#especially cause angel's used him as. a means of self harm basically. so i guess maybe he just figured that's how we wanna do it

[kindacreepy-kindaugly]

Actually told Mr. V we're probably gonna talk about some of. His issues. In therapy, sometime soon-ish

He took it surprisingly well? Kinda just tried to laugh it off, like he always does when he's uncomfortable but doesn't want me to think it's a big deal

[nevergonnabemuchmorethanweather]

What's your favorite and least favorite thing about each main character on BTVS and Angel?

I can really only answer this for BTVS. I have seen Angel, but not recently, and it just doesn't resonate with me the way BTVS does. Turns out, when there's no Buffy, I don't care.

Buffy:

I love so much about Buffy Summers that it's hard to pick a true favorite trait. I'm going to go with her intelligence because it's so often overlooked even though, in many ways, she's the smartest character on the show-- and the one who actually uses her brain when everyone around her is being utterly irrational and falling for every trick in the manipulative villain handbook.

My least favorite thing about her, by far, is what a doormat she can be sometimes. It's so frustrating watching her take so much shit from her friends and family and forget her own strength over and over.

Giles:

This is difficult to articulate, but I like that Giles chooses to be one of the good guys despite clearly having the capacity not to be, and how his own moral grayness gives him an understanding of the nuances of human nature that the others lack.

My least favorite thing about Giles is his emotional cowardice and immaturity. He does so many harmful and downright stupid things trying to run from his feelings. He never quite learns to put on his big boy pants and deal with his issues, and his being decades older than the rest of the cast makes it really glaring.

Willow:

I love it when Willow cuts down to the core of a situation and exposes everybody's bullshit. Her rant to Giles and Angel in Reptile Boy, reading Faith for filth in Choices, and shutting Parker down in Beer Bad are some of my favorite moments with her.

My least favorite thing about her is that she's actually incredibly self-centered and entitled a lot of the time. She expects the world to stop for her when she's in pain and when she thinks she's right, she's not interested in what anyone else has to say or silly things like basic human rights and autonomy.

Xander:

His bravery. Despite having no powers and no particular skill set, he ends up accomplishing some pretty impressive things through sheer balls and determination, and it's hard not to respect that. Trust me, I've tried.

My least favorite thing about him is almost everything else about him, but I guess that's kind of cheating. If I had to sum it up into one trait, I think I'd say it's his blatant hypocrisy that bothers me the absolute most. He doesn't even try to live up to the standards he sets for other people.

From here on out, my take on who is and who isn't a main character is going to be pretty arbitrary. For instance, I'm not including Tara, even though I adore her, because I couldn't think of anything bad to say about her and that probably means she wasn't fleshed out enough to be a true main character. If I skip a character you wanted my opinion on, I'm always open to more Buffy asks!

Dawn:

Her loyalty. My girl does not mess around when you mess with the people she cares about, and she doesn't play that 'don't take sides' crap. If you hurt someone she loves, you're going to hear about it. I know, I know, Empty Places, but she was clearly being manipulated there and if you look at her behavior overall, she's absolutely a ride or die and I love it.

Her expectations, especially of Buffy, are extremely unreasonable sometimes and it causes a lot of misery all around. I don't count it against her too much because it's a pretty normal teenager thing, but if there was one thing I could change about her, it would probably be that.

Angel:

His insight. He's very good at channeling his own emotional turmoil and self-loathing into understanding others-- usually Buffy, but not always.

His martyr complex and constant self-sabotage are super annoying. Though I love him, I do totally understand people who can't deal with his Man Pain.

Spike:

Devotion. I have all sorts of problems with him but he does have a capacity for sacrificial love that transcends all else-- including soullessness and demonic influence.

And my least favorite thing about him is really just the flip side of that same trait. He's simultaneously creepily obsessive and eye-rollingly sentimental and dramatic.

Thanks for the ask!

[longitudinalwaveme]

Flash Villains: Who’s The Most Evil?

Like all heroes, the Flash’s villains vary widely in terms of threat level, motivation, and level of malice. Unlike most heroes, Flash is relatively unique insofar as most of his villains aren’t especially malicious. However, that doesn’t mean that all of them are sympathetic. 

The most malicious Flash villains, to my mind, are probably Eobard Thawne (aka Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash), Gorilla Grodd, Cicada, and Murmur. Eobard is a predatory stalker and has caused more personal harm to Barry than anyone else, Grodd is a sadist who wants world domination, Cicada led a cult that murdered hundreds, and Murmur is a creepy serial killer. None of them have ever displayed any signs of remorse or real humanity (and yes, I recognize the inherent meaninglessness of saying a gorilla has no humanity; I couldn’t think of another term.) 

Blacksmith, Abra Kadabra, and Girder the rusty rapist are also pretty high on the list. Kadabra is frighteningly unhinged and has very little regard for human life. Blacksmith organized a plot to take over the entire city and arranged for such things as framing Hartley for his parents’ murder and convincing Jay and Joan that Joan was dying of cancer. She also pointlessly killed Rainbow Raider, who posed zero threat to her. And Girder is...well...a rapist. Besides being angry and creepy around women, he has no other noticeable personality traits, so he’s pretty easy to hate. I guess Plunder would also fall around here, though he had so little page time that I have a hard time getting a good read on his personality. 

Beyond this point, things start getting complicated. While Grodd, Eobard, and Kadabra are almost always portrayed as malicious and dangerous, and Blacksmith, Girder, Murmur, Cicada, and Plunder were really only ever written by one person (at least in major roles), how malicious the other villains are varies widely between writers. 

That being said, Hunter Zolomon (Zoom) and Thaddeus Thawne (Inertia) would probably fall just below Plunder on the list. Zoom is hard to rank, because while his actions are often heinous, he seems to be legitimately mentally ill; to the point where I think he’s one of the very few supervillains who could successfully use the insanity defense in real life. He honestly believes that what he’s doing is helping Wally....but his actions are still incredibly disturbing. It’s also worth noting that he’s much less evil under Geoff Johns than he was when he finally made his reappearance during the relatively recent War of the Flash arc. His level of actual malice was so much higher there, in fact, that at points he seemed like a different character entirely. Inertia, while a serious threat, was portrayed somewhat sympathetically in his appearances in the Impulse comic, but was subsequently portrayed as an Eobard-level psychopath in the Flash: The Most Terribly Written Man Alive and nearly all subsequent stories (his most recent major appearance, written by Joshua Williamson, is an exception). Because of this inconsistency, I can’t move him any higher or lower on the list. 

Of the Rogues proper, the most malicious ones are, in no particular order, the Top, Captain Boomerang, Sr., Mirror Master II, and the Golden Glider. The Top is unique insofar as he was basically always portrayed as one of the most dangerous Rogues. In his first appearance, he tried to blow up half the world (though he seemed more than a little uncharacteristically unhinged in that story, so it’s possible that he wasn’t all there during that escapade), he tried to blow up the city when he died, he possessed the body of Barry’s father, he tried to take over the country by becoming president, he tried to kill the mayor to take over the city (though he was definitely mentally ill during this story), and he generally caused havoc during the Rogue War. He’s by far the most conventionally ambitious of the group. 

Evan McCulloch, the second Mirror Master, is not especially malicious when written by his creator, Grant Morrison (he refuses to kill women and children, readily works with the Justice League when Batman promises to donate money to his old orphanage, and seems to bear no dislike for Wally or any other hero). However, when other people write him, he’s usually one of the most malicious Rogues. During Mark Waid’s run, he was depicted as an abusive stalker; during Geoff Johns’ run, he racked up an enormous body count and was responsible for the death of Piper’s parents. Why this is, I have no idea, but it’s still enough to put him fairly high on the list. 

Captain Boomerang, Sr.’s level of malice jumped noticeably after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Pre-Crisis, he actually came across as one of the least malicious of the bunch, but when John Ostrander started using him on Suicide Squad, he became a disgusting, racist, sexist, foulmouthed, selfish, cowardly, abrasive, treacherous, boorish disaster of a human being...and he’s been that way ever since. 

Golden Glider is bizarre, as she’s one of the very few villains whose level of malice actually seemed to decrease over time without them actually outright reforming. In her Bronze Age appearances, she was absolutely terrifying; targeting Barry’s wife and parents and pursuing revenge with a level of single-minded determination that would make Batman impressed. (Barry even canonically compared her to Batman during this period!) While she was more sympathetic than, say, Eobard, by virtue of the fact that she genuinely loved and grieved for Roscoe, she was still incredibly malicious. After Barry’s death, the writers seemed unsure of what to do with her. I enjoyed her semi-reformed period under Messner-Loebs, but after that things just fell apart until her eventualy pointless death. Geoff Johns portrayed her as more of a victim than anything, and since Flashpoint, she’s actually seemed to be one of the least malicious Rogues. It’s very odd. 

Weather Wizard would probably be next. He’s had a few acts of humanity and a few more acts of unusual malice, but on the whole, he’s generally somewhere in the middle of the Rogues in terms of level of malice. He also doesn’t seem to vary too much between writers. 

Axel Walker, the second Trickster, was very malicious during the early period of Geoff Johns’ run (tying bombs to homeless people-yikes!), but gradually became more sympathetic over time as he started to realize he was in over his head. Post-Flashpoint, he’s been one of the least malicious of the bunch, probably since he’s just a kid. It’s still strange to compare his appearances under Johns to his post-Flashpoint appearances, though, since they’re noticeably different. 

The first Mirror Master, Sam Scudder, probably falls near or below Axel. Since most of his major appearances were pre-Crisis, he’s really never succeeded in doing anything particularly heinous, and when compared to, say, Roscoe or Bronze Age Golden Glider, he’s usually not planning anything nearly as damaging. 

Captain Cold is one of the least malicious Rogues; he’s the one to enforce their codes and generally seems to avoid causing harm to people if he can help it. He can definitely be hypocritical, and he’s shockingly brutal at times, but on the whole he’s one of the most restrained and moral members of the group. Heat Wave is probably one the same level as Cold. For a long time, he was one of, if not the, least malicious Rogues, but since the pyromania retcon, he’s gradually become more and more unhinged and violent. Furthermore, even though Captain Cold and Heat Wave are traditionally among the least malicious of the Flash’s villains, for some reason they both seem to have become much worse since Flashpoint happened, with Captain Cold becoming much more of a brutal ganglord than he was pre-Flashpoint and Heat Wave’s remorse over his pyromania seeming to all but disappear at times. 

Fallout probably falls about here. He’s more of a passive danger than an active one, and he doesn’t seem to mean anyone harm. 

The first Trickster, James Jesse, is usually comparatively harmless, even reforming and managing to do an impressive amount of good during the 1990s. He even saved the world from Neron! That being said, when he finally reappeared after a decade-long disappearance, he suddenly became much more like his TV self than the traditional comic book version of James Jesse, to the the point where it almost felt like he’d been replaced by the Joker. I wasn’t really a fan of the arc where he came back. While I was glad to see him brought back from limbo, I didn’t really want to see him brought back as a psychopath who brainwashes the entire city. 

Peek-a-Boo only turned to crime to try to save her father and legitimately didn’t seem to mean any harm to anyone. 

Finally, the Pied Piper has been the most reformed, and therefore least malicious, of the group since the late 1980s. Since his reformation, he’s done almost as much to help the Twin Cities as the Flashes. However, it’s interesting that his reformation was immediately preceded by the period at which he was the most malicious: the never-ending Trial of Barry Allen arc. During that arc, he actually attempted to hypnotize the mayor into committing suicide! However, since then, the Piper has been pretty solidly on the side of the angels (his stupid appearances in the Flash: The Most Badly Written Man Alive notwithstanding). 

[treacherous-dwarf-of-the-seas]

I had a lot of Thoughts about the Steven Universe Future finale

It’s exactly a month after its premiere, but I still have a lot of feelings and I wanna organize my thoughts a bit so I can have them somewhere, perhaps for any future ideas I may have. I think I’m just gonna list my thoughts on the 4 individual episodes, the finale (and season) as a whole, etc. Overall, I liked most of it, but I’m gonna get a bit su critical because although I absolutely loved many things about this finale, Oh boy. Some things I downright Did Not. Spoilers ahead I guess, this is a long one. 

This is my favorite part of the finale by far. To me, it did almost everything right.

I loved picking up right after Fractured, and Steven’s expression and body language, *chef’s kiss*

Poor Jasper gets killed *twice*

Homeworld looks so good! It’s all gardeny and disorganized in a good way.

Purple pearl?

SPINEL’S BACK!!!

Edgy theories that spinel and the diamonds were a disaster waiting to happen (I agreed with these) were wrong and this makes me happy. 

Steven’s reaction to Spinel kissing him? Was a tad strange//

SO GOOD to see Spinel being mentally healthy and happy and while still being herself.

The Diamonds! Actually working to better themselves!

I love the idea of diamond powers “working in reverse”. Like, Yellow diamond can change bodies and destabilize bodies, Blue can change emotions for better or worse, White can take over others or let others in. Honestly the idea that Pink/Rose could bring random plants to life and basically heal anything always struck me as so overpowered and random. The context that she was a goddess of destruction that changed into a goddess of creation makes the concept make a bit more sense to me, I appreciate that. 

I’m so ambivalent about Yellow’s scene. 

Like, its so satisfying to see. The thing that everybody (including me) was complaining about was that the diamonds’ redemption did not change the millennia of shattered, corrupted and amalgamated gems and suffering they had directly caused. Its very nice to see them putting their money with their mouths are. There’s acknowledgement that redemption isn’t just saying sorry and being less of a dick than you were before, it’s also correcting past wrongs and making it up to the people who were hurt.

However, I’m not totally sold on the idea of healing every shattered gem and the cluster. Like, I guess it makes sense considering a shatter is just a crack that’s been finished, and cracks in gems can be healed. But I don’t think it should be as easy as it is, and in any case, it just feels like it cheapens the impact of shattering, and even the forced fusions when they were so impactful in the original show. I wish the healing could still be done, but in a way that respects how awful and impactful the harm was.

I totally understand Steven in the Blue Diamond scene. I had had mental health problems where my mom had just offered drugs instead of talking to me or trying to help in a way that showed she cared about the issue, so this scene hit a bit hard.

Blue gets a song!

White, by far, my favorite scene in all of Future. 

Spinel White, no joke, gave me nightmares. 

The little moment of Steven yelling at himself for being a diamond is exactly what I wanted and I needed so much more of it. 

Triggered by everything White Diamond does. *chef’s kiss*. I especially love the little subtle moment of looking uncomfortable and pushing away white’s fingernails.  

Finally seeing similarities between Steven and White is canon, though I wish it was more explored. 

THE HALLUCINATION

Zach Callison is Intense(TM). This man always goes so hard and deserves mad respect.

TOO BAD.

Intrusive thoughts being represented in this way is amazing.

I still wonder if White knows what happened. Can she read thoughts in that state? 

He used White Diamond’s power to go into her body, and then while in her body, used her power of possession to take over his own body to puppet himself? I actually love the twistedness of this concept. It shows how twisted Steven himself has become. It’s so much about self-harm, while also not being self harm? vengeful thoughts, intrusive thoughts, anger, just everything. This moment could take all day to analyze, and I think it is way more thematically relevant to Steven’s internal struggle than the corruption.  

Love that the diamonds were still willing to help and only seemed concerned after how Steven was acting. They have changed!

Fairy tale imagery, noice.

This one is odd in the best way.

My favorite scenes in anything with supernatural beings is when they look at their own eyes in the mirror and realize that it’s not human or changed from what they should be. The way this scene played out was in a way I’ve only seen in fanfiction, and I am Here for it. The horror on Steven’s face when he’s looking at his own appearance is just wonderfully done. 

Very uncomfortable that there is an actual painting of Steven as an angel in his own room. I love how it ties into this episode, but I genuinely feel uncomfortable that he was thought of in that way at all. 

The flat out denial that he had just done the things he had done simply by virtue of who he is, I love the idea that “Steven Universe” has become more of a concept/symbol to him rather than being his own name. It reminds me of his concept of his mother and how her name is more of a symbol to Steven than a person. I just love the subtle parallel. 

I love the fact that “toxic positivity” is being explored in this show. I never really see it being discussed, and in a show so centered on being honest about emotions, no matter how painful they are, its so wonderful that the protagonist’s main character flaw is the exact opposite, to the point of being forcefully happy and smiling and actively ignoring things going wrong. It really strengthens the message by showing the opposite extreme.

I love the recontextualization that is present in suf. The criticisms of Steven being “too happy” during the cluster arc, being strangely positive after Lars’ death, etc. Although it was uncomfortable when those episodes came out and those events were all but ignored, I’m happy that it is being addressed as this culmination of madness in Steven, being so forcefully happy that its obvious that those episodes weren’t trying to ignore the problems, Steven was. 

I’m also happy to see a genuine “hero complex” in a protagonist. (usually the term is used incorrectly to mean “anyone who is a hero who works too hard.”

Steven talking to himself in typical protagonist fashion. 

The crystal gems staging an intervention, good shit.

“Steven’s here to help. Steven help. Help Steven.” Not subtle, but I’m always a slut for the glitchy messages. 

The confession of his crimes, love that we get to see the gems react to that. 

The whole monologue. Once again, Zach goes hard. I love the manic energy and still the ending is so raw and broken. 

“Oh, don't worry! I fixed that too! I can fix anything. I can just keep messing up and fixing things forever, and you'll never have to know or think about any of it! How messed up is that? That I've gotten away with this for so long. You have no idea how bad I am.”

 It honestly feels like some projection? (Idk something to do with that). It feels like hes a little put out by the things he learned in Homeworld Bound. Like, maybe he feels the same way I do? That the diamonds got off too easy? Maybe it’s simply that hes put out that they’re getting better and he seems to be getting worse. Maybe even, into the worst parts of his mom? I mean from his perspective, his mother had reverse character development and went, in his mind, from a goddess to a petty teenager, to an actual monster. How upsetting would it be to see the galactic dictators who got to live, do so many awful things, worse things than her, and just get to make everything better, to the point of total reversal of their crimes, while pink just ran away and left steven to deal with the mess.While he had to deal with the aftermath of EVERYTHING. Everyone seems to just be okay with the diamonds now, the monsters he feared for so long, so how come he has to be the bad one? How come he has to be like them now? Maybe it’s even coming back to his whole theory that he’s just a reincarnated version of his mom. (I know that he knows it isn’t true, but old fears and old habits can come back during a manic episode, and he spent a long time thinking that he was just there to clean up his mom’s mess and thinking that he was her in disguise.) If you look at what he’s saying, it’s a little strange that he’s talking about how bad he is and how he messes up and then fixes the stuff and no one has to know. It doesn’t even sound like he’s talking about himself, not really.

This sounds like a hysterical realization of what being a diamond means for steven. This is better explained in this post here :https://pennylogue.tumblr.com/post/613441610438590464/steven-is-a-diamond-and-thats-okay . Like, he is panicking that being a diamond means that he can just destroy everything and just fix it like the other diamonds. It’s terrifying that he can just destroy anything and hurt anybody, and people will still worship the ground he walks on just by virtue of who he is. (This isn’t true, obviously, but after what had just happened with jasper, a terrified mind would latch on to that.)  

 Dude, I could just go on all day this monologue is just fascinating. 

Love the parallel of Connie’s “backpack butterflies” and Steve’s back exploding. Its like a subtle way to show that the thoughts are “suddenly swarming.”

Oh god. I’ve gotta be honest. I hated this one. But I’ll start off with things I liked. 

The general concept is okay, but I feel like it is not thematically consistent, which I will get into later. 

The moment when the gems tell Greg to leave, and he stamps his foot down saying he needs to be with his son, I like that it is very apparent that his stomp makes almost no sound or impact, which really shows how different Steven is from him, aka, his separation from his own humanity that has been building up. 

Connie being amazing as always. 

“Yoo hoo! Steven! Is this a bad time?”

Spinel’s entire thing, from her reaction to seeing pink godzilla to her thinking that she is the main villain of steven’s story. It reminds me of Peridot’s “leader of the crystal gems, traitor to homeworld” thing and it makes me so happy. 

“WHy is something like this always happening when we show up for a visit?” 

The ending. Jesus. Zach always goes so hard I don’t doubt he was actually sobbing. I wish I could have cried during this moment. 

I respect the message, that it’s not about fixing it, it’s about being there for the person struggling, and Steven wasn’t cured, he finally hit a breaking point. I understand that the problem was not “solved with a hug” as so many say.

I love that before I saw the episode I saw pics of Garnet being as big as the kaiju and actually said to myself, “Wow the heights really ARE inconsistent.”

I don’t like that Connie included herself as one of the people that depend on Steven. They are the healthiest relationship in the entire show and Connie is always there for Steven? sometimes even more than he can be there for her? Where is this coming from? She has literally always been there. Her calling everyone out did clear my skin and water my crops though. 

Also, where is Connie’s emotional resolution? Didn’ she go through alot of the same trauma as Steven?

I don’t think it’s unreasonable that a diamond, Steven, could corrupt themselves. It’s not necessarily a bad ending to have Steven be corrupted into a giant monster. However, I don’t think it’s the ending that was really built up to. The only real build up was the presence of “Wyrm boi” in the theme song, and that’s about it. It’s not as prevalent as eye symbolism and foreshadowing of someone (Steven or Connie) losing a hand or an eye.

The episode itself was 11 minutes long, and the monster was very underwhelming and way too quick. I feel like the emotions were too rushed, and although everyone else seemed to put in their emotional 2 cents, I feel as though Steven did not get the emotional climax that he really needed. 

Also why didn’t we have a sweet little moment of connection with Nephrite Jade/Centipeetle? Wouldn’t that have been such a bittersweet parallel? The whole “being there for Steven like he was there for us?” So where is she? 

There was so much imagery and thematic elements in both Steven Universe and Steven Universe Future, that did not build up to the kaiju monster in the way that it was.

The imagery with one eye, the eye patches, cat steven, the heterochromatic eyes with Onion’s doll, Cookie cat, split Steven, etc etc, most people have many many more examples. I feel like someone could have lost an eye, or maybe Steven could have had a corruption scar that left his eyes permanently heterochromatic. It also would have been thematically relevant to have Steven come out of this with more of a balance of his gem half and human half. This never really becomes relevant in “I Am My Monster.” His gem half turns him into a monster, his gem half helps him turn back. It’s nice that his gem and human family were there as support, but there was never a sense of balancing both sides of himself in the fact that they are there, as there are only two humans and mostly gems there, and this lack of balance and security with both parts of himself was one of the major themes throughout the series and one of the sources of Steven’s identity crisis. 

Connie is always a parallel to Pearls. Our Pearl and Pink Pearl. I wish something had come of that. (There are amazing comics that show her losing an eye like Pink Pearl, as it seemed to be foreshadowed in Open Book and Sworn to the Sword.)

This idea isn’t mine, but I’ve seen it done really well and I feel like it would have been a better ending than 10 minute godzilla monster. I wish I could have seen Steven split up again. I am personally fascinated with the otherworldly enigma that are Steven’s two halves, but I feel that that would have tied into the themes better and tied up more loose ends. By the end of the series, we don’t know Steven’s opinion on his mother, and last time we heard him mention her it was in a negative light. This is connected to Steven’s conflict within himself, his desire to understand his human side better, his fear of his power as a diamond, his insecurity and loneliness as a totally unique being. Homeworld Bound was the closest we got to seeing Steven talk to himself, and confront the two sides of himself. This was also the closest we’ve seen Steven come to being honest with the diamonds about how he really sees them. However, this ended with Steven hurting himself, (wanting to hurt White was a response to trauma as well as symbolically confronting his own diamond self), and running away. We never get to see the resolution to that conversation. We never see Steven accept that he is a diamond and that it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Furthermore, Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond is not resolved. The negative character development took a huge toll on her character. Not only does the audience think of her as a terrible person, but the characters also forget her positive character development after hearing about all the mistakes of the past. Rose/Pink’s redemption arc still happened. I think it would have been fitting to remind us here, like all the other diamonds get their moment in this special. I feel like having Steven split up would tie up these loose ends. It would be a dramatic ending while also being a way for Steven to confront these issues within himself in a grounded way, while also making genuine peace with Pink Diamond. We could have Steven talking to himself, maybe starting out the way he did with White in Homeworld Bound, then steadily coming to terms with the sides of himself that he is afraid of, maybe how both sides help each other, how Pink Diamond is not a symbol of all that is wrong in his life, but just a person with flaws who was able to be better, like he can be better, too. This was touched on a little in Change Your Mind, but I would love to see Steven’s thoughts on Pink after the events of Fractured and Homeworld Bound, as there has to be some difference in perspective there. I feel that if Steven split into his components, these themes and ideas could be explored more and we could have a better climatic resolution for Steven’s character arc.  Even if Steven came out with no scars, even with both his eyes, the imagery and thematic elements would still be satisfactorily resolved if we got to see the two halves of Steven actually talk to each other. This also explains it better. https://scatterpatter.tumblr.com/post/615024679798915072/hmmmm-okay-so-i-just-watched-one-of-those-rose

Btw, if anybody has fanfiction recs with this concept, please hmu. 

I think I hate the kaiju ending because it seemed like such a waste of potential and didn’t really resolve any conflict besides functioning as a sort of breakdown.

The Future. aka: Welcome to another episode of Crying Breakfast Friends!

Boogle

The cookie cat rap. Pearl obviously kills it because she’s awesome and I was dying the entire time. 

Steven/Therapy is canon!

I like that Steven puts up a poster of Kerry Moonbeam in his room that he’s giving to his dad. It’s like he’s made peace with the whole “mr. universe thing” and it makes me happy to see that he’s not holding it against his dad or even avoiding the subject. 

I appreciate alot of little moments with the family while it still lasts.

It is genuinely like watching Crying Breakfast Friends. 

Steven gets to be “petty” with his emotions! He is finally honest with his family. I do appreciate the subtle resolution to his character arc (despite my opinions of the climax).

My favorite thing about Steven and Connie is that the fact that they are “canon” has basically always been true. Like, they’ve always loved eachother as best friends and they still do, it’s just that they get to kiss now. I absolutely love that its not a huge dramatic thing, its just Steven and Connie and they are otp for life. 

The fanfic potential is strong with this one. 

I wish I could have seen a therapy session or at least meeting the therapist. Maybe Steven walking into the office with his family behind him and its a moment of doing the first steps toward getting better.

But as is, this one is fine. 

Love the idea of a road trip with our little weirdo interacting with normies. 

Time to hit up Gravity Falls, lmao. 

TLDR:, the finale was good, but I did not particularly care for the climax. I am genuinely sad to see this show go. I was not a fan until I was already 18, but even after 5 years this show has taught me so much about self love, acceptance, tolerance, emotional honesty, etc. (I’ll probably do another post about it because holy shit this is long.) But this season, or epilogue series, has gotten me through such a difficult time in my life that is still happening, and has given me the tools to get through it. I sympathize with Steven so much, and I know alot of other people did too. It was so nice to be part of a community that just adopted this feral child. Some of future was rushed and of course it wasn’t perfect, but I greatly respect what it was doing. Bringing up PTSD and mental illness in this way in something like this was not something I was prepared for, even in this show, and I certainly couldn’t have imagined it even 5 years ago. Even with its missteps, this show took so many risks and was so incredibly detailed and it was obvious that it was made with alot of love and the fans in mind. I criticize because I love this show and while I feel it is necessary to acknowledge its flaws, I have so much love for the possibilities that this little world makes me dream of. These four episodes in particular was an emotional roller coaster and I am so sad to see it go, but I enjoyed the ride. Thank you, Crewniverse!

[meritre24601]

Black, grey and white

Sounds really deep doesn’t it? It simply means good, bad and somewhat fitting into both categories. And actually it is even simpler I just need a rant. I spent too much time in the English Cheese in the trap comment sections and it really bugs me that especially starting with the Goodbye chapter Inho is seen as better than ever, practically a perfect little angel and Jung as worse than ever, the devil in person (if Inho’s the angel). So I decided to look at the good and bad qualities of both boys. I guess most if not all of their qualities fit in the grey category but I’ll try to consider what I think the most accepted opinions are among readers. Feel free to argue, to add to my lists or just simply comment, I love talking about CitT. Oh and I’ll edit, expand this post as my opinion changes and I think of new things to add to the lists. It’s not really continuous, and since it’s long I doubt people will read it, the sole purpose is to get this out of my system (and maybe start a nice discussion). I’ll also pepper it with some of my drawings I uploaded earlier to make it more fun. I try to be objective but it’s easy to guess my preferences, right? Let’s get started!

Inho’s biggest problem in my opinion is his selfishness and that he simply doesn’t understand that everything he does, including speaking (it’s closely connected to his rudeness) has its consequences. (insulting people in high school, putting down Inha’s art) It’s understandable that he is selfish as he had to look out for himself  the better part of his life and I see it as a survival method (same with his sister Inha) but it can ruin his relationships with other people (all kinds of relationships). As a result, he doesn’t really value human relationships, especially friendship or at least he says so on more occasions (for example after the dinner at Seol’s, right before the fistfight of the boys). His treatment of his old co-worker and somewhat friend also demonstrates that. Leeching off people is also part of his selfishness, not caring if the other doesn’t have more money than him. But that’s something he showed in the first half of the story. His short temper and tendency to violence gets him in trouble especially because he rarely stops to think before he acts. He gets better with  controlling his temper and does give up his pride to play piano again, although due to a push from outside. He refuses to look at things from other peoples point of view, what he sees and believes is the truth and changing his mind is really hard if not impossible (example: his belief that Jung broke his hand) He improved a lot, he’s better now at controlling his temper and sometimes sees the wrongs he did and tries to correct them (Inha). But himself, his pride is most important, always, even if he hurts others.

(Picture is webtoon Inhos opinion about his drama self. No question who wins if there is a fight. Text is by English Webtoon CitT commenter Celery)

Now Jung’s biggest problem is his manipulative behaviour, and it’s greatly disliked and frowned upon so it landed in the black zone. It’s very useful at times but it can also bring great harm. (stalking, homeless lady, unnamed kid nicknamed Chopin) Like Inho he also improved, his punishments are not as severe as earlier (Sangchul S4) But just like Inho looking out for himself, Jung uses manipulation mainly to protect himself and those he cares about. Since it’s effective I don’t think he will stop, ever, it’s a core part of him that can’t be completely changed, like Inho also stayed selfish and aggressive and rude, although better than at the beginning.

Being calculative is connected to Jung being manipulative it’s a trait that helps him with his plans and life. Likely also helps with work and helping Seol.

Another trait readers dislike is his mask of smile, he just wants to be left alone and probably has the least trouble this way. And why should he care for all the people around him, there are just too many and they don’t care either. But being rude to them doesn’t bring anything, either, so there you have it. It’s the opposite when he turns cold - that’s basically him being angry. He closes himself off so one can only guess what’s the problem. I consider that a bigger problem since it also affects his loved ones. It’s okay to cool off but if he stays a sad little clam, who can guess what caused trouble and how to correct things? I think Seol is slowly getting him to be more expressive but that also results in him being more vulnerable (S4 Ch66) and that his “bottle“ can’t hold that much - he keeps things to himself, bottling everything up but he can’t bear that as well as earlier. (S4 Ch 66 and 71) Bottling things up isn’t good, either, as he himself tells Seol, trying to  get her to share her problems with him so he could help.

He’s quick to judge people and it’s hard to change his opinion (but not impossible) Yep, the number one example is Seol’s case.

Both boys have victim mentality, thinking what is theirs is taken or them receiving undeserved damage.

Done with the blacklists, moving to the grey questionable traits (actually most traits can be both harmful and helpful)

To tell people right away what he thinks is very typical for Inho (like when he told Seol she’s way out of Jungs league, bragging that he won the fistfight) so he appears genuine and honest to readers - but his truth is often distorted, just like Jung’s and while people see it with Jung, they often overlook it with Inho,  believing his truth to be the ultimae truth. It has two sides and the real truth lies somewhere in between. Honesty is a great trait but it can cause just as much confusion and a biased view on the story. (And that drama didn’t help with that) Loud. Why did I put that there? Because some people aren’t bothered one bit by him starting to yell out of the blue while others can’t stand those kind of people. Inho is also not the smartest out there and he is aware of that. it’s not that bad but not good either. But it’s an important reason in my opinion for him not being a good match for Seol romantically even if they were in love. She is so much more intelligent and capable, I have no idea what those two would talk about if Seol doesn’t develop an interest in classic music and piano. I don’t think that would end well. Right now I don’t think he could be someone for Seol to lean on, he would get a lot from the relationship but - forgive me - he would be an additional burden for Seol. When he has built up his new life (S4 Ch76), I’m sure he’ll be a supportive, good partner to a suitable girl.

Now let’s look through Jung’s grey list. He is secretive and mistrusting, those two traits walk hand in hand, also his sensitivity. It’s good if you don’t burden others with every little thing and keep things safe but going extreme causes not only harm for others but for himself, too. I think one important cause of the misunderstanding between him and Seol was him being mistrusting and sensitive (actually Seol as well) It got worse with Seol again and again unintentionally making him appear to be weird in public. (staring at him as she observed him, snickering incident, when she talked to others right before dropping the papers that Jung kicked) That freaked him out more than anything since he doesn’t want to be the weird one his father stampled him to be ever since he was little. Sensitivity helped them to determine what kind of people they encounter but it also makes both of them judgemental.

Now let’s get to the good part. Inho is good at heart and if he cares, he really cares and tries his best to help. My favourite example is the pepper spray but he also tried to stop Younggon with his fists, although that didn’t discourage Younggon one bit but it still shows Inho cares. He is really passionate about playing the piano and is also talented.  I put him being impulsive in the list trying to capture the good half of his brutal honesty and thinking before acting. In  situations where quick acting is vital it’s very useful. Maybe I should have left it as honesty as I initially did but he caused too much harm with that (starting with Inha’s art and the unwanted nickname Dogfur) He’s a good boy but has lots of baggage.

Jung doesn’t have less baggage, just different, but that doesn’t make either him or Inho bad people. They are like most people out there with their own troubles and good qualities.

(That’s just an unfinished sketch because I wanted to draw them happy together.)

Now back to Jungs good points. He’s intelligent, he cares for Seol and tries his very best to please her (once it got through to him that she’s a good girl, not like he initially thought). I guess he could be more open, but if you leave him alone he’ll leave you alone, too.  But he does care and he is obedient and listens to what others tell him and tries to act on that. He’s still trying to be like his father wants him, he listens to Seols wishes and even if he doesn’t show it, he even considers what people he dislikes tell him. Inho is a good example, when he told Jung that Inha is potential danger to Seol or when during their fistfight he told Jung that he’s bad for Seol, in the chapter where Jung actually ran to Seol for comfort it was shown that he did think about what Inho said and it made him uncomfortable. In S4 Ch76 we hear that Seol didn’t make it into Jung’s father’s company - I take it as Jung listening to Seols request to not use his influence to get her in there. (She must have had a bad day, otherwise she would have been accepted for sure, she is such a good worker) How odd now that I have the chance I can’t think of anything more to write so that’s it and here is one last picture, simply because it’s one of my favourite moments.

[apex-aureate]

'Lo fellow Howler! Welcome! Can you tell us something about your faves? Btw, if u feel like talking about the RR trilogy you can find me at darrowsrising (like Darrow's Rising).💖

Heya! Always happy to talk about these sad, sad children, but it’s so hard to choose definite faves when they’re all so g o o d

So, in no particular order, here’s my top few:

1. Darrow of Lykos 

Like I said in my introduction post, I know he’s a bit of a basic pick, but still. First impression while reading RR was that Darrow is a more mature and realistic take on a typical YA protagonist. He wasn’t some spunky kid- he was a man, with responsibilities and a life. It was honestly refreshing to read about a person who had a good head on their shoulders and who didn’t immediately take to the lofty ideals of revolution. Right off the bat, his arrogance and recklessness were on full display, giving him relatable, humanizing flaws that didn’t stem from a tragic backstory and couldn’t be cured with a rousing speech or two. In fact, they aren’t really cured at all- the bravery and showmanship of his actions is often exactly what the SoA need at any given point, and it’s been really awesome to watch him recognize that about himself, harness the more negative and harmful aspects of his personality, and eventually put them to good use. He’s got so much more depth to him than a ‘tough guy with a heart of gold’ type too- Like he’s just out for blood at one point, but them his worldview is tossed around about a hundred times and he doesn’t know what to believe about the world anymore because he’s overwhelmed by the sheer size and complexity of it all. It’s such a real feeling that isn’t usually the focus of fiction like this agh

Oh, and I love that he makes mistakes ALL THE TIME. His plans don’t always work out. He kills some people he really shouldn’t have, spares some people who didn’t deserve it. He learns a lot over the course of the Institute, the Agustus-Bellona war, and the Rising through lessons that don’t feel cheap or unearned. He’s simple yet smart, deeply flawed yet totally badass, and he grows into a man worth respecting. Love ‘im.

2. Sevro Au Barca 

Another popular boyo but hey, what can you do? At first I didn’t like good ‘ol Goblin. Vulgar characters aren’t usually very high on my list and I was pretty enthralled with what a cinnamon bun Julian (RIP) was to pay attention to that weirdo upon initial meeting. I was convinced he would fill the minor antagonist role for a while (though that role went to Titus pretty early on).

Then, he saved Darrow and Cassius from the lake and we got a better look at him. Gotta say, once the Howlers got started properly, I really began to get attached to the guy. He wasn’t pretty, but the sheer earnestness and trueness of his character and his loyalty to Darrow was unseen amongst the Golds met within the Institute or in the days after. Unlike Cassius or some of the other members of House Mars, Sevro was never after power, wasn’t full of himself or deluded into believing the superiority or honorableness of his color. He was just him- gross and vulgar and crazy for all the world to see. He didn’t really become one of my favorites until Golden Son though, when Darrow realized that Sevro had figured out who he really was, and had still accepted him wholeheartedly and without judgment. I mean, damn. I cried real tears there. 10/10 best friend anyone could ever ask for.

(And he got more of an independent part in MS so that’s a win)

3. The Jackal 

 Oooohhhh man, the Jackal. I’ve already said he terrifies me.

The build up to him in the first book was so well done I-

And the scene where he cuts his hand off-

Oh and the small acts of ruthlessness and cruelty littered throughout Golden Son-

I mean I’ve seen a fair share of INTJ villains before but he’s just so brilliantly done like wow. I can’t figure out exactly what to say about him but he’s definitely one of my favorite literary villains of all time.

4. Roque Au Fabii  (Forgive me)

 Okay hear me out on this one. Of course I was angry with him in the end. He killed thousands of people in the name of pride (personal, cultural, and racial) and betrayed the friends he had fought side by side with for years on largely irrational and emotional grounds. Unlike Tactus, he didn’t show in inch of shame for any of it when the end came.

But I was completely in love with him in the first two books. He would have easily been my #1 pick if I’d been asked this about a week ago. I guess it’s the archetype he falls into as a poet, or the genuine friendship and wise, heartfelt advice he offers to counter Darrow’s driven, tunnel-vision attitude. Heck, he was even really sympathetic through most of Golden Son- from his perspective, it actually did look like Darrow was being a terrible, negligent person who took others for granted and was completely willing to sacrifice his friends in an arbitrary quest for power.

And, like Darrow, I did feel for him as he died even after he had betrayed them all for despicable cause. I know I should, but I just can’t muster up the hate a lot of other people seem to have for him. It’s not just the misunderstood artsy type that’s getting me here either- I just felt like he could’ve been better. He was a good man- among the best of the golds. And yet just like you’d expect of a Gold, he fell prey to the inevitable flaws of those at the top. Pride, entitlement, and a resistance to change all lead to his bittersweet demise. I have more thoughts on him, but I think i’ll sit on it a while longer before I really go off so don’t judge these half baked rambles as a real opinion on the matter lol

5. Eo of Lykos 

 Underrated af. I think a lot of people write her off as exactly what Darrow described her as in RR. More of a motivation, or some lost dream that was to be worshiped and held on a pedestal for the rest of the series than a standalone character. But she was as much a character as anyone else- she had real flaws and made irresponsible, selfish choices to stay true to what she believed in. She wasn’t an angel, and she didn’t end up coming back from the Vale or whatever to tell Darrow how proud she was or to stay faithful to her for life. Like Sevro, she was just a person living authentically and fearlessly for what felt inside, regardless of consequence. I can appreciate that sort of thing, especially in a female character. It’s also really interesting to have gone back and reread her chapters as Darrow’s view of his late wife develops throughout the series. You start to see past his unreliable narration of Eo’s perfection and recognize the girl behind the song.

Ye. That’s probably too many characters to count as Faves, and I haven’t even talked about Cassius yet, but I just had to say a piece about each because I have zero self control. Thanks for asking, by the way!!

[hopeduckling13]

Find My Way Back To You: Chapter 27

Summary:  Hope Swan-Jones is the product of the product of true love and her true love, so her having very powerful magic was always in the cards. Luckily she lives in a town where everyone is very familiar with magic, so nothing can go wrong, can it?

Or so everyone thought, but then one day as a newborn Hope accidently travels back in time with her mother Emma.

How will the past population of Storybrooke react to their Savior having another kid and being married? And more importantly will the Savior and her baby daughter find a way back home to all of their loved ones?

- - -

Catch Up:

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14857127/chapters/34395467

FF.NET: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12964592/1/Find-My-Way-Back-To-You

Tumblr: [Prologue] [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] [Chapter 16] [Chapter 17] [Chapter 18] [Chapter 19] [Chapter 20] [Chapter 21] [Chapter 22] [Chapter 23] [Chapter 24] [Chapter 25] [Chapter 26]

Reblog to be tagged in future chapters

Taglist: @capswantrue

~~~ EMMA’S POV ~~~

I set her back down in her crib and just watch her in awe for a while. She falls back asleep soon after - still holding my finger in that tiny hand of hers. Guess I have to stay here until she wakes up now. And I‘m quite happy about that. I love every single excuse to spend time with my daughter - not that I would ever need an excuse.

As much as I want to get home to the rest of our family, I don’t want to sacrifice spending time with Hope in the process either. She’ll grow up far too fast as it is. Before I know it, she’ll leave just like Henry did. And then I missed like another 10 years of his life. 

With Hope, I don’t want to have any regrets - time I missed with her and important stuff. 

I have too many regrets when it comes to Henry already. Like if I wouldn’t have given him up for adoption, if I would have kept him, I’d have gotten ten years more with him. I never would’ve had to share him with Regina the rest of the time either. Ultimately I would’ve had far more time with him. 

Maybe then him leaving wouldn’t make me as sad as it does now. Maybe it all wouldn’t be so hard and terrifying - I doubt that, but it’s possible.

Luckily I have Killian. And now also Hope. I don’t think I could’ve survived this without them. They’re my whole world. They distract me from missing Henry too much. 

Technically I still get to see my little boy. He’s back in Storybrooke after all. But he has his own little family, so the time we spend together isn’t as much as it used to be. Now I understand my dad better, when he was acting so weird after I told him, that Killian’s moving in with me. 

Sure without Hope and Killian, I would also still have my parents, but that’s not the same. They have each other, so I’d basically have to share them 24/7 just like Henry. Hope and Killian are all mine. 

Suddenly I hear voices downstairs. I listen carefully until I can identify them as my mom and Emma. 

I look at the clock. I’ve left her like an hour ago. And she’s back already? Seems like she’s making progress. It doesn’t seem like talking to me freaked her out that much. Must be a good sign. I think the more Emma accepts the situation and everything, the more she’ll have her magic under control. 

The two of us together should be powerful enough to find me and Hope a way home. Let’s just hope it’ll happen soon. I really want to get back to my husband. I miss him as much as I love him, which is a lot. 

Hope misses him too - her earlier crying proving as much. I hope I could have helped my little baby more then. She was able to hear his voice, but she couldn’t see him. Not the real him anyway. Maybe I should take her to see Hook. But then he might talk to my past self about it and then the kiss would come up and I’d be screwed.

We just have to find a way home soon. It can’t be that hard, right?

Why can’t Hope’s magic just freak out again and bring us home to Killian in an instant? That is if we didn’t change too much here. I couldn’t erase memories, if Hope took us back because I wouldn’t know until it’s too late.

But who knows, maybe nothing would change for the worse. Emma is here now, which means her walls are definitely shrinking and she seems to enjoy spending time with Killian - even if it still confuses her right now. But I can tell, they’d - we’d - be fine. It just takes a while, which is how it happened originally, too. So no harm done. Killian still seems to be a patient man and I trust him. It doesn’t matter to me, that he is still different to my Killian. This is how he was when we first met and I always knew deep down, that I could trust him. 

That’s why I left him on the beanstalk after all. I was afraid because I trusted him and trust normally doesn’t come easy with me. He was the rare exception, which was probably caused by our true love.

A few minutes pass and then I hear Emma walking up the stairs. She waves to me. She has a bag from Sneezy’s store with her, which she sets down next to the bed. Soon she sits down next to me, looking at Hope with a smile.

Hope seems to sense her presence as she opens her eyes immediately. She isn’t crying, so she wasn’t woken up by noise. She just woke up like she’s well rested, which is unlikely because she just fell asleep. So, she knew Emma was here and she wanted to see her. That’s cute. She’s the sweetest little baby and I’m not being biased here.

“Hi, Hope. Did you have a nice nap?” Emma says softly, reaching out her pointer finger to Hope’s other hand. My baby grabs it - now holding on to both of our fingers tightly.

“I know you’re scared about the future, but there’s no need, Emma. You’re great with her. She loves you. So, don’t worry about anything. It’ll all be okay.” I say to Emma, hoping not to scare her away, but still wanting to make some progress.

“You think so?” Emma looks at me with big eyes. The expression on her face far too familiar to me - a lost girl, who didn’t matter and never thought she ever would. But she does matter. She has a lot of people, who love her and who would do anything for her. 

I take her hand with the hand, that isn’t holding Hope’s and smile at her. “You’re great. And you will be fine. I know it all doesn’t seem that way right now. Especially because of our track record with happiness, but you will have an amazing future. I can promise you that. You just have to believe in it.” I say with determination.  

“You sound just like Henry.” She laughs a little.

“Yeah, I know. He is a smart kid.”

“The smartest.” 

We smile at each other and then keep looking at Hope for a little while. 

Emma grabs the bag she brought with her. 

“I hope you don’t mind. I brought her a little present because she was so upset earlier. Wanted to cheer her up.” Emma pulls out a swan plushie from the bag.

“That’s great. She’ll love it. Thank you.” I hug my past self. At first she tenses for a second, but then she returns the hug.

Emma really is making a lot of progress. We might be able to go home soon after all. The more Emma loves Hope, the better her magic will work since magic is all about emotion. It’s why I could only use it in the beginning, when I was protecting the people I love.

I will say though, that I will miss my past self. She’s like the twin I never had with me being the first born, which is why I feel special protective of her. I don’t even see her as myself. She’s kind of another person to me. Maybe like a soulmate or something because we’re so alike.

Emma places the swan plushie carefully next to Hope in the crib. My little angel instantly lets go of mine and Emma’s hands and inspects the toy with her tiny finger. 

That’s weird actually because she’s so small. I would’ve expected her to just not care about the toy for now, but she does. And it’s so damn adorable.

“She loves it.”

[awed-frog]

Hi! Question, what was all that about the sacred oath? If you have the time to explain shortly I'd be grateful :)

Hi there! I’m guessing you’re catching up with S12? The short answer to that is, We don’t know, exactly, but Steve Yockey is doing the Lord’s work so it must be something awesome and #BLESS.

As for the long answer: the concept of ‘sacred oath’ was mentioned once in the episode Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets (S12E10). In a flashback to 1901, we see Cas - in a different vessel - explaining to his brother Akobel why a unit of angels is there to kill him: “You have broken our most sacred oath, and the penalty is death.”. From the context, it’s unclear whether Cas is referring to the creation of a Nephilim or to the fact Akobel’s chosen to leave Heaven to share his life with a human or even to the sexual congress between an angel and a human, and of course - the implications, especially concerning Destiel, are huge, which is why I seem to remember the fandom lost its freaking mind for entire week and everyone was just running around like -

Now, Yockey is officially my favourite writer on Supernatural, which means every single thing he writes is more canon than canon to me, so this is how I read it - there must be a promise of some kind - if not a physical thing and angels spitting in their hands and cutting their palms open and chanting in a circle, then a sort of rule they are born into and no one breaks - something which is about not getting too close to humans, or else. It’s likely the death sentence is carried out for those angels who create Nephilim, since Nephilim are dangerous and more powerful than angels and also wildly unpredictable and difficult to hunt (we know angels can feel when a Nephilim is conceived but can’t actually find the thing, so that’s a problem for them), but we know for sure developing feelings for human beings and jumping in bed with them is not particularly encouraged either (in fact, as far as we know it’s severely punished). In fact, I can think of only a handful of angels who crossed that border and they’re all rebels and fugitives: Balthazar, Gabriel (who, now I think about it, actually had sex with images of women he created himself and a goddess from a different religion, so he might actually be off the hook), Lucifer (whatever sex he had with Sam was about torturing him, but it’s undeniable that at one point he did feel something for Sam, and maybe it wasn’t anything positive but it was too much anyway), and, of course, Cas himself. 

(Plus Anna, and maybe someone else I’m forgetting?) 

Anyway, proper angels, like Hannah, have showed distress in being subjected to human feelings, and understanding humans is canonically presented as difficult and frustrating and something angels don’t handle very well, if at all (see: Cas’ entire history with Dean). Now, in S12E10, Ishim confirmed once and for all something we’d long suspected: that the big problem for Heaven is not that angels are a threat to humans, but that humans are a threat to angels; that by developing feelings, angels may become vulnerable. This, of course, is not a new idea and it’s also a concept Supernatural has been toying with since S4 - hence Cas’ unwilling admission to Dean, remember? “I was getting too close to the humans in my charge. To you. Even to your brother. They feel I’ve begun to express emotions. The doorways to doubt. This can impair my judgment.” (S04E16). What’s more or less new is that with time, Supernatural has shifted a central issue that used to be mostly between Sam and Dean so it would include every major player in this universe, and arguably made it into the most important question on the show: does love make you stronger or weaker? In the case of non-human characters, so far the narrative hasn’t been very forgiving: love made both Crowley and Cas more vulnerable, and led them to self-sacrifice or questionable choices more than once. Love is also the reason why Benny is still living a shitty life in Purgatory and - in a way - the reason some people chose ‘death by Winchester’ rather than being turned and harm their loved ones (think Madison, for instance). As for humans, well, things are somehow even bleaker. Love is why Amelia Novak lost her mind and sacrificed her daughter, and why Jimmy Novak lost his life and his family (his love for God at first, and for Claire second). Love is why Mary sold Sam to a demon, and why both John and Dean went to Hell, and love is also where Sam found enough strength to conquer Lucifer and jump into the Cage, thus damning himself to an eternity of suffering. The list goes on and on, and while loving one another can lead to good things for our heroes (like Dean saving Cas from mind control with the power of his purely platonic affection), it can also cause the death of hundreds, if not thousands, of regular people (think Sam and Dean choosing not to close the Gates of Hell). In this sense, Steve Yockey’s insertion of a ‘sacred oath’ preventing angels from, let’s say, have sex with humans under pain of death is perfectly coherent with the narrative and also putsanother obstacle on the path of our favourite subtextual love story: Cas is already despised by his kind for a number of reasons - and, at this point, it’s safe to assume many of his brothers think he and Dean are definitely doing it - but this oath is both a binding law and an internal boundary for him - something he’s carried within himself for millions of years. We know sex is something Cas knows well from a theoretical point of view and also something he actively enjoys; we used to read the fact he hasn’t sought any partner for himself (and deliberately pushed Hannah away) since he regained his Grace as a) a consequence of the world basically burning up in flames around him week in, week out and b) his profoundly non-romantic friendship with Dean, but maybe there’s this other thing we need to factor in - a last connection to his truest angelic self and the first of Heaven’s laws - an almost innate wariness and distrust and fear of such a deep connection - not only of sex, but of sex with someone with whom he’s shared way too much already. 

Hell, who knows. That’s how I like to read the situation because, again, I like Yockey’s take on this world, but as I said above, we actually don’t know much about this ‘sacred oath’ thing - it’s just yet another tantalizing tessera of a world we somehow still can’t grasp, not fully - something enormous and life-changing and incredibly interesting which, I’m betting half my liver on this, will never be mentioned again.   

[herdustisverypretty]

AND ANOTHER TAG THING {warning: strong and possibly strange opinions, LONG ASS RAMBLES (which most definitely include strong and possibly strange opinions), frequent oversharing}

tagged by the lovely Angel <3

1. If you could go backward in time, what would you do first? #2008 Log- Don’t pretend to not be bothered by HC and co’s behaviour and actually call them out on their shit. Note to self: You don’t owe anyone anything. #2009-2014 Log- Start homeschooling earlier. Maybe actually tell people how you felt too? You might have gotten a diagnosis, and thus the treatment that has drastically improved your life, sooner and you’d probably have a lot less scars. Maybe none. And also might not be immune to the effect of regular painkillers. Also maybe then you’d be able to just get said painkillers from the cupboard where they used to be instead of having to ask your mother permission on whether you can have some- at age 22- and having to swallow them there to prove you’re not hoarding them for later (cause that’s right, you did that once, ya dumb little bastard). #2012-2013 Log aka You STILL don’t owe anyone anything- Also do not engage with HS AT ALL. Just nip that one right in the bud. Don’t even go there. PTSD ain’t fun. Also do not allow HC to worm their way back in later. PTSD still ain’t fun.  Though then you probably wouldn’t have written that one VIXX story and not only was writing that story enjoyable (sometimes???? ... maybe?????????), that story did also apparently help a lot of people too...so... maybe don’t fix yourself for the sake of those people who told you your writing helped them through a lot of their own shit. **Particularly never forget the one person who said they hadn’t cried themselves to sleep a night since finding your story. Taking that back from someone is not a nice idea.  LOTS OF SHIT THAT BASICALLY MEANS: stop trying to kill yourself, dumbass. people aren’t lying when they say things get better. well, somewhat. also don’t let people take advantage of and abuse you. or maybe do a bit. because your suffering has helped others and that’s all that really matters right? BUT JUST A BIT. definitely not all of it cause that was Shite. 

2. Conversely, if you could go forward in time, what would you want to see? Dumb men (I was going to say ‘straight, white, cis, American’ men but realised I’ve seen other types of men also being equally idiotic, SO I GUESS JUST MEN) being deleted from all youtube comments please. Also maybe shut down tumblr. I think we’d all benefit from that tbh. Also while I’m at it, can we have a game similar to Pokemon GO but instead of catching Pokemon you catch hot anime bishies. Get exercise and also get five thousand hot boyfriends :D Also retaining the nickname feature. Because that’ll be entertaining. 

3. What’s your favorite word and why? I’ve always been fond of kerfuffle. It just sounds so cute and happy. A kawaii way to say you fucked someone’s shit up. Petrichor is also a DAMN FINE word. It sounds satisfying and the meaning is EVEN MORE SATISFYING. 

4. Hot chocolate with milk or with water? Toppings? Marshmallows? It tastes better with milk, but as I at times have more than 3 a day (since I don’t drink coffee and need caffeine), if I plan to have more than 2 I will make them with water. I believe I have already stated my opinion on marshmallows as well lmao. 

5. If you could change one thing about your favorite fandom, what would it be? Tbh delete all appreciation for my absolute NOTP. And no, I don’t actually mean Akashi/Furihata like most other Akashi/Kuroko shippers; I occasionally state I don’t particularly care for that ship, but I tend to just ignore it and its existence for the most part. Whereas my actual ‘I FUCKING HATE THIS’ ship, NOPE I WANT THAT OBLITERATED> DELETE ITS EXISTENCE. WIPE IT CLEAN OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH. This can also be said to apply to one particular person in said ‘FUCK NO’ NOTP. I have frequently expressed my disdain for this character, I do not make it a secret, so it should be no leap to assume who, and which ship, I’m talking about here. 

6. You now have the ability to permanently alter one character from any fandom. Who do you pick, and what do you change? -Lmao. Okay. Well, I’ll name some names after all then, shall I?  -Can I just. Completely erase Momoi’s existence from KnB entirely? Jfc I cannot fucking stand her one bit. The only redeeming quality of her very 2D, bland, and at times downright offensive character, is her desire for the GoM to be friends again. And I could live without that somewhat nice sentiment if it meant the remaining 99.9% of her shittiness was gone. I will never like her. -I can occasionally stand her in fanfiction if she does’t have a major appearance, and also if she’s not being monumentally annoying. And even then I don’t feel any issues with killing her off due to dislike of her canon characterisation. I could literally care less what happens to her. Harsh, maybe, but I personally feel she brings nothing of value to this series, and tbh it would be far better, and certainly less cringey, without her.  -I have essentially been awake for 3 days so this is probably said with much less delicacy than I would normally use, though regardless of insomnia-induced aggression levels, the base feeling is the same. 

7. What is your philosophy on life? (Is it pointless, is it meaningful, is it what you make it, etc…) I honestly don’t care about things such as ‘the meaning of life’. We’re never going to know who put us here, if anything did, or what we’re meant to do, if there is anything, or why we are here at all. Just do whatever you want. Everyone’s going to die and the sun will turn into a black hole and swallow the earth and the universe will ultimately end in a rather unpleasant manner anyway. As long as you’re not harming anyone’s way of life, do what ever you want I could care less.  (that got kinda dark... I guess that’s what happens when people ask philosophical questions)

8. Would you consider getting a tattoo? If you would, what would it be and where would you put it? -Well the first tattoo I ever planned on getting (decided upon when I was 15), and the one I still want to be my first, is my recently passed dog’s pawprint tattooed on my left wrist; where I used to frequently self harm. The original idea was to get a tattoo of something meaningful there that would remind me every time I went to hurt myself that there’s still reasons for living. I stopped self harming around the same time my dog died in 2015, and even though I didn’t really need the reminder to not hurt myself in that way, I decided that getting his pawprint (which I was given a print of when he passed) would be especially nice, and would serve as a reminder of things I survived, and should I ever need a reminder in the future. My plan is now to get his paw on my left wrist (where the majority of damage was done, as he was my first pet), and when my cat also passes (hopefully not for a while still), I will get her pawprint on my right wrist.  -In less meaningful directions, I’ve also wanted the Grey Warden’s emblem tattooed on me for the longest time. I’m thinking thigh in terms of placement. idek what it is about them, or about the DA series in general. I mean, being a Grey Warden is arguably (is it tho) kind of a shitty thing?? You don’t really want to aspire to that if you enjoy, idk, LIFE? But their tagline of ‘In war, Victory; In Peace, Vigilance; In Death, Sacrifice’ IDK BUT IT JUST GOT ME.

9. What’s your favorite headcanon? (Could be your own or someone else’s) Shit, I have A LOT. *These are all mine as well! (mostly lol) -One that I’m still fond of is the hc that Kuroko becomes sleepy after eating a lot (particularly sugary things) which is one reason he eats quite lightly, and that the GoM during Teikou would always be attempting to overfeed him because they thought it was adorable when he curled up in their laps and went to sleep.  -Another I came up with is Akashi not being allowed to play videogames (and probably also not watch much TV) after his mother died. Thus, the GoM (and later Rakuzan regulars, YES YOU TOO MAYU WITH UR LOVE LIVE RHYTHM GAMES) would bring in their DSs and PSPs to school to let him play them as a much needed break from all the pressure being put on him.  -Ideas conceived with 6ubblegum earlier such as Masaomi actually having an unrequited interest in Kuroko’s dad when they were younger, and obviously him becoming quite upset when Kuroko’s dad married Kuroko’s mother. We also came up with the idea that Masaomi and Shiori’s marriage was arranged by their parents for mutual family benefits and that the pair never cared much for each other, and also that Shiori was aro (also I angstily suggested ‘imagine her crying under her veil as she walked down the aisle tho’). Then I also suggested the idea of what if Shiori and Kuroko’s mother were friends, going on playdates with their sons (and also the humorous idea of them putting baby Akashi+Kuroko in matching dresses). So in the end, Masaomi has never been much interested in his own son, and the only person who cared about Akashi truly was his mother, who is now gone. Also Masaomi becoming understandably VERY opposed when Akashi begins dating Kuroko in school.  -Anything involving mentally ill GoM + others (though a chunk of these aren’t even headcanons and more: I am 100% convinced these characters actually have these conditions). Especially fond of self-harmer Akashi.  -Also literally any hc where any particular character is either aro, ace, or both. I reeaaaally love ace Kise actually.  -AGENDER REO!!!!! -I’ll end it with a somewhat nsfw one. The shameless guilty pleasure with 6ubble of Kise and Kuroko being known as the sluts of the Teikou. They’ve definitely boned all the regulars (including NIji) at least once. Probably more. definitely more

10. Do humans have souls? Do animals? I’ve been awake far too long for these kinds of questions XD UHHH in my personal belief I’ve always maintained the idea that all living creatures (this includes humans, as humans are primates) have a sort of.. living energy?? My belief is that once a creature dies, of its lifeforce/energy/soul/the magic keeping it alive/whatever you fancy calling it, the personality part (which I would say comes from the brain and is made up of memories and of course the individual’s unique personality) goes to a plane with other deceased energies (suppose you could call this heaven of a sort - tbh I always pictured it as kinda like the pyreflies in FFX), while the rest of the energy (which I would say comes from the heart and is, I guess, the emotions the individual has experienced through life) is recycled and returned to the earth to be used again. SOOO a sort of somewhat logical theory that combines both afterlife and reincarnation. I also think that the recycled energies can recognise other energies they knew in previous lives. Not in a literal sense, but more like, they might feel an inexplicable connection, be it between two people, a pet and a human, etc etc. I kinda like the idea of this also explaining real life cases of supposed ‘soulmates’. Two energies meeting that once knew each other and were compatible in a previous life (sounds really YA romance I know). This could also be potentially used to explain some conditions or mental illnesses. Recycled energy that previously had lots of negative experiences may be renewed as someone who is also troubled (blame ur disorders on your energy ancestors lmao). This could explain troubled people who have no family history of any similar experiences. IT ALL SOUNDS VERY FANTASTICAL BUT YE. This has all come together after years of viewing and researching many different spiritual beliefs and recounts of spiritual or other ‘incredible’ events, in an attempt to kind of merge everything into something that could potentially be real and/or believable. Idk if scientifically this would make any sense, but I feel it’s logical enough to suit me anyways. 

11. What’s your favorite holiday and why? Well I have mentioned I’m pagan before, sooooo, my answer to this will probably be weird? XD LONG AND BORING BACKSTORY TIME: I didn’t really become self identified as pagan until the age of 13-14, and before that I grew up typically celebrating Christian holidays (Easter, Christmas) despite my immediate family not being religious at all. I always saw these holidays as more just time to be with family than anything else. So I do still celebrate Easter and Christmas as I’ve grown up with them in a culture that celebrates them whether you’re religious or not. I guess Christmas was always my favourite? It’s roughly a month after my birthday, far enough that I get double presents, but close enough that there’s still lots of ongoing excitement. And growing up it was typically the only time each side of my family would all be together (we’d alternate, one year at my mum’s parents, the next at my dad’s). But as I’ve gotten older, and grandparents have died and families have drifted apart, I’ve become less interested in both Easter and Christmas, seeing them now more as just times to buy stuff for people when you really can’t afford to, and tbh now I find myself more drawn to things such as Samhain (also ref that if you have seen spn, they butchered the pronunciation. it’s more akin to ‘sah-ween’ it’s an Irish word I think, which explains everything tbh) in particular. Before last year I had never sought out other pagans in my area and thus was a bit lax in my celebration of sabbats, so when I actually started meeting up with other people in my city early last year, it actually really changed things for me (so emotional sobsob). The Samhain I celebrated with this group earlier in the year (as I’m in the southern hemisphere, Samhain for me is in May) was actually a really really special thing that I did. It also happened to coincide around the 2 year anniversary of my dog’s death, and as Samhain (which has become modern Halloween to most) is a day for celebrating loved ones who have died, it was just a really nice experience to think about my dog, as well as my grandmother who died 3 months before him.  THAT WAS A LONG, BORING, AND MUSHY WAY OF SAYING THAT BASICALLY: ‘pagan Halloween’ (tho that term doesn’t even make sense lmao) is actually really lovely and memorable compared to almost every other ‘traditional’ holiday of my life. 

Geez you just happened to ask all The Big Questions. And you literally went from 100 to 0 to 100 and then probably to 1000. Or maybe that was just me. I AM VERY TIRED AFTER VOMITING ALL THAT OUT. also my finger joints hurt. 

WELL, if you got all through that, here are my own questions, which I totally Did Not steal from other question memes already in existence. I’m definitely not lazy. No I’m actually just very tired lol. These are all going to be fandomy/OTPy questions because WE REALLY NEED SOME LIGHT CONTENT AFTER ALL THAT. Plus everyone loves talking about their fandoms and shit. 

1. A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind? 2. What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom? What fandom was it? 3. Your favourite fandom {for the people, not the thing you spazz over}? 4. Are there any fandom popular ships that you don’t like or just don’t get? Alternatively, are there any typically overlooked minor ships that you think are really underappreciated?  (hay this one i made up myself lol) 5. What was the first thing you ever contributed to a fandom? 6. What’s a popular romantic/sexual ship that you can only ever see as a brotp? (also me!) 7. If you had the chance to make your OTP canon, and your NOTP very clearly stated as ‘definitely not canon eVER’, how would you express this in your ‘new canon’? (i’m on a roll) 8. Which character is Daddy Material? (there’s always at least one, admit it) 9. Character you relate to and why? (please share all tragic similarities) 10. As either a reader, writer, or both!, what’s your favourite fanfic genre and/or tropes? Are there any you always stay away from? 11. Opinions on omegaverse (in any and all forms, ranging from early spn fics, to the surprising amount of BTS/kpop fics, or have you tried the Japanese manga take on omegaverse - or even.... Life From the Ashes)? 

Tagging: @6ubble-gum AGAIN LOL cause these are new questions and I want to see your answers | @the-chibi-sempai | @justsimplyl | @humanitys-shortest-soldier | @kelandry5 | @seijuurouus | @sugaless-coffee bro r u still alive | @kagabutt bcuz we still need to talk moar |

[douchebagbrainwaves]

THE TOP OF VC BE A STARTUP

In the culture of a large organization. Google is the leader here, as in so many areas of technology. There probably aren't more than a couple hundred serious angels in the whole Valley. What happened? Readers aren't the only places that do. It was striking how old fashioned this sounded. I don't think Apple realizes how badly the App Store does not give me the drive to develop applications now is to launch fast and iterate. When we sold our startup in 1998 I thought one day I'd do some angel investing. In a remarkable coincidence, Ms. The other is that some companies broke ranks and started to pay young employees large amounts. Ten years ago there seemed a real danger Microsoft would extend its monopoly to servers.

Good founders have a healthy respect for reality. I claiming that no one is going to be two-faced, you have to join a syndicate, though. All they care about is what you can do. And does search even matter anyway? This is the type of abuse we may be able to leave, if you mistreat the founders you invest in, they'll just get demoralized and the company will do worse. The more mobile startups get, the harder it would be more surprising if they didn't. Most of these changes will be for the better.1 The only difference is how the A List is selected.2

And yet people working in their own startups, basically flew into a thermal: they hit a market growing so fast that big companies could no longer keep a lid on the smaller ones. There's an A List of people who use interrogative intonation in declarative sentences. If they really want you, either because they desperately need money, or you're someone who can help them set up a local clone of Y Combinator. Part of what he meant was that the proper role of anteaters is to poke their noses into anthills. I'm like a jumpmaster shoving people out of the doldrums that had afflicted it for most of the writing in the mainstream media was. And meetings are the main mechanism for taking up the slack.3 But in practice it's as if RIM didn't exist. That had already happened to Slashdot and Digg by the time I thought she was being deliberately eccentric.

The whole tone is bogus.4 There probably aren't more than a couple hundred serious angels in the whole Valley, and all they'll get at the local one will be the people who didn't have the energy to move.5 Now a lot of people working to keep this from happening again.6 It doesn't work for an intermediary to own the user; if you want to hear about new startups, the best programmers won't work for you. Like open source, and even blogging in some cases be able to get a work visa in the US.7 Not quite. Earlier this year I wrote something that seemed suitable for a magazine, so I sent it to an editor I know. A to B, but it will only get harder, because change is accelerating. Good investors are rare, even in a large organization, an elite pedigree becomes a self-indulgent choice, like buying expensive office furniture.8 Hackers & Painters that hadn't been online. In the long term it's to your advantage to be good. They generally do better than investors, because they enjoy it.

A function type.9 Now we can stick computers in everything.10 That's not quite the same message New York sends. This pattern is very old. The classic yuppie worked for a small organization. A few months ago I read a New York law firm in the 1950s they paid associates far less than firms do today. And programmers build applications for the platforms they use. We really did have the biggest share of the online store market.

YC.11 It was a great step forward to judge people by their performance on a test. One way of using patents that clearly does not encourage innovation is when established companies with bad products use patents to suppress small competitors with good products. I'm suspicious when startups choose SF over the Valley. But in fact there will be a double speed increase. But I don't think there's any limit to the number of startups that could succeed. Similarly, founders also should not get hung up on mechanics or deal terms. Countries worried about their competitiveness are right to be concerned about the number of startups started within them. This is not a nationalistic idea, incidentally. It's like Google's Don't be evil.

But they are relentlessly resourceful.12 But I didn't realize till the last few years that writing for publication didn't have to mean writing that way.13 Which is exactly what you disagree with. The physical world is very high bandwidth, and some of the people working there.14 76% will be reduced to 4. I realized recently that we may be able to sit on a good idea. And the reason so many people work in offices now: you can't show off by wearing clothes too fancy to wear in a factory, so you have to step back one step further, and ask not just whether the author was telling the whole truth?

Notes

No, we try to become a genuine addict. Most new businesses are service businesses and except in rare cases those don't scale is to give you such a baleful stare as they are within any given person might have to track ratios by time of unprecedented federal power, in the room, and for recent art, why did it with the sort of pious crap you were doing Viaweb again, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Digg is derived from the end of the Italian word for success. There are some whose definition of important problems includes only those on the economics of ancient traditions.

The expensive part of wisdom. It may indeed be a founder, more people you can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you might see something like the intrusive ads popular on Delicious, but we do. It doesn't happen often. 6 billion for the reader: rephrase that thought to please the same work, done mostly by people trying to focus on users, at least guesses by pros about where those market caps do eventually become a function of the next year they worked.

It's possible that companies will one day be able to formalize a small set of good ones don't even sound that plausible. If the company and fundraising at the last step is to use an OS that doesn't seem an impossible hope. But filtering out 95% of the young side. It's unlikely that religion will be a niche.

There are two very different types of applicants—for example, the only cause of the movie Dawn of the clumps of smart people are trying to decide between turning some investors away and selling more of the medium of exchange would not make a lot of face to face with the administration. You have to deliver the lines meant for a couple predecessors. If you want to give each customer the impression that math is merely a complicated but pointless collection of qualities helps people make the people working for me do more harm than good.

When I was as late as Newton's time it included what we need to offer especially large rewards to get you type I. Perhaps realizing this will give you money for depends on the blades may work for the desperate and the leading scholars of that. As well as specific versions, and credit card debt stupidest of all, economic inequality is not just for her but for blacklists nearness is physical, and b I'm pathologically optimistic about people's ability to solve this problem, we don't have the concept of the optimism Europeans consider distinctly American is simply that it might be? However bad your classes, you could get all you needed in present-day English speakers have a lot of classic abstract expressionism is doodling of this essay, Richard, Life of Isaac Newton, p.

But arguably that is allowing economic inequality is a case in point: lots of type II startups spread: all you know whether you're a loser or possibly a winner. From a company with benevolent aims is currently undervalued, because by definition if the selection process looked for different things from different types of publishers would be very unhealthy.

The problem in high school is that when you use in representing physical things. But that was mistaken, and at least one beneficial feature: it might even be an instance of a severe-looking man with a base of evangelical Christians. There are a handful of VCs even have positive returns.

Some graffiti is quite impressive anything becomes art if you seem like noise. A P supermarket chain because it made a better user experience. Macros very close to the traditional peasant's diet: they hoped they were going back to 1970 it would annoy our competitor more if we wanted to start a startup to become dictator and intimidate the NBA into letting him play. Even the cheap kinds of startups is very high, and made more margin loans.

Once again, that probably doesn't make A more accurate metaphor would be improper to name names, while Reddit is Delicious/popular with voting instead of being harsh to founders is exaggerated now because of the startup after you buy it.

It's when they're really saying is they want impressive growth numbers. At the time it still seems to have moments of adversity before they ultimately succeed. Analects VII: 1,2003. You can get very emotional.

Many of these people never come back within x amount of time on schleps, but Google proved them wrong. One advantage startups have some revenues before 18 months are out. But this takes a startup is rare.

I agree. We invest small amounts of money. Economic inequality has been around as long as the love people have seen, so the number at Harvard Business School at the mercy of investors want to change.

Com in order to avoid that. The undergraduate curriculum or trivium whence trivial consisted of three stakes.

But that solution has broader consequences than just getting kids to be redeveloped as a company grew at 1% a week for 19 years, it seems to have suffered from having been corporate software for so long. Till then they had first claim on the dollar. In retrospect, we could just multiply 101 by 50 to 6,000 drachmae for the same, but they hate hypertension. No doubt there are few things worse than the don't-be startup founders tend to damp this effect, at which startups develop new techology is the true kind.

[johnhardinsawyer]

What Are You Doing Here?

John Sawyer

Bedford Presbyterian Church

12 / 16 / 18

Luke 3:7-18

Isaiah 12:2-6

“What Are You Doing Here?”

(On Fear and Faith, Fire and Fruit)

“You snakey-snakes. . .”

Well, that’s one way to start a sermon.  It is not, perhaps, the best way, but it does get one’s attention.  In all of the literature on preaching that I have ever read, I have never seen any recommendation that sermons should begin with name-calling or insulting the people who have come to listen to you.  But here is John, in today’s reading from Luke’s gospel, shouting at us from the wilderness:  “You brood of vipers!  God’s judgment is coming soon!  Repent!” To which we might say, “Ummm. . . and also with you?!” or “Merry Christmas to you, too, John!” To which John would say, “Y’all, it’s not Christmas yet.  It’s still Advent.

Ah, Advent. . .   that time in the church year that is filled with music in a minor key and scripture passages with prophets telling us to turn or burn.  Why does Advent have to be such a drag?  Many of us have already hung the stockings by our chimneys with care, and are dutifully watering our fresh Christmas trees every couple of days.  And, this afternoon, I’m sure that some of you have some pre-Christmas errands to run. Christmas is in the air.  The Lifetime channel has been playing Christmas movies for weeks now.  And there are Christmas carols playing in all the stores, telling us that “it’s the most wonderful time of the year,”[1]or so the song goes.  

And yet, here is John the Baptizer – and, I guess, guilty by association, John the Presbyterian – telling us that we are the offspring of poisonous snakes, throwing a big wet blanket over the whole thing, and reminding everyone that it isn’t Christmas yet.  “It’s still Advent?” you say.  “Well. . . Bah, humbug!”

Why is this happening?  Why must we hear John’s persistent voice from the wilderness every year in the season of Advent?  One possible explanation is that just as you can’t get to Easter without first going through Good Friday, the same can be said about the birth of the Christ Child. As one commentator writes,

There is no getting to Bethlehem and the sweet baby in the manger without first hearing the rough prophet in the wilderness call us to repentance. . .  Trying to avoid or sugarcoat John’s words is not possible.  Faithful and fruitful arrival at the manger will be possible only after the careful self-examination and recommitment called for by John.[2]

So, if we are trying to be faithful and fruitful as followers of Jesus, then perhaps we should – yet again – stop long enough on our journey to the manger to hear the words of a man named John who was out in the wilderness along the Jordan River.  According to the scriptures, he was “proclaiming [announcing, preaching[3]] a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”  (Luke 3:3) He was, basically, inviting people to turn their lives around – to turn away from whatever they were doing and to turn toward God – and then to take a dip in the river as a sign that their lives were changed.

A lot of people came out to hear what John had to say and to be baptized by him in the river.  But John wanted to make sure that these people were serious about what was taking place.  This is where today’s passage begins.  Eugene Peterson translates it this way:  

“Brood of snakes!  What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God’s judgment?  It’s your life that must change, not your skin.”[4]

In other words, “What are you people doing here?  Search your hearts and try to answer the question of what brought you all the way out here into the wilderness.  Are you here to pay lip service to God or are you going to honor God with more than that?  Your faithfulness to God can’t just be skin deep.  It has to come from your heart – from the inside, out.”

This is not a new thing that John is saying.  In the Book of Isaiah, the Lord says:  “. . . these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.”  (Isaiah 29:13)  Later, Jesus quotes this passage when he is calling out the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.[5]  John the Baptizer, in today’s reading, wants to make sure that the people who came to be baptized were taking their repentance and baptism seriously.  Because, if they weren’t taking those things seriously, there could be some real consequences.  John is telling them – and us – to be genuinely concerned about God’s judgment.

Now, this is where things can get uncomfortable, especially in churches – like ours – that don’t talk a lot about God’s judgment.  It can be uncomfortable for preachers, too – preachers like me – who don’t talk a lot about God’s judgement, either.  “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” John asks.  (Luke 3:7)  When we hear this, a lot of us think, “‘Wrath?’  God’s wrath? Yikes!”

I know plenty of people who don’t like hearing about God’s wrath, because most of us prefer a God of love instead of a God of angry judgment.  Wrath and judgment are frightening things.  And fear can be a very strong motivator, whether we like it or not.

The people who came to be baptized by John lived in fearful times, amongst people of different political and religious persuasions, tax collectors and soldiers stole and extorted money from the people living under Roman occupation, and no one knew who or what they could or should trust.  There were rumors of a Messiah – God’s anointed one, who would come to free God’s people and make things right.       Some folks thought that it was fake news, but there was this wild looking man[6]named John, out in the wilderness, shouting what he said was good news:

“Prepare the way of the Lord. . . Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. . . and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”  (Luke 3:4-6)

“In order to prepare for the coming of the Lord – or the Lord’s Messiah – you would be wise to make yourself ready,” John tells the people.  “But you can’t skate by on your heritage or your connections, or where you go to church a couple times a year, or where your momma went to church.”  John tells the people that they would be wrong to assume that just being a part of the right family tree, or the right faith tradition will keep them safe from God.  God is going to do what God is going to do, regardless of what we think we know or who our family might be.  What is important, John says, is all about our own lives and the good fruit that those lives bear.  If you’re ready for a turning toward God – for a conversion of your mind[7]and heart and spirit – then the only suitable[8]thing for you to do is to live like it matters – to bear good fruit.[9]  When he is asked by the crowds what this means, he doesn’t say that their faith in God will save them or their belief in one thing or another, or what creed they might say with their lips.  Instead, he tells them to do a curious thing:

“Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise. . . Treat other people fairly. . . Do not threaten people or use your power in ways that cause harm. . .”[10]

In other words, be kind, be generous, and do the right thing:  the loving thing.  It is important to note that John isn’t just telling us to be nice, here.  It goes deeper than that.  Much deeper.

As good Presbyterians, we know that there is nothing we can do – no good act – that will earn God’s favor.  There is nothing we can do, on our own, that will ensure our salvation, even though there are some who – because they fear the fiery judgment of God will try to do good on their own.  Instead, any good that we do is really a sign of the Holy Spirit doing good through us.  Any good that we do is a sign of the fruit of the Spirit.  So, when John tells us to share what we have out of our abundance, to be fair in our dealings, and to use what power we might have for good, he is saying that these actions on our part are the fruit that God is bearing in our lives from the heart of who we are.  Being turned – from within – by God, toward God, and toward the ones who are most in need of God’s compassion, hospitality, and love is the way that leads to the bearing of this fruit.  When John Calvin wrote about this passage, he said that good works are the fruit of that turning – the fruit of “repentance” – which “has its seat in the heart and soul, but afterwards yields its fruits in a change of life.”[11]  In other words, God is at work, changing our lives, making our repentance real – doing good through us.

“What are you doing here?”  John asked the people.  He asks us the same thing.  Are we here to pay lip service to God or are we here to do more than that – something deeper?  Are we here because the sanctuary looks great for the season or are we here to be led by God into a new way of life where God’s good work on us and in us has a direct impact on the world through us?

This is what it means to repent and turn toward God – not that we might somehow earn salvation and eternal life and all that other stuff, though that would be nice – but that we might be instruments of God’s healing and wholeness right here and right now in the world.  

This is what the season of Advent is for – a yearly reminder that if we want to “come to Bethlehem and see him whose birth the angels sing,”[12]it would be good to “let every heart prepare him room.”[13]  Advent is the season of that preparation, of minor key hymns, and prophets in the wilderness calling us to turn toward God, to examine our hearts and see the holy at work through us in what we do, in how we treat one another, and in how we seek to be an example of what true repentance looks like.

What are you doing here?  What are any of us really doing here?  

God has gathered us together to prepare ourselves. Because there is someone coming – someone more powerful than we are – who has baptized us with the fire of the Holy Spirit and is at work in the world through us, by the power of that same Spirit.  Sometimes, we need a voice, getting our attention, calling us to turn toward God – reminding us of God’s power to change lives. . .  your life, and my life, and the life of the world.  This change of life and heart and mind is not always easy. We fall short and we fail.  But by God’s grace, the judgment that we might fear is wrapped in the love and mercy of Jesus Christ, who changes us from the inside out.

This is good news – for you and for me.  Thanks be to God.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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[1]Edward Pola and George Wyle, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Columbia Records, 1963.  

[2]David Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, ed.  Feasting on the Word – Year C, Volume 1 (Louisville:  Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 69.  Kathy Beach-Verhey – “Homiletical Perspective.”

[3]Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament(Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1979) 431.

[4]Eugene Peterson, The Message – Numbered Edition(Colorado Springs:  NAV Press, 2002) 1411.  Luke 3:7-8.

[5]See Matthew 15:7-8.

[6]See Mark 1:6.

[7]Walter Bauer, 511-512.

[8]Walter Bauer, 78.

[9]Luke 3:7-8, paraphrased, JHS.

[10]Luke 3:11-14, paraphrased, JHS.

[11]John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries – Vol. XVI (Grand Rapids:  Baker Books, 2009) 189-190.

[12]Glory to God – The Presbyterian Hymnal (Louisville:  Westminster John Knox Press, 2013) 113, “Angels We Have Heard on High.”  Text:  French carol; trans, James Chadwick, 1860.

[13]Glory to God – The Presbyterian Hymnal, 134.  “Joy to the World.”  Text: Isaac Wats, 1719.