#Faiths of Purity

[dailycharacteroption]

Book Review: Faiths of Purity

And with today’s entry we end off the week with a beginning, a beginning of a quadrilogy in the Pathfinder Player Companion line of books, focused on the various faiths of Golarion’s Inner Sea Region deities.

Now, I say faiths specifically instead of deities, since this book is less about the deities themselves and more about how the mortals worship them and incorporate their beliefs into their daily lives.

The reason that these books came to be was to help build the world and give a religious character that one was portraying plenty of inspiration for what they would value and what sort of holy days and the like they would celebrate and follow through with, which was a fair bit more than what we got out of deity descriptions in many editions of D&D. Sure, you knew their alignments, their domains, and they symbols, but beyond a paragraph or two, their lore was pretty sparse in most books, so it was a nice change of pace.

The book starts with a breakdown of the seven good-aligned major deities in the Inner Sea Region, specifically information about their faith and their worshippers, everything from what sort of classes favor the religion, what they wear to identify themselves to other members of the faith outside of holy symbols, how they worship, what they consider taboo, and of course, their goals. Additionally, there is a bit on what sort of relationship the faithful have with other belief systems. These deities range from the frivolous but heroic followers of Cayden Cailean, the wandering and wise Desnans, the parental (and condescending) followers of Erastil, the righteous devotees of Iomedae, Sarenites who honor the mighty but merciful hand of the Dawnflower, art-focused followers of Shelyn, and the stalwart followers of Torag.

The book goes on further to briefly speak of the goodly minor deities. While not gone into the same detail, gives a good idea of what sort of followers they attract. They even go into the Empyreal Lords as well!

From there, we get various organizations that are tied to the aforementioned religions but having more specialized goals than simply following the teachings of said divinity. Things like secret organizations that bring light to nations of tyranny, or knightly orders.

Beyond that we get new combat feats associated with the fighting styles of the god’s followers (but not the divine fighting style feat, that comes later), as well as spells associated with each faith.

Additionally, with the exception of chaotic divinities, these faiths all qualify as valid options for a paladin to follow, and each one actually has an entry about how the oaths of paladins are altered by the nature of the god they worship, such as Shelynite paladins never striking first except to protect innocent life, and valuing the beauty and cultural importance of works of art greatly and seeking to protect them as well.

Finally, there is a bit on the various holy days and observances each faith in this book observes, which can be a fun way to set up festivals when the party goes to town or even inspiration for characters that would observe them even far away from where their faith is common.

The lore offered in this book is a major worldbuilding boon, as characters and NPCs alike can be fleshed out a lot by how they interact with and observe their faith. Faith means a lot to many people in the real world, so why wouldn’t it for characters in a fantasy world, even if they themselves aren’t divinely empowered?

Additonally, I like that none of the art in this book is of the deities themselves. Instead, it’s all example art of various worshippers of the faith, tying back to the “divinity from the mortal perspective” angle that this book and it’s companions are going for.

I do love this book. It’s a fun expansion of lore into the various major goodly faiths of the primary region of our setting, with plenty of fluffy to inspire characters with a light bit of crunch like that bit of cookie in a Twix bar. Firm enough for substance, but not so prominent so as to overshadow the texture of that delicious caramel. I hope that simile makes any kind of sense.

I don’t have super lots to complain about in this book, but I will say some of it is a little outdated, from Erastil’s somewhat traditionalist ideals that got downplayed in 2e to the paragraph on Apsu claiming that he does not grant divine magic to non-draconic followers, something that proves expressly not true in later books. (There’s even a paladin archetype that is baseline assumed to be associated with him, after all). But overall most of it is still good.

And that does it for our first week of book reviews, and the reception has been quite positive, so I’ll definitely be continuing this special in the future! But for now, look forward to more archetypes next week, and more specials in the future.

[faithful-christian-walk]

Ephesians 4:29 NIV

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

[fearandhatred]

at first i thought it was kinda funny in a way that crowley's wings got darker when he learned that they would be shutting everything down so soon since they can literally choose their wing colours. like it was a "ok i'm emo now. i hate you mom" sort of situation

and THEN i thought about the juxtaposition between black and the colours of the stars he created. of those colours he put into the dark universe to make it not so dark anymore. there not being even a trace of black on their clothes or the items they use to create. the whiteness of heaven. and i was like oh :)

because. because his wings getting darker is an unconscious separation from everything that he has identified with and been surrounded by in the past few billion years. the colour is an unfamiliarity that he starts to relate to for the first time. when he experiences, for the first time, things being ripped away from him, and that loss of faith is potent enough to physically manifest in his wings

[novelconcepts]

In watching more interviews with Liv about Van and the escalation of Van's pragmatism to such dark degrees, I find myself genuinely baffled that anyone could ever think Van the bad guy. I mean, I'm perplexed at finding ANY of these girls The Bad Guy. The bad guy is the situation. It's being lost. It's freezing. It's starving. It's being scraped down to the barest bone of being alive. They make choices that might be snippy, or cruel, or hard-headed, sure--Shauna refusing to just hash it out with Jackie; Jackie being too stubborn to come inside; Taissa refusing to discuss her situation plainly; etc--but by the time we reach the end of season 2, it doesn't even matter. Petty bullshit doesn't matter. Jealousy doesn't matter. Those things are still going to be present and complicated, because--for all their choices, for all the distancing they're trying to do--these kids ARE still human beings. But it isn't the point.

The point is survival. Plain, simple, straightforward. Van's pragmatism is survival. It is the difference between living another day with blood on your teeth or dying pretty. It is the difference between fighting forward through the fire and the snow and the hell of it all, and laying down to die. Van knowing, in watching the ritual violence of Shauna beating Lottie nearly the death, that they will be killing and eating one another soon. Van coming up with the cards for the hunt. Van not blinking when the moment comes, Van choosing a weapon that doubles as a tool to bring the body back, Van refusing to apologize for staying alive--it's not evil. It's not Bad Guy behavior. It's purely about survival, because there is nothing else left to her--or to any of them. They can play the pretty little Sweet Angel Girl game and die, or they can get dirty, bloody, horrific and fight. Van chooses the fight. Van chooses to fight for herself, for her lover, for her team, even knowing not everyone is going to make it out...because the alternate path there is that no one makes it out. Van knew the baby wouldn't live. Van knows the rest of them won't, either. Not unless they start making the hard choices.

And, honestly, the fact that Van sees this narrative coming. Comes up with this plan. Brings out the cards. To me, that is the opposite of Bad Behavior. That is as close to justice as anyone can find in the wilderness. If someone else came up with an idea, maybe it would have come down to voting--but that would have had such a human element to it, with bitterness or hostility or whatever ultimately petty shit always comes of humans selecting who to Other. The cards don't leave room for that. It isn't fair, because the situation isn't fair, because Man vs. Nature isn't fair, but it's as close to a just system as they could possibly find. It's the kindest solution to an unwinnable game. Not to bring it back to American Gods again, but all I can think is "it's easy, there's a trick to it: you do it, or you die." Van gave them that.

[randomprose]

missed calls and white cosmos

[ao3] - set during chapter 452 Guan Shan will never say it, because he’s a lot less brave than He Tian is, but he hopes He Tian knows he feels the same way.

Mo Guan Shan will be the first to admit that he tends to get absorbed in his work. He can’t help it. It’s a job that he actually enjoys, pays ridiculously really well, and lets him express his artistic side. Of course, he’d get bouts of hyperfixation.

He really didn’t mean to blow off He Tian and he really did intend to call when he’s done. It’s just that he got done late. Really late. And on a night when He Tian said he had some good news to share too.

‘Ah, shit,’ Mo Guan Shan thinks, sighing to himself. ‘He’s gonna throw a bitchfit. I just know it.’

10 missed calls and 20 messages though, really?

He doesn’t bother going through each of them now as he hurriedly dresses himself while trying to ring back He Tian.

“C’mon, chicken dick pick up,” Guan Shan mutters, cursing when he nearly busts his nose on the floor as he hastily changes out of his overalls and into his pants. “I know you know I’m calling, asshole. Fucking pick up already.”

‘sorry. late. where r u?’ he types with one hand as he shoves his feet into his sneakers.

“Fuck,” Guan Shan growls as he revs the engine of his scooter. In his head, he’s frantically thinking of a way to make it up to He Tian but he’s drawing up blank. In the years he’s known He Tian ignoring him is just about the worst thing you could do to him.

He passes by a flower shop and thinks about buying a bouquet but his skin is not thick enough to carry one around while he’s on his Vespa trying to find a stupidly unresponsive He Tian. He knows it’s probably the kind of gesture He Tian will be surprised at coming from him, would likely get him instantly forgiven for being late and not checking his phone just because He Tian is easy like that when it comes to him for some reason, but it seems so insincere and very obviously pandering and Mo Guan Shan does not do insincere or pandering, especially not with He Tian.

Instead, he stops by the road when he sees something that catches his eye. He plucks a single stem of white cosmos from the plotted plants on the sidewalk because it reminds him of He Tian. He tucks it in his pocket, careful not to squish it as he cruises the streets to find his no-doubt sulking boyfriend.

Blessedly, he finds him soon enough by the bridge near the restaurant they agreed to meet. He’s leaning on his parked car and even from the distance Guan Shan can feel his bad mood, can just imagine the pout on his face and the tantrum he’s gonna throw. 

“Hey, there you are. How long have you been waiting? Have you eaten?” Guan Shan prods even though he already knows He Tian has been waiting for him for three hours and he likely hasn’t eaten because he’s always hated eating alone.

Silence. Mo Guan Shan tries a different tactic.

“You look pretty handsome in that suit.” The compliment comes easily to him because it’s the truth. He Tian really does look handsome in his suit which is why it makes Guan Shan all the more sorry and the guilt in his gut much heavier that he didn’t come to meet him sooner. “Say something. I really was busy.”

Mo Guan Shan has long shaken off the habit of ignoring He Tian. How could he when the man is so stubbornly persistent in making sure Mo Guan Shan’s thoughts are never devoid of him? Not for long anyway. And it’s not like Mo Guan Shan has ever had any success in keeping his thoughts free of He Tian either.

Yet right now He Tian is making a valiant attempt at ignoring him and Mo Guan Shan finds that he does not care for it. He does not care for it at all.

‘Fuck. He’s even giving me attitude.’ Mo Guan Shan can’t help it. He’s so irritated his hand comes up on its own to snatch at the cigarette dangling from He Tian’s lips because he knows for a fact he’ll hate it.

Except He Tian unexpectedly turns to him, thin eyebrows drawn down into a frown, eyes full of annoyance and a touch of anger.

‘Fuck me. This handsome face,’ Mo Guan Shan furiously thinks even as he appreciates the view. ‘I swear to god your stupidly handsome mug is gonna be the death of me one day. Fuck!’

“You…really forgot about me?” He Tian finally speaks and Mo Guan Shan blushes at the slight whine in his voice and the almost imperceptible pout on his lips even as the bastard blows smoke directly at his face.

Guan Shan coughs and pulls back as He Tian turns away from him again, still sulking. He digs into his pocket for his peace offering, wincing slightly when he sees that it’s wilted and bent in the bud but still offers it in all sincerity.

“He Tian…” Guan Shan holds the small flower up and it immediately catches He Tian’s eyes. “Don’t be mad…okay?”

The crease in He Tian’s brow vanishes and an arm reaches out to pull Guan Shan by the waist. Guan Shan easily goes, wanting to be close the moment he found He Tian. His hand fists at Guan Shan’s shirt as if he’ll disappear if he doesn’t hold tight so he wounds an arm around He Tian’s shoulder and leans down to plant a featherlight kiss on his temple, an apology and an assurance in a single gesture.

“Fine…” He Tian sighs, sagging against Mo Guan Shan in what feels like surrender. “It’s my fault I can’t live without you.”

Mo Guan Shan will never say it, because he’s a lot less brave than He Tian is, but he hopes He Tian knows he feels the same way.

[lulu2992]

Faith Seed ❈ The Siren

Monarch of the Bliss

[godslove]

[roadside-oddity]

There is a Rampant and Vicious Cycle in the Online Left That Needs to Be Addressed

Every leftist needs to understand that not every proclaimed leftist is a safe person or one that is acting in good faith. Many people in this sphere --even if they are minorities themselves-- are Abusers. Let me be clear: they are Abusers REGARDLESS of --NOT because of-- them being a minority. Despite this, many of them have weaponized their standing as a minority in order to get away with their behavior and achieve what they see as some form of power and control over others. Let me be clear. I am referring to those that:

Manipulate and lie about pressing situations (especially when it's to harm another person or demographic)

Excessively use idpol to either elevate themselves to holier than thou levels ("listen to ___ people but only when it's something I agree with, which just so happens to devolve from constructive change to making others grovel and plead forgiveness endlessly before me") or belittle others (ie their skin color, gender, queerness, disability, neurodivergence, religion, age, etc.) in order to discount their point or not treat them as equal human beings; yes, even if their skin tone is white or if they are men, abuse does not have to be backed up by systemic issues in order to be abusive or at the very least harmful (sidenote: this does not apply to people talking about their experiences as a minority that is otherwise not experienced or understood by others, the issue I'm pointing out is when it's twisted to cover everything not directly tied to their identity and proclaim themselves as the only ones allowed to be the voice of reason, therefore shutting up everyone else and to avoid any constructive criticism or discussion)

Act on rage and at times even trauma to bring forth harmful ideals (ex: truly hating every person of a demographic, wishing for a genocide, making actual death or rape threats towards someone or a group, conversion, etc)(sidenote: I'm not discounting those that have trauma and even have harmful thoughts, just please seek help and understand that it is not healthy nor sustainable to paint or alter reality to be in line with what trauma makes you believe)

Actively try to get others they don't agree with to either permanently leave the internet or commit suicide and even celebrate when either happens

Excessively test others on their "purity" on unachievable standards to the detriment of everyone and Leftism as a whole (purity culture is fueled by christian culture in order to disguise doomerism, accepting defeat when change is not possible, of which is the very thing that will kill leftism)

Infight over weird made up issues (remember how divide and conquer is a war strategy? To split hairs and discount others for non-issues is to do the work of conservatives and nazis for them)

Shut down people or discussions over minor slights such as using an incorrect word/phrasing or any numerous perceived mistakes (example I've seen here: berating a person with schizophrenia (or a trans person or any other minority) for using a derogatory term for themselves when they're talking about how everyone else is speaking over them and not listening), ignoring the hypocrisy or not taking into account any number of mundane causes such as non-native english speakers, generational gaps, being in the process of learning (either recovering from harmful beliefs or simple ignorance), using those terms to prove a point (such as that example I mentioned above), neurodivergence, etc.

Not letting others talk about their experiences of oppression when those experiences don't match theirs, instead opting to call those people bigoted for contrived reasons

A rejection of nuance, intersectionalism, and even reality to better suit their goals (ex: claiming that every trans man benefits from the patriarchy and can never experience misogyny)

Misuse of therapy speak and terminology in order to water down those terms and render them near meaningless so they can weaponize them under the pretense of their original use (ex: gaslighting), or to cut off any need to connect or sympathize with other human beings and instead speak to them like a PR message (refer to this video by Zena and Poppy for reference)

They never speak on true leftist/progressive ideals or positive change, they only engage in destructive discourse or any behavior listed above

Making baseless dangerous accusations towards someone they don't like. Before you go harr harr you're doing that, I'm not calling out any specific person and am merely listing dangerous behaviors I've seen people here act out. What I am referring to are when someone casually calls someone specific a predator (or whatever else) with absolutely zero proof and expecting everyone to believe them no questions asked. This has been shown to ruin people's lives

Any other similar behaviors not included in this list (as well as classic logical fallacies), but what I've mentioned above should paint you a good picture

Every example I've pointed out were REAL EVENTS I've seen from people that proclaim themselves as leftists or even just progressive, and sometimes are even minorities themselves (some even infight against their own communities using the behaviors listed above, often out of internalized bigotry)(an example of a real event that happened here recently were when several people were making rape threats towards a trans man by the username of @a-faggot-with-opinions). To be blunt, I'm pointing out exclusionism in practically every form, asexual discourse, transandrophobia, TERFs/radfems, TEHMs, tankies, "cornbreadtube", nationalists and ethnonationalists, and all else I don't have the terminology for For many of the people that fall under that bullet list I would hesitate to even refer to them as leftist or progressive, as they never seem to actually show they act on it or even believe in it, only making an appearance in those communities for their own destructive personal gain; hell, often times they have ideals that directly go against what those communities stand for! Examples include TERFs with white supremacist beliefs, transandrophobes that are misogynistic, ethnonationalists that are antisemitic, puritans that are ableist, the list goes on forever. Once you know what to look for, you can see the hidden or overt bigotry behind their false "progressive" statements

No one is infallible No one is better than everyone else You are not immune to propaganda No one is immune from behaving abusively

These people are dangerous, whether they actually qualify as abusers --as I've been referring to them as such for brevity and impact-- or are people that are engaging in hurtful or fully abusive behavior (use this paragraph as a disclaimer, I of course can't know if someone is an abuser in real life unless there is documented evidence of such). Regardless, they are hurting the left and are letting the right win

If you see any of these behaviors either 1) take caution if you're unsure, 2) block them, or 3) if you have the fortitude, call them out. Either way, use your best judgement and think for yourself (or discuss with good faith leftists if you're uncertain). And remember, often times (albeit not always) they are actually fully aware of their disgusting behavior and are choosing to act maliciously, not ignorantly.

Stay safe, log off, do what you can to support your local community and leftism as a whole, don't let these people distract from the real issues at hand. Have empathy, if you don't have empathy then act in compassion, if you don't or refuse to do either please do not engage in politics. Misanthropy has no place in matters concerning humanity.

And remember: we have to stand together in unity so we can create a better future for all

[wiirocku]

1 Timothy 4:12 (NKJV) - Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

[side-b-bumblebi]

Trying to detox from toxic ideas internalized as a result of legalistic Christianity while still being Christian is so weird

Like yes my faith is still important to me and sustains me through my worst moments. I heard some wild stuff growing up tho

[cigarettesnrosaries]

[musingongoodness]

Matthew 5:8 Reflection on Purity

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8

"Pure" in my little understanding connotes that the intention of such blessed people is to SEEK God with pure intentions of seeking HIM for HIMSELF, not just for our needs, wants and desires. Such blessed people shall seek God and God's promise is that they WILL find Him! Praise God!!!

[partyinthemysterymachine]

Hey just so you know vinecoveredgarden is a propara (pro paraphilia) pro-transID radqueer

jesus christ this was a word fucking salad. can you guys please fucking relax. did you know i can agree with a post's message without knowing the OP or following the OP nor agreeing with everything OP believes in. did you know that was possible.

[not-poignant]

A lot of folks don't realise that they're fanpolice, or at least have the potential to be fanpolice (or engage in feelings yakuza style behaviours), and a good way to check if you're fanpol - at least when it comes to fanfiction - is a common sentiment that even I've fallen into the trap of expressing, and it goes like this:

'I just need the author to know they're writing something that's wrong.'

It could be that you read something triggery or squicky, or that the author is writing something so dark, you're genuinely unsure they understand that something is morally objectionable irl.

On AO3 this is very easy to check: Did they use appropriate warnings? And tags? Does the content of this fic reasonably fall under these tags and warnings?

If the answer is yes, then the author knows.

They might not share the same understanding as you, but they certainly know enough to warn folks in advance. It might even be tags that you've always been comfortable with but for some reason, in this one fic, get squicked by, and immediately assume 'oh god it's the author' and not 'oh god, it's the writing, I've been squicked.'

If you're still unable to distinguish whether the author knows the difference between right and wrong after seeing an author appropriately tag a work with something like 'dead dove: do not eat' - you may not be able to tell the difference, or alternatively, are having a kneejerk reaction to something very squicky personally.

(In the case of fics that have been inappropriately Warned for - i.e. 'No Warnings Apply' in the case of Rape or Major Character Death, you can certainly give AO3 support a heads up about these fics. There's a reason those warnings are mandatory in the absence of 'Creator Chose Not To Use')

Some folks are just going to be 'antis' about everything, but some of us can stumble into fanpol behaviours when we're shocked by content we didn't expect to find shocking, and we immediately look for somewhere to blame our unexpected shock and discomfort. If the first place you go is into the author's comments or inbox with that blame (or an attempt to shame, ridicule, or mock) that's fancop behaviour.

I think it's worth noting that there's a grey area where many folks have engaged with fanpolice / fanpol / fancop / anti style behaviour while still generally being very supportive of philosophies like 'don't like / don't read' etc. and not realising that these philosophies still apply to you even if you have an extremely strong emotional reaction to something you didn't expect to.

Many of us are going to also experience this, or have in the past. If we like surfing certain tags, if we've read enough DD:DNR fics 'safely' it might not occur to us that other authors might have different ways of writing under those tags.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Certainly because I've done it myself, years ago now, and I've seen other folks who would consider themselves very supportive of all fanfiction do it, and you can sort of tell by the language they use. As soon as you see a: 'I wish I just knew that the author understood this was wrong irl :/ ' - and the fic is tagged for - there's something going on that's leading to fancop style thinking. Often it's to try and correct a sense of emotional injustice or betrayal, sometimes it's grounded in moral panic.

Folks who cling to fancop style behaviours believe that feeling their own strong emotion (particularly those of revulsion or disgust or fear) is an accurate compass re: identifying moral injustice, and then proceed to apply 'corrections' to those around them who have caused that revulsion, disgust, or fear. But imho, it's easy for everyone to feel a strong enough emotion that they might slip into fancop thinking or behaviours without realising, for say one particular fic, or one particular ship, without ever realising, because they're 'permissive the rest of the time.'

Anyway, just some barely coherent thoughts on the matter that I'm barely even resolving here. I miss using Tumblr to think about this stuff out loud, so here we are, lol.

[maqui-chan]

OH didnt think you can invite pure sydney to your side of the confession booth

if you get caught

[tacticianlyra]

To all those still undecided,

If Trump wins the election because of your inaction, it won't just be Palestinian blood on your hands.

It'll be the blood of every disabled person who loses the ability to keep a roof over their head due to government programs being axed.

It'll be the blood of every disaster victim living in a blue state or county that won't receive government assistance because "they didn't vote right."

It'll be the blood of every transgender individual who has their entire existence criminalized.

It'll be the blood of every woman who dies due to pregnancy complications that could have been avoided.

It'll be the blood of every POC who gets murdered by a cop given federal immunity.

It'll be the blood of every person who doesn't look white enough or doesn't have an American-enough name that gets swept up in the mass deportation that Trump wants to do.

It'll be the blood of all those living in countries who look far too closely to the US, which will most likely because a totalitarian regime, on what policies to enact in their own countries.

It'll be the blood of future generations who will have to deal with the fallout of environmental regulations meant to combat climate change being gutted.

But they don't matter, because they're not Palestinian, right?