#haha you exposed me

[sisterdivinium]

Genetic engineering, DNA modification, tested it on herself... Why would Jillian go through all this trouble? Adoption would be easier, surrogacy wouldn't be an issue for a woman with so much money, so why this devotion to medical science, to gene manipulation?

This doesn't seem very logical unless we take one step further in examining her characterisation as a sort of Virgin Mary character implied by her clothing and framing during season one: a man is never mentioned in connection to Michael's conception, either as donor or father... Possibly because Michael has no father. Jillian has made him up from scratch or, at least, using only her own genetic material.

This would surely equate to an awesome "medical marvel" and it would accomplish two additional things: first, it would account for just how sick Michael needs to be so that an extremely rare substance that doesn't even belong to this world can be his sole hope in surviving (the result of a miscalculation, an unforeseen mutated gene, some error in Jillian's design, the absence of something); and second, reproduction without the aid of man ("sinless", sexless) not only ties Jillian's character more closely to the theme of the holy mother, it also more strongly makes a Jesus figure out of Michael.

This is significant because it makes him into a designated saviour: Michael, too, "dies", crossing to "the other side" and later returning with the mission of saving humanity, which is the role he is sure he will play during all of season two. This story has been told before, the structure is the same and we all know it. He mirrors Christ in his being born of a woman untouched by man, in going beyond life and back, in being tasked by a higher power to act for others in his sacrifice. It is a destiny clearly written out for him, a classic narrative, a hero's journey neatly set up for Michael to accomplish and all he has to do is follow the script.

And yet, doing everything right, by the book, Michael ultimately fails.

If, according to all of the doubts awakened by the developments in Warrior Nun (is Adriel's realm not Heaven? Is he not an angel? Is Reya God? Is Jesus just as alien as Adriel? Etcetera), the Catholic church's teachings are all twisted, incomplete, when not simply ignorant of all that is true in spiritual, metaphysical matters, then this saviour narrative that constitutes the foundation of the institution itself is doomed — as well as whatever guidance it could supply.

I was discussing with @halobearerhavoc earlier about (among many other intriguing things) how myth informs the show and how it might predict Reya's fall, but also how that event would necessarily depart from how it plays out in the original myth. That is due to the fact that our protagonist here is Ava, a woman, and that this tiny little fact of sex alone forces a shift in how things are presented, in which values are prioritised, in how conflict is treated, escalated or resolved — this applies here as well.

Michael was the textbook redeemer, he was made for this, brought up by Reya with this explicit purpose and with the acquired conviction that he was the key to it all.

Ava, on the other hand, is a product of coincidence, of accident, of the unfathomable. She is already a rupture in tradition — dead and brought back, unknowingly, unwillingly the "usurper" of the halo, inserting herself in the line of bearers at random when she doesn't even seem to have any belief... Ava exists outside of tradition. To Michael's determined "Destiny", she is the one imbued with free will (it isn't out of guilt or duty that she returns to the Cat's Cradle, but through Mary's sympathy, through her own understanding and action). Ava is the unplanned factor, contrasted with Michael who was so planned that his life might have begun inside a Petri dish.

It isn't determinism that will save us, a mantle of glory woven by someone else wanting to place it upon our shoulders regardless of our own wishes; it isn't a decrepit institution or some despotic deity that will define us or what we do; it isn't the heavy, malodorous layers of ancient mould gathered over the endless tomes of Established Tradition or the carefully made calculations of arrogant scientists who think they can predict and explain and control everything.

Salvation cannot be through what Michael represents: an imposed duty, a stagnant, hackneyed story.

A story, we would do well to remember, which was already used to subjugate others, whatever its initial intentions might have been; Jillian certainly didn't predict what would be of her son and surely the primitive Christians didn't see into the future to understand what their devotion and their modes of its transmission would cause, yet it came to happen. The extermination of the Cathars, the persecution of pagans, the burning of "witches", the suppression of indigenous beliefs, activities and lives, to name but a few of the atrocities committed in the name of this one story...

So it cannot be Michael, embodying this narrative so well, that will bring about a fortunate ending to humanity's troubles.

Instead, salvation comes through Ava. She herself might be inhabited by a number of parallels with Christ, but she also carries freedom, an outsider's view which makes the inside so see-through, love, an ability to move outside of what had been previously set for her by someone else (one might even argue that these are the traits that made Christ before the story surrounding him came about)...

The walls built around her needn't contain her — and, phasing as she does, they do not.

Moreover, what would have been the real ending to Reya's plan, had it been followed exactly as it should have? The divinium bomb did hit Ava in the end, but wouldn't it have been worse had she not been interrupted in running up to Michael while he immobilised Adriel during the televised freak circus?

Ava's unpredictability, her impulse, her innate need to act with free will rather than constricted by what others dictate — Ava is the foil to fate itself, the foil to a structure, to a hierarchy that has been festering and rotting from the beginning of time, it should seem.

The hero of this story could only ever be her.

[ssreeder]

I am so bored and ive been meaning to find a way to harass you so consider this harassment ❤️❤️

This made me laugh until my side hurt. Great job 10/10 no notes

[sentofight]

ooc. how the world is divided in k.ula's mind

you good; you buy her ice cream. example: seirah (high bar. you cant achieve this level) heidern (low level you can beat him with buying more ice cream.)

you bad; you use flames ew ew, and you don't buy her ice cream. example ew ash ew ew (high level) iori (ew...but he is funny at times but he does not buy her ice cream smh mid) kyo; (he minds his business and does not use his fire on her...hes not bad buuuuuuuuut... HE DIDNT BUY HER ICE CREAM BEFORE)

[flamboyant-king]

You know me. I like barely ever show any NOT SAFE FOR WORK drawings on here. So instead, I'm sharing drawings of my face AS I was drawing each NOT SAFE FOR WORK thing.

And the subject is right there, smack dab in the middle. Being tormented by the sins of the egg. (I drew him really cute but I can't share the rest.)

ALSO, I'd like to state that it's not corngraphic except like two maybe, it's more so like violent. We are all just having fun beating this guy up. Like, step right up and stomp on his face type shih. I never ever ever draw violent stuff, unless it's lewling related, so this is like cathartic.

This uhh feeling will fade after Halloween hopefully and we'll go back to our regularly scheduled wholesomeness and cammypus.

[h-f-k]

when halsey said "and i can force a future like it's nothing" i felt SO seen it made me want to die.

[thefanciestborrower]

Why must people perceive this blog

It it not enough to simply scream vore thoughts into the void?

[bleuberrygliscor]

i know its 90% venting at the bleakness of american politics but like...

it really fucking blows to know that most people are probably not gonna vote this year. i cant wait for the fallout of that.

[octobergraves]

oh my God i totally forgot. i was handed a credit card at work the other day by a customer, and the absolute whiplash I got when I looked at this card and saw those supernatural boys staring right back at me was insane.

[creative--crisis]

So I’ve been playing Honkai: Star Rail and am loving every second, however I’m taking psychic damage at some of my own early-game shipping thoughts. Trust me, I loooooove a controversial ship. But I’m seeing some stuff from further down the plot line and,,, turns out this shit is Next Level. I’m gonna have to have a sit down and think about some of my life choices for a sec

[himejoshikomaeda]

you have to hide that you're a dom until you find a sub to take advantage of, we're like vampires

realest anon i have ever been sent

[wabblebees]

.

[ssreeder]

You'd THINK I'd be over the moon (ha) over the next chapter being so soft and nice and pretty

But again. I am having war flashbacks to Eve and V. And like, Azula is RIGHT THERE. And Ara is like, 👌🏼 this close to losing it. And jet is fucking comatose or whatever but eventually he'll wake up and cause problems on purpose. And iroh is watching zuko all the goddamn time. And quon is still unaccounted for in what he's planning.

Like. I don't think I'll be able to survive the crash after the high of them being soft Reedy. I really don't think I'm strong enough

-Fragile heart

(On that note, but feel free to ignore this bit, I don't... I really don't do with major characters dying. As in, canon deaths at most and even then. So i was wondering if it was possible you could let me know if or when you know for sure you plan on killing them? Bc i love your story but yknow. There's stuff i can't deal with so. Yeah. No pressure though, i understand if you want to keep it a surprise)

Why is this us right now?

I’m just trying to pretend I don’t have a bunch of dirty laundry shoved under my bed (the fic) and whyyyyyyyy do you have to come in and remind me?! (Stop pulling out my DIRTY LAUNDRY FHA!!!)

Can’t the boys just be happy and forget that everything else is falling apart??

as for your (pleas in the parenthesis) you can DM me and I’ll give you the insights on future deaths as long as you promise not to expose me lol. Or if you’re in the server on discord just DM me there lol. OKKKKKK FHA???? I lub you.

<3333

[misclogarts]

i think i like ptn's gray mirror event so much because it reflects how genuinely weird online culture is and how it can bleed into and affect reality (ultra long ramble in the tags. it cuts off abruptly because i hit the tag limit unwittingly and tumblr didn't warn me beforehand 😭👍)

[methcheese]

been informed that not everyone is getting dnd beard care ads. i was working under the assumption this was a universal experience.

[ireallywishiknew]

I've recently got into a relationship with my first ever boyfriend at 25 and with my fearful avoidant attachment style I've been crying non stop for about an hour because I think I've fucked up because he has text me a bit off today (because he is busy like a normal person!!)

I'm also 5 days away from my next period which is adding to the mess

Let's see if my fear is right or completely irrational. I poured out my heart an hour ago over text to him and he still hasn't opened it :)))

I'm an emotional wreccckkk hello

[thechaosthatismybrain]

Poll Tuesday

I feel like I’m exposing myself a little bit with this bc my introduction to fic is soo random I think, but whatever your answer please tell me the story! I wanna know haha