshit takes over a movie, you can’t help but notice. why did the Lizard want everyone to be lizards? why did the electric eels fix the gap between Max’s teeth? what’s with the subplot with Peter chasing Ben’s killer? is Peter so stupid that he brought his camera with his name on it to Lizard’s secret layer? why are Peter’s parents so focused on? they’re 100% irrelevant and have no impact on the movies besides making them even stupider (that calculator scene, I’m-). why did Ben jump towards the gun? how did scrawny and skinny Harry Osborn overpower two armed, grown-ass guards? if Peter is smart enough to make web-shooters and web fluid, why did he have to look up the basics of electricity on YT? why is Gwen so stupid to grab a metal bar when there’s an electricity-fueled guy murdering people? why did even Electro become bad? why do people stand around very dangerous fight scenes like it’s a spectacle with fairies? run! the plane scene. the plane scene no2. the crane scene. how did the cranes happen to be perfectly in line across the way to Oscorp? even Raimi wouldn’t put this corny shit in his movies, and he made his trilogy corny for purpose. train? coming? out? from? the ground??? a video coincidentally waiting for Peter to be played in that train? Gwen Stacy happening to be the interns’ tour guide at Oscorp? how did Gwen get to the fight with Electro scene sooner than the police? why did the web get cut by two solid objects, simultaneously making a ‘cut’ sound, what the fuck was that? why were those movies even made? (money)

I want to add that I don’t care about deleted scenes. put them in the movie if they’re important. I really don’t give a damn there was a scene with Peter’s dad (which is just stupid) or some stuff with Connors. I don’t judge deleted scenes, I judge the movies.

and that’s it. I feel like I can talk more, but it’s like 11pm, and I have to get up early and go to work, so… I said what I said. you can’t change my opinion. if you like these films, I don’t care. they’re trash. if you can watch them and think ‘that’s a good movie,’ I’m glad you can, and I wish you a happy life with that bad perception.

to add to all of this, I’ll have you know that even Andrew Garfield is mad/sad that Sony compromised the character of Peter Parker for the sake of money.

before I go, the only good things about these movies:

- TASM2 suit is cool. I like it a lot,

- that scene where Peter wakes up and accidentally breaks things,

- that montage with Spidey after he breaks up with Gwen, it’s really nice and in-character, looking like it was written by someone completely else,

- they didn’t make a third movie.

P.S. if you want some good videos I remember seeing about those movies, visit yourmoviesucks and TheCosmonautVarietyHour on YT. also ScreenCrush explains what’s wrong with those movies basing on one scene, and it’s great.

P.S. 2. there was this comment on YT under the TASM movies review that I really like, and honestly what a mood:

[roxannepolice]

You know, talking in general and not just SW, I think that sometimes the audience surrogate can be a double bladed sword done the wrong way. But there is also this percent of the fandom that thinks that if you don't love the audience surrogate or the other Relatable Character™ you are X thing. (1/2)

It has happened to me with the DW fandom and some people asking me why I like the Eleventh Doctor more than the Acceptable™ Twelfth Doctor. Because you you, the former is a more darker, possessive and selfish character and the later is kinder and all. And I am like... Not my fault if I found one more fascinating than the other because he is a bastard (2/2)

You know, this really carries me back in time to when Philosopher’s Stone was first released on dvd and among extras there was a sorting hat test/minigame and I went positively hysterical when upon first time spontaneous answers I got sorted into Slytherin. It took quite a long time for me to embrace my Slytherclaw self and if the hat had a problem between these two houses I would totally ask for classy underwater mess of a common room now. And I mention that as an introduction to how today grown up, intelligent people are worriedly sideyeing me when I say I'd fancy a Slytherin scarf.

It appears to me that the not-exactly-ostracism-at-least-outside-tumblr towards identifying with villains or even simply not completely cinnamon rolly characters has a couple of deeper rationales. One is that overtly morally unclear characters that are also intentionally identifiable with are a relatively new phenomenon in popculture. Villains could have been sympathetic but not really anything else until quite recently. They could have a point but wallow in how evilly they act on this point. They could even be likeable or awe-inspiring. But there always had to be a clear wall between them and audience, as well as the hero. RotJ Vader is in fact a great example of a villain who is sympathetic but not identifiable with, he exists in a simple paradigm of well he's Luke's dad and he believes there's good in him and he sounds miserable sometimes but otherwise yeah he offers to rule the galaxy because that's what villains do. He's also coded as the parent generation rather than the one the target audience would identify with. And of course, full body armour and mask complete the picture of unapproachability. OT Vader doesn't have motivation, past, psyche or really anything else other than he's Luke's dad, it took 20 years to change that. And now? Now we get good organisations being controlled by baddies, heroes having different opinions on their own ethical status, villains mirroring their motivations... On the one hand it's an interesting breath of fresh air in texts which were slowly becoming their own parodies, on the other there needs to be a balance between these problematic(TM) notions and unproblematic(TM) resolutions and frankly not all creators find this balance as I sometimes worry will be the case with the sequels. And mass audience straight doesn't know how to handle this in discourse, not because they're too dumb only because a tacit understanding even only theoretically present in discussions of more high-brow culture simply hasn't formed there yet. It's a widely accepted fact that some of the most discussed, desirable and given to best actors Shakespeare roles are the likes of Richard III, Lady Macbeth or Iago and there's no need explaining that fascination with them doesn't stem from condoning murder only confronting us with the darker but oh so human aspects of our nature. MCU, SW and BBC discussions have yet to get this memo.

And then there’s the matter of lifestyle commodification, which I think finds its echo even in something as trivial as popularity of online which character are you tests. There is something of a phenomenon of subjecting many elements of our lives to some one hobby or life choice, which sounds obvious until we look at shops trying to sell special coffee only for physically active people - because it’s speculated that it really all boils down to profit being bigger from selling a full lifestyle set (clothes, food, furniture) of some archetypal physically active person (or bookworm, fan or even activist) than y’know, just good shoes and some gear. So the point is that we are tought to think in full lifestyle sort of way rather than dissecting things and taking out only what we want. Ergo, you can’t like, let alone identify with, some aspects of a character and not everything about them - so if the character is morally gray/villainous you need to make it clear you don’t condone murder.

Then there is an old matter which gained new power lately - the moral panic over the influence of media. There’s no denying there exists a relationship between the culture we take in and our psyche, but pratically no serious researcher still believes in the “sponge” model where audience just sucks in whatever the text pours at them (fanfiction is in fact frequently pointed at as an example of actively recreative audience). Can exposition to lots of trivialized violence in tv make us numb to real world violence? Yes, research shows it can. But there’s a difference between sitting all day in front of tv mindlessly watching hours of sex, drugs and violence and engaging in problematic(TM) characters. As it’s frequently repeated, if you go on a killing spree inspired by a video game, there’s probably something wrong with you and not the game played by thousands of other people. Then again, we musn’t forget that part of history when committing a suicide while cosplaying Werther was all the rage among young european men.

And I think this also ties with how everything in contemporary popculture needs to mean something, or even in fact be some aspect of social reality. This is hardly the freshest phenomenon (Roland Barthes claimed already back in the 60s that popularity of aliens, martians more specifically, was due to mental association of red planet with Soviet Union during the cold war), but now it’s become a popular knowledge and, as abstract ideas tend to in mass interpretation, it got simplified to the level where FO aren’t simply visually inspired by pretty much every totalitatian system ever only are neo-nazis. As such it becomes one’s moral duty to waste emotional energy on righteously hating fictional characters in a kids’ movie or else you support nazism. Hence also all the school shooter, creepy stalker, spoiled brat etc. readings of Kylo Ben and all the mess going on around 11 (which really makes me think that new Who audience badly needs to learn what sh*t classic Doctors would pull).

In general I’d say there’s a slightly disturbing blurring of lines between reality and fiction going on before our eyes. It’s almost as if we couldn’t just chill out and let ourselves be transported to Oz without questioning the influence of ruby slippers on munchkin economy anymore. Or return to Kansas without demanding a yellow brick road.

[erinmariemcdowell]

Habitual Self-Centeredness | They Call It Narcissism | Deliverance and Discernment In Christ | 

"Narcissism is the term used in psychology to describe a preoccupation with self. It is a Greek term taken from the name of the mythological Narcissus, who fell in love with his own image and was doomed to die because he would not turn away from it. A narcissist is a person who displays a high level of selfishness, vanity, and pride. He/she sees everything from a “how does this affect me?” perspective. Empathy is impossible for the narcissist because his/her only perspective is the one centered on self. In psychology, narcissism is seen as a broad spectrum of conditions ranging from normal to pathological.

The Bible says that we are born sinful since the fall (Romans 5:12). This means that we are born with only sinful tendencies and no ability to be “good” or righteous on our own. What we call “human nature” the Bible calls “the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). Part of our sin nature is a total focus on self. This focus, also called “egocentrism,” is how babies see and experience the world. Narcissism is like egocentrism in that the adult still relates to the world like an infant, a perspective that impedes personal growth and relationships.

Psychological theories about narcissism suggest that the narcissistic person uses defense mechanisms to idealize self so that he does not have to face his own mistakes (sin) or flaws (fallen state). The diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder outlines the behavior patterns of a narcissistic person as being haughty, non-empathetic, manipulative, and envious; he also possesses a sense of entitlement and grandiosity. From a biblical perspective, it is clear that these heart conditions are due to pride, which is sin (Proverbs 16:18). The Bible tells us to “look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). The narcissist routinely disobeys this command.

Pride is a reason people do not feel they need a savior or forgiveness. Pride tells them they are “good” people or have a “good” heart. Pride also blinds people to their own personal responsibility and accountability for sin. Narcissism (pride) masks sin, whereas the gospel reveals the truth that leads to remorse for sin. Narcissistic traits can be dangerous because, at their worst, they will lead a person to destroy others to satisfy the lust of the flesh (2 Timothy 3:2-8).

The Bible addresses the issues related to narcissism as part of our sinful natural self (Romans 7:5). We are slaves to the flesh until we place our faith in Jesus, who sets the captives free (Romans 7:14-25; John 8:34-36). Believers are then slaves to righteousness as the Holy Spirit begins the transforming work of sanctification in their lives. However, believers must surrender to the Lord and humble themselves in order to have God’s perspective rather than a selfish one (Mark 8:34). The process of sanctification is turning away from self (narcissism) and turning toward Jesus.

All people are narcissists until they either learn how to cover it and get along in the world or until they recognize their own flesh and repent of their sin. The Lord helps people to grow out of narcissism when they receive Jesus as their savior (Romans 3:19-26). The believer is empowered to begin loving others as himself (Mark 12:31).

Machiavellianism is an anti-social personality trait. Machiavellianism is characterized by a lack of emotion and a belief that the end justifies the means. Psychologists recognize Machiavellianism along with narcissism and psychopathy as one of the three traits belonging to the “dark triad” model of personalities. These personalities are maladaptive and are usually marked by a lack of empathy and a disinterest in morality, or the sense of being “above” morality. People with dark triad traits like Machiavellianism are often deeply manipulative and are easily able to control people who feel normal levels of empathy.

The term Machiavellianism is based on a sixteenth-century political figure named Niccolo Machiavelli, who promoted an amoral, ends-justify-the-means philosophy of political strategy. He reasoned that politicians and rulers should behave as if playing a game, rather than according to moral laws, if they want to win. His book The Prince is full of recommendations about how to play these unscrupulous political games.

In the 1960s, two psychologists, Richard Christie and Florence L. Geis, set about to better understand manipulative behavior in humans. In their testing, they used some statements from Machiavelli’s writings and evaluated their subjects based on what they called a “Mach” scale. People who scored high on the scale were those who agreed with the statements drawn from Machiavelli’s philosophies. This gave rise to the term Machiavellianism to describe people whose behavior is pathologically manipulative.

Queen Jezebel would probably have scored high on the Mach scale, as she showed no scruples about lying and manipulating others for her own personal benefit. In 1 Kings 19, King Ahab coveted a vineyard that he could not obtain through legal means. His wife, Jezebel, took action, forging letters (verse 8); proclaiming a sham “day of fasting” and pretending to honor Naboth, the owner of the vineyard (verse 9); hiring two “scoundrels” to bring false charges against Naboth (verse 10); and having Naboth stoned to death (verse 13). As soon as the wicked deed was done, Jezebel told Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead” (verse 15). It was a cold Machiavellian plot, involving deception and murder, but all in a day’s work for the cold-hearted Jezebel.

The Bible speaks against philosophies that encourage lying, manipulation, or an end-justifies-the-means mentality. Using others’ trust and love to gain an advantage is wicked, according to Scripture. We should not listen to those who engage in or encourage this kind of behavior, for by listening to them we will become like them. “An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue” (Proverbs 17:4, ESV). That is not to say that the study of Machiavellianism or manipulative traits, for the purpose of understanding psychology, is wrong. However, the study of Machiavellianism in order to learn and put into practice self-seeking political tactics would definitely be wrong in God’s eyes. Machiavellianism has no place in interpersonal relationships.

The Bible calls the devil “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, ESV), and there are those who imitate Satan, the original liar, in order to unfeelingly control and manipulate the weak. Scripture warns against those who follow “deceitful spirits and teachings of demons through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared” (1 Timothy 4:1–5, ESV). This is a biblical picture of what we might call Machiavellianism today." Author Unknown

@--;-----

These sicknesses of the soul are devastating not only to the sufferer but to those closest to them (and any societal groups involved can easily, unknowingly, become part of the problem making the lives of the loved ones much worse). By the time you are aware enough of it in your loved one, you yourself are often quite sick (making excuses for the person(s), throwing yourself under the bus unnecessarily, and overcompensating for the feeling of unworthiness that has become too familiar, etc.). And all the degrees and training in the world cannot equivalate the personal experiential wisdom one obtains by loving them and these professionals often fall short at giving proper grief counseling in this matter, even with the best of intentions. It is one of the loneliest relational circumstances to live with, especially when it is passed down within the same family. You can lead them to the water, but you cannot make them drink. One of many scriptures in God's Word that are of much benefit in this type of circumstances: 

Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

Here is a good article that suggests good reference material a spirit-filled counselor I know personally suggests: Author Ed Welch of CCEF.Org

"It is always their “birthday.” Today, tomorrow, and the next day are dedicated to their interests and desires, so don’t expect that you will be known or understood. No empathy here. No room for guilt either. If you interfere with the party, expect to receive their anger. That anger might come at you as a bully who wants power and control or one who doesn’t even have time for you, so they turn away. Expect lasting grudges. Perhaps, if you are penitent, you might be able to get back into an orbit that surrounds them, but they will not move towards you in return. It is always their birthday, but they never seem to grow up. There are different versions of this self-absorbed style, commonly called narcissism. They are all maddening. Some are dangerous. And this very real problem is worth much more time than I will give it here.

As a catalyst for thought, I read Disarming the Narcissist by Wendy Behary. Though not a Christian book, I was helped by her kindness and insight, and she actually rekindled my interest in engaging those who fit the narcissist description. Rather than review the book, I will identify a few of the points that helped me rethink how to love those who show this level of entitled self-interest.

Say “no” to your anger. Your anger will not help you or the self-absorbed person. If you expect the other person to actually be moved by your anger and change—you will be disappointed. In fact, your anger will be interpreted as further evidence that you are the problem. Instead, you need a calm and measured engagement that invites discussion. If you are feeling great pain and rejection from the narcissist’s predictable outbursts, you also will be unhelpful, unless you are able to seek the good in that person, even in the midst of your pain. We believe God gives grace for this, and we expect that our own growth here will be hard fought. Somehow, people who fit the narcissist description can make fools of us all in that they know how to irritate us, and we begin to act like them. Instead, conversation will be more productive if there is at least one thoughtful person in the room.

See the other person as a child. I have found this helpful; it limits my expectations. It’s similar to how I view people who have a long-term history of addiction: the addiction essentially shields from the challenges of life that mature us, and the addict is easier to understand as a twelve-year-old rather than a forty-year-old. Though this could be an affront to most children, the image fits more than it doesn’t. The benefit is that you will be more patient with the person if your expectations have been adjusted.

Practice your own empathy skills. Empathy is the ability to step into someone’s world in a way that the person feels understood. It is not approval of that world, but it is an understanding of it. An apparent absence of empathy is what is most difficult about narcissist-types. They do not understand either your world or their own. In response, we redouble our efforts to grow in empathy, to which there are so many ingredients. Here are three:

Know their story. When someone is hard for us to understand, it is helpful to know something of the culture of their family. With narcissism, we might find a history of being spoiled or deprived, or parents who were preoccupied in their own selfish worlds and never affected by the good deeds of their children. Don’t expect such discussions to help the person directly though. Those who lack insight are rarely enlightened by their past. More often, they see past hurts as no big deal and resist our attempts to suggest long-term patterns. But these insights encourage our own patience and kindness.

Assume that they are normal human beings. Amid all the boasting, entitlement, and “I don’t need you or anybody else,” expect to find people who would like relationship but act in ways that push people away (which confirms to them that they can never really have relationship). Expect people who fear failure and, in response, blame others when things go wrong. Expect people who don’t know how to deal with or express their struggles. This all comes out as meanness and covert behaviors. Sometimes addiction becomes a way to ward off the discomfort within. Expect people who are alone and living on that unsettling ground of the opinions of others.

Look for good. When someone is demanding or showing off their greatness for our affirmation, it is hard to offer anything good. But empathy looks for the good. If someone is often talking about their achievements, look for “unadorned” good such as an inadvertent interest in another or other kindness you notice. After hearing someone’s complaints about how the world is not serving them as it should . . . Sometimes it is hard to find the good, but if you pray for love that sees the good, you will see some good.

Among the helpful features of Behary’s book were words that someone could speak, which bring together empathy and wisdom. Here is a response by a wife, spoken with preternatural calm, to her fuming husband (not me, a different Ed).“You know, Ed, I don’t believe a word of that. It’s not that I think you are lying. It’s just that I know you, and I know how difficult it can be for you to tell me that you miss me. When I’m distracted, like this week, you often feel as if you are unimportant to me. I can understand how upsetting that must be for you. But there is no need to put me down or blame my job. You aren’t giving me a chance to care about you when you speak to me that way . . . I’d like to start the conversation over. How about you?” (pp.158-159). To speak to a self-absorbed person like this might not bring instant repentance, but you might have helped. 

I am raising a number of issues and questions in this brief reflection. How do we help self-absorbed people? How do we help their family and remaining friends? And how might we be helped by secular literature? Secular literature is most helpful when its descriptions of difficult-to-understand behaviors are coupled with years of experience and when its practical suggestions come close to the wisdom and love we find in Scripture. 

With the behaviors that are called narcissistic, we know that the Spirit can change us and teach us more about how to love wisely, and we invite all comers to give their ideas on ways to love.”

"Zechariah 4:6 "So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

"Matthew 15:11 "What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

**Take spiritual authority. Satan won't stop until he is stopped.

Luke 10:18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

”And mind how you are beholding (what you are focusing on and HOW you are seeing into what/who is coming). Things are not what they seem. There is much more going on in your life than meets the eye. It takes the eyes of our heart to really see God. 

1 John 3:2-3 "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, [a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure."

Picture Credit: Christopher Powers of FullOfEyes.Com

[cruncylotusroot]

Inuyasha

@inuyashaographer

I just finish reading the manga and here is my analysis

First of all I believe there’s love between Kikyo and Inuyasha, however I feel that differently kind of love what he have with kagome. When he was with Kikyo he type of behaving like a good boy and afraid of doing a mistake and make Kikyo don’t like him, but when he was with Kagome he freely express and be himself without holding back. That doesn’t meant that he did not love Kikyo, I just feel that he want Kikyo to accept him. In one of the anime I forget the episode Kikyo was saying to him that he cannot do random stuff when Kikyo is around. This might be also the reason why he behave around Kikyo.

Because of the upbringing as priestess Kikyo uphold righteousness act, and demon is one of the creature that is the enemy of human. Kikyo was never stated that he don’t want him as hanyou but I find that she put the idea into Inu head to be human is wrong in so many level. She may not force him but just putting the idea is wrong. This indirectly saying that Inuyasha existence as hanyou is wrong, she is putting the idea into his head to discard his nature and origin, also to remove his parent legacy. Kikyo may have no bad intention but it’s also showing how little she know about Inuyasha that he do not like being human and feel weak. This is massive sacrifice from Inuyasha side that he will only realise at later point. Given Inu is looking for acceptance he do not think ahead the disasters and regret he will have if this were to happen, he just agree to become human and hoping to have happy ever after type of life. Kikyo give this idea might be because how she grow up as miko, but the one thing she did not know is that this plan will end up backfire.

My personal opinion regardless whether there’s Naraku or not the relationship between Inu and Kikyo will always be tragic. If the initial plan of using the jewel to turn Inuyasha as human it would have backfired because it don’t grant the real wish. So when they make with to the jewel for him to be human the shikon no tama will twist it either turn Inuyasha as full demon instead or suck Kikyo into the jewel to replace Midoriko. And in the even of Inuyasha turn to full demon how Kikyo will handle it? Given the miko teaching of righteousness she may end up killing Inuyasha because he will become killing machine in full demon form.

In the end I was kind of of hoping Kikyo to try to encourage Inuyasha to accept who he is instead of putting the idea of becoming human. Because it’s nothing wrong of being hanyou, he need to respect the legacy of his parent, but that never happen.

So the whole anime that end of almost 200 eps was because of the jewel wanted new pair (miko and demon) inside it to replace Midoriko. So the second thought come up.. why waiting for Kagome to come instead of using Kikyo, as Kikyo is also strong miko? But I think 🤔 to manipulate Kikyo would be easy without effort because she has plan to use the jewel anyway for selfish reason to turn Inuyasha into human. So I still did not get why shikon no tama choose Kagome to be the next miko battle inside the jewel, could be because she stronger and more pure? But Kikyo is also pure.

I Wonder whether Inuyasha will be happier end up with Kikyo to live together / go to hell with her or he will be more happier with Kagome? One thing that I take from here is that when I wanted to settle with someone I want to be myself and able to express fully without putting on mask around them. I find Inuyasha unnaturally obedient and good boy with Kikyo, so is that because he change to better version of him with her? I don’t know because I fell like he is walking on the egg shell around her, but freely to express when he is with Kagome. Could be because Kikyo older than him in human age while kagome is almost the same age? That’s mystery lol

Another thing that obvious is that seems Kikyo did not know Inuyasha too well. In episode 151 when Kagome save Kikyo from miasma she saw flashbacks but kagome know immediately that is not Inuyasha and Kikyo fail to notice that sadly.

I find Kagome sacrifices too much and ask too little - maybe that’s the power of love? I don’t know but the determination she has is incredible beyond compare. I don’t think I can even be like her it just impossible for me. Despite of her thought that she is second best, she give it all for Inuyasha sake. I know that Inuyasha will do the same to her as well. Few of the scene that is really move me is when Inuyasha turn into full demon, she know the suffering Inuyasha have - when everyone tiptoeing around him, Kagom remain there to give mental support. My favourite is when Inu-tachi inside the oni stomach where Kagome ignore the acid burn to save Inuyasha from becoming full demon. And afterward when Inuyasha apologise to her on the tree 🌳 she assure him that it’s ok and she is happy that she able to be by his side at difficult time. This is the other thing I like how Kagome handling things, she try as much as possible to make Inuyasha guilty free (apart from anything that relate to Kikyo). It seems to me that Kagome just genuinely want Inuyasha to be happy. I’m truly believe that if by the end of the series Kikyo is alive and Inuyasha would like to be with Kikyo and live together (not going to hell) Kagome willing to let him go and sacrifice her feeling and broken heart as long as Inuyasha happy, that’s show how selfless she is. Even though I doubt Inu will go to that direction

Is it just me or I find Kikyo like to guild trip him? I was sort of hoping she will release Inuyasha from guilt and say that her death is not his fault but that was never happen. It’s kind of disappointing. And also everyone in the series seems to be ok for a Kikyo using the dead soul to survive, so I wonder whether collecting girls dead soul is not a bad thing since everyone is ok with it. Through out the series it make Kikyo look like saint and forgetting all the wrong doing she did before.

I still believe Kikyo is essential to the story of character development for Inuyasha and Kagome

[devoraakss]

Masquerade

what really happened on the night of the Count’s murder. 

Aveana couldn't believe him. no, no it was so much worse because she COULD believe it. She stormed from the ballroom, Asra’s words lingering in her mind as her rage built.  Of course he would do something so-- so-- despicable! selfish! everyone deserved to have a cure, She had seen the death and misery on the Lazaret, he did not get to hold such information to himself like it were a trophy. She pushed past the startled courtiers that had followed Lucio to his room, shoving open the doors.  “You son of a bitch.” she snarls at him, ignoring the shocked gasp from the courtiers behind her as the doors slam shut.  “Well it’s nice to see you too, Veana.” Lucio purrs, glancing back at her with his signature smirk. “What have I done this time?”  “You know exactly what you’ve done!” Aveana nearly roars at him, fists clenched at her sides and cheeks red with fury. “I wont stand by and let you do this, it would ruin this city! not to mention kill you in the process!” her words catch in her throat at that, the thought of him dying... well it was always at the back of her mind since he got sick, but to actually see him, lifeless...  “I wont let you do this to yourself.” she chokes out, emotions she detested making her voice sound weak when she was so righteously angry at him.  “I was not asking for your permission, Aveana, nor do I need it.” Lucio snaps, sickly red eyes narrowing at her. “I only need you for your magical ability.”  Aveana’s heart twists painfully, they both know that wasn't true but she wasn't about to open that can of worms. “You are a fucking liar.” she seethes. “I will not help you with this, I refuse.” 

There is a long silence before Lucio speaks, shadows cast on his face as his hardened gaze locks with hers. “Then leave.” he spits, venom dripping from his words.  a flurry of emotions hits her, shock and hurt being the most prevalent. She forces her face into a stony mask, turning her gaze from him. “Then I will leave.” 

Lucio immediately regrets those words, his features softening as he closes the distance between them, grabbing her hand before she can turn away.. “no... wait, don’t...” he sighs, exasperated. “Please, don’t go.”  Aveana looks up at him, her expression unreadable. “You have no idea what you are getting yourself into. I won’t be apart of this, Lucio.” she says, voice strained with emotion. “I did not spend years trying to save your life just to watch you throw it away.” she chokes out, shaking her head.  “I’m sorry, Veana.” Lucio says, his cocky demeanor replaced with a softer one, the face that few had seen. Aveana shakes her head, pulling her hand from his, turning before she can change her mind. “So am I, Lucio.” she whispers softly, opening the doors to his chambers and pushing past the whispering courtiers...

Just before the room went up in flames.