#required. but mostly. in its philosophy. my GOD its philosophy. and the way that philosophy encapsulates both the macro--the insights on

[highlyentropicmind]

Why there are no religions in the world of "The last airbender"

The worldbuilding of ATLA is surprisingly deep and well thought out, well, up until season 2 of Korra, and even then it's mostly good

There are nations, cultures, philosophies, histories, secret societies... But you may have noticed there are no religions

"But there are temples!" you say, and you are right, there are temples to the Avatar full of monk and nuns, as well as the whole Air Nomad society which is a like huge religious order

But consider this, when Aang or Korra visited the temples to the Avatar the monks there were... Fine, they were glad the Avatar had visited, but they didn't fall the ground in veneration, they didn't fall in ecstasy at the presence of their deity. Only one person ever does in the entire series: The mouth foam guy

And remember, the Avatar is the chosen one of Raava, the embodiment of Order itself who fought against Vaatu to ensure the existence and prosperity of life

Raava IS a God by any definition of the word, and she is linked to the Avatar by her promise: "We will be together through ALL of your lifetimes, and we will NEVER give up", which basically enshrines the Avatar as demigod

And all of this is not a metaphor, this is history, it actually happened in the world of the story, and this is the reason why there are no religions in the world of ATLA

When the people of the Norther Water tribe tell you those weird fishes are literally the Moon and the Ocean, they mean it, this is literal truth. Maybe humans cannot fully understand how this works, but no one can deny it is true

If a forest burns down you can fully expect the spirit of the forest to manifest and attack people. If someone tells you the Lady of the Water is around doing vigilante justice, you take it seriously. The library of Wan Shi Tong is real, and Koh could steal your face if you run into him

My point is that the truth about the spiritual world is not up to debate in this world, and this makes people interact with the spiritual and the divine in a different way

For starters, people know they have souls, they know the reincarnate, this is a verifiable truth of the universe

For this reason when they think of the spirits they are not thinking of something that is fundamentally different to them, because people are spirits too, spirits that take physical bodies, much like the Moon and the Ocean

Some spirits are more powerful than others, but this is a gradient, and spirits can move up or down, so the difference between a God and a Spirit is kinda blurry. After all, Raava became incredibly weak before fusing with the spirit of Wan

And sure, a powerful spirit could abuse its power, but then other spirits could join to stop them, like what happened with Vaatu

And finally spirits are 99% of the time doing their own shit and they don't care too much about the physical world

All of this adds up to a worldview in which the word "worship" is meaningless. You wouldn't worship a forest spirit anymore than you would worship the city mayor. Maybe you should respect them, sometimes you should fear them, but you would never adore them

So what about the temples?

It seems that some people want to live simple lives contemplating the mysteries of the universe, and that's what temples and monasteries are for. But this life doesn't require the worship of anything

Sure, the Avatar is an example of the mysteries of the universe they wish to understand, like the primordial spirits, and reincarnation, but when you think about it, everything and everyone is an example of those mysteries. They are all spirits in the universe after all

Finally the Air Nomad society looks very religious, but when you think about it they are close as atheistic as you can get in a world were a God is literally always walking the Earth

The Air Nomads wish to be free from attachment, to escape the cycle of birth and rebirth, to stop being spirits and exit this place inhabited by mortal beings AND spiritual beings. The Air Nomads reject both the physical and the spiritual world because they wish to transcend both

This reveals something very interesting about our own world: Religions can only exist as we know them because we are not sure of any of their claims

Edit: I've thought of a better way to express my ideas on this subject, but you can see what I had originally written at the end

Try to imagine if any of the doctrines of Christianity or Islam would make sense if people were absolutely sure they are true

Take faith for example, both religions insist faith is necessary for salvation, but if people were sure that these religions are true, what's the point of faith?

Take halal eating, a set of rules to eat without sin. If people were sure Islam is true, would there be any virtue in eating halal? It would be like not putting a metal fork in an electric socket. It doesn't make you a good person, just a person who understands how the universe works

In fact, going to church, or the mosque, praying, doing all the rituals, would be empty, meaningless. Humanity just got told what are the electric sockets of the soul and we avoid them

Without uncertainty, none of these doctrines have any value

And yet, that's not universal. It is possible to have doctrines whose moral value is independent of any uncertainty, for example, Utilitarianism, Kanthian Ethics, or even some sects of Buddhism that don't teach anything about reincarnation or celestial beings

In the world of ATLA people and spirits would have no option but to follow similar doctrines, finding value in the suffering or joy we know we put into the world, into the universality of our actions, or into our perception of ourselves and our place in the universe. In fact, this is exactly what the Air Nomad society is all about

I guess, my conclusion is that religion, at least the way most people live it, needs uncertainty. We can imagine world were people are certain about the truth of religion, and in those worlds religion becomes empty

But that there are other doctrines that don't need uncertainty, and perhaps, we should focus on them more

Original:

Religions require faith, they require dogma, they create a cosmology and then they create disagreement when you find someone with a different cosmology, and they require constant effort to maintain people in the religion

Often religious people like to claim their religious is logical and obvious, that everyone would believe and be convinced if they just stopped resisting, but if this was the case, if people actually knew how the spiritual world works, it wouldn't be a big deal. It would be like gravity, or rain

Most major faiths repeat over and over how important faith is, but if people were actually sure, faith wouldn't be important. People don't have faith in the Avatar anymore than they have faith in their friends

I'm thinking about writing a story where an Abrahamic style god reveals itself constantly, so that no one can have any doubts, en explore how such a world would function

[thedreadvampy]

sorry I'm on one now. Narnia is one of my Big Rant triggers.

but like. I would be lying if I said I didn't love Narnia

(everything except the Horse and His Boy, which a) even as a tiny kid made me uncomfortable with how fucking racist it is (literally there is ONE. ONE. character of colour who isn't evil, selfish, greedy and violent. even when you're 5 and white and don't really understand racism it's like. sorry there are just no nice people in this whole country? and every Narnian is lovely?) and b) is just fucking DULL partly bc of the 2 dimensional racist caricatures populating the world)

but I can't pretend for a second that it isn't specifically built around a Christian theology that's explicitly racist, hierarchical, supremacist, colonialist and The Bits I Like Least Of Anglicanism

and my FAVOURITE books in the series (except the Silver Chair which tbh is WAY less theological and way more mythology-nerd) are the first and last, which are by far the most explicitly Christian. even more so than TLTWATW.

and I can just about stand by the Magician's Nephew bc it's mostly just a mix of Christian creation myth and CS Lewis's sci fi interests in the esoteric and multiverses and it honestly feels fine. but my all time favourite most iconic Narnia book is The Last Battle and I just. cannot. justify it for a second from a political or philosophical standpoint.

it's got it all bc it's the book where Lewis is like ok hold up let me lay out explicitly what my theology is. and what he thinks it's important to say is:

Almost all Muslims are bad and evil

They worship Satan by doing Bad Evil Deeds to please him

There are a couple of Good Muslims who do good deeds. they need to be brought to the light, understand that the voice calling them to do good deeds is the Christian god, and they too can achieve the kingdom of heaven

Some people will use Christianity as a mask for exploitation and mistreatment. They are bad and their faith is false (ok fine)

...and they're doing that because they're CONSPIRING WITH THE EVIL MUSLIMS TO OPPRESS GOOD CHRISTIANS

...and THAT'S THE ONLY REASON ANYONE WOULD TELL YOU THAT GOD AND ALLAH ARE DIFFERENT NAMES FOR THE SAME GOD. because they're either conning you or because they've been misled and can't really think for themselves.

DID I MENTION. THAT MUSLIMS ARE EVIL AND TRYING TO BRING DOWN CHRISTIANS.

and other than the GOD AREN'T MUSLIMS JUST THE WORST of it all, he also goes back over to more fully explain several points he's made throughout the series, such as:

white Christian public school kids are the god ordained leaders of the world and attempts to think otherwise are heretical

god places people where they need to be to serve his purpose

free will is largely an illusion - your only choice is faith or chaos, and as a godly person your actions are preordained

the problem is though. he's kind of a really good character writer? and in The Last Battle he pulls out most of his best classics (hi Reepicheep! hi Frank! hi Jill!) and gives us a whole wealth of really fun new characters (Tirian and Jewel, Emeth, Puzzle, Shift, Griffle and Ginger are all just SO FUN) and it's such a solid adventure. for me it's hands down the most FUN Narnia to read and an effective and affecting end to the series.

but like. god its unjustifiably fucked philosophy is baked into every single character and event. it's so hard to ignore. it's my favourite book in the series. it's the book that makes me angriest. it's everything right with Narnia and everything wrong with Narnia. I like it cause it asks me to engage critically with Lewis' philosophy and I hate it cause it requires me to engage critically with Lewis' philosophy.

in conclusion, Narnia is a land of contrasts. also occasionally brownface.

[gascon-en-exil]

What are your 5 favorite FE maps? Be it for story, gameplay, or anything else.

That's quite a difficult question, both because there's so many of them to choose from and because it can be hard to compare maps from different games especially when there are different design philosophies, ex. how most of FE4's maps are a slog to play through but are fantastic in terms of laying out the game's broad narrative. Still, in no particular order:

Genealogy of the Holy War Chapter 5

On the subject of FE4, the atmosphere of Chapter 5 absolutely sells it, full of mounting dread and a sort of fatalism that one rarely sees in FE or in a lot of video games for that matter. The massacre of the knights of Leonster and Quan and Ethlyn's deaths play out as a part of regular gameplay, with no way for the player to intervene in time, and the chapter hits you over and over again with every conquered castle and anxious character conversation and the inevitable barbecue that Sigurd is marching toward. The pacing slows to a crawl in the middle because desert maps are terrible, but like I said this is mostly about the story and atmosphere. Chapter 5 is the one that makes me most skeptical of IS remaking FE4, because of how much it conflicts with the philosophy of never allowing the player to feel too bad. Watch them add an Avatar who figures out Arvis's plan but sticks around anyway until Sigurd sends them to follow Oifey and Shannan at the last minute, paving the way for them to be playable again at the start of Gen 2.

Fates Revelation Chapter 21

Revelation's numerous gimmick maps miss more often than they hit, but this one is fairly interesting with tiles that shift enemies between promoted and unpromoted forms. There's some fun tactical potential here, especially as you can use a Dragon Vein to swap the tile effects, and it's more memorable fun than the route's awkward attempts at platforming or a stealth mission lifted from Path of Radiance or...God, that snow level....

Blazing Blade Chapter 26x (Eliwood)/28x (Hector)

Sonia is one of my favorite FE antagonists, because she's just so delightfully evil even as I'm fairly indifferent to her woobie of an adopted daughter. This map is sort of a take on a water dungeon concept, with platforms that sink and rise every few turns. It can be a headache to navigate, especially as Sonia is one of those bosses that spams long-range magic, but it's generally not too difficult to figure out unless you're actually trying to use Nino. The ending is great too, with the reveal that Sonia was a morph all along and didn't realize it.

Three Houses Crimson Flower Chapter 17

FE16's map design is overall unremarkable, so on the basis of character work alone it was either this or the non-CF battle in Enbarr for its Ferdibert boss conversation. This one took the prize though, because 1) that boss conversation requires me to be using Ferdinand, whereas the Dimidue death scene can be triggered by anyone, 2) that's just one line, and while it does provide the energy for the ship's Wicked parallel that the voice actors took advantage of that's nothing compared to a dialogue scene that's so gay that it had to be laid over a black screen because any visual would completely obliterate all attempts to no homo Dimitri and Dedue's relationship, and 3) unlike every other instance of optional character moments in battles I can think of in this game, getting the Dimidue death scene actually makes the map easier as you don't have to fight Dedue as a Crest Beast. That's some good gameplay and (very gay) story integration right there.

Radiant Dawn Part 3 Endgame

Desperately needs the option to skip enemy and NPC phases, but it's got a feeling of dread and inevitability similar to FE4 Chapter 4 thanks to the ominous counter in the corner of the screen that goes up whenever any unit is defeated. It's complicated and sprawling and I've seen this map play out in all sorts of ways based on what the AI decides to do, and the enemies can be quite difficult too and make it tough to rush ahead and treat this like a rout map. Then the counter gets to 80 and the map just...ends, and so does the world sort of. The first time you play through it without knowing what's coming up it can all be pretty jarring.

[ravencromwell]

we grow not like a flower blooming, so what’s innermost becomes what’s outermost, but like trees, our earliest structures and twists shaping what comes after, hidden beneath the bark.

Sometimes I think we build time in order to escape that raw forever. Sometimes I think we spend our whole lives trying to get back there: chasing castles on hills and green lights at the end of piers and various visions of God. When you are caring for a child—and I think this is especially and particularly true when caring for your own child, in that daily, inescapable way I never managed when I was, for example, visiting with my sister’s children when they were young—you find yourself, every day, in their full and awake presence. And in the presence of what you were, when you were the seed crystal of yourself.

That sensation is… not always comfortable! Back then we were scared and back then we were hungry and back then we wanted as if there was nothing else in the universe and we couldn’t do anything about any of it, not because we were not strong or stable enough, or did not have enough fine motor control, or language, but because we did not quite yet know that these overwhelming feelings could pass, can pass, do pass. We did not know there was such a world as after. But also back then we could stare in awe, forever, at the underside of an iron table outside Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square, at the leaves and the sky through the diamond spaces between the metal. We could stare forever, even if we only stared for five minutes, or two—because the distinction between two minutes and five and forever was not so firmly wrought.

You start to see the children in other people, and in yourself. Humans on the whole seem less fundamentally good or evil and more tired, hungry, thirsty, asserting their independence from mommy / daddy / nurse, needing care, navigating this or that difficult transition, being unexpectedly, breathtakingly kind. It’s not like seeing The Matrix, this weird new vision doesn’t suddenly explain everything, and it certainly doesn’t excuse everything—one reason we try to help one another grow up is that a toddler with the tools of a grown being is a dangerous creature, to themselves and to others. But still, reading parenting books and connecting them with my experience, I gasp—the way you do when a physical therapist finds just the right place to push, or when the couch-and-chair kind of therapist asks just this one innocent question. Oh. Oh, that’s how it is.

Take transitions, for example. (This particular bit is from Tovah Klein’s How Toddlers Thrive.) Toddlers tend to have trouble with state transitions—from playing to eating, from eating to storytime, and of course the big transition to sleep. The problem is (Klein says, and I buy it) one of control, and time. We understand the now, we understand what is in front of us and around us. We understand that we are right here with a book or a toy sheep, and we are comfortable. Even when we don’t like the now, we know it. We can navigate.

The next, though, that’s a problem. That’s an issue. Who knows what happens next? Anything could be out there! In fact, the very prospect of next, the fact that there is such a creature, suggests that we don’t actually have as much control of now as we like to think. Next undermines us. So we cling to now. In those moments, it falls to the parents to help the child through the arc: begin with sympathy for the emotion—of course you want to keep reading, you were happy there, of course you don’t want to get up and sit down for a meal, of course, you have some measure of control and comfort in this moment in this uncertain world and you don’t want to go to bed, because who knows what happens tomorrow—and then, once sympathy and empathy have been established, offer structure. This is what we have to do now. And: continuity.

I’m still here for you. I love you.

So there I am, at my dining room table, reading this Tovah Klein book on a Sunday night, up too late, in the pandemic, still, not wanting to go to bed, because tomorrow I have to get up at six thirty if I want to write before parenting, and then there’s parenting, and then the same thing tomorrow, and the day after, and if I just stay here, reading about toddlers and their transition difficulties, I will know what’s going on, and be happy. And my chest is suddenly tight. Because I still don’t want to get up. Because who knows what comes next.

... This makes me think, too, about these little magic mirrors we carry in our pockets or pocketbooks or leave on the table in arm’s reach, about our phones, that is, about all the many ways they talk to us and remind us that they exist. I think about email and slack and SMS and the tweets and the facebooks and instagrams, how they’re always there, how unless we’re careful and clear in our boundaries, they never stop talking to us. I’ve read no end of “distraction crit,” those essays and eleven-chapter books about how what we really need is focus, freedom from the device’s interruptions. I eat that stuff like I eat Thin Mints—too many of them, too fast, because they feel too much like exactly what I want. I want to spend more time in maker time, I want to spend more time in Deep Work, in Flow. I don’t want to get Hijacked by Evolutionary Plains Ape Survival Strategies that don’t match with what I Need to Do as a Knowledge Worker in the Modern Economy.

But: maybe it’s not just the distraction. Maybe it’s not just the evolutionary plains ape whatever. Maybe the phone’s buzzes and dings and pop-up notifications offer not so much interruption as the promise of a life without transitions—a life without time. If we’re in some sense always on email, we never have to get off email and go do something else. If we’re always on Twitter, we never have to put Twitter away. No matter how awful we feel, we are always in that place, which means we always are. There we are seen, and remembered, and loved. However much we are, at the same time and in the same place and sometimes even by the same people and devices, hated.

Of course, your phone does not love you. But it can kick out a little picture of a heart every once in a while, which makes you feel good, because in second grade you cut one just like that out of a piece of rough red construction paper. We are not complicated creatures.

Often, a toddler doesn’t need more than a kiss. A word, a calming touch. To be lifted. To be hugged in a way that doesn’t make them feel they’re falling. “I know how you feel. I get it. I feel that way too sometimes. And we’re in this together.” “I love you.” “I’m right here.”

It’s shattering to realize how little we need, and how much.

--Max Gladstone: Under The Table, Inside The Tree

[zero-buds]

Ask and ye shall receive @fantasy-the-final-frontier

I have to confess though, never saw Agent of Shield until like a few hours ago. I do know (most) of their names and I'm aware of the canon (someone said it's not canon but I think MCU counts it. If they can count Daredevil, then they should count AoS. Pretty sure that's how it works.) and the over arching plots were for each season. Leverage on the other hand, I have way more knowledge about, but since we're only focusing on one character, I'll try to keep it brief. No guarantees.

Quick synopsis for both though:

Agent of SHIELD follows a group of super secret spy agents take on world ending threats that don't require superhumans to assist to ensure world peace.

Leverage follows a group of thieves take on corrupt businessmen and turn them into two buck chuck.

Both have found family tropes, socially awkward dads, and chaotic children.

That aside, I'm gonna do a basic run down of both Nate Ford and Phil Coulson, compare a little between the two, and then parallel their core philosophies and backgrounds. We'll see if they're really all that similar. My money is that they aren't. You can decide for yourself if they're at all similar.

Feedback is welcome, and if you want a different kind of meta for me to do, Please request! I love meta analysis and I get bored. Very bored.

So, to start, Agent of Shield is a show that starts a few months after the first Avengers movie in 2012. Phil Coulson had originally died a few months earlier during the first Avengers movie by the hands of none other than Loki, the God of Mischief/Frost Giant/Prince of Asgard. It is revealed during the first episode that he is alive and well thanks to Project Tahiti -or as Coulson calls it, "Tahiti - its a magical place" through the introduction of Wade. During his introduction, we know that he is a hero and admired by many, but very few in the public eye actually know who he is or are aware that he is, in fact, alive. Phil Coulson leads a "rag tag team" within SHIELD, aka Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division - a secret government agency, to take on missions monitoring people who could potentially end the world as they know it, and deal with the threat in any way SHIELD sees fit. Coulson is a strong believer in doing the right thing, even if it means making hard decisions, and believes in SHIELD's mission to protect the world from any and all dangers. He is passionate, quick witted, empathetic, kind and caring, and occasionally socially awkward. He's self aware of who he is, his strengths and weaknesses, and has an awareness about others that makes him a good and efficient leader to his team. Throughout the five seasons he's there (the seventh one is... iffy. I don't want to count it because at that point, his conscience is in a robot (LMD) and it feels... off, but you can count it if you want to), we see him stay true to himself, and to who he is as a person during the development of his character.

Nathan Ford on the other hand is introduced as a drunk bastard who used to work as an insurance investigator for IYS - mostly art thefts, and is hired to go steal back airplane designs from Pierson, a private corpration whose main competitor is Victor Dubenich. Dubenich is an unassuming, panicked businessman who approaches Nate with a job offer to lead a team of thieves to steal back the designs stolen from Dubenich's company. It's revealed that Nate is familiar with each thief introduced in the episode, but he is hesitant about the job. It isn't until he's offered a chance for vengeance against his old employer for his son's death that he accepts. He and his team are then double crossed by Dubenich and Nate forms a revenge plan, running a con on him. At the end of the episode, he reluctantly becomes the leader/mastermind to the band of thieves he's worked with after successfully pulling off 32.2 million dollars on their revenge heist. The show then ensues a modern day Robin Hood episodic plot for five seasons (erm six now with a seventh coming up later in the year). Nate Ford is characterized as a self-serving man who is, in essence, an asshole. He's not sociable, he's not charming or affectionate, and he's a cynic for all to see. He's clever and cunning, has a knack for psychological manipulation on anyone who crosses him, and is always ten steps ahead of everyone else. You can literally never win against him because he has the mental fortitude to never be wrong.

Tldr: Phil Coulson, soft nerdy boy. Nathan Ford, a raccoon from a landfill that just never got cleaned out.

Now that you get a picture of who these characters are, you're gonna be asking yourself "well, wait a minute, these are two completely opposite characterizations, they can't possibly be similar to each other." Au contrare mi amigos. It is precisely this opposition that makes them similar. (They're also both Catholic which is the funniest thing I found out through my search)

Nathan Ford will do whatever it takes to make sure corporations who screwed over the "little people" (a title coined by many of the rich), get what they deserve. Often times this means bankrupting them, humiliating them, and putting them in jail. Phil Coulson will do whatever it takes to do what is right and protect SHIELD's good name. Both characters actions are done with a conviction in believing that they are doing the right thing. (I know, I know, Nate Ford isn't about doing the Right Thing, but self satisfaction, but he does do it for the right reasons.) They are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, and are more than willing to put their lives on the line to accomplish it.

Another similarity I've found is that Nate and Phil started from places that didn't have them in leadership positions and there were specific reasons for it. If we take in the MCU movies into account for Phil's character, then we know that Phil was introduced as a grunt for SHIELD. Nathan was an insurance investigator, but he never actually picked the jobs. People told him what to do and he followed it to the ends of the earth. Phil was a grunt because he didn't show any sign of wanting anything more than to be a representative of SHIELD. Nate was a grunt because he never cared about becoming an executive and filling out the paperwork. He was all about the thrill of the chase and the challenge that came with it.

The way they get put into leadership positions are quite different, but they do their jobs very well. As the mastermind, Nate plans for everything, and tells his team what to do and where they have to go, even if it means pushing his team to the very edge of danger. While Phil does do a lot of planning and much of the direction, he's more of a take action kind of guy. He is always in the middle of a conflict, and he doesn't endanger his teammates unless he absolutely has to. Though there are moments where Phil can be seen being ruthless and cold, he isn't forcing his teams into situations that can have a plan B or that can be done by him instead of the others.

As leaders, both clearly have different methods, but in terms of responsibility, I think they both are very good at balancing out skill levels among their teammates. Nate can read people and knows what his team can and cannot do, but pushes them to try anyways. Due to this push, his team are capable of putting forth the effort that is required for their jobs to be done and learn a new skill in the process. (Hardison is the best example of this) On the other hand, Phil is empathetic to his team and understands what his team is capable of. They are highly trained professionals, but he understands that there are limits and ensures he, or backup, is always there to make sure the job is a success. I realize that Phil actually shoulders quite a lot throughout Agent of Shield, and sometimes it's hard for him to handle the responsibilities he's given in perfect balance.

Phil and Nate have similar grievances and identity crises in the middle of their arcs. While Phil grieves and laments on having missed a chance for a family and the loss of many of his friends and coworkers to HYDRA(HIVE?), Nate grieves the loss of his son. One grieves much healthier than the other one does. At least partly. Phil's sorrow isn't really touched upon and it's kind of brushed off, but it is important, and it is there. Nate's is the barebones of the show, and why he continues to be a criminal for five seasons.

Identity crises whew boy. That's a really long one. Phil was supposed to be dead like, several times. Apparently eight or so. He literally barely felt human anymore and I think it got to him. Like it really got to him that he just dies and comes back when he shouldn't. He's Phil Coulson, but also not. He loses his footing for the second half of the first season and regains it through the third season. Then loses it again by getting his revenge on Wade and kills him. This haunts and distresses him because he has never, ever done anything for the sake of revenge before and that is just something he has never experienced and it turns his whole world upside down. Look, he was SHIELD's star hero, okay? The golden boy, the heart and soul, and the successor to Director Fury. Yea, he's killed before, but he's never done it unnecessarily, and that's what gets to him. He killed for all the wrong reasons and it ruins his psyche for a good while and it eats at him, knowing that he can never go back to undo it all.

Nathan Ford has an identity crises for all of season two due to being unable to come to terms with himself of being very good at crime while also being very good at winning. He doesn't know how to stop and it is killing him. There is an immense pressure on his own psyche when it comes to being a thief and a criminal just like his dad and it pains him to know that he is exactly like him in almost every way that matters. When Sophie leaves it makes him worse because, well, he essentially becomes a monster after that. And whose to stop him? Right? He keeps winning, and nobody can outdo him, and no matter the dangers, he always comes out on top, right? Until he doesn't. And he falls down to earth the same way Icarus did when his waxed wings couldn't support him anymore.

Both of their identities are questioned, their philosophies thrown aside, and are reborn anew (Phil literally getting resurrected), by the end of their middle arcs.

Their guilt though. That's the one I have to like really touch upon. Because I think that as much good as they both do for the world (Debatable for Nate), and doing things that help others, they suffer from this deep knowledge that nothing they do is enough to fix the world they live in. While Phil is an optimistic kind of guy, he knows that despite everything he is capable of, he can't do it all, and it really makes him feel like he's letting people down because of that. He knows he has a team that can help him with that problem, but he still feels the guilt of the choices he could've made that he didn't to help others or the choices he made that didn't help others. Like with Wade or John Garrett (I butchered something here ssshh). When he knows he's going to die really soon, he tries his best not to make it everyone else's problem because he feels guilty for not being able to move forward with everyone else. But ultimately, him pushing them away isn't enough for them to leave him alone.

Nate feels so much guilt and weight of being the asshole to everyone and getting away with it that it impacts his psyche in season three to four still. He knows that he could be a cruel monster if he stepped over the edge just a little more and it is killing him. There is so much of his soul that is being eaten away when he does a grift or plans a con on another schmuck CEO that it suffocates him and he is unable to get out of it. The team do their best to try and alleviate it and cheer him up, but there's only so much they can do for him because they don't have the same feelings he does unlike the SHIELD team. Nate's team like what they do, so they can't really understand why Nate feels what he does, but they do their best and that's enough.

I think both of them as mentors to their teams are very similar. They give good advice when necessary, aside from social relationships, and don't hover too much when it comes to being a guide to the younger ones. Phil and Nate play the roles as Team Dad, and are often the ones most of the younger teammates aspire towards. Nate's affection isn't as apparent because he doesn't seem to be that kind of guy, but we know Phil is very much a caring Dad and makes Dad jokes to make people feel a little better.

As for fan reception, I'm not sure what that means, but I think Nathan Ford is received with begrudging enthusiasm while Phil Coulson is met with awe and adoration. Like, alright Nate, you can come into the house, but you're on really thin ice man whereas Coulson is met with acceptance and mutual respect.

Coulson is our hero that we all love and adore versus Nathan Ford the anti-hero whom we treat like the grumpy cat that he is.

Whose more badass? Coulson. Whose more cruel? Nate.

Personalities wise, I think that while both are socially awkward, and can be very clever and quick witted, they wouldn't really see eye to eye with each other. Coulson believes in the good in people and keeps trying to improve and be better than he was before whereas Nate... doesn't. He believes that people need to change the world so that the world can be better, but I don't think he really sees much good in people unless they show it in their actions. People follow Coulson because he's the unsung hero in the MCU, and a friendly, mild mannered man who just wants to make the world a better place. People follow Nate because it's not just his good judgement and clever plans that make the most fun for their jobs, they follow him because of his iron strength to keep trying to do good when all the world wants to do is be cruel and unkind.

P.S

Phil Coulson is aligned as Neutral Good.

Nathan Ford is aligned with Chaotic Neutral.

Fight me.

[phemonoi]

The Thing About Myths — A Rant

This is a very complex topic. It is a topic I personally hate, and a topic that represents a barrier in the community. It is irritating, but it is necessary we address it. 

Myths are interesting sources of inspiration. They are interesting types of literature and they are impactful in each culture, a big part of what makes a culture what it is. Myths come in many ways; they are narratives that can express any truth, idea, or value a certain society holds. And sometimes they tell us a great deal about the idiosyncrasy of a people, which is incredibly useful for historians and sociologists. Myths can also be fun, but sometimes they can become... a tedious topic. In a religious level, I have noticed, myths can be come a hindrance between the devotee and the divine. 

In our path, myths are an important part of the history of our practices. Sometimes myths tells us about the way ancestors related to divinity, and the type of relationship they had. However, I must draw a line between myth as a form of exposition, and myth as a form of “truth”, to put it in some way. 

Let me be more direct: people fear the Gods because of their myths. They resent the Gods because of their myths. They adore the Gods because of their myths. Or they outright disrespect the Gods, and their devotees, because of their myths. 

A thing must be established very clearly right now: myths are not truth. Paganism is not known for being part of a tradition of “revelation”. The stories and the narratives we tell about our Gods, are ours. They’re not theirs. Anyone can write or rewrite a myth, and that doesn’t mean the thing they’re telling is a revelation from the Muses or a truth about the Gods. Mostly myths come from oral traditions, and they are deeply ingrained within the cultures that birth them; they change and evolve, they get adapted, their meaning and significance often changes as well. Myths are more cultural phenomena than religious revelation. 

Let me put it another way. In our western cultural background, dominated by religions of revelation (the abrahamic tradition), we are accustomed to seeing people belonging to these religions argue about their beliefs in reference to their myths, or their books of revelations. We often see them quoting them, and retelling the stories told there with passion, taking them as guidelines in their relationship to the divine. This is completely fine for them because that’s part of their tradition; that’s their method, and it serves a purpose in their spiritual path. However, this does not happen in paganism. 

Pagan religions do not have a book of revelations. In antiquity, the people who believed to hold absolute knowledge of the divine and preached it based on myths were mostly considered charlatans, or not taken very seriously. This is because in antiquity philosophy had the dominance over religious studies, and the philosophies available at the time considered myths to hold hidden meanings about the nature of the Gods. For example, Plotinus argued that one must not take myths in a literal way, but read them carefully and think about them metaphorically so that one could unlock the full meaning of their symbols, which often led towards a kind of platonic conclusion. Sallustius (a philosopher from the tradition of Julian, allegedly Julian himself) talks of myths as being important to our relationship with the Gods, but he doesn’t talk about that as myths being revelations, or prompting us to take everything a myth says as truth about the Gods. Sallustius was very well aware of the bad reputation myths give the Gods. They are rapists, thieves, cheaters, liars, and they often act cruelly and violently. However, because we worship the Gods, and that means being devoted to them, and that requires some level of loyalty and disposition towards them, then we must interpret these conflicting stories as more meaningful than just superficially immoral. Thus, the conflicting actions of the Gods in myths have been regarded as symbols of deeper ideas even before Plato, and even by the Stoics, and the Pythagoreans, and the Aristotelians, and what more. Even the Orphics themselves didn’t regard their myths as literal truth: one of the things one learned when being initiated was the “actual” interpretation of the superficial myth, which was more symbolic.

So this is the thing. Myths can illustrate philosophical ideas if we consider looking at them under the surface. Myths can tell us about a people’s specific values and customs depending on history. Myths can be enjoyable and fun. However, myths shouldn’t pose a conflict in our worship. 

You can do as you please with myths. You can follow Plotinus’ advice and have them be symbolical. Or you can ignore them altogether, as I do (I acknowledge the importance of myth in the plotinian tradition, but I just find them entertaining and that’s it, I don’t have enough interest in them to study them further). Or, alright, you can believe the myths and the actions of the Gods there as true in the context of our path. But then... ask yourself one thing: why would you want to worship the Gods? If you take myths as a guiding tool in your practice, and you do believe Zeus is a rapist, and Athena is an unfair bitch, and Aphrodite is a vane whore, and anything else, then... what’s the point of you praying? What’s the point of you having an altar? What’s the point of you wanting to connect to the divine through the figures of these Gods?

I mean, okay, I concede you can avoid worshipping the deities that you find to be morally conflicting altogether. But trust me; you will find immoral stories about every deity. You say, “alright, I will avoid worshipping the rapist and instead worship Hades, who is not like Zeus.” Surprise. You will come accross a myth that tells something conflicting about Hades. I promise. I don’t know any (because as I said, I ignore myths), but I PROMISE there is one. And you then will have to go through the burden of reexamining your relationship with Hades, the ways in which you disaprove of his actions in said myth, and perhaps even come to end your worship. Is this the type of path you want to walk? A path of fearing the Gods, of avoiding them, of praying to them to “stay away” from you? Really? 

OR you could just acknowledge that myths are not real. They are fiction. The Gods never commit the actions told there. Zeus never came down to earth in the form of rain to get Danae pregnant. Hera never actually made Heracles’ life impossible because of jealousy and rage. Aphrodite and Persephone never actually fought over Adonis. Apollo never really killed Orion or stalked Daphne. It didn’t happen. It couldn’t have happened, realistically speaking. So why do you believe it? Why do you choose to fear these Gods? You could simply take a myth and say, “well... this is bad. This does not align with my moral values. Good thing this is just a story rewritten by Ovid and not actual record of the activity of the Gods”. 

Myths tells us more about ourselves than about the Gods. Do not put yourself in the burden of having to hate the Gods because of their actions in stories. Do not be so immature and absorbed by our culture’s arrogance and end up “cancelling” the Gods for things a man wrote 2000+ years ago based on traditional stories, thinking of poetry and art, and not of religion. 

Stop fearing Zeus. Stop fearing Apollo. Stop fearing Hera and Athena. These Gods are much more than just figures that perform the worst acts of humanity. Give yourself the chance to have meaningful and loving relationships with them, and let others have that as well. 

I hope this post serves its purpose. 

[samwisethewitch]

Pagan Paths: Feri

Feri (sometimes spelled Faery) is an American neopagan tradition. Like Traditional Wicca, Feri is an initiatory tradition but does not place any limitations on who can be initiated. Although the requirement for initiation makes this religion less easily accessible, Feri has had a huge influence on modern neopaganism, including influencing other (non-initiatory) traditions like Reclaiming. For that reason, I think it’s important that we discuss Feri as part of our ongoing exploration of modern paganism.

This post is not meant to be a complete introduction to Feri. Instead, my goal here is to give you a taste of what Feri practitioners believe and do, so you can decide for yourself if further research would be worth your time. In that spirit, I provide book recommendations at the end of this post.

History and Background

Feri was founded by Victor Anderson and his wife, Cora, in the United States in the 1960s. Like Gerald Gardner, Victor Anderson claimed not to have created his tradition, but to have been initiated into it and then later added to it. In Anderson’s case, he claimed to have been initiated into witchcraft by a faery when he was nine years old.

The Andersons called Feri “the Pictish Tradition” and claimed that it was originally the Craft of the “Little People” in Ireland and Scotland. Victor Anderson was also influenced by Vodou and Hawaiian indigenous spirituality, although his connections to these traditions (both of which are closed) is unclear. Some modern Feri practitioners have made efforts to distance their practice from these elements appropriated from closed cultures, but Feri remains a very eclectic tradition that encourages initiates to “use what works.” Because of this, no two Feri practices are exactly alike.

There is another, more mythologized account of the birth of Feri, shared by author and Feri warlock Storm Faerywolf in his book Betwixt & Between. (In this book, Faerywolf uses the spelling “Faery,” but he is a member of the tradition founded by the Andersons.) In this myth, a group of powerful spiritual beings known as the Watchers rebelled against a false god millennia ago and taught magic to mankind. These Watchers are the fae, and they intermarried with humans and are the origin of all magic traditions. As the story goes, it was one of these Watchers who initiated Victor Anderson into what would later become known as Feri.

Because Feri traces its origin back to these spiritual ancestors, initiation is an important part of the tradition. When someone is initiated, they are said to be made a part of this Feri lineage, similar to how newly baptized Christians are said to be made a part of Christ’s family. This means that, in order to truly practice Feri, you must find a Feri teacher to train and initiate you.

Over the decades since the Andersons founded their tradition, many different lineages of Feri have formed, each with their own unique approach. Some are more visible and more involved with the public, while others practice under strict secrecy. Many of the practices and beliefs that are common in modern Feri come from the Bloodrose lineage.

Core Beliefs and Values

In the words of Cora Anderson, “the Craft is about doing right by one another and loving everyone you see.” However, Feri does not have a universal moral code — there is no Feri equivalent to the Wiccan Rede. While love and kindness are highly valued, the Andersons did not differentiate between light and dark magic and encouraged their followers to use magic to defend themselves when necessary. (You may have noticed that, like in Wicca, magic is an integral part of Feri.)

The Feri Tradition teaches that every person has three souls, each with its own characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. These souls have different names in different lineages, but Faerywolf identifies them as the talker (the “mental soul” associated with the ego/personality), the fetch (the “animal soul” associated with the subconscious and the primal mind), and the holy daemon or god soul (the part of the self that comes directly from God Herself and is able to commune with gods and spirits as equals). Much of the work of Feri revolves around aligning these three souls into a fully realized whole.

Another important part of Feri philosophy is embodied by the symbols of the Iron and Pearl Pentacles.

Iron is a grounding metal, and contemplating the Iron Pentacle keeps practitioners grounded in their astral travel. Feri initiates not only invoke the Iron Pentacle, but seek to embody it by moving through each point on the pentacle and addressing any blocks or hangups in the associated area of their lives. The five points are sex, pride, self, power, and passion. When all five of these points are in balance, we are able to confidently and effectively work our magic in the world. For example, we should not be afraid of sex, but we shouldn’t be obsessed with it either; we should take pride in our accomplishments, but shouldn’t be too full of ourselves; you get the idea. An initiate who fully embodies the Iron Pentacle is fully centered in their own divine power, as well as their physical body.

The Pearl Pentacle is the compliment to the Iron Pentacle. While the Iron Pentacle is personal, the Pearl Pentacle is transpersonal — it represents the qualities needed to form healthy relationships with others. Some Feri practitioners believe that each point on the Pearl Pentacle represents the “higher form” of one of the points of the Iron Pentacle. In the words of Victor Anderson, “when taken together, the Iron and the Pearl embody the divine union that is necessary to fully awaken the awareness of our divine natures.”

The points of the Pearl Pentacle are: love (defined as a genuine desire for union; can be said to be the higher form of sex), law (as in, the natural laws that govern our universe and our actions; can be said to be the higher form of pride), knowledge (learning from lived experience; can be said to be the higher form of self), power (also a point on the Iron Pentacle — here, it refers to our ability to share power with others), and wisdom (the balance between logic and emotion, head and heart; can be said to be the higher form of passion). The way these points are taught, and their relationship to the Iron Pentacle, may be different in different Feri lineages.

Feri practitioners believe that, by embodying the Iron and Pearl Pentacles, they can achieve a state known as the Black Heart of Innocence, which is defined as “sexual innocence.” It can also be thought of as the innocent, untainted state of small children and animals. This is the natural state of human beings, before we are conditioned to be ashamed or afraid of our sexual impulses.

This brings us to a final point of Feri philosophy: in Feri sex is sacred, as it was through a sexual act that God Herself created the universe. As Faerywolf puts it, “sex is a sacrament in our tradition.” That doesn’t mean that all Feri rituals have a sexual component, but some of them might. Mostly, the sacredness of sex requires Feri practitioners to live in a healthy relationship with their nature as sexual beings.

Important Deities and Spirits

The central deity in Feri is called Star Goddess or simply God Herself. She is the androgynous source of all life, “having within Her all principles, powers, and potencies of Nature.” (Quote from The Heart of the Initiate by Victor and Cora Andersons.) Star Goddess is not only the source of the others Gods, but the source of all life, including humans.

According to the Feri creation myth, in the beginning, Star Goddess was alone in the cosmic void, until she came upon a reflection of her own light. She was so enamored that she made love to her own reflection, and from this act of self-pleasure gave birth to all things.

Star Goddess often appears as a black-skinned woman whose skin is dotted with stars. In ritual, she is often represented with a large black candle.

Nimüe is an aspect of Star Goddess, a maiden who represents the Black Heart of Innocence. She rules over new life, growth, and potential.

Nimüe may appear as a child or a young woman. She can be represented in ritual with flowers (especially pink or white flowers) or with a waxing crescent moon.

Mari is the Great Mother, Star Goddess as the embodiment of pure manifestation. She is associated with the earth, moon, sea, and sky — it is she who gives life and form to all things. The earth is said to be her body, and she is said to be “the spirit of every woman.”

Mari may appear a a pregnant woman. She can be represented in ritual with images of the earth, the moon, or of mothers.

The Hag, also known as the Crone, is the primal Dark Goddess and Queen of the Dead. She is the archetypal witch, but also a grandmother and wise woman. Some believe that it is to her we return when we die.

The Hag often appears as a wizened old woman. She can be represented in ritual with images of ravens and/or vultures, or with a silver sickle.

Star Goddess has two children and consorts, the Divine Twins. They are the personification of duality — light and dark, good and evil, spirit and matter, united in a balanced pair. They may appear as brother and sister, as two lovers of any combination of genders, or as mortal enemies.

The Twins may appear as the Scarlet Serpent and the Azure Dove, who represent the duality of fire/water and earth/air. In ritual, they are often represented with a matching set of candles, one red and one blue.

The Blue God, sometimes called the Peacock God, is born from the union of the Divine Twins — he contains within himself all duality and appears with a combination of male and female features. He is associated with the divine spark within all living things, including one of the three human souls, which Faerywolf calls the holy daemon. He is the god of opposites, and exists in a permanent liminal state. He contains within him both good and evil, beauty and darkness.

The Blue God may appear as a young, androgynous or hermaphroditic person with blue skin. In ritual, he is often represented with peacock feathers.

Krom, also known as the Horned God, is the god of fertility, light, and heat. He is sometimes described as the consort of the Goddess as Mari. He is God as father and lover and is overtly sexual in nature. He has solar associations, but is also the lord of the harvest.

Krom may appear as a man with the head of a stag, glowing with the sun’s warmth. He can be represented in ritual with images of stags, bulls, phalluses, or the sun.

The Arddu (pronounced “ar-THEE”) or the Dark God is described as the “crone aspect of the God.” He is the god of witches, the king of the dead, and the spirit of winter. It is said that when we die, we must confront the Arddu before we can return to the Hag.

The Arddu often appears as an old, androgynous man, with the head and legs of a goat and the wings of a bat. He can be represented in ritual with images of skulls and bones.

Deity in Feri is complex and fluid. All of the goddesses can be said to be different aspects of one Goddess, and all of the gods can be said to be different aspects of one God. Furthermore, all of the deities, both gods and goddesses, can be said to be extensions of Star Goddess. Victor Anderson believed that everything is connected and that the Gods exist within the Universe and the individual. As he said, “God is self, and self is God, and God is a person like myself.”

In addition to the deities, there are also spirits called Watchers and Guardians who play an important role in Feri. The Watchers are mysterious celestial entities, said to be the fathers of magic. Guardians are spirits associated with the elements, who are called on to guard the circle during ritual. Some Feri practitioners believe that the Guardians are Watchers, while others see them as two distinct groups of spirits.

Feri Practice

As stated earlier, much of the work of Feri involves embodying the Iron and Pearl Pentacle in order to return to the Black Heart of Innocence. This is done through ritual, meditation, ecstatic trance, art, energy work, and/or magic.

Feri is an ecstatic tradition, which means many of its rituals and practices revolve around achieving an ecstatic state. Ecstasy is sometimes defined as the state of being completely absorbed in the focus of your attention, and other times as the removal of the consciousness from normal functioning. In Feri, ecstasy is used as a tool for spiritual growth.

Astral travel also plays a role in Feri practice. A Feri practitioner may use trance states to leave their body and enter the spirit realm, where they can encounter the gods, Watchers, faeries, and other spirits firsthand. In some traditions, this travel forms the backbone of the practice.

Art and creative expression are other tools used for spiritual growth in Feri. Visual art and poetry in particular are often used to express spiritual concepts or to help the initiate process what they have learned. Victor Anderson was a known poet and published a collection of devotional poetry called Thorns of the Blood Rose — many later Feri practitioners have followed in his footsteps.

Feri is considered a magic tradition as well as a religion, and many Feri practitioners consider themselves witches or warlocks. Magic is seen as a way of directing the universal life energy that makes up all things, and is a natural extension of our divine power as each of us is a part of Star Goddess.

Like Wiccan rituals, Feri rituals sometimes begin with casting a circle and calling the quarters. However, Feri uses different language and gestures for the circle casting, with a greater focus on the earth and the circle as an extension of the Goddess’s body. While in Wicca, the circle is used for every ritual, in Feri it may only be used for some rites.

Further Reading

If you are interested in Feri, I recommend reading the book Betwixt & Between by Storm Faerywolf. This is an excellent introduction to the tradition, written by the founder of the BlueRose lineage. You may also be interested in reading the works of Victor and Cora Anderson — though Feri has changed a lot since it was founded, the Andersons’ teachings still lie at the core of the tradition.

Because Feri is an initiatory tradition, you can only go so far on study alone. Eventually, you will have to find a teacher to train and initiate you. Without this initiation, what you are doing is not, and cannot be, Feri. Thankfully, it is becoming ever easier to find online training, so you can walk the Feri path no matter where you live. The BlueRose lineage, which was founded by Storm Faerywolf, offers online training and initiation through The Mystic Dream Academy. Some other Feri teachers also have online offerings — look around on social media to see who is currently accepting students.

If you choose not to pursue initiation, you can still incorporate elements of Feri lore and philosophy into your practice, as long as you acknowledge that what you are doing is no longer Feri. In fact, many elements of Feri survive in other, related traditions such as Reclaiming, which we’ll discuss in the next installment of this series.

Resources:

The Heart of the Initiate by Victor and Cora Anderson

The Spiral Dance by Starhawk

Betwixt & Between by Storm Faerywolf

The official Feri Tradition website (feritradition.com)

[savrenim]

i am running thru ur tumblr to find ONE POST to cite for tvtropes, and i agree so hard with the soulmate stuff. what if my soulmate is an awful abuser, i want the choice to NOT be with them without some painful physical consequence or loss of perception if i don't date them just because the universe said we were "meant to be"... plus if it's just a magic thing it "feels" more justified in-universe that soulmates exist and less like an ass pull so you could justify getting 2 characters together

oH gods this is something that I have SO many feelings about that probably is slightly informed by my own orientation and preferences, but. feelings. this got long so it's going under the cut

so there are three and a half major things that I have a problem with in terms of general soulmate tropes that are "there is one person who is your perfect romantic partner" (which to be fair I've seen a number of soulmate AUs do that trope with the addendum "although it only applies to a certain percentage of the population / not everyone has soulmates / everyone has soulmates but not everyone has SUPER PERFECT ROMANTIC soulmates" which at least somewhat avoids the statistic inevitability of abusive soulmates if combined with Fate Can See The Future And So Your Fated Soulmate Just Won't Be) and these complaints aren't even from the "I'm poly where's my poly rep" kind of place which is a whole 'nother bag of worms, but let's go:

1. I aggressively believe that love is a choice. Love is something that is built, not predetermined before you meet someone. There might be initial compatibility aspects going down when you first meet someone, but, like. statistically there are more than seven and a half billion people on this planet. If there is only a single person perfectly meant for you, again, statistically, you are not going to meet them, I've seen the figure thrown that on average a person will meet on the order 10,000 people in their lifetime but let's even go 100,000, you will meet 0.001% of the world's population. Unless you think some sort of divine coincidence or fate is guiding you to a soulmate which throws free will out the window and then I can't help you but, like. discarding the math, I think it is actively harmful to a relationship to believe that it can be sustained on chemistry or predetermined 'but we're perfect for each other' alone. It requires work. You choose who is in your life, you choose who stays in your life, you choose who you want to be important to you based on what they contribute to your life and what you contribute to theirs.

(I am assuming this ask is at least partially in reaction to my soulmate post, which actually the fic in question, a buried and a burning flame, has since gone up. I highly recommend reading Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard first, but besides the setup for arson wizards that alas is never used because the fire mage with a soulmate in question is Responsible, I decided to both tackle 'okay soulmarks trope too let's throw it in', which leads to the not-really-a-spoiler passage that appears fairly early on about actually the full layout (albeit with less detail on the 'yeah for mages it just helps ground their magic, nothing romantic about it' part) of my Soulmate Rules:

Soulmates existed, both in the Empire of Astandalas and across the Wide Seas. They just worked slightly differently in Vangavaye-ve than the rest of the worlds.

The rest of the Empire seemed to view soulmates as a monolith. From what Cliopher had been able to glean, the tradition was grounded in their magic. Magi had soulmates, or rather, magic-workers would each have a soulmate. Cliopher wasn't clear if all magic-workers had a soulmate, or if magic-workers simply could have one, but there was always a mage in soulmate pairs, and it was always a pair. There were no marks, no visible signs involved, as soulmates were something that were sensed with magic. They were permanent, intrinsic, and to be recognized immediately.

To Wide Sea Islanders, soulmates were a choice.

The soul-marks, lana and lani-voa, would appear the first time you touched someone that you had chosen to love, with the full knowledge that you loved them. Cliopher had the marks of his mother and father, his sisters, Basil and Dimiter, Bertie and Ghilly. His skin was covered lovingly with the colors of his love, marks that he had gotten used to concealing with long sleeves in Astandalas when he had gotten tired of the constant staring at his 'primitive tattoos'.

Buru Tovo had been the only one to give him lani-voa, a greater mark of the soul. The pattern, with its thick lines and twisting design in a deep blue, extended over the entirety of his left arm and shoulder. They were the dances of his family pressed onto his skin, and he had traced them over with reverent and feather-light touch for months after he had received them. A lani-voa marked someone who had changed your life for the better in a deep and irrevocable way. It was a great honor to have even one.

And now, with the gold stretching up his right arm, new patterns that he didn't recognize stretching up from a handprint of pure gold that was expanding the longer he held that first contact with Tor—

now he had two.

(Buru Tovo is Cliopher's great uncle, for context. In fact, everyone listed there is either a familial or platonic relationship, with a single relationship that used to be romantic but settled into platonic.))

so. yeah. Love is a choice! The Biggest Of Moods! any soulmate lore that undermines that is a Bad Message, in my opinion.

The emphasis also on platonic soulmates leads into my second point:

2. I have found in my life that platonic relationships that I have are and have always been as important if not moreso than the romantic relationships. the emphasis of a single romantic relationship as the most important relationship that you can be in maybe fits for some people, but as a generalization to absolutely everyone I think is toxic and harmful. and not just for aro people! I'm not aro, but I would be miserable to write off my friends as Less Important And Meaningful to me than my parter, whom I love with all my heart! (I've actually ended up in my life settling into what I call the red/blue/gold system for 'relationships that I treat with the importance that society treats romantic relationships', but that's a personal thing). The standard soulmate trope tends to really solidly deliver the thesis of "there is a single romantic relationship that is the single most important relationship in your life" and I just think that's a very bad thesis.

3. Finally, I think the emphasis on permanent/forever is a harmful one for relationships in general. People change. you drift closer to people or further away from them. you move, they move, your schedules change, your interests change, your life changes. if you are living with a romantic partner you're going to keep seeing each other every day, but that doesn't stop you from changing as a person, which means see Point 1 Love Is A Choice; but even if you choose to remain together, you are probably eventually going to Ship Of Theseus your entire relationship. I think it is an important message that if that happens and it is no longer a relationship that is as deeply positive as it once was in your life, you don't...have to keep it out of loyalty to what it once was.

It's okay for people to drift out of your life that were once the most important person in your life. It doesn't invalidate how important and meaningful that relationship used to be, and it isn't a betrayal to let yourself and them and your relationships change and evolve. The idea that something has to be forever for it to matter I think is the idea about soulmates that I disagree with the most. Probably because that was the hardest lesson for me to learn as a kid and a teenager, and the life lesson that I am proudest for learning.

3.5 your point 'plus if it's just a magic thing it "feels" more justified in-universe that soulmates exist' is exactly on the nose, literally I am unable to write anything without attempting to write down a universal theory of everything for How The World Works. if something soulmate-wise is going down even if it never appears on the page you bet your ass I have either figured out the general cosmology and theology of "are there gods or divine forces who have instituted this policy? if so, why? what purpose does it serve", or in the case of abaabf which already has such interesting magic rules in the original canon of "is there an evolutionary reason for soulmates to exist" which I don't go tracing out full evolutionary biology for a fic necessarily mostly because I would want the full evolutionary biology in canon to make sure mine is compliant enough but that sure as hell does translate to "if soulmates exist and it's not for the reason of Because Godlike Beings Said So, there better be a practical purpose". I find at least long-form soulmate fics (ie things With Plot and a Developed Setting that aren't just "let's do a ficlet with this well-known trope") that Do Not Feel Like They've At Least Thought About Why Soulmates Happen To Exist hurt my soul. which I think slightly intersects with my "I hate it when the rules of the universe/ laws of physics are human-centric" instead of "the base rules which were not designed for humans came first, and how the human world works arose in reaction to them" and. yeah. consistent desire to know at least for myself why things are set up the way that they're set up which gods ifmlam is wild and completely bullshit and pulls from quantum multiverse philosophy I started writing that thing when I was like. eighteen? nineteen? but at least it's there so I can be consistent.

as a caveat for everything above: I don't actually think that fiction, fanfiction in particular, needs to perfectly reflect what A Good Relationship or A Good Message About Relationships should be. it is a very human desire in a chaotic and confusing world to want a simple, absolute, binary thing to hold onto. fiction is a place for escapism or wish fulfillment or even exploring things that you wouldn't actually want in real life, I think that the movement in fandom/fiction that all of the messaging in your story should match the advice you'd give for a real-life setup is a bad and harmful one. mostly my opinions on soulmates and hence desire to do inversions of the soulmate trope in my fic and things like the red/blue/gold system and heavy emphasis on platonic relationships in original work that I'm writing is about a desire to see representation for me and the things I love and find important and my sort of relationships in the stories that are a big part of my life. but I am really glad that in doing so I seem to have struck a chord in other people, who maybe want to see the same thing!

[nicklloydnow]

“Beyond its obvious preoccupation with the metaphysical, The Stand also explores how personal beliefs (moral, political, and religious) are manifested in compromised and unprecedented social and political situations. The politics don’t kick in until the novel’s about half-way through, and it’s mostly through the character of sociologist Glen Bateman that King explores questions about social organization and the assertion of political authority that organization seems to demand. What happens, King asks us, when a society collapses? Given the opportunity to create a new social order, what rules would you choose? In my Jurisprudence, Law, and Society course, I often challenge students to tell me what five basic laws they would impose upon a newly-established colony on Mars. The less-intrepid repeat Sunday school-type moralisms (“thou shalt not steal” and the like) while the more nimble thinkers suggest procedures for ruling and further rule-making, whether felons should be denied the right to emigrate, what kinds of health requirements should be imposed, and whether or not colonists should be screened for illegal drugs. In other words, these students are not as concerned with laws that regulate behavior, but with laws that determine membership and laws that regulate how to make other laws. Obviously, these are fundamental question for political philosophy, and The Stand explores these when the “good” citizens of Boulder organize to deliberate about how their new society ought to be organized and governed as they transition out of what Thomas Hobbes and John Locke call a “state of nature” or the absence of government.

As every student of political philosophy knows, these 17th century thinkers both used the hypothetical state of nature as a heuristic device for understanding why government and authority are beneficial for human beings. For Hobbes, human life without authority in a state of nature is free, but it’s also “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” because humans are constantly at war with each other over resources on the one hand, or just because of human avarice and greed on the other. Even an overarching or dictatorial state is better than anarchy, so fearful people give up their liberty and entrust it to their government as a way to preserve their own self-interest. For Locke, the state of nature’s actually not that bad: human beings enjoy extensive liberty as ‘self-owners’ and through this they gather together nature’s abundant land and other resources in order to produce goods for the benefit of themselves and others, which they truck and barter for through mutual assent or contract. But Locke recognizes that some people (we’d call them thieves) will not respect the property of others, and despite the fact that each individual in the state of nature is justified in punishing (and even killing) those who transgress against them (or others), this will inevitably lead to blood feuds, revenge killings, and eventually the kind of chaos Hobbes thought would characterize the state of nature. Like Hobbes, Locke thought that individuals give up their individual liberty to the state (here, it would be the liberty to punish), but, contrary to Hobbes, Locke argues that this is because of purely rational considerations such as the need for fair and neutral judges and the establishment of a reliable legal system. (He also talks a lot about God, which I am going to sidestep here).

For The Stand and its extended meditations on good and evil, what’s interesting about the Hobbes/Locke debate about the origins and justifications for government is their underlying metaphysical assumptions about human nature: for Hobbes (whose view of human nature and political organization is echoed in Flagg’s totalitarian Las Vegas), the human being is basically non-moral, unreasonable, and motivated purely by fear and self–interest. Locke, on the other hand, believed that human beings were essentially good-natured, rational creatures who, given the right circumstances, would improve their own lot while also improving that of humankind: cue Abigail’s Boulder Free Zone colony. This debate plays out in The Stand’s final confrontation between good and evil, a literary representation of a battle that, contrary to Hobbes’ and Locke’s more rigid categorizations, probably plays out in every human being based less upon ‘human nature’ than upon their upbringing, socialization, and material circumstances in terms of adequate nutrition, shelter, emotional support, and so forth.

It’s here, I think, where both Hobbes and Locke fail in their attempt to make the state of nature thought experiment work, and where it perhaps also fails in The Stand: the individuals who populate the various states of nature (that of Hobbes, Locke, or King) are always already socialized by their community––perhaps the better term is pre-socialized. Admittedly, the state of nature is hypothetical––there’s no actual state of nature now, and there never was one in the past––but it only works as a thought experiment and learning device if the hypothetical people in it act like real people. Unless they are Tarzan or they were raised by wolves, all human beings are socialized by a community of other human beings. No human being––even a hypothetical one––bursts out into ‘nature’ and then behaves like Hobbes or Locke says they do. They are going to behave, for better or for worse and to varying degrees, within the general boundaries of their community, and it is only a pathological human being who lacks community. The worst offender here, I think, is Locke, who argues that a single, autonomous individual can justify their spontaneous acquisition of a part of the state of nature (their property) by “mixing” their labor with it. Somehow, the other people mulling about simply know that they ought to respect another’s property by not taking it by force, and that the proper way to transfer the property is by contracting for it. In Locke’s nature, people don’t learn this: they just do it.”

[grandhotelabyss]

An excellent piece. There’s much to say on this topic, most of it pointless; it’s like trying to talk to the average normie lib circa 2002 about Afghanistan, just as wild-eyed and strung out on panic and self-righteousness by the psychologically abusive corporate propaganda press then as they are today. “But we have to do something!” We do not. “But who does it hurt to try?” they bleat compassionately as the depleted uranium rains down on their imperial charges and the suicide rate among masked-and-locked-down children skyrockets. 

Morality puts images of goodness in place of people and situations and fidelity to these images in lieu of apt response. This is why, as I will never tire of pointing out, millions more have been slaughtered for the dreams of Rousseau than for the nightmares of Sade. Moralists are the true monsters. Moralists who believe they have the mandate of “science”—i.e., the moloch idol of “the way things are”—are so dangerous to human flourishing they should be banned from the republic if they cannot be converted from their cannibal cult.

Luckily the madness cycle seems shorter in this instance; the war on terror, not that it’s quite ended, started less than a generation ago and may have provided something, if you will, of an inoculation. Even the fake woke-toddler-style smug nurse-and-doctor posts on Twitter (“He was choking like a fish out of water, and just before I intubated him, he took off his MAGA hat and croaked, ‘I wish I hadn’t made fun of Dr. Fauci’”—that kind of thing) receive mostly mocking or even angry replies now. 

What normal person doesn’t loathe an arrogant physician? And given that physicians are themselves the third leading cause of death in America, just behind the diseases they’re powerless to cure, is their arrogance not pathologically delusive? We artists and philosophers are always asked to flagellate ourselves for our “problematic” behaviors and ideas, but surely, now that our entire society is being poisoned not by philosophy or aesthetics but by iatrogenesis, we should speak of this. My grandfather, who spent World War II as a naval surgeon’s assistant, always said, “Doctors bury their mistakes.”

To argue about “science”—that most bathetic of liberalism’s replacement Gods—is ultimately beside the point, since “the facts” are deliberately left ambiguous and labile by the expert class, whose existence and authority as a class requires its monopoly on deciding what counts as a fact at all. In the present regime, and in defiance of the republican tradition this country was founded on, the mere citizen is by definition incapable of possessing truth. In which case, let us stop trying to compete with them on their chosen ground and just rest on principle instead. 

We will all get sick and die—well, unless we’re shot dead in the street or maimed in a flaming car wreck!—and life is not life if it’s premised entirely, to the point where you allow authority to muzzle your very visage, on avoiding this common doom. If you want to wear a mask, by all means; but, after thinking about it for a year and a half, I have concluded that the state has no right to our faces. And in the extremely unlikely event I die of this virus, because I have to die of something, after all, as do you, it will not contradict anything I’ve said above, and please don’t let some fake nurse tell you otherwise on Twitter. As I used to say to my family and friends circa 2002, “If I ever die in a terrorist attack, don’t let them use it to start another war.”

[sol1056]

wuxia/xianxia: a loose and somewhat second-hand introduction to the genre, pt1

Sorry for the unconventional q, but i keep seeing Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation everywhere and I kinda want to get into it but a) don't know where to start (web series? live action adaptation?? wait how many are there!) and b) i don't really "get" wuxia / xianxia, that sorta stuff, i find it really hard to cross that cultural barrier and chinese mentality seems very alien. (it's not that i have no experience w different mentalities but chinese in particular is v hard to grasp w/o sources).

So if you have the time and patience, I'd love to hear a summary of it (like, a coherent summary bc all i get on the wikis is a shower of names and concepts that don't make sense to me) and perhaps some "intro for dummies" abt the relevant parts of chinese history and mentality tied to it? not just the cultivation / buddhist part but also re: familial relationships, philosophy and all that. (v brief and low effort of course) Thank you and sorry for bothering you!

("brief and low effort" referring to what I'm asking from you, not to what I need for me - as in i asked for it so i'm more than ready for a complicated essay, but you can write with as much detail as you like, I don't want to ask for some sort of comprehensive tome)

Okay first, you do realize that if you want “brief and low” for anything, you’re asking the wrong person? I was a philosophy major. brief got drilled out of me a long time ago. 

Second... well, explaining what makes The Untamed / Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (mdzs for short, from the chinese title, Mo Dao Zu Shi) such a standout story does require understanding some of the wuxia conventions it subverts -- as well as some that it plays straight (so to speak) very, very well. 

I figure the best approach (again, sadly not brief) is to first get a handle on the genre of wuxia. Gonna break this post into two, so you’re not reading in a single three-hour stretch or something. I’ll do a follow-up about mdzs, to hopefully make it a bit more accessible for you. 

before I do that, let me first say: I didn’t grow up with this genre, so there’s going to be parts that I may miscast unintentionally. for an insider’s view, my go-to voices are @guzhuangheaven, @atthewaterside, @dramatic-gwynne, @the50-person and @drunkensword. if any of them are reading this and can point to more/other/better voices, please do.

I have three analogies -- like cultural doorways --  and like all analogies, they break down when you get into the finer details. In the broad strokes, though, they mostly work, and if nothing else, hopefully they’ll demonstrate that wuxia may be a chinese-specific version, but part of a storytelling tradition that’s nearly universal.

The three doorways are: the american wild west, the samurai era, and the british arthurian romances. And, in a tangential way, the regency period in the romance genre. 

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 

The term ‘wuxia’ can be translated several ways, but I prefer ‘martial chivalry’. Most wuxia takes place in the jianghu, a harder term to unpack. Generally, though, ‘the jianghu’ has connotations not all that different from what americans mean when they reference the wild west. 

More of a concept than a physical place, the jianghu (like the ‘wild’ west) exists beyond the reach of the law and/or civilization. It’s occupied by a diverse cast of farmers, merchants, beggars, and so on, but also by outlaws, gangs, hermits, pretty much all those who don’t like the suffocating nature of the civilized world, for whatever reason. It’s not a lawless place (except to outsiders); it does have laws, but those are only unto itself. 

So, jianghu is a world to itself, for the most part -- which also makes it kind of timeless. Tang dynasty, Song dynasty, Ming dynasty, it could be any of them and all of them and none of them. Just as the heyday of the cowboys and the cattle drives was barely a decade long, a culture’s romanticized history stretches into lifetimes that exist separate from any date you could pin down on a calendar. 

The average wuxia protagonist would fit in reasonably well as knight errants in an arthurian romance, with one important detail in difference: they’re rarely aristocrats. Wuxia protagonists are just as likely (if not more so) to be lower-born, whether the child of farmers, or servants, some common caste. 

This is where wuxia diverges from the british and japanese traditions, which have a bit more noblesse oblige going on (knights and samurai both being upper-class types). Even ‘aristocratic’ characters tend to be so only within the jianghu -- sort of like the way a territory’s elected leader in the wild west would’ve had no pull in Washington, given they weren’t from a fully-recognized state. 

Wuxia does often have politics, between competing sects (think schools of learning), but that political infighting is independent of the capital’s rules or wishes. A lot of stories -- in the rare cases the topic even comes up -- tends to speak of ‘the capital’ in disparaging terms. 

That’s not to say wuxia is all about the flat social systems (it’s definitely not), but most commonly a rank implies some level of competence/study. The title of sect leader isn’t granted, it's earned. Children inherit, but it’s also a common storyline to have an heir with no skills (who then goes through all the trials and tribulations to finally level up and earn that position in turn).

What makes wuxia hard to grasp is its vernacular: the conventions that form the backbone that make something recognizably ‘wuxia’ and not just ‘historical drama set on a frontier in a loosely-defined time period’. 

Frex: in a Wild West story, convention is two gunfighters at opposite ends of the street, and at least one of them is wearing a holster tied to his leg with string in a way that no real gunfighter wore, ever, but Hollywood came up with the idea and now it’s a permanent part of our imagination. In the arthurian romances,  convention is carrying the token of one’s lady love (a distant, untouchable figure who rarely appears on-page), or meeting the unnamed knight in black on the jousting field. Convention are the samurai who’ll die for their lord’s honor, always touchy and prickly at the first sign of disrespect. 

These are things granted the most remarkable gravity, that to an outsider might seem ridiculous. (Why is there always tumbleweed?) 

Now, wuxia is the latest evolution in a long-lived literary tradition (and by ‘long’ I mean like 2000+ years) -- but like any living tradition, each subsequent generation reinvents it for their time. Part of that reinvention comes from particularly influential writers, who put their own spin on things, and their interpretation becomes the next generation’s standard for the genre -- “of course wuxia must have X” or “a protagonist never does Y”. (Like how Tolkien almost single-handedly changed western concepts of elves, in fiction.)

And here’s where I explain what regency romance has to do with it. Another short-lived period, in real history, but along came Georgette Heyer, who took bits and pieces of actual research, blended them with her reactionary politics, exaggerating some things and ignoring other things completely. The result is a time-that-never-was, but she cast (and still casts) a shadow so vast that I’ve seen multiple romance writers complain that readers will see a footnoted-and-researched version as wrong, if it contradicts one of Heyer’s made-up conventions. 

Modern wuxia has its own Heyer-sized influencers -- like Jin Yong (the Condor trilogy, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils), Wen Rui'an (The Four), Gu Long (The Legend of Flying Daggers, The Proud Twins), to name a few of the biggest. If you have a chance or are inclined, the big names get remade on a pretty regular basis, and catching one will at least let you see some ur-tropes in action. 

But it also means that you can’t really extrapolate, in the sense of saying, “in wuxia, people do X, ergo, X is also a factor in Chinese culture.” It’s like... take any western made in the 50s, and the vernacular is simple. The bad guys wear black hats, the good guys wear white hats, the prostitutes wear bright-colored dresses with frills and the good women wear subdued colors buttoned up to their neck. It told an audience exactly what character filled what role, but that’d tell you zero about real people you might meet in Nebraska or Utah, let alone New York City. 

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 

Almost forgot: xianxia is basically wuxia but with ‘immortal heroes’ -- so there’s gods, divine influences, non-human beings as characters (main or NPC), etc. (Btw, by ‘immortal’ I mean exactly that, like this character is six hundred years old, that one’s a thousand years old, etc.) You can think of xianxia as wuxia, but amped way up on the mystical scale. 

Xianxia will sometimes take place on earth (jianghu) but sometimes in the celestial realm (heaven). Or a mix of both, like stories where a character falls (or is banished, or defects) from heaven and has to go through various trials and tribulations as a mortal human in order to regain a power, rise in rank, fall in love, or whatever their goal is. 

A number of wuxia stories are driven by some sort of mcguffin, but in xianxia, the mcguffin is more likely to be a powerful spiritual weapon. But I can also think of a number of wuxia in which the mcguffin would fit right in, in xianxia (some near-mystical thing with significant positive, or negative, power independent of the wielder, which often amplifies or boosts the wielder to an inhuman degree, etc). 

Thing is, the mcguffin being divine/infernal supernatural isn’t enough alone to make the story xianxia. I’m pretty sure you need non-human or super-human immortals and/or creatures to be considered in the xianxia genre. 

part two

[mistergrass]

a dump of podcast thoughts/recs

I have been listening to a whole lot of podcasts in the last month, and so I thought I’d just lay out what I’ve listened to so far and my general thoughts (but I’m not gonna tag any of them because I might get too honest - which means REALLY no one is gonna care about this lmao) 

I would also love some recs for both fiction and non-fiction if anyone’s got any! 

Fiction:

The Magnus Archives - This is, unsurprisingly, my top top recommendation for podcasts. The story being told is so intricate and well thought-out. I love pieces of media where I can turn my brain off and trust that the creators know exactly what they’re doing. And I love anything that knows its intent from episode 1. I think I could go on for ages praising this podcast, but tldr; 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND 

The Penumbra Podcast (Junoverse) - I am not a fan of high fantasy, which is the main reason I haven’t listened to Second Citadel (other than the one-off eps in s1), so I’ll just focus on the Juno Steel stories. But I listened to this after catching up with TMA because so many people seemed to recommend it. Because of that, I think I might have gone into it with slightly higher-than-necessary expectations....

Here are things I like about it: the environment is well sound-scaped (especially in later eps), the universe is really cool and fun to learn about, and the romantic subplot between Juno and Peter really is a great time. 

That being said, I can get a little frustrated with the writing at times. Story beats are sometimes paced oddly, and at other times the narration can over-explain what’s going on -- especially wrt character emotions. S2 I think is the biggest culprit of this “tell don’t show” method, and it can expand to hurt the individual mysteries and the set-up of the metaplot, too. Overall, S2 was a real dredge to get through. (But credit where credit is due, Juno Steel and The Monster’s Reflection were incredibly crafted episodes of that season). 

But it was worth it to me for S3, which is a fun vibe and shifts from focusing on individual mysteries to character explorations in a found-family dynamic. The real strength of this podcast are the unique and engaging characters and their dynamics (which is why when Juno isolates himself in S2, it gets kind of dull). It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely been a very entertaining season. 

Uhhhh, kind of recommend? Maybe only if you’re really into the noir/sci-fi/detective genre. 

Death by Dying - The worst thing about this podcast is that there’s only five episodes. Oh my GOD what a gem of a show. The deadpan, absurdist humor in this show is so insanely up my alley and so well-written. But one thing I love about this podcast is that even in five episodes with a format that is mostly obituary-of-the-week, the emotional arcs of the characters are really well-maintained. Charolette, in particular, is a tragic character to follow through the MC’s eyes, but in a way that makes total sense considering the situation. This show is so clever, so fun, and finds ways to be really poignant at times, too. 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND 

Two Princes - I know I said I don’t like high fantasy, but I’m also gay and sometimes that just beats out. Who doesn’t like a light, fluffy story about two princes falling in love in some perilous magic forest? It’s a gas. Also, it’s just really well-produced and an easy listen. You very much get what’s on the tin,  and that tin is some high-quality and very tasty cheese. 

RECOMMEND 

Limetown - God, I’m so upset about this one. 

The first season is a masterpiece. WONDERFULLY produced, beautifully sound-scaped, insanely intriguing and engaging, along with a wonderful MC who is far from perfect in her endeavor for forbidden knowledge. I don’t think I can recommend it enough. 

The second season... is fine! You still want to know what’s going on, so it’s easy to keep listening. But, tbh, it takes a bit of an odd turn. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but I would’ve been okay with the shift in direction if it was leading somewhere satisfying. But the S2 finale is... well. Choices were made, I guess. I’ll just say that I was really cheated out of an emotional pay-off. 

If there was a promise of a 3rd season that would explain these things in more depth, I might let it off. But it looks like the production team is shifting its focus to the TV series being made out of this. I might watch it -- but I am worried now that they won’t know how to land the plane no matter how smooth the take-off is. 

Despite everything, RECOMMEND 

Archive 81 - (I have only finished through S2) 

My feelings on this show is that I do not have the auditory processing skills required to keep up, lmao. But I don’t think I can really hold that against this podcast. This show doesn’t hold the audience’s hands, which is something I actually really like (even if I do get lost sometimes in what’s happening, lmao). This is obviously another case of the creators knowing EXACTLY where they’re going in the story, too. I also don’t think I’ve heard any other podcast with sound-scaping at this level. The biggest themes of this show are sound and ritual, and itreally follows through on that wrt how the sound is edited. The vibe of it is so mysterious and unique, it does such a good job of making you feel like you’re in a totally different world.

RECOMMEND

Wooden Overcoats - (I have only finished through S1)

This show definitely has a Fawlty Towers feel to it, and the humor is very fast-paced and British in that very specific UK-sitcom way. Because of that the humor is very dry, but definitely fun to listen to. And the characters are a real hysterical bunch.

My biggest critique, however, is that sometimes the episodes end in a way that feels like a big bummer. British sitcoms of this nature usually hinge upon an incompetent/anti-hero MC who tends to deserve the different comical misfortunes that fall upon them. Usually they get up afterwards, having learned nothing, and the cycle continues in a harmless way. But sometimes that vibe doesn’t really hit, and a few episodes will end with these big tonal shifts where the schadenfreude ends up drying out. You sort of just end up feeling bad for everyone involved instead lol. It’s what has me hesitating going into the next season, but I’ll definitely start it up eventually. It’s well produced, and honestly the characters are just too fun to keep away from (Antigone in particular is my favorite). 

If you like British sitcoms, I’d recommend. Or if you’re looking for a cynical laugh. 

Other podcasts I’ve started are EOS 10, and Dreamboy. I really didn’t like the first episode of Dreamboy, but I’m gonna give it another try since it’s so short. EOS 10 seems well-produced, but not really up my personal alley. 

Non-Fiction 

I’m not gonna give these ones as long of blurbs, just know I recommend them all highly. 

You Must Remember This -  Old Hollywood history that is wonderfully researched, and focuses a lot on women of the time. The recounting of these histories feels very honest and she really doesn’t pull any punches when giving detailed and accurate accounts. A truly wonderful show. 

Welcome to Your Fantasy - A deep dive on the history of Chippendales that is WILDLY entertaining. I sort of can’t believe I got as sucked in as I did. The host has a wonderful humor about her, but is still great at getting to the heart of some of the heavier issues at hand. 

Last Podcast on the Left - My favorite true crime/conspiracy podcast by a long mile. It’s equally hilarious and well-researched. I know a lot of people are kind of anti-true crime lately which is very understandable, but I do appreciate each of the host’s personal philosophies on the matter, which I think comes through in a lot of their episodes. 

[youngmasterwisdomperson]

Okay so @cosmermaid made this post where she made a cosmere-sona based on certain circumstances of her life and my brain won’t let me focus on anything else until I do so as well so here we go. This is probably gonna get really self-indulgent so be warned. It started off as “Let’s make a Cosmere world hopper based on my irl personality and backstory” and soon morphed into “how my obsession with the mechanics of investiture would inevitably drive my Cosmere self to seek mastery over every form of magic they could get their hands on and basically become an immortal world-hopping storytelling demigod like Hoid but way less cool or interesting.”

So that’s what you’re in for if you keep reading. Cool? Cool.

Okay then. Without further ado,

My Cosmere-sona, I guess.

Descended from Era 2 Scadrians. Twinborn Soother (Brass Misting) and Pinnacle (Electrum Ferring), educated, raised Survivorist but converted to Pathian after deciding I liked its philosophy and means of worship a lot better. I use my Feruchemical ability to combat my ADHD, essentially magically medicating myself by regulating my determination. I didn't snap until around age 11, at which point my access to feruchemical determination made my grades skyrocket. I later world-hopped to Roshar, tried studying to be an artifabrian for about a year but decided it wasn't for me after bonding and befriending a Mistspren, becoming a Truthwatcher, after which I went and began studying to be a worldsinger, using the lightweaving aspect of my surgebinding to create realistic scenes as I tell stories and travel the cosmere seeking to constantly learn and seek truth, as my radiant oaths require. I can use the Healing part of my surgebinding and my Allomantic soothing to help nullify pain and suffering where I can, but the break in my spirit web allowing me to bond my spren in the first place that comes from *ahem* certain mental health issues never lets me believe what I do is enough. I also have a Seon with whom I communicate with my various friends throughout the cosmere and keep up to date with news.

I mostly operate from Scadriel, using the Mists to fuel my surgebinding because it's a lot safer and more convenient than whatever Roshar has going on. I frequently talk for hours and hours with either my spren, my Seon, or someone on the other side of said Seon at absurdly late hours of night, and I'm still waiting on Harmony's response on why I couldn't have been born a bronze compounder so I wouldn't have to sleep, or with electrum Allomancy instead of brass so I could have infinite determination and become a productivity GOD.

I would buy breaths from Nalthis if I had the money to do it, but alas, being a world-hopping worldsinger, though spiritually fulfilling, isn't the most lucrative of occupations. Such is life. I'm currently working on figuring out how to use the investiture I get from surgebinding the Scadrian Mists to fuel my allomancy and feruchemy as well, possibly increasing my investment and making me potentially a full mistborn and feruchemist, but that's a work in progress. And it's not like Harmony is being very helpful by giving me any answers. What's wrong God? Afraid of what I'll do with bronze and electrum compounding? Huh? Coward. Anyway I think I'll be much more easily able to seek truth if I can allomantically track active investiture, increase my sensory sharpness, have infinite memory, determination, bodily energy, and mental speed, and all that other stuff Feruchemy adds for dealing with various environments. And if my current method works I should be able to learn to fuel said abilities entirely off of the Mists or Stormlight, which is really exciting. And maybe if I do that I can go to Nalthis, buy one (1) breath to get an investiture sample, and use Nicrosil compounding to get as much Nathian investiture as I want! That'd be cool. But for now I guess I'll just use my magic the same as everyone else.

This has been me making a Cosmere-sona, I guess. Thanks for bearing with me. I swear it wasn’t my intent to make an absurdly powerful character. I did twinborn because that seemed to suit the setting I’d chosen to represent my place of birth, era 2 Scadriel, and I wasn’t about to make a completely uninvested character. That’d be boring. Then I figured the best Cosmere equivalents of the professions Engineer and Teacher were Artifabrian and Worldsinger, and I figured if I was gonna spend an extended amount of time on Roshar I may as well bond a spren. Got mental health issues so I qualify for a Nahel bond and in that case why not? Took the official quiz and it was between Truthwatcher and Edgedancer and I decided the prior suited me better so I went with that. Then I got into my own head in such a scenario, and decided if I was gonna fulfill my Truthwatcher oaths I’d have to seek further knowledge, and that led me toward learning about investiture by observing the intersections between surgebinding and Allomancy and Feruchemy as I inevitably played with my powers. And I’ve contemplated such topics more than once on this blog so that led me to using Mistlight to fuel all my investitures and enhance my existing investments, which I figure would inevitably lead my Cosmere self to figuring out how to use surgebinding-based access to large amounts of Scadrian investiture to increase my investment in both my metallic arts and gain access to the rest of the metals as a result, at which point I figured I may as well get Investiture bingo and use Mistlight-fueled Nicrosil compounding to make more breaths after getting a sample of Nalthian investiture and reach at least the fifth heightening so I could become immortal. And that’s why twinborn world hoppers are op if they’re dedicated enough to learning about how magic works. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[maybe-homestuck-now-or-something]

I wanna connect the ideas in this post with the ideas in this post because they seem relevant to each other.

to give a basic idea of what's in each one, the first is a post that talks about how homestuck is notable as a creative work that effectively uses the language and format of the internet, in a way that resonates well with people who grew up online. my addition extrapolates to talk about how this quality also made homestuck's style of content creation appealing for others to use, and spawned a lot of creativity from the fans. basically, homestuck is a collage, not just of images, but of methods for delivering information to the audience. it uses a broad variety of experimental techniques, but the purpose of them is to make storytelling accessible. in order to convey an idea, you can use any method you want... whatever suits your purposes. by constantly varying the type of art, writing, and formatting that the story uses, it keeps the story from getting boring for the author and the audience. varying the quality and style of the visual art also implicitly accepts and encourages any kind of artwork, at any level of skill or effort, from fans. and at the same time, the story pioneers new techniques that I legitimately haven't seen used before. at some points it even leverages the design of the web page itself to service the story... it's awesome. this gets people thinking about how to tell stories in non-traditional ways, and further encourages the act of being experimental with your storytelling methods, and having fun exploring your chosen medium.

the second link is mostly just me talking about the merits of homestuck's early acts, and at one point I put a particular focus on the idea of science in homestuck. specifically, I was talking about how homestuck handles science in a way that feels very childlike, which is a positive remark. when you're learning about science in school as a kid, efforts are made to present the material in a way that is fun and interesting... and you're given a lot of tools for exploration within the context of science classes, which a lot of people don't really experience having outside of a school setting, if they aren't going into some branch of science for their career. I was observing that homestuck's aesthetic kind of calls to mind the feel of learning about science as a kid... something about the stark readability of the objects and characters, and the bright color coding of things that are important.

the connection I want to make between these two posts is that homestuck hinges a lot of its interest on the concepts of exploration, and creation. it holistically includes a lot of different themes and ideas, and it does it in such a way where the characters don't have to make it explicit... more often than not, you'll end up thinking of it yourself. homestuck simply introduces elements, and lets you form your own ideas. it puts a lot of stuff out there, and links it all together in this messy web of interconnectivity.

for example, check out this post where I added some commentary about the punch card alchemy system, and how it links the concepts of technology and philosophy. the idea is that captchas determine your humanity... but unlike real captchas, which do this by making you read something that a computer can't read, it instead makes you think in a way that a computer can't think. in order to give you access to items, this crafting system requires philosophical justification for the creation of said items. grist isn't just made up currency that exists to make you work for what you make... the amount of it that it takes to make something is only high if you think that the object you're making should be too powerful or important to be gotten for cheap. you prove your humanity by having a psychology that can assign the object meaning, and thus, value.

or what about the broader themes of biology and mythology in homestuck? there are many mentions of genetics... the goal of the game is to produce a universe via breeding, and there are the origins of each of the kids, or the fact that the chess pieces that fight on Skaia's battlefield are made in test tubes in the labs in the furthest ring... etc. but this theme also exists symbolically in the players of each session. they are people who bring their identity with them into the process of making a new universe. each player is given their own planet, which is responsive to the person it's meant for, and features a personal quest for them. and once the new universe is made, the players will preside over it as deities, and help define its culture with their values, interests, and personalities. in this way, homestuck blends the concepts of biology and mythology. in a biological sense, the kids provide the universe with traits. if they are strong/adaptable/resourceful enough to win their game, they get to pass on their influence to a universe of their own. this is why it is relevant that all the players' chumhandle initials are some combination of A, C, T, and G, which are the letters denoting nucleotide bases in DNA. but this concept also applies to heroes going through trials or completing quests to prove themselves worthy of being known as heroes. SBURB's lore automatically mythologizes the players in the role of legendary heroes to the consorts and carapacians, which pushes them to step up to the task of earning their title, and in doing so, complete the game's objectives... and the game gives them the tools to do it.

really, science, mythology, and religion all wrap into each other here in terms of the way things are named and explained. the punch card system and the frog breeding are both referred to as "alchemy" at various points, which indicates both magical and scientific roots. and the highest title that the players aspire to obtain in the game is "god tier" which implies a sort of religious connection between the players and the game's native characters who know them as legends. the magical abilities that the characters display are ambiguous as to whether they are magical, divine, or something else entirely. a lot of them are defined heavily by a character's personality and identity. the malleability of the different elements that homestuck juggles works entirely in its favor... and all of it is geared towards this sense of growth and creativity.

in homestuck, these things exist on micro and macro levels. the growth of one kid into a slightly different person as they get older, vs. the growth of an entity that will encapsulate the universe. the creation of a piece of music, a drawing, a story, a machine, a person, a plan, a planet... it all just keeps escalating, but it's all rooted in specific characters doing specific things, so we don't get lost in it all. the characters bring it all back around, letting us focus on their smaller actions while the bigger plot remains in motion. and all of this exists at the same time as all the surface level reasons to enjoy homestuck. the comic is funny, and charming, and made to be enjoyable as that. but the fact that the broader elements color the tone of it all, leaves you with the impression that there is a lot of potential in every situation. potential places for the characters to go, or things for them to do, or people for them to talk to, or things for them to make, or even ways to grow and change themselves.

and there's potential for you too. you could throw your ideas at the wall to see what sticks in this exact same way. part of reading homestuck is feeling a sense of recognition and identification with the characters. many of them are based broadly on the kinds of people who make up homestuck's audience. with interests in things like music, art, writing, RPing, programming, playing games, watching movies... they're meant to represent you, in part as parody, but in part as a way to make you feel seen and included in this narrative. as lofty as some of these concepts may seem, the people who engage with them in the text are a bunch of dumb awkward teens. you are at least as accepted as they are, and people love these characters a lot, often in spite of/because of a lot of cringey qualities or major character flaws. homestuck is here to tell you not to be self conscious. play around with your world. make your art. write your story. think your thoughts. be funny and laugh at stuff. don't be afraid of doing it badly.

this is what an accessible creative process looks like.

[empyreal-insights]

Border Jumping: In It, Not Of It

{Border Jumping, part 1}  .  Esthero, one of my favorite singer/songwriters, posted a song on IG, “Great Version of Me”:  

They say I’ve got “spark”  They say I’ve got “magic” They say I’ve got all the things that I need, and if I want it, I have it

They say I’ve got heart And a light that surrounds it, but I’m lost in the dark Did you happen to notice? 

I need something good to happen to me ‘Cause I can’t stop drowning When will I feel like all the things they see?  When will I be this “great” version of me? 

I’ve tried so hard, tried to live it and own it Kept staring ahead, pretended how great things have been going

But I’ll let you in on my intimate moments:  I feel alone Mostly, I feel forgotten I need something good to happen to me ‘Cause I can’t stop drowning When will I feel like all the things they see? When will I be this “great” version of me?

‘Cause I can’t go back And I’m scared to move When will I feel like all the things they see in me? When will I live so gracefully?  When will I have what’s coming to me? 

I need something great to happen I wanna meet this great version of me. 

Wanna meet her so bad Great version of me

I spent a lot of time fighting against myself because of this feeling. Here’s some of what I learned when I was dancing between breaking down and breaking through.  

Find Your (Higher) Power I’ve tried so hard, tried to live it and own it Kept staring ahead, pretended how great things have been going But I’ll let you in on my intimate moments: I feel alone Mostly, I feel forgotten

I know folks have issues with God. But if you’re resonating with this message, understand that you’ll require a relationship with Source / a Higher Power / Creative Force (1). 

If you can’t wrap your head around having faith in the concept of a God-Force, the next best thing is to master some form of energetic literacy through mindfulness, tai chi, meditation, martial arts, pranic healing, reiki, or a similar methodology. 

Do not intellectualize this. You can start with a book or two, but eventually you need to choose something, then find someone that can teach you how to do it. You must learn to see Energy as barometer, master key, and mother tongue.

Why? Because your lessons, blessings, and karmic resolution are meant to play out between you and Source, with a thin veil between you and some of the "typical” human experiences (2). Energetic literacy gives you the language to stay in communion with Source, and this relationship will sustain you when people will not or cannot. 

Go With Your Flow  When will I feel like all the things they see in me?  When will I live so gracefully?  When will I have what’s coming to me?

You can’t move like everyone else. You’re on a whole other timetable - one that more closely mirrors the spiritual world. I realize that in some western spiritualities this can translate to a commitment to austerity or asceticism, which I clearly reject.  

While in this process, it helps to be able to soothe and comfort yourself on demand, in the healthiest ways you can manage. There’s enough to figure out without adding deprivation to the list. 

Also, don’t feel like you have to be happy all the time. Create space to cry, wail, grieve, and lament. The song that inspired this is a perfect example. I write. You might make art. Just make sure the pain passes through. Don’t dwell in it - that’s how you start to feel stuck.  

Chironically wounded shadow workers - those of us that long to fit in and experience the belonging others take for granted - often never asked to be set apart, but we keep finding ourselves in that position (3). Acceptance eases some of the loneliness and gives us the patience to wait our turn.      

The good news: you are exquisitely protected. Respect that. Don’t chase people who leave; don’t force yourself into incompatible spaces; don’t beg to be understood. 

This is why your relationship with Source is nonnegotiable - you need to know exactly who and what is working in your life, where They're guiding you, what to avoid, and how to call upon and respect that Power when necessary. Acting in accordance with this understanding will help your life move more effortlessly.  

Be Grateful  I need something good to happen to me ‘Cause I can’t stop drowning When will I feel like all the things they see? When will I be this “great” version of me?

You know how the spiritual folks talk about being thankful for every little thing? Do that. 

When you're hollowed out from that weeping and wailing? Take a breath (or a nap), then give thanks.

To live long enough to get all the good things waiting for you - ‘cause some of us blossom well after 35 (4) - you must learn to cling to gratitude as if you’re dangling off a cliff and help is at least 30 seconds away. 

The good things are happening, will continue to happen. You may not have everything you want, but do you have most of what you need? Thank what sustains you: food (say grace), pets, friends, plants...whatever you have. You must learn to see the joy along the way because our despair can be fatal.  

Again, it’s natural to feel anger, frustration, jealousy, and whatever else. Observe it, resolve it, and keep it moving. Be as human as you need to be in any given moment, but always, always, always return to gratitude. 

Welcome Your Awakening They say I’ve got “spark”  They say I’ve got “magic”  They say I’ve got all the things that I need, and if I want it, I have it

They say I’ve got heart And a light that surrounds it, but I’m lost in the dark Did you happen to notice?

Yes, I noticed. You’re not crazy or arrogant for realizing that you’re different. Your energy's legit, that's why people react to it so definitively. 

Accept that reactivity is often the limit of human capacity. They’ll be fascinated, dazzled, but fall short of being able to hold you, love you, or define you. 

But soon - after some dark days and some unbelievably beautiful ones - it won’t hurt so much. You’ll know where to receive comfort, love, and understanding. You’ll discover your work, your people, your place, and that great version of you. 

...

(1) Source is becoming a preferred term when sharing these thoughts because (a) the name Osun, one of my primary deities, derives from a Yoruba word meaning, “the source,” (b) I have a deep relationship with water, which is considered a/the source of life - perhaps the most important after air itself, and ( c ) it feels less loaded and/or culturally specific than “God.” Your parents - most especially your mother - can be considered your Source. Food, clothing, shelter... sources of survival. That, in my opinion, is the kind of emotional connection and relationship that allows us to interact and commune with the Divine in the most intimate, healing, healthy, and hopeful ways. 

(2) Certain aspects of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy have an intricate way of explaining why some are meant to perpetuate the needs and desires of daily / cyclical human life, while others are meant to work and live more closely with Source. I use these as examples because certain texts and concepts within these traditions have been translated and interpreted for a western audience over the last 40-50 years, and may be more immediately accessible than other ideologies. If you go for the ancient texts first, just know you’ll need to filter through what I call the “human shit” (sexism, politics of the era) to get to the underlying truths that can help you deepen your spiritual practices. (sidebar: I think this is what those “caste” systems were SUPPOSED to be about - interpreting the flow of human life and integrating our unique, personal destinies into an overarching social construct, not oppression and domination. But, humans love a hierarchy.)

(3) In contrast to the “fuck the world” cynics, loners, or folks with outsized egos willful enough to claim places they didn’t earn. And, hell, that energy has its place. They seem to have it easier, right? But we’re all prone to thinking the grass is greener where we don’t have to water it. 

(4) Why do you think elder-ship is revered in so many pre-colonial / indigenous cultures? Youth has its advantages, but most of us have to grow into ourselves, and that takes time. Even when you’re blessed with precocious emotional intelligence, there are some things you only learn through living. Allow yourself the grace to move through life at your divine pace.

[tudorsphillipa]

𝕀 𝔸𝕄 ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝔸 𝕎𝕆𝕄𝔸ℕ, 𝕀 𝔸𝕄 𝔸ℕ 𝔸ℝ𝕄𝕐 —

                                          phillipa of england

introducing —

her royal highness, princess of england, phillipa tudor

about phillipa

001 ─ personality

princess phillipa was never denied any material thing, every luxury afforded to her as a child. she is spoiled, and she knows it. having her father favour her only helped to further her sense of entitlement; she sees herself as untouchable. she can be acerbic and cynical at times, yearning for brutal honesty to cut through courtly lies. she is unforgiving and brutal, even to herself, and harshly punishes herself for any outbursts or slips. she even turns spiteful; spite and curiosity are twin forces driving her thirst for knowledge and power. she is highly educated in rhetoric and classical dialogues, and often uses both high-handed and below-the-belt tactics to win arguments. she likes being idealistic, but knows being practical will serve her much more. more than ever, as her ambition grows, phillipa only entertains relationships that are mutually beneficial, and companionship can only come from those who are ridiculous enough to be entertaining, or quick-witted enough to keep up with her. she has a natural commanding charm, moving through any crowd with the presence and gravity of a small sun. phillipa cannot stand sanctimonious people; more often than not, their sense of self-importance is either tied to something of little consequence or far inflated beyond their station.

002 ─ rumours

phillipa does not believe in the rumors surrounding her legitimacy; she knows queen anne dislikes her, but cannot fathom that her devout catholic mother would betray her vows. surely, if it were true, that she were some love-child, then her mother would love her more, is that not so? but no, phillipa had no mother’s skirts to cling to as a child; her majesty the queen would not permit it. phillipa has long since given up attempting to grow into a tudor rose her mother would adore, leaving that to beatrice. she speaks to her mother as duty demands and there is little warmth between them, but a part of phillipa howls and rages at her mother’s emotional abandonment. she can be especially spiteful with her mother. what matters now is not her mother’s endorsement, but her father’s favour; her claim to the tudor throne can only be legitimised through him.

003 ─ lessons

despite a natural curiosity about the world around her, phillipa’s childhood lessons were always dogged by a certain restlessness. there was only so much sitting around and listening the princess could do. perhaps it was because of an equally restless court, who still looked to the queen for a prince when she was born. perhaps it was the howling winds that ravaged england the winter she was born. whatever it was, princess phillipa is much more self-sufficient than her tutors expected her to be. after she had exhausted and promptly forgotten the usual subjects a young princess learns, she pushed her parents to provide for a more thorough humanist education. she has a natural talent not only for philosophies, but also for trade. she wanted to learn of history, power, and languages, making her a good diplomat for her father’s sake. mostly self-taught in other areas, such as literature, phillipa has become an ardent patron of the theatre, enjoying italian erudite plays, something she hopes to indulge in during her time in italy. she also enjoys sketching, with a particular interest in architectural drawings.

plots

001 ─ birthright

she is her father’s favourite, his first-born. beatrice is sweet and devout, and charles might be the wished-for prince, but phillipa knows in her heart that she is the one with the iron will and cunning to rule england. one of the many reasons she refuses suitors is that none are worthy in her eyes. she desires a husband who matches and furthers her ambitions for the crown. she knows the price of the english throne will be a hefty one, so for now, her movements are slow and careful, laying the groundwork and swaying support for her side. her biggest obstacle, of course, is charles; she would rather have him on her side supporting her than have him totally removed from court. he is a loose end at best and a potential threat at worst. the time spent in rome is an oppourtunity, one which she intends to use to the fullest of its advantage, to create allies and integrate herself with other rulers, especially ones sympathetic to her. she suspects the monarchs of milan and the holy roman empire may be her strongest allies, not only for their shared gender but for their common faith. russia and the ottoman empire are equally valuable allies for their economic ties, as well as their expansive territories. perhaps in another era, one more stable and peaceful, charles might have made a good king, but england needs better than good. it needs greatness.

002 ─ on holy ground

all her life, she has been a catholic, and knew nothing else. now, even as she lands on holy ground, she questions the church’s doctrine. there must be a god, she knows that, but does the lord truly require such complexities in order to be present on earth? is there no other way to have a relationship with god? as she mingles with muslims and orthodox christians, she starts to express her frustrations─ quietly, though, in vague words. phillipa is not a fool, and knows enough to fear excommunication from the church. the unity that catholicism provides is useful, but sometimes the ceremonial nature can be stifling and a waste of time. one thing, though, she keeps to herself: that religion is power over all, and it is better to be seen as fearful of the divine than utterly godless.

003 ─ presentation

phillipa is the best of england, despite what others might have said. before, she has dressed modestly, in a manner that better befits a princess of a country in a sombre time. the winds of change being to sweep in, and phillipa is the first to feel them. she begins to carry herself a little taller, a litter grander, a little more like a queen. she fashions herself like her father does, carefully choosing her dress and attitudes to reflect that she is her father’s daughter, both noble knight and tudor rose. even with the whisper within her that calls her an imposter, she begins to change how she acts, how she dresses, how she carries herself. with only her physical presence, she carefully balances projected ideals with reality. phillipa has never faded into the background, despite the best efforts of some, and refuses to do so now.

more

001 ─ phillipa has adhd! nothing officially diagnosed, but she does have it. she frequently masks around others, which is where someone neurodivergent can act neurotypical. she stims using her jewelry, mostly. related to adhd are her imposter syndrome and her rejection sensitive dysphoria. 

002 ─ phillipa is. not a good person. she will slap you as a warning. she is very prone to snap judgements about other people, and tends to use other people. if you’re not funny, cute, or useful, phillipa will probably drop you like a sack of hammers. the only person she’s only somewhat vulnerable with is her younger sister beatrice.

the mun

hey all! sorry this is so late, but here we are! i’m jane ( 21, she/they, est ) and this is my first character! i’m always down to plot but there are a handful of topics i won’t write ( sexual scenes, extreme violence, etc. ). if you want to plot, drop me a message here or on discord! i’m still working on phillipa’s pages, and will update as soon as they are done!