#like taking wings/flying - a universal metaphor for freedom - and using them as the metaphor for his CAGE

[hella1975]

I was lowkey stalking your Spotify 🫣… and no alarms on your hawks playlist is so accurate I’ve been sitting here listening to it on loop instead of studying for my anatomy practical. like that’s his song in my head now

I think I might’ve written no alarms but I def meant no surprise 🫠 if not then ignore this

A HEART THAT'S FULL UP LIKE A LANDFILL!! A JOB THAT SLOWLY KILL YOU!!! BRUISES THAT WON'T HEAL!!! YOU LOOK SO TIRED UNHAPPY!!! BRING DOWN THE GOVERNMENT!!! THEY DON'T THEY DON'T SPEAK FOR US!!!!!!!! I'LL TAKE A QUIET LIFE A HANDSHAKE OF CARBON MONOXIDE AND NO ALARMS AND NO SURPRISES!!! NO ALARMS AND NO SURPRISES!!! SILENT!!! THIS IS MY FINAL FIT!!! MY FINAL BELLYACHE!!! WITH NO ALARMS AND NO SURPRISES NO ALARMS AND NO SURPRISES NO ALARMS AND NO SURPRISES PLEASE!!!! SUCH A PRETTY HOUSE!!! AND SUCH A PRETTY GARDEN!!!! NO ALARMS AND NO SURPRISES!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! NO ALARMS AND NO SURPRISES PLEASE GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!

[curligurl0896]

So getting to read @thejakeformerlyknownasprince 's FMA AU reminded me of my own ideas for a FMA/Animorphs fic. A crossover, in this case, a Megamorphs of sorts (complete with rotating narration) because I really want an excuse to have the Animorphs interact with the characters of the FMA universe. I don't have enough ideas worked out to confidently write a whole fanfic yet, so I think I'll just share some of my ideas so that at least they don't stay inside my head forever like the vast majority of ideas that I either never finish enough to post it or just never get around to at all, especially when my brain is always generating new plot bunnies instead of focusing on developing the ones I already have, it's so distracting lol

(Also maybe y'all could give some suggestions if you wanna, I'd definitely appreciate it lol)

Anyway, here it is:

First off, the answer as to how exactly the Animorphs end up in the FMA universe: I was kicking around a few ideas for this, and was originally thinking something along the lines of like, a freak accident that somehow results in them ending up in front of the Gate of Truth, but I think a better idea would be for an alchemist (or perhaps even several alchemists) to end up in the Aniverse, get Yeerkified, and the Yeerk (or Yeerks, as it may be), intrigued by the memories and knowledge of an alternate Earth where you can manipulate matter and shape it according to your will with nothing more than a well drawn chalk circle (or even less than that if you've been through the Gate, as the Yeerk(s) will eventually discover), lured in by the idea of a legendary object that supposedly can be used to circumvent a pesky little law known as Equivalent Exchange, decides to pull something of a "Tom's Yeerk and his Yeerk buddies a la book 52" deciding to start their own colony in the FMAverse where they won't have to answer to the Council of Thirteen or the Visserarchy (well, at least the ones higher ranked than the Yeerk in charge, who, I imagine, would have to be a Sub-Visser at the very least to have the power to arrange all this) in addition to being able to use alchemy, which, much like the morphing power, can be used for a massive variety of things, ranging from merely convenient to pretty damn useful in a pinch to OP as fuck to even just downright terrifying.

It takes a lot of time and meticulous planning, of course, as they have to find a way to transport the Yeerks, their ship, and all the other stuff they'll need to thrive over there through the Gate and into the FMAverse-- all while in a universe where alchemy flat out doesn't work. The Yeerks have to figure out how to get around that issue, and it takes at least a year of research and using their new hosts' alchemical knowledge to work out a solution, but they work it out, and soon enough they get everything set up and ready to go. At some point, the Chee find out about this secret unknown project going on, inform the Animorphs about it, and Jake decides that they should at least check it out on the off chance that it's something big.

That's where the story officially starts: with our team of traumatized teenage shapeshifters at the location where this thing is being set up (haven't figured out the where yet). They've spent the past several days spying on these Yeerks, but still aren't sure what exactly is going on-- they keep talking about opening a gate-- and aren't sure if it's worth it. Marco's convinced the whole thing is ridiculous, especially after overhearing a human Controller mention something about a "Philosopher's Stone" ("What is this, Harry Potter? Are they gonna wave wooden sticks around and yell in Latin?") . Rachel is bored at this point, and just wants to kick ass and call it a day-- they were probably up to no good anyway. Cassie isn't particularly keen on the asskicking part, but she's been having a bad feeling about all this that she can't shake, and Tobias agrees that something fishy is going on and says they should wait a few days-- after all, from what they've gleaned, whatever plans these Yeerks had would be set in motion very soon. Ax, being Ax, declares as usual that he'll just go along with whatever Prince Jake orders, though when Jake presses him about his opinion, he just says he isn't sure what to make of it. In the end, they keep it up for a couple more days, and sure enough, the time comes for the Yeerks to "open the gate", whatever that means.

After all the time they'd spent spying on the Yeerks, it is conveniently now, when the Yeerks are about to do their thing, that they're discovered. It quickly turns into a fight, and the Animorphs attempt to bail as they're soon overwhelmed-- and then the Gate is opened.

None of them had any idea what to expect next. They certainly weren't expecting the blue lightning that erupted around them in a massive circle, seeming to originate from the curving lines that had been so painstakingly carved into the floor. They aren't expecting the atmosphere to turn dark and purple and creepy, or for a giant grey eye to suddenly appear beneath them, or for wavy black tentacle arms to come out of that eye. And they definitely were NOT expecting to abruptly find themselves in the white void of Zerospace.

Only they aren't in Z-space, exactly. Surrounded by it, sure, but somehow they stand there, as if on solid ground, surrounded by the eerie blankness that had once nearly suffocated them to death.

Each Animorph is utterly alone, with nothing and no one else in sight. That is, until they hear a voice, one that sounds like several voices speaking in unison, and suddenly they see a figure-- or, more accurately, an outline of a figure, with only shadows to mark where the figure ended and the void began. The figure is shaped like a human in all but Ax and Tobias's case: the figure Ax sees is shaped like an Andalite, and Tobias's version takes the form of a bird.

Truth gives the whole "I am God, I am the world, and I am also you" speech, then informs them they can't pass through the Gate without payment. Suddenly, there's a huge gateway where previously there was nothing. Truth is unconcerned with the fact that these "A-ni-morphs" have zero clue what's going on-- it simply takes the required toll and sends them on their way.

Except the toll is literal body parts-- which, even then, isn't usually a big deal for an Animorph, but in this case it absolutely is a big deal, because, as they'll soon discover, there's no way they're going to just replace their lost limbs through morphing. It's expressly forbidden for one to simply have nice things in this universe; in other words, Truth isn't letting them off the hook that easily.

The discovery that they're not able to replace their lost body parts through morphing is especially horrifying to Ax, because, well, y'know... book 40. The one that every Ax fan, and really anyone who otherwise genuinely enjoys Ax's character, would like to pretend never fucking happened.

In fact, given Truth's precedent for irony when extracting payment from people who've opened/been through the Gate in the series, I have no doubt in my mind that Ax would end up suffering the exact same fate as Mertil. Andalites, after all, place high value on their tail blades, especially the warriors; it's their number one go-to weapon when shit hits the fan. Ax himself is such a warrior, in fact it's a huge part of who he is as a person. Needless to say I think yeeting Ax's tail blade would be the exact kind of twisted irony that Truth would employ.

He gets over himself eventually-- well, sort of. However, it takes him a long time to truly come to terms with it-- instead of accepting that the attitudes he'd been taught his whole life regarding those who aren't fully able-bodied are actually shit, I feel like he'd be more likely to double down on them, internalizing them, and actually go into full-on self loathing as a result.

He holds his metaphorical tongue, though, upon seeing that Tobias has suffered a payment that is arguably far more cruelly ironic-- given that Tobias is a bird, given that his initial attraction to the morph that eventually became his default body came from the sense of freedom and escapism only provided through flying, I think it's fairly obvious what Truth would take: his wings.

As for the others: Rachel has lost her arm (for basically the same reason Ed did), Cassie loses her hands (which she uses to, you know, help injured animals and stuff), and as for Jake... well, it was a bit of a struggle, the best I could come up with is the idea of him going blind much like Mustang did after being forced to open the Gate (though maybe not for the same reason, though... idk. If anyone has any better suggestions, please let me know lol, I couldn't think of any solid ideas for what body part would be ironic for Jake to lose). Marco is the only one who doesn't lose any outwardly visible body parts-- what he loses is his voice.

At some point, they are discovered, taken into custody by the Amestrian military, and eventually they end up in Colonel Mustang's office. Mustang listens to their story with a massive dose of skepticism. He isn't sure what to make of these bizarre barefoot children, nor their claims of fighting bodysnatching slugs from outer space by turning into animals, nor their wingless pet hawk, nor... well, he could only assume the other creature was some sort of chimera, although he had zero clue what animals could have possibly been used to make something with blue fur and extra eyes.

At this point, they're about to do a morphing demonstration to prove to the Colonel that they aren't completely batshit, when suddenly the door is slammed open, and a teenage boy with blond hair and sharp golden eyes comes sauntering in, accompanied by a hulking giant covered head to toe in a suit of armor.

The boy immediately starts shouting at Mustang, calling him a bastard and accusing him of wasting his time, to which Mustang responds by merely rolling his eyes and sighing, as if this sort of thing happens all the time (spoiler alert: it does). After a moment, the kid stops as he takes notice of the other kids standing in the room.

"So," he says, calmly, as if he wasn't yelling at his superior just a moment ago, "what's the deal with these fuckers?"

The casual use of the kind of language that would have surely landed them in hot water back home was quite shocking, but they don't comment on it. Instead, Rachel says, in a voice sweet as honey, "Oh, look, Marco. He's just as short as you are."

Before Marco could turn to glare daggers at her (come on, it wasn't like he could argue back in that moment), the boy goes absolutely ballistic, and the armored guy has to physically restrain him as he screams obscenities at Rachel ("The fuck did you just call me, you freakishly oversized bitch? I'll show you too-fucking-short-to-fucking-sit-at-the-fucking-table-without-a-fucking-booster-seat! Call me short one more fucking time, I fucking dare you to! You think I give a shit that you're a girl? I'll fuck that pretty face of yours right up, just you fucking wait--")

"Brother!" The armored guy cries. "Calm down!" Then, to the Animorphs: "I'm sorry about my brother's behavior. He's, um, a bit sensitive about his height."

"A bit sensitive" is the understatement of the century, but none of the Animorphs call him out on it. They're too dumbfounded by the sound of his voice, which sounds sweet, innocent, and, despite his size, sounds like it belonged to a boy no more than nine or ten years old.

And that's where I'm going to leave it for now, since I've spent way too long on this post already. I have a few other ideas, but mostly in bits and pieces, not really any more comprehensive plot points beyond this point. Please do let me know what you think!

[tristanlovesthequeen]

The Paddock

Tristan Chase Sparrowe

11/25/2016

The Bull

One day in the fall of autumn, when the moon is high and bright, orange in hue and full in complexion, when the clouds hang oppressively low in the sky I wandered through the meadow to the buffalo paddock, newly installed by decree of the mayor of San Francisco about two months ago.

The headlines in the newspaper were all the same, dismal in hue, recording the afterthoughts of the Mayor. “'The park commissioners expect soon to procure a buffalo cow who will lighten the hours of his confinement,' Harrison says”. Tomorrow the buffalo, Anastasius will be married to his bride-to-be, a new import from a ranch in Wyoming, where my uncle lives with his wife, and a dog, where they have retired and where my uncle hunts and participates in environmental conservation.

It's brisk, with many clouds of smoke blowing from the corners of my mouth into the Fall air. The grass has just been clear cut, and the smell invades my nostrils. The dew from the morning and previous evening cling to the individual hordes of grass scintillating in the dawn evening light. I have been up for a day and a night approximately and everything seems to vibrate around me.

I am here with a specific purpose. No one is around the buffalo paddock the night after Thanksgiving, the city itself is deserted, let alone the park and its many intertwining trails. I could walk for miles on these days in San Francisco, traversing the entire seven by seven without seeing a single person.

I reached into my backpack and extracted a long pair of bolt cutters I had purchased for a penny at Goodman Lumber two days ago.

A swift look to my left, and to my right, and into the stable at Anastasius as he sleeps. The strong bull grunts and twitches in his sleep as steam puffs from his nostrils. His side rises and falls as he breathes and his ears twitch a bit. It is a pity for such a sculptural beast to be imprisoned as he waits for a wedding he has no say in and a migration pattern that is now limited to across the paddock. Either way, an option might be a change of pace for him. A change of scenery, a chance to spread his wings before wearing his proverbial wedding ring around his hoof.

A link in the chain link fence snaps open and then another, and another as I make an archway about the size of an Ort cloud in the distance. Finally the metal links curl like a pad of melted butter to the wet grass. Anastasius sighs deeply and continues his dream. I ponder where he might be in his mind for a moment. The plains with his kin, avoiding native species of humans and the great white hunters of the fields where they used to graze. Possibly butting heads with an alpha male or turning on his heels to run. In space or in a hell like place, with demons floating above his massive cranium. An endless pasture where he sits in a cloud of cow fermones, butterflies braiding his mane.

I find myself walking a few paces ahead, erstwhile extracting the axe from a loop in the lining of my coat. I question my motives one last time before raising the axe above my head and, hearing the blade glint I let it fall into a mass of decomposing wood that surrounds the buffalo encasement. A crack resounds and a group of black birds flutter into the air squeaking as they fly. Anastasius stirs. I let the blade strike again, over and over until I break a hole in his cage. I kick the horizontal beams until they become diagonal and finally...

The bull's eye catches my attention. He has been watching me for some time. I breathe “You're free now lil' buddy,” and continue to circle around back towards the hole in the cyclone fence. Anastasius whines a bit. And grunts again.

I consider my motives and consider this new found freedom that I now share with the bull. It never felt like optimism to free the bull, just felt like a circumstance, a necessity, of the era that I live in. The symbolism of this pack animal now caged by himself, a migratory creature that is now forced to stay in one place. A metaphor for the elimination of the Native Americans who relied so heavily on the existence of the herd. And the grasses that cultivated with the motion of the species, and now wanes due to it's disappearance. What a pity. I wonder why he does not leap anymore, if he is lacking some sort of bacterial family in his gut or if his brain is lacking a certain chemical, why he has accepted his fate as a caged being, why he does not call out or try to create an alliance with a human to help facilitate his escape.

A mild panic surges through my veins and works its way into my knees making me weak for a spell. I tuck all my tools and hike back towards the main road. I decide to wait for a moment by a streetlamp and spark up a cigarette.

I think about the stars for a moment and try to locate Orion's belt. Somehow when compared to the power of the cosmos, my own worldly problems seem immaculately minuscule. And then came a dull rustle from the bushes lining the Fulton street border of the park. Anastasius slowly emerges from the darkness, then pauses, kicking his hind legs out to stretch. One, and then the other. A glow from my cigarette and the plume of smoke from my lungs catches his attention and he freezes.

Now that nothing is separating myself from such a large powerful animal I feel the weakness in my knees again and somehow the cigarette's effects seem more intense. I lower my head a bit to acknowledge his presence and say “fair thee well monsieur.” He lowers his head back at me and then he trots off in the direction of Ocean Beach.

His silhouette pirouettes and fades into the darkness of the night. When I arrive home I undress and lay in bed, and count to slow down my brain. Again I imagine the distance of the night sky, the size and millions of stars in the sky, compare them to the personalities here on earth and the endless multitudes of people. Once again I feel terribly small. Eventually I drift off and I, too am one with the cosmos.

The next day is the opening ceremony of the arrival of the new bison to the paddocks. Anastasius is to have a wife.

I make my way towards the modest crowd of people who have showed up to see the young bull procure a new wife. News teams are there and flashbulbs take snapshots of the Mayor arriving and emerging from his Lincoln town car led by police escort.

No one seems to suspect that Anastasius is not present, then again no one seems to care. The mayor stands up on a soapbox and gives a short speech, then motions like a circus conductor with his left hand to the truck containing the cow. Two men stationed on either side of the truck wearing overalls boots and golfers caps let down a metal ramp and a gate to the flatbed.

The cow, Anastasia, seems to be alarmed by the noise of the cheers of the crowd and the visage of a small excited yapping dog. She immediately starts to gallop into the paddock making a swift round and then charging out of the hole in the fence that I had cut the night before.

The music from the bandstand stops and the crowd gasps. The mayor throws his pork-pie hat to the ground and starts to shout at his assistants. A moment passes and sirens from firetrucks and police vehicles start to whine.

A large gap toothed grin stretches across my face. I laugh for a moment and then my forehead crinkles and I start to grimace. I don't pretend to understand what is going to happen to the bison nor do I feel guilt about setting them free. Seeing this crowd in a frenzy sets me off in an opposite trajectory from the crowd and the escaped cow.

That night at home with a hot toddie sitting by my wood burning stove with the neighborhood cat, Noodles, listening to the radio, the broadcast starts to announce, “In other news, police officials say they located the escaped buffalo which were to be married today on Ocean Beach and Ortega. The bull, Anastasius, and the cow, Anastasia were standing near the sea foam giving each other Eskimo kisses when authorities arrived. The mayor arrived shortly thereafter to find the police troop crying tears of joy. The band played “Auld lang syne” and the mayor hugged his wife. The mayor's assistants opened bottles of champagne and as the corks flew into the air the buffalo walked side by side down the coast.”

Noodles meowed and rolled around on his back.

Bibliography

1) http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oldest-bison- at-Golden- Gate-Park- dies-at- 22-

5870761.php

2) http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Golden-Gate- Park-baby- bison-found- dead-

2443708.php

3) https://localwiki.org/sf/Golden_Gate_Park_Buffalo_Paddock

4) http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Buffalo

http://poormagazine.org/node/5456

http://sheriffmichaelhennessey.com/Sheriffs_Stories/Getting_Buffaloed.html

“12 Short Stories of the Bison in Golden Gate Park.” JSTOR web article.

The Bison or Buffalo in the United States. The Indiana Quarterly Magazine of History, Vol 6. No.3 (September, 1910) pp. 114-117. Trustees of Indiana University. Http://www.jstor.org/stable/27785281. JSTOR web article.

Poaching Pictures Yellowstone. Buffalo and the Art of Wildlife Conservation. Alan C. Braddock. American Art, Vol 23, No.3 (Fall 2009), pp.36-59. The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution.Http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/649775. JSTOR web article.

[thecreaturecodex]

Great Old One, Kthanid

Modified version of Cthulhu © Borja Pindado, accessed at MonsterWiki here

[Commissioned by @justicegundam82. I fully expect to get some flak for this one. Kthanid is the creation of Brian Lumley, who wrote several books in the Titus Crow series in the 1970s. They’re pretty much self-insert fanfiction set in a pulp adventure version of the Cthulhu Mythos. Kthanid is one of his OCs, who is literally Cthulhu-but-good. Also, the protagonist gets married to Kthanid’s beautiful (humanoid) daughter, “Tiania the Girl Goddess”. As you can imagine, these books do not hold a high reputation among most Mythos fans.

If the idea of Cthulhu-but-good seems too much for you, feel free to reskin Kthanid to look less like an octopus man. Just reflavor the natural weapons and describe him as any eldritch angel you choose.]

Great Old One, Kthanid CR 28 CG Aberration This immense being is something like a humanoid octopus crossed with a dragon, with great membranous wings stretching from its back. Its eyes glow golden, and despite its immensity, it has a calm aspect.

Kthanid Elderscribe, The Golden God Concerns dreams, magical wards, safety Domains Chaos, Good, Protection, Rune Subdomains Defense, Purity, Redemption, Wards Worshippers dreamers, good-aligned aberrations, redeemed cultists Minions azatas, eclipse giants, Elder Things Holy Symbol the Elder Sign (a pentagram or branched tree) Favored Weapon sap

Kthanid, the Elderscribe, is that rarest of entities, a Great Old One allied with the forces of good. He refers to himself as the brother of Cthulhu—whether he means literally or in a metaphorical sense is unclear—and indeed does closely resemble that feared monster. Kthanid is a peaceful creature, however, and represents and sponsors the redemption of even the most irredeemable. The Golden God understands that the universe is destined to fall apart, but works to make that process a very slow and peaceful one. He seeks to protect the planes and planets from the influence of the Outer Gods, the Dominion of the Black and other cosmic entities that spread evil and horror. Unlike other Great Old Ones, Kthanid encourages his own worship through subtle signs and symbols, and may council repentant cultists in their dreams to turn towards the light and revoke their wicked masters.

Kthanid is a master of signs and symbol magic, and he is believed to have created the mystical Elder Sign. Non-magical representations of this occult glyph serve as his holy symbol, and the artifacts that bear its true power are seen as relics of his faith. Kthanid can create new Elder Sign artifacts, but doing so not only tires him, but alerts other Great Old Ones to his presence. Even rival cults of Old Ones and Outer Gods will work together to subvert Kthanid’s works, and so he tends to be a subtle ally in the fight against the Mythos. It is rumored that Cthulhu himself knows how to kill Kthanid permanently, and is planning an assassination of his benevolent doppelganger.

Kthanid dislikes combat, and hopes to avert it whenever possible with his supernaturally soothing presence. If forced to fight, he prefers to disable and debilitate enemies rather than kill them, turning to lethal means only as a last resort. Kthanid believes in rehabilitation, and will assist his foes in healing and recovery if they are suitably chastened—someone who betrays this trust repeatedly will be put down, in the hopes that their quintessence will find redemption through the natural cycles of the planes. Although Kthanid is immortal, reforming once his physical body is slain is a time consuming process, so he prefers to flee from a losing battle.

Kthanid                CR 28 XP 4,915,200 CG Colossal aberration (chaotic, good, Great Old One) Init +15; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +50, true seeing Aura unspeakable presence (300 ft., DC 37) Defense AC 46, touch 27, flat-footed 41 (-8 size, +5 Dex, +10 insight, +10 deflection, +19 natural) hp 682 (35d8+525); fast healing 30 Fort +26, Ref +26, Will +30 Defensive Abilities freedom of movement, immortality, insanity (DC 37), non-euclidean; DR 20/epic and lawful; Immune ability damage, ability drain, aging, cold, death effects, disease, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, and petrification; Resist acid 30, electricity 30, fire 30, sonic 30; SR 39 Offense Speed 60 ft., swim 60 ft., fly 200 ft. (average) Melee 2 claws +38 (4d6+20/19-20 plus grab), 4 tentacles +38 (2d10+20 plus grab) Space 40 ft.; Reach 40 ft. Special Attacks constrict (3d6+20), Elder Sign, mythic power (10/day, surge 1d12), nonlethal mastery, warding dreams Spell-like Abilities CL 28th, concentration +38 Constant—freedom of movement, true seeing At will— banishment (DC 28), dream council, greater dispel magic, greater scrying (DC 27), greater teleport, sending (M) 3/day—forbiddance (DC 26), quickened heal (M), symbol of fear (DC 26), symbol of persuasion (DC 26), symbol of stunning (DC 27) 1/day—gate, empowered holy aura (DC 28), holy word (DC 27, M), mage’s disjunction (DC 29), symbol of vulnerability (DC 29) Statistics Str 50, Dex 21, Con 41, Int 31, Wis 36, Cha 30 Base Atk +26; CMB +54 (+56 trip, +58 disarm, grapple, sunder); CMD 81 (83 vs. disarm, sunder, trip) Feats Ability Focus (banishment), Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge,  Empower SLA (holy aura), Flyby Attack, Greater Disarm, Greater Sunder, Improved Critical (claws), Improved Disarm, Improved Sunder, Improved Trip, Mobility, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (heal), Stand Still, Step Up Skills Diplomacy +45, Fly +35, Knowledge (arcana) +48, Knowledge (dungeoneering, engineering, geography, history, nature, religion, planes) +45, Perception +50, Sense Motive +50, Spellcraft +48, Swim +66 Languages Aklo, Celestial, telepathy 300 ft. SQ compression, greater starflight, otherworldly insight Ecology Environment any Organization unique Treasure triple standard Special Abilities Elder Sign (Su) Kthanid can use any of his symbol spell-like abilities as a standard action with a range of Close by creating a short-lived, luminous sign in the air or on the ground. When it does so, the symbol effects creatures in its area as appropriate, and then disappears. In addition, Kthanid’s banishment spell-like ability can affect any creature associated with the Elder Mythos—if the creature is not extraplanar, it is banished back to its home on the Material Plane. Greater Starflight (Su) Kthanid can survive in the void of outer space, and flies through outer space at incredible speeds. Although the exact travel time will vary from one trip to the next, a trip within a solar system normally takes Kthanid 2d6 hours, and a trip beyond normally takes 2d6 days (or more, at the GM's discretion). Immortality (Ex) If Kthanid is killed, his body collapses into a viscous slime that briefly takes the shape of an Elder Sign before disappearing completely. All creatures within 100 feet of Kthanid must succeed a DC 37 Will save or be banished as per its Elder Sign ability (see above). Kthanid then slowly reforms on a random planet over the course of a century. Non-Euclidean (Ex) Kthanid does not exist wholly in the physical world, and space and time strain against his presence. This grants Kthanid a deflection bonus to AC and a racial bonus on Reflex saves equal to his Charisma modifier (+10). His apparent and actual position are never quite the same, granting him a 50% miss chance against all attacks. True seeing can defeat this miss chance, but any creature that looks upon Kthanid while under the effects of true seeing must succeed at a DC 37 Will save or be confused for 1 minute. The save DC is Charisma-based. Nonlethal Mastery (Ex) Kthanid can choose to deal nonlethal damage with his natural attacks without penalty. Tentacles (Ex) Kthanid’s tentacles are primary natural attacks. Unspeakable Presence (Su) Failing a DC 39 Will save against Kthanid’s unspeakable presence causes a creature to fall into a blissful, peaceful state, as per the euphoric tranquility spell, for as long as it remains in the area of effect. Warding Dreams (Su) Kthanid can use his dream council spell-like ability on any creature that has failed a saving throw against the supernatural or spell-like abilities or spells of an Elder Mythos entity. When it does so, it grants that creature a +2 sacred bonus on all saving throws and Armor Class against the attacks of Elder Mythos entities. This bonus lasts for 1 week, or until Kthanid chooses to revoke it as an immediate action.

[toniwilder]

Tony Stark and the Myth of Icarus

“Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk,” Tony Stark says before taking his newly designed suit out into the world. It’s the second time he’s harnessed the power of flight. The first time Tony flies is immediately after escaping capture in an Afghanistan cave.

It’s upon his second lift off that Tony’s able to truly revel in his work. He flies higher, higher, higher still, until his system shorts out and the ice builds on the unpainted metal. Though it’s not the same as fire to feathers, Tony topples towards the Earth in the dead weight of his iron man suit anyway.

Just before he hits the ground, his wit saves him. Tony unpacks the ice, the system restarts, and he bolts back into the air to later, somewhat safely, crash into the garage of his sleek Malibu home. He does not burn. He lives and goes on to create more suits, save more lives, and attempt to shed the skin of his reputation as “The Merchant of Death.”

While most remember the fall of Icarus acutely—the myth is named for him, after all—it’s important to remember that Icarus’ fall came at the hand of his father’s mistakes. The truth is without Deadalus’ hubris, Icarus would never have fallen in the first place, as Icarus wore wings to escape the tower where he was arrested with his father by the fault of his father’s sins.

Deadalus, Icarus’s father, was an impeccable engineer imprisoned for creating a monster. Icarus was imprisoned with him. Like Icarus, Tony is accountable for the nepotistic cruelty of his father’s legacy. Tony is held by others and himself to the complacency of staying within a system that he does not check. He flies high in the money, the lifestyle, and the women until brought down by the attack in Afghanistan. It takes a literal shot to the heart before Tony begins truly addressing the privileged state of existence he has lived in.

To understand the constant reaching of Tony Stark, it’s important to remember the man who raised him. Howard Stark is described by Tony as, “cold, calculating,” and that Howard “never told [Tony] he loved [him], he never even told [Tony] that he liked [him].” Howard’s character is established in a handful of ways: flashbacks, mentions, and the rare instances of time congruent depictions in Steve Roger’s story, for the short time that the two interlocked their timelines.

We meet Howard through the eyes of Steve, pre-serum, first, as a man creating flying cars and helping in engineering the super soldier serum application. Howard would later go on to obsess over the serum, creating the catalyst of movement in Civil War when he meddles with enhancement—trying to recreate Steve’s physical prowess through means of obsession. It ultimately leads to his death, as Howard is killed by The Winter Soldier in the middle of transporting the serums.

Howard Stark, within the canon of the MCU, helped create the atomic bomb. He also meddled in the creation of magical weapons of mass destruction (as seen in Agent Carter). Howard builds the Stark name on the back of war. Other notable accomplishments of Howard include the study of the Tesseract, which Tony later uses to create a new element to sustain his arc reactor, but we’ll get back to that later.

Spoken amid Tony’s risk-taking behaviors revolving around an end of life crisis, a post-humous video of Howard is delivered to Tony while Tony struggles to save his own life. “I built [The Stark Expo] for you. And someday, you'll realize that it represents a whole lot more than people's inventions. It represents my life's work. This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is, and will always be, my greatest creation…is you.”

A short unpacking can illuminate that Howard refers to his son as on level with his other engineering exploits, that he is a creation solely attributes to Howard’s existence and intellect that was made to further establish Howard’s life work and influence on the future. It doesn’t matter that perhaps Tony might not grow up to pursue the same goals as his father. As a connection to Howard, Tony must live up to what Howard has done. That means the good, and also the bad.

Later in the MCU timeline in Captain America: Civil War, Tony creates a virtual reality interface that so aggressively hijacks his hippocampus that he is later seen recovering from what he calls “Electromagnetic headaches”. Howard, in a reality that Tony recreated from memory, tells his son, “They say sarcasm is a metric for potential. If that’s true, you’ll be a great man someday.” Someday being the thing to key in on here, the furthering of a narrative that Tony has based his life upon; that he needs to live up to another man’s metric.

It’s important to note that both of these quotes occur during moments of extreme agitation for Tony. More notable in every adaptation than his performative arrogance is Tony’s lethal guilt complex. The BARF recreation of his memories allows Tony to relive memories and process his trauma… In front of an auditorium filled with people. He then funds the entire school body in their intellectual pursuits. He notes, “It helps ease my conscience.” Tony edges ever further low in his humility, closer to metaphorical drowning.

Tony’s arc in Age of Ultron centers around the idea of making himself obsolete. “Isn’t that the ‘why’ we fight, so we can end the fight?” he asks. He’s constantly fighting against societal and self-imposed limitations. “I don’t want to hear the ‘man is not meant to meddle’ medley,” he snaps. Like Deadalus’ warning, Tony constantly wavers between two extremes—falling into the ocean of not doing enough (leading to the death of his fellow avengers) or burning by his hubris (creating Ultron, signing the accords, and there undoubtedly more examples).

The myth of Icarus constantly focuses on the danger of flying too high, forgetting that the outcome of both flying high and flying low is that ultimate moment of drowning in the ocean. Tony’s high flying, his ability to continue to create and move forward as the Avenger’s futurist, brings him further into the minds’ eye of global (and soon universal) society. Tony takes more and more and more accountability for the grand reach of himself and the behavior of the Avengers. Creating Ultron to keep the world safe resulted in the destruction of Sokovia, and so Tony is forced to correct course from flying too high to crashing too low which leads to the creation of Vision, but also in the signing of the accords.

The accords are an interesting aspect of Tony’s character journey, considering at no time does Tony ever display much confidence in their efficiency/usefulness. Natasha sums it up best by describing the motion as keeping a hand on the wheel, to steer them to the least troublesome outcome available. Tony later echoes this sentiment by discussing addendums and manipulating the accords to keep their heroism freedom in tact (by placing Bucky within a psych floor instead of a prison).

Ironically, Tony’s lack of confidence in the structure and balances within the Avengers facilitates to the destruction of the Avengers just as much as Steve’s unwillingness to sign them. Tony’s guilt (a bastardization of humility) ostracizes and isolates the Avengers from one another. In Age of Ultron, Wanda tells Steve, “Ultron can’t tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that?” The next scene takes us immediately back to Tony.

Unlike Icarus, Tony begins to take form of his own Deadalus and creates his own legacy with the Iron Man suit. However, the Iron Man suit becomes again associated with Howard’s memory when Tony is forced to use the technology of his father. When poisoned by his first draft of the arc reactor, the one powered by palladium, Tony is forced back to his father’s notes by the suggestion of Nick Fury (who, again, relates to Tony the importance of Howard). The new element replicates the renewable energy of the tesseract, which Howard studied but could not replicate in his own life. Despite the fact Tony is able to replicate an element he did not personally study in less than a week; the action is overshadowed by Howard’s constant call back to the element being his “life’s work”. Tony notes that Howard is still able to “take him to school”.

Howard is mentioned at least once in every film that involves Tony, but our clearest vision into their family dialogue rests in the interactions between Tony and Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Tony constantly makes references to “breaking the cycle” and makes active attempts to assist Peter. At the same time, Tony’s actions and his guilt do lead to instances of isolation between the two. It doesn’t take a parenting genius to understand that ignoring a child, even a teenager, and pushing them away is not an apt replacement for open communication. “I just wanted to be like you,” Peter says. Tony counters, “and I wanted you to be better.” A reference to young men being ‘metrics for potential’ is worth making, along with the importance of Peter’s self-establishment of what being Spider-Man means, but that’s another essay for another time.

Now, all of this isn’t to say Tony is somehow at fault for every aspect of every antagonistic plot movement within the MCU, but Steve’s (now ironic in hindsight) statement in Age of Ultron— “Sometimes my teammates don’t tell me things.”—does illustrate how Tony tends to push conflict forward. Tony’s guilt and constant struggle with communicating with others leads him to remove systems in place that might check and balance his attempts to better himself. Think of the rest of the Avengers like a committee of supportive players and Tony’s actions of only including some, or none, of them in his grand plans (something that stems from Tony’s inability to believe that the others may support him and his tendency for introverted work practices) only furthers the intensity of his mistakes for the team.

Tony goes to Bruce in creating Ultron because he knows Bruce’s curiosity is stronger than his loyalty to the other Avengers. (Bruce’s lack of interest in limitations versus scientific progress is evident by his very self-experimentation with gamma radiation and is not worth arguing about further.) Add the fact that Tony’s PTSD was irritated by Wanda’s vision; a vision that, when induced for the other Avengers debilitates them to a point that they have to retreat to a safe house; and it’s no wonder that Tony constantly waivers in his ability to differentiate between hubris and humility.

In a quick summation, Tony Stark mirrors the constant struggle between hubris and humility as told in the tale of Icarus. Tony’s journey as a superhero constantly ricochets between the two extremes lends vulnerability to vices like alcoholism, and isolation. He struggles as one of the main progressive forces of the marvel universe, and also as one of its largest handicaps.

“The difference between ‘Iron Man’ and some other movies is that there’s no spider bite; there’s no magic bullet where a hero is born. We had to build him. We wanted people to remember that there’s a person inside that suit, and it will hurt if he falls.”

[romancatholicreflections]

21st November >> Daily Reflection/Commentary on Today’s First Reading for Roman Catholics on Wednesday, Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time (Revelation 4:1-11 (chaps. 4-21): The Prophetic Visions).

A. The Prelude to the Great Day( chs. 4-16): God entrusts the future of the world to the Lamb. After the letters to the seven churches, the rest of Revelation is devoted to a series of prophetic visions expressed in very symbolic language and images. Chapters 4 to 16 speak of events that will precede the “Great Day”, when the Lord comes at the end to judge and take to himself all those who belong to him and his Kingdom.

Today the author has a prophetic vision of God’s throne and this will widen to embrace the whole universe. “A door stood open” – a metaphor for the entrance to heaven, which must be open for revelation from God or for a heavenly ascent to his presence. The “first voice” heard speaking is that of Christ himself.

John hears a summons, “Come up here”, a call similar to that which Moses received to go up Mount Sinai and converse with Yahweh. He is then “possessed” by the Spirit in a kind of mystic experience in which he is given a vision of God ruling from his throne in heaven, an image familiar in the Old Testament.

God is described as being like jasper stone (diamond), a sardion (ruby) and a rainbow that looked like an emerald. John is careful not to describe God in any human-like terms but only as an overwhelming impression of light. The images are derived very much from Ezekiel, chaps. 1 and 10, who likes to use apocalyptic language, and also Isaiah 6.

Surrounding God’s throne are 24 lesser thrones on which sit 24 elders, wearing white robes and golden crowns. These have the priestly role of praising and worshipping God and also of offering the prayers of the faithful. Their number may suggest the 24 priestly classes or may represent the 12 patriarchs of Israel and the 12 Apostles, the foundation stones of the New Israel. Their sitting on thrones indicates their role as judges of the ‘new Israel’ and their crowns indicate a share in God’s power. Their white robes indicate their total identity with God and freedom from any taint of sin.

It is to be noted that the thrones of the elders make the outer ring of the heavenly court, and in the New Jerusalem which comes down from heaven (chapter 21), we are told that the outer walls are composed of twelve foundation stones of apostles and twelve gates which are the twelve tribes of Israel.

From the throne come flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, traditional symbols of theophanies, when God becomes somehow visibly present, for instance, as on Mount Sinai. They are symbolic of God’s overwhelming power and majesty. In Revelation, thunder and lightning always mark an important event connected with the heavenly temple.

The seven lamps of the seven Spirits of God are the seven “angels of the presence”, God’s special messengers (‘angel’ means ‘messenger’) mentioned in the Old Testament and all through Revelation.

Between the throne of God and John there is a sea which seems to be made of glass. This may refer to the “upper waters” mentioned by Genesis in the creation story or it may be borrowed from Ezekiel. It is also possible that it refers to a heavenly counterpart of a large basin in the Jerusalem temple known as the “Sea”. Other features of the temple in heaven are: the lamps, the altar, the altar of incense and the ark of the covenant – all features of the Temple in Jerusalem (at this time already destroyed).

Inside the outer circle of 24 thrones there are four more thrones immediately around God’s throne. These are occupied by four animal-like creatures with the appearance of a lion, a bull, an animal with a human face, and a flying eagle. Again the imagery is from Ezekiel where these creatures are responsible for governing the physical world. The number four is a symbol of the whole universe: north, south, east and west. The animals chosen: lion, bull, human, and eagle suggest all that is most noble, strong, wise and swift in creation. We are also familiar with them as symbols of the four Evangelists but that is an idea that dates later on from Irenaeus, one of the Fathers of the Church.

Each of the creatures has six wings and eyes all around. They are the eyes and ears of the God who knows and provides for everything. Night and day they sing God’s praise and glory in words that we have borrowed for our Eucharist liturgies – “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty who was and is and is to come”.

And, as the four creatures sing the praises of God, the 24 elders also prostrate themselves and throw down their crowns before him, acknowledging that the power given them to rule over others comes ultimately from God himself. And they sing:

You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honour and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed

and were created.

Obviously, when we read a passage like this we are not to imagine that it in any remotely literal way corresponds to the reality of God. It is simply the use of language and images to express the inexpressible. We find similar language in mystics like John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila.

It is important for us now and again to be reminded of the utter transcendence of God.

Too often we reduce God to human terms and we can even identify the humanity of Christ with his divinity. But Jesus in his human nature gives us only the faintest idea of the reality of God in himself. What Jesus gives us in the Gospel is of priceless value because it tells us truths about God we might never have found for ourselves but what Jesus revealed to us was only a faint image of the whole God.

That is why when we have some experience in praying we find that the only thing we can do is to sit silent and motionless in a Presence that takes over our lives completely. Rather than trying to manipulate God to our own desires, we surrender to Him completely. As they say, “We let go and we let God.”

[bouwzfeed]

A Few Words In Praise of Birds

An appreciation of birds and the many reasons why birds and birdwatching appeal to so many people, this article discusses such factors as the beauty of birds, their songs, and the symbolic associations that we attribute to bird behavior.

Why do birds appeal to us ? Most people enjoy the sight of birds, even people who have never been active birdwatchers. Although birds are less like us in appearance and habits than our fellow mammals, birds undeniably hold a special place in our hearts.One reason that birds capture our imaginations is that they can fly, while we remain trapped here on earth.

What child hasn't watched a bird fly overhead and dreamt of being up there in the sky flying alongside ? What adults have not, at one time or another, wished that they could take wing and fly away from all of their everyday troubles and cares ? Birds are natural symbols of freedom and escape. After all, what could better encapsulate our vision of pure freedom than the ability to fly off into the sunset ?Birds can soar overhead and they can also cover great distances. They are privy to a "bird's eye view" of a single building or a park, or an entire city or landscape, making them a perfect metaphor for obtaining a fresh perspective on a situation, or for taking a larger view of an issue.Birds often symbolize other things, as well, such as human character traits and qualities. There's the proud peacock, the noble eagle, the thieving magpie, squabbling crows, and billing and cooing love birds. Gliding swans are the perfect picture of grace and elegance in motion. The hawk is a symbol of war, the dove a symbol of peace.What else attracts us to birds ? Birds have feathers, soft to the touch and a joy to look at. Plumage seems to come in an infinite variety of lovely colors and patterns, from the subtle, earthy tones of the common house sparrow to the outrageous, iridescent regalia of the showy peacock. Birds are beautiful works of art, signed by nature. Their plumage adds color and spectacle to a humdrum world. Their colors may also suggest many different locales and associations to us.For example, those small, round, brown sparrows are homey, comforting and familiar to those of us who live in temperate climates. They are our backyard friends and neighbors. American cardinals and blue jays are highly colored, cheerful sights to behold on gray days, from the tips of their tail feathers to the fanciful crests on their heads. They are a bit more exotic, yet they are still familiar backyard friends. Then there are those birds who live in far off exotic places, such as African pink flamingos and tropical parrots, who sport wonderful tropical colors. We love them, not only for their magnificent colors, but also for their association with far-flung lands and exotic adventures.Birds also come in a great variety of shapes and sizes, which further adds to their appeal. We can relate to them, in so far as they, and we, have two eyes, one mouth and bilateral symmetry. Yet, they are also very unlike us. They have protruding beaks, from the sparrow's tiny jabbing beak to the toucan's enormous appendage. They have wings, more unlike human arms than those of other mammals, or even of reptiles. In fact, when their wings are folded against their sides, birds appear to have no arms at all. They also have thin, bare legs and they have claws. Their heads and necks flow smoothly into their bodies. Their forms create graceful outlines, whether round like a chubby European robin, long like an African parrot, or sleek like a regal swan.Yes, birds are beautiful to look at, but the beauty of birds is not confined to the visual aspects of shape and color alone, because birds also fill the air with music. They seem to offer us their song simply to entertain us, and they ask for nothing in return. Like a garden bursting with colorful flowers, the fantastic colors and songs of birds seem frivolous and out of place in a world full of harsh realities. It seems as though they were put on earth expressly to make life more beautiful. They were not, of course. Their color and song serve biological ends in the process of natural selection, but that does not prevent us from enjoying such sights and sounds. We can listen in on their free concerts and derive pleasure and serenity from the experience. We can also be amused when a few species of birds even mimic our own speech.Another characteristic of birds that we humans respond to is the fact that they build nests. They seem so industrious and we watch with wonder as each type of bird builds its own species-specific nest, ranging from a simple assemblage of twigs to an intricately woven masterpiece of craftmanship. "Nest" is such a cozy word. Birds build their cozy nests, care for their young, and raise their families, all in the course of a single spring or summer. We admire their patience and devotion and attentive care to their offspring. We observe and marvel at a parent bird's countless trips to and from the nest to diligently feed the helpless chicks. Birds provide us with fine role models for parenting.Yes, birds are homebodies during the nesting season, but they also migrate. Birds are free to come and go and many cover vast distances each year, as they travel between their summer and their winter homes. They are social creatures, moving in flocks and creating great spectacles as they fly. A glimpse of a V-shaped flock of geese passing overhead thrills us and stirs something in us. We admire their strength and endurance in carrying out such grueling journeys year after year. We envy them, too, for they are free to go beyond mere political boundaries and to cross entire continents. We up north are sorry to see them part each autumn and we are heartened to see them return each spring. The return of such birds as the swallows signals the return of spring, with its promise of birth and renewal.Each spring we are able to welcome them back into our midsts, for nearly everywhere that humans live, birds live also. Birds cover the earth. There is such a diversity of bird species to fill each ecological niche on earth and to contribute to its balance by doing such things as eating insects and dispersing plant seeds. There are the ducks and moorhens of rural ponds. There are birds who live in the forests. There are birds in the mountains and birds in the deserts. The forbidding oceans have their hardy puffins and pelicans. Even frozen, icy places have their own birds, the lovable penguins.Birds adapt to so many different habitats and situations, including human environments. The often ignored pigeon is a beautiful bird. (I have cared for and been grateful to have known many individual pigeons over the years.) As a species, they have managed to adapt to modern cityscapes, substituting cliff-like building ledges and bridge girders for their ancestral cliffs of rock. Other bird species may be less tolerant of such disturbances and avoid the prying eyes of humans.Wherever they choose to live, birds remain symbols of untamed nature, surviving despite man's interference with their habitats. They remain proud and free to the present day. They are also a living link to the mysterious and fascinating history of life on our planet, as birds are the surviving heirs to the dinosaurs. One look at unfeathered baby birds, with their oversized beaks and feet, and it is easy to see the dinosaur in them.Each of us may have our own reason, or combination of reasons, for loving birds, but their appeal is indisputable  and universal. Birds represent the perfect blend of beauty, strength, grace and endurance, from the cuteness of a tiny sparrow to the majesty of an imposing raptor. Birds fill both the eye and the ear with beauty. We enjoy them. We admire them. Sometimes we envy them. They add appreciably to the quality of our lives and to the diversity of life on earth and the world would be a smaller, sadderComputer Technology Articles, emptier place without them.

[seansaboutacity]

#2 collaboration - Eileen

It’s a great pleasure for me to collaborate with Eileen Gbagbo. Eileen’s been a wonderful friend that I’ve got to know since first year, and ever since she’s inspired me to be creative and write poetry, whilst maintaining a close interest in social justice issues.

I asked Eileen to collaborate with me and write a poem about the theme of ‘desire’.

So without further ado, here is Eileen’s poem followed by discussion:

East London nights 

Last night the Thames flooded  And the underground broke  The sky looked like an iPhone on power saving mode  My room, an influencer’s Friday night.  We drank sangria and sung fuck Boris  Two times and louder for the people at the back -  Ha, we were going to hell. 

Buttons flung off in iambs Our tongues danced in trochees  And thus began our descent.  One thousand and one nights of seven sensual sins  Feeding on insatiable desire,  uncontrollable explosion,  excessive pursuit of the erogenous  with sloth like strokes  your personal became my prerogative  shea butter breasts for your indulgence  we came to the flames like Icarus –  pray for us, that was devilish.

Comments

My first impression of the poem is a hedonistic, pleasure-seeking vibe. How do you relate this with your ideas of desire?

Desire is such a primal thing and it manifests itself in lust, jealousy etc. So when I was thinking about this poem, it reminded me of Dante’s seven steps to hell and so just took it to the extreme. 

Straight off the bat, you use the imagery of the Thames. It’s a funny coincidence that I also mention the Thames in my poem - before I even saw yours. What did you intend by using the Thames as imagery?

Haha yeah, when I read yours, I got so excited by the Thames imagery! There are many iconic things about London to tourists, but for the locals, we’ve got the Thames - which is great. It’s a source of regional pride even though its quite possibly one of the most unstable rivers in the UK. And so, using the Thames was to root down the sense of place but also set the feel of the poem as quite messy.

I feel like I’m in the scene when I read your poem - the rowdiness, drunkenness, chaos. What do you think poetry can do to capture the experience of being somewhere? Are there limits to this?

This is quite an interesting question. Because my favourite poems through history have been used as a form of resistance, and they have endured and are still relevant today because of the intricate ability to abstract individuality and create consonance between the subject(s) and reader of the poems. For example, Pablo Neruda in his later political poetry does this so well. But there are also limits. Language does have boundaries unfortunately and so it can never be truly universal.

I love the juxtaposition between swearing and drawing on ‘high culture’ like Icarus - it’s rude, in your face but flows. It’s like your breaking down distinctions between high and low culture - anyone’s welcome in poetry. What do you think about that?

There’s something seductive about ‘high culture’ which I think is quite interesting. It’s almost like in Hollywood movies when everyone’s attracted to the British guy that speaks like the queen and uses unnecessary posh lexicon. But it’s funny that London actually invites you to both simultaneously. Take LSE for example, you have some of the world’s most brilliant minds interacting with each other, dissecting complex theories, but on a Wednesday night, we go to Zoo. And so, poetry that doesn’t encompass all of that is quite reductive.

My poem on the theme of ‘desire’:

waterloo bridge, after sunset

I think I'm going to fly why else do my legs feel like wings better yet birds unfurling flapping in the gusts of wind in the afternoon we played with the plain ignorance of friends under the table the same legs had whispered secrets told stories folded flipped over like chopsticks dividing dishes into bites of food

look at the Thames at dusk the water looks oily and slick like the collar of your leather jacket but you are more slick my oil that greases wheels no abandons them like stabilisers on a child's bicycle

do you know how I’ve longed for this for longer nights my days spent chasing faraway sights or snatches of air now my wind you could take me away roll me into tumbleweed but one cleansed of dust swept up from the past

so take me away dark waters you fill me as we cross into Waterloo the sun replaced by the twilight blue

let strange things come out to play at night

Comments

First of all, I love your poem! I love the use of both natural and quite industrial imagery. What did you intend with this?

Thank you! I like to use both natural and industrial imagery because I think London is made up of both - you can see big skyscrapers right next to residential areas or green space, which makes London so unique as a mix of influences.

I think ultimately London’s messy that way - London’s really a big town which swallowed up surrounding areas in an unplanned way, so different parts of London still retain their original character.

Your poem on desire is so different from mine, what was your interpretation of the theme, and what inspired this reaction? And also, the imagery of Waterloo bridge… I don't think I've ever seen it that calm before, but you also transported me into that world. Why did you use perhaps a not so popular image of Waterloo bridge?

I think desire is a very personal experience for me. But I wanted to explore the contradiction of having such intimate and sensitive feelings shared with someone else, and it removes the distance and detachment we sometimes feel from others.

Waterloo bridge served firstly as a physical reminder that the narrator in the poem is crossing boundaries, and for him it’s an exhilarating experience. I think I’m trying to reclaim some personal identity from how anonymising living in London can feel. Waterloo bridge is crossed by hundreds if not thousands of commuters everyday who stay strangers to us living their own lives. Being able to narrate a personal story means resisting that anonymity, and how it can whitewash our experiences into something dull and functional. But there’s also some vulnerability, because the anonymity can feel overwhelming and drowning.

I didn’t notice the calmness actually - that wasn’t intended. But thinking about it that way, I think I wanted the poem to be centred on the narrator’s experiences - so perhaps the exterior calmness contrasted with how wild his inner emotions were.

General comments

Sean asking questions for Eileen:

We first met each other, I think, in our political theory class. There’s an idea generally in social sciences that we can’t be subjective, but Plato and other theorists regularly use metaphoric analogies like Plato’s cave. What do you think about the distinction between objective and subjective?

I think trying to achieve objectivity is so hard and not worth it. The human experience is too varied to try and form some order to truth or justice etc. This really goes back to the production of knowledge which is hierarchical and colonial and so even with something that we claim to be universally true like ‘Shakespeare is the greatest English writer of all time’, is actually enforced by the powerful. So personally, I think we must do more to celebrate the individual rather than seeking this optimal collective objectiveness. Because by doing so, we don’t run the risk of erasing histories and identities in favour of one which is no more universal than the other. I guess that’s why I like poetry as a medium because it gives you the freedom to do both in such an intricate way.

I’ve also written a piece for Black History Month for the Beaver - which you did an amazing job editing. I wrote about the intersection between race and sexuality, using the film Moonlight to help illuminate my ideas. What are your thoughts on the intersection between gender, race and sexuality?

I absolutely loved your piece! It was one of the best reviews and commentary on the film I've read. I think I should ask you this question, because nothing I could say would be as nuanced as what you wrote.

I had a discussion with friends about ‘when do become a man/woman’. I had initially thought that it was a combination of physical and societal factors, ie you go through puberty and you are now considered a woman, or you have certain mannerisms which are gendered as feminine. But actually, that's still quite binary and not universal at all. So, I’m still learning more about these intersections.

Sometimes I’ve found it hard to connect my cultural interests with my political interests - I could watch a really interesting movie which comments on society like Moonlight, but find it hard to make a difference in the real world afterwards. What do you think about doing social activism in cultural interests?

Me too! Social activism is quite fulfilling personally. Especially if it is an issue that is close to home, but you find yourself in the privileged position to offer help. And this can take various forms including protesting, writing think pieces, mentoring, to name a few. But I think we need to tread carefully and evaluate the sentiments behind our convictions to go ahead with social activism in cultural interests. Or else, we run the risk of becoming compassion fatigued, in which we are outraged by an issue because its close to home or we can empathise, and then we pursue activism only to pat ourselves on the back or to make us feel better. I think that is quite dangerous and unsustainable really. 

You write poetry yourself, and you showed me through your work that you can be creative, but also passionate and political about what you write. What’s the next step for you with poetry or creative writing?

Thank you! Your poetry is incredible too. For me, I want to perform more. But in terms of writing, I am experimenting with poetry from the Ghana & the Volta region. So using more Ewe and incorporating more historical knowledge into poetry. I’m really excited!

Eileen’s questions for Sean:

When we first spoke about this project, you mentioned ‘sense of place’. What do you love about London and why did you want to capture that?

My first answer is a cynical one. I love London because I don’t know anything else. I’ve grown up in London from a really small age and I’ve studied at uni here for two years. Now I’m leaving London to study abroad, even though I know I’m coming back, I feel emotional and feel like this is the end of a chapter for me.

My friends have really helped to make my experience in London. The crucial thing is that they chose to be my friends, and so stay there with me through thick and thin. I’ve been through difficult times at uni, navigating and generally trying to ‘adult’. But it’s been so comforting to know that my friends are there - and I could never express sufficiently enough how grateful I am for that.

Maybe this poetry project is a nice leaving gift for London, and for my friends. It’s really my way of saying goodbye. I hope you enjoy!

In the creative field, there is a lot of talk about representation. What are your thoughts on this, and where do you think poetry can fit in?

I think representation is so important. I think there has to be representation everywhere - on screen, but also decision-makers and people at the top. I think there has to be a whole cultural shift where we have everyone’s stories being told and represented, so audiences can see themselves and feel included in the things they see.

With that said, I think there’s a limit. I think discussion about representation can make us ignore wider structural change that we should see in society. If we limit discussion of social change to cultural issues, then we could construct an us v them dynamic, which is counter-intuitive to the cause of social diversity if we imagine our differences as rooted in fixed or essential characteristics. When I think about social problems, I try to find a common-denominator solution - what would make everyone happy? And I think the case for representation is that it would help to lift up under-represented social groups onto an equitable level with traditionally over-represented groups. I recognise this approach might seem reductive and smooth over historic social divisions which continue to disadvantage minority groups. But we should agree on one thing - diversity is the future, so the challenge and the opportunity now is to figure out how to harness it, so that everyone feels like they belong in society.

Poetry’s seeing a revival. I’m excited about getting more involved in it. I think friends like you and who I’ve collaborated with have really helped to boost my confidence and make me think seriously about doing poetry more in the future. I don’t think my story’s been told before, and that’s really sad if people from similar ethnic or cultural backgrounds as me are funnelled into careers their parents want them to do without really exploring alternative creative stuff. So I’m happy to just show up and speak up. And things happen if they will. It reminds me of a quote from my favourite book called ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho - if you want something, the world conspires to help you get it.

I would love to hear more about your thoughts on the intersection between race, gender and sexuality?

That’s a really big question!

I think conversations about it relate with intersectionality. It’s so important to keep highlighting intersectionality, how inter-connected disadvantages or social groups can be.

But I think there’s a chance to restore agency to individuals who share minority status in multiple categories. I think sometimes social categories can be reductive, like figuring out how oppressed you are becomes this social arithmetic.

But we should remind ourselves that these terms are nominal anyway - they’re socially constructed, to sound like a broken record. So while we should be aware of different ways we can socially relate with others, we shouldn’t feel held back by these terms either from stopping us from doing what we want to do in life. The danger is that if we define ourselves solely by these labels, we put ourselves in boxes and fix ourselves, allowing these labels to become a self-fulfilling prophecy if we perform to their expectations.

I think we should feel empowered by our social identities. We should balance two needs fulfilled by them - to feel solidarity with people with similar grievances, but to build the emotional resilience to be ourselves and resist conforming with others.

But specifically about sexuality? I think I’ve been interested in sexuality because it crosses the public/private dichotomy, the interior/exterior dichotomy which many of our social institutions are built on. Sexuality is subversive, radical and it can be transformative - it has the potential to be a creative and productive force in society if we relaxed our attitudes towards it.

For me, sexuality is like a Mobius strip. You walk along it long enough and you eventually talk about other issues, like politics, family or the economy. Sex is constructive of many discourses of power. And power runs through everything.

I’m so excited about your writing journey! Where did it begin and where are you hoping to take it to next?

Thank you!

It began really when I was a small child in primary school. I was really shy growing up and I would read a lot of books. As a child, I even wanted to grow up and become an author. I didn’t write poems but I wrote short stories and even a novel which wasn’t any good but was nice trying to write.

I don’t know where I’ll go with my writing! The most challenging but most exciting part of writing is that I pull a lot of it from my life experiences. I feel like the more I test myself with life experiences and learn who I am from them, the more I have to say in my writing. And that annoys me because I get bored of writing and feel like I run out of things to say, but it excites me because it tells me to get out in the world more and explore.

Put it this way - life is a journey, and writing is just a way of putting my experiences on the road on paper. I’ve got a long way to go, but it definitely feels like I’m getting there.

[alexhaitz]

Theodicy, Molinism, and Chaos Theory.

“Why would a good God give a child bone cancer, and let them die for no reason?”

The problem of evil is a massive obstacle for a legion of people in coming to believe in Christianity. In the infamous debate between Sam Harris and William Lane Craig at the University of Notre Dame (in which it’s almost unanimously agreed upon that Sam was slaughtered), Harris continually made these sorts of appeals. “Why would a good God allow a tsunami to destroy a third-world country?” These questions won over the general crowd, as WLC refused to play into these points as they weren’t the topic of debate, even though he’s covered them extensively himself in other places. And Craig’s ideas are what I’m going to be basing my theodicy on here.

What is a theodicy? It’s one’s attempt to solve the problem of evil. After some delving into this topic, I was able to easily come to peace with this issue upon some very mild research.

There are a couple of ideas I need to set straight and clear before we proceed. First, let’s establish what the actual issue is. Evil exists. The Christian claim is that God is all-good, and all-powerful. Since evil exists, God is either not powerful enough to stop it, or is not good. Second, we need to look at God’s attributes, and come to a conclusion on a particular soteriology (doctrine of salvation). Here are his standard features.

1. Omnipotent (All-powerful) 2. Omniscient (All-knowing) 3. Omnipresent (Exists in all places at all times in some form) 4. Immaterial/meta-physical 5. Personal/autonomous This page lists everything, but most of these points cover the subtle/specific attributes.

Now let’s get to work. With these two ideas set forth, a new point arises. Has God pre-determined all of history? Are we simply puppets and have no will in any given choice? Has human suffering been something outside of our control from day one?

My answer? Yes and no, but with a strong inflection on the no. Let’s talk soteriology now, the doctrine of salvation. This camp of thinking usually lands on one of two sides: Calvinism and Arminianism, with Lutheranism being something of a middle ground between the two. The debate between these two sides has been extensive and has lasted for most of Protestantism. I’ll try to summarize the two views briefly, so pardon any details lost in translation.

Calvinism Usually distilled down to these five points (known as T.U.L.I.P.). 1. Humans are in bondage to sin, and wholly unable to choose to follow God unless God bestows grace upon them to do so. 2. God has chosen the select peoples who will accept salvation, leaving the rest to damnation. 3. Jesus’ atonement on the cross only redeemed the sins of the elect, and was not extended to all humans. 4. The elect are converted to Christianity “monergistically”, meaning that the Holy Spirit works in them to bring them to salvation, regardless of the individual’s cooperation. 5. The elect to salvation can and will never apostatize, meaning that once they’re saved, absolutely nothing, including themselves, can “un-save” them. Arminianism, to a greater or lesser extent, is the inverse of these views, giving humans much more say in their destiny. When I first came upon these competing views in soteriology, I grappled with Calvinism for at least a month solid. It’s a massive pill to swallow for many Christians. I watched Calvinist pastors and apologists give their takes, and at the end of the day, I could not accept Calvinism. It seemed to fly in the face of how the Gospel functioned, and it didn’t sit well with me whatsoever on nearly every level. When someone like John Piper is asked how God can be sovereign over all human decisions and yet those decisions are still morally accountable and responsible on the part of said humans, and he flat out says “I don’t have an ultimate answer”. The rhetoric in these areas often turn to “Oh, I can hold them in tension” or “Oh, it’s just a mystery that we may never understand.” This wasn’t enough for me. Yes, there are obvious mysteries in Christianity. But I don’t think this needs to be one; it doesn’t make sense for it to be one. It’s surface theology, basic scriptural doctrine. “I don’t have an ultimate answer” = Your model isn’t fully functional. So I ended up putting Calvinism on the shelf, and I kept looking.

Then, I found William Lane Craig’s case for Molinism, and my soteriology came to peace. Molinism is something like a very traditional view of Arminianism, but one that doesn’t make God look like a wet noodle who gives humans a bit too much say in history.

Here’s Craig explaining its basic points.

The key take away from this ideology is that God has the sovereignty of the circumstance, and we have the freedom of the choice. Our choice isn’t forced, merely the scenario. Think of it as bumpers on a bowling lane; we can’t enter the gutters, but we can roll about the lane and ultimately hit the pins at the end. God might have us on an open lane in some ares of our life, allowing us to hit a variety of pins, or he may have us on a strict course, allowing us only to bring in a meager spare. The distinction to be made out of all of this is that God isn’t choosing where we move, merely the space in which we have freedom to move. Still, he’s cognizant of every inch that we do move. You can look up “Permissive Will vs Perfect Will” for more on this subject.

Now, Molinism might not be wholly true, but it at least provides a model to remove the conflict between divine providence and human freedom that Calvinism claims has to remain a mystery. And if a possible model for alleviating a contradiction can be made, said contradiction is now nullified.

So why all of that soteriology stuff? Well, Calvinists have a hard time evangelizing when it comes to the problem of evil, because their answer is that God enacts everything. He pulls the strings, forces people to do evil acts beyond their personal will, and ultimately decides who returns to him and who is cast into the abyss. It’s hard not to paint God as the author of evil in Calvinist doctrine. But to show that this might not be the case helps to lift the burden, the image of a tyrant God. To show that we’ve brought the poison, we’ve opened the veil covering the darkness, we’ve covered ourselves in leaves and hidden from the light. But with God still sovereign on the throne, how do we move forward with a theodicy?

Enter “chaos theory”, or moreover, the “butterfly effect”.

Here’s an excerpt from the Wiki article to easily describe what the butterfly effect is. ...Derived from the metaphorical example of the details of a tornado (the exact time of formation, the exact path taken) being influenced by minor perturbations such as the flapping of the wings of a distant butterfly several weeks earlier.  What does this mean? It means that the tiniest choices we make have infinite influence. Any event can be traced back to the smallest of incidents. Would Abraham Lincoln have existed if his parents hadn’t met and had intercourse at the precisely correct moment? Them meeting could’ve never happened if one of them had taken ill at the wrong time, or one of them tripped on the sidewalk, making them late for a meeting somewhere. The available alternatives are endless. Are you drinking something right now? What shirt are you wearing and what does it say? What have you posted on social media today? If you’re drinking, that could cause you to visit the restroom of a grocery store at the exact moment needed for you to run into an old friend that you haven’t talked to in years, one who needs your help. Your shirt could be a conversation starter for someone on the street, or could say something that someone needs to hear today. Same with your social media presence.

Once you realize the possibilities, everything under the sun gains massive, interwoven significance. Nothing is out of place. Vestigial organs might have a purpose now, as the mere act of getting your appendix removed impacts history in countless ways. Now, we can no longer say “Why would a good God give a child bone cancer, and let them die for no reason?”, as we simply cannot make that claim. We cannot say “for no reason”, because we cannot fathom the amount of good (or evil) such an act can bring. There are plenty of anecdotal stories and accounts of beauty arising from tragedy. And it may not even appear until years or centuries later.

The hardest pill one would have to swallow, is to realize that all of the pain and suffering allowed to exist in this world, exists solely for the purpose to bring as many souls freely into God’s presence as possible. Some may find this detestable, but I’d claim that these people would have far broader qualms with God that don’t burrow this deep in this specific field. They wouldn’t care to think this far in, as they dismiss it a ways back. I would diagnose this as a different problem, a problem of hating God’s nature, hating his will and thinking him an egotistical tyrant, which is a different issue than what I’m trying to address here.

Still, it helps to see that God isn’t forcing people into his presence against their will. You get to choose where you want to be: with him, or without him. But beware, succumbing to gravity is much easier than climbing.

I hope this wasn’t too long of a read, and that it had some interesting things to say. These ideas have given me much peace in all areas of life, as I no longer feel pressed to question God and his providence in an indignant way (and even when I do, there are resonant Psalms of lament I can turn to). I see his goodness so much, so much. And I trust in his character, his nature, and his commandments. So when I see pain, grief, heartache, despair...I remember Matthew 8, what a carpenter said when he was awoken aboard a sea-swept boat.

"Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?"  Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"

The winds will be calmed. Have great faith in this, peace will be found there.

[oliverosjeremypaulinecarpediem]

Go and Seize the Day!

           According to Webster’s Dictionary, carpe diem is defined as “the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future.” The term was originally coined in Horace’s “Ode 1.11,” where the author advises the readers to seize the day. Over time, the concept of carpe diem is redefined. Although it becomes interpreted differently by many, all interpretations use the same rhetoric. In poems, short stories, or speeches, authors persuade the readers to live life as if there is no tomorrow. This standpoint can be viewed both positively and negatively by Christians. By looking at the history through poems, analyzing “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “Absurd Freedom” by Albert Camus, and evaluating the theological framework in accordance to the concept, it can be proven that carpe diem is the best way to live life.

Carpe Diem throughout history

          As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the concept of carpe diem was first established in Horace’s poem, “Ode 1.11.” In the poem, the author tries to persuade Leuconoe to live in the moment, by keeping the future out of his worries. He begins by telling Leuconoe “You should not seek - to know is a sin - which end (of life)/the gods have given to me, which end to you, Leuconoe, nor/ should you test Babylonian numbers” (1-3). He warns him to not question the gods, or try to control the future, as it is wrong to do so. Instead, Horace encourages him to enjoy the short life they have. He says, “cut back hope/ for a long life in a short time. While we talk, envious time will/ flee: seize the day, trusting as little as possible to the future” (6-8). Rather than worrying about tomorrow, he tells him to live in the moment and seize the day.

          Over time, the purpose of carpe diem changes into a lifestyle of seeking and pursuing pleasures the world has to offer, such as love and lust. In his poem, “To His Coy Mistress”, the author, Andrew Marvell, is trying to persuade his mistress to sleep with him while they are still young. He shares how he would spend forever adoring her, and loving her more as time passes. However, he not only goes back to reality where their lives are limited by time, but also brings up the topic of death and how they can no longer be together. In the end, he tells her to sleep with him while they still have the chance. In “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,” Robert Herrick uses metaphors to persuade those who are young to get married while they can. In the first stanza, Herrick mentions that “this same flower that smiles today,/ tomorrow will be dying” (3-4). He uses flowers as a metaphor that while they look beautiful one day, they will be rotting the following day. In the second stanza, he writes “The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,/ The higher he’s a-getting,/ The sooner will his race be run,/And nearer he’s to setting” (5-8.) Here, he uses the sun as an example, which can be at its highest point, but eventually, will set by the end of the day. In the third stanza, he points out that youth is the best point in life, comparing it to the flower before it dies, and the sun before it sets. Therefore, they should marry before it is too late.

          Eventually, as time changes, the meaning of carpe diem changes as well. While it still serves as an encouragement to seek pleasure, it is really the definition of “pleasure” that changes. Rather than lust, the pleasure of goals and living a joyful, successful life is pursued. “First Fig” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, can be viewed as an inspiring message that encourages readers to reflect on their life. The candle mentioned in the poem can be viewed as a symbol of life. With the candle burning at both ends, it sets a reminder that time on earth is short and will not last forever.  Still, in the last line, Millay testifies that even with her time running out, she is satisfied with the life she has lived. Not a lot of people can say that for themselves as most spend their lives worrying about the future. However, she urges readers to live in the moment and enjoy life.

          In two short, simple stanzas, Hughes persuades his readers in “Dreams” why it is important to hold onto their dreams. Hughes has his readers imagine what life would be like without ambition by using imagery and metaphors in the poem. In the first stanza, he compares life without dreams to a bird with a broken wing. Birds are known to have wings, allowing them to fly. However, if the bird has a broken wing, its life has no purpose as it is unable to fly. In the second stanza, he compares life without dreams to an open field covered in snow. The purpose of a field is to support life, but if the field is covered in snow, then the purpose is defeated. With the purpose lost in both situations, he shares that it is also purposeless to live a life without goals or aspirations, and encourages his readers to not let dreams die.

Carpe Diem in Winter Dreams

          Although it is good to have dreams, carpe diem goes against wasting the present time to achieve them. In the story, “Winter Dreams,” the protagonist Dexter Green is motivated to become successful in life. Born in the middle class, he dreams of becoming a part of the upper class. Upon meeting a lovely girl named Judy Jones, he is captivated by her beauty and decides to pursue his dream to become the man for her. With her being his main motivation, he worked hard and made his way to the top; however, in the end he realized that what he wanted was not what he expected. Rather than living in the moment, he set his mind on the future, which later turns into regret. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of this story, suggests that it is best to do the opposite and not let the future consume the present.

           Dexter always dreamed of being a part of the upper class. By working as a caddy on the golf course, he was always surrounded by men from the upper class. In fact, he was considered to be the best caddy anyone has ever seen (Fitzgerald). With that being said, it shows that he was favored and got along with people from the upper class. He has also imagined beating the men in a game of golf, where “[h]e became a gold champion and defeated Mr. T. A. Hedrick in a marvelous match” (Fitzgerald). His imaginations reveal his hopes of becoming a part of their group one day, which do come true in the future, after he decides to pursue his dream.

           It was not until Dexter met Judy Jones when he made his decision to follow his dream. Judy Jones was a rich, beautiful girl that captured his attention. Right after he met her, he quit his job. She was the main motivation on why he had to be successful. He wanted to be a man that was worthy to be with someone like her. His motivation pushed him into “attending an older and more famous university in the East, where he was bothered by his scanty funds” (Fitzgerald). After earning his degree, he took the risk to borrow money and invest in a partnership in a laundry business. These risks are taken show the importance of fulfilling his dream, regardless of his financial issues. The risks do pay off in the end, when he does become successful.

           As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Judy is the main reason why Dexter decided to chase his dreams. After meeting her, he was entranced by her beauty and knew he wanted her. He did what he did to become the man that would be good enough for her, even if that meant quitting his job.

“The enormity of his decision frightened him. He was a favorite caddy, and the thirty dollars a month he earned through the summer were not to be made elsewhere around the lake. But he had received a strong emotional shock, and his perturbation required a violent and immediate outlet” (Fitzgerald).

He was comfortable where he was, yet he knew that working at the golf course would not change him into the better man he hopes to be. Therefore, he decided it was best to leave his job and step out of his comfort zone.

           Everything Dexter did was in hope to pursue Judy. His sole purpose was so he could be the man for her, because he loved her. In the few events where they both crossed paths, Dexter always found himself “head over heels” for her. He described their second meeting saying, “[h]is hear turned over like the fly-wheel of the boat,” and “[i]t did not take him many hours to decide that he had wanted Judy Jones ever since he was a proud, desirous little boy” (Fitzgerald). After all the years that had passed, he still felt the same way as he did about her the first time they met.

“He loved her, and he would love her until the day he was too old for loving—but he could not have her. So he tasted the deep pain that is reserved only for the strong, just as he had tasted for a little while the deep happiness” (Fitzgerald).

He was deeply in love with her, to the point where he chose to have an affair with her while he was engaged to someone else. He still loved her, after she left him for other men. His love for her had blindly made him miserable. By saying he will spend every day of his life loving her, it goes against the concept of carpe diem, as he looked into the future rather than living in the moment.

           Dexter dedicated his time working towards a future for Judy. In the end, he is disappointed as he realizes that everything he had hoped for was not what as great as he expected. He believed that the key to happiness was to be rich and successful, which led him to becoming a slave to the future. His love blinded him from true happiness and enjoying life by seizing the day. In the end, his winter dreams are crushed and he ended up living in regret for all the years he will never get back. This goes to show that life should be lived in the moment, rather than wasting time chasing after materialistic things.

Carpe Diem and Absurd Freedom

           In “Absurd Freedom,” Albert Camus shares his version of carpe diem. He believes that, in the end, death awaits, and life should be lived in the moment without having hope for the future. He discusses the meaning of life, and brings up the topic of living a mechanical life, where people tend to live a life without consciousness. Later on, he moves onto discussing the choice of committing suicide. Both concepts are viewed as a bad idea, and supposes that the best way to live life is to revolt. By being certain of the uncertainty of the future, he believes that is the only way life can be lived to the fullest.

           To determine the meaning of life, Camus first explains how humans are born into living a mechanical life. Living a mechanical life is to live without awareness and knowing the true purpose of life. However, when trying to find the meaning of life, the absurd is encountered. The meaning of life is too vast to take in. Camus says, “I don’t know whether this world has a meaning that transcends it. But I know that I do not know that meaning and that is impossible for me just now to know it.”  He then shares his idea of the absurd, by saying the purpose of life is “so obvious and yet so hard to win.” (Camus) By questioning existence and the meaning of life, the cycle of living a mechanical life is broken.

           Since the meaning of life is too much to comprehend, Camus believes that life “will be lived all the better if it has no meaning.” By accepting that fact and being aware, the options of suicide are opened. There are two types of suicide: physical suicide and philosophical suicide. The awareness causes people to question why they should continue living if there is no meaning to life. Physical suicide is viewed as a solution to that question, as they would rather end life now. Not many commit physical suicide, but instead commit philosophical suicide. Philosophical suicide is when the thoughts of living a meaningless life are put to an end. Instead, the mind commits to a different meaning. People see either suicide as a reasonable answer to that question; however, Camus says that those are not the right paths to take. “It may be thought that suicide follows revolt- but wrongly. For it does not represent the logical outcome of revolt” (Camus).

           Rather than suicide, Camus believes the best solution is to revolt. He defines revolt as “the certainty of a crushing fate, without the resignation that ought to accompany it” (Camus). Committing suicide is not a form of revolt, but instead, continuing to live with awareness. Camus says, “[l]iving is keeping the absurd alive.” By revolting, life becomes more significant.

            Death awaits everyone, and Albert Camus believes that the best way to live is to know the meaningless of life. It is important to end the cycle of living a mechanical life, and to live in a state of awareness. By being aware of what life has in store, it is best to not look at suicide as an option, but instead to live and revolt. As said by Camus, “[life] will be lived all the better if it has no meaning.”

Carpe Diem and Christianity 

           In the same way, the beliefs of Christianity can relate to the lifestyle of carpe diem. Christians believe that life should be enjoyed, rather than wasting time by chasing after a goal. However, unlike carpe diem, they go against chasing after the temporary pleasures the world has to offer. Instead, they believe it is best to turn to God and dedicate their lives to serve Him. Rather than pursuing the temporary joys of the earth, it is best to live a joyful life by walking with God and investing in His kingdom.

           In the book of Ecclesiastes, the author, King David’s son, exposes the meaningless of life throughout the entire book. In the Message version of the Bible, he refers to everything in life as smoke and spitting into the wind. Everything that is worked for in life, will be gone after death. In Chapter 2, he discusses all of what he accomplished, such as the houses he had built, vineyards and gardens he had planted, the treasures he had owned, and how he had become greater than any of the other kings of Jerusalem (Ecclesiastes 2:1-9, NLT). However, in the end, all that he had worked for was meaningless as everything will be forgotten after his death. He also mentions that everyone shares the same fate. He says, “When I realized that my fate’s the same as the fool’s I had to ask myself, ‘So why bother being so wise?’ It’s all smoke, nothing but smoke. The smart and the stupid both disappear out of sight. In a day or two, they’re both forgotten. Yes, both the smart and the stupid die, and that’s it” (Ecclesiastes 2:15-16, MSG). He also mentions, “Even if someone lived a thousand years- make it two thousand!- but didn’t enjoy anything, what’s the point? Doesn’t everyone end up in the same place?” (Ecclesiastes 6:6, MSG). He is telling his readers again that everything accomplished on earth does not matter as everyone will die and all accomplishments will be forgotten. Instead, life should be enjoyed. Multiple times in the book, he states that life be lived by having a good time. He says, “The best you can do with your life is have a good time and get by the best you can” (Ecclesiastes 2:24). He also says, “So I made up my mind that there’s nothing better for us men and women than to have a good time in whatever we do- that’s our lot. Who knows if there’s anything else to life?” (Ecclesiastes 3:22). As nothing will matter after death, life should be lived positively by being joyful instead of worrying about being successful in life. After all, accomplishments are forgotten after death.

“[...] it is important that humans should not seek for joy in earthly treasures, but instead turn to God who has the reward of heavenly treasures”

           Although Ecclesiastes encourages to live a joyful life, they discourage finding that joy from earthly pleasures. One of the main concepts of carpe diem is to “seize the day” by seeking pleasure. As said in the poems mentioned in the previous paragraphs, pleasure must be pursued as time on earth is too short. However, going back to the second chapter in Ecclesiastes, the author says, “…‘[c]ome now, let’s give pleasure a try. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.’ But I found that this, too, was meaningless. ‘It is silly to be laughing all the time,” I said. ‘What good does it do to seek only pleasure?” (Ecclesiastes 2:1-2, NLT). He goes against one of the concepts of carpe diem, and believes that pleasure is not the answer to living a joyful life. He says, “[t]he one who loves money is never satisfied with money, [n]or the one who loves wealth with big profits. More smoke…[h]ard and honest work earns a good night’s sleep. Whether supper is beans or steak. But a rich man’s belly gives him insomnia” (Ecclesiastes 5:10-12, MSG). It is easy to be happy with the materialistic things the world can give, but it is in the human nature to crave for more, and never truly being content with what had already been given. Humans are blessed with more than enough, yet strive to receive more in order to live a joyful life. However, the author reminds his readers again that “[p]eople who live only for wealth come to the end of their lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day they were born. And this, too, is a very serious problem. As people come into this world, so they depart. All their hard work is for nothing. They have been working for the wind, and everything will be swept away” (Ecclesiastes 5:15-16, NLT). By repeating his previous point that was made in Chapter 2, he is emphasizing the importance of knowing that everything that all the materialistic accomplishments that are gained in this world will not follow after death. Therefore, it is important that humans should not seek for joy in earthly treasures, but instead turn to God who has the reward of heavenly treasures.

           As mentioned by Camus, it is better to live life knowing that it is meaningless (Camus). Although Christians agree, they have a different interpretation on how life should be lived after being exposed to that truth. Camus refers to this as “philosophical suicide”; however, it is believed that everything comes from God, and that their lifestyle must be lived to glorify Him. In Ecclesiastes, the author says, “…I’m still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a ‘good’ life” (Ecclesiastes 8:12-13, MSG). He also states that “[a] person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality” (Ecclesiastes 7:18, MSG). The key to living a joyful life is to live a life with God in the center of everything. By being under God’s rule, blessings will come. The author advises his readers to “[t]ake care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life… we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live” (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, MSG). Therefore, by living in the moment and enjoying all what God has to offer, the best life can be lived.

Conclusion

           To live life in the present without concern of the future is viewed to be the best way to live.  Throughout history, shared in literary works such as poems and short stories, authors persuade their readers to be aware of the meaninglessness of life. Rather than being consumed either by the future or all the materialistic things the world has to offer, it is better to enjoy the present. Christians agree, as they say that nothing accomplished on earth will matter as all will be forgotten in the end. Instead, they view that the definition of true joy is not pursuing the pleasures of the world but, instead, living a life for God and being grateful for His blessings every single day.

WORKS CITED

Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus, and Other Essays. London: H. Hamilton, 1965. Marino, Gordon. Basic Writings of           Existentialism. NY: Modern Library, 2004.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “Winter Dreams.” The Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina, 1998,           http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/winter/winter.html

Herrick, Robert. “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time.” 1983.  The Norton Anthropology of Poetry Third Edition. Web. 21      January 2017.

Horace. “Ode 1.11.” Web. 21 January 2017.

New Life Bible, New Living Translation. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1999. Print.

The Bible in Contemporary Language, The Message, Navpress, 2002. Print.