So my mom is deconstructing some of her beliefs and I love when she sends me tiktoks breaking down and debunking terrible Christian beliefs with her mind absolutely blown.
Like she sent me one debunking the whole “animals have no souls, therefore your pets are going to hell when they die” thing and was like, “Wow! And I was taught that when I was little!” And like…yeah bro, I know!! Y’all taught me that too!! 😀👍🏻
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This election day, I'm thinking of my Nana.
I'm thinking of how as a young woman, she fled political violence in her native Colombia to build a new home in a more stable country. I'm thinking about how she lived a long life, but not long enough to see her home country elect its first ever progressive president (just a few months ago!).
Coincidentally, I was living in Colombia at that time (in the very city she grew up in), and I was able to witness what felt like a miracle. A very conservative country, suffering from the violent inheritance of colonization and catholic invasion and the war on drugs, against a backdrop of the dangerous global rise of the far right--this unlikely country managed to elect one of the most progressive heads of state in the world, in 2022. That's a pretty big deal.
And I'm thinking about this, this election day, because that election was won by a very thin margin. I'm thinking about how it almost didn't happen. I'm thinking about how it was only possible thanks to the highest voter turnout in 20 year. And I am thinking about the countless number of voters who chose to vote for the first time. I am thinking of the poorest and most disenfranchised citizens who showed up at the polls. I am thinking of the indigenous women who rode 12 hours on public buses to vote at the 'nearest' polling stations. I am thinking of all the money and corruption that went into preventing minority citizens from voting, and I'm thinking about how they showed up in the millions and voted anyway.
I am thinking that I would like to see a miracle like that in my own home country.
So if you're on the fence about waiting in line today to cast your vote, I hope that you will think--about the country you want to live in, the future you hope will unfold, and about all of the people it takes to make a miracle.
Because history may deem us nameless and faceless, but when we show up en masse, we are the ones who make history happen.
And yes, maybe also spare a thought for my Nana. Who was in fact a very angry and judgemental woman who supported the republican party for 50+ years, and who would be turning in her grave right now (if the family hadn't had her cremated). Think about the mean angry ghost of my Colombian grandmother, who very much wants you to not show up at the polls to support abortion and other sinful progressive values. Think about her. Do it for her. Do it for Nana.
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15 Lines Challenge
Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture their character/personality/vibe. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you’re free to include those as well.
@fablewritesnonsense strikes again!
As always, no pressure, I just really admire these lovely folk's work: @helena-bug @just-another-wasteland-merc @roystory4 @druidgroves @heylittleriotact
(I'm going to be completely honest, I'm working of off 5 incomplete scenes if I just do BG3, so I'm also going to throw in some By Any Other Name quotes. It's technically the same character from a different story. The backstories vary a little but I'm confident the character is still there. By Any Other Name quotes are marked with an asterisk * at the end)
Wynleth Reiden
“Lathander isn’t going to strike me down if I don’t stop and kneel."
“Are you stupid?”
“Of course I’m not going to kill you!”
“And I’m still not sure you are actually what I think you are or just some freak with filed teeth and a biting kink!”
“My faith is entirely a different matter.”
“I am going to drown myself in the Chionthar.”
“It is precisely because you are a depraved beast that you get the juiciest gossip.”
“Yes, good sex!”
“I was married, he died… fifty-four years ago come Mirtul?”
“I- I think I need to be alone for a bit. I need to pray. I need to do something or I’m going to fall apart.”
“Is that why I took up the role of a garden water feature when I tried to dominate it?"
“Becoming a Paladin, beginning a life in politics, was how I could take control back. I never had a connection to Lathander like you did. I didn’t find him when I lost. He was never there for me in my darkest moments. He was forced upon me because it was expected . He inundates every single one of the worst moments in my life. Because of them .” *
"Here, every second of every day is focused on the words and what they mean and it's been like that for centuries. We are like an ouroboros. The dogma is causing us to consume ourselves.” *
"You are a soldier with faith, I am a priest sent to war. They are entirely different things.” *
"I have Saints, Martyrs, Prophets, all manner of Holy Persons in my family line. I was supposed to follow in their footsteps. But I didn’t. Not totally.” *
If you would like to see more of my writing (or some of the incomplete scenes these are pulled from) check out my tag on my account #Jericho Writes
If you are a Legends of Avantris and Edge of Midnight fan, By Any Other Name is a published oneshot about the Chapter 17 memory ritual you can find on my Ao3!
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What gets me about certain people being so fucking pissy about Bob not writing much about Eilistraee (until the last fucking trilogy where EIlistraeans featured heavily) is that
a) Bob basically built drow culture up from almost nothing, and Eilistraee came after he started writing Drizzt
b) no you guys really don't understand. I own the first 4 modules drow appeared in. There's... not much there. And it hasn't aged well.
c) and the Big One: he has a specific vision for his specific characters when it comes to the narrative he wants to explore, from sexual abuse to religious trauma, both of which are fucking complicated and for most people just switching deities isn't enough to fix that.
I have religious trauma that I still struggle with to this day and probably will for the rest of my life to some extent, and it's fundamentally different in nature from what most people would probably expect, and the thing is even though I am happily polytheistic and very enthusiastically into it, I still struggle a lot with certain things because every time I get into my religious practice I have to actively force myself into (or out of) certain things because my whole relationship to religion and spirituality is complicated and messy.
It would be easy and frankly incredibly superficial for Bob to decide to just have them all convert to half-assed Neowiccan ~woo~ drow Jesus Eilistraee to *~*save their souls*~* and call it a day
BUT HE DIDN'T DO THAT
Partly because she wasn't his creation and other authors were writing her at the time so he really couldn't, and partly because it's a shitty message to send.
Sometimes people benefit from converting to a new religion or following a new deity. Sometimes people don't.
I benefited from gradually converting to my religion, but it's come with a whole different set of complications and hasn't been a smooth journey for me.
Just going from extensive religious trauma to switching deities does not fix your problems, and for a lot of people it realistically can make them much worse.
but also
you don't have to be saved by a deity in order to have value as a person
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I wish I could get out of this damn depression spiral and start writing again.
Instead I'm just experiencing a Michael-level existential crisis. ⬇️⬇️
Thank you, religious trauma! Nearly 40 years of intense self-hatred and Catholic guilt is a real fucking joy. 🙃
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