#Also I think that Hades personally send the souls

[velen-is-full-of-mud]

Personally I like most of Jorge's visions, but I like my own interpretation of Six Hundred Strike.

Basically I imagened that after Oddy gets drowned a bit the ghosts wake him up and give him their strength instead of pulling him down/embracing him in death.

Oddy then opens the bag, the winds blowing back the ocean so they're fighting on the ocean floor, Oddy losing to Poseidon (duh) until the six hundred men start "attacking" him and he gets distracted enough that Odysseus manages to get a couple of good strikes.

Then Poseidon gets stabbed to Hades and back.

Also he's a gigantic water horse because that's neat

[aroaceleovaldez]

everyone talks about "oh what if Percy could bloodbend" but I think there is woeful little discussion about other potentially fucked up big 3 kid powers:

I mean it's already canonical Hades/Pluto kids can just. straight up kill you. Like literally Nico can just tap people on the shoulder and they get Thanos Snapped. Totally fucking dusted. Sometimes bones are left and he just starts controlling that but that seems to be optional. He does it like three times in Tower of Nero.

Not to mention Nico also being able to just rip people's souls out of their still living bodies. Is that a Ghost King thing or a Hades kid thing or a combo from both? Who knows.

All the different ways Big 3 kids can make somebody just. Explode. Zeus* kids can just build up air pressure, Poseidon kids can build up water/blood pressure, and Hades kids can just make your bones splinter and shoot out.

I don't think Zeus kids would be able to mind-control people by controlling electrical impulses BUT they could just send several thousand volts directly through you via touch so like. That's not great.

Bloodbending for Poseidon kids is obvious but Hades kids have SO many options to potentially control people. Puppet their bones? Control their actual literal soul? If you go the route of "shadows are connected to the person" then dragging somebody around by their shadow? Or given that Hades kids are heavily implied to just have nearly all abilities ghosts are said to, there's a decent chance they could Just Straight Up Possess You.

Poseidon kids can control blood (and actually exemplified in canon - seemingly just about any bodily fluid, as Percy makes Achlys start choking on her own tears/snot). They could also theoretically completely dehydrate you in an instant.

Zeus* kids meanwhile can. Make air bubbles in your blood or etc. Which is VERY bad for those of you who are unaware. Hades kids can probably just yoink all the metals out of your blood. Casually revokes your iron privileges. Poseidon kids are just yoinking your blood In General. Etc etc.

And then yknow, the casual natural disasters stuff. Zeus kids making tornados and hurricanes? Plus the aforementioned just throwing massive amounts of electricity around. Probably also able to make dust storms and stuff. Poseidon kids making hurricanes and floods and earthquakes? Or being able to create geysers just wherever they want? Hades kids also being able to make earthquakes or just shatter the ground or create giant ravines and etc. And, yknow, ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. And aforementioned insta-killing I guess. Bonus Hera kids probably being able to also do tornados and dust storms and etc, possibly moreso than Zeus kids.

*Zeus with an asterisk because wind/air powers actually seem to be more of an Hera/Juno thing and so exclusive to Jason and not Thalia, while Zeus/Jupiter seems to be just the storms/electricity.

[emmcarstairs]

The Ghoul and Lucy MacLean as Modern Orpheus and Eurydice: A Fallout Meta

(art by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot)

We’ve all heard the Greek myth of Orpheus who ventures to the Underworld to bring his wife Eurydice back to life. It’s one of the greatest tragic love stories that has been retold and passed down to us in different forms of media.

Isn’t it interesting that Fallout begins with The End and ends with The Beginning? It refers to the bombs falling in the first episode, and the past being revealed in the last, but I believe it goes deeper than that. It’s a direct reflection of Lucy’s character journey.

Lucy’s journey begins with the shattering of her perfect world. It's the end of her life as she has known it. The event that triggers her descent (in her case, ascent) is the raiders’ attack. Which significantly happens at her wedding. Lucy is stabbed by her husband who had snuck into her Vault with deception. Similarly, Eurydice is bitten by a snake at her wedding with Orpheus, which kills her and sends her to the Underworld.

Interestingly enough, if we think of Norm's words as Lucy walks down the aisle, the Ghoul is coded as a possible husband for Lucy. And it's only after she goes to the Underworld/Wasteland that we are introduced to the Ghoul.

In a post-nuclear world, hell would be on the surface and heaven under the ground. The Ghoul emerges from the underground like Lucy as if he's coming after her. (It's funny that three men welcome him as if he's Orpheus at the gates of the Underworld and they're Cerberus.)

After the tragic wedding, Lucy resides in the Underworld. (An important note here is that while we learn that the Wasteland isn't dead, it is perceived as an Underworld by the Vault dwellers.) Throughout her journey, there is one person who, by happenstance, is always on her trail.

In the final episode titled The End, we find some thematic and visual similarities with The Beginning. Lucy is again betrayed by a person she considers family. Also, the passage of time in both episodes (midday-sunset-night) is clearly marked by the change of colors in the sky.

Two significant scenes for Lucy happen during the sunset. As a symbol, the sunset stands for transition or even death. The world is changed for the night. It's both an end and a new beginning. It's a meeting between the day and the night. In both these scenes, Lucy agrees to share her journey with another person.

If we rewind back to the Ghoul's entrance in the scene, we see him catching Hank by surprise with his words. In fact, the Ghoul speaks a lot and almost enthralls his enemies with his power of speech/acting. It's reminiscent of Orpheus' gift of music which helps him tame the beasts.

Here begins the deviation from the original story. In the myth, Eurydice has no agency. Orpheus ventures into the Underworld, begs for her soul, and takes her on the journey back. Some modern critics point out she'd already forgotten him and wouldn't want to return back to life.

The Ghoul offers Lucy a clear choice between her staying with the dead (in this moment, they are surrounded by Max's unconscious body and her mother's remains, as well as the soldiers' corpses) and risking that she dies herself. Or going with him to learn more about the world.

Another important element in the myth, is the backward glance. Hades lets Eurydice leave the Underworld on condition that Orpheus doesn't look back at her until they make it out. As they near the exit, Orpheus turns back and Eurydice vanishes back in the Underworld forever.

In this case, the backward glance isn't a condition. Yet, in this scene, the Ghoul and Lucy's gazes don't meet at all! He has his back turned to her and the one time he turns around, she isn't looking at him. It shows their vulnerability but also their newfound mutual trust.

What follows is the scene that inspired this whole meta. The night has fallen. The Ghoul climbs up from a ruined building's dark exit alone. After a moment, Lucy emerges too. They have made it! And the Ghoul still isn't looking back at her. He leads and knows she'll follow him.

Take a look at this bit from A. S. Kline's translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book X, and look at the following frame:

"They took the upward path, through the still silence, steep and dark, shadowy with dense fog, drawing near to the threshold of the upper world."

A final note about Orpheus and Eurydice's names: Orpheus means "the darkness of the night", while Eurydice means "wide justice". Well, what can I say?

Looking back on my Lucy analysis, it's interesting that the final scene with them both emerging from underground marks the transition between Act 2 and Act 3, or Death (Transformation) and Emergence (Support). This would've been Eurydice's POV journey if Orpheus had succeeded.

[blogthebooklover]

Noa & Mae = Orpheus & Eurydice AND Romeo & Juliet

So, something occurred to me after rewatching Disney's Hercules for like the millionth time (weird stretch, I know, lol). I remembered this post talking about how Mae and Noa's personalities are similar to Hercules and Megara. And then I remembered these two posts from @bookishdaze:

The Woman in the Hazmat Suit

Noa & Mae as Romeo and Juliet

She pointed out how Korina (the woman) may be a leader of the underground bunker, and how her name is from Kore, and we all know what other name the former is also derived? Persephone; the Goddess of Spring and what else? Queen of the Underworld! It's interesting to think about, and I'm really curious about what Wes Ball and team are going to do with this character in the next movie, but I digress.

Which also got me to thinking about the possible story inspirations for the next two movies in Noa's trilogy: the second movie might be a loose retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, and the third might be Romeo & Juliet (or it could be the other way around, too).

First, the myth/legend of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Orpheus was a demigod and a musician whose beautiful songs were loved by anyone who heard them, mostly by women. However, the only woman he loved was a human named Eurydice. Depending on which version it is, their wedding blessing wasn't entirely finished on the day of their marriage, which was to be ordained by Hymen, the god of marriage ceremonies. This is perceived as an omen of ill faith from the two lovers. Again, depending on which version it is, Eurydice is enjoying some time to herself, or with the Nymphs in a field; but a snake bites her ankle and she dies from its venom.

Overwhelmed with grief by the death of his wife, Orpheus decides to venture to the Underworld to bring her soul back. Since Orpheus is a demigod, it's easy for him to travel down to the realm of Hades to search for his wife. His songs tame Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld, and the creatures hidden in the shadows. When he comes upon the thrones of the king and queen of the Underworld, Orpheus pleads his case of returning Eurydice's soul to her body by singing a song so moving; that it even warmed the hearts of the immortal rulers. Hades and Persephone agree to let him take Eurydice back to the world above, on the condition that Orpheus does not turn around to look at her until they are both in the sunlight.

Orpheus has second thoughts about the gods tricking him that Eurydice is not behind him as they walk. Just before they reach the entrance to the world above, he turns around and manages to see his wife before she is taken back into the shadows of the Underworld. Realizing his mistake, Orpheus begs to try again, but he cannot. Once again, depending on the version, no one enters the Underworld twice while still alive.

Now the ending for Orpheus's story varies, whether he dies of a broken heart or is killed by a creature; however, in one version the Muses take his lyre and send it into the heavens becoming one of the star constellations.

Second, William Shakespeare's play of Romeo & Juliet.

The play that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, had to read in their freshmen/1st year of high/secondary school. So, a quick recap: Two young teenagers from sparring houses in Verona, Italy, they meet up at an event hosted by the other's family, decide they are in love (after three days of knowing each other) and marry in secret. However, someone from both houses end up dead; Mercutio (Montague) and Tybalt (Capulet), the latter kills the former and Romeo kills Tybalt out of grief and revenge for his friend. Friar Lawrence advises Romeo to visit Juliet before he is sent into exile. After spending the night with her, Romeo leaves. Juliet is grief stricken by the fact that Romeo is in exile, and she has no choice but to marry the man who was chosen to marry her, Paris. Friar Lawrence, once again offers advice but to Juliet this time, to take a sleeping potion that makes her seem like she’s dead.

Once Juliet awakes from the sleeping draught, she finds that Romeo has poisoned himself due to misinformation about her death. Friar Lawrence urges Juliet to come with him to a convent to be safe. However, she does not, choosing instead to stay with Romeo and since her love drank all of the poison, she takes his dagger and stabs herself in the heart. By the influence of the Prince, the two grieving families put aside their differences in memory of their only respective children.

Third, Noa and Mae, and how the previously mentioned stories could work for them.

For the second film, while Noa isn't a musician per se, he does show the abilities of an engineer (fixing a fish rack, and the cattle prod). HOWEVER, he does have to sing to Eagle Sun to get the bird to come to him. My head canon is that maybe Noa works on various different inventions while he's training to be the next Master of Birds. If Mae returns to the Eagle Clan, and sees Noa's inventions for herself, she would probably have mixed emotions at the fact of seeing an evolved ape even creating something from the remains of human technology.

Remember: Noa's and overall evolved ape intelligence TERRIFY her.

However, I think the more she spends time with the Eagle Clan apes, the more she realizes apes and humans can probably co-exist with each other.

My head canon for Mae is that it was her entire family and friends as the team that was sent out on the mission in KOTPOTA, and after Proximus Caesar's apes killed everyone, she barely escaped with her life as she says to Noa. And she had to survive alone in the wilderness before coming across Noa and the Eagle Clan village. Like Noa, she is also just a scared little kid trying to understand everything that had happened in the 200-300 years of a post-apocalyptic world. And now, she literally had/has no where else to go, no home to return to (since we all agree on that one head canon she's one of the few humans immune to whatever remains of the Simian virus), until she spends more time with Eagle Clan.

For whatever reason, Mae has to go back to the underground bunker, or maybe she's kidnapped by another human group from a different bunker; but I'm going with the former for this take. Noa can't take the fact that she has to return to the humans, seeing how humans and apes can live together, and he sets out with Anaya and Soona to get Mae back. When the trio arrive at the human bunker (the one from the end of Kingdom), Noa must plead his case to Korina to get Mae to return to Eagle Clan. That her living amongst apes is proof that both species can co-exist. Maybe even offering one of his inventions and/or an eagle egg, to the human leader as a sign of peace and hope for a future.

After Korina hears Noa's case, she agrees to let Mae return to Eagle Clan; now I imagine that instead of the sadder ending of Orpheus and Eurydice, it's the ending of the Hades and Persephone myth instead, the human leader offers only one condition to Noa: that Mae returns to the bunker when the last leaf falls and the first snows begin. Unlike apes, humans cannot survive the harsh winter weather. Both Noa and Mae agree to this term, and they continue living in the Eagle Clan village until the fall/winter. On the other hand though, I do see this working the other way around: that Noa is the one who is captured, and Mae is the one to plead her case to Korina.

And finally, the third movie. The story line we all want to see!

When Mae returns for the winter, let's assume it's been a couple of years or so by now, there is tension amongst the humans in the underground bunker. Half of them don't like this arrangement of a human living amongst the apes in the above world. The Tybalt & Paris equivalents (gonna call them Bunker!Tybalt & Bunker!Paris) in the third movie are feeling reservations about the arrangement, confessing their concerns to Korina when Mae returns. Korina (also being The Prince equilavent for the third movie) tries reassuring them that Mae staying with Noa and the apes is a test to see if the two species can live and work together. But Bunker!Tybalt and Bunker!Paris are not having it, and they arrange for a duel with Noa until Anaya (since we all agree that he's the Mercutio equivalent, poor thing) steps in for his childhood best friend.

Aaaaaaand we all know what happens next! However, let's imagine Bunker!Paris somehow leaves the scene.

Noa, enraged with grief for his best friend, kills Bunker!Tybalt but soon realizes he made a huge mistake and he decides to step down as leader and exile himself from the Eagle Clan. Because a good leader doesn't kill in revenge, no matter the reason. Meanwhile, when Mae hears the news of Bunker!Tybalt, she blames herself for the whole outcome. Korina makes the decision for Mae to stay in the bunker, for a possible upcoming war with the apes and to keep her safe. Mae doesn't want any more bloodshed, and she confides her concerns with the Nurse equivalent (again, gonna call them Bunker!Nurse; or maybe it'll be Dar as the Nurse Equivalent as well, but I digress). Bunker!Nurse feels empathy for Mae, but agrees with Korina about staying in the bunker. That Mae's skills and intelligence are needed for an upcoming war.

Mae doesn't want a war though, she soon realizes that the apes and Noa are her family as well. She sneaks out of the bunker in the cover of night and tries to find Noa.

Not entirely the same, but I do imagine a scene similar to The Lion King 2 (again, another Romeo & Juliet retelling; although, it would be hilarious if Noa & Mae broke out into song, but that's my crazy take heeheehee); when Mae and Noa reunite, away from everything and everyone trying to keep the two species apart.

Noa tries to convince Mae to run away with him, and explore the remains of this post-apocalyptic world, hoping to find more apes and humans similar to the unlikely duo. And create a new village where the two species can co-exist. Mae doesn't buy it though, she confides in Noa about returning together to prevent an upcoming war between apes and humans.

Once they return, they see it has already happened, once again taking some inspiration from The Lion King 2 here.

Bloodshed and dead bodies from both sides of the battle field. The human girl and the male ape are horrified by the war.

They both enter the sidelines of the battlefield, the apes and humans pause briefly when the ape and human are in sight. Mae and Noa each take turns pleading their case, that humans and apes can live in peace and harmony if they work together. There cannot be anymore bloodshed between them. The test of Mae (and maybe a few other humans) living amongst the Eagle Clan works, and there can be a solution between the two species.

But wait, you dear reader ask, doesn't the Shakespeare play end tragically?

Yes, the OG play is a tragedy. However, like the aforementioned Lion King 2, there are other R&J retellings with a happier ending:

Gnomeo and Juliet

Warm Bodies

Interesting how the second one is also set in a post-apocalyptic world, albeit in the zombie horror subgenre xD.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

[thescarlettbitch]

I don't think I've ever explained my specific "brand" of polytheism so ig here it goes

I believe that all world religions (past, present, future) hold some form of truth, and that there is no one true religion. I think that the mere belief in something grants it power. (Yes that includes cryptids to a point) Who are we to say that ancient civilizations were wrong to think that gods ruled their lives and created these phenomena that science now explains? Who's to say the gods didn't also give us science /to/ explain their domains, to try and make it comprehensible to our feeble minds?

That being said there is definitely some fake shit (scientology, of which i have personal beef with) but other than that I like to think that all gods and deities are just

Chilling together.

Ra and Apollo and Utu drive the sun together, keeping each other company.

Ereshkigal and Hades and Hel rule their specific underworlds as neighbors.

The reapers and Thanatos and Arawn take turns reaping souls and sending them to the correct afterlife.

Christian God tells the gods that the lost children he raised are working with to be good to them, that their parents or his followers did them wrong.

Saints and high priests hang out with Hiereiai and Gala, talking about their latest followers, the prayers they receive, and how best to help.

Demeter and Dumuzid have competitions over who can grow the best crop.

I find comfort in it, as someone with Christianity based religious trauma.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hello! I was wondering if you could write something for a charlie morningstar!Reader?

-Gods like Hades and Anubis both knew you, as your dad was a leader in another part of the Underworld, as many different gods and beings watched over different sections to manage the number of souls arriving in the different areas.

-There was a meeting called of all deities pertaining to the Underworld, gods, demi-gods, and fallen angels in the case of your father, but he was busy due to an uprising of angels in his section, trying to wipe out the ‘sinners’- souls who didn’t make it into one of the ‘good’ sections of the afterlife, and he sent you in his stead.

-Many were surprised to see that Lucifer had a daughter, but to be fair, Lucifer was rather private about his personal life, but you were a bit of an anomaly in the meeting, much like your father who was so bright and cheerful looking.

-You were also bright and very cheerful, you were warm and smiles all around as you introduced yourself, showing your professionalism in a setting like this.

-Hades and Anubis, who were running this month’s meeting, were a bit annoyed to see Lucifer wasn’t there, sending you instead, but they were quickly impressed by you presenting your report for your section of the Underworld, showing how organized you were, much like your father.

-Many were quickly praising you, impressed with your presentation, before the meeting got off topic as many complained that Lucifer was mean for not introducing you sooner, which made you grin warmly.

-Kand, a minor earth god and burial deity approached, trying to hit on you, “So you don’t look like a demon like your father or that hot mom of yours, are you sure you’re really their daughter?” Hades sighed softly, palming his forehead, knowing that if you were anything like your father, it would be hands on sight.

-You didn’t react violently however, you just tilted your head to the side, “Of course I am- you just can’t see my horns.”

-Anubis was surprised, thinking your horns were small, inquiring about this but you weren’t bothered, smiling over at him, “They only come out when I feel strong emotions, since I’m half demon and half angel.”

-Kand leaned in a bit too close, asking to see more of your angel side, but his cologne was very strong, making your nose crinkle before your hands quickly came to your nose as you sneezed loudly. Your horns shot up, uppercutting Kand in the face, sending him flying back, leaving him twitching as you sniffled softly as you apologized.

-Anubis was dying of laughter, as were many other gods while Hades was trying to hide his smile, amused by this ‘accident’ before you all took your seats again to continue.

-When you arrived back home later that day, you delivered a pile of letters from the others at the meeting to your father, each of them tearing him up, yelling at him for not introducing you sooner.

-Lucifer couldn’t help it! You were just too cute, and he didn’t want to share you!

[redrandomposts]

ooo clarifications for the alnst x orv crossover

- i wasnt calling till "secretive plotter" as his constellation name owo it was more like "florist!character" where the word before the exclamation mark describes what the character is like in the au hehe

- constellations dont need to sponsor incarnations to watch their channels! they can simply come and go as they please. hades is also very likely to still watch ivan regardless of sponsorship since ivan is connected to dokja and hades is like a doting, concerned father for dokja LMAOOO

suitor vs grandfather lowkey fighting to sponsor ivan 😭 ivan gets an unholy amnt of coins sponsored to him by both sides and hes like lmao better get some use out of these ...

two paths for this au : ivan gets sponsored by hades, or ivan gets sponsored by till

- ivan being sponsored by hades also means he's getting sponsored by persephone in extension and gets skills and stigmas that stave off death like theyre cheat codes but aren't technically cheat codes 🤔 puts a stop to all his dying but it also means he's now more reckless w himself bc "undying stigma lol ✨"

- ivan being sponsored by till gets him spammed with [Constellation <insert name here> is looking at you.] at the most random times. his skills and stigmas would be related to ivan's themes/imagery in alien stage (the planet saturn, meteors, stars etc). they would also definitely get a shared fable called <Constants Till The End> or something because they ARE each other's constants am i right haha

as for till's constellation name... i was thinking something like <Unbound Songwriter of Bygone Times> or simply <Unbound Musician>

(i also have constellation names for ivan and sua since i have this OTHER alnst x orv crossover where ivan and sua are the outer gods disguised as constellations this time, just throwing it out there LMAO)

— 🌦️

hi again 🌦️!!

i seee... but also, i'm pretty sure constellations have to pay more to send "messages" for unsponsored streamers.... maybe i'm tripping, but also i'm clearly refusing to reread orv, so.

sometimes grandparents love their grandchildren more... like mine. if my father and grandparents didn't have conflicting political views, it'd be different, but alas. i'm more loved. thus, ivan's more loved, because im pretty sure the grandparents are convinced kdj did some fucked up shit to pass down his self-sacrifice. which, fair, shattering your soul is pretty fucked up.

why do i love unbound musician?? unbound is a really nice term for till...

a shared fable... forever attracted forever doomed... haha jk actor au exists and they're together (copium??) so.

some skill ideas from till:

-meteorite escape: a recreation of the night till and ivan escaped, except till stays. this gets rid of negative effects, but their mentality becomes childlike.

-muse: an investigative skill that can tell you about something in the form of song.

-another us: watch a potential outcome of an action in third person.

-obsession: mark a person or thing to track them until they die or something lol

-shallow emotion: force another person to be obsessed with you, even wanting to die for you.

my god i'm tired and its showing it's time to pass out

[yamisnuffles]

nothing i can come up with right now has the subtle touch that makes all your aus so good, so you're gonna get what you're gonna get, and maybe i'll send another later lmao. so same question i just answered: what would an ascian or unsundered azem au look like?

Okay, so, for Ascian Azem to make sense for me, she would have to have in this universe gone along with the Zodiark plan because I still hold that they were to some extent tempered. Also, she would need to be Sundered still, to keep that time loop.

So, starting with that base:

She would be a bit broken before the Sundering even happened. It would break something in her to give up on finding another way. Doubly so when Hyth sacrifices himself. That said, I think Hyth telling her and Emet his plan is what would have swayed her in the first place. With Emet so adamant about the Zodiark plan and Hyth literally offering up his life to see it through, she could have in some universe decided she couldn't turn on both of them. It would very much destroy some part of her to do so, though.

When the Sundering happens, what bright, flaming light was left in her would be snuffed out. When she had her memories restored, she'd have instant, crushing regret that she hadn't tried to find another way. She'd be certain that things would have ended differently if she had (even though she'd be wrong there). This would result in her becoming withdrawn. Depressed. I think it would take a long time for her to snap out of that. Perhaps that's what leads to her death a few times with different shards.

Eventually it would be too much. To still have Emet but see him changed every time she's restored would crush her and she would see it as another failure on her part. It was already too late for Elidibus and she'd never been on the best terms with Lahabrea but if she'd pulled herself together sooner, maybe she could have at least kept Hades. So she would leave. Go her own way and hop from body to body as needed when one passed awa. Belatedly try to find a different plan.

She would spend a long time on her own. From time to time, Emet would try to get her back for personal reasons and Elidibus for the good of the plan, but she would rebuff both. That said, she wouldn't do anything to interfere with their plans for the Rejoining. She would still long for Zodiark's return and, with him, hopefully Hyth. Also, like Emet, I think she would be determined to hold onto her original, unsundered appearance.

Eventually, after thousands of lifetime's of failures, I think she'd go back to Emet's side. By this point, they'd have sort of swapped places in the relationship, with him the bringer of chaos and her the weary, hard working one. What finally snaps her out of all of this would be the modern day warrior of light. In Aubrey, she would see a mirror of much of who she had once been. Still so alive and full of so much fire and love despite everything, it would be enough for her to see hope. They would fight so that Azem could see if she actually had what it would take to overcome the Final Days when they returned. Upon defeat, with classic chaotic style, she would offer her soul up so that Aubrey could be empowered.

So there you have it. It would be complete with lots of tragic attempts by Emet for them to have what they once did (and for her to sometimes try as well). Lots of them regretting what the other had become and Emet convinced any shard he'd restored had just come back wrong. In the end, things would be about like canon, except that Emet would have an extra streak of "Why YOU" with Aubrey (as would Elidibus, but in a different flavor).

[thestrangestthing89]

I mentioned in a post a while back about how I saw similarities between the Hades and Persephone story and how it relates to Will, especially in season 1. I have no idea if this reference was intentional or not, but it makes sense with where the story could be going. There isn't tons of evidence here, it's mostly just speculation.

There are several different versions of the mythology story but the one that tends to be the most common is that Hades kidnapped Persephone and took her to the underworld. Persephone is the goddess of Spring and is frequently described as an innocent, young girl. Hades, as the God of the underworld, rarely leaves the underworld and the kidnapping of Persephone was one of the few times he actually did.

Persephone's mother Demeter does everything she can to get Persephone back. Demeter is the goddess of agriculture and she sends the world into a drought when Persephone goes missing - the crops stop growing. In order to get her back Demeter makes a deal with Zeus that Persephone will spend 6 months of the year in the underworld with Hades (Winter) and 6 months of the year with her mother in the mortal world (Spring).

This story was mostly used to explain the changing seasons. When Persephone is with Hades, the world gets sent into Fall and Winter and the crops stop growing. When she's with her mother, it's Spring and Summer and a time of growth. In other versions of the story, Persephone goes to the underworld by herself and decides to stay. Personally, I like this version better. She has more autonomy. But the kidnapping version is the one that most people know.

There are several comparisons to be made to Will here. He gets kidnapped and taken to the Upside Down - a cold, dark place that is comparable to the underworld. It's unclear who exactly took him at this point. Vecna doesn't seem to leave the UD but Hades didn't much either. But maybe he did to take Will? The Hades role here could also be played by Brenner. He does seem to be the true villain of this story much more than Henry. Either way, Will gets kidnapped by someone and taken there. Joyce does everything she can to get him back, much like Demeter. Though it's Hopper who makes a deal exchanging El for Will at the end.

Persephone is also frequently associated with fertility, flowers, and creation. There is a lot of speculation about Will having powers of creation that I think are interesting. He uses his art to connect with the UD in S2 and find Hopper. I think it's possible that he does something like this next season.

There are a lot of flower references as well, especially in S4. Mike brings El flowers at the airport. These flowers were presumably picked from the field they are standing in at the end of the season. It's Spring. Only at the end of the season the flowers are dying. The UD is infiltrating the "mortal world". It's a time when there isn't a victim taken to the UD, but Henry is suffering. He was set on fire and shot at. His plan to get 4 victims and open the UD (the gates - aka the gates to the underworld) got foiled. But only up to a point. We don't know if the ending is meant to show what's happening in the present or if it's Will having a vision or something else. So this may not have happened yet.

An interesting note is that Persephone ends up being the Queen of the Underworld. She rules the place better than Hades and is considered to be more fair and helpful to the souls trying to cross over. If this comparison is intentional, I think it's possible that Will could end up being the one who rules the UD. I think a lot of what we learned from Henry is either exaggerated or a lie. I don't think he has as much control over the place as it seems like.

Will is going to play a big role in stopping Henry and the UD from infiltrating Hawkins. If he ends up being the one who rules the Upside Down in the end I think it will be in a way that gives him more of a choice, rather than the prison sentence that Persephone basically gets. He deserves to have more autonomy in this situation, so I wouldn't want to see him being forced to give up his whole life (and Mike) to live in this awful place where he was traumatized.

But I think it could be a source of empowerment for him. Not only with him embracing his powers (and his sexuality) but learning to take control over his kidnapping and all the awful things that happened to him since then.

Edit: Artemis (Goddess of the hunt) and Persephone were childhood friends until her abduction. Artemis is often used interchangeably with Hecate (in Persephone's story) who helps Demeter find her daughter. Hecate is associated with liminal spaces and can go between realms (LIKE A KEY). She is a guide for Persephone - helping her to go between worlds. Hecate is also Persephone's companion when she is in the underworld. Mike has been referred to as a key (by Hopper in S3). He seems to have some association with El's void and Will going flashing back into the UD in S2. He also seemed to hear Will in the UD when the boys go out looking for him and find El instead. Mike hears a noise that Lucas and Dustin don't hear and turns in the opposite direction that El comes from. If the theory that it's Will running in the UD is correct, Mike is the only one who heard him. He's connected to both the regular dimension, the UD, and El's void. I think he could play a role like Hecate here - guiding Will to and from the UD and being his companion while there. And helping people get from different realms/dimensions.

Hecate is also associated with witchcraft and magic which is interesting given that Will the Wise is a wizard.

And there is also Cerberus who is the 3 headed dog who guards the underworld. The three headed dragon gets brought up a lot (most recently in Will's painting). Cerberus belongs to Hades and prevents anyone from leaving.

Edit 2: I completely forgot about soteria which is a direct reference to Persephone and Hecate. So it's very likely that the writers are intentionally weaving some of this story into Will's. Soteria was meant deliverance and safety. In ST, Henry has soteria in his neck and it suppresses his powers. So it's likely meant to indicate that it kept people around him safe FROM him.

[traumacatholic]

May I have a prayer or two? For safety and to be protected from deceivers. I'm staying in a hotel away from family for a few days and I'm trying to help a friend out but I'm worried that they may try to take advantage of me but I don't want to abandon or push them away.

Of course, may God bless and protect you. I have attached some prayers under the readmore that you might find beneficial.

Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Saint Patrick's Breastplate Prayer

The full prayer can be found here: https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/greenford/wp-content/uploads/sites/127/2020/03/St-Patricks-Breastplate.pdf

But I often see it shortened to this part, so it comes down to personal preference how much of the prayer you want to say

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me

A Prayer in Time of Attack

O Lord, our God, pre-existing before all ages and remaining forever; who are as great in compassion as you are in uncontainable power; who because of your ineffable mercy bowed the heavens, came down on earth and became man for the salvation of sinners; who put on and immortalized our nature and ascended with it to the place from which you descended; hear from heaven and become merciful to all those who cry out to you with a broken heart. You, O Master of all, lend you ear and hear us. We know your undefeatable love for your creation and your inexhaustible goodness. Hence, we throw ourselves into the ocean of your compassions and entreat you: turn not your face from us nor cast us away from your countenance neither hand us over to those who are so furiously attacking us. Look upon us with your compassionate eye. Show us how to rise above both the visible and invisible enemies. Place in us a power from on high; encompass us with your almighty right hand; keep us under the protection of your wings; fortify us with love for one another and grant us unshakable peace. But before all and above all, instill in us your fear and your love that your holy name may also be glorified in us. Upon you alone we look, on you alone we have placed our hopes, and to you we send up the glory, together with your Father, who is without beginning, and the life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer to the Holy Cross

Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered; and let those who hate Him flee from His presence. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish; and as wax melts from the presence of fire, so let demons perish from the presence of those who love God and who sign themselves with the sign of the Cross and say in gladness: Hail, most precious and life-giving Cross of the Lord, for Thou drivest away the demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified on thee, Who went down to hades and trampled on the power of the devil, and gave us thee, his venerable Cross, for driving away all enemies. O most precious and life-giving Cross of the Lord, help me, with our Holy Lady, the Virgin Mother of God, and with all the Saints throughout the ages. Amen.

Prayer Before Sleep

Beneath your compassion we seek refuge, Theotokos. Do not overlook our prayers, but deliver us from danger, only pure and blessed one. My hope is the Father; my refuge, the Son; my protection, the Holy Spirit. Holy Trinity, glory to you. I place all my hope in you, Mother of God. Keep me under your protection. Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy and save us. Amen.

Under the protection of your wings I shall be covered and fall asleep, for in you only, Lord, does my hope lie. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my soul and my body. Do bless me, do have mercy on me, and grant me eternal life. Amen.

Protection Prayer

Jesus, I will arise. Jesus, do thou accompany me. Jesus, do thou lock my heart into thine and let my body and my soul be commended unto thee. The Lord is crucified. May God guard and protect my senses so that misfortunes may not overcome me. In the name of God, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayer Against Every Evil

Spirit of our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Most Holy Trinity, Immaculate Virgin Mary, angels, archangels, and saints of heaven, descend upon me. Please purify me, Lord, mold me, fill me with yourself, use me. Banish all the forces of evil from me, destroy them, defeat them, so that I can be healthy and do good deeds. Banish from me all spells, witchcraft, black magic, evil spells, ties, curses, and the evil eye; diabolic infestations, oppressions, possessions; all that is evil and sinful, jealousy, deceitfulness, envy; physical, psychological, moral, spiritual and diabolical ailments. Burn all these evils in hell, that they may never again touch me or any other creature in the entire world. I command and bid all the powers who assault me—by the power of God all-powerful, in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary–to leave me forever, and to be consigned into the everlasting hell where they will be bound by Saint Michael the archangel, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, our guardian angels, and where they will be crushed under the heel of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

Prayer to Your Guardian Angel

O Holy Angel, who stand by my wretched soul and my passionate life: do not abandon me, a sinner, neither depart from me because of my lack of self-control. Leave no room for the evil demon to gain control of me through the violence of this mortal body. Strengthen my weak and feeble hand, and instruct me in the path of salvation. O holy Angel of God, the guardian and protector of my wretched soul and body: forgive all the sorrows I have caused you, every day of my life. If I have sinned in this past night, protect me during this day. Keep me from every adverse temptation, that I may not anger God by any sin. Pray to the Lord for me, that He may establish me in His fear and make me, His servant, worthy of His goodness. Amen.

[greatwyrmgold]

Cast of Oshi No Ko doing the Orpheus challenge

Ooh, that's a tricky one.

Oshi no Ko in Hades

Ai definitely has the capacity to succeed. If the shades tried to convince her that her loved one had abandoned her, she'd just accept that as something she expected and move on. Ai might fail if Hades convinced her that she's too weak not to look back at the last minute.

Aqua is practically defined by sticking with his plan no matter what; he'd probably do fine, even if the plan he stuck to wasn't self-destructive. Dr. Gorou is...less clear. I'm inclined to say that his instinct to check on the person whose life he's trying to save would doom whoever he was trying to help, but we don't see much of him.

I have no idea whether Ruby would succeed; if you asked Aka Akasaka twice you'd probably get three different answers. I think she'd succeed before Ai's death and fail afterwards, but who knows? If Sarina tried to "do the Orpheus challenge," presumably for Dr. Goro, he would have to beg Hades to let her soul go. Cthonic air isn't healthy for mortals, especially not the chronically ill.

If I knew how Hikaru Kamiki would act on a quest to save his loved ones from the underworld, I would have written a very different kind of OnK post.

Kana would struggle to succeed at this quest. She also seems to be anxious about her relationships with the sort of people she'd like to save, which could easily make her anxious enough to look back. On the other hand, if whoever she saved said something bad enough to put her in a tsuntsun mood, it's quite probable she'd go "I don't care if he's there or not!" when the shades tried to make her doubt, which makes her success almost certain.

Everyone assumes MEMcho would fail at the Orphic quest, because they've seen her horror game streams. But she doesn't, and once they're back in the living world she chastises whoever she saved for not realizing she was acting. Horror streams are boring if the streamer just sits there in the corner!

Akane can absolutely gather the resolve needed to power through a trip through the underworld without looking back, no matter what they said was (or wasn't) behind her. But if the shades found the right insults, they could destroy that resolve pretty easily.

Ichigo Saitou can focus pretty well on his duties, which would be beneficial, but he abandoned most of his responsibilities after Ai's death, which suggests that he wouldn't be able to summon the necessary focus under the sort of circumstances where he'd undergo an Orphic quest.

Miyako Saitou would almost certainly obey Hades's orders if he acted divine when they met. Aqua and Ruby managed to scare her straight with the meager power of two unusually intelligent toddlers, after all! If Hades was clever enough to fake an ordinary human form and offer her a nice cup of tea, her guard would be lowered enough that she'd thoughtlessly glance over her shoulder too early.

The Crow Girl would not bother with Orpheus's path. She clearly doesn't need to.

Abiko Samejima is probably doomed to fail. The only question is whether she fails because she looks back, or because she can't talk to Hades in the first place.

Taiki Himekawa would fail pretty much immediately. A shade would ask "What's that thing over there?", and he'd ask "Where?" and look behind him, and whatever unfortunate soul bet their hopes on him would facepalm. This wouldn't happen if he drove, but he would probably crash before reaching Hades.

I don't think that one photographer would have any trouble. The reason why I think that is, quite literally, a whole other story.

If you want to ask me about how the characters from that story would handle Orpheus's quest—or any other story, or just one specific character, or whatever—just send an ask and I'll probably answer.

[noperopesaredope]

Persephone Retelling Idea

So I was watching a video essay on Lore Olympus and its flaws, and there was a part where the video creator talked about how, in Persephone retellings, Demeter is always villainized whilst Hades is glorified. I thought about this for a bit, and realized two things:

1) The most likely reason we want Persephone and Hades’ relationship to be mutually loving is because we hate the idea of a girl being kidnapped and forced into an unwanted marriage for the rest of eternity whilst her loving mother watches on helplessly. That’s why we make up versions where Persephone isn’t suffering: because it’s horrifying otherwise.

2) It would be so much more interesting to see a retelling of the myth that portrays Demeter and Persephone’s relationship as healthy and loving, then exploring their shared grief over being forcibly separated from each other 6 months a year. That would be fascinating to me, and focus on the love and loss between a mother and daughter. It could be bittersweet and beautiful.

That’s when I ended up writing this comment (then putting it in a Google Doc for later):

I have an idea for a Persephone Myth retelling that I think would be pretty fun without really villainizing anyone (besides maybe Zeus because I hate him? But he's like, not even really in it, so there's that). It mainly focuses on Persephone and Demeter, and is slightly based on my relationship with my mom as I've started getting ready for college (particularly as an autistic young adult who needs supports to function). It also later takes the idea of the Dread Queen Persephone as she girlbosses her way into a true goddess. 

Basically, Persephone is a young adult goddess (still hundreds of years old) who has a great relationship with her mother, but is still trying to figure herself out, and slightly wants to leave the nest. She isn't quite sure how to be independent in the big wide world, and she's a bit nervous. So for now, she likes to spend her time talking with her nymph friends about life and stuff. 

Meanwhile, in the underworld, Thanatos is...busy...with a situation, so Hades is forced to temporarily take over the role of death, a job he is very reluctant to do. Why doesn't some other underworld person take care of it? Because shut up. So, Hades takes the list of people he needs to take down (to the undERWORLD THAT IS!!! *Airhorn noises*) and just kinda comes out of the earth, snatches people out of their bodies, and dips, taking them along with him. Unfortunately, one of the Fates "misspelled" a name, so instead of taking Persebhone (or maybe Kora, because Persephone’s name might be Kore for the first half), he accidently ends up taking Persephone, not realizing who she is since he really needs to get out more often. 

So Persephone finds herself in the underworld after Hades abruptly dropped her off there and went to his palace. She goes to the trial place where souls are typically tried, and the judges are surprised when they realize that she is an immortal god. They assume she got lost or something trying to visit Hades, so they send her over to his palace. She sits in the waiting room for a bit, where they are serving out underworld pomegranates as refreshments. Persephone doesn't know about the rules of the underworld, so she eats one. Dun dun dun. Then she has a meeting with Hades, who is confused until she starts explaining that she really isn't supposed to be here and why. He understandably panics at this, aware that Demeter will definitely kill him. 

Meanwhile, Demeter is having a panic attack, because she doesn't know where her daughter is. The other gods are trying to comfort her, but nothing is working, and in this arc of the story, during the parts where we see what's happening in the overworld, we will explore themes of mental health, depression, and what it is like to have a missing child. The other gods will also be having a sort of mystery thing where they try to find the missing goddess. 

Meanwhile AGAIN, Hades is trying to figure out how to contact the other gods to sort things out, but the exit to the underworld is blocked or something (basically, no one can leave rn), and he can't communicate with the other gods. They are kinda trapped rn. So he tries his best to keep Persephone calm and comfortable because NOTHING IS WRONG AT ALL- (he does break the truth to her once he realizes it really will be a few months until he can contact the others, but at first he will pretend that things are mostly fine) 

Persephone herself is feeling very overwhelmed in this crazy new place, and is more than a little stressed out. But as time goes by, Persephone finds that she really likes it in the underworld, and can find some type of beauty in it. She also discovers new parts of herself with each person she meets. But this first arc mainly explores her trying to find a place in the world without that type of support that Demeter gave her, and wondering how her growing desire to stay in the underworld will affect her relationship with her mother. 

Eventually, we get a beautiful reunion between the two, but tragically discover that Persephone eating the pomegranate seeds have permanently tied her to the underworld. So then they need to figure things out about how to live independently from each other as Persephone starts living in the underworld officially and growing into a potentially badass Dread Queen of the Underworld, Demeter tries to cope with Empty Nest Syndrome (I actually love the idea of exploring a character in her changing situation), and Hades tries to get used to living with another person and also secretly attempts to handle his new guilt complex over accidentally trapping Persephone in the Underworld.

I have a lot more ideas, but that's the basic premise.

Hades and Persephone's dynamic will be so much fun. It isn't quite romantic so much as it is besties or something (I'm gonna make them slightly close in age, since Demeter is the 2nd oldest out of the siblings, and Hades is the 4th. Zeus was also pretty young when he freed his siblings. So Hades would be a bit young around the time Persephone is born. Not super young, but young enough to seem more like an older brother or something). They are so socially awkward that they end up becoming basically friends. Since Persephone basically lives here now, Hades wants to at least make her feel comfortable and welcome, so he hangs out with her sometimes, and eventually even invites her to start helping him out with underworld stuff. They just work together well and get along pretty great in all honesty.

Persephone and Demeter's relationship would be the main focus of the story, as well as Persephone's coming-of-age. Demeter, as I mentioned above, is a mother who is dealing with grief from her child going missing, and later deals with the pieces of trauma that come with that (which she will refuse to acknowledge at first), then dealing with Empty Nest Syndrome as she has a bit of a personal crisis over that, possibly even a bit of a mid life crisis. Then she needs to deal with the realization of how happy Persephone is as she becomes an independent adult. I love the idea of working with this woman as she goes through this nonsense. She’s dealing with a lot. I love this version of her that I have in my head.

Persephone is also conflicted and unsure of herself as she begins to develop mild independence anxiety during the first arc, and her own little identity crisis during the arc after she and Demeter (temporarily) reunite.

Basically, young adult leaves for college for the first time as she and her mom both have mental breakdowns, while the young adult's cool new roommate and accidental kidnapper tries to learn social skills in the background. It's fun (and low-key funny in certain ways).

That's my idea. Yeah.

Hopefully healthier than Lore Olympus.

--------

So, I may or may not make a small webcomic using this idea. The art style will likely be simple because not only is said art style still in the works with no fully fleshed out, overcomplicated character designs, but I want it to be relatively easy to work on and write with ease. May make this, may not. Hopefully it could be fun though, since I love Greek Mythology, and I find retellings of it to be fascinating and fun. Tell me what ya’ll think of this concept, and if it sounds interesting.

[diamondangelkitten]

Polyam Week Day 2:

Domestic Life/Mundane Tasks

“Hades, can you cut the vegetables please?” 

He raises an eyebrow as he enters the kitchen after changing from his convocation robes, but makes a sound of agreement. “What are you making for dinner, love?” 

“I’m trying out a new recipe from one of the villages I stayed at during my last trip. Hyth sent me a message saying he’d be late, so it gave me the extra time to prepare the broth.” 

He chuckles, “So that’s why you snuck out of the meeting with Mitron and Loghrif early?”

She turns to face him and gives a huff of indignation, “Why, I would never do that!”

He laughs fully now and pulls her into his arms, “At ease, darling. I was just teasing. I know that that’s your gossip time with them.” He continues to laugh as she swats his chest while moving back, but he catches the wink she sends his way. He turns back to the vegetables on the board, cutting them as finely as he can. 

“Thank you for making dinner today.” 

“You’re helping too! More hands make light work.” She places a kiss on his cheek as she takes the cut vegetables to the broth. “We’ll let this simmer a bit. Tell me about your day.”

The two converse about the meetings they were in, the new shows they wanted to mention to Hythlodaeus, and what errands they wanted to run around town later that week. While discussing an upcoming meeting with all their parents’, Hyth walks in through the door. He spots his two lovers and the tension rolls off his shoulders. He drops his bag, walks over to Emmeline and hugs her, picking her up and swirling her around, before placing her down and giving his husband a deep kiss. 

“I’ve missed you both,” he says, his forehead against his husband, Emmy still wrapped in his arms. “It was a long day.” 

Hades gives him a chaste kiss on the lips while Emmeline kisses his cheek. 

“We’ve missed you too, my dear. I’ve made dinner! It’s a new recipe that I thought you both may like! Sit down, I’ll bring it to the table.” 

Hades shakes his head, “No, you two both sit down. I can dish and serve the meal.” 

Emmeline nods and walks hand in hand with Hyth to the table. As he sits down, he jumps back up again, “Oh! I almost forgot. I strolled past the market on the way home.” He goes to his bag and pulls out some pastries from Emmeline’s favorite stall and some beautiful flowers. “Even if I couldn’t help with dinner prep like usual, I thought I’d contribute something.” He reaches down deeper into the bag, “I even found these,” handing Hades his favorite hard sweets. 

His lovers embrace him, and when he sits down to eat, he cannot be more thankful for these people to whom his soul was bound. He still saw the threads between them, thicker and fuller than they even had been at birth. They were lucky that there had been friendship between them, and that that friendship has blossomed into something more. He had seen many couples burn out, but he knew that the trust and understanding they had was something they worked towards each and every single day. 

As the meal finished, he brought out the pastries and made tea. Plans were made to visit family, opera tickets were chosen, and Emmeline was convincing them both to go shopping with her on the next run for groceries. 

“We three are terrible when it comes to grocery shopping. You know we are a menace!” 

It’s not that Hades doesn’t want to shop with his wife and husband. In fact, he rather likes seeing what meals the three of them come up with together. He doesn’t love that everyone decides to come up and talk to them because of Hythlodaeus. Emmeline is well-known in her own right, and he hates that even a single person looks down at her because of her outspoken role as Azem. Of course, there is also the fact that somehow grocery shopping reverts them all back to being children and trying to do anything to get a laugh out of each other. 

He looks up and sees Emmeline’s pleading eyes. He knows that she knows what he’s thinking, and if it means this much to her… “Very well, let’s go in two day’s time. I have a meeting with Altima in the afternoon and I’m sure he won’t mind if I cut it short.”

Emmeline giggles with glee and throws herself into her husband’s lap to give him a hug.

Hyth is chuckling, “Surely the great Emet-Selch isn’t thinking of ditching work?” He raises an eyebrow and sits straight, imitating Hades’ usual posture. 

Hades looks him dead in the eye, “For either of you? I’d do anything.” 

As he deals with his husband throwing himself on top of him and his wife, Hades snaps his finger and the couch expands. Life with these two was never dull, but it was worth it. 

[buggie-hagen]

Sermon for Second Sunday of Easter (4/16/23)

Primary Text | Acts 2:14a, 22-32

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

Dear People of God,

          It was not a fluke that Jesus died. When Peter addressed the crowds he laid blame on the Israelites for the death of Jesus when he said “you crucified” (Acts 2:23). Lest we be mistaken and think only the Jews were at fault for the crucifixion, let it be noted that Jesus’ death came “by the hands of those outside the law” (Acts 2:23). That is to say, the Gentiles, that is to say, the hands that nailed Jesus on the cross and brought about his death were people who were not Jews—the rest of us. In this way, all people without exception are implicated for crucifying and killing off the Messiah. Because all things happen by divine necessity we also hear Peter say of Jesus, “This man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). God knew that Jesus was going to die. Both the Jews and the Gentiles could not have harmed him had not God permitted it to happen. It is called “God’s plan” because this is the way by which God chose to bring about the “salvation of our souls” (1 Pet. 1:9) and that through believing we “may have life in his name” (John 20:31). God knew that by sending his Son into the world it would inevitably lead to his Son’s death. The Son is the light the darkness cannot overcome, so the darkness within us wants to snuff it out. And we tried with all our might. It’s funny, people speak often how God became a human being in Jesus Christ in order to identify with us. And, well it is absolutely true that Christ is one with us in our humanity, though he is true God of true God, he ended up on the cross because in the end, not one of us identified with him.

          Yet we are here today because try as we might we could not snuff out the darkness. As St. Peter said, “God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:24). God played the world a fool. In God’s littlest finger is power stronger than all evil: God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, God’s weakness is stronger than human strength (1 Cor. 1:25). In Jesus Christ God made himself weak, so that weakness overcomes strength, foolishness overcomes wisdom, frailty overcomes power. Death could not hold him in its power. You see, it is a prophecy we have from Psalm 16, there God made a promise to Jesus, that God would “not abandon him to Hades—the realm of the dead, that God would not let his body experience corruption—his body would not decompose. It is a messianic promise. David is dead, he’s still in a tomb. But Christ is no longer dead, he has been raised. The only way for Psalm 16 to be true is someone who can no longer die speaks it. Jesus is the Messiah, dear people. He is the Christ of God. The one anointed and appointed for the purpose of saving those who don’t want to be saved. For each of us is a dead person until Christ puts himself in us by the oral word. And then, we too, become raised from the dead.

In this Psalm recorded in the Book of Acts, Jesus prayed, “I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope” (Acts 2:25-26). Notice how it says “my flesh will live in hope.” This means the promise of the resurrection is not only for our souls, it is a promise for our body. For Christ was raised from the dead in his body and to this day he has a human body and he will forever. This means that we too, when we are raised from the dead, will be raised in our human body. It is a common misunderstanding that the afterlife is a purely spiritual world without human bodies, it is a misunderstanding that when we die we become angels or something. We might think becoming an angel is an upgrade, it is actually a downgrade. For God, human beings are the crown jewel of his creation, not angels. Once a human being, always a human being. The resurrection of Christ tells us your body matters to God just as much as your soul. Jesus knew he would die by the hands of humankind. But he knew that he had hope. Why? Because he himself had been given a word of God. And so it is with you, dear people. God’s promise of raising you from the dead means you will be saved in both soul and body. Have a glad heart. Be full of joy. Praise the Lord. In this moment God makes known his word to you—you will not and are not abandoned to the realm of the dead. You too will be raised. In both soul and body. In him you are forgiven. Your life is in the name of Jesus. There is nothing better than that.

[riverdamien]

Let's Dance!

Lets Dance!

Luke 16:19-31

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.[a] The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.[b] 24 He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner evil things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27 He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30 He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

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"Richsplaining is when a person who hasn't experienced poverty gives you patronizing advice on how to get out of poverty."

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People who love are never strangers to each other. We discover this whenever  we are thrown together with generous souls in a crisis, for we dance together as equals in the dance of life.

        Today as I walked down Van Ness, and came back to Polk Street my heart grieved as I saw the pain of people sleeping in tents, in blankets or nothing,wearing dirty clothes all along both streets.

    One woman sitting in a tent shared with me her recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and was told she would be able to go to San Francisco General in her last weeks. Her response was she simply wanted pain killing drugs and she wanted to die on the street, she did not want to be treated as an object.

    People who  are homeless, and the very poor are richsplained, patronized by people who have not experienced poverty, and who simply tell them how and where they should live or what they should do.

    When I found myself on the streets in the midst of poverty, violence, being raped, beat up, and treated like nothing by the police and everyone else because I was a "sex worker", a queer and homeless, my eyes were opened to "Richsplaining"!

    Until we have walked in the same "moccasins" as others, we truly do not understand.

I have come to understand that when I expect people who are housed and have money to change I too am "Richsplaining".

To dance the dance of life, we must look at ourselves, and break through that which separates  Lazarus and the rich man. It is hard, difficult because we have to let go of our thinking and opinions and dance the dance of love, walking in the moccasins of the other.

Gloria Steinem once said: "The first problem of all of us men and women, is not to learn but to unlearn."

And a part of unlearning is to remind ourselves  that until you go through the struggles of being queer, black, poor and homeless, than hold back, be our friend. Never think you truly understand! Be our allies!

When we walk by homeless on the street, not pay attention, and not seeing their suffering, one is "Richsplaining". To ignore the suffering is "Richsplaining!

When we think we know the answers to people of color, queer people, and are white and straight we are "Richsplaining".

When we quote the Bible, or tell people they are wrong in their belief and that other religions are not right, for "my" religion is the only one, we are "Richsplaining".

When we are not a professional in a chosen field and from simply reading about a subject and diagnose and give a professional opinion on others we are "Richsplaining".

Jesus was clear in the central tenet of  his faith: "Love on another."

We can continue on our path of being the "rich man", or we can struggle and fight and try to walk in the shoes of Lazarus.

The Gospel is clear, we can "Love one another," we can "try" and we can change ever so slowly. I have placed my life upon on the power of Jesus, in my life to walk in the path of love, and to seek to treat people equally, I fail time and again. I bear the scars in my journey, I was recently hurt, and my PTSD has flared but I believe with all of my heart that love, the love of God, the God of many faces, is the only way in this life and the next.

Come with me in "unlearning" become as a child, and walk equally with all. Eckhart Tolle says "Life is the dancer and you are the dance", so be the dance of love! Join me in "trying"! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Let Love Ache

Father, give me the courage to keep on loving.

when others keep on hurting.

help me to live an achy love, a gritty,

persistent and emptying love;

a love that’s not afraid to flow toward the other

who has little left to offer in return.

And may I tread faithfully with heaven

through the unfinished work that surrounds me.

Commoners_Communion

Strahan Coleman

Coronavirus rates are rising again! Wear your masts in crowds, and public transportation!

While for many the virus may simply be like a cold, but the death rate is rising, I recently held the hand of a young  person dying, so know that we each have a responsibility to one another!

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Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T.

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

punkpriest1@gmail.com

www.temenos.org

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[asphodelical]

Nameless Prince: Rejected Ideas

Zagreus starting off in a dead village, but purposefully enrages Poseidon, who summons a storm to try and drown him — the OG chapter 1 only one other person has seen. It was rough, but a start.

Zagreus starting off trying to learn letters in a village that’s not 100% dead. He’s a slave and is sold off to the traders. He sees Thanatos reap a soul from someone dead on the road — rejected because the chapter 1 I went with establishes a greater disdain for the gods. 

Demeter searching for Persephone in Corinth, and encountering Zagreus there — rejected because I honestly think Demeter wouldn’t have given Zag the time of day to talk with him. 

Thanatos solo section while he’s imprisoned - rejected to build up Than and Zag’s eventual meeting

Demeter killing Zagreus — rejected because I couldn't think of a could enough reason for Demeter to kill Zag, they never interacted, and then I ended up putting her on a bus with Demophoon.

Athena sending Zagreus into the Underworld to hide him from Demeter — rejected due to the above.

Zagreus getting whipped by the mortals in Corinth when he tries to steal food — rejected for the rule of threes with the sacrificial animals.

A Poseidon interlude after the the mortals in Corinth start worshipping Zagreus — rejected because I don’t like writing Hades’ Poseidon and it wasn’t necessary. At all. 

Zagreus running to the shore and encountering Poseidon —rejected because I couldn’t think of what that encounter would accomplish or lead to. Zag in this fic is already mostly reactionary/strung along, and this would’ve only dragged things out. 

Zagreus taking refuge in a mortal family’s home, rather than the sanctuary in Corinth — rejected because I didn’t feel like doing research on what an Ancient Greek home was like, and then I read up on the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore. 

Thanatos finding Zagreus in the forest after escaping Corinth — rejected because it was too convenient. 

Athena and Hermes encountering Poseidon and/or Demeter in Corinth, and trying to convince them not to kill everyone — rejected because I couldn’t find a good place to put it without slowing the pacing. It also wasn’t necessary. 

Callisto saving Zagreus from Dionysus — rejected because it was a deus ex machina, if she had succeeded it only would’ve dragged the story out and fucked up my rule of threes. Plus she would’ve succumbed to the madness anyway. 

The bad ending: Persephone leaves before Zagreus arrives in the Underworld —rejected because it could’ve easily been solved with Thanatos transporting back up to the Temple entrance and telling her to go back. 

An Olympian section in the epilogue — rejected because this ain’t about them

Rejected titles: Goldblood, Boy With a Coin, Death Chaser, Golden Child