#"...with all thy mind..."

[mondoreb]

"...With All Thy Mind..."

“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” –Luke 10:27 There are a NUMBER of times the reader of God’s Word is told to love the LORD GOD ‘with all thy mind.’ Has the reader ever invested much time into this phrase? “…with all thy mind…” For starters, IF the…

[6esiree]

Gen Z Things With The Hazbin Women

WOO, I finally did something with the women! Just like last time, all of these quotes were taken from Instagram 😭

Charlie:

The Hell-Quake

“Imagine all the titties that were bouncing during the Hell-quake earlier?” You say, slowly turning to Charlie, your face at level with her chest.

“I, uh—what?” Charlie stutters, a blush creeping up her neck.

“Including yours,” You unashamedly add, laughing as she clamps a hand over your mouth.

“Oh my goodness, you’re so embarrassing,” Charlie says, but she drags you away to your shared room anyway, charmed.

Vaggie:

Got a Girlfriend?

“You got a girlfriend, Vagina?” You approach Vaggie, who’s been sitting by herself at the bar for a while already.

“Uhh, it’s Vaggie,” She blinks, confused over your question. “And no…”

“Well, you do now,” You say, snatching her hand without hesitation. “Get your ass up and hold my hand.”

“What happened to hello, how are you?” Vaggie squeaks as you drag her off the stool, but she isn’t complaining, either.

Niffty:

The Breakup

“How did you get dumped?” Niffty asks you, patting your cheeks dry with a tissue, but she’s struggling with all the moving you’re doing. “And why are you laughing while you’re crying?”

“I’m sorry, but he bought me the shoes I wanted then told me to walk out of his life,” You sniffle, another bout of laughter coming over you.

“Wait, that is kind of funny,” Niffty says, retracting the tissue from your face before the corners of her lips starts to twitch upwards.

Alastor was looking for Niffty, but as you both laugh like maniacs on the couch in the parlor, your face red and puffy from the tears, he slowly backs away.

Cherri:

Late-Night Texting

“U always smiling,” You text Cherri, a smile growing on her face as she reads it from her notifications. “U be making me smile and shit.”

“Aww, I’m glad,” Cherri texts back, trying to think of something sweet to add, her fingers typing away.

“Ima fuck the shit outta u tho,” That makes Cherri erase her text, rolling her eye with a huff.

“Alright, goodnight.”

Rosie:

A Love Poem

“Oh, isn’t that just lovely?” Rosie hums, taking a sip of her tea as she watches a cannibal recite poetry to their lover.

“You like poetry?” You ask her, and she nods, basically granting you an opportunity to fuck with her. “Here, I got a little something for you.”

“Sugar is sweet,

lemons are sour.

Spread thy legs,

and give me an hour.”

Rosie starts choking on her tea, never anticipating that you’d say something so crude. When she notices the smug look on your face, however, she grabs your chin and leans over the table, smiling at you with those razor-sharp teeth of hers.

“Oh, darling, just a measly little hour?” She says, her lips a few centimeters away from yours. “We’re going to need more time than that.”

“Hey, wait a minute, I was just joking,” You squeak, but it’s too late. She tosses you over her shoulder and leaves the room with you. “Rosie!”

Lute:

Beauty Comes From The Inside

“I would call you beautiful, but they say that beauty comes from the inside,” You pant, trying to find a way to escape Lute, who has you pinned to the ground.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Lute says, annoyed, thinking that you were trying to insult her. “Ugh, never mind—do you yield or not?”

“Hey, you didn’t let me finish!” You say, smiling wickedly at her. “I can’t call you beautiful because I haven’t been inside of you yet.”

“Training is over,” Lute quickly says, relinquishing you and flying away before you can see the blush on her face.

Emily:

You’re Fine Art

“I don’t really interact with winners all that much,” Emily confesses, fidgeting as she sits next to you. The two of you just started dating. “So, I’m sorry if what I say or do isn’t all that great, romantic-wise.”

“That’s okay, I’m not any better,” You shrug. “I mean, I come from a generation that says the freakiest shit to their partners.”

“Oh? Like what, exactly?” Emily asks, leaning in, curious to know. When you ask her if she’s sure, she eagerly nods.

“I know we’re not supposed to touch fine art,” You start, slightly leaning in and grabbing Emily’s chin, her breath hitching at the action. “But someone’s gotta pin you up against the wall and nail you, right?”

“That is…wow,” Emily stutters, her eyes nervously darting to the side as you wink at her, a wonky smile on her face. “Wow.”

Velvette:

Wise Words From A Young Person

“Life is like a weiner, sometimes it gets hard for no reason,” You say between sips of your morning coffee, trying to comfort Velvette, who was complaining about something that happened. “But it won’t stay hard forever.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Vox coughs, setting down his toast, while Valentino chuckles away next to him.

“Okay, why did we agree to let them in our group again?” Velvette asks, scooting away from you.

Carmilla:

The Passport

“Uhh, why are you handing me this?” Carmilla asks you, her eyes darting between you and the passport in your hand.

“You must understand, I just really love Latinas,” You say, shaking the passport, asking her to accept it. “Come on, you gotta let me in!”

“This is why you called this meeting?” Carmilla sighs, rubbing her temples.

“Just one date, that’s all I’m asking of you,” You say, but she shuts the door on your face before you can add anything else.

Sera:

Uppies, Please!

“Look, I’m not trying to, uh, offend you or anything,” Adam starts, scratching the back of his head. “But do you ever get annoyed by how freakishly tall Sera is?”

“Oh, I love me a tall woman,” You say, leaning onto the table and perching your chin on top your palm. “My favorite thing to do is look up at her and, like, do this,” You lift your arms up, making grabbing motions with your hands, “And say, ‘Uppies please!’”

“Does she actually pick you up?” Adam blinks, unable to imagine Sera doing such a childish thing.

“Who is this ‘she’ you two are discussing?” Sera asks as she steps into the room.

“Uppies, please!” You say, and with a practiced motion, Sera picks you up. She’s horrified because her body moved without thinking.

“Holy shit! I’m using this as blackmail,” Adam stupidly announces, taking a picture before Sera can put you down.

She throttles him before he leaves the room, however, a squeaky rubber duck-like noise escaping his throat.

[crossingthedreams]

do better — gregory house x f!reader

a/n: I got a little carried away, per usual, and now I’m late with day 04 of the angstober challenge (still a wyp), but I plan on finishing it and posting later today. but, omg, I can’t believe I'm posting day 05 — do better on time! this is also part of @angstober‘s challenge, which I'm having a blast writing. I do love some angsty vibes. please, feel free to comment or dm me!

summary: a relationship between the boss and his employee has a million ways to go wrong. one, in particular, hurt them the most. 

word count: 2.2k

warnings: angst. House is an asshole. mentions of family death. mentions of cancer. struggles with immigration. inappropriate relationship. mentions of smut.

Let medicine be thy food. 

That's the quote, or at least you think it is. After a particularly long shift, words in English seemed to scramble together a bit, with it being your second language and all. Usually, you’re a natural, perfect, fluent speaker. There are moments, however, when understanding what your peers are saying or formulating cohesive sentences becomes a herculean task. You didn’t make yourself unintelligible, but it was a little awkward to be with a patient who clearly had no idea how globalized the world was and how many doctors in the United States were not native English speakers, and who looked at you like you had just robbed the white coat from a “proper doctor”.

Sure, dealing with people was shitty sometimes. “Doctors don’t treat people, they treat illnesses”, your boss had once said. But in your mind, people weren’t that bad. The long hours, the sleep deprivation, the lack of a social life — that was the really bad part. And there were, of course, the very short lunch breaks. 

Medicine was fun, but it had nothing on a full plate of pasta with those weird looking meatballs. What once was disgusting, now seemed appetizing as hell. Not eating once while working for the whole night could do that to a person. Medicine was not food, at least not literally.

You had taken off your sweater and your white coat a while before going to the cafeteria, where the rest of the team was. As of right now, you and Chase had spent thirty-six hours working. Cameron and Foreman had taken the long straws and gone home last night while you and the prettiest doctor around worked on some lab tests. 

That man who, right now, was not really trying to hide how he lustfully eyed you up and down, stopping on your cleavage. You didn’t blame him for looking, though. Firstly, you did spend the night working together and you mentioned that you did not have sex for the last six months, and secondly, you had nice boobs, which was both a blessing and a curse. Also, he was very much exhausted. Thinking about your coworkers in an unfashionable manner to keep awake was better than falling asleep atop of a patient during a lumbar puncture — you had done both, so you could tell, oops. 

“I’ll die if I have to do any more thinking”, the pretty doctor said, accent even more prominent, letting his head drop to the headrest of his seat behind him. 

“Yes, thinking just doesn’t come naturally to some people”, you laughingly replied, sitting down next to Foreman. He scooched over, making more room for you and your tray. There was enough pasta on your plate to feed two, not to mention the salad, the dessert, the can of Coke and the can of energy drink. 

“Damn, kid, do you not have food at home?” You eyed Foreman, a little annoyed at the comment. Why did men think they had the right to comment on women’s food choices and bodies all the damn time? “Don’t give me that look, you know that’s a lot, especially for a girl who skips lunch every other day”. 

“Not by choice” you said, taking a lot of pasta into your mouth. “Nof ba chos”, you replied, mouth full, making everyone at the table let out a tired laugh. 

It was an uneventful meal. The team was really tired, especially Chase, who almost dropped his head on his plate twice. The four of you rushed upstairs when lunch was over, after being paged by your boss. 

The man himself was pacing back and forth in the conference room, brows furrowed and looking extremely aggravated. Nothing new, then, you think, sitting down across from Cameron. 

Allison Cameron and you had been friends since med school, and getting to work together was pretty nice. Women in STEM need each other, of that you were sure. The thing is, she was in a weird place romantically, which made you feel weird about getting along with the people about whom she was confused — which hardly makes sense, but it is what it is. She had a crush on your boss for the longest time, and that didn’t work out at all. And then there was Chase, who she had slept with, but had no interest in further pursuing. 

Hanging out with Chase knowing he’d seen her naked was a little weird, but the fact they’d slept together wasn’t the problem. He liked her, and that was her problem. Your boss, well, he was everybody’s problem. 

Particularly yours, considering… you know. The one-night-that-became-every-night. The HR-nightmare. The doing-the-devil’s-tango. The seeing-each-other-scars. The kissing-and-absolutely-not-telling.

It was fairly easy sneaking around. He was inappropriate, sure, but not big on PDA. He treated you like any other dumbass employee with boobs. If anyone saw the two of you leaving the hospital together? You worked together. If you were seen going towards the same place? You’re neighbors, duh. And if anyone happened to see the two of you having breakfast together in the little café a block around his place? Well, it was a coincidence meeting him there! 

If they saw you giving him head while he tried to play the piano, well… There’s no explanation for that. 

You looked at him coming and going, and you knew his leg must be killing him. Yesterday when you left his home in the morning to pick up your stuff for the day (which turned out to be the day, the night and the next day), he was popping more pills than usual. Shit. 

“New case?”, Cameron asked, looking at the limping man with worry and care in her eyes. You liked her a lot, but she had to stop thinking about your limping man with such care. 

Sure, she liked him first. And she probably worried for him just as she would anyone else. And it was ridiculous to be annoyed at your long-time friend for caring for her boss. Still, there was a sting of jealousy that made you want to bitch-slap her. 

He finally stopped and looked at all of you. When his eyes finally met you, he looked right at your low cut top and let out a “Yowza!”. When you blushed and stood up to pick your white coat, he called your last name, and said, nonchalantly: “Nice boobs”. 

You raised a hand to pinch at the bridge of your nose as you sat down. It might seem like sexual harassment — and at first, it was a little bit —, but now it was just him being as inappropriate as always. Hiding from his feelings, keeping his distance with pathetic remarks and cold attitudes. It made you sad when you started working for him, but right now, you pinched your nose to stop you from giggling like a sixteen year old cheerleader being noticed by the boy on the football team. Or rather, the boy on the bench cursing at the stupid players.

Dr. Gregory House had a massive crush on you, and that made all the shit he did go away. 

You realized Chase started updating House on the patient you spent all night testing and monitoring. Truth is, that guy didn’t stand a chance for a normal life here on forward. At best, he had a benign hereditary chorea. Worst case scenario, it was Huntington manifesting earlier than it should, as you’d been saying from the beginning. 

“Shut up”, House said to Chase, making those blue Australian eyes widen. Poor guy, he looked beyond exhausted. “I understand how DNA testing works. I went to med school too, remember?”

“Yeah, but that was seven hundred years ago”, you let out before you could think twice. You teased House a little for being older. Scratch that, you gave him a lot of crap for being older. You just didn’t do it in front of the team, which was why they all looked at you horrified. 

Horrified, but Foreman was holding in a laugh.

The ‘old-man’ hit his cane on the desk, turning the attention back to him. “Ouch”.

You smiled, playing it off like a remark made by an exhausted overworked young woman who disliked her boss. House half-screamed some orders to all of you, even though he already knew you had clinic duty. 

The hours left to finish on the clinic were manageable, so you could finish it after you did some of the tests House asked.  

Time passed by too quickly, and as your day went by, you remembered you had to talk to Wilson as soon as possible. It wasn’t a life or death matter, but a peace of mind kind of thing. You decided to stop by his office before you It was then that you overheard something you shouldn’t have.

Well, that brought the high school memories right back. 

It was the middle of the afternoon, also known as the beginning of your third shift in a row, and you were stopping by Wilson’s office to discuss a private matter. A family member of yours had cancer, and then another one. By the time your fourth relative came down with the diagnosis, you decided to check your genetic predisposition. Although the tests came back clean, meaning you were safe for oncology purposes, you still wanted to know his opinion on how you could be even safer.

You looked cancer in the eyes many times. You didn’t want to look at it in the mirror too. 

For some godly reason, you stopped before knocking. That’s when you recognized your boss’s voice, complaining about something, per usual. 

“She’s a baby! She had never watched Grease, for crying out loud”, the voice and the footsteps made their sounds in harmony. You leaned in closer to the door, to try and listen better. 

“Well, you two barely know each other, now it’s the time to know if there’s a future in this relationship or not. And would you ever marry her?”, Wilson’s voice, and the words made you freeze. 

“Not everyone has marriage on the brain 24/7, Wilson”, House replied. Even from behind the door, you could almost hear the engines in his brain turning. “And God, no. I could never marry her. I can do better than a gullible third-world princess”.

You froze.

Of course he’d say that. Of course. Even if he didn’t mean it. 

The realization came like an electrical shock flowing through your body. You felt it, and it made the hairs on the nape of your neck rise. 

You meant nothing to him. 

As an immigrant, the feeling of never belonging is constant. You don’t belong in the place you now live, but you don’t really belong in the place you were born. 

You had felt for a fraction of a second that you could find your place here. In House's department. Perhaps, even with House. God, you were stupid. You were a device for him to finish his puzzles, and an object to finish… Well, to finish himself off. 

As you left your transe and heard the voices again, you ran as fast as you could back to the clinic, where you had a couple hours left to finish. There was something you needed to arrange with Cuddy, too. 

Hours later, you were in the department’s room reading some exams when House walked in. 

He eyed you up and down again, eyes lingering on your breasts a little longer than a boss’ eyes normally would. “So”, he took his bootle from his jacket and opened it, popping a couple of pills, “your place or mine?” 

“You suck”, you murmured, angrily, but pouting a little. He’d never admit it, but he loved seeing you a little aggravated, crossing your arms in front of your body in a way that made your already eye-catching torso irresistible. 

He smiled a little, putting the medicine back in his pocket. “No, sweetheart”, he now fully grinned, “that’s you.”

You rolled your eyes, but let your arms fall and a cold smile creeped into your face. 

“Yes, I do, actually”, you rose up from the chair and walked all the way towards him, hitting your hand towards his chest and pressing the paper you were holding against him. “I’m a full on sucker, and ass-kisser, as you like to point out. That’s why your so called mortal enemy offered me a job in New York”. 

He took the paper, blue eyes never leaving yours. 

“Consider this my two weeks notice”. It was hard to say, but it felt a little good, too. Logically, there were no downsides in this opportunity. Then, why did it hurt so much? “I guess everyone was right. I can do better”.

The double meaning was not lost on House. 

Your hand finally left his chest, and he didn’t look back as you left. 

Looking at it now, it all seems so simple. It never is, though, is it? Especially with House. And you, an intelligent, kind, talented and ambitious young woman, could definitely do better than attach yourself to a crippled, bitter, odious older man. 

You were doing better now. So, why, pray tell, why did this still hurt so much? 

[bunnynoldo]

Who is the main villain in the Rings of Power? On Sauron's redemption

So the most obvious answer is that Sauron is the main villain of the series - but everything in the show really circles back to Morgoth, the original source of evil in the Middle-earth: the people of the Southlands are 'destined for darkness' because of their ancestors' blood oath to Morgoth, Galadriel's fall into darkness (Adar accuses her of being transformed by Morgoth), corruption of the Lindon tree, corruption of Adar and his children, and yes, also Sauron.

All of the evil circles back to Morgoth because of Arda Marred

Arda Marred is an Elvish term for the world as it is: tainted by the evil of Morgoth. The damage sustained by Arda, and its creatures' attempts to deal with it, form most of the drama of its history.

The true affliction that the Marring of Arda signified went beyond the physical fact of Arda's damage and misshapenness. Morgoth (...) poured out his evil and rebellious will into its very structure. No creature that depended on the natural world for its survival (i.e., all beings aside from the Valar and Maiar) could escape this taint of Morgoth; it inevitably affected their understanding of the world and subsequent actions. Thus, it was the Marring of Arda that allowed misfortunes such as the Shadow to fall upon populations of the Children of Ilúvatar, causing misunderstandings and conflicts among them.Even after Morgoth himself was removed from Arda, this part of himself that he allowed to pass into its structure remained, and was in fact impossible for anyone save Eru to eradicate fully. 

And Morgoth's corruption is especially interesting in Sauron. 

... when Eönwë departed he hid himself in Middle-earth; and he fell back into evil, for the bonds that Morgoth had laid upon him were very strong. - Silmarillion

So what are those bonds that Morgoth put on Sauron?

Have you ever paid attention of how similar those two quotes below are? One is the Witch King speaking to Eowyn, and the other is Luthien taunting Sauron after defeating him:

Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye.

Lúthien came to him, and said that he should be stripped of his raiment of flesh, and his ghost be sent quaking back to Morgoth; and she said: ‘There everlastingly thy naked self shall endure the torment of his scorn, pierced by his eyes, unless thou yield to me the mastery of thy tower.’

They are almost the same quote! We might guess that Sauron is doing to the rigwraiths what Morgoth has done to him. And he says something similar to Celebrimbor - that he treats him as Mogoth treated him. The showrunners have compared Sauron to Gollum - in him being bound and corrupted to Morgoth, as Gollum is to the One Ring / Sauron.

The initial mistake of Sauron was choosing to join Morgoth - after that he had no other option but to serve him because 'the bonds that Morgoth had laid upon him were very strong'. 

Having all this in mind, after Morgoth's defeat Sauron really could have repented, in his own 'corrupted' way. His master's influence on him was diminished - although not fully gone (When Morgoth was defeated, it was as if a great, clenched fist had released its grasp from my neck. And in the stillness of that first sunrise, at last, I felt the light of The One again).

So what were Sauron's plans after Morgoth's defeat?

In Numenor Galadriel finds an account on Morgoth's plan to be enacted in the event of his defeat - which was completed by Adar in season 1, creating Mordor.

Why hasn't Sauron enacted Morgoth's plan? He was not trying to create Mordor, he was hiding in the North and experimenting with the power of the unseen world. He says to orcs that he wants to heal the Middle-earth. It looked that He was not in any hurry to create Mordor.

Playing devil's advocate: I think it's possible that he tried to escape Morgoth's leash after his defeat. We know that's he's still corrupted by Morgoth (his evil dark spaghetti form and Mirdania's descriptons might be some visual clues), but he's concious of this corruption and tries to escape it. And what makes it tragic is that he can't, just like Gollum couldn't - he has been corrupted for far too long, by a force much more powerful than him.

After regaining his physical form, Sauron sails West with a group of people. Later he says to Galadriel that he has sworn never to return to the Southlands / Mordor. We don't see when it happened, but assuming that it is true - perhaps he tried to escape Morgoth's influence by trying to get away from regions most marred by him? By staying as far away as possible from Morgoth's plans? Maybe that's why he wanted to stay in Numenor, a land close to the West, Valinor, and thus less corrupted?

He says to Galadriel that elves need him, because without him the darkness will spread and cover the whole world - he could be deceiving her, but he could also speak of Morgoth's plan here. Maybe the plan was set in motion when Southlanders started their blood sacrifices to Morgoth using the sword hilt from season 1? Maybe that's how the marring of the elven tree started?

What if Sauron really believed he could redeem himself by fighting alongside Galadriel? As Celebrimbor has noticed, Sauron is really good at deceiving himself! 

What if he turned back to Morgoth only after some specific event, after coming back to Middle -Earth?

I have two possible moments in mind:

Eruption of Mount Doom and completion of Morgoth's plan was a magical event (the Lindon tree started deteriorating faster after the eruption, and Morgoth's plan assumed creating a place where evil would not only endure, but thrive), and it pushed Sauron back into the darkness - in that case maybe we'll get a flashback to this moment in the future, with Morgoth claiming Sauron back. Or maybe it would be something less dramatic - Sauron slowly falling back into his old ways and embracing Morgoth again

Galadriel's rejection in season 1, because of this quote:

"They say that Morgoth found the Silmarils so beautiful that after he’d stolen them, for weeks he could do nothing but stare into their depths. It was only after one of his tears fell upon the jewels that he was faced with the evil of his own reflection and the reverie was finally broken.”

Galadriel would represents silmarils and light, and her rejecting of Sauron would show him 'the evil of his own reflection '

Either way, I think by the end of season 1 Sauron has fully embraced Morgoth again.

I think when he cuts his hand, it's a blood sacrifice to Morgoth. When he says to Celebrimbor that 'True creation requires sacrifice' it has a double meaning, and he is mocking him, referring to this.

And this comes full circle with the blood sacrifices to Morgoth by the Southlanders in season 1, and the coming sacrifices that we know will come in the future.

I could be wrong about this, and it could turn out that Sauron has planned all this and is deceiving everyone, but the thought that he is also a victim in some way, makes his story more interesting and tragic.

So there you have it, I have some more Thoughts (trying to figure out this show has become a hobby of mine apparently, lol) - this time on how Galadriel fits into all this

[thelien-art]

The Witch King from Numenor

I really like the idea of Tar-Miriel being the witch king, because I think she agreed not because of greed, but because she was promised that no man could ever hurt her again.

"Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall"* is a heavy quote and would fit perfectly with Tar-Miriel, and the way the Witch King talks about himself in third person, as well as the loyalty he express for Sauron that seems more than just a spell - "Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shriveled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye."**

*Glorfindel’s prophecy

**The Witch-King of Angmar to Éowyn

I know that that armor would be useless in a battle, and I was torn, on whether I should give her Numenor amor, but I like to think in this scenario she would wear armor akin to Sauron, as she is now above morality, which Ar-Pharazôn thirsted so much for.

I still like/see them as two different people, but this was fun toying around with :)

And then of course the white flaming steel sword with no name :) likely a gift from Sauron in this AU, a "congrats, that terrible man, we both hate, is now gone with his whole island" gift

[adventuresofalgy]

Algy leaned back on the soft tussocks of dry grass and heather at the back of his rocky perch and thought of all his human friends around the world, bustling and rushing about, and only too often haunted by the "gaunt presage of undone duties" in an "over-busy world".

With nothing much to do except contemplate the wonders of Nature and engage in the very pleasant task of sharing his adventures with all his wonderful friends, Algy realised that the life of a fluffy bird was indeed an unusually privileged one. Of course, not long ago he had allowed "the dreaming lapse of slow, unmeasured time" to prevail to such an extent that he had not only neglected his one delightful mission but had even failed to observe for himself the ever changing loveliness around him. And in a fluffy bird who had no other obligations, that was a fault indeed!

But Algy knew that his human friends had a multitude of responsibilities and commitments, worries and chores to shorten their hours and burden them with "alien moods", and he only hoped that in the midst of all those demands and concerns they could still find a time and a place for sufficient leisure to enjoy "wide-eyed delights and pleasures uncontrolled by shortening moments".

Algy sends you all lots of his fluffiest and most relaxing hugs 🤗

Leisure, thou goddess of a bygone age, When hours were long and days sufficed to hold Wide-eyed delights and pleasures uncontrolled By shortening moments, when no gaunt presage Of undone duties, modern heritage, Haunted our happy minds; must thou withhold Thy presence from this over-busy world, And bearing silence with thee disengage Our twined fortunes? Deeps of unhewn woods Alone can cherish thee, alone possess Thy quiet, teeming vigor. This our crime: Not to have worshipped, marred by alien moods That sole condition of all loveliness, The dreaming lapse of slow, unmeasured time.

[Algy is quoting the poem Leisure by the early 20th century American poet Amy Lowell.]

[spellsword177]

Teen and the Trials of the Witches' Road

A thought has occurred to me in reading other theories and reflecting on previous episodes. I believe Teen, aka Billy Kaplan/Wiccan has been influencing every trial consciously or not except for the latest one and Agatha knows it. Likewise, I believe Agatha is accusing Wiccan of killing Sharon Davis, aka Mrs. Hart. 1. Agatha/Teen Quotes: The beginning of this theory lies in two quotes. The first came from Episode 4: If I Can't Reach You, Let My Song Teach You when Agatha says, "I didn't think you had it in you" while speaking to Sharon's corpse. Teen replies, "You didn't think who had what in them." The second from Episode 5: Darkest Hour, Wake Thy Power when Teen states, "So that’s what it means to be a witch? Killing people to serve your own agenda? No. Not for me." Agatha taunting whispers, "Are you sure? You're so much like your mother." It was these statements together that lead me to believe Agatha suspects Teen killed Mrs. Hart. Whether or not she also believes he influenced the previous trials is debatable. 2. Aspect Ratio Changes/Other Visuals: Both of the previous trials have featured a change in the aspect ratio, but the last one did not. Admittedly, this fact flew right past me until I noticed others pointing it out. Some have come to believe this means the latest trial wasn't real, but I believe the opposite. It is also interesting this is the only trial in which Teen did not have his spell book. The light outside in the first trial started out pink like Jen's power but switched to blue near the conclusion. While this could be written off as representing water as the house later flooded, but this could also be Wiccan's influence seeping into the walls. He might have even made the visions more vivid.

3. Teen's Position in the Trials: Arguably, Teen is not officially part of the Coven and is in some ways the junior member. The differences being he's younger and male, but those don't fully explain why he hasn't gone through all the same experiences as the rest. It is curious how he was the one who found both the invitation and the record. Likewise, he was only person who wasn't poisoned in the first trial or burned in the second even though I was cursed like the rest. The glass to his stomach was an unforeseen accident and he was helpless when attacked by a possessed Agatha. Keep in mind this is only a theory, and I'm open to being completely wrong. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the remaining four episodes either way.

[astra-ravana]

Aleister Crowley Quotes

A selection of my favorite quotes by Aleister Crowley.

✡"Ordinary morality is for ordinary people."

✡"The way to mastery is to break all the rules, but you have to know them perfectly before you do this; otherwise you are not in a position to transcend them."

✡"The whole and sole object of all true Magickal and Mystical training is to become free from every kind of limitation."

✡"If you are 'walking in darkness', do not try to make the sun rise by self sacrifice, but wait in confidence for the dawn, and enjoy the pleasures of the night meanwhile."

✡"It is a thousand times better to make every kind of mistake than to slide into the habit of hesitation, of uncertainty, of indecision."

✡"You can only accomplish your object in life by complete disregard of the opinions of other people."

✡"Remember that the Ego is not really the centre and crown of the individual; indeed the whole trouble arises from its false claim to be so."

✡"The joy of life consists in the exercise of one's energies, continual change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means simply to die. The eternal mistake of mankind is to set up an attainable ideal."

✡"The soul is beyond male and female as it is beyond Life and Death."

✡"Magick is the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with Will."

✡"Balance every thought with its opposition. Because the marriage of them is the destruction of illusion."

✡"Modern morality and manners suppress all natural instincts, keep people ignorant of the facts of nature, and make them fighting drunk on bogey tales."

✡"The key of joy is disobedience."

✡"It is necessary that we stop, once and for all, this ignorant meddling with other people's business. Each individual must be left free to follow his own path."

✡"Astrology has no more useful function than this, to discover the inmost nature of a man and to bring ot out into consciousness, that he may fulfill it according to the Law of Light."

✡"The Universe is Change: every change is the effect of an Act of Love; all acts of love contain pure joy. Die daily! Death is the apex of one curve of the Snake Life: behold all the opposites as necessary compliments and rejoice."

✡"I do not want to father a flock, to be the fetish of fools and fanatics, or the founder of a faith whose followers are content to echo my opinions. I want each man to cut his own way through the jungle."

✡"I slept with faith and found a corpse in my arms on awakening; I drank and danced all night with doubt and found her a virgin in the morning."

✡"There is no law beyond Do What Thou Wilt."

✡"Karma does not act in this it-for-tat way. An eye for an eye is a savage justice, and the idea of justice in our human sense is quite foreign to the constitution of the Universe. Karma is the law of cause and effect. There is no proportion to its operations. Once an accident occurs it is impossible to say what may happen; and the Universe is a stupendous accident."

✡"Science is always discovering odd scraps of Magickal wisdom and making a tremendous fuss about its cleverness."

✡"One may go mad if one took the Bible seriously; but to take it seriously one must already be mad."

✡"The sin which is unpardonable is knowingly and wilfully to reject truth, to fear knowledge lest that knowledge pander not to thy prejudices."

✡"Paganism is wholesome because it faces the facts of life..."

✡"To read a newspaper is to refrain from reading something worthwhile... The first discipline of education must therefore be to refuse resolutely to feed the mind with canned chatter."

✡"I was not content to believe in a personal devil and serve him, in the ordinary sense of the word. I wanted to get hold of him personally and become his chief of staff."

✡"Dreams are imperfections of sleep; even so is consciousness the imperfection of waking.

Dreams are impurities in the circulation of the blood; even so it's consciousness a disorder of life.

Dreams are without proportion, without good sense, without truth; so also is consciousness.

Awake from dream, the truth is known: awake from waking. The truth is: The Unknown. "

✡"I cling unto the burning Æthyr like Lucifer that fell through the Abyss, and by the fury of his flight kindled the air.

And I am Belial, for having seen the Rose upon thy breast, I have denied God.

And I am Satan! I am Satan! I am cast out upon a burning crag! And the sea boils about the desolation thereof. And already the vultures gather, and feast upon my flesh."

✡" To Hell with sentimental altruism, with false modesty, with all those most insidious friends, the sense of guilt, of shame- in a word, the 'inferiority complex'."

✡"Knowledge is really confined to experience."

✡"Sex is the sacred song of the soul; sex is the sanctuary of self."

✡"A single ego is an absurdly narrow vantage point from which to view the world."

✡"All souls eternally exist, each individual, ultimate... That shall end never that began. All things endure because they are. Do what thou wilt, for every man, every woman is a star. A star is an individual identity; it radiates energy, it goes, it is a point of view. Its object is to become whole by establishing relations with other stars. Each such relation is an event:it is an act of Love under Will."

✡"Magick is the art of life itself."

✡"A Man who is doing his True Will has the inertia of the Universe to assist him."

✡"The first condition of success in magick is purity of purpose."

✡"Do not imagine that art or anything else is other than high magic! - is a system of holy hieroglyph. The artist, the initiate, thus frames his mysteries. The rest of the world scoff, or seek to understand, or pretend to understand; some few obtain the truth."

✡" Keep on acquiring a taste for what is naturally repugnant; this is an unfailing source of pleasure."

✡" Chaos is Peace… Blackness, blackness intolerable, before the beginning of the light. This is the first verse of Genesis. Holy art thou, Chaos, Chaos, Eternity, all contradictions in terms!"

✡"Light illuminates the path of humanity: it is our own fault if we go over the brink."

✡"I seem to remember asking myself if I was insane, and answering, ''Of couse I am - sanity is a compromise. Sanity is the thing that keeps one back."

✡"Belief is the enemy of knowledge."

✡"...the sole test of music is its power to exalt the soul."

✡"I became an entirely different animal. In fact, I've often thought that there isn't any "I" at all ; that we are simply the means of expression of something else; that when we think we are ourselves, we are simply the victims of a delusion."

✡"Shallow thinkers always seem to be obsessed by the stupidity that if anything is a shadow, dream, illusion, it ceases to exist."

✡"Slay anger, strangle sorrow, and drown

despair;

Then a joy shall be born which is beyond

Love or hope,

Endurable, incorruptible.

Come heaven, come hell!

Once the Balances are adjusted,

then shall the night pass away,

and desire and sorrow vanish

as a dream with the breath of morning."

[loveerran]

Lusterware, Disillusionment and Discipleship

While sitting in a Sunday School class recently, listening to my LDS-scholar friend Calvin Burke teach, I was touched by an article he referenced, titled "Lusterware" in Wayfare magazine, written by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Dr. Ulrich is also LDS and won the Pulitzer prize for A Midwife's Tale. She is perhaps most famous for the quote "well behaved women seldom make history". Her article in Wayfare relates the following poem by Emily Dickinson, likens the poem to our faith journey, and then gives a brief history of lusterware:

It dropped so low— in my Regard— I heard it hit the Ground— And go to pieces on the Stones At bottom of my Mind— Yet blamed the Fate that flung it—less Than I denounced Myself, For entertaining Plated Wares Upon my Silver Shelf.—

Lusterware is a type of pottery, thinly glazed with metal. In the 1800's, a thin coating of platinum that made the piece appear to be solid silver became a popular, cheap option for the middle class. However, unlike solid silver, lusterware shatters if knocked off a shelf.

Lusterware pieces are the poem's 'Plated Wares'. They are beliefs, once held in high esteem and placed upon a 'Silver Shelf', that have fallen and shattered - proving that they never truly belonged there in the first place.

"Sooner or later," Dr. Ulrich writes, "most of us are forced to confront our shattered beliefs... There are lusterware missions and marriages, lusterware friendships, lusterware histories, and yes, lusterware visions of ourselves."

It is often in the testing, as a belief falls and shatters, or falls and remains true, that we learn the nuances of that which endures and that which was only previously assumed to endure. Dr. Ulrich continues:

"I read the nineteenth chapter of Leviticus and find the second greatest commandment, 'thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,' side by side with a sober command that 'neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee' (Leviticus 19:18–19). Every dispensation has had its silver and its lusterware."

"Sweeping up the lusterware, we sometimes forget to polish and cherish the silver, not knowing that the power of discernment is one of the gifts of the Spirit and that the ability to discover counterfeit wares also gives us the power to recognize the genuine."

The church and many of its members are in a period of testing, of looking for the true silver in different approaches to complex theological questions and practices. I have faith that God knows the answers, and have found it wise to embrace the second greatest commandment myself, even when others take actions that hurt me and those I care for. Perhaps, as has been too often the case in human history, it is ultimately the suffering of the innocent that will show the true path forward. We hope that the God who sees the fall of the sparrow will work all things together for our good, and that we may, as a people, find our way to that which matters most.

Love, Erran

[whataperfectwasteoftime]

Lead me not into Temptation

Pairing: Priest!Marcus Pike x reader/nameless OFC (no physical description, story uses 3rd person "she")

Rating: E (explicit smut, 18+ only)

Word Count: ~2k

Summary: I'll let @write-and-buried tell it for me:

A/N: My apologies to @chaoticgeminate who also had an idea based off of this UNCALLED FOR prompt in the Discord. I hope I'm not stepping on any toesies by posting my own take. When the spirit moves you, you gotta follow it, right? (Pun DEFINITELY intended.) Please enjoy 2k words of being in Priest Marcus Pike's fucked up little brain.

Masterlist

Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…

The familiar verse dances on Marcus’s tongue, but the words are barely audible in the quiet of his bedroom. 

He doesn’t want to wake her. 

The sheets have slipped down, exposing the swell of her bare breasts in the soft moonlight coming through the blinds on his window, and in the dim lighting he notices a drop of his spend drying just to the side of her areola that he had missed, somehow, when he gently wiped her chest with a damp cloth earlier that evening. His mouth suddenly dry, Marcus forces his gaze back down to his clasped hands.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done… 

Oh, God, what is he doing? 

What has he done? 

Even now, when Marcus looks back on the events of the past few months, he can't suss out when everything went so very wrong. 

Each tiny domino that fell hadn't seemed so bad at the time, each little concession, each little slip of his airtight composure and control.

How could he have known?

How could he ever have known? 

When his eyes casually swept over the pews during his sermon and landed on an unfamiliar–and striking–face, how could he have predicted what was to come?

When she had approached him after the service, introducing herself with a firm handshake and asking if he minded her sitting in on a few sermons and taking notes for her dissertation, how could he ever have known how much hunger he'd have for her.

Eager to talk theology with someone just as knowledgeable on the philosophy of religion, he'd been happy to stay after every service and answer her questions, jumping at the chance to really delve into his approach to leading his congregation.

When did it go so wrong?

When she started staying later and later, her eyes shining as she offered him quotes from some of history's greatest thinkers?

When she challenged him, flashing him that coy smile that he'd been starting to see in his dreams at night, pointing out any inaccuracies or accidental fallacies that fell from his lips? (She remembered everything.)

Or was it when she was in his office, perusing the many titles on his shelves and he had misjudged his distance as he'd come up behind her to slide a book back into place?

She'd turned, and suddenly they were too close; she was gazing up at him with wide eyes and parted lips and oh, how her chest was rising and falling so rapidly, and how easy it was to close the distance between them.

Every little step never seemed so egregious, did it? Marcus hardly noticed that they had crossed a line until the line was no longer in sight.

A slow descent into…

…on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

Oh, but if this was Hell, eternal damnation didn't seem all that bad.

Marcus drank from her mouth as if he were drowning. As though he had been wandering, parched, in a desert for days with no water until he fell to his knees at her oasis. 

A hunger he hadn't felt in years ignited deep in his belly, a pull toward her that he couldn't explain. 

After he took his vows of celibacy, he hadn't truly missed the pleasures of the flesh until he had known the feel of her lips on his. There were so many other pleasures in life, so many other ways to love. 

Marcus always loved with all of his being. With his mind, his heart, and with hands in service to others. With so many ways to offer himself to humanity, why would he miss just one aspect of devotion?

Give us this day our daily bread…

I'm not religious, she had confessed with an airy laugh one afternoon as she sat in his office, in the chair opposite his desk.

They had been discussing human nature, the fallibility of moral character, and she, with a wry smile, had challenged his idea that people could not be totally morally good without some kind of framework.

And you provide this framework? She asked with knowing glint in her eyes. 

It had been just one week since the kiss.

Humanity is, by nature, imperfect, Marcus conceded. Even those of the cloth. I can only do my best to lead by example and guide my congregation in what I believe God has provided as a guideline for morality.

So if it weren't for you, she said, your entire flock would be tempted to murder?

That's not what I'm saying at all, he'd argued. People know what's right and what's wrong, but–

You're contradicting yourself. Do they know right from wrong without you, or not? 

It's… it's the intricacies, he sputtered. I'm not talking about murder, I'm talking about… he trailed off, a little crease on the bridge of his nose as he searched for the right words.

She was smiling, her eyes crinkling around the edges, and Marcus had known, then, that he was in trouble.

With a shaky breath, he had slowly risen from his chair and walked around the deep mahogany desk in his office until he stood just in front of her.

I don't want to talk about good and evil, he had whispered, extending his hand and pulling her up until she was pressed against his chest. 

What do you want to talk about?

I don't want to talk, he breathed against her lips before claiming them for the second time.

…and forgive us our tresspasses…

He can't get enough of her.

Never has he been so consumed with the sins of the flesh–not even as a teenager. He craves her; every time he has her in his bed, it isn't enough. 

Part of it is the forbidden nature–this he knows. He's not supposed to fall victim to lust. Marcus committed himself to a higher purpose. 

Now, though, that purpose seems futile compared to the paradise between her thighs. 

During his sermons, he talks of chastity and of propriety. 

At night, he worships at her altar.

He hadn't been chaste before he took his vows. He was seventeen once too, after all. He had given partners pleasure, and he had lost himself in their bodies.

When he dedicated his life to the church, though, he thought he'd left that behind.

He can't stop. 

The minute his front door had clicked closed with the two of them inside of it for the first time, every carnal desire came flooding back to him in an instant. 

His hands were on her waist, her hips, her breasts. They clasped at her cheeks and pressed against the hinge of her jaw to open her mouth to him. His fingers slid up her pretty bare thighs underneath the cute-but-modest floral skirt she had worn to Mass. 

His mouth swallowed the soft gasp of pleasure as he lightly traced her folds over the fabric of her underwear.

He trembled at the sound of his name from her lips as he slipped a finger underneath the band and gently sank it, inch by inch, into her waiting heat. 

The sound broke him. The only thought left in his mind was how to make her make more of them. With a soft growl, he started to pump his finger in and out of her, reveling in the way her head fell back against the wall and how he could feel her knees buckle slightly. 

Fuck, he whispered softly to himself as he watched her face contort with pleasure. Oh, fuck. He couldn't stop–he'd never be able to get the sight of her out of his head now that he'd seen the way she looked just before she fell apart.

Just when it felt as though the sweet clutch of her velvet walls couldn't get any tighter, her eyes opened, and she looked right at him.

And when she fell, so did he.

…as we forgive those who trespass against us.

He had made love to her that first night.

Bodies close, their sweat-dampened skin sliding against each other in the dark. His lips hardly left hers for a moment as his hips undulated, letting their pleasures climb slowly. 

He had always been a gentle lover, even before. Any roughness he might have had inside him, he always held it back. 

More, she gasped against his skin. More, please, I need–harder…

She begged for his cock. For the desperate clutch of his fingers as they gripped her hips. 

I don't want to hurt you, he protested softly at first. Precious thing, I'll hurt you. 

You could never hurt me.

She showed him–

Marcus knew how to love. She taught him how to take her apart.

Send us not into temptation…

The sight of her spread out on his bed became a common one. Some depraved part of him loved to see her bare and wanting before he even unbuckled his belt. 

He'd crawl over her, the fabric of his black dress shirt brushing against her nipples and making them pebble in the cool air of the bedroom before they were engulfed in the heat of his mouth. 

Sometimes the only clothing he'd remove–as he kneeled between her spread legs, face inches from her glistening pussy–was his collar, slipping it out from his shirt and casting it to the corner of the room before burying his tongue inside her with a groan. 

He wanted her all the time. It was getting harder and harder to deliver his sermons, preaching of honoring God, while his cock was already half-hard at the sight of her in the first pew looking up at him, her ever present notebook open in her lap as she listened. 

All he could see in his mind's eye were those same eyes looking up at him while her lips were around his cock. 

Come over, he'd ask–beg–her when she slipped into his office after Mass under the guise of returning one of his books. 

It was a damn miracle that he hadn't yet spread her out on his desk, sending his sermon notes fluttering to the floor as he snapped his hips into her again and again. 

His favorite sight was to see her on her knees below him. Face pressed into the bedding, she made those sweet, desperate sounds with every rough punch of his cock. When he pressed her head down harder with his hand, she'd sob, her cries of yes, please, more muffled by the thumb that he'd hooked inside of her mouth.

…but deliver us from evil.

She's everything to him. 

Marcus should have known better than to try to maintain a casual–and highly forbidden–arrangement.

She's never asked, not once, but if she ever even suggested that he leave his life's calling behind and run away with her, he'd already be packing his suitcase before she even finished her sentence.

He wishes she would ask.

He looks up at her again, smiling, in spite of himself, at the sound of her soft snores emanating from her parted lips.

Perfect thing, he always calls her. Sweet girl, angel, temptress, siren, perfect, gorgeous woman.

Every endearment tumbles effortlessly from his lips except for the one he thinks of the most.

My love. 

My heart.

Oh, God, what has he done?

As he looks back down, a tear escapes, the drop hitting his clasped hands perfectly and sliding down the slope of his thumb.

Amen.

[i-only-ever-asked-questions]

I've been working on this post for a while and I am running out of time! So here goes: Today I want to talk about the dark side of Good Omens. This is a long post, sorry about that, but there are so many twists and turns. We all love GO, the romance, the banter, the comedy, the humanity of it. But it does a have a subtle dark side underneath which is usually overlooked. It has to do with the race to stop Armageddon, how their different views brought them to the bandstand conflict, and how Aziraphale ultimately came around at the airbase. It was a rocky road. In the book, when Crowley receives the basket and is on his way to the hospital, he has a thought. We didn't see this in the show so it may or may not have happened there, but it happened in the book. Ultimately Crowley didn't go through with it, but it did occur to him.

So Crowley kept driving and eventually came up with Plan A: Raise the antichrist together behind Hell's back. Surely as a normal, balanced human being the kid wouldn't want to destroy the world, easy and straightforward, right?

Aziraphale's orders are to keep Crowley under observation and so he does. But he also tells Heaven he will "influence the child towards the light". Heaven humors him as long as he keeps doing his job: monitoring Crowley and the antichrist.

However as the scheduled time gets closer, Crowley realizes that the only way to be 100% certain there won't be an Armageddon is to not have an antichrist at all (like 11 years ago). And he brings up Plan B: Kill the child, for the first time.

Aziraphale didn't like the idea of killing Warlock outright if there were other options. So he came up with Plan C: stop the dog. That... was very short-lived.

And here is where things will start to get murky. While both know they need to find the antichrist, they don't really know what to do afterwards.

Crowley probably thinks that whatever they do, they'll do it together, that Aziraphale will be on board with it. Aziraphale on the other hand still thinks Heaven are "the good guys" so he separately comes up with Plan D: Tell Heaven where the antichrist is. If Heaven gets rid of Adam, all will be fine. Heaven knows better and thy are going to win anyway. At this point, Aziraphale is fine with eliminating the antichrist, he just doesn't like the idea of doing the deed himself, let Heaven handle it. So he lies to Crowley about finding Adam.

And he lies again about having found the antichrist when they meet at the bandstand. Aziraphale has made his mind. As they talk, Aziraphale's reasons that if Crowley were to kill the child instead of Heaven, it would be a better solution for everybody. Again, he is fine with eliminating the antichrist, but not with doing it himself, Crowley can do it. Should this be a very short lived Plan E?

Crowley on the other hand, just like at the Crystal Palace, insists that Aziraphale do the deed. Aziraphale would not have it. Either Crowley does it or Heaven does it, but not him.

The book is more clear about how Crowley is afraid of Hell's punishment if he fails. In Crowley's mind, if Aziraphale kills the child it would be ok, Aziraphale gets brownie points in Heaven and Crowley gets punished for maybe only being incompetent.

But if Crowley kills the child, he would be in really BIG trouble, punished as the worst traitor there could be. (this quote comes from a later passage but it is the sentiment that counts)

Both agree that the antichrist needs to go. But Crowley won't kill the child and Aziraphale won't kill the child either. So they come to an impasse.

Aziraphale proceeds with his Plan D anyway and his conversation with the Metatron goes as pear-shaped as could. And this is where he decides to talk to Crowley and reconcile. That didn't work out either.

After a short trip to Heaven, Aziraphale finds himself on Earth and ready to follow Crowley's Plan B. However he still doesn't want to do it himself, so this time he is recruiting humans to do it (Plan F!). Humans are good at killing other humans, they have been doing it for a long time ;)

Said humans are on board with it until they realize that the antichrist is an 11-year old boy and Plan F goes up in smoke.

Crowley is not giving up though and Aziraphale, fully committed now that every other option failed, follows Crowley's lead. Third time is the charm, right? Aziraphale doesn't hesitate anymore and shoots when Crowley urges him to do so.

And, as we know Madame Tracy saves the day and Adam (although for all we know Adam is bulletproof at this point ;) ) So yeah, interwoven with all the fun there are these glimpses of hidden darkness, our demon who keeps pushing Aziraphale to kill the antichrist for lack of a better plan and our angel who doesn't want to taint his hands and keeps looking for other people to do the deed instead. There is certainly a lot more nuance to this, Crowley and Aziraphale are not selfish, detached entities who end human lives willy-nilly, not at all. But in a desperate hour, they will, if that means the survival of the whole world. As Crowley put it back at the Crystal Palace "one life against the universe". He was ready to sacrifice that life from the very beginning. Aziraphale meandered his way to get there, but at the end he got there and shot at the child.

It is certainly very fortunate that they were not very competent at this. It would have been awful killing Warlock and then realizing he wasn't the antichrist after all. And Adam is a nice and smart kid who found his very own human solution to the problem without intentionally shedding any blood. They both deserve to live, and our walking disasters deserve to get their world and their humans without having to pay for it with the life of a child.

[mondoreb]

End Times Prophecy Headlines: May 30, 2023

End Times Prophecy Report.com HEADLINES TUESDAY May 30, 2023 And OPINION “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.” —Matthew 24:4 “The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in prison.” —Fyodor Dostoevsky ===INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE: Explosions heard in Kyiv after intense drone attacks RUSSIA: Russia has launched its ‘largest…

[cari-canes]

I recently reread Frankenstein after watching the Underverse Series and BOY do I have thoughts. I’m going to separate them into a few posts over a few days because it would actually be an essay if I put it all down in one post.

For now - I’ll leave quotes that I found most impactful from Frankenstein (and other gothic horror/horror) stories with a few of the characters from the Underverse Series.

Also - sorry for the bad grammar. I’m typing this on my phone at like midnight.

Ink: Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it. (Frankenstein - Mary Shelley)

Obviously, Ink or Cross would be “the monster”. I think it’s even more fitting that although the “monster” never really has a name in the book, Mary Shelley did reference him as “Adam” in her earlier version. The “first born” creation. I think it’s very fitting, especially as Ink’s role, how his cannon role was formed, and what his new “goal” in the multiverse is.

Cross: I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other. (Frankenstein - Mary Shelley)

OR

I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel. (Frankenstein - Mary Shelley)

For Cross’ quote, I actually had a difficult time choosing which fit him better, so I went with both. Cross being one of XGasters creations who “breaks free” is just amazing. XGaster was so focused on perfection and trying to make his timeline perfect that he completely abandoned his creations in the meantime. This causes Cross to meet Ink, Dream, and eventually Nightmare and start his own reign of terror.

Dust/Killer: The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone. (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson)

A different book for the two killers felt fitting, especially considering Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - at its core - is about addiction and loss. (It’s also a murder mystery but that’s besides the point). Both kill everyone in order to prevent another Gen*cide, but in doing so, allow themselves to be completely alone. (I’m also obsessed with the religious imagery but that’s another ramble for another day.)

Nightmare: To the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. (Moby Dick - Herman Melville)

Obviously, Nightmare was going to be Captain Ahab from Moby Dick. He’s chasing a goal that’s frankly, nearly impossible. He let the corruption completely take over him “for hates sake”. (I also think this is something Nightmare would actually say in cannon).

Error: Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm. (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson)

For Error, I had a very difficult time finding just one quote. He has so many complex layers to his character, especially in his own cannon. But I eventually landed on the Jekyll and Hyde quote, as I felt it resonated more with him. No matter what could or could not happen, he always has the antivoid to return to. The story of Jekyll and Hyde being about addiction and loneliness only made that point clearer for me, especially with the duality of man potentially paralleling the duality of Errors own psyche.

Fresh: Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form. (Moby Dick - Herman Melville)

I think this is pretty self explanatory for Fresh.

Dream: When falsehood can look so like the truth, who can assure themselves of certain happiness? (Frankenstein - Mary Shelley)

Finally, Dream. He spent so long thinking that he was the one who killed his own brother, that the ‘truth’ was so painful that he couldn’t necessarily come to terms with it. His brother no longer exists and is instead consumed entirely by the corruption.

I think using gothic novels as a starting point, the Underverse - or at least the Undertale Multiverse could become a fascinating story about the connections between creation and creator, dark and light, and the pursuit of an unattainable goal.

[jaz-it-up]

what is (mezalean) jeremyism, anyway?

i must preface this post by saying that i didn't watch x life, the series in which jeremyism was founded. i have previously called myself the jeremyism guy, but i've never watched the source material. it would be slightly more accurate to call myself the mezalean jeremyism guy, i guess.

that being said, let's get into what exactly mezalean jeremyism is, shall we?

first of all, the name "mezalean jeremyism" is something of a misnomer; while it was practiced by the people of mezalea, their main church was actually located in mythland - the church of the blood sheep opened itself to jeremyism on the weekends.

second of all, to understand mezalean jeremyism, we first must understand jeremyism and mezalea separately. so here's the description and main pillars of jeremyism, with direct quotes from the x life fandom wiki:

"the one true jeremy contacted player smallishbeans and told him to create the church of jeremy. the one true jeremy appreciates when people rename animals after him and wishes this to be spread across the x life world. he promises longer lives and rumor has it that there is another life after our 10th. the jeremy life where we live on through the body of donkey jeremy. jeremy promises to make your lives here on the server much better and bring you some sick nasty content."

if an animal has been given thy name of jeremy, it can never be renamed.

no stealing.

you must complete the ceremony to become a follower of jeremy.

you may use the name of jeremy for your pets.

everyone is allowed as we are all jeremy.*

every year you must walk to jeremyville and pet donkey jeremy (he gets lonely).

*note - this was not an original rule, it was added during scott's brief reign as leader of jeremyism on x life. it had previously stated that scott specifically was unwelcome.

there is also, evidently, a love for arson and burning things.

bearing that in mind, let's look at what we know about life in mezalea according to canon.

mezalean mother tree creates life in mezalea.

jeremyism practiced in the mythlandian church of the blood sheep on weekends.

there is a llama jeremy and an axolotl jeremy, but not a donkey jeremy.

one of joel's royal titles is horse slayer (this is relevant).

gold is abundant in mezalea, and between there and rivendell, may have some antidemonic properties.

so theoretically, jeremyism in mezalea would look something like this:

very nature-based, between mother tree and jeremyism's focus on animals.

since there is no donkey jeremy in mezalea, horses are sacrificed in its memory (as well as an offering to the one true jeremy); often just killing the horse is okay, but for big events, the horse may be slain with a gold weapon for luck/protection, and parts of the horse may be cooked on a bed of leaves from the mother tree and eaten at a feast.

children are brought to visit llama jeremy at a young age for good luck in their future.

lots of hymns and religious songs; very musical empire in general.

the mother tree is the one true jeremy. the souls of the dead are thought to be the leaves of the mother tree, so when horses are cooked on the leaves for events, they are laying the souls to rest and finally sending their spirit to the jeremy life.

souls can also be laid to rest by giving fallen mother tree leaves to llama jeremy; you must wait for the leaves to fall before the soul can properly move on to the jeremy life.

[hurricane-eva]

Biblical References in Lord Peter Wimsey Novels: Have His Carcase

I would like to eventually have a post like this for each book, but since this is the one I most recently finished, we're starting with this one instead of at the beginning.

If I've missed any, do tell, because I would love a Complete and Accurate List. I don't think there are any major spoilers here, but just in case, I'll put 'em under a cut!

Chapter 4:

"Who told you about the body?"

"I nosed it from afar. Where the carcase is, there shall be eagles gathered together. May I join you over the bacon and eggs?"

Chapter 8:

He had covenanted with himself to interview Colonel Belfridge at eleven o'clock.

This one is more Biblical language than an actual quote, but I'm counting it because according to my rules it fits.

Chapter 9:

"...Alexis wasn't the sort to take a long country walk for the intoxicating pleasure of sitting on a rock.

"True, O Queen. Live for ever. ..."

Chapter 10:

"Wilvercombe is the more probable direction of the two, because anybody coming from Lesston Hoe would have seen her and put his crime off to a more convenient season, as Shakespeare says."

This one cracks me up because Inspector Umpelty has, earlier in the chapter, attributed a quote to the Bible which is not one.

Chapter 12:

But now, with the hope that they might be found to have entertained an angel of darkness unawares, they foresaw all manner of publicity.

Chapter 16a:

"Two boats stationed off the Grinders."

"Fishermen?"

"Fishers of men, I fancy," replied Wimsey, grimly.

Chapter 16b:

Harriet: Oh, death! where is thy sting?

Chapter 16c:

Harriet (reading): 'Last of all the woman died also' — probably from backache.

Chapter 16d:

Harriet: What is that in your hand?

Peter: A dead starfish.

This one, I admit, some might argue about, but it is EXACTLY the kind of thing I would do, pull some obscure quote and have a character use it, so I'm giving DLS this one.

Chapter 21:

"A contempt for money, Inspector, is the root—or at any rate, the very definite sign—of all evil."

An adaptation rather than a quote, but a very strong one.

Chapter 23:

Presently the inner door opened again and the young lady emerged, clothed and apparently very much in her right mind, for she smiled round...

Chapter 25:

"Which brings us to the point that either Weldon's party wrote the letter or the foreign party did the murder."

"True, O king."

Chapter 31:

"I said the Wilvercombe alibi would stand, and it has broken in pieces like a potter's vessel."

[blasphemousclaw]

do you think that rennalas defeat dialogue implies that she knew about and supported ranni's plot, or do you think that it was just like ranni, idk like having wishful thinking i guess?

hmm I feel like there are several interpretations of Rennala’s defeat dialogue that can make sense, let’s go through a few of them…

When we “kill” Rennala, she says, “Oh little Ranni, my dear daughter. Weave thy night into being.” 

Rennala’s second boss phase is not against Rennala herself, but against some kind of complicated projection spell of Rennala in her prime made by Ranni… so we could interpret all of Rennala’s actions in this phase as not her own actions, but the actions of Ranni’s illusion of her. With this in mind, regarding Rennala’s defeat dialogue, it makes sense to infer that Ranni is putting words in her mother’s mouth, or rather “programming” her to say these lines. Sticking with this idea, I think on Ranni’s end there’s two different interpretations we can make: 

Ranni is engaging in wishful thinking, as you said, and is imagining these lines as something her mother might say to her, or something she wishes her mother would say to her if she were still coherent and could be with her to support her and her plans. 

Or… 

Rennala actually did say these lines in the past, and Ranni is “quoting” her. This might make a ton of sense actually, because Ranni’s projection of Rennala is from a bygone age when Rennala used to be capable and strong, and someone Ranni really admired as both her mother and her mentor. So if Ranni is evoking a past version of Rennala that she clearly misses dearly, she might also recall words of love and encouragement that Rennala said to her in this past era. We know that when Ranni was young, she encountered her dark moon “led by the hand of her mother, Rennala.” I can see Rennala’s defeat dialogue as something she had said to young Ranni about following her destiny led by the dark moon. Whether this dialogue might refer to a vague destiny of bringing about the magic of the dark moon (just as Rennala brought about the magic of the full moon), or if it refers to Ranni’s specific plotting to bring about her Age of the Stars, remains to be seen. But to answer your question, I lean towards Rennala referring more to Ranni’s potential power to bring about an age of the night (perhaps as a potential god-queen) rather than Ranni actually letting her in on her schemes. I doubt Rennala would be quite coherent enough to understand at the point that Ranni began plotting, and I personally don’t think that Ranni would want her mother to know about what she had planned… because it would be dangerous for her to know, devastating to know what Ranni would end up doing to herself, and she might be afraid that her mother would be horrified by the ruthless nature of her plans. 

One more idea I had is that Rennala’s defeat dialogue isn’t actually coming from Ranni’s projection, but it’s the real present-day Rennala speaking through the projection… as if Rennala heard her daughter’s voice and gained a moment of clarity where she calls out to her.

I think of these interpretations, my favorite is probably the “Ranni is quoting past Rennala” one… but every single option is emotionally devastating, so take your pick!