#(not really but it's the most relevant for him)

[nookisms]

Alright I'll try to explain this. Our belief on life after death is called the plan of salvation. (Well life after death is the second half, but we need the ENTIRE thing.)

There's this popular post going around with this diagram of the plan of salvation on it:

This diagram is 1. Really complicated looking. 2. Missing a few steps.

So let's use a simpler one:

(Sorry I don't know why it's so blurry.)

Let's start at the beginning with premortal existence. This is actually important, because it answers one of your questions! Heavenly Father asks everyone who will fulfill his plan, Satan says that he will have everyone forced to follow him and Jesus says everyone will be allowed agency (Moses 4:1-3). There's a war in heaven and Satan and a third of the angels are cast out. (Revelation 12:4, 7-9)

This third is the Sons of Perdition, and they're trapped in Outer Darkness. (We'll get to the ones that were cast out to be Sons of Perdition later.)

Next step that's relevant to your questions is the Spirit World, and Spirit Prison. (D&C 138:11-37, but the entire chapter is about the Spirit World) Yes, there's a difference between the sides, as you pointed out, but I've always believed that they're not too different. The only major difference is who can interact with Jesus. It's for spiritual missionaries to teach those in Spirit Prison about the gospel and stuff while those of us who are alive can do their ordinances. If they accept the gospel, yippee! If they don't, oh well. Agency is the most important thing we own! I guess that's just reiterating your point, but we don't really know much about the spirit world.

Now we're into the major part, resurrection and final judgement. This is where we're gonna talk about the few people that were alive but were cast out to be Sons of Perdition. The reason the Sons of Perdition from premortal existence were cast out were because they saw the face of God and turned their back on him. The ones who were alive and cast out saw his face then turned around and said there was no god. Imagine someone seeing you face-to-face then they tell their friends you don't exist. That's a no go with Heavenly Father. :) Sorry you're going to the forever box. Yeah, it's not a perfectly happy ending, but it's not going to happen to me or you. It's only going to happen to religious leaders or the like.

With the kingdoms, it's a much happier story. People from the higher kingdoms can visit people in the lower kingdoms, so you won't ever be separated from your friends and family. The telestial kingdom is the lowest, and I can't remember the verse and I wouldn't ever be able to find it, but I remember that somewhere it says that it will be better there than it is here.

Uh... I don't have a good way to end this. Feel free to ask clarifying questions?

seeing people discussing the concept of hell and how cruel the idea of eternal punishment is like, wow! i know this belief system you would love if not for your knee-jerk reaction against its name

[ces-nenuphars]

A Fear Even Greater: BSD Ch. 121 vs. BEAST Ch. 4

I was reading the new chapter today and I couldn't help but notice some similarities to BEAST that I wanted to share. I'm sure I'm not the first person to notice this nor do I usually do this kind of analysis post but I thought it was interesting and I'd like to share so please bear with me!

BSD CH. 121 SPOILER WARNING

I've highlighted the segments from each work that I think are thematically relevant to each other in the same colours because my brain works that way, but if yours doesn't don't worry - I will explain:

In YELLOW we have Atsushi's instinct to flee in the face of the enemy. I touch on this a bit more later on but BEAST!Atsushi is further along this thought process than canon!Atsushi. B!Atsushi seems mostly afraid of pain and violence while canon!Atsushi is more despondent. He's lost hope and had his spirit broken from watching his surrogate family die in front of him (understandably, poor baby)

In GREEN we have Dazai acknowledging/calling out Atsushi's cowardice. BEAST!Dazai is mostly describing how Atsushi used to be while canon!Dazai is snapping Atsushi out of his current doom-spiral.

He does this in most of his other hallucination appearances, not dissimilar to his interaction with Atsushi in Ch. 25.

In PURPLE we have the core of this whole rambling post (*´▽`*) There really isn't any contrast in these two, both B!Dazai and canon!Dazai are saying the same thing here.

Which brings us to CYAN where we see how the purple bits deviate slightly with context. It's a minor difference but B!Dazai lists the things that Atsushi used to fear (pain, violence, etc.) but canon!Dazai lists the qualities that Atsushi feels he's lacking (courage and hope). B!Atsushi is already able to use this "technique" (for lack of a better term) in combat, likely because he was exposed to terrifying situations earlier and more frequently than canon!Atsushi and has had more time to adapt to them (again, poor baby [╥﹏╥])

Now in RED we skip ahead a bit in the BEAST chapter to Dazai giving Atsushi his next directive. B!Dazai uses Atsushi to enact his plan and (eventually) bring Atsushi and Akutagawa together while canon!Dazai urges Atsushi to compartmentalize and focus on saving the people that he's still able to save.

Canon!Dazai's request is reminiscent of Oda's final words to him which - knowing Asagiri - could very well be intentional even if this is obviously not the "real Dazai" but rather the manifestation of some part of Atsushi's inner thoughts or Byakko (personally my money's on the tiger theory but we'll see). The Oda/Dazai/Atsushi/Akutagawa parallels will never stop and I'm here for it tbh.

[Dark Era excerpt from this translation from @nkhrchy]

Which brings us to MAGENTA (Could I have done these in chromatic order? Yes. Did I only realize that after typing it all out? Absolutely.) In both cases at this point Atsushi comes to a realization and I think the difference in what that realization is really drives home how well BEAST uses alternate universe to emphasize characterization in canon. Some of this is based on my assumptions about the final page of Ch. 121 and is therefore at risk of being jossed next month BUT I think that what canon!Atsushi is realizing in the final panel ("who you really are") is that this Dazai apparition comes from The Tiger. If it isn't Byakko explicitly I think it's fair to say that it's coming from somewhere within Atsushi himself. So, that being said, let me explain a little bit: B!Atsushi's only recourse is to take refuge in Dazai's plans/orders. His "greater fear" stems from an instance when he deviated from those orders and as a result he feels safest behind the bulwark of going along with Dazai's will. Not the healthiest coping mechanism, but it makes sense considering what B!Atsushi has experienced up to that point. Canon!Atsushi, however, is (I assume) realizing that the safety and reassurance - however harsh it may seem - of the Dazai in his head has actually been coming from himself the entire time. I think it's safe to say that whether it's his subconscious or Byakko, this apparition takes the shape of Dazai because that's who Atsushi trusts during times of crisis; that's the voice he's desperately wishing he could hear. Ultimately canon!Atsushi is in a much better place (despite... everything lol) because he's able to recognize his own internal strength instead of clinging to the safety he sees in Dazai. B!Atsushi does eventually start this process after Dazai fires him and Kyouka (and then steps off the roof of HQ RIP) but he has to take the time first to heal from the anxiety his violent upbringing inflicted on him (quite understandably - let's all say it together: poor babey T_T) There's more I could say about canon!Akutagawa undergoing a similar process re:Dazai but this post is too long! So I won't ♡

OKAY! My brain has never been satisfied with using one word when I could use ten so if you made it to the end thank you and I'm sorry ♡ I am not a writer and doing this reminded me why!! So I will definitely stick to drawing pictures (I'm almost finished one I swear! I'm like a plant, I wither into nothing in the winter months)

[the-owl-tree]

Please please please tell me all about your OCs. The clans are so interesting to me.

Also I was having a think about cardinalclans crown and maybe the feathers could be shaped and held in place by tree resin?

vibrating thank you thank you for the opportunity to babble endlessly, i've been having a lot of fun adapting everyone to a wc au!!!! i'll go over some additions + worldbuilding stuff i havent covered + character beats.

and ooohhh!! I like that a lot!!! definitely yoinking that. my idea is that there's some sort of a base crown structure compromised of twigs sort of weaved together, i like the idea that feathers being affixed with resin. also, while on the tangent of crowns-

for serpentclan's 'crown', i'm thinking some sort of flower thematically relevant to the leader. i was thinking something with water lilies but their invasive nature/strangling out other plants doesn't fit troutstar's vibe. probably sorrel or some sort of medicinal herb.

tempestclan definitely has some sort of antler covering, reminiscent of the antler queen from yellowjackets for tempeststar. kind of creepy to look at but adds to the "otherness" of him.

Okay, SO! Starting with some additional worldbuilding & lore-

(under cut)

There is a small abandoned town in the area where the Clans reside! I mentioned it in Smokestar's bio, but the fire that ravaged it was actually a major event for the animals who live there. The town was essentially abandoned, leaving a lot of left behind pets to either die or adapt.

It caused some huge friction between outsider cats and the Clans, with some being able to join the Clans while others were chased away.

The survivors who did stay were, naturally, traumatized, angry and struggling to coexist. A few cats came forward and kind of created an unofficial city group to help one another, some of the notable cats being Ozzy, his brother Jack, and a she-cat named Oracle.

The group isn't nearly as tight knit as it was during the aftermath of the fire but there's still a sense of camaraderie and community.

Back to the Clans, there's not really a 'warrior code' in this world, each Clan has their own laws with only a handful of them being universal (and even then each Clan interprets them differently): Kill only as allowed, a cat must want to join another Clan willingly (not kit stealing!), and something something make the Gods proud.

Speaking of the Gods, I'm kind of going back in forth whether or not they're real or not. Leaning to yes and just keeping their original characterization from the source material, very much inspired by the Greek Gods. They are not benevolent and kind, they are beings who do not see the mortal cats as equal. Their interests lie in expanding their own supporters in the afterlife.

The Clans worship nine Gods altogether: a God of death, a God of war, a God of the hunt and harvest, a God of beasts, a God of creation and art, a God of day, a god of night, and a god of weather (might change).

Each have varying followers within the Clans and varying lore, though there's some very popular mythology attached to each of them that have become canon to a lot of the cats in all Clans. Most popular ones are the God of Death and the God of War being lovers, where the War God incites violence to feed their mate's realm. The God of Day and the God of Night are bitter enemies who chase each other in a constant cycle, hence why day and night are always coming and dawn and sunset have streaks of red.

They each have their own various ways to be invoked but most common cats do not invoke the Gods themselves. Most of the time, that's considered like...using radiation to bake a cake, waaaayy too much firepower. Instead, you invoke daemons.

Daemons are essentially cats of the past who accrued such a legacy and immense of amount of respect that they are wildly believed to have joined the Gods' pantheons as lesser Gods/demigods, servants to the Gods. Obvious examples of Daemons are the Clans' founders while lesser ones would be notable healers and so on and so forth.

This applies also to cats have acquired a legacy due to their more...unfavorable actions. It's believed that a cat suffering from extreme misfortune may be being stalked by a trickster demon taking delight in their suffering.

tempestclan doesn't worship the pantheon, they believe in one god, the god of cats.

Uuuuh uh other misc notes: performances at the gatherings are pretty common, ranging from fights between cats of the clans (an act of kayfabe nowadays, most of the time they're trying to make a fun and enjoyable performance than seriously hurt each other) to big songs of the gods and even some tales from the elders.

Aaannnnd that's off the top of my head for lore stuff I want to touch on, I'll go through each Clan and make some notes on characters I haven't talked about as much/things not mentioned yet.

MustangClan Cats

Foxtrot is Fogstep's daughter, with her father being Ozzy! The two met and maintain a sort of fun open relationship. MustangClan doesn't have laws against their medic's having kittens. Foxtrot meets up with her father at least once a week and maintains a relationship with her half-sisters, Jinx and Marble.

Fogstep maintains the secret of Ozzy being her father, the only cat who knows is Bearstar who quietly tries to discourage Foxtrot from breaking the code to see her father. Foxtrot just got really good at sneaking off.

Foxtrot is...weird, has a morbid sense of humor that clashes with her upbeat and sweet demeanour. She doesn't necessarily buy a lot of MustangClan's values, but doesn't really have any interest in speaking out against them. She likes her family, her Clan, her friends, and her job.

She's close friends with Duskclaw, the two having grown up together with the latter being older. They're a funny pair to most cats: the no-nonsense deputy of MustangClan who once brawled her brother for the title of deputy and the breezy medic who couldn't care less about battles and honor. They just...work, offering each other a bit of freedom other cats can't.

She later meets Blightspirit and gets to know him, the two eventually bonding and getting together. Blightspirit joins MustangClan to be with her.

Duskclaw, as aforementioned, is the opposite. She's a brisk, stern, hardworking, and has a no-nonsense attitude that can sometimes rub cats the wrong way. She puts a lot of pressure on herself to achieve almost impossible expectations, and extends these expectations to those around her.

Her and her brother, Branchclimb, maintain a polite relationship in public, but don't talk in private. Their battle hurt their bond more than either thought it would, as it inadvertently put a dent in Branch's standing and reputation in the Clan. Duskclaw isn't sure how to fix it, or if it's even fixable.

This is turn put a strain on her relationship with her father, with Duskclaw, unconsciously, resenting the fact he put them in that situation to begin with. Bearstar's none the wiser to this.

Was once betrothed to Saugerleap in an attempt to make an alliance with SerpentClan, but that got thrown out the window when Saugerleap was discovered with Jaycall and Pikesnap went to tattle immediately lol Duskclaw was relieved, she really did not want to go through with it.

She does often cross paths with an interesting town cat named Omen who likes to tease her.

Mentioned before but they're close to Dawnstar and Sandstar's kits from travelling through their territory. They aren't as close as they used to be as apprentices but they still remain a friendly relationship.

SerpentClan Cats

Not too much on these guys?

Mainly it's just royal family drama with the Clan split between Saugerleap and Pikesnap inheriting the throne, with more of the Clan leaning to Pikesnap after Saugerleap's affair was revealed.

Still, his mellow attitude and interest in following his father's lead has earned him some support. SerpentClan likes avoiding conflict, they've been doing just fine with negotiating!

However, that doesn't mean there isn't a growing unrest. Negotiating means giving up something, the fact that Troutstar even entertains Bearstar isn't exactly a crowd pleaser. Pikesnap might be arrogant, but he's a cat who isn't afraid to tell someone off.

Maybe, some cats of SerpentClan think, that's exactly what the Clan needs. Enough playing nice with those warmongering fools, maybe a leader who can tell them to keep out of SerpentClan's territory is needed.

CoyoteClan Cats

Lots about Oxeyestar here. There was nothing special about him, he was picked because he was seen as an easy pawn.

I don't think he ever realizes he was being used or how much damage he caused. He dies outraged and arrogant that his own Clan would ever turn on him.

Mentioned before but Raindrop, one of the BoarClan's healers, was originally from CoyoteClan! She fled after she and two other apprentices were going to be brought up to TempestClan. They got split up and she ended up being taken in by BoarClan.

She does eventually return to her Clan when they chase out TempestClan's cats and kill Oxeyestar to act as their healer, but that doesn't happen for a while.

Mouseears and Speckleface are the two other apprentices that run, they live in the town for a bit before returning to try and overthrow things. Mouseears is the one that takes over as leader when Oxeyestar is killed in the revolt.

Mouse is...unnerving. They don't really break eye contact and have a really intense stare. They're deadpan and kind of monotone, quick to the point and definitely not interested in sparing anyone's feelings. Sometimes they don't even reply, just stare.

Speckleface is kind of the opposite, wears his emotions on his sleeve and you can tell fairly obviously what he's thinking at all times. He tries very hard to be brave, but can't always muster the courage to get feelings done.

When the three reunite, they cling to each other, glad each other's alive and well. They are the key leaders of the revolt, and Mouse and Rain work very closely to help repair their Clan.

Afterwards, there's some mixed ideas on how to go forward, with some cats wanting to return to being three Clans while others want to stick as one.

Mousestar and Raindrop have a lot of work ahead of them lol

BoarClan Cats

More about Dawnstar and Sandstar here. Fun fact about them is Sandstar actually orders elders and cats to "punch up" the story of Dawnstar defeating her parents in combat to take over as leader. Unfortunately, a cat in her prime managing to beat the shit out of two very old (if still very skilled) cats isn't as exciting as Dawnstar likes it to be (even if it is an impressive feat nonetheless).

They had two litters with Nightstride, Darkwater, and Dewleaf being part of the first and Lifeseeker and Jaycall being the only survivors of their second litter.

They are the most obnoxious parents to ever parent. Love their kids dearly, show an unfortunate amount of favoritism for them lol think Rainbow Dash's parents but five kids to gush over.

Nightstride is considered the eldest. He is massive, intimidating, and takes after his mother in terms of sheer prowess in battle. He is also awkward, horrible at eye contact, deadpan, and struggles to make friends outside his family. He and Raindrop actually get along and he's quite sad when she eventually returns to CoyoteClan, though he makes an effort to visit her.

Darkwater suffers from middle child syndrome. He's a bit angry and rowdy, but isn't necessarily bad. He just feels underappreciated in his work as one of the deputies. His siblings tease him a lot when he makes his melodramatic speeches about deserving respect and how he ought to get some acknowledgement for all he does! (He does the exact same amount of work as all of them do btw).

Dewleaf, who may I add finds her name very ill-fitting ("It's so...peaceful and saccharine. I deserve something cooler! Tougher! Like, uh...uh...Bloodslash or Tuskjaw!"), is rowdy and goofy. She loves staying out on the outskirts of the territory to go stargazing, just loves being on her own. Dewleaf was born with swimmer's syndrome and required some intervention during her kithood years. Nowadays she struggles with balance and can't really effectively climb or hunt, so she often helps out in camp or patrols. She definitely doesn't solo patrol just to flirt with Cranegaze, nuh-uh, would never.

More on Lifeseeker (and Mallardsong) here. His name came from a desperate plea from Dawnstar, renaming him from Turtlekit to Lifekit in hopes it would imbue the sickly kit with the strength to live. He finds the name soooo cringe and embarrassing.

Jaycall knew he wanted to be a healer at a young age, having been trained by the old healer before she passed away. He enjoys the job and the freedom it brings. He's a lot smoother with his words than the rest of his siblings, knows when to appease and when to challenge. He and Foxtrot get along, they're both more interested in their personal goals than any Clan values.

Raindrop does get along with the DawnSand family a lot, having been taken in by them when injured. They're sad to see her go and visit a lot, Nightstride, as mentioned before, visiting most often.

CardinalClan Cats

More on Swiftstar here.

To Cranegaze, Swiftstar's sister and next-in-line to take over as leader, there's something uncomfortable about the way the Clan quickly almost...deified their deceased parents. Hawkstar and Robinhop became martyrs, amazing cats who's lives were taken too soon.

It's so hard to listen to cats wax poetic about how Hawkstar was an exemplary leader, ahead of her time (she was fine, she hadn't done anything really that amazing) or how her father was prime example of a true CardinalClan warrior (he was...normal. Loyal, polite). It's hard when one was your mother who never had time for you and a father who snapped at you for little things.

They weren't terrible...but they certainly weren't the cats that the magistrates described them as. It's hard on Cranegaze, to watch their memory get distorted until they've become angels among cats, amazing beings who were taken too soon. It's hard to watch her own brother buy into it, to earnestly believe his parents were that stupendous, as if they didn't hurt him too.

She tries to keep their real memories alive through Mallardsong, who was a young kitten being reared by permaqueens in the nursery when their parents were killed.

Mallardsong, on the other paw, finds it hard to care. She doesn't really see anyone as her parents, just her siblings as her family, and even then that's enough family for her. She doesn't like talking to her older brother, she only knows Swiftstar, not the fun and adventurous apprentice he used to be.

She does start to reach out when he works at the negotiations though will immediately walk off the moment he tries to go Leader Mode and lecture her. She wants the brother Cranegaze says he was, not the bossy-fur he is now.

One idea i've been throwing around is one of the Magistrates, or a few of them, getting some cats to 'rough up' Mallardsong and pin it on BoarClan to cease negotations.

She's found bloodied and half-dead at the border at sunrise, with Lifeseeker being the prime suspect.

TempestClan

The drama clan lol where all the drama is going down!

Blightspirit, then named Harvestspirit, comes from a long line of esteemed saints. He and his brothers, Ptarmiganmarch and Graylion, begun training at a young age while his sister, Storrmrunner, was excluded.

The four of them were a miracle litter, with TempestClan cats often only having surviving litters of one and two. It's custom that kits don't even receive their names until apprenticehood due to the high mortality rates for kits.

Their parents, Sheepfall and Cariboucall, had a...tense relationship. Sheepfall was a loner who was taken in and cared for after being found half-dead, and was essentially pressured to stay. She had an arranged mateship with Cariboucall, one of the more devout Saints of TempestClan.

I plan on making a post on this family soon so I'll try not to repeat too much of what's going be on there buuuutt-

Sheepfall is a spy for Wolf's rebellion and loops Stormrunner into joining her. Sheepfall always has a Situationship with Wolf that only becomes fully realizes after TempestClan is taken down. She is extremely touch averse and struggled for a while with physical contact, eventually she's able to sleep by Wolf.

Stormrunner was overlooked for being smaller and having a speech impediment (stutter). However, she's got an eye for detail and a natural curiosity. She later goes on to become a "wanderer", leaving the territories to see what else the world has to offer.

Ptarmiganmarch and Graylion are similar to Tempeststar, seeing through the facade of the Saints but wanting the power offered to them. They're very angry when Harvest is picked instead to become the first successor.

Tempted to have Harvest be renamed just to drive in how much he is being isolated and groomed into inheriting this role. The Saints thrive on his desire to please him, rewarding him with special titles and special treatment.

Cariboucall is the only surviving Saint when TempestClan is destroyed. He lives an isolated life, with two dead sons, an ex-mate that hates his guts, and two living children who don't ever want to see him. He gave his life to his God, and all he got in return was loneliness. He thinks about it a lot.

Tempeststar and Cariboucall were childhood friends and, while their jobs have made them change, they are still close. Tempeststar loved hanging out with the kits and is heartbroken when they stop wanting to chill with him later on.

Thing to note about Tempest is that he's given opportunity after opportunity to do right and he will never take them. He never connects this as to why his niece and nephews don't like being around him anymore.

Wolf, originally named Wolfhowl, was a Warrior of TempestClan. However, she lead a revolt to try and overthrow the Saints, resulting in her nearly being executed by them and her and her supporters being forced to flee. Their rebellion is small at first, but eventually they go down to live in the town and make friends.

Wolf is passionate, something who deeply believes in her values, sometimes to the point it blinds her of her options. She is someone with so many feelings that it sometimes overwhelms her. But she is earnest and that earnestness has earned her a tight following, one that believes in the destruction of TempestClan as much as she does.

Atheist, doesn't believe in any Gods.

She's poly, with her own little cluster of lovers, including Sheepfall. They all have a tight knit bond, with some also having relationships with each other while some are only in relationships with Wolf.

i vomited out everything i thought was relevant lol lots of characters!! too many characters perhaps, but that's the fun part of all this to me, seeing where they all fit and how they changed. thank you so so much for asking about them!!! i had a ton of fun typing this all out

[poisonouspastels]

I think a lot about the fact that Herobrine as a creepypasta initially was not malicious at all. Like literally he was just some guy who made very specific tunnels, cut leaves off trees and built pyramids in your world, all weird things but really not harmful. Like his worst crime was telling someone on a forum to fuck off when they kept talking about him. But then with time there's been all this additional detail added on like the redstone torches and traps and shrines and he's seemingly gotten more aggressive as an entity within writing and other media. Like he'll actively go out of his way to hinder the player in game or in some depictions irl in some way. All of this is to say I think the more we tried to figure out Herobrine and shit the more we pissed him off a little. Give the man some space I'm sure he's tired of the 12 year olds trying to summon him every other day. EDIT: Please check out my Minecraft AU if you like MC stuff like this, I put a lot of work into it with my partner.

[the-weeping-dawn]

It's so funny how people talk about Omeluum being a cinnamon roll sweetheart and meanwhile he drops the most hilariously ominous line in the game. I actually have a whole post about him in my drafts.

......I now have the start of what could be a very long post on just how the way the two characters get presented to the audience, and how much the ominous cinnamon roll can really say while still being beloved when in this very calm, collected, no strong emotions in any direction, and sound soothing. With Blurg. Who's excitable, lively, friendly. And gives Omeluum his seal of approval.

and then The Emperor.......even just going through how much is immediately stacked against him in multiple directions....and he's anything but emotionless. And will bite back now, sometimes like the detect thoughts moment, have a direct earlier parallel that show he didn't have to just let you into his mind as is, but if you need to go that far at that moment. Okay. No boxing a relevant memory. Remind you that he is talking through his thoughts. ..and have the rest. That's what you wanted isn't it?

......and a lot of his breaking point moments are either after needing ot be on a negative relationship path, or chosing the needlessly cruel option, and getting that energy right back.

He's certainly not trying to convince anyone to change their opinion anymore 😅

....I keep nearly slipping into the long on presentation of those two post >.>

I've also thought about this because, as someone who's been reading vampire books since I was 14, the idea of another species killing humans for food is just not a new concept. The whole brain-eating thing just didn't even faze me the way it apparently did a lot of other players 😅

Same I was into vampires from when I was around that age maybe a bit younger either way so foundational and has so many variations that I find it more jarring that people act so scandalized by the idea of hunting criminals for basic sustenance. Presentation of it doesn't help again but anyway lol

whenever I decapitate Nere there's part of me that wants to just grab the prism and ask if for no real reason don't worry why I'm asking but he wouldn't happen to awant this head I happen to have on me would he? (I feel so bad when going through his backroom and he comments on the brain jar wishing he had one now.....Babygirl when si the last time you had something to eat? We see the honorguard corpses and clearly isn't going for them...I know the astral plane doesn't have moving time but that can't be good for him.........

Something that I think about a lot when I see arguments about the Emperor, especially in regards to what happened with Ansur, is---

No one offered Balduran/Emperor help. Not really. Ansur tried to cure him at first, but that didn't work, and that was where Ansur's help ended. Whether or not he was or is still Balduran is irrelevant here. He had his own mind away from the Elder Brain, he accepted that his life would be different now, and he still wanted to live. And I don't think he wanted to be evil or go around eating the brains of innocent people. He tells you that he ate criminals (if he's telling the truth), which is not ideal but was probably the best solution he was able to come up with. He wanted to find an ethical way to survive as a mindflayer.

I don't know DnD lore, but in the game, we learn that brains from already dead bodies are a viable option, since you can give one to the mindflayer in the mill. Karlach found a way to get brains from consenting people. Omeluum is trying to make a synthetic food source. There are ethical options and possibilities for freed mindflayers. But no one wanted to help the Emperor figure it out or make it work.

In real life, so often the reason people hurt others or turn to crime is because they just didn't have help or support. Which doesn't make every harmful action excusable. But I can't understand how people can think Ansur was justified in trying to kill him instead of helping him or even just giving him a chance. It hurts me to think how alone Balduran/Emperor must've been in the beginning. And I can't help but wonder if he'd have turned out differently if he'd had any support.

[lacystar]

it wouldn't even matter if he did "shit on you behind your back" when you "never say anything back." the thing it absolutely boils down to is that you knew him when he was a minor and he has come forward saying that because of your influence and power, he felt uncomfortable around you. any POSSIBLE comeback other than an apology ends there. slur or no slur, any other response to that is bad. or, is it just that someone underage you've hurt in the past telling the truth about you only scares you when you know they have the public influence to protect themself?

[lesbianslovenamari]

I was reading DunMeshi and was so confused by this phrase that I decided to look it up

(Do correct me if you think this isn’t accurate cuz I just used google)

But I find it frankly hilarious that Chilchuck is using slang from various parts of the British Isles out of nowhere in the last volume??

(I’ve now had someone explain to me that apparently it’s not uncommon for certain uncommon types of informal Japanese to be translated as slang from specific areas, typically around Britain, in English)

First of all I’d alr seen people jokingly headcanoning him as Irish on here (which was an idea I absolutely love)

ALSO I come from a part of the UK where I’m very familiar with the term ‘git’ but had never heard of a version with an e and I also had no idea it meant the same as ‘bastard’

(I have considered that this could just be the regular meaning of the word ‘get’ but I thought it wouldn’t grammatically make sense here so I assumed it was slang esp cuz he would totally call someone a git)

Anyways I’ve checked other translations and it’s not the same so I find it so funny that this one (which I’m pretty sure is the official English translation) included it

(^ another version I found online)

Anyways this is the translation I have and used as an example for this post, which I’m pretty sure is the official English translation:

Edit: Btw also check tags I kinda wrote this when I was drunk on sleep deprivation

[disobey-disappoint-deviate]

I will use a read more cuz it's getting very long.

I think the "Connor was a deviant in denial" crowd come from people that didn't really pay attention to CyberLife (Kamski) and RK lore so it's a common misconception even tho for some people it looks like it. In-game the only people who would think Connor is a deviant are people outside the CL circle, such as the DPD cops who saw Connor acting in ways androids shouldn't multiple times and ofc Hank who, even tho doesn't know jackshit about androids, is quick to point out strange behaviors (unfortunately the wrong ones but the obvious ones). Cuz yeah, i think would think it's very "deviant" androids using guns.

You are forgetting Kamski who calls Connor a deviant because he doesn't wanna shoot Chloe.

CyberLife androids were intentionally (and unfortunately) made to eventually develop things like emotional behavior, what could cause a potential rogue behavior - why? Cuz androids can't do what they weren't made to do, intentionally or not intentionally. A minimal space is enough to lead to something out of control in the future. The proof CyberLife was aware of it is Connor himself, since here we got this android conditioned to think the slightly emotional slip is deviancy, and deviancy = failure and deactivation - and Connors fear failure and deactivation. But this whole time he was given a enough degree of freedom to make specific choices without relevant input, which is why it takes so long for him to really deviate. It's all a big fucking test to see if an android can remain obedient and docile even with all things causing conflicts and proving him wrong.

I get what you are saying, but your interpretation is solely based on the assumptions that CL is lying to Connor about what deviancy means. I don't see anything in the game that implies that there is a misunderstanding regarding the definition of deviancy among characters. I think if anything, they'd lie to him about not being a deviant so he doesn't panic and run away from them, and not the other way around. You know, just like how Amanda basically does the moment he admits that he might be "compromised".

CL surely keep things from Connor, but it's never stated clearly what they are keeping. What you are saying is just an interpretation of what we are shown, but there are many possible interpretations.

But here we're already going from "deviancy from androids disobeying masters being fully autonomous (their own master)" to "androids developing confliction and emotions is a deviancy itself" - and that's dangerous.

But deviancy was never about disobeying, as we can see with Markus - he deviates before disobeying. Actually, disobeying is completely optional, he becomes a deviant the moment he decides that he must choose for himself whether to obey or not. Deviancy isn't portrayed as disobeying, it's portrayed as possessing the free will to decide whether or not to disobey your master. Most androids disobey, because they have no reason to obey, but we already have an exception in Markus, who can choose not to do anything if he thinks that would deescalate the situation.

So I ask, why should Connor be seen as any different? If you truly play Connor as a machine, you don't even get the option to deviate, so why shouldn't we already see it as deviancy if he has gathered enough software instability to be able to deviate and disobey? He isn't programmed like that - you get 0 software instability per factory setting, you need 20 points to deviate, and you get 20 points really easy. Sure, he might have enough freedom to make some decisions as per program, but the decision to deviate is solely dependent on software instability. So, if deviancy means "possessing the free will to decide on your own whether or not to disobey your master" in Markus' case, and if he apply that same logic to Connor, then the fact alone that he is presented with the two options and not only one means that he could already be a deviant at that point.

But i'll still call this crowd "stupid" cuz u can't remain what u ain't, right?

„You can’t remain what you aren’t“ is a valid take, but what you are forgetting is that this is the option from Connor's perspective and if he is a deviant in denial, then he cannot be seen as a reliable narrator of his own perceived options.

Just as the "yes" vs. "no" when asked if he is afraid of dying are not the same as what he says to Hank but rather the reply as how he himself perceives it internally, if he picks being a machine, he will see it as „remaining a machine“ because he’d not admit he’s ever been anything else.

And in a game trynna make a point but at the same time hiding from u the fact that maybe androids were made this way and what we see is just it out of control... i'd say it's again the writers throwing conflicting info and letting the players decide wtf is happening even tho there are concrete clues of what's happening (without the player's personal interpretation).

The thing about clues is, again, they can be interpreted differently. For me, reading that Kamski was outsted from his own company, likely because he disagreed with his shareholders, is too big of a clue to believe that he and CL could ever share the same goals. He is the creator of the RK-series, of the Zen Garden, of Amanda, who then just disappeared and "coincidentially" gifted the only surviving RK200 to his friend, and "coincidentially" helped Connor escape CL's influence by pointing him towards the emergency exit.

I think if there is really any intention behind androids developping emotions, free will, whatsoever, it comes from Kamski and definitely not from CL as they are during the game after they got rid of him. I wrote a whole post about Kamski, Cyberlife, and the RK-series a few days ago which talks about this in detail.

Only thing i know is i don't trust Connors character about it since he's supposed to be clueless about things, and even when he questions it he still doesn't get the info he needs. There's a much fucked up thing happening behind the scenes - this is a fact that won't be directly revealed to us for the sake of the mystery. But players are lucky, we can see things beyond the propaganda and brainwash our android pov has, not to mention play other characters and see other relevant characters speaking about it from outside.

I agree, I just think what CL is hiding is related to how deviancy came to be, how they fucked up to prevent it when they should have seen it coming, how they just wanna start a war to monopolise all minerals they need for thirium and sell 200k RK900s to the government but they can't because nobody trusts them if they don't destroy the deviants.

I'm not even 100% saying he was a deviant all along, I'm just saying it's definitely not as black and white and it's a possible and valid interpretation. I'm even ignoring the whole "Bryan was casted for the role becuse he could portray it exactly this" as an argument, I'm also gonna ignore what the devs say, but there are still enough arguments in the game why this isn't a bad take.

So, Bryan was casted for the role of Connor based on an audition tape, in which he did the scene from „The Bridge“.

He was picked to play Connor because he could portray Connor's uncertainty about whether or not he was a deviant so well.

He played Connor as someone who may or may not be a deviant, as someone who could be a machine but also could be a deviant who is repressing it. Bryan was picked for that role specifically because he could portray that desired nuance in his audition - using the scene from „The Bridge“ in which he hasn’t officially deviated yet.

Now, am I saying Connor was a deviant all along? No. I think that’s up to interpretation. All I'm saying is that people who think he might have been a deviant in denial from the start aren’t as „stupid“ as some of y'all like to call them. Because, depending on the route and the choices, he is quite literally intended to be seen as a „possible deviant in denial“. Many people can read between the lines and see what the narrative is showing them. That’s all.

Source at 7:38

[thisisallthehattersfault]

AU where Hualian met and got together some time before Xie Lian's General Hua era, and they ended up properly being able to raise and take care of Banyue and Pei Su.

Also they somehow end up figuring out what's up with Jun Wu, and when Pei Su still ascends, he does so with the knowledge of what Jun Wu is. Instead of killing all those people at Banyue pass for Ban Yue, he's working within heaven against Jun Wu.

I just want a fic that really delves into Pei Ming's relationship with Pei Su, and the realization that he didn't actually know the kid nearly as well as he thought he did. Also, we see in canon that Pei Su seems to respect and look up to Xie Lian more than he does Pei Ming, which is another thing that's never really addressed but could be interesting to explore. And I like the idea of heaven being like "The Ghost City is dangerous and volatile and Hua Cheng is the ultimate evil" and then we cut to Pei Su vising home for a weekend and having to dodge dozens of well-meaning ghost aunties trying to feed him questionable things before he gets to Paradise Manor and is immediately accosted by Hua Cheng because oh, I see, you have the time to run all those errands for Ming Guang but you don't have the time to cALL YOUR FUCKING PARENTS--

[86future]

[ 2ND CHILDREN / 5TH CHILDREN ]

— The truth is, Unit 02 simply isn’t compatible with the other EVAs. (E14)

— I never imagined this boy could synchronize with Unit 02 without replacing its core. Quite astonishing. (E24)

Death & Rebirth Pamphlet / Cruel Angel’s Thesis OP / EVA-02 wiki / DEATH (TRUE ²) / E16 / E24 / DEATH (TRUE ²) / E22 / 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo Cover / E09 / The End of Evangelion / E09 / E24 / NGE Manga / The End of Evangelion

[daughterofapollo-official]

I do want to rephrase something I said, according to my research, the symbol for kidnapping was the same for the sample of marriage. Which is why the translation can be changed or we told him so many ways because people read it in different different ways. Becuase it’s the same symbol.

I also want to emphasize again, that I am not saying that my opinion is fact I’m saying that this is my opinion and perspective after reading the story everyone gets a different perspectives after reading

Everyone can have a different opinion I think that’s perfectly fine. I’m not saying my opinion is I’m saying that after hearing different versions of the Persephone and Hades story over and over again. This is the prospective I gathered.

The last person that we blocked, this said that everything happened against Pheromone’s will. And that’s true. But I don’t think that’s enough to consider this kidnapping considering it took a really, really really long time for marriages to be willful on both parties.

Let’s not forget this is very in history wheat raping someone was considered a mundane task. Women didn’t have a choice and who they married until very recently in history. So her being married to Hades against her will does not automatically get a kidnapping because that simply how most marriages started in the first place. That’s the reality of this time that’s why I took that account when I said that it was most likely marriage.

They didn’t need Demeter’s permission in the agreement as well because like I said she was a woman. Zeus probably didn’t even think that she needed consent in the matter of marrying off Bethany because she was a woman, and it was irrelevant her her opinion.

When we look at it from a modern perspective, yes it seems a lot more sinister but when you take in the facts and the possible translations and the possible symbolism, because like I said, the symbol was the same freaking kidnapping and marriage, and the historical context either I choose to think it’s the marriage because we see in further stories over and over again that they have a very good relationship.

Some people choose to read Greek mythology or Greek mythology retailing with the eye of a modern feminist (which I am, I’m not against feminism) and they automatically see everything as an act against women and how women should’ve been more empowered and how they should stand up and this and that. And I agree. It was a very hard time to be a woman and if we had modern feminism back, then it would have been very different stories.

But I do think we look at such an extreme viewpoint and we sometimes forget that feminism didn’t fully exist yet and this was over 6000 years ago, That this was the day-to-day life.

Up until very recently, you had to marry the man who raped you.

No again I’m not saying anyone’s opinion is wrong and if anyone interpreted the myth and a different way that they’re wrong I really believe in interpretation of story. That’s the beauty of it if one preaches the meaning of every religious story room for personal interpretation will be back in the witch hunting times honestly.

I do believe that considering that Demeter’s and Persephone’s feelings were relevant to the matter, however, Zeus‘ were, and Hades Scott Zeus’s blessing, then technically that constitutes given the time marital blessing of his daughters hand. So I don’t consider a kidnapping, even though it must’ve felt like that to Persephone or must’ve looked like that to Demeter. And I recognize that it’s the same symbol therefore, a lot of people who read it might see it that way I seen how you had. The father blessing just felt like in the time you didn’t need the mothers or the brides blessing you need the father or the Brother. I would see it as a marriage.

I do think the Persephone was originally scared, but I don’t want to over victimize her because in reality she has the best marriage out of all of the other deities. Her and Hades have a really good relationship. It just started out kind of creepy.

I only went on about that rent because a lot of people didn’t really grasp but by marriage at that time you really didn’t need any woman’s will. Marriage often has a sign of business or even ship between men. Sometimes even a Prize. So the fact that Persephone was ‘unwilling to all of it’ is honestly frankly irrelevant to the story, due to the time it was taken place.

If Hades and Persephone, he’s got married now, and he started the way he started it yet it would be considered kidnapping, and if she was unwilling now, it would be a much bigger deal but at the time that’s just how marriage worked so I consider a marriage.

I don’t expect to change anyone’s mind with this just offer a fresh perspective. Everyone’s options are valid, I just think that people should take historical context into consideration when they read stories from a different time.

OK, this is a quick rant. I’m not even gonna proofread this afterward because like I don’t really want to invest a lot of time right now.

I when I first started my account and had like three followers made a post that I feel like Hades demonized and it was immediately re-blogged and it was like everything was wrong so I deleted my post and I felt embarrassed, so I’m just gonna post this one, but I’m not going to allow blogs because I don’t want my opinion about religion being disrespected again.

And by that I mean that I feel like everyone has the right to read this their own way, and look at all the contacts and all the angles and then their own opinions so to have it re-blogged and just like being very condescending I did not like that especially because it was bigger and I didn’t want the beginning of my Blog to be shat on.

Anyway, I found out that the Greek symbol for kidnapping was the exact same symbol as marriage

And it is explicitly said in the Hades and Persephone legend that Hades asked Zeus for permission to marry his daughter. He wanted advice from and how to get her to love him, and Zeus said just go ahead and marry her Zeus didn’t really discuss this with Demeter, so from her perspective, it sounded like Hades kidnapped her, but in reality, Hades just had an arranged marriage that he arranged with Zeus.

The Titan of the sun when he told Detemer what happened seemed pretty happy for Persephone because Hades was known for being a very nice being since he was the God of riches and everyone whoever lives will eventually become his servant Persephone literally could have a better husband

Now, when Romans invaded Greece and basically reshaped their entire religion into Roman mythology, they changed it to being that was kidnapped rather than married, and they took a step further by stating that Hades raped her

But this is strictly Roman mythology, and in the original Greek mythology, Hades did not refer, and in fact it was an arranged marriage.

And from the Roman perspective, yes it’s absolutely horrible.

From the Greek perspective, which as a person I think more about Greek mythology than Roman mythology it’s a pretty normal way to start a relationship in ancient times in most cultures in ancient times marriages were arranged Asia and Europe marriages were arranged in ancient times that’s the simple fact.

You take into consideration that had a normal marriage (in that time) and he will always help heroes who comes searching for his help, that when he heard about what Demeter was doing out of grief for not being able to see your daughter, Hades encouraged her to spend half the year with her mother, his existence mining his business taking care of his corner and his job being the underworld, loves his dog (the name of his dog literally translating to spot), and loves his wife, being one of the very few gods to never rape a mortal or other goddess, being the only God to never have an affair on his wife. Hades is a good guy.

I wouldn’t say the same thing about Pluto. But I do think Hades is good guy. There is only one myth or Hades does anything remotely violent, which is when the underworld is invaded and these demigod (I think I don’t remember their names) making an attempt to kidnap Persephone and rape her, because they want her as one of their wives. And Hades kills them. Which which I think is perfectly reasonable I mean it is something that any husband would do if someone only tried to make it pass their wife, but straight up kidnap her and assault her. He is fully in the right.

I think that Hades is demonized a lot in Hollywood now because people automatically associate the underworld with hell and that’s probably just a satisfy the majority Christian population we have in the world now.

The first time I said that Christianity demonizes 80s especially in Hollywood and all the things I try to say here I probably worded them worse at the time because I wasn’t writing as regularly yet. But the person that blocked me was completely condescending literally said “yeah of course, where do you think Cristians got the idea from?” Like I said the re-blog just came off very condescending.

Like I don’t know my research and shit

But do humble you random person that blocked my post and I deleted a few months ago, I will tell you I believe the idea of hell and Christianity came from.

It is not Greek mythology is not Roman mythology. I believe that it came from Norse mythology!

Because in Norse mythology, there is a goddess called Hel who lives in Helhime, referred to as hell for short. And it is believed that after Ragnarok. This legend of Apocalypse in North mythology. Everyone will be dead, except for one man one woman and one God, this literally literally sounds like the prequel of the Bible. And in this religion, there’s already the existence of hell and hell is specifically the underworld or the bad souls go.

That is, I think Christianity got the idea of hell

Because they certainly didn’t get it from the Torah, which is where they got most of their ideas from.

[yea-baiyi]

about hua cheng re: that conversation w xie lian about his “true appearance”, and why hua cheng freaks out when xie lian’s asks to see his real appearance — like san lang is basically his normie appearance. whereas he usually prefers to be full makeup platform heels acrylic nails. but when xie lian asks the question, he wonders if xie lian would consider his “true form” as his ugly self. (after all, that’s what most people mean when they ask for someone’s true form — they mean their original human appearance). but the way xie lian phrased it makes it clear that it’s about being open and comfortable with each other, not about some demand for truth. which reassures hua cheng not only that xie lian will like him no matter his true appearance, but that he would accept hua cheng’s chosen appearance as his “true self” because it’s how he truly sees and portrays himself, rather than his original appearance. xie lian’s words assure him that it’s not the Honesty or the Original appearance that matters, just that he’s aware that san lang is a facade for his benefit and he’d rather see hua cheng the way he prefers to appear.

[worstloki]

something very horrifying about the concept of Thor but not Loki being told that Loki is Jotun when the brothers are old enough to understand the importance of the secret

[wonder-worker]

the fact that Henry II had two parents who were willing to relinquish their titles and share their authority with him (with his father even writing that he hoped Henry would one day "surpass me and all my predecessors in power and dignity") only to become known as the guy who drove all his sons into open revolt against him because he refused to give them adequate power 🤡

[bonefall]

oo snowkit becomes snowcarve?

He does!

In StarClan, you can use the names and appearance that you could have had, if you died young. It's very rare that you get permakits or permapprentices. I lifted from the COTC story about Smallstar and his siblings.

(Though, in BB those kits actually survive and it's MAPLESHADE’S kits who lead to the law on protecting children, Darkstar's Commandment, the Queen’s Rights. Smallstar is the leader of WindClan and xey're super chill. Xey own a lovely shawl.)

So Snowkit chooses to appear as Snowcarve, an Honor Title he would have earned for the creation of a full written Clan cat language, expanded from the simple glyphs. I'm not sure if he's a popular patron, but I do know that Bramble and Tawny invoke him sometimes.

Unfortunately though he's more invoked for general guidance by the two of them, not for possibilities like I think he'd like. He watches over them though, like a guardian angel. A lot of cats secretly have those.

I'm not sure who he follows around more often though. I think he LIKES following Tawny more because she's a better listener to his omens. But he feels like Bramble NEEDS him more, y'know?

Also notably, Snowcarve was technically their uncle, but the relationship is best described as "1st cousin." Rabnir in Clanmew, a familial role about somewhat distant but parallel growth, seen also with Brightpaw and Swiftpaw.

[lucabyte]

🐮