#this is (again) about Modern Prophets

[veunho]

If I knew how to draw it'd be so over for u bitches

[huescoven]

THE GODS ARE NOT THEIR MYTHS —

I'd like to begin by stating that all religions have mythos. Christianity has the bible, Islam has the Quran, etc. That is to say, that most of these religions are centered in mythic literalism, as portrayed in their sacred texts.

The mythology surrounding the Gods, since we do not hold a sacred book, has been written by worshippers, for other worshippers, rather than prophets.

While myths may paint the Gods with human-like flaws, these narratives are symbolic, representing aspects of the human experience and the natural world rather than literal truth. The gods embody ideals, fears, and cultural values of ancient Greece, serving as a mirror to humanity's own complexities. In essence, the myths are not factual accounts but rather rich, allegorical tales that reveal deeper truths about existence, morality, and the cosmos, used by the ancients in order to make more sense of the divine, in their own perspective of the world.

We must also remember that whilst a lot of the subjects in these myths do include traits deemed unacceptable in our modern world, the ancients had different values and beliefs that were seen as "acceptable" or at least normative in their societies. Thus, we cannot place modern morals onto ancient writings.

Often times, people look down upon worshippers of the Gods, due to the mythology and the "horrible acts" they've committed, but this limited view embodies, again, mythic literalism, which is not present in Hellenic Mythology.

Instead, we must look outside of these myths for evidence of the Gods; both in the lives of the ancients, and in our own.

// short one today, because i could speak about this topic for ages, but i don't want to bore you all too much.

[vortexonsaturn]

House is an atheist. We know this. He tells us often, with bitterness and certainty. He rejects the idea of God, of souls, of cosmic meaning. He dissects faith like he dissects symptoms: a fragile delusion, beautiful maybe, but ultimately dangerous. For House, belief is the enemy of truth. Religion is a sedative for the desperate. He doesn’t believe in miracles—he performs them under fluorescent lights, scalpels, and sarcastic monologues.

And yet, the entire show is draped in religious imagery.

The irony is deliberate. The tension is constant. House, M.D. is not a show about religion, but it is deeply religious in structure and tone. It’s a modern-day gospel about suffering, sacrifice, and the endless question of whether redemption is possible for people who are fundamentally broken.

And at the heart of that contradiction—at the center of House’s reluctant, silent religion—is Wilson.

Wilson, the oncologist. The caregiver. The forgiver. The one person who doesn’t try to fix House, just stays. In House’s world of godless suffering and brutal honesty, Wilson becomes the impossible constant. A living parable. A symbol of grace. He is not just House’s friend—he is House’s church. The only place he returns to. The only place he trusts.

Despite everything he says, House believes in Wilson the way people believe in God—not in certainty, but in need. In faith. When everything else fails (medicine, logic, self-destruction) it’s Wilson’s presence that remains. Not because he proves anything, but because he chooses to stay.

Wilson is where House goes when nothing else makes sense.

And this is where Amber enters—because Amber is crucial to understanding the show’s theology.

Amber isn’t just Wilson’s girlfriend or a romantic foil. She’s a vessel. A sacrifice. A holy symbol burned into the center of House and Wilson’s dynamic. She represents the cost of belief. And her death is House’s Fall.

Amber is cast in religious imagery from the start—sharp and shining, dressed in clean lines, commanding presence. She’s the only woman who matches House in intellect, in stubbornness, in biting wit. But while House uses those qualities to alienate, Amber uses them to love. To claim. She chooses Wilson with a kind of divine certainty, and House both resents and envies it.

And then she dies—because House called her.

Because House, in a drug-fueled haze, reached out for Wilson and accidentally destroyed the one person Wilson loved most.

Amber becomes a martyr. She dies for House’s sin. The sin of needing Wilson, of being selfish, of reaching out without understanding the cost. Her death is sacrificial. She absorbs the consequences of House’s weakness. And it shatters Wilson’s faith. In House. In meaning. In everything.

But here’s the terrifying, beautiful part: even then, Wilson comes back.

Not immediately. Not easily. But he returns. He forgives. He chooses House again, knowing the damage he can cause.

And isn’t that what religion is, at its most painful?

The choice to return.

The choice to love something that hurts you.

The choice to find meaning, even in suffering.

From that point on, House is haunted—literally and metaphorically. Amber appears to him as a ghost. A judge. A reminder. Her presence during his Vicodin-fueled breakdowns is a vision, not unlike biblical visitations: accusatory, radiant, always asking questions he doesn’t want to answer. She becomes a conscience, a prophet of pain. Not just Wilson’s loss, but House’s guilt made flesh.

And House listens.

Because he believes her.

Because he believes in what she represents: that his actions matter. That pain has consequences. That love, once given, leaves an eternal mark.

That’s the thing. For all his denial, House’s life is shaped by faith—just not in any god he’ll name.

His god is Wilson.

His gospel is logic.

His demons are guilt, pain, and the memory of Amber in that white, frozen bus.

His sacraments are Vicodin.

His confessionals are sarcasm and silence.

His moments of worship are quiet, rare, and often happen when Wilson isn’t looking.

But it’s faith all the same.

When Wilson gets cancer, everything crashes again. This time, House can’t save him. There’s no diagnosis to solve, no miracle to pull from his bag of tricks. He is powerless. Human. And finally he understands the most terrifying truth of all: he can’t live in a world where Wilson doesn’t exist.

So he dies. Or pretends to.

He sets fire to his life. He lets everyone believe he’s gone. He chooses exile, isolation, and total obliteration of self—all so he can spend a few final months beside the man who has always been his moral center, his constant, his quiet divinity.

That’s not just friendship. That’s religion.

A god falls from the sky. A believer lays down his crown. A sinner chooses love over truth. A cynic learns how to pray—not with words, but with presence.

And isn’t that the most blasphemous, beautiful faith of all?

[nightcolorz]

I would love to hear your thoughts on autistic Armand, if you haven’t already spoke about this! Imo he’s very autsitic coded, and it’s very precious to me as an autistic iwtv fan :]

OMG!!! RUNS AROUND. Yes lmao I talk about this a lot actually it is one of my favorite Armand things to meta about bcus I’m also autistic and he is my special interest🙏I was trying to find some of the stuff I’ve written about autistic Armand but tumblrs search engine makes it near impossible to find anything so I gave up 😭, but believe me they r out there. Even tho I talk about this a lot I would love love love to talk about it some more for u anon because I can never get enough of armandtism.

I first figured Armand was autistic when I was reading the vampire Lestat because when he is first introduced he is completely non verbal and only communicates through the mind gift. through further explanation it’s very much implied that he does this because he finds putting his thoughts into words hard and he considers just projecting them into peoples brains much easier. Armand speaks out loud for the first time like more than halfway through the book, and lestat is surprised to hear him lol. This is super autistic I feel like that’s obvious 🙏 it’s basically the vampire power equivalent of using a non verbal communication device. Armand having trouble with connecting with people, understanding how to “fit in”, and talking r prevailing parts of his character throughout the whole series (not just tvl) which solidified my headcanon into basically a canon fact in my mind lol.

When Armand is first introduced in iwtv his strangeness is chalked up to his vampirism, but it’s soon revealed throughout tvl and qotd that Armand is considered a strange outcast by other vampires. The things he struggles with r unique to him and r not representative of vampires in general. His otherness/strangeness can also not be chalked up to his trauma or his age turned because Armand was also an outcast as a young child. It’s described in the vampire Armand that Armand was not understood by his parents or his community because he was obsessed with and freakishly good at painting. His community interprets his unusualness as a sign of some divine intervention, the priests believe he is a saint or a prophet sent to earth, even at times saying things implying that he is “not human”. Unusually high quickly developing skill in childhood is an autistic trait, as is hyper fixation on an activity/topic that becomes a core identity factor and prevailing obsession. The affects of Armand’s trauma only worsen the severity of his autistic traits. C-ptsd and autism often overlap and coexist in autistic people who were traumatized in childhood, which seems to be Armand’s case.

in queen of the damned Armand is at his peak autistic lol, I feel like this is when most book readers gain that head canon. The Devils minion chapter revolves around Armand using Daniel as a guide to help him learn how to be “normal” and to blend in to the modern age. Armand can’t seem to figure out how to blend in on his own because he is unable to understand social norms of any time period enough to integrate himself into society. Armand is in love with technology and what most would consider monotonous sensory experiences. He stares at his own reflection for hours, he loves kitchen appliances and watching ingredients whir in blenders, cameras, he watches the same movie over and over again and never gets bored of it. The way Armand fixates on technology really reminds me of how a lot of autistic people played as children. He enjoys repetitive, sensory behaviors over “fun”. For Armand this means watching the same things repeatedly, which is a form of visual stimming. There r moments where Armand is trying to understand his world, but is so blind to what he is trying to understand that he goes about his discoveries wrong. Such as in qotd when he tries to interrogate strangers to gain information on societal norms but he only gets uncomfortable glances. Armand is desperate to understand and to connect but he is consistently inherently alienated, whether it be from humanity or from other vampires or from himself.

Armand also can not process his memories comprehendingly. This is part trauma part autism, but autism is def a factor. Because of his repressed trauma induced memory loss Armand finds it difficult to talk about himself to people. This is worsened by Armand being unable to comprehend the aspects of story telling that he needs to be able to tell people about his life. Armand explains to Daniel that he vividly remembers small details, such as dates and weather, but he could not tell Daniel what “things were like” because he “doesn’t know what that means”. Literal thinking, the inability to grasp vague, fiction based concepts like narratives and metaphor, and strict fixation on minor details like numbers, are all autistic traits!

Armand also struggles heavily with emotional regulation. He is described as often having intense and extreme meltdowns where he cries and screams and breaks things. Armand is easily bothered, in tva he mentions that he covers his ears when he is overwhelmed. The vampire Armand begins actually with Armand becoming overwhelmed in public and trying to escape to an attic so that he can be alone in silence. Armand copes with his intense emotions by putting on a mask of neutrality. He is often described as expressionless and blank, uncanny. But this is a mask, and when Armand can no longer mask and his disguise lapses his facial expressions r described by lestat as being so over the top and emotional that they are disturbing and weird. Over the top unnatural facial expressions as well as blank unreadable ones are both autistic traits. For Armand he is naturally overly emotive to the point of being considered horrifying, and he hides this by taking the opposite extreme. Either way, either expression Armand puts on causes him to be socially outcast.

Armand often describes feeling like there is something wrong with him that causes him to be isolated from others and he’s not sure what it is. In prince lestat he tells Gregory that he doesn’t know why it’s so hard for him to have relationships when other vampires are fully capable of doing that. In the vampire Armand he explains to David that he’s crazy because his mind isn’t built right and his senses are tripled so he shouldn’t bother trying to understand him. I rlly relate to this as someone who felt like I was from another dimension as a child bcus i didn’t know the unspoken life rules everyone else did.

Armand is often treated like a child by the other vampires and assumed to be emotionally immature and too fragile and insane to be helpful. Armand says in the vampire Armand that he doesn’t consider himself an adult because he can’t function like one. This could be due to the age he was turned, but it’s shown to us that characters like Benji and even to an extent Claudia r able to self regulate and function appropriately despite being turned even younger then Armand was.

in conclusion, book Armand is an autistic person who was never given proper support or understanding because the environment and the time period he was born in decided to alienate him further rather then work to help him socialize and learn appropriate skills, and because of the necessities he has been deprived of and the horrible trauma he endured Armand is never able to learn to function in the way he was likely capable of. this recessive quality in pair with his autism caused Armand it be unable to cope or self regulate or learn ways to understand himself since he wasn’t given a chance to in his formative years. He’s a great representative of what many autistic people who experienced intense child abuse experience.

Im rlly happy with the shows portrayal with Armand so far partly because he is omg, so autistic. Show Armand shares so many of book Armand’s autistic traits. inability to understand himself or others, fixation on small details but inability to understand the big picture, etc. even his iPad is autistic asf! My ipad is my comfort item that I carry around with me to self sooth, and this is def the vibe Armand’s iPad gives me in the show. Even assads performance is autistic! He is able to play Armand masking and Armand unmasking, the stilted expressions he gives and the blank stares, the uncomprehending earnestness. AGHHHH!! Assad stims with his fingers when Armand is nervous too which is just an amazing touch. I hope the show explores Armand’s autism, because that would literally be a dream come true. Even still, for now I’m satisfied.

thank u so so much anon for the ask this made me so happy 🙏❤️ autistic Armand means so much to me and has gotten me though some tough times. Understanding and analyzing Armand helps me understand myself better and feel more comfortable with how I am. Earlier this year I gave myself a concussion because I was harmfully stimming during a meltdown, and while I was in the emergency room I was holding the vampire Armand and imaging that he would relate to what I was going through. So yeah he is very special to me too! And once again it makes me so so happy that u got me to talk some about it. I hope this was coherent or interesting lol I felt like I was all over the place

[kenziiie]

More Sheldon cooper plzzzz

living with penny had its ups and downs. the upside? her closet. the downside? her nosey obsession with your love life.

“you two are literally perfect for each other,” she said one night, standing in your doorway in pajamas and holding a wine glass like she was some matchmaking prophet. “he’s weird. you’re patient. it’s fate.”

you raised an eyebrow. “penny. he has a bathroom schedule. he eats spaghetti only on mondays. he called my twist-out ‘structurally fascinating.’”

“yeah!” she grinned. “he likes you!”

you squinted. “…he also physically recoiled when i sat next to him.”

“he was surprised,” she defended. “not scared. look, he asked me what your favorite tea was. and he moved his flash merch to make room for you on the shelf.”

“…wait, really?”

“girl. do you know how many years it took leonard to get a toothbrush space?”

⸻

you tried not to think about it too much as you sat awkwardly in 4A, on the couch next to sheldon, watching some overly detailed 70s sci-fi movie he insisted was a “classic masterpiece of speculative narrative.”

he kept fidgeting. not a lot—just little shifts, like he was trying to get comfortable sitting next to you without making contact. his hands were folded too neatly in his lap, and he kept glancing sideways, then quickly back at the screen.

you cleared your throat. “so… good movie?”

“statistically underappreciated,” he said, eyes flicking to yours, then down again. “though the special effects are abysmal by modern standards.”

“…cool.”

silence.

you sipped your tea, trying not to feel awkward, until—

“i have a hypothesis,” sheldon blurted.

you blinked. “about…?”

“you.”

your eyes widened slightly. “uh. okay.”

he sat up straighter, like this was a TED talk. “my recent behavior patterns, emotional fluctuations, and general preoccupation with your whereabouts and well-being suggest the presence of a non-platonic emotional attachment.”

your brain short-circuited. “…wait. are you saying…?”

“i believe i’m experiencing romantic feelings for you,” he said matter-of-factly. “penny suggested i just say it instead of building a three-week observation spreadsheet.”

you stared at him.

“this isn’t a joke?”

“romantic feelings are no laughing matter,” he said, almost offended. “i like you. quite a lot. even when your lip gloss gets on my whiteboard markers.”

you couldn’t help it—you smiled. “well, that’s the first time a guy’s ever admitted to liking me and complained about my lip gloss in the same breath.”

he tilted his head. “is that… bad?”

“no, sheldon. it’s very you.”

he hesitated, then gently offered you something. a little box. inside was… your favorite tea blend, a tiny cactus (“low maintenance, like me,” he said), and a folded note that read: “in case you reciprocate.”

you looked up at him, heart warm and buzzing.

“i do.”

his mouth twitched into a smile. “fascinating.”

you leaned against his shoulder just a little, and he didn’t move away.

“i predict,” he murmured, “this will significantly alter my schedule.”

you laughed. “guess we’ll both have to adjust.”

———

you, 6:12 p.m. — penny’s bedroom

“i don’t know why i let you talk me into this,” you muttered, sitting on the edge of penny’s bed while she rummaged through her makeup drawer. “he probably has a date-night itinerary. what if he makes me take a quiz before we order drinks?”

“first of all,” penny said, holding up a tube of nude gloss, “he definitely has an itinerary. second, if he quizzes you, just flirt harder.”

you snorted. “how does one flirt with sheldon cooper?”

penny turned, grinning. “compliment his whiteboard. touch his arm. laugh at his space jokes like you mean it.”

you rolled your eyes but smiled.

she walked over, gently fixing your twist-out with a pick. “look—he likes you. he’s just a giant weird baby who doesn’t know how to flirt without referencing quantum mechanics.”

“or asking for my allergy list,” you teased.

“he made leonard show him how to reserve a table. that’s growth.”

you looked at her, surprised. “wait—he made reservations?”

“yup.” she winked. “he said, and i quote, ‘i’m statistically more likely to receive a goodnight kiss if I eliminate dining chaos.’”

you covered your mouth, stifling a laugh. “why does that sound exactly like him?”

“because it is him. and babe, he’s trying. really trying.”

you looked at yourself in the mirror. soft curls framed your face, lip gloss popping, favorite earrings on. you looked good—and nervous.

“what if i’m too much for him?” you said suddenly. “i’m loud sometimes. i ramble. he’s so…”

“structured?” penny offered. “obsessively rigid? vaguely robotic?”

“…yes.”

“and he likes you anyway.”

you exhaled slowly. “okay. let’s do this.”

⸻

sheldon, 6:17 p.m. — 4A living room

“i can’t go,” sheldon declared. “cancel the taxi. cancel the whole evening.”

“sheldon,” leonard sighed, “you’ve planned this date like a nasa launch. you’ll be fine.”

“will i?” he spun to face him. “this shirt isn’t breathable. my palms are moist. and what if i forget how to speak casually? what if i accidentally mention her neurotransmitter effect on my emotional state?”

raji, lounging on the couch with chips, blinked. “you… what now?”

“he means he likes her,” howard translated. “which we already know. he’s just spiraling.”

“i am not spiraling. i am calculating the probability of catastrophic emotional embarrassment.”

leonard walked over, placing a firm hand on sheldon’s shoulder. “sheldon. deep breath. you made a schedule. you picked a conversation topic list. you even brought the travel hand sanitizer she likes.”

“strawberry scent,” sheldon confirmed grimly. “she commented that it ‘smelled like her aunt’s purse.’ it felt positive.”

raji gave a slow thumbs-up. “romance is alive.”

“you’ve got this,” leonard said. “and hey, if it gets awkward, just ask her about her favorite star trek captain. she likes talking. you just have to listen.”

“i made an active listening chart,” sheldon muttered, pulling a folded index card from his pocket. “with appropriate eye contact intervals.”

“okay, let’s maybe not whip that out at dinner,” howard said, gently taking it and tossing it back on the table.

⸻

7:03 p.m. — the restaurant

you arrived first—nervous, bouncing your leg, trying to remember how to act normal with a man who once compared your laugh to “a symphonic chime.”

then sheldon walked in, back straight, hair combed so precisely it almost looked painted. he spotted you and paused—then gave the tiniest, nervous smile.

“hello,” he said, stiff but warm. “you look… symmetrical. and radiant.”

you laughed. “hi, sheldon. you clean up nice.”

he brightened. “thank you. this is a cotton blend—softer than my Tuesday shirt. penny said you’d notice.”

you blinked. “wait, penny picked your outfit?”

“yes. after reviewing 14 combinations. she and raj agreed this was the least ‘professor-like.’”

you both sat.

“i also asked for a corner table with optimal lighting and reduced echo levels, to make our conversation more pleasant,” he added, proud.

“you really thought this through,” you said, touched.

“of course,” he said seriously. “i may be new to dating, but i know how to prepare for a significant variable. and you, Y/N, are a significant variable.”

your heart did a full backflip.

from the café window, you barely caught a glimpse of two very bad spies hiding behind a potted plant.

“you didn’t tell them to come spy on us?”

“no,” he said flatly. “but i have a laser pointer. if they get closer, i’ll use it.”

——

9:11 p.m. — walking home

you and sheldon strolled side by side under the streetlights, the soft sound of your shoes on pavement filling the space between nervous glances. your hand brushed his once, and he startled like he’d been zapped, but didn’t move away.

instead, he cleared his throat and said, “i enjoyed this evening. significantly more than most social outings.”

you smiled. “yeah?”

“yes. your presence improved the average temperature of the environment by at least six degrees emotionally.”

you blinked. “…that’s not a real measurement.”

“no, but it’s how i felt,” he said seriously.

you looked over at him—his face was sincere, flushed, and focused like he was trying to memorize the outline of the sidewalk so he didn’t mess anything up.

you softened. “i had fun too.”

“you did?”

“sheldon,” you said, laughing, “you made me tea before dinner, chose a quiet restaurant on purpose, and even complimented my twist-out. i’m pretty sure you were trying to impress me.”

he looked faintly panicked. “was i not supposed to?”

“no, no,” you said quickly, “you were. and you did.”

he blinked. “oh. good.”

⸻

9:17 p.m. — outside your apartment door

you both stopped at the door. he looked like he was going to pace a groove into the hallway carpet.

you tucked your hands in your coat pocket. “so…”

“i… read that this is the part where a first date might culminate in a physical expression of affection,” he said, stiff as a board.

you fought a smile. “you mean a kiss?”

he nodded. then paused. “unless, of course, you’d prefer a handhold, or a forehead touch, or… an awkward but intentional wave.”

“sheldon.”

you stepped in closer, slow, letting him see it coming.

“may i?” you asked.

his breath hitched. “yes.”

you kissed him softly—barely there at first, just enough to feel the tension melt out of his shoulders. he didn’t kiss back right away, but when he did, it was clumsy and sweet and entirely too much for your chest to handle.

when you pulled back, he blinked three times and said, “fascinating.”

“yeah?” you whispered.

“i appear to be experiencing an increase in heart rate, but not in a medically concerning way. also, i’d like to do that again.”

you smiled against his cheek. “you’re allowed.”

⸻

9:25 p.m. — penny’s apartment

you walked back in glowing, closing the door quietly behind you.

penny popped up from behind the counter like a jack-in-the-box, eyes wide. “SO?!”

“jesus, penny!”

“you kissed him, didn’t you? tell me you kissed him.”

you grinned. “maybe.”

“oh my god. he’s gonna lose his mind. he’s probably already building a spreadsheet.”

⸻

meanwhile, 4A

“leonard,” sheldon called from his bedroom, holding up a printed chart, “do you think this shade of lipstick matches y/n’s usual gloss? because it transferred at approximately a 30-degree angle. i believe that implies she tilted her head slightly.”

leonard looked up from his comic book. “…oh yeah. he’s in love.”

[bookofmormonmemes]

WHAT is This in 2 Néfi 5:21? broooo 💀💀💀💀💀

I've delayed answering this ask for a little bit because I wanted to be thoughtful with it, even though your ask itself honestly says most of my opinion 🤣 It is an insane verse!! Shock and cringe are absolutely the correct response to it!!

Church scholars have discussed this verse and the surrounding sections at LENGTH. Apologists have tried to downplay or deny how obviously racist it is; some people I've talked with will instead distance it from the Church's current viewpoints. When I was in high school, my seminary teachers emphasized that the "cursing because of their iniquity" and the "skin of blackness" were separate occurrences: the Lamanites were cursed by being cut off from God's presence, and then, as a separate thing from a curse, they were marked in a way that would make the Nephites avoid them. God isn't a racist, but Nephite society might have been racist. When i was in college at BYU, my Book of Mormon professors talked about the possibility that Nephi himself held racist views, and/or that Joseph Smith Jr. did, and those opinions affected the way they wrote. Again, the point they held was that God is not racist and that black skin is not a curse--but that God's prophets, being imperfect mortal humans, might have thought so.

My wife, who is proudly American Indian and a staunch member of the Church (and has the most beautiful skin of brownness in the world), has a different opinion of this verse: she interprets the talk of white and black skin to be less about literal skin color and more about health and wellbeing. "Fair and delightsome" can refer to a skin that is bright, well-hydrated, vitalized, and soft. On the other hand, when someone is dirty, malnourished, and unhappy, their skin can get grey and sallow. This interpretation recognizes that people all descended from the same bloodline will probably all have the same general amount of melanin, and God is not going to magically change that based on how good or bad they are. The visual difference between the Nephites and the Lamanites would instead be a natural consequence of their different lifestyles and values.

Unfortunately, the idea that Good Nephites Are White and Bad Lamanites Are Black was so disgustingly pervasive throughout the Church that it saturates almost all the spiritual art we grew up with. Book of Mormon heroes were consistently portrayed as pale Europeans by cartoons, comics, novels, and iconic paintings, not just in their skin tone but in their features and even their clothing. In those same media, Lamanites--the villains and the outsiders--were dark-complexioned Mesoamericans wearing loincloths and feathers. Shock and cringe are the correct response to this!!!

Here at Book of Mormon Memes, we recognize that neither the Nephites nor the Lamanites fit into our modern definitions of White or Black. Lehi's family came from the Middle East, and later populations in the Book of Mormon lived in Central America and integrated with the indigenous people there. Realistically, they should look like people from Palestine and Lebanon and Mexico and Guatemala. They should not look like this pasty travesty that somehow became a cornerstone of our religious culture holy crap

I might actually scream thinking about this colossal embarrassment

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - It's odd rn but VERY PRETTY

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Oct 2024 Week 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 4 of 12 - I love Joke so much! And I love War in this role so much. It’s great. This is a great show it’s such fun. The comedy is somewhat leaving me flat. But that’s normal for me in this kind of Thai BL. I also like Hope. I shouldn’t, but I do. I love the little girl character as well, and I do believe that Joke has found his scion in her.

(As per usual the grandma of this BL speaks for all of us.)

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 5 of 12 - Coils be coiling. Mummy dearest is v hot. I do like the twist on the henchmen. It would’ve been really gut-wrenching if Q had put the rope around his own wrist the night that he slept by himself (or tried to). And they have now made "the promise that is destined to be broken" waves at trope. Meanwhile, great flirting. Next week being episode six we should be getting our kiss.

(Was GMMTV gently poking at Jack & Joker with that play-within-a-play reference to Jack as Min's stunt part?)

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 1 of 16 - Sampler pack university BL from Wabi Sabi that's trying to be a gay Boys Over Flowers (4 older med student hot boys + frosh) and it’s exactly what I want right now. Is it good? No, not really. Do I care? Not at all. It is, in fact, boys over flowers... only boys no flowers. I really couldn’t want anything more than that. What can I say? I’m easy. I love a pining seme. I guess what I am saying is, I am trash for trash. Inject this shit directly into my eyeballs.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 3 of 15 - At least in this version they talk bit more with each other about what’s going on. (Then again in the original we didn't need it, the acting was so good.) Still it’s a lot more modern to see representation of communication, but but the previous version felt more honest to teen behavior. This open communication entirely changes the push pull dynamic of Phun & Noh's whole relationship. I actually LIKE that change because it makes it very different from the original. I’ve been hoping that this one would veer in a different direction. I'm enjoying that they've made it Phun with the long term crush, and that he’s sort of testing himself with heterosexuality. It is selfish, but it is also a very rich kid thing to do. I love the shouted confessions and the decision to not date. This is a really good twist on the original. I’m liking this a hell of a lot more now that it’s substantially changed in direction, if not in tone.

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 11 of 12 - It’s very sweet and wholesome. And everyone kisses pretty. And I do like the communication and green flag aspects of this show. But I'm also finding it a touch dull. 

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 9 of 12 - I don’t know. The pretending to be blind thing is weird. This whole show is weird. I’m kinda weirded out by it. I like the two side couples well enough, but we get barely any time with them at all.

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 12 fin - I like that they did come around to the dreaming thing as a major plot point in the end. Even though it felt like they forgot about it in the middle. And I liked that it was an inherited family trait. I didn’t expect that (should have, but I didn't). And I thought it suited this kind of drama, even if it was a little pat. The whole family helping at the very end was very sweet and a nice full circle for the narrative. (Like the Ae's family sort of adopting the next-door kids originally. 

Summation

A cute friends to lovers romance, that’s a little bit like the stepbrothers trope since these two grow up next-door to each other and in and out of each other’s lives. The paranormal element is about prophetic dreams, and it is threaded through the narrative even if it gets somewhat lost in the muddy middle. All in all, a sweet fun little series with decent chemistry. 8/10

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 8 of 10 - I've totally forgotten what’s going on. There was another kidnapping. Maybe they’re actually dating now? I don’t know. Honestly, it won’t really matter cause everything will change by the end of this episode... again. That said, I did love the parental confrontation sequence. It’s not as good as in the original because it’s a lot more direct and modernized, but it was pleasingly aggressive. Which I weirdly appreciated for the military angle. The cross-dressing thing was odd. The dolls advertising thing is even odder. Jealous baby on sports day was good though.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - Why did I feel like I’ve seen this entire episode already. It’s just different characters saying the same thing to the main characters or flirting the same way or whatever. 

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 5 fin - I did not like this ep at all. Fully half of it was evil backstabbing and some bullying and some sort of trying to engender sympathy for a friendship betrayal. And I was not on board. (Wouldn’t mind seen Hali and that cute kid in something together tho.) 

Conclusion

Basically this was a story about online relationships and how they interface with the real world, and in personal friendships, plus bullying of all types and some backstabbing and shipping. The acting was weak, the sound was terrible, and generally it was an old style pulp offering. It tried to deal with some interesting issues, but was awfully clumsy about it. 5/10 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 9 fin - Such a great confession, so truthful and earnest and honest. And he’s also like that with his friends. And such a nice answer. I love that during the cool off they both realize how very much they both act like are boyfriends to each other all the time. Ooo running of the gays! And we even got a cute little smile kiss!!!! and an adorable boyfriend montage at the end. How unexpectedly satisfying of you, Japan!

Summation 

This is a phenomenally charming and adorable little romance about a forlorn university kid and the police officer who adopts him. They are relentlessly kind to each other, in fact it’s an extremely kindly show over all (everyone in it is so nice to everyone else including us) so there’s very little tension. But what it lacks in drive and complexity it makes up for in earnest acts of service and simple affection. These two are basically boyfriends from the get-go, it’s just one of them acts like it and doesn’t realize it and the other one realizes it and has to figure out how to make it a reality. It’s incredibly sweet and incredibly wholesome, nourishing but delicious. Everybody who can should watch this show. It will make you feel better about life. 

Easy 9/10 on this one from me.  

GO WATCH IT  

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 2 of ? - We have some semblance of a plot! Yay! Our BV tsundere character is secretly an online judge who whistleblows and exposes corruption in the school system. How very Pump Up the Volume. I am not mad about it. Also 2 of the prettiest seme bullies EVER. The epic pout-off with these bad boys. Be still my heart.

Our Golden Times (Hong Knong ??? YT) 1-4 of ? - Billed as a BL from Hong Kong I’m not sure we can trust this one to a get finished or be cohesive or have an HEA. But the optics are good. Everybody’s very pretty. It’s chaotic and clumsy and a little odd. But most of the stuff on my dash is these days, so what the hell? And ya know what, I kinda like it.

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 4 of 10 eps - It remains entertaining but off kilter in that way that indicates 50% chance of ultimate dissatisfaction in the JBL pantheon. 

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 9 of 12 - I wish we knew a little bit more about Sea's background/family. Neil should just tell him what the hell is going on. Why wouldn’t he? Instead they artificially wedged the main couple apart for most of this episode and Orca wasn’t there at all? = Not a good episode IMHO.

It's airing but...

My Damn Business (Korea Sat ????) 7 eps - supposedly airing on Saturdays starting 10/5 have no roleand I found the trailer but nothing else.

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Coming Oct 2024:

10/7 Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) 10 eps - Jade and Chin have lived over a thousand lifetimes. In each one they somehow manage to fall in love with each other. (This pair, TopMick was piloted in a My Universe ep, that was one of the only ones I liked.)

10/10 Eccentric Romance (Korea Thurs Viki & Gaga) 12 eps - Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab, that has been in production since 2022 which is a LONG time in the BL world. I'm worried but I like the concept: friends of 10 years who’ve been hiding feelings for each other enter the same university. Plus MURDER.

10/10 Gangster and His Boyfriend (Korea Thurs ????) 8 eps? - Kim Dong Bin (famous trainee & idol reality competitor, yeah that happens) stars as a fallen idol who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a gangster family. Discovers that his friend’s father is responsible for the murder of his entire family years ago. I don't know much about this one, neither does anyone else and I'm not sure where I got that release date so……

10/21 Love in the Big City (Korea ????) 8 eps - Okay both a movie (already out) and a series. Neither one is likely BL and I can't imagine it will end happily. I'm giving both a pass but here's your synopsis.

Cynical fun loving student Young pinballs from home, to class, to on night stands. He and Jaehee, his female besie and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju and hookups.

10/23 See Your Love (Taiwan Gaga Viki) 10 eps? - Zi Xiong, a third-generation heir, attempting to flee from taking over their family business, meets and falls in love with Shao Peng, who works as a hearing-impaired nurse. From the same production house as Kiseki Dear To Me in partnership with Shinehouse Theatre, funded by Taiwan’s BIGART + Japan's Rakuten (Viki). Show includes Lin Chia Yo (Be Loved in House: I Do). Director Chiang Ping Chen’s childhood experiences with his deaf uncle have inspired the drama.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I kinda love it when someone else does the prophetic claiming. Our Golden Times

Crumbs in Summer Nights but they very cute crumbs. We didn't even really get to see them get together but I'm glad that they are.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[goatgoesmbe]

naw but fr tho i think you've given me more knowledge in islamic sex ed than all my 12 years in school

I went to religious school since elementary and they didn't teach shit abt sex, except that one time about how to keep them coochie clean

So yea, i feel u bestie 😞🤝😞

I mostly asked a professor/ustad directly like, after the lecture i'd approach them to talk privately coz i wanna know what kind of sex toys would be halal 😄

.. eventually some who are used to me made this face like "omg.. this person again" when i raised my hand during qna session (im shameless, ive reached the peak of not gaf)

But i appreciate them for always answering seriously. Like this one time a kid asked if eating pork in Minecraft is halal lolol (it is Halal ofc LMAO)

and some others who were like, "you know what? Here's a whole guide so you can research them yourself"

So.. here ya go sksksk

Bismillah..

THE SOURCES (VERSES)

Can only be taken from:

Quran

Hadith

Prophet SAW besties (Shahabat) habit

Qiyas Syar'i

"But what are thosee 👀"

Quran: the words of God. Usually his response to the Prophet SAW. Like- they were having a convo, or God just wanted to yap. They're all recorded here. Like that whole verse about him saying fuck your psychotic uncle, or the other one about Him scolding the Prophet for his RBF

Hadith: the words and action of the Prophet SAW. In 1st person/3rd person

Split into: Shahih, Hasan, Dhaif, Maudhu

Shahih: valid, undebatable. He legit said that fr (he as in, the Prophet)

Hasan: means good, could be valid.. but one/some of the Rawi is sus.. it's ok tho

Dhaif: WEAK, some sources were questionable but some Rawi said valid- so this could be taken with a grain of salt FOR HISTORY SOURCES ONLY, it's NOT allowed to be the basis of a ruling

Maudhu: Fake, some guy legit said being a nationalist is Sunnah- lmao (bro made shit up)

*Rawi: scholars who confirmed the validity of hadith. Being a Rawi is very strict, they have to be perfect. For example they should never lie. So when i say a rawi is sus, sometimes it's coz someone saw them fishing (some said its Makruh coz ur lying to the fish :( by luring them with nomnom then yeet them u_u)

"But what if they lie about not lyin"

Wallahu'alam. We're taught to always assume positively about anyone except when there's a CONCRETE proof that this person is bad. And if the Rawi actually lie? Then they gonna bear the sins of everyone trusting their cited verses (everyone who followed the verses wouldn't be punished, coz obv they dunno if Rawi lie)

Prophet SAW besties habit: i think it's self explanatory- lol. This usually taken from hadith mauquf (hadith about words/action of the besties- 1st POV or 3rd POV)

This could be taken as verse- because they idolized the Prophet SAW so much so that they copied everything he does (including crouching when he pee- his wife told the besties it happened uh- yeah there's a verse about how to gain reward/avoid sin from pissing alone (Shahih Ahmad))

Qiyas Syar'i: scholars gathering and using their big brains to discuss the ruling for new stuff in modern time (period after the Prophet and his besties died). And since im no scholar, i usually just look up these discussion instead of using my own logic

Notes: these sources are preserved by bijillion people memorizing them. Hadith usually happened like this: A saw the Prophet eating chicken :O (Shahih Bukhari, 5517), A told B, B told C, etc etc (these are called Sanad). And then the Rawi will look it up and probably ask from A to C if that really happened, then the Rawi sorted them as Shahih, Hasan, etc. The Rawi era ended in year 920, no other people would be valid enough to be one in the present.. because well- how could you check if A really said to B.. they've been dead

More notes: it is important to preserve the verses in arabic. To avoid misscommunication due to mistranslation

THE RULING

THE OBJECTS: Halal & Haram

By nature, everything is Halal UNLESS there's an explicit verse saying they're not

Example: there's no verse about cigarette being haram. So the cigarette in itself is halal. But the use of it/smoking.. is another discussion for scholars

More example: Pork is haram (Al-Baqarah: 173).. to consume, trade, or serving them. Touching the meat is ok lol

"But 🙋 how about coccaine✨ there's no explicit verse saying coccaine"

Yes, but it counts as Khamr. Khamr doesn't necessarily means alcohol- but anything that could be intoxicating. Verse againt khamr: Al-Maidah: 90. There may be some scholars disputes (ofc using them for emergency/medical reason is ok.. like anaesthetic is khamr)

THE ACTION: Wajib, Sunnah/Mustabah, Mubah, Makruh, Haram

Wajib: Mandatory, you have to do it and get rewarded :D. If not, the you sinned >:(

Sunnah: Reccomended 👍, you do it? You get rewarded :D, you don't do it? It's ok

Mubah: Allowed, ..no reward, no sin.. just ok

Makruh: Not reccomended 🫤, you do it? Ok.. but if you resist the urge to do it you'd get rewarded :D

Haram: Obviously, don't do it coz it's a sin

For this, an act has to be explicitly stated in verses, whether it's ok or nah. Some might changes due to situations.. (for example: one time during the time of Caliphate Umar, they went thru famine, and the rich were greedy- not giving to people in need during it. So Umar said- U KNO WHAT, STEALING FROM THEM IS OK)

"But how do we knoww 😔"

Look up verses of Quran or Hadith Shahih/Hasan on google and such. Also opinions of valid scholars. Some might varies so make sure to look up if a Scholar is educated in that subject. It's ok to take any opinions to your liking even tho it's different from other scholar (example: most Indonesian scholar said music is halal.. with some exceptions ofc)

Also look at Tafsir! I reccomend avoiding trying to translate the meaning of verses by yourself, because mistranslation is a thing, also its usually worded in a way that it's hard to understand (old language be sophisticated ukno). So it's best to look up what scholars think this verses actually mean + the context of the situation and time when the verse happened (Tafsir)

Alright, enough of the boring stuff

✨SEX✨

Intimacy or any kind of affection to your spouse is an act of worship. So be horny 😌 for God 🫡

Foreplay is Sunnah (Al-Baqarah: 233). Scholars said: preceed with kind words, be playful, kisses, etc (Im saying that praise kink is Sunnah-)

Saying Bismillah and some prayers is Sunnah also, ..don't need to say it out loud, just mumbled it or said it in your head is ok too

Any positions is allowed as long as the penetration is into vagina

Any kind of anal penetration is not allowed :( (From Ibn Majah, hadith Sahih) a/n: lowkey funnyy how God said "NO ANAL" three times here-

But ☝️ Eating ass is ok 👍. Just dont penetrate with tongue/fingers/penis/etc. You can rub or grind between ascheeks, tease the rim with your tongue- these are probably Makruh.. but it's not a sin.. so :P

Period sex is not allowed (Al-Baqarah:222)

But ☝️ You 🫵 Can be creative. Like pussy job, stimulate clit, and the like- as long as theres not penetration to the bleeding cunt it's ok 👍 (probably Makruh)

Sex toys are okay 👍 but only for external stimulation, meaning- no penetration

Sex toys are also okay only if your partner is stimulating you with it, can't use it on yourself ;) (Again, some said Makruh, some said Haram)

Masturbation is not allowed (Al-Mu'minun 5-7, tafsir-ed by Syafii). But some scholars said that it's allowed if you're so horny it made you want to do things with someone who's not Halal for you (like that one Gazxreader mid-courting fic)

Though some scholars did say masturbation is allowed.. (but no penetration) makruh tho- it differs from variety on how scholars think the verse above meant. Some used the argument from verse (Al-An'am: 119) where it is said that anything needed to be said explicitly to be wrong/right in any verse- and masturbation never stated explicitly. Sees also opinions of Tabain, from Al-Muhalla by ibn Hazm- they're ok with it

Bondage and other kinks are allowed if both parties are consenting and had communicate it properly. And it shouldn't cause emotional distress/physical harm

..If anything, indulging in your partner kink is Sunnah :D

Giving each other head is okay, but not reccomended. Just don't swallow :3 (some said Makruh, some Haram)

Pulling out (azl) and using condom etc is ok 👍 but breeding kink is Sunnah (especially when the receiver is into it :3)

..Yes you can suck tiddy and drink the milk

..Yes you can fuck with hijab on praying mattress

..Yes you can use prayer beads as toys, dunno how but.. be creative(?) (still no penetration)

Sexting/Phone Sex is allowed. But either parties are not allowed to masturbate (some said Makruh, some said Haram). Though, both scholars said it's ok if you cum from it somehow with no hands involved/toys (again, some said Makruh some said Haram for the latter)

If you're not ashamed of it.. then do it ig (Said the Prophet, from Shahih Bukhari: 3483)

But it's reccomended to have haya and not be filthy (not a sin tho)

Scat and piss kink isn't allowed because the object (piss&shit) themselves are considered najis (dirty)

Penetrative sex & Orgasm break your fast! But making out and heavy petting is ok (edging is ok ehehe- probably Makruh tho). There's a verse about the Prophet kissing his wife, sucked her tongue, and drank her saliva- which means that doesn't break your fast.. (Shahih Bukhari: 1927)

But if you cum by accident.. like idk, in your sleep, or just somehow- it wouldn't break your fast. Just bathe

You need to bathe before praying if you had sex/orgasm

You don't need to bathe immediately after sex/orgasm

If you want to go another round, it's Sunnah to take wudhu between rounds

If you get aroused, leaking precum, getting wet and such- but didnt have an orgasm- you don't need to bath, just take wudhu

Both parties aren't allowed to talk about their sexy times with other people except for educational/medical purposes

Watching visual pornography is Haram due to the nature of us having to avert our gaze anyway

But reading text porn is a grey area. Either Makruh or Haram

Having nasty thoughts is alright, God made us horny as He stated. It's what you do with those thoughts that would be judged

Voyeorism isnt allowed. Due to the nature of awrah. Sexy times only allowed in private places

Holding hands kissing with tongue snuggling cuddling PDA is allowed tho

and uh.. idk what else, lmk if i miss anything

Just don't get too freaky ;)

Pregnancy sex is alright, as long as it wouldn't harm anybody

If you do any of the forbidden stuff byy accident, like- oh no.. Gaz 👀 wrong hole..

That's not a sin, coz you didnt intent to- but yes do immediately stop when you realized it

And dont feel bad, God is mercifull so repent

Notes: Sin with God and Sin because you hurt people are different. Let's say you ate pork on purpose, then repent and promised to not do it again. But if you hurt someone, you have to get their apology specifically. If not, there would be consequences in the day of judgement. (Rawi Muslim)

Example: Fulan stole his sister's Muffin from the fridge. It's Sunnah for the sister to forgive, she would be greatly rewarded. But if she couldnt help and hold grudges, both would be called forward. An angel would ask if she forgave her brother, if she said yea then cool. But if not, then Fulan has to give one of his pahala (reward/good deeds point) to his sister. And of course, anyone wouldn't just offend one person in their life.. so every each person who had grudges towards Fulan would alsoo be called forward then asked the same question. If Fulan is hated by sooo many people- to the point he has no pahala anymore :(, then the next person gonna give Fulan one of their sin, etc, vice versa.

So.. God may be merciful, but people (me) aren't. Someone could be really good religious wise but is an ass towards people in general, in that case, their good deeds from religious duty is useless *cough*mom*cough* (from Sahih Muslim: 2581)

This is a reminder to be kind 😌 "Speak only good words, or keep silent" or something along those lines (Shahih Bukhari: 6018)

Feel free to ask questions in my inbox/dm- but again! Im no scholar! Just a student :3 So i just gonna offer the opinions of scholars i gathered

Asking questions is reccomended in Islam

Even the Angels themselves who are made to be obedient- asked God when He said he wanted to make humans.

They basically said "Art thou sure?, They're just gonna kill each other and destroy earth". God answered "Yeah ik. Now kneel at them" (Al-Baqarah: 32-37)

Wallahu'alam

[utilitycaster]

Any tips or ideas for GMing the end of the Age of Reclamation? I want to be sure to get all the ramifications of the Divine Gate falling, and of the different social movements that come from the loss of the deities, but most of all I’m curious what someone as invested as I am in the narrative cohesion of Exandria would like to see in it.

Honestly? I don't really have tips - I don't GM anything in Exandria that will touch on it (Netherdeep game scheduling has been rough and I don't run any other games) and while I very much enjoyed EXU Divergence and Wildemount Wildlings I didn't really have much in the way of like, theorycraft/worldbuilding concepts in mind based on them.

Also, not to put too fine a point on it, but one aspect of why I think Campaign 3's plot struggled so mightily is that divinity and organized religion in Exandria were never very well laid out - @the-littlest-goblin has a post about the former, and I know I've touched on the latter a few times. Vasselheim is the cradle of civilization and a religious hub for the prime deities, but there doesn't appear to be any centralized power (Fy'ra and Morrighan do not seem to go through Vasselheim to be named champions) - and why would there be, given that the gods can communicate around anyone who claims to be a mouthpiece? The reality of the presence of the gods was, again as the-littlest-goblin pointed out, not really explored well within the text (and I include any of the texts). I think Matt is rightfully lauded for worldbuilding in terms of political structures, history, geography, and even new systems of magic; but actually, the specific role of religion has always been a weakness that we simply did not see until the role of religion and the gods became a major focus and the narrative infrastructure to support it was simply not there.

So anyway with that in mind: I actually wonder if we'd see Vasselheim actually become much more like our real Vatican/catholic church now that there is no divine voice of say, The Stormlord available to everyone. The idea that pre-Catatheosis Vasselheim was akin to the Vatican was very much not supported and entirely, in my opinion, projection from people who struggled to imagine something wholly unlike our world; but now that Exandria doesn't have gods that can simply talk to you (especially during the decade-plus period at least before the gods are found again), I think more formally organized religion and more authority among religious leaders than previously would feel realistic. I also suspect there will be perhaps increased religiosity in the world - if you cannot feel their presence, you may seek out religion for ritual and community instead. Ironically, I think Exandria might go from a very "religion as personal journey" almost modern attitude to a rather more medieval one.

I also think that false prophets/people claiming to be gods will be at minimum a cottage industry, especially a few years after; I'm unsure if the demons as we saw during the campaign will come back or if the bloody bridge/leylines were part of that problem so you can do whatever fits your particular campaign for now; and I think that some people will lose faith.

It's not all scams and the development of Fantasy Catholicism, though; I think the positives are going to be that the Accord will have established some degree of international cooperation and eroded the isolationism we saw in Campaigns 1 and 2, and of course Ruidians and access to Ruidus itself will open up entirely new perspectives! I think there will be leaps in biological research particularly, given that was the focus of Ruidian science. I would like to think that surviving members of the Grim Verity and the reveals of Ruidus's nature, not to mention the fact that vaulting everything up didn't stop Ludinus, will lead to an opening of said vaults and perhaps even an increased focus on Exandrian historical research; the perspective of the Kryn, now less isolated, will be incredibly valuable here. I also would like to think that the Empire being in some degree of turmoil will resolve, but with the dissolution of the Assembly. My guess is it will just continue in the Dwendal line, but if you want to focus on Wildemount I think you could make an argument for the Empire to follow in the footsteps of Tal'Dorei's relatively recent transition to a council (or for upheaval or even a civil war to lead to that transition). Either way I expect the Clovis Concord and Dynasty to develop more of a relationship and more power on the continent.

I also wonder if the international community will focus again on Aeor (now that Ludinus isn't trying to control access) and if there were be redoubled efforts to address the corruption of the Savalirwood. (Man, Ludinus REALLY fucked Uthodurn over as collateral in multiple ways, huh). It really might be something of an industrial revolution for a world that was already on the cusp of it.

Finally, think about all the sealed things or long-running enchantments that failed - what happens with them? Some might be cool, Umudara; others might be violent require further cooperation to address, like Desirat. This could be a great hook for adventures you run.

[kierstins-astrology3]

Psychology🧠 & Astrology🪬: Asteroids

This post is gonna be a little different from other ones!

Had an impulsive cool idea so these asteroids are related to psychology, mediumship, spirituality in astrology. As a psychology major I have to do a little post on these topics❣️When looking at the aspects in my natal chart it definitely makes sense why I love & chose a psych related career.

Psyche (16): Your psyche, your inner mind, spirit, & soul.

Urania (30): Shows interest in Astronomy & Astrology

Jung (11518): Asteroid named after Carl Gustav Jung who is a male psychiatrist & psychologist who is known for his analytical skills in psych. this asteroid can mean you way understand the human Psyche.

Wundt (11040): Asteroid named after Wilhelm Wundt who is a also a male physiologist, professor and one of the fathers of modern / experimental psych. Not much on this asteroid for the definition so if you love psychology / experimental psych this asteroid can be prominent in your chart.

Sigmund (6571): An asteroid name after psychologist Sigmund Freud. Not much on the definition of Sigmund so I’m going to assume it means if prominent you could be deeply interested in psychology & the human psyche.

Spirit (37452): Asteroid to tell you your spirit, spirituality, your spirit guides, and the abilities that are already given before you come here on earth.

Teller (5006): Shows your mediumship & psychic abilities.

Kalchas (4138): Shows prophetic themes and divination.

Angel (11911): Your spiritual path, where you feel divinely guided & protected, where you could encounter angels irl.

Bless (92891): Your blessings, where you’re blessed.

These asteroids in my natal chart:

Psyche in Aquarius 12h 13°

Psyche sextile moon 9h & Conjunct Neptune 12h: Sextile moon 9h can show an emotional connection to the internet, friends, religion, spirituality. Conjunct Neptune 12h can have a deep connection to spirituality, creativity, dreams.

Urania in Gemini 3h 11°

Urania opposite moon 9h & trine Neptune 12h: Opposite moon 9h astrology / astronomy can be challenging emotionally with my religion, culture, traveling. Trine neptune 12h astrology / astronomy can go with my delusions, creativity, spirituality.

Jung in Aquarius 12h 15°

Jung sextile moon 9h & Conjunct Neptune 12h: Sextile moon 9h can have emotional connection to understanding & learning psychology and analyzing the human psyche. Conjunct neptune 12h can have a sensitive, creative, spiritual connection to the human psyche and analyzing it.

Wundt in Leo 6h 13°

Wundt trine moon 9h: Can again have an emotional connection & can learn about experimental / modern psychology and asteroid in 6h can go with my routine.

Sigmund in Cancer 4h 5°

Sigmund semi-sextile sun 6h & trine Uranus 1h: Semi-sextile 6h sun can mean psychology can be apart of my routine, identity. Trine uranus 1h psychology can go with my uniqueness, independence, identity, self.

Spirit in Libra 8h 24°

Spirit trine Venus 4h: Spirit guides can be ancestors, family members, the abilities given before earth can be my emotions, spirituality, beauty with Libra.

Teller in Gemini 4h 25°

Teller conjunct Venus 4h: Mediumship & psychic abilities can be related to communication, learning with Gemini and 4h can be with home, families, emotions.

Kalchas in Scorpio 8h 11°

Prophetic themes & divination can be related to transformations, emotions, rebirth, wealth, sex with Scorpio & 8h. 11° (Aquarius) degrees divination with uniqueness, independence, friends, technology.

Angel in Aquarius 12h 2°

Spiritual path can be alone, unique, can be seen by friends or the internet. In 12h definitely a spiritual, creative path. 2° (Taurus) degree can be a stable, long-term spiritual path.

Bless in Aries 1h 15°

Can be blessed with my identity, self, appearance, body with Aries & 1h. 15° (Gemini) degree blessed with communication, intelligence, learning and the internet.

Used these links for help:

Google lol

Evangelinedeactivated Asteroid Definitions

Spirit Asteroid

Angel asteroid

[sightofsea]

merlin fic recs?? <3

And Time and the World Are Ever in Flight by horsecrazy

most recent read and I highly recommend it. arthur returns and makes the long journey to find merlin, who has become a sheep farmer in ireland, and has to figure out modern life alone along the way. perfect banter VERY silly while also holding a lot of gravity and most importantly it's funnyyyyyyyy like actually truly funny

A Different Wilderness by spqr

honestly started me on this reread. it's a finale role reversal with some not so easily conquered epistolary flair. created in me new issues and voids that are still gnawing at me. yay <3

The Change Trilogy by emmbrancsxx0

my all time favorite. arthur returns but like he really does return when the world needs him the most and it's badddd out there. AND EVERYBODY ELSE RETURNS TOO!!! angsty but just the perfect amount. a continuation from s5 that really is like the true finale to me. it's insane. it's perfect. it's a full world in there. lovely torture but again not overplayed. everything feels earned. and it is also at times very funny.

The Perfect Scry by DisaLangois

This is what I mean by magic revealed by in a gaslighty kinda way. Arthur thinks Merlin doesn't know about his magic and tries to use it for tactical purposes. Merlin rolls along with it. Perfect fic for people who love liars lying and lies. And again: funny. I love when things are funny.

And like the cycle of the world, we begin again by kathyrnefromphilly

Another Arthur returns fic that's more like a cozy little blanket to fall into. Lovely side characters fun prophetic dreams and Arthur learning how to drive a car.

There Is No Roadmap To Your Life by truelyesoteric

Another Arthur returns fic what can I say I love it I love this shit. But this one's different because Arthur has BEEN returning, reincarnating and not knowing Merlin and dying, in the 1500 years between then and now. Along with everybody else, who is also back. And American. And Uther's running for Congress. And they all play basketball. And the best part is that it all works somehow.

[tzipporahs-well]

Why I see the Dark Kingdom, Quirin, and Varian as Jewish:

So I promised a post or so again to expand on my Jewish Varian headcanons, and I wanted to explain my rationale for my headcanon.

Names:

Adira’s name is Hebrew: אַדִּירָה. It means “strong” or “mighty.” Notably no one else in the series has a Hebrew name except Ruth, which is a common name used more widely. Adira however is a much rarer name and i have not seen it used beyond Star Trek and Hebrew. Given this is a world in the renaissance to the late 1700s (personally, I interpret it in the late 1700s), it also means that the modern state of Israel does not exist yet. Which leads me to my next point.

The Dark Kingdom: Exile and Return

Within Tanakh, there is this major theme of exile (galut) and return as well as the “promised land.” The Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) expanded on this significantly. The Jewish people experienced two major exiles from the destruction of both of their Temples, something commemorated on Tisha B’av. These exiles were also preceded by environmental disasters because Hashem withdrew His protection. The land itself is described as a “land of milk and honey” and incredibly fruitful. However, in times of trouble, the land fails to yield to the Israelites and sees drought, famine, and fire.

The Dark Kingdom sees something similar. The land itself has become infested with near indestructible black rocks. Any attempt to destroy these black rocks has led to severe illness and death. Ultimately, all the kingdom’s inhabitants are forced away from their home to survive even as the black rocks spread from other people’s unwise actions (*cough* Fred *cough*). This leads to my next point.

The Parallel to Court Jews: Quirin

So Quirin’s role is very interesting. Reading between the lines, it seems that King Frederic swore Quirin to secrecy. Quirin has to communicate to the king in code when talking in front of other people about the black rocks. Even when it appears that he lied in front of his son. Quirin warns Varian to stop talking about what occurred (“That’s enough, Varian.”) which contrasts with his usual patient but exasperated behavior. This matter suggests a life or death matter and something that he could not even talk to his own family about.

There are parallels in Jewish history with this too: court Jews were a fixture in the Central Europe from the 16th century onwards (about the time period when Tangled the Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure takes place). They were in a precarious position often wearing multiple hats as banker and protector of the Jewish community. Court Jews got certain privileges in exchange for their services and wealth. Court Jews had personal relationships to the people in power usually a prince. this relationship proved very risky to many court Jews (see Joseph Suess Oppenheimer). One wrong move and the entire Jewish community could be forced to leave or less charitably, killed.

Now whether Rapunzel takes place in Central Europe is debatable. The location of the finale shot is somewhere in modern day France. However, certain parts of modern France (Alsace) were part of the Holy Roman Empire depending on the time period. A lot of names used are German/Central European or used frequently in the region: Rapunzel, Frederic, Quirin (which is only used as a Roman name otherwise according to behind the name), Mother Gothel, Edmund etc.

We see some evidence of wealth or at least past wealth in Varian’s household. First, the family lives in a castle rather than a shack or a cottage. Second, the amount of red clothing in Quirin’s household. Quirin wears a dark red shirt, Varian owns a red scarf, and his mother is seen wearing a lot of red. Red was one of the more expensive dyes with madder being the cheapest version. There is also use of furs in Varian’s coat and Quirin’s vest, which was not cheap either. However, Quirin and Varian also straddle the line with being commoners. We see Quirin farming pumpkins and they are clearly inferior to the king. In addition, Old Corona appears to be impoverished, which only worsened from the black rocks.

Jewish Values: Education and Promises

Education is a major Jewish value. We believe in questioning and wrestling with Hashem. Literacy was of major importance to us and Jewish communities often had high literacy rates often higher than the rest of the population. Part of the reason is because we’re people of the book. The other reason is because literacy and knowledge are mobile skills that can be taken with us when we got kicked out again. Varian owns many books, and we see him read and write on the regular. Books weren’t. Education expanded in Western and central Europe during the enlightenment but schooling as a system was still in its early stages. Books were expensive, yet it is likely that those who place a higher value on education would invest in such.

The idea of a promised land forms a major ideological core for Judaism because it provided hope. Hope allowed the long-suffering Jewish people as a whole to keep going even during Egyptian enslavement, massacres, and pogroms. There’s a reason Israel’s national anthem is named Hatikvah (“the hope”). Some of our biggest quarrels come from when covenants and promises are broken. Vows in the biblical era were taken extremely seriously.

Within the show, Varian emphasizes the promises that Rapunzel made but ultimately broke. It may not just “bad behavior” or massive hurt but a major breach in values. Rapunzel broke the agreement between subject and ruler: a ruler was to protect their subjects.

Appearances

Varian, Quirin, Hector, and Edmund all have dark hair. Both Quirin and Edmund have aquiline noses, which are common Mediterranean features. Corona is nowhere near the Mediterranean 🤨.

Varian’s mother also has red hair. Red hair is a polygenic trait that often occurs in a recessive fashion. That means two parents with other hair colors can carry red hair traits and pass them to their children. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Jews were often believed to red hair. Judas and Shylock from the Merchant of Venice were often depicted with red hair. This stereotype has some grains of truth as certain Tanakh figures like Esau and David have red hair or are described as ruddy and red. Because most Jews especially in the premodern age married within the tribe, a lot of traits that are rarer among the general population have been seen more frequently in Jewish populations including red hair and genetic conditions.

The Ham Sandwich Paradox: Obscure Jewish Food History

But wait! What about Varian’s ham sandwiches? Ham is made of pig and pigs aren’t kosher. Therefore, they can’t be Jewish.

Ah, this is where I talk about Jewish ham. Ham made of pork is indeed not kosher at all. However, Sephardic Jews and the Jews of Italy have made “Jewish ham” and “Jewish prosciutto” since about the Renaissance era. It came from curing goose or duck, which were kosher birds. I have tasted cured duck at a restaurant, and it takes remarkably like pork. One could interpret Varian talking about pork ham but Varian doesn’t say what kind of ham and he could just as easily be referring to “Jewish ham.”

Why Jewish representation matters

Tangled the Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure is a piece of media that I wrestle with a lot. The series did a lot of great things but it and the original movie did a piss poor job at handling Jews (in the movie and series) and Romani (definitively in the series). Here I will discuss the Jewish aspect since I am Jewish, not Romani.

Mother Gothel’s character resembles the very definition of old blood libels common in Europe that “Jews kidnap gentile children (especially blondes) and use them for ritualistic purposes.” Her design was changed from gothic romantic to something more “Jewish-coded” and thus more villainous. This is very much a problem especially as we consider the rise of antisemitism. It became worse in the series when we found out that Cass was Gothel’s daughter and that Cass was abandoned in favor of kidnapping Rapunzel. Cass then became a villain because of this. Media depictions like Gothel actively harm our community by reinforcing old dangerous stereotypes. Given these strong negative representations of Jews, I wanted to dilute the pool through making positive Jewish representation. I wanted to make space for myself and other Jews within this piece of media that has harmed our community.

These hints may simply be coincidental if taken in isolation. In stringing them together, we can construct a space where Jews can be represented positively and accurately in the tangled universe.

[chained-to-the-mirror]

Sanna’s APRIL READS

Whee, another month has gone by and I’m back with my reading journal (I guess that’s what I’d call it?) Click through the read more for notes if you like!

This month was lighter on books read, but that’s mostly because I’m currently working through two subject heavy books simultaneously and didn’t manage to finish either in time for this update. Next month! Anyway, here are the six books I did finish…

My first book was poetry, which was uncharacteristic of me: The Waste Land & Other Poems by T.S.Eliot. It’s a classic, so I think it was good to read it. I’ll be honest, poetry is not something I go to. I feel like I lack the education to get all the literary (and cultural) references so I keep missing out on the full experience. But some of the poems here really resonated with me, despite my lack of full understanding. Some lines lifted themselves up for me to grab at them and marvel at their raw beauty. It was very enjoyable, and I’m not averse to reading more poetry in the future - in small doses at least.

Second, another very lyrical work in spirit. Virginia Woolf’s Orlando is something I always wanted to read. I saw the movie with Tilda Swinton in my late teens, and despite not remembering any details, it left me with strong fondness that never went away. We read this together with dearest @honeybeelullaby in our two person book club, and it was very lovely. The way the book handles gender and blurs the lines is stunning, especially considering the time when it was written, but also just in general. It’s very, very modern. It’s also very, very funny! I love her style, and I really look forward to re-reading her works that I read as a young and very angsty adult. I want to see if they speak to me differently now.

Then I was off to Ancient Rome! I was throughly entertained by the telenovela of I, Claudius (by Robert Graves). Full of plotting and gruesome fates, it really gripped me. I know next to nothing about Ancient Rome, so I was on the edge of my seat at all times. Some of the characters made me feel such intense loathing that it genuinely was like the best soap operas today. Just the pure evil of it all! To be honest, most of them were nasty in one way or another, which is true of soaps as well. I actually got the sequel of this from the library the last time I went, so I will try to read it by May. Looking forward to knowing what happens next!

The only revisit of this month was Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Wow, it was such a trip to read this masterpiece again! I first read it when I was 12 or 13, as a school project - and that fully sucked me into the Christie universe. It’s still one of my absolute favorites from her… It’s so masterfully created, and I simply had to read the whole thing in one night because I was too scared of falling asleep before I had physically read the resolution. That’s how creepy the atmosphere was. I had two options for who the killer was, and I couldn’t remember which of them was correct, so I was genuinely enjoying the mystery to the very end.

The non fiction book of the month was Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison. And that was some heavy stuff! I was sort of ambivalent on this one, because the title mentions intuitive eating, and I personally find that to be quite difficult, even after all these years of working on my food relationship. But ultimately, the book was not as focused on the strategies of intuitive eating, as on why we have been so far removed from it, and how Life Thief (which is the author’s name for diet culture) steals away various areas of our lives. It was both nod-inducing and eye-opening. I feel endlessly fascinated with these themes, probably because of the personal connection. It feels good to have reassurance, sort of.

The last book I finished was Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 - another classic I never got to before. It was chilling, and prophetic. I feel that books like this one, or 1984, or Brave New World, or Animal Farm, are more and more timely as years go by. This is not a ride I want to be on, personally. It feels difficult to even bring up things I thought of while reading - the thing I remember was the sense of doom. I was reading a sci-fi fantasy, but because the world is the way it is now, it just seemed more like a grim report on current events. That said, I truly loved it and I expect to be re-reading in the future.

******

Lots to think about this month. And the two books I’m going through now are constantly bringing up dust clouds of thought in my brain, so I expect that next month is also full of material. I’m living my best book life 💚

[elbiotipo]

I finished Severance S1, and I liked it but like I said before, the whole "they worship Kier Eagan as god with a bible and old-timey spiritual quotes and paintings" really, really threw me off and I disliked it, because it doesn't make thematic sense to me at least. I started watching it as a satire/thriller about soul-sucking capitalism and corporate life, and every time they began with the Kier as a religious prophet thing, it seemed that it belonged to a completely disconnected series.

They could have explored a lot some of the cult-like expression of capitalism and corporations, megalomaniacal CEOs and wacky founding figures, but IMO they did it poorly, for example, it's not like the Ford Corporation worships Henry Ford as a god or prophet Joseph Smith like guy. "Spirituality" and cult-like things in modern corporate world do exist but they express way, way differently than that, there's lot of esoteric corporate bullshit they could have done instead of ripping off Mormonism. And at first I thought the series hit that tone well with the strange "wellness" experiences, the awkward and forced employee bonding, the creepy attempts at normal office life, the doing things that nobody understands or care about, that does feel like they hit the mark with that feeling of loyalty to The Company, not to anything in particular but the concept of Work itself. And they they hit you with the Kier Is God stuff again and again and again.

And yes, of course I know we should appreciate strange and fucked up stuff, and it had plenty of that, but those parts in particular were very, again, uncreative and not especially interesting. Like "wooo the Instruction Manual is the Bible wooooo". I frankly found it uncreative and jarring, again, like it belonged in an entirely different series, maybe a good one, but not this one.

What's strange is that seems the part many people liked the most about it, but well. I don't think I'll be watching the second season.

[naazaif327]

It’s so strange to me seeing people bend over backwards to try claiming that there’s absolutely no connection between TLOU2’s setting and the Israel-Palestine conflict. Like, I absolutely love The Last Of Us from the bottom of my heart, those games and characters will stay with me for the rest of my life, but also it’s just like so clear from any angle that Seattle’s war between the Seraphites and the WLF is just Druckmann’s “progressive liberal” zionist view of the irl occupation.

Like, on the one hand you’ve got the WLF (IDF/Israel), who are clearly criticized as being overly militarized and doing a bit too much torture and dehumanization, but they’re also super diverse and queer-friendly, and they’re very accepting of various different faiths and religions while still being overall pretty secular (this isn’t just me speculating btw, as you pass by you’ll listen to various WLF npcs openly talking about their faith and sexuality). They’ve got a fucked up leadership/governance under their angry ruler Isaac, but they’re good people as individuals, they’re just caught up in a cycle of revenge/violence. They’re mostly made up of people who were oppressed (by FEDRA) before staging an uprising and revolting to take back their land, which they lovingly cultivate and make use of innovative modern technology to make their world better. It’s a perfect metaphor for Israel to a Zionist who truly thinks that he has a nuanced view of a country he loves.

And then you’ve got the Seraphites (Palestinians/Arabs/Muslims), an angry backwards religious cult that hates progress and queerness and religious freedom, it’s members all brainwashed and worshipping a powerful prophet who proved her worth by performing miracles to win military victories for the cause. All of their children either become child soldiers or child brides for the elders. They hate using technology or anything from the modern world, their backwards culture holds them back and makes them socially/militarily weak. They enact violent lynchings against any poor WLF soldier that crosses their path. Besides Lev and Yara, they are a monolith, a people who exist as violent enemies to slaughter or as brainwashed masses to be pitied as they are massacred. Again, a perfect metaphor for both Islam and Palestinians to a man who has only ever seen both groups through the eyes of Israeli propaganda.

Notably, there is of course no apartheid, no checkpoints, no forced migration by one group or another in the history of the conflict (which we slowly learn through notes and diaries and letters scattered throughout the game). The WLF did not slaughter Seraphites in order to steal their homes, did not take their land and murder their families, nor did they force the Seraphites into concentration camps. The WLF has not been policing the Seraphites’ crops, has not been seizing their funds or resources, or poisoning their wells. The Seraphites aren’t trying to reclaim their stolen land or get the boot of the WLF off their neck. There is no actual ongoing reason for the war, the only reason the Seraphites are still fighting is to “get vengeance” and “kill the degenerate Wolves” rather than to live freely, because Druckmann sees this as the root of the Palestinian cause. To him, Palestinians are not fighting because they’re oppressed by Israel but because they hate Israeli culture and Judaism, and because they can’t just let bygones be bygones (the “bygones” in this case being ethnic cleansing). To him, Israel isn’t oppressing Palestinians and profiting off their suffering, Israel is just fighting back against antisemitism and maybe going too far to protect itself.

In the game, both sides were hurt by FEDRA, and then after the WLF defeated FEDRA, the Seraphites randomly pushed into the suburbs to terrorize the citizens there, causing them to rush to join the WLF. From then on both sides in tandem kept attacking and thus escalating conflicts into more and more violence. There is no oppression, no power differential, one side is not living in the forcibly abandoned houses of the other. There is no reason for conflict, only the meaningless violence that would immediately end if we could all just get along and stop trading completely equal blows.

The conflict ends on an uncertain note that nauseatingly mirrors the current reality. After escalating conflicts, the WLF launches a violent all-out attack on the largest Seraphite base, their island, wiping out most of the Seraphites, razing their fields and crops, slaughtering their children, and burning down almost everything the Seraphites spent decades building. The WLF in turn have lost much of their military force, but their homes and their children seem blissfully unharmed at the end of this. The future is uncertain, but it seems that the WLF/IOF is the “winner”. And it’s all very tragic to Druckmann of course, the dead Scars/Arabs are a very sad thing that could have been avoided if everyone just listened and relaxed. Material oppression doesn’t matter, and this could all just be solved by having integrated schools or whatever.

[marvelmaniac715]

Eldritch Show and Tell:

What would happen if the Lords in Black did a show and tell for their siblings about their favourite humans to torment:

Tinky: This is Teddy-Bear, he’s my blorbo… am I saying that right Blinky?

Blinky: Yes, the notecards I gave you on modern day slang are working!

Nibbly: Uh, guys… I kinda lost who I was gonna show.

Wiggly: *entering whilst dragging Linda by the arm* Hello brothers, I found who I was going to show you just wandering around the Black and White, isn’t that convenient?

Nibbly: Hey, you stole my person!

Wiggly: Well you ate my prophet so we’ll call it even.

Pokey: Enough of your jabbering, here’s the show stopper. I’d like to present my favourite person in Hatchetfield - Paul Matthews. Go on Paul, dance for them, do the dance you did at the meteor, that’s a good one.

Paul: *running away* I don’t like musicals!

Pokey: *giving chase* NOT AGAIN-