#loves them the way worshippers love god the way god loves his creations the way people love their friends and family and soulmates

[idololivine]

aroallo olivine...

[smallgodseries]

[image description: A pointy - and grinning - green dragon holds lance in his giant claw. On the lance, the largest marshmallow you've ever seen. Lightning crackles in the background and a bright orange fire lights the scene. Text reads, “3, SMAURS, the Small God of Perfectly Applied Flame”]

……………………………………………………………………

They call on him so much more than they ever realize.

Want a car to start? Want an engine to fire, an egg to cook, a cigarette to light? Want to go through your life without being wreathed in a halo of brief, brilliant fire, burning away to nothing in the moments between the cinder and the scream? You call upon Smaurs, for without his grace, the fire goes where it will, does what it will, untamable. He is not a god of fire per se, leaves that act of terrible creation to greater forces than his own, but the control of fire? The application of fire? That’s entirely on his beautifully scaled shoulders.

They call on him so much more than they ever realize, and he rewards them with days unblistered, with hours unimmolated, with the knowledge of what it is to exist without burning. He loves them, in his distant way, for when they were children…

When they were children, they were his. No one calls upon a god of perfectly applied flame more often or more clearly than a child just embracing the catch and the candle, just learning how to angle a magnifying glass or light a match. He has sat at millions of campfires, marshmallow sticky on his claws, glorying in the taste of chocolate and graham and the sweet, bright wonder of young things on the verge of catching fire in their hands for the very first time.

They will grow to serve other gods, greater means of destruction, other ways of burning. But when they are children, they are his, and when they are his, he may do as any god does, and attend to his worshippers as they so ardently request.

In his claws, the marshmallows never burn, and neither do the hands that hold them.

It is the best protection he can give.

……………………………………………………………………

[kamariya]

i think about hua cheng and how he must have taught himself how to sculpt, how his first creations must have been so ugly he couldn't bear to look at them, considering them a mockery of his god. did he practise on other figures first? how many times did he throw away his tools in frustration, saying that he was too stupid, too unskilled, too crude, only to pick them up again because it was one of the only ways he had left of worshipping his god, because he was the only remaining worshipper of his god? (if not him, who will carve xie lian? who else remembers his god's face and loves it dearly? who else will erect temples in his name and pray to him, for him?)

did hua cheng turn his fortune around, or did he create it? after all, creation is his strong suit.

[asexual-but]

A Surprisingly Silent Night

Secret Santa Gift for @eunoiaaaivy

Zhongli is a favorite of mine <3

Here's something hurt/comfort fluffy for a cold holiday ^^

I am so sorry for how late this is.

Overseeing the world, playing the game.

Granting strength to the most beloved of worshipers, grinding artifacts for your team.

Showering them with your love and trust, pulling them on whatever banner had taken up your fancy.

This was horribly overwhelming, and soul-crushingly lonely. To be regarded as above everyone meant that you had no peers, no true friends. Not anymore.

Your previous life seemed so far away, everyone you had known, loved, even hated... Gone. Slipped from your grasp like sand. It was immensely lonely and very... Strange. Like your memories were only a distant dream, though a majority of your life was spent immersed in it. As far off memories from the deity everyone held you as started taking hold. Power cradled in your arms, respect holding people at your feet. You had seemingly everything.

Yet you longed for nothing more than the relative simplicity of your previous life. Even if the world fell at your feet and the skies and mountains would split at your request... What good was this power when you were alone in it?

Everyone loved you, but it was a distant and reverent type of love. One that never let them get close.

Except...

As your memories of the creation of the Teyvat returned, you found yourself mourning a great deal. Friends, lovers, all turned to dust in the face of your pure immortality. Now, in modern Teyvat, the only familiar face among your acolytes was Zhongli.

A favorite of your when you thought this was a game, and one of your most devout followers. Though not without reason. Zhongli had known you before you left Teyvat. A young, rash god who wore his heart on his sleeve and was often bowled over by other gods at the time, who used his anger against him. He learned to control himself. That much was obvious.

In the infancy of his godhood, Morax, like many godlings, followed you closely a duckling. They gained power and learned to control it by basking in your shining divine aura. He had been fierce and capable even then. But you were there to protect him, even when the others teased him until he swore he'd have them in their graves.

Now Morax was refined, polished like a fine jade. But still he sought your attention and presence more than anything.

Being so ancient, and having been so close to you even back then, Zhongli finds himself reminiscing. Sad eyes follow you as he notes the ways you have changed, and the ways you have stayed the same.

Your presence now staves off the erosion, reverses it even. You are comfort. But you always seem so far away... Not in the way it seemed when he was young, where you were busy and yet the picture of true divinity. But in a sad, lost sort of way. Zhongli could only stand watch over you as your power returned in full. A slow process, but one which was very exciting to the eldest of your worshippers.

But still, many of the Adepti agreed that something had been bothering you, and so the "revived" archon of Geo was sent to your side with a new task.

Find out what is bothering The Divine Creator, and remedy it.

Winter was always a somewhat difficult time for you. Perhaps the winter holidays were a time of joy before, but without the friends, family, and familiar festivities...

Winter in Teyvat was just as cold, and just as dark. From where you sat, seasonal sadness seemed like it was inevitable now. No festive lights, and no friends to join you.

You considered your options, perhaps you'd visit a temple of an old "friend," someone you only remembered through memories you didn't feel like you made. Or maybe you could take a look around the same game areas you'd already explored a million times.

Your personal chambers were warmed by a gentle fire which gave you some pleasant ambient noise, but somehow it felt too quiet here still. But an unsure tap at the door broke that monotony.

Walking from your place by the window, you opened the door to greet your guest. You weren't sure who to expect. Though, you weren't entirely surprised to find Zhongli. He seems to be at your side as often as possible, a consistent presence that was oddly comforting.

"Your Grace, may I enter?" Zhongli bowed as he requested permission to enter your home. You held back an urge to sigh, and stepped aside to let him in.

As he walked in, he took a good look at your space. It was simple, you decorated it with familiar plants and patterns. It reminded you of home, but Zhongli was seeing it as a holy site. He complimented the style, and was sure to make note of your choices. These would shortly become more common throughout all of Teyvat.

But his attention drifted back to the problem as your polite smile fell, and you went back to your place beside the window.

Zhongli was here for a visit. Perhaps you'd have him listen to stories from your home. Maybe you'd spend your time near your winter holiday season reminiscing about times you'd never get to enjoy again. But before you could offer to tell him, he cleared his throat, and caught your full attention again.

"Your Grace... we, the Adepti and I, have noticed that you haven't been acting quite yourself in the last few days. You've been more reclusive, and it has brought us a bit of concern. If it is not an overstep on my part... may I ask what troubles you?" Zhongli stepped a bit closer to you, but did not meet your gaze.

Oh. So they'd noticed.

You shook your head.

"Don't worry about it, Zhongli. I'm just..." You paused to consider how best to word it.

Venti had told you before that you didn't need to miss anything from your previous life,that everything you could possibly need was in Teyvat. But that couldn't stop you.

"I'm just missing old times is all. In the other world, I'd be celebrating the holidays with my friends." You said it. You told the truth and watched closely for his reaction.

Zhongli's eyes narrowed in thought, and then you saw the flicker of curiosity on his face.

"Holidays, Your Grace? What was it that you celebrated back then?" You'd clearly had his interest now.

You smiled fondly and sat beside the fire, gesturing for him to join you near the dancing flame.

"If you can do one thing for me, I'll tell you all about it." You offered as he sat with you.

Zhongli nodded. "Whatever it is you wish, I will do, Your Grace."

"Call me (_), and please... I just need a friend." You reached for him and grabbed his hand gently. He nearly flinched away in surprise.

"It is horribly lonely here, and I have so many people who love me... But none who really know me... So please, Zhongli.... Will you be my friend?" You pleaded with him. Somewhere in your mind you expected he would never refuse you, but Zhongli was full of surprises when he really wanted to be.

For the first time ever in his memory, Zhongli held your gaze. He looked into your eyes and saw a reflection of himself long ago. Having lost so much to become an archon, he too was once gripped by loneliness.

But couldn't change your form and seek company of the common people, and you couldn't return even to places you missed, even if the people who mattered to those memories weren't there with you.

And so with a gentle smile and nod, Zhongli placed his other hand on yours.

"Of course, (_), I will be your friend."

[imsorryimlate]

About to bring you very long and speculative meta about Moby Dick even though we are only 26 chapters into this thing and I have never read it before.

Back in chapter 13 when Ishmael said “from that hour I clove to Queequeg like a barnacle” I was like, huh. That’s a funny way to express it. Because clove – here being the more archaic past tense of cleave, that is, cling to – is often used in the Bible in relation to someone clinging to God, or at times clinging to a loved one.

I decided to check out the Hebrew word for it, which is דבק (dbq, dabaq) and it appears 54 times. I’m not gonna list all of them, but you can find the full collection here.

Now, let us look at this word. I will bold the English word that corresponds with dbq. I use the KJV translation because it consistently translates dbq as “cleave”, while newer translations will generally use cling, hold fast, stick, etc.

Here are some instances where it relates to love/marriage:

Genesis 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

Genesis 34:3 “And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.”

1 Kings 11:2b “Solomon clave unto these [his wives] in love.”

However, the word is not only used this way. It has more “everyday” use as well, for example:

Psalm 22:15a “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws.”

Psalm 102:5b “My bones cleave to my skin.”

1 Sam 31:2a “And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons.” (literally “the Philistines cleaved to Saul and his sons”)

I think here, what these examples demonstrate, is that this word suggests a certain intensity. The Philistines were not simply following Saul and his sons, they were clinging to their heels. The Psalmist isn’t just skinny, his flesh clings to his bones without anything in between, you can see his skeleton through his skin, etc.

It is therefore also used to demonstrate deep loyalty:

Ruth 1:14 “And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.”

2 Sam 20:2b “But the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.”

Which brings me to my original point, that it is used specifically about a worshipper’s commitment and loyalty to God:

Psalm 63:8a “My soul followeth hard after thee.” (literally “my soul cleaves to you”)

Deuteronomy 10:20 “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.”

Deuteronomy 13:4 “Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.”

Joshua 22:5b “To love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Joshua 23:8 “But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.”

These are just a handful of examples, there are way more, especially in Deuteronomy. And I just feel like, with how Melville strews biblical references all around, it cannot be a coincidence. Or am I reading too much into it?

Then I started thinking about this post, where @animate-mush suggested that Queequeg is whale coded. Which would then not leave my brain.

Because see, the book very much presents whales similarly as the Bible speaks of them and other creatures of chaos, such as the leviathan (which, we do not know exactly what it is, despite the Hebrew word for whale being the same). Which is to say, primordial creatures, present since the creation of the universe, creatures of chaos that only God can control – sometimes with huge effort (depending on which theological strata we’re talking about but that’s not relevant right now). These forces of chaos are not the anti-thesis of God, per se, but they’re something on the outskirts of our world, something to fear, something to be grateful that God subdued, something that could very well be considered divine in itself (for example, the sea god Yam in Canaanite mythology).

Which leads me to my next point, which is that many theological strata in the Bible are not concerned with monotheism, but rather monolatry, that is, the acceptance of several gods existing, but only worshipping and being loyal to one. For a lot of culturally Christian people, myself included, the way God is approached is like, you either believe in God or you don’t. The constant reminders we find in the Bible to be loyal to the Lord might feel a bit like, you know, “yeah duh, if you believe in God obviously”, but it wasn’t that simple. God is the God of the Hebrew people in the Bible because they chose God, and they did it for a reason: the Exodus, that is, God saving the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt, demonstrating God’s power and loyalty. So the loyalty is reciprocal – the people is loyal to God, and God is loyal to the people (help them, keep them safe). The need for God was not placed in the future, in the idea of Heaven and eternal life, but rather it was urgent and present right then; you would rely on your God for crops to grow and children to be born, you would rely on your God to keep you safe, to help you out of your enemies’ grasp. But if your God could not provide, there were other gods to turn to, who might help you instead.

The reason I bring that up is that, well. It’s interesting that Ishmael’s statement that he “clove to Queequeg” happened after they had already done their whole marriage thing. They had already decided to be ~husband and wife~ (no matter how tongue-in-cheek that designation is), they had already decided to share their earthly possessions, they had already made their “wherever you go, I go” promises. So him cleaving to Queequeg here is not in the marriage way, since that has already been established; he cleaves to him in a different manner now.

So what I have suggested here is that Queequeg is whale coded → whales are creatures of chaos and near-divinity → people cleaved to God in a reciprocal loyal and beneficial relationship, even in the presence of other deities → Ishmael watches Queequeg save a man from the depths of the chaotic sea → Ishmael decides to cleave to Queequeg.

Now, I would definitely not go as far as suggesting that Queequeg is God or “God-coded” or whatever, or that Ishmael would worship him as such. But there is something here, isn’t it? In this scene, Ishmael cleaves to Queequeg not as a companion, but as a protector and as a force to be reckoned with.

[vaguely-yandere]

Letter from a worshipper

(this is fiction and simply a piece of writing meant to be immersive. references to religion, Christianity, murder, unhealthy relationships, worshipping, stalking and impure feelings.)

You have no idea how thankful I am to have this opportunity. I don't even think I deserve it, I've done nothing of great importance yet I cannot go another day without telling you how I feel.

You... You make me really, truly feel. You make my heart and mind race. You make my worries melt away. You make me feel like I'm experiencing the greatness of life, oh my darling, you make me feel so alive. My blood pumps for you, my heart aches for you, my lungs fill only for you, I only exist for you, my great, great love.

I feel like I see God himself when I set my eyes upon your lovely presence. I feel my knees grow weak, my hands clasp together in worship as if upon instinct, are you even real? Are you simply a figment of my imagination? Are you my God?

You must be so thankful that I'm finally reaching out to you... You know you deserve to be worshipped, worshipped properly, not like how those fools say. You deserve a church, you deserve disciples, you deserve scripture, my love you deserve people who will go to war in your name. You deserve it all. Statues, art, gardens dedicated to you, people stoned for blaspheming you, everything. I wish there comes a day, soon, where people will finally see that you are meant to rule them and finally submit to you. Fall to their knees at your feet and sob from pleasure upon seeing your excellence, scream and cry and seize as your holiness overtakes them.

My God, I do not understand why you allow your filthy, disgusting, sinners to treat you this way. I know you created us, created us only to bask in your glory, your gift to us was creation. You gave us eyes to gaze upon you, you gave us hands to feel the holy ground you tread on, you gave us brains to comprehend your beauty and holiness, you gave us feet to follow you to the ends of the earth, you gave us lungs to breathe in your scent, you gave us genitals so we could feel just half of the pleasure you could give us.

I understand now. I understand you are the one. You, you in all of your glory... I understand. I apologize, my God, I am not brave enough to face you yet... I fear you will reject me as a servant, which would crush me. I would sooner hang myself than curse you with the burden of casting your godly gaze upon this wretched thing, this sin filled freak of nature so I promise to purify myself before I bare myself upon you, lay myself at your feet and beg to stand by your side. I know I am undeserving but I hope you will see how devoted I am and allow me to be an acceptation, to be one of your first disciples. I wish to write down your holy word, I wish to tell others of your excellence..

My apologizes, my God, I must cut myself off short. I do not wish to waste your precious time with my pathetic ramblings. To show the start of my dedication and purification, I have included the teeth of that wretched man. He did not deserve to breathe your air. He is still alive, do not fret, I am continuing to purify his depraved soul, one day at a time before he finally passes and finally becomes truly pure. I hope to see you soon, my God.

All of my love and devotion, Yandere.

[iturbide]

Not sure if you're interested in an alternate potential explanation of Naga's treatment of Robin (since iirc you've had a lot of Naga-related asks on this blog in the past and got into some complex character development with them, right?) But I think it's interesting that you and many others see Naga as being cold or even outright rude to Robin, when I personally always thought she was trying to be respectful to them. (1/3)

That's a fascinating way to look at it! I always love hearing different takes and explanations that people have for canon events, and this is an interesting angle.

I think a big part of the reason I interpret it as disrespectful is the sheer weight of history between Naga and Grima. Naga gave her blood to the First Exalt with the specific intent of killing Grima -- or, in this case, sealing them away, and she states in Chapter 24 after the Awakening ritual that "[Grima] seeks only to add to his power, and set ruin upon the world." Her insistence that Grima's only purpose is destruction gives the implication that Naga views Grima in a negative light; on top of that, she doesn't just tell Chrom how to use the Exalted Falchion's power, she physically accompanies them to the final battlefield, which has always led me to believe that Naga doesn't view Grima as a natural part of the world's order, like necessary destruction to balance ongoing creation, but instead considers them to be a threat to that order that must be quelled or eliminated. She may admit that neither of them are gods, and don't possess the power to destroy one another, but that doesn't equate to respect in my mind.

With that coming at the close of Chapter 24, coming straight into Chapter 25 to see Naga calling Robin 'Fellblood' to their face does feel like a slap in the face. If Naga has a negative opinion of Grima, it stands to reason that addressing Robin by their lineage rather than their name -- a lineage she just said was tied to a dragon who sought only ruin -- comes across to me as a barely veiled insult. Robin seems pretty insecure about their connection to Grima at this point, given that they now know that in another timeline they killed their dearest companion, so rubbing that in feels pretty callous from where I sit in the audience, having been close to Robin throughout 25+ chapters and multiple hours of gameplay.

I also think it's worth considering that not all forms of address are equal. 'Awakener' is very clearly a title given out of respect, proof that Chrom was worthy of the Exalted Falchion by virtue of surviving the Rite of Awakening. It's something like a knighthood, where he was tested and rewarded with a title in addition to the sword. 'Fellblood' doesn't appear anywhere else in the game, but it's never struck me as a respectful address given the generally negative view of Grima held by Naga's worshippers. The connotation strikes me as similar to someone calling Soren 'Branded' rather than his name in Path of Radiance.

[thefirstempress]

Appendix B: the Tollesian Pantheon

As an additional aid for readers of The First Empress, I typed up a short who's who of the deities mentioned in the story. None of the gods actually show up in the story, and I basically leave it up to readers whether or not said gods actually even exist. Thematically, I want the Tollesian gods to have a similar feel to the Greek Pantheon, without directly copying them straight across.

The Tollesian Pantheon: A Brief Who’s Who Among the First-Generation Tollesian Gods —By Zahnia, the Chronicler

The Tollesian Pantheon (known as the Vestic gods among many non-Tollesian theologians) refers to all of the gods worshiped by the Tollesian-speaking peoples. Like many pantheons, the hierarchy of the Tollesian gods consists of one or more Elder Gods or Titans who created the first generation of offspring gods, who in turn reproduced to create minor gods, demigods, and mortal heroes of divine parentage.

Like many creation stories, Tollesian folklore personifies the Sun as the ever-watchful father of his children here on Mother Earth. The first generation gods, or Titans, are children of the Sun and Earth, who are responsible for the caretaking of the planet and the wellbeing of her inhabitants. And though this volume focuses primarily on Arr and his better-known descendants, modern theologians and classicists estimate as many as five-hundred and seventy deities were worshiped over the course of the Classical-era, with dozens of gods and goddesses falling into and out of obscurity during that seven-hundred-year period. Tollesian legends also mention at least thirty Titans aside from Arr, as well as countless demigods and goddesses. Not to mention giants, monsters, muses, nymphs, wraiths, angels, demons, and even spirits of personified concepts, any of which may or may not also be demi-deities.

Arr God of fate, time, destiny, Tollesianism, judgment, heaven, loyalty, fidelity Patron cities: Aneth, Arr Patuna Symbols: clouds, sundials, scales, dogs, full circles

Arr is the father of the first generation of Tollesian gods and one of few remaining Titans not imprisoned in the Underworld. Having been betrayed by his fellow Titans and forced to imprison many of them during what Tollesian theologians call the Great Division, Arr is inherently mistrustful of deities outside his family and is even more mistrustful of foreigners who follow non-Tollesian gods. Arr is most popular among the more isolationist city-states upon the Vestic Sea. Non-Tollesian theologians often suggest that Arr’s judgmental attitude toward xenoi was the religious and thereby cultural cause of many Classical-Era Tollesians’ mistrust of foreigners and foreign gods.

Thanusa Goddess of death, rebirth, fertility, mortality, the cycle of life and death Patron Cities: Pultus, Tiphilia Symbols: rabbits, flowers, beehives, eggs, vulvas, skulls, the Phoenix

Thanusa is Arr’s wife, fellow Titan and mother of the first generation of Tollesian gods. It’s not ucommon for modern historians and worshippers to misunderstand Thanusa’s role as goddess of death in Classical Tollesian theology. Earlier portrayals depicted her as a guide or guardian ensuring that souls of those who’ve died find their way to the afterlife. Around the 320s AE the first tragedies and satires came out featuring Thanusa as a callow, unfeeling villainess who cut off lifelines of those whose time had come[1]. The worst offender was whichever playwright invented that trope where the hero or heroine saves their dying loved one by interrupting Thanusa before she can cut their lifeline. Discerning whether someone knows this is a popular method among modern classicists of sorting out the semi-educated.

AndivaGoddess of justice, order, law, civilization, expansion, spread of Tollesian culture Patron cities: Andivel, Vislow, Chyllar Symbols: scales, columns, owls

Andiva is the first-born of Arr and champion of the expansion of Tollesian culture into other lands. As such, she is most popular among major cities which border on barbaroi lands. Like her father, Arr, Andiva is mistrusting of foreign gods, but unlike him encourages nonbelievers to convert to Tollesian religion, thought, and culture.

Zupor God of strife, war, destruction, warriors, physical strength, martial prowess Patron cities: Pellastor, Ryllar, Partha Symbols: spear and shield, hoplite helm, fire

Zupor is known across the Vestic Sea as the god of war and strife, and is the second of Arr’s children. Poleis which follow Zupor most closely tend to have a strong warrior caste—or at least place a special emphasis on having a well-trained force of hoplite elite.

Nyrus God of the sea, sailors, overseas trade, storms, tides, male bisexuality Patron cities: Illarra, Fildor, Tutna Symbols: orcas, waves, tempest, sailing ships

As god of the sea, Nyrus is among the more popular patron gods among costal and island poleis. Third of Arr’s children, Nyrus is also father or grandfather of the Nereids, sea nymphs equally famous for saving or drowning Tollesian sailors.

Cibades God of agriculture, farmers, planting, harvest, wine, brewing, vineyards, fertility Patron cities: Clenia, Mertal, Vindel Symbols: plow, wheat, goblet, grapes, scythe, sickle

God of wine and wheat, Cibades is fourth of Arr’s children, and patron god of polies famous for their wine or beer production and to a lesser degree of breadbasket poleis.

Kralor God of knowledge, learning, wisdom, teachers, students, critical thinking, literacy, writing, science, art, philosophy, music Patron cities: Ovec, Thornic Symbols: scroll, book, abacus, lyre, drum, quill

Though not always most cunning of the gods, Kralor is by far the most learned. Father of the Muses. In the Tollesian tradition of wholeness of body and mind, Kralor is frequently depicted as a warrior-philosopher or scholarly wrestler.

Ido and Iva God and goddess of love, romance, sexuality, fertility, marriage Patron cities: none Symbols: the heart, the lovers, roses, rabbits

Ido and Iva are twin god and goddess of love and romance. While Ido and Iva have no patron cities as such, their clerics and priests are frequently called upon during marriages and rites of fertility in towns and cities across the Vestic Sea.

Ferra Goddess of medicine, healing, physicians, health, sanitation, fertility, wholeness of body and mind, female bisexuality, same-sex marriage Patron cities: Kel Fimmaril, Noro, Ferra Arte Symbols: the serpent, burning incense, mortar and pestle, leaves and herbs, midwives

Ferra is the goddess of health and medicine and was particularly popular among smaller city-states such as Noro and Kel Fimmaril. As a goddess of fertility, theatre frequently portrays Ferra as somewhat overly prolific—sluttish, really—giving birth to nearly half of the second generation of gods, goddesses, and demigods. According to legend, however, Ferra would later marry and forsake all other lovers for her younger sister Avilee.

Suvie Deity of the wilderness, mountains, forests, jungle, hunting and trapping, natural selection, gender queerness, gender nonconformity Patron cities: Gillespar, Hastia Symbols: mountains, trees, bows and arrows

Hermaphrodite deity of the forests, variously portrayed as either a beautiful, bow-toting goddess of the hunt or as a virile, spear-wielding warden of the forests. Additionally, Suvie is the parent and guardian of such forest spirits as wisps, fey, Dryads, Naiads, and fauns.

Avilee Winged goddess of protection, defense, common soldiers, fallen soldiers, bereft mothers and widows, war orphans, battlefield medicine Patron cites: Voris, Ortenia, Aula Symbols: spear, javelin, guard dogs, shepherd’s crook, hoplite armor

Wife of Ferra and youngest of Arr’s children, Avilee is also humblest, most caring, and most protective among the Tollesian pantheon. As such, she is also most beloved among her siblings, often acting as a mediator between her more quarrelsome kindred. Early in life, upon seeing the grief and destruction caused by her brother Zupor’s war and strife, Avilee took it upon herself to protect the common soldiers and care for the victims of war, be they fallen soldiers or bereft families. She is generally depicted with great, hawk-like wings and full hoplite panoply, wielding a spear and shield or bow and arrows.

Second-Generation Tollesian Gods

Vepu God of the afterlife and the Underworld Patron Cities: Tanythe, Zunia Symbols: skulls, bones, ashes, urns

Vepu was a mortal king who so impressed Thanusa with his management skills that she elevated him to godhood to rule and organize the Underworld and its afterlife.

Arrolus God of naval warfare, warships, marines Patron Cities: Descal, Tarsa Symbols: war galley

Arrolus is the son of the war-god Zupor and a Nereid huntress named Gale.

Orova Goddess of night, shadows, trickery Patron Cites: None Symbols: bats, wraiths, shadows, blackness, the moons

Orova is the best-known Tollesian trickster goddess, a daughter of Ferra and an unknown Titan. Her favored ally is a wraith named Anache. Not necessarily evil, Orova is the most chaotic and capricious of the Tollesian gods.

Pharesthus God of smithing, mining, iron and bronze Patron Cites: Velia Cestini Symbols: hammers, ingots, anvils, forges

Pharesthus is the son of Ferra and an ancient giant named Sherto.

Clanti Goddess of merchants and trade Patron Cities: Vislow, Ortenia, Lecne Symbols: coins, purses, scales, trading galleys

Clanti is the oldest daughter of Ferra and Nyrus as well as twin sister of the god Curé. Satirically speaking, she was considered the second-most-important god of the Illaran Confederation.

Curé God of bandits, pirates, burglars, and thieves Patron Cities: Illarra, Adis Symbols: daggers, slings, raiding galleys, purse-cutters

Curé is the son of Ferra and Nyrus and twin brother to Clanti. Both satirically and literally, he was regarded as the most important god of the Illaran Confederation.

Axu God of gender assignment and gender presentation Patron Cities: none Symbols: none

Daughter of Suvie and Ferra, Axu’s primary duty is assigning humans their gender at either at birth or conception, depending on the particular theologian.

[1] Truly, the quickest way for an author or playwright to kill my interest in their work is to portray Thanusa as a villainess. This was a character who felt deeply for those who’d died—especially those who died unjustly—and whose ancient stage-masks nearly always portrayed her weeping. Portraying her as a murderess remains one of the worst character-assassinations in the history of Tollesian literature and theatre.

[questionsonislam]

What is Worship and Why Are the People Held Responsible For It?

The meaning of worship is that a servant performs his duties such as offering glorification, exaltation, and praise to Almighty God in the way He orders. Giving thought to the fact that he is nurtured with the endless bounties and gifts, man is in charge of doing his duty of proclaiming God is the greatest and offering thanks to Him. It is achieved only by means of worship. A worshipper arranges his all acts and behaviors such as eating and drinking, sitting and standing and so forth in accordance with the bounds of God Almighty. He leads his life as the servant of Allah. This servitude makes him reach the rank of real humanity and dignity. After all, the main goal of the creation is to attain this honor. Indeed God Almighty says in the exalted Quran I have only created Jinn and men, that they may serve Me. (Az-Záriyát: 56). In another verse in the Quran, He says:

O ye people! Worship your Guardian Lord, who created you and those who came before you, that ye may become righteous; Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth). (Al-Baqarah:21-22).

God Almighty created the heaven adorned with the sun and stars, the earth decked out with seas and lands in the best form. He placed senses each of which is more valuable than the universe into the spirit of man. Just as he bestowed on him an eye capable of seeing all beauties, a tongue which is able to take pleasures from all the tastes of the food, so too did He gift him a mind being competent to turn those delights tasted by those senses into knowledge and understanding. And He donated man a conscience that can appreciate not only the bounties filtered from the universe to help him but also physical and spiritual presents placed into his body.

Man can make out through the mind granted to him that he has not been created merely for this world and that he cannot be without any purpose or duty.

He fathoms trough his conscience that he must declare thanks and glorification to his Sustainer. He performs his worship only for Allah. He never attributes any partners to his Lord.

He feels affection solely towards Allah with his heart,; he loves all the creatures worthy of love for the sake of Him.

Even if he were not held responsible for the worship, his mind, heart and conscience would command him to offer worship and obedience to Allah. It is because only worship can gratify those senses.

It is quite obvious that God Almighty, who needs nothing, has no need of our worship. On the contrary, it is we who need to worship.

What will be our response in the Day of Judgment that willingly or unwillingly we will go through when Almighty God asks us Oh my servants! I created you out of nothing. I directed all my bounties in the earth to you in order to meet your endless needs. I fulfilled your needs all the time. My compassion and mercy had always been upon you. Whom were you then together with? Whom did you, completely ignorant of me, offer your praises and thanks to though I was truly worthy of them? Do you think the spiritual torture caused by the humiliation and being ashamed will be greater than the torment of hell? It must be the severe sense of embarrassment that makes the unbeliever utter Woe unto me! Would that I were (mere) dust!"

Just as a man cannot lead his life without religion, so too can Islam not be without performing worship. Let us exemplify this truth with an analogy. Just fancy an Islamic village where azan (call to prayer) is not called. Nobody performs prayers -neither bairam nor Friday prayers nor daily prayers-. No member of that rural community performs fasting, nor gives zakat (alms), goes to Makkah for hajj (pilgrimage). They do not read the Quran, nobody minds about what is haram (forbidden) and what is halal (licit); nobody knows what is obligation and what is incumbent. Nobody brings to his mind to proclaim praises and thanks in return to the never-ending bounties of the Allah.

Do those members of that village not enter a path absolutely contrary to commands of the Quran and the lifestyles of our Prophet (upon whom be peace), his companions, the saints and purified scholars, leading scholars and interpreters of Islamic law and mujaddids (revivers).

As a matter of fact, Islam is not a system based on only theory and conscience only. In many verses of the Revealed Quran, just following the word faith the phrase good deed is used and it is stressed out that good deed is a result of belief.

The reason of sending prophets is to teach the pillars of faith and essentials of Islam to people. That is to say, it is to teach people fully the fundamentals of faith, primarily belief in Allah, and to teach them thoroughly the duties of worship which will enable faith to reach into perfection. Only by means of these glorifications can faith of man become mature. The value of a servant in the presence of Allah depends on the sensibility he displays in his servitude to Him.

[diaryofamadsunwukongfan]

Religon

Vale

The main religion of Vale is the Orthodoxy of Lux, or Luxizm for short. In Vale, Luxites give their faith to a "one true god of light" that created Renment, plants, animals, and people. The God of Light, which Luxites refer to as "God", also created angels that would help him govern the land... but then the darkest angel rebelled against the God of Light, which forced him to cast him down to Earth. This fallen angel, which Luxites refer to as the Devil, created the grimm to torture the God of Lights' creation, but the God of Light once again helped mankind by giving them Aura, Dust, and Semblances. The God of Light also blessed some humans with angelic power, the Silver Eyed Warriors, but that's a lesser know story.

Luxites practice by going to church on Sunday, having holy books in their houses, etc. As a darker belief, some Luxites justify their racism against the Faunus by using a specific interpretation of the Luxizm bible that implies Faunus were created by the Devil.

Mistral

While Vale is mostly united in it's religion, Mistral has a ton of different religions that are all united by a single mythology. In Mistrali mythology, an ultimate (gender neutral) god of the universe created the brother gods of Light and Shade, who then created Renment and all the other gods living there. The relationships between the gods changes from story to story, sometimes the Shade god is the son of the Light god and grandson of the ultimate universe god, other times the brothers and ultimate god are aspects of the same being worshipped as a trinity. The seasonal maidens, who are seen as the reincarnating avatars of the original seasonal goddesses, are usually worshipped together, but their relationships to each other change as well (are they sisters, or two sets of sisters that are cousins to the others). Menagerie mythology is largely the same as Mistrali mythology, but focuses more on the god of Animals and are where most of his stories come from. Unfortunately, the racist Luxites think the god of animals is the devil in disguise.

Atlas

The main religion of Atlas is... none. It's people are mostly Atheistic or Agnostic and most of them became that way after Atlas seperated from Mantle.

Mantle

The main, and usually only, religon of Mantle is the Northern Orthodox. The belief system is mostly the same as Luxizm, but unlike them they believe that the Devil god of Shade is the brother and equal of the god of Light, so members of this faith respect and sometimes worship them both. That is the main reason why the two religions split.

While some of the people in Vale make trash memes about Northerners being demon worshippers, the truth is that members of the Northern Orthodox worship the god of Light out of love, and the devil god of Shade out of fear so that he spares their loved ones. Atlesians mostly look down on the religious people of Mantle (literally) for being backwards and highly superstitious, which is another reason why the two don't like each other.

The majority of the people of the Atlas colonies in Mistral are members of this religion.

Vacuo

Just like it's community, Vacuo is the least unified when it comes to Religion in Renment, even less unified than Mistral which has a common mythology. It has a little bit of everything, some Northern Orthodox participants who are the descendants of colonists, some old faith people who worship their ancestors and the land, lots of Atheists, and the occasional Luzite immagrant.

[tabswrites]

Pantheon of the Three Realms

An overview of all deities mentioned in The Prince’s Shadow.

Beias, the Creator (they/them)

Creator of life, goddess of the Moon

Beias is believed to be the creator of all life after spending millions of years in isolation. Her first creation was Ruuve, the falcon-headed god of the Sun. Together, the two of them shaped the Three Realms and guided the humans towards prosperity.

Beias is often depicted as a being of pure, bright light. To be touched by a moonbeam is to be touched by Beias, which is why the people of Toral worship at night.

Lady Itis, the Savior (she/her)

Goddess of life, nature.

Itis was once the daughter of a fearsome king who burned and plundered his way through the kingdoms of Atharis and Toral. She called upon Beias, the Creator, and begged for the power to end the conflict peacefully. Beias guided her towards victory, ending a decades-long war and brought peace to the Three Realms.

Itis is depicted as a human with flowing black hair and tanned skin.

Most citizens of Atharis will have a shrine to Itis in their home, consisting of candles, leaves, feathers, and other natural objects. It is customary to bring an offering of some sort when visiting someone’s home.

Ruuve, the Warrior (he/they)

Creator of land, God of the Sun

Ruuve was a once a falcon born from the mind of Beias to keep them company. It is said that he summoned the first piece of land from deep within the earth to give him a place to rest when the moon went to sleep.

Ruuve and Beias brought life to the world together, and when he died, Beias chose to share the power of the sky and resurrected him with a godly form.

He is depicted in most art in his resurrected form, the first demon: A man with the head of a falcon and fish-like scales on his arms and neck.

All light is sacred to worshippers of Ruuve. The people of Valta have no walls in their homes in order to allow the sunlight to shine on them at all times. Entering a room that is unlit is extremely unlucky so candles are burned in place of the sun.

Sadira, the Dark Goddess (she/her)

The exiled Goddess of Demons, a.k.a Queen of Shadows

Lady Itis and Sadira were both humans once, each on a different side of a bloody war, but they fell in love and wished for peace. They called upon Beias and Ruuve to give them power, but where Itis was given powers of light and goodness, Sadira was cursed with powers of darkness.

She was reborn a demon with blood red skin, curved golden horns and yellow eyes.

Her powers not only allowed her to come and go freely from the dark dimension of Skath, they also gave her the ability to judge souls. She found that even after the war, violence and hatred still lived within the hearts of humans, and chose to seal herself beneath the earth.

Sadira is the most feared and hated of the gods, as she is the one who sent forth her creatures of Skath when the people of the Three Realms prayed for children. Many regard this as the first act of “The End Times”, and believe Aleksander will eventually help her claw her way out of the earth to enact her revenge on humanity.

[epistrefei]

ένα (ONE.)

The family is one of nature's masterpieces.

The quote manifests itself within the blank space of Artemis' mind. The emptiness was not an accident: these last days have been taxing. It was within her belief that every immortal being out there had some degree of family problems. Any divine, cursed, or otherwise bound to this Earth for an unnatural amount of time being always had some terribly hidden baggage (see here: a mountain strapped to their back) concerning their relatives.

Parents were popular. Artemis could support that. Siblings, too. Artemis doubly supported that.

Apollon was everything that she was not: creative, idealistic, personable… At times, it was difficult to believe that they were birthed from the same womb. Unfortunately for Artemis, it was incontestable; she had delivered him directly after her own world-coming. Older by mere seconds, and Artemis remembered the smile that her mother had given when the twins stood before her.

Her brother was fair-haired and tan, always looking like he had come back from the beach. A radiant smile befell him, and it was suiting: someone tied to the sun needed to be bright. Beyond that, Apollon was fair, warm, and courteous. Many days he played the lyre while Artemis sat nearby and re-strung her bow. Many nights they went shooting together, and she could swear that their arrows flew side-by-side.

Much like the sun, Apollon could be hot. His temper was famous for a time. When he endeavored to serve his version of justice, Artemis often tailed just behind him. She endlessly supported her brother; he was her kin, her blood, her closest ally and best friend. Why wouldn't she aid him in whatever way that she could? An older sister should be a protector and a mentor, her presence a comforting and supportive strength to have. Family was invaluable. Their pantheon, their entire existence, was based on that notion.

Apollon was fascinated with humans.

It was common for her brother to disappear to the mortal plane for ages at a time. He loved every minute of it; the humans were so artistic, they craved to put the feelings they could not describe into any medium that they had. They played music, and danced, and wrote, and sang and painted and on and on and on… these were the tales Apollon relayed to Artemis, for she remained distant and held humanity at an arms' length.

She was wary of their conquering nature and their urges to fill any space that they had. Artemis acknowledged and respected the Hunt, the sound of bare feet on soft grass as they carried bows and spears and knives. Animals sought prey in their own world; humans were not an exception. But they harbored vices unlike any other species, ones like gluttony, for the Hunt was acceptable when practiced within the balance of survival. To hunt an animal to extinction--oh, how Artemis still grieved for the red gazelle, the Yallara, the Mauritian giant skink… Humans were a plague on their lands, the Earth's most dangerous predator. Humans had to be contained, or so thought the Goddess of the Hunt.

Others disagreed, particularly ones with domains more dependent on their worshippers. Aphrodite and Ares, for instance, thrived on the creation and breakdown of relationships. What would they be without marriage and war? Diminished, certainly, but not rendered useless. They were Olympians, though, and none of them were too keen on relinquishing any shred of their power, not with a source so lucrative at hand.

Artemis knew this, had known it, and yet it had still come as a surprise when Apollon had announced his collusion with Ares. They planned to create a war unlike any other war in their history, they said. A war to end Mankind as they knew it, to raze the ground of all living beings and start anew. The Gods had fallen into obscurity, into weakness, and humans with their technology only worsened it. They no longer gave thanks to the deities that allowed them to exist.

For this, they had to pay, said Apollon. Ares stood back, but Artemis knew him to be whispering in her brother's ear, planting ideas of malice and death. It was unlike Apollon to take a drastic stance such as this. What had happened to the man she had known? Where had the love for their ingenuity gone?

Artemis had not looked beyond the darkness of her earthbound forests for sometime. To leave Olympus was a mistake. She had not held fast at Apollon's side as she had all those centuries ago. For this, her brother had fallen from grace. He had been corrupted and manipulated against his own better judgement.

It was on her shoulders to correct what had been done--if not for Apollon, but for humankind, for if her brethren elected to follow in Apollon and Ares' footsteps, there would be no salvation.

[depressedhatakekakashi]

God Of Storms- Monsters/Cursed Mortals

Jugo

Role: God created monster

Animal Companion: Shrike Aka (as well as other birds)

Symbol: Horns that are on top of his head. They’re retractable, showing up when  Jugo’s anger is flaring up. He will also often be depicted with a large, terrifying looking bird that seems giant enough to swallow a mortal whole, though Jugo prefers smaller friendly birds as a rule.

Birth/Creation: Jugo was born a mortal and turned into a ‘monster’ by Orochimaru after getting lost in the woods and somehow finding his way into their domain. Orochimaru, who prefers to keep their location a secret, decided to punish Jugo for his mistake by turning him into a monster. Though Jugo’s outward appearance doesn’t change most of the time, his change is connected to his anger. When that anger flares up, Jugo grows horns and becomes blood thirsty, willing to tear apart his enemies without restraint. Not realizing what the god had done to him, Jugo went back to his village hoping to forget the incident.

When one of his friends upset him during a game, the curse awoke and Jugo blacked out. When he came to, his hands were covered in blood and half the village was standing with weapon’s facing him and terror in their eyes. The other half of the village was laying at his feet, dead.

Lore: The only person who stuck by his side after is Kimimaru, who has been Jugo’s friend since they were young children. Kimimaru was the only one who noticed that Jugo was just as terrified by what had happened as the rest of the villagers, and when Jugo ran off to try and get away from them Kimimaru chased after him.

Although Jugo did try to push Kimmimaru away at first, he never could. No matter how dangerous things seemed to get, Kimmimaru continued to stand by his side. Forfeiting a normal life within their village to continue supporting Jugo.

Jugo also has the friendship of Sasuke, the god of death. Although Sasuke has never reached out to others before, he chose to reach out to Jugo when he saw how much the guilt of those deaths was eating at him. It was through Sasuke and Kimmimaru’s support that Jugo was able to find some peace with his new life, and learned to control his anger so that it didn’t rule him at all times.

Love: Kimimaru

Jun (Oc of @mushroombitchboy )

Role: God created Monster

Animal Companion:  Scarlett Snake

Symbol: Often depicted with the tusks that come from the top of their teeth, as well as with Snakes for hair (much like Medusa)

Birth/Creation: Turned into a monster by Shizune, Goddess of healing. Jun was born a human to the king of his land, but was treated horribly from his birth. The king, an terrible and cruel man, claimed to worship the god of justice (Ibiki) but chose to punish his child for anything he deemed wrong. From sitting the wrong way, to speaking at the wrong moment. It seemed as though Jun could do no right.

Lore: One night, while hiding away in the forest from his father, Jun was approached by a stranger wielding a knife.

The stranger was Anko, an assassin hired by Jun’s father to dispose of them so that when he died they would not get the throne. However, upon seeing the child in front of her Anko lowered her weapon and chose to help Jun instead. At first she simply hide away in the forest, keeping a look out for any other assassins the king may send and protecting jun, but she was growing weary. Unable to go anywhere else and concerned she may not be enough to protect Jun. Hearing these concerns of her favorite worshipper, Shizune appeared in front of Jun one night while they were sleeping and decided to give them something that would protect them.

When they woke up, Jun was no longer human. They had grown snakes in place of their hair, and the first human who tried to approach them, intent on killing them, was turned to stone as soon as they met Jun’s eye.

Jun spent the next fifty years of their life living in the forest, with Anko guarding their home and any one brave enough to attack them turning to stone. There were instances where the gods intervened to stop Jun from turning an attacker into stone, usually because the King had lied to them about Jun or because he had chosen to use someone they deemed to young to die for his hatred. Kakashi (for example) appeared once between Jun and his would be attacker. A soldier by the name of Itani who prayed to Kakashi, and who lowered his sword as soon as the god told him to.

Although Ibiki is the god their father prays to, and thus a god that Jun has little love for growing up, he quickly proves himself to be a much different god than what Jun would expect. Ibiki makes a habit of stopping attackers from going after Jun if he knows that their sense of justice is stronger than their desire for money, and has gotten rid of at least one attacker himself for the insult of choosing money over another person’s life.

After the king’s death his throne was taken by an adopted son chosen to be the next king. However, knowing his rights as the King’s legitamite son, Jun went into the kingdom to challenge the chosen king for the throne. With one look at the intruder, Jun turned him to stone and successfully took the throne for themselves.

With Jun’s reign began a long four hundred year reign of peace and prosperity for the kingdom. Temples that had been left to ruin were repaired, with new temples being built to gods who had helped Jun during their worst times in life. Gods such as Shizune, Kakashi, Tsunade and Sakumo all received a new temple in the kingdom, while other temples were repaired with new priests flocking to them to ensure they did not fall into ruin again.

Love: Ino (Goddess of Love) and Shino (God of Bugs)

[itsbaku]

Every Single Thing in Souls of War with Meaning

Because I'm insane and this is basically a love letter to everyone who wants to learn more about my lore

(Quick thank you to @git-it for being so invested in my lore to the point where it makes me motivated to work on this stuff. Thank you man, I don't know why you love it so much, but it means a lot 💗💗💗)

Btw this has a ton of spoilers for the books, but let's be honest here. This is free lore and if you wanna know about the Souls of War franchise, read this.

First the characters(Who mainly represent aspects of being a teenager)-

Baku- Represents mental illness and issues with mentality. They are shown to struggle with themself and deals with a lot of trauma.

Camazotz- Represents being optimistic and always seeing the good in life. Managing how to live life even though it is filled with bad, and still accepting those bads.

Mischief- Represents the refusal or fear of growing up and maturing. He is an adult in SoW:EoG but still acts like his normal child-like self with a sprinkle of teenager.

Muerto- Represents body issues, disability, or anything relating to hating or disliking your own body. He can be interpreted in many ways, but I intended him on being hating your body because of puberty. He feels as if he is no longer himself because he lost something that made him him, and is now someone else. But he is up for more interpretation, like hating your disability due to your new self or hating your body because you are trans. Interpret him how you will.

Talon- Represents imaginary friends in youth and growing up. He was created to be a friend to a lonely soul, like how kids make imaginary friends when they simply want friends. He is shown to always say what The Supreme God wants to hear, which is what we do with our imaginary friends since they are our creations and do what we want. However, he is told that he should leave to live with Baku. This is because as we grow up, we tend to want or just leave things behind as we grow.

The Supreme God- Represents...well, a lot. The Supreme God can be very versatile with interpretation. They can be seen as a being that is selfish and is forced to learn how to be human, they can be seen as a soul forced into a position they could never properly learn of, there's a lot. But here's my original pitch...a creator. The Supreme God represents someone who feels unappreciated after basically creating everything. They eventually try to gift someone who helped them, but doesn't understand why they refused their gift. Basically someone who wants to feel appreciated but is confused when people don't want their appreciation, if that makes sense. Maybe, idk.

Anyways, if you had different interpretations of the characters, let me know! I love hearing y'all's thoughts on my content!

Now, non-character things. Some of this might sound like trivia but most of it is important, so apologies if it all feels quick.

Souls of War-

Camazotz and most Aztec Gods speak Spanish on occasion. Now, why is this important? Well, the Aztecs and most ancient civilizations had their native tongue erased by the Europeans. Because of this, the Aztec Gods struggled to continue to preach and speak. They had to speak Spanish to still work with their worshippers. However they speak English for a majority of the book because of the obvious, but also to be comprehensive. They also say a lot of swear words in Spanish lol.

I made many cultural references in the first book. My favorite being La Catrina. La Catrina is a symbol in Mexican culture of being usually represented as a singer made of bones. She is very beautiful and drawn a lot with beautiful clothing and markings on her skull.

I'm pretty sure I made a 13 heavens reference in it. Anyways, The Thirteen Heavens is a set of heavens in Aztec mythology where the gods reside in a level type of structure. I kinda made more of a "For gods sake!" type of thing because y'know, it works.

Camazotz dies in the end. For a long of reasons, but mainly as a backstory that turned into a main story.

Souls of War: Eyes of Chaos-

The prologue starts with summarized backstory of Baku. That's pretty good. We get an idea of how sick someone can get of second chances.

Camazotz has a birb girlfriend, which you can exclusively learn from my Tumblr and Twitter.

We get more with Camazotz, which is good because we always need more with the og bat.

Also in this book we get perspective chapters, because I know we need to know how these two feel about each other.

Baku is a rather fickle character in this book, but there's good reason for it. Baku is so tired of just letting things happen, feeling like they can barely do anything to change anything. So, they change. Baku becomes rather malicious and cruel in this book. Baku finally shows their true colors, which is good because they finally get to start confronting their issues.

Baku eats some conchas. This is more just because I love conchas and I wanted to make a "Baku doesn't know what certain things are" joke. They make a comment on how they thought conchas were shells(conches 🐚).

So idk how relevant this is, but Baku first attacks Camazotz in the face first. Baku prefers to attack the face, mostly the eyes. Why? Because Baku believes that no one else can see the truth, so they are unworthy of their own eyes.

Baku also thinks a lot, a lot more than they speak at times. Souls of War Harbingers of Magic has the record of how much Baku has spoken.

So even though Camazotz and Baku do reconcile in the end, they still have a somewhat rocky relationship. They have a "I don't hate you, I wouldn't say love, but I'd die, kill, and spare for you" type of thing I guess.

Camazotz heavily idolizes Baku in a way. She thinks of them a lot, and usually does in casual and kind ways. I think it's nice.

Souls of War: Harbingers of Magic-

Ok we get Muerto's backstory right in the prologue. I need everyone to know...that Muerto basically hates himself. Look man, when you lose the most important thing to yourself, and feel forced to take on a new identity, and then forced to soon deal with trauma, I think you'd hate your life a little.

So Mischief gets a spotlight here a little, because he is a important character. In a way, he is a redeemer. His purpose is to help those who kinda had hardships in life.

Anyways the whole thing of them being Harbingers of Magic is glossed over rather quickly. But it's important because of the next book.

So Muerto actually manages to confront a hidden issue he had. In the book, he wanted to sacrifice himself to kill Soulix, the antagonist. However, Mischief did not want him to, hoping that Camazotz and Baku would kill Soulix. When Muerto accidentally hurts Mischief, instead of proceeding with his actions, he stops and acknowledges what he did. Because he did what he promised to never do. He wanted to stop problems, instead of confronting them. But in the end, he learned how to try and handle a problem.

Muerto also learns to accept how he looks. Sure, that might clash with his character, but it's for good reason. He realized that if his friends were willing to do so much for him, that he never wanted them to care about...why did he need to change? Why must he do something that they never take notice of? They didn't care that he didn't have wings, they loved him for who he was. He decided that he wasn't going to "fix" himself, but embrace who he is now.

Baku and Camazotz have a small argument over alcohol. This is mainly to show they still sorta just talk over anything, even if it is pure nonsense.

Souls of War: End of Godhood-

The title is extremely misleading but it works in the end.

So The Supreme God is the main antagonist, with Talon being their partner in crime. But Talon gets his redemption earlier than they do.

So Talon is a character...a character most like me. You'd expect me to say that about The Supreme God, but no. Talon is by far the most character. He learns how to be himself, how to live without orders, and how to see others as equals. But, before that, we can see someone who can act a type of normal. He acts the normal has always been trained to act. Of course, he can act normal, as he is capable of being friendly. But he is usually trained to obey orders until it is resting time. Anyways getting off track but he is a very interesting character.

We get to see some fun God interaction, until it ain't fun anymore. We learn that again, gods can be unreasonable stupid and do the bad things. Yes, I am very fond of the ideas of gods not being very godly.

Camazotz gets some bonding time with the boys, and Muerto is so intolerant of her at times. He only really accepts childishness from Mischief, not a god.

So Talon gets adopted into the family, and he has an extremely hard time trying to adjust. But he is very grateful to be invited to be somewhere to live. Plus he can still see The Supreme God, so win win.

So to answer a question, Talon was never designed to be a weapon. He was a companion, but due to The Supreme God's curiosity, they gave him power and trained him to be a certain way. Talon doesn't know what he wants, he doesn't even really know who he is either. He is more of a occasionally used shank.

In the beginning of SoW EoG, there's a lot of flower talk. The flowers have meaning actually, but I can't remember each one right now. What I can remember is that Marigolds, lilac, and hydrangeas are all mentioned. Look up their meanings and maybe you can piece it together on why.

Ok so that's a bunch of stuff. Thanks for reading. I hope you somewhat enjoyed it? I love talking about the lore.

Til we meet again my friends.

[drmaqazi]

Justice in Islam2.  

Perspective from Quran and Sunnah

Justice refers to equality in giving rights and in enduring by obligations without discriminations for any reason, either for religion, race or color. As we know Islam comes from the word “Salam” meaning “Peace” and, since the religion, Islam is based on total submission to the will of Lord. We Muslims believe that we can get real peace only when we submit to our Lord the Creator of this world and everything in it.

Justice in Islam also means giving equal rights and treatment to others. Justice is a moral virtue and an attribute of human personality. Justice is close to equality in the sense that it creates a state of equilibrium in the distribution of rights and duties, but they are not identical. 

The Prophet (SAW) declared about Justice in Islam in a way: “There are seven categories of people whom God will shelter under His shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His. (One is) the just leader.”(Sahih Muslim)

Justice according to Quran

In Islam Justice is considered to be the supreme virtue. In Holy Quran Allah Almighty mentioned about Justice in many times that we are going to discuss below:

Allah Almighty said in Quran: “God commands justice and fair dealing…” (Quran 16:90).  

From this verse, we can conclude that Allah commanded us to do justice and fair dealings in all aspects of life whether it’s small or big matter. In another verse of Quran related to Justice, Allah Almighty says: “O you, who believe, be upright for God, and (be) bearers of witness with justice!” (Quran 5:8).

 Therefore, we can conclude justice is an obligation of Islam and injustice is forbidden. The place or importance of justice to the Quranic value system is displayed by the following verse: “We sent Our Messengers with clear signs and sent down with them the Book and the Measure in order to establish justice among the people…” (Quran 57:25)

The one and only purpose of sending the prophets was to establish Justice in the world and end injustice. By doing justice means giving everyone his right. But this simple statement covers all the complexities of life in their endless and ever-changing relations; all the allurement; all the conflicts and problems. 

To guide the people, Allah sent down the Prophets with clear signs, the Book, and the Balance. The Book contains the revelations that spell out what’s fair and unfair or right and wrong. From Holy Book, we can understand what is right or wrong and what Allah has commanded us

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In another verse of Holy Quran Allah says: “… Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.” (Quran 60:8). 

 From this verse, we can conclude that Quran spells out the distinction between good and bad through vivid commandants regarding justice. Allah has asked His worshippers to maintain the system of justice even if the conditions and circumstances are against family and kinship. Quran narrated it as: “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both….” (Quran 4:135).

While dealing with one’s enemy one is not strong enough to do justice because the hatred surpasses the sublime feelings of justice. Despite, Quran has asked to fear Allah and establish justice with an enemy as well. Allah is All-Watchful, observe everything, and will hold a person accountable for an inch of injustice if happened. In other words, you cannot do injustice even when you are dealing with the enemy.

The Quran also refers to particular instances and contexts of justice.  One such instance is the requirement of just treatment of orphans. In Holy Quran, Allah Almighty stated that: “And approach not the property of the orphan except in the fairest way, until he [or she] attains the age of full strength, and give measurement and weight with justice…” (Quran 6:152)

Justice according to Sunnah of Prophet (SAW)

The Prophet (SAW) asked to be just and kind. He (SAW) always had to deal with people and their affairs as a supreme judge, reformer, apostle, and leader of Muslims. In conducting Justice our beloved Prophet (SAW) made no distinction between believers and non-believers, friends and foes, high and low.

There are so many examples of Justice from the life of Prophet (SAW) from which we can get inspiration and can do justice in our all aspects of life. Here we will discuss some of them:

A woman of the Makhzoom family with good connections was found guilty of theft. For the prestige of the Quraish, some prominent people including Usaamah Ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, interceded to save her from punishment. 

The Prophet (SAW) refused to forgive the crime and expressed displeasure saying: “Many a community ruined itself in the past as they only punished the poor and ignored the offenses of the exalted. By Allah, if Muhammad’s (My) daughter Fatimah would have committed theft, her hand would have been severed.” (Bukhari).

Allah has commanded his messengers to establish justice and spoke to them in affirmative tone as quoted in Hadith: “O My slaves, I have forbidden injustice for Myself and forbade it also for you. So avoid being unjust to one another.” (Sahih Muslim).

Allah detests a ruler who has bestowed with supremacy yet is ignorant of justice. Allah will deprive him of His shade in His territory at the Day of estimation as Hadith narrates: “There are seven categories of people whom God will shelter under the shade of His throne on the Day when there will be no shade except this. [One is] the just leader.” (Sahih Muslim).

In another hadith Holy Prophet (SAW) stated that: “People, beware of injustice, for injustice shall be darkness on the Day of Judgment.”(Musnad Ahmed). So we can say we have to know about justice and injustice, if we know about it then we can act according to that. Justice has broad meanings that include unfair dealings, uttering words that can hurt the sentiments and biased feelings towards fellow being.

Justice is an essential part of Islamic teachings and should be part of every faith messenger. The foundation of a territory is justice that Allah has loved for His worshipper and commanded His messenger too. Those who will neglect justice will in the lowest steep of hell and the oppressed get their due rights.

 reason Islam cannot approve of a purely spiritual movement that never bothers about the problems of the people. Islam does not leave burning issues of the society to the whims of self-seeking Machiavellian politicians, but deals with politics itself, which cannot be separated from life. 

It is for the same reason that good Muslims are committed citizens of a country and not ascetics who flee from the day-to-day affairs of the world. In a society where the best minds are absorbed in abstruse metaphysical disquisitions, Vedantic philosophy may develop; but the most grievous injustice will prevail in that society, causing incalculable suffering to the people. 

Isn’t it a pity that in the “most civilized countries”, people are still treated as second class citizens on the basis of their skin color? Islam is strongly opposed to all forms of injustice and takes all measures to ensure that justice prevails in every field. Naturally, Islam faces staunch opposition from those quarters where the vested interests want to continue their exploitation freely, without any interruption. 

The emphasis on justice very clearly bears out Islam’s stance on a justly balanced society, the realization of which in space and time, is the desired end of all the means at the disposal of a Muslim society.

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[thedevote87]

You know, Jimmy? While I can't say that you have never been responsible for helping out the town you also created or influenced the vast majority of major threats in the first place. The Yolkians only came to Retroville because of your signal. The same goes for Meldar Prime. The Nanobots, Shirley, and Evil Jimmy were all your creations. You caused the ice age. You created the sentient pants. You made the sick patch, you turned your teacher into a fifty-foot monstrosity, and you injured Santa Claus, almost ruining Christmas. The vast majority of this town's problems are caused, at least indirectly, by you. And you know what? In all honesty, that would be fine. You are very intelligent and you almost always do fix it, and in the end it's extremely unlikely that you won't end up benefiting the world a lot more than you will damage it. My children and my children's children are probably going to live in a world free of war and disease, and I'll have you to thank for that.

But fuck, dude. You can't keep using your intelligence as a way to escape your humanity. I didn't ask you to say salt because I thought a customer would seriously care or because I was insecure, I did it because it made you look weird and I was trying to get you to adopt behaviors and use language that makes you come across like a normal fucking person. Everyone knows what sodium chloride is, but calling it that outside the context of a chemistry class makes you seem like someone who defines themselves solely by their intelligence, which is undeniably who you are. I know you think that there's nothing wrong with being that person, dude, but there is. Taking your IQ and deciding that it elevates you above the rest of the planet is an awful decision that will lead to a life filled with misery and alienation. It will color every interaction you ever have and make it impossible to have real friends or relationships. I'm not saying that you won't have any. But they won't hold any meaning to you, and they certainly won't bring you any happiness. Sure, you'll probably manage a pity-fuck or two your sophomore year of college after giving some drunk sorority girl a jetpack ride, but it'll bring you nothing but emptiness. Maybe you'll eventually abandon women altogether and decide that "your true love is science", secretly seething inside whenever you see a guy like Nick or Bolbi getting married to someone he really cares about, who cares about him. You'll say I'm exaggerating, but dude, look at how you treat the people in your life now. Carl and Sheen, quirks aside, really do see you as a friend, and they'd go through some serious shit if it meant helping you out of a scrape. Can you say that you see them the same way, as anything other than the only two kids your age willing to put up with your ridiculous ego? What have you ever done for them? Inventing doesn't count, dude. Even when you build something for someone else, you're really doing that for YOU.

Every llama-bot or Ultra Lord simulator is only created with the expectation of further praise. They're not friends to you. They're worshippers. And your parents? Lord, the way you treat them. You think I've got folks that care about me the way your mom and dad do, working in a shithole like this? I wish. Everyday your dad watches you scarf down the dinner your mom slaved to make for you and prays that you might think about spending some fucking time with him instead of disappearing into your lab to do god knows what. They watch you toy with dimensional-warping science that they can't wrap their minds around on a daily basis and you laugh at them for worrying about you. Have you ever played catch with your dad, Jimmy? Ever asked him how his day at work was? You don't have a clue what l'd do for a dad like yours in my life, dude. What about your mom? Why not invent something that'll make her life easier instead of gallivanting around the Bermuda Triangle to play with fucking seaweed? We both know the reason. She would thank you for it, she'd be happy to imagine a version of you that thought for an instant about the needs of another person, but she wouldn't call you the greatest thing in the universe for it like your friends do. And in Neutron's world, whoever doesn't do that might as well not exist.

Ignore me if you want. Keep going the way you're going, and I'll see you in thirty years, lugging around sixteen Nobel prizes in your pockets as if they could substitute for a lifetime's worth of human love and interaction. You've always mocked Calamitus for his inability to finish what he started, but the man had a wife and a daughter that tolerated him enough to want to stay in his life through everything, and at the rate you're going I'd be amazed if you could manage the same with Goddard. The rest of Retroville, Jimmy, they'll never be able to do what you do. They'll never be able to invent rockets or solve cold fusion or add three numbers together. But they will find genuine friendship and love, and they will call it salt, and despite everything you accomplish you'll only be remembered as nothing more than the man who wouldn't. Who couldn't, perhaps. Get out, dude. You're fired. Big McThankies from McSpanky's.

ah yes the jimmy neutron salt vent copypaste from 4chin