#I fucking forgot religion existed

[animentality]

Ok but The Last Dinner Party - On Your Side as a durgetash song....... THE ANGST

It literally starts with THAT

I know I'm better off not looking back

Forgive me father, won't you take it back?

That we were lovers

And the whole song is honestly so durgetash coded

OH SHIT.

THAT IS ACTUALLY.

DAMN

[none-tadashi-left-hiro]

I still don’t know what my exact take on angels egg is yet but I think I like it so far mainly because of the comfort of some dude off the shits exploring the concept of hoping and waiting for something in a way that isn’t just rewarded exactly how the character wants but yet it is rewarded nonetheless like it’s not just nihilism trying to be avant garde once again it’s just like actually this is the real perhaps tragic beauty of hope and how our relationship to truth works and whatever the fuck. Or however you need to interpret it have a nice day

[elveny]

I’m a bit annoyed at myself for still reading Hot Takes[tm] on DA Veilguard but apparently, I’m not quite done being angry and disappointed and heartbroken about the way they lacklustre finished a series that mattered so damn much to me that I considered getting tattoos of it.

I put so much love into my OCs and that universe, the relationships to other characters and with the problems of the world. And it feels like they spit on everything they built and made us players connect with. And for what? So they could wipe the slate clean.

Ferelden, Orlais, Free Marches, the Dales, everything we visited and freed and brought together? Destroyed by the Blight. Offscreen.

Every character that mattered to us? Assume they’re dead because Blight. Or if they turn up in DATV, the connections to your OC isn’t mentioned, so you can ignore it. Oh, the immortal god? Conveniently forgot all his goals and disappeared into the now forever closed-off realm of dreams and magic.

Every problem that has been discussed and been a huge deal in earlier games, from the Blight to the treatment of mages to religion, possession and slavery? Don’t worry about it, it no longer exists. Or isn’t a problem anymore because, uh, don’t worry about it.

Oh the complex villains we had? Weren’t complex after all, there’s a Mysterious Big Bad that has directed Everything from the shadows. Invisible, unnoticeable even by the most powerful beings alive. No decision was ever a decision. Or complex. Even Flemeth wasn’t truly acting on her own accord. Solas probably neither but again, don’t worry about it! He’s gone for good anyway, so nothing matters.

GODS I’m so angry and disappointed. I wish I never played that fucking game.

[55sturn]

✮ BACK TO YOU

pairings: chris sturniolo x fem!oc, reader x unnamed male!oc, chris sturniolo x fem!reader

summary: in which no matter where they are in life, chris and y/n find their way back to one another, despite knowing that it never really works, until day he gives in and stops fighting what he knows is meant to be.

warnings: swearing, angst (a whole lot of it), verbal arguments, chris and y/n are toxic, implications of chris cheating, fluff if you squint, suggestive implications.

THIRD PERSON POV

in every culture and every religion, there is some sort of evidence of soulmates existing. the person your soul is forever tied to, setting you up for heartbreak along the journey looking for that one person. love is at the root of the structure of every belief system. the person that has been so perfectly tailored to your heart and soul, meant to love you in the ways you spend your life searching for.

look up: invisible string by taylor swift, for a beautiful depiction of a soulmate inspired love song.

the only issue with having a soulmate, is that nine out of ten times, you don't know who your soulmate is. which often leads to you spend hours upon hours and years upon years searching for them, inevitably experiencing various stages and forms of heartbreak in hopes that once you do find your soulmate, your forever person, they are able to heal and fix you.

but in chris and y/n's love story, them healing each other wasn't always the case. they were the fairytale from hell, they were a wrongful depiction of soulmates, two souls tethered together by an invisible red string that who, instead of loving each other, had a tendency to tears each other's hearts into millions of pieces each time they tried to love one another.

they were two souls so delicately similar that it caused them nothing but pain and frustration. they loved one another in the wrong ways, but they were determined to make it work, albeit at the wrong times.

PRESENT TIME

chris sighed as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, with a quick roll of his eyes, he fished the thin device out of his pocket, knowing full well who was texting him as he made his rounds through the crowd of friends and acquaintances at the party he attended.

groaning, her named flashed again in his notifications, he hovered his thumb over the text before pressing down, begrudgingly opening the conversation he had wished hadn't started, despite deep down wanting her to reach out to him.

IMESSAGE TEXTS BETWEEN CHRIS AND Y/N

Y/N: guess u forgot to tell me that u and ur new bitch of the week would be here🤣

CHRIS: don't start tonight y/n

Y/N: i'm just shocked is all, didn’t think she’d fuck with these ppl just by looking at her

CHRIS: "she" has a name, y/n

CHRIS: it’s gianna

Y/N: you act like i give a fuck

Y/N: it’s nice to see you tho

CHRIS: please y/n, aren’t you tired of this shit?

CHRIS: you and i don't work, we literally never fucking do

CHRIS: and i really like this girl

Y/N: if you genuinely mean that, why are you spending so much time explaining it to me? sounds like you’re just tryna convince yourself that you feel that way.

Y/N: but if it’s real, then i'm happy for you, it's just weird that you and i aren't here together.

chris rolled his eyes at her second to last text, the way she could see right through like he was made of glass, even through a text, was something he’d never be able to understand. or run away from. there was never any sense in him even trying to lie to her, she could read him like a book. and chris was her favourite book, she would read that book ten times over in one sitting if she could.

but chris willed up all the self control he had in his entire being to not seek out the girl he's loved since he was a tiny boy in middle school. he told himself that it was done for good. that's the thing with playground love, it doesn't always last for ever and ever and chris was finally starting to accept that.

he pocketed his phone and forced himself to look for gianna, his eyes briefly meeting y/n's as she spoke to some random influencer, the smile on her face not reaching her eyes as she focused on the boy in front of her. he soon spotted the girl he arrived with, her hand flirtatiously resting on vinnie's bicep as he spoke to her. with a less than enthusiastic scoff, he downed the rest of the drink in his cup and turned around, walking in the opposite direction toward the girl he called home.

once he was in earshot, he smirked to himself as she pawned her cup off onto the poor boy fighting for a chance with her in front of him. once she waved him off with a bittersweet smile, she turned back to chris. she tutted playfully as he rolled his eyes, her hand reaching up toward the back of his neck, pulling him flush against the front of her body.

"what happened to "i really like her"?" she chuckled, her arms wrapping around his neck as his hands fell to her waist, pulling her into a hug, his lips meeting her jaw as he sighed.

"vinnie got to her and she was all over him." he spoke against her skin as her nails gently scraped against his scalp, bringing him down from his emotional high as his shoulders slumped in her arms.

"wanna get out of here? go for a walk?"

"nah, m'tired and just wanna go to bed, you crashing at mine?"

"of course." she spoke, her hand slipping into his as they walked toward the door, nick and matt meeting them there soon after chris texted them, neither of them surprised to find chris leaving with y/n instead of his girlfriend.

"i'm so happy you're here y/n, chris is a different man when you're not around." nick snorted, climbing into the seat behind matt as y/n sat behind chris, his hand slipping between the two front seats as her fingers threaded through his again.

"i'm glad to be back for however long chris needs me to be." she whispered, her words cutting deep into chris' heart, knowing that she wouldn't be around permanently, their dynamic and ways of communicating only allowing them to be together for a short period of time. they’d spend most their days tangled in chris’ sheets, professing their undying love for one another, knowing very well their time would be ending once again, and that it’d end soon.

they found that while they loved each other so deeply, they showed it in all the wrong ways. instead of gentle and soft spoken words, their love for one another was reminded in the clashing of teeth and tongues during heavy make-outs, and wandering hands with their nails digging into the soft flesh they roamed.

their rekindled romance was once again called off when chris' girlfriend, gianna, had come back into his life a week later, apologizing for her behaviour and explaining that she had been a fan of vinnie's for a long time and the fan girl in her caused her to make questionable decisions.

with a meek smile and a backhanded comment about chris’ infidelity, y/n packed her bags and moved out of chris' room sadly bidding matt and nick a brief "see you later", which left them sighing as they were no stranger to watching y/n move in and out of the house a couple times every few months.

it wasn't long before chris had found himself missing the girl that knew him inside and out, that knew his heart like the back of her hand. a month after gianna came back, spewing excuses upon excuses, chris had broken up with her, claiming that his heart would forever belong to someone else and he couldn't bear to put her through the pain of not loving her the way she deserved to be.

chris knew that he should take this grace period and be alone instead of running back to the girl he always did, but he knew she was it for him, no matter what. he didn't understand why they couldn't love each other properly. he always looked at it in a way where they had too much love for one another and they just didn't know what to do with it.

he tossed and turned in his bed, his thoughts unrelenting and holding his ability to sleep hostage as his phone read 3:32 in the morning. groaning he unlocked his phone, his thumbs maneuvering their way to her conversation from muscle memory at this point before typing out a quick couple messages.

IMESSAGE TEXTS BETWEEN CHRIS AND Y/N

CHRIS: y/n come home

CHRIS: please

CHRIS: i cant sleep without you

CHRIS: i love you in a way that makes it hard to love anybody else

CHRIS: you are like a drug that i cant go without, you're deadass my soulmate bruh and i'm done denying that. you are the only person i want. the only that actually knows who i am, inside and out. the only person that can make me feel good the way you do. i want you. no more fighting it. we’re meant to be.

Y/N: i'll be there in 10.

every time y/n fell back into chris’ arms, it felt devastating and bittersweet. this time, it felt right. it felt like they had finally found solid ground and that the had found the way they were meant to be together. there was definitely some uncertainty about the longevity of their relationship overall, but they learned over time that they need to communicate. whether they stayed together or not for the final time, there was no doubt that they would always be intertwined in each other’s hearts.

taglist: @dylsdunbar @soursturniolo @4sturns @sturnsclutter @spencerstits @meanttomeet @bluesturniolo333 @graciereid @abbie13sworld @ghostofbrock @l9vesick @mylifeisevenstranger @bethsturn @ifilwtmfc @verosivy @themattgirl @lovingmattysposts @lacysturniolo @freshsturns @forevergirlposts @sturniolo-fav-matt @cupidsword @strawberrysturniolo @lustfulslxt

© 55STURN 2024 [ you do not have permission to copy or save or share my work to other platforms and devices! ]

[andromedasummer]

Finished the first book. Can see why this hooked me so much as a teenager. Stroud cuts a fantastic balance of horror and humour in these novels and its a tragedy that netflix, who adapted the first two novels so well, decided to drop it altogether.

- The red room in Coombe-Carey is so fucking nasty I love it. I love everything in the hall, the ghost stories and their backstory, how its described to look, the gnarly old groundskeeper. good stuff.

- I like that the book highlights the fact that the monks were accused of blasphemy and then murdered horrifically. When they tried to claim in the tv show they became demonic worshippers I wasnt able to take the rest of the scenes with them very seriously. Ghost monks who turned to devil worship dying and coming back? Incredibly C-List horror filmy plot-like. Monks who were accused of devil worship being horrifically persecuted and violently murdered by the church, only to come back as an amalgafied horror? After dedicating their life to god? Betrayed by the people and organization they dedicated themselves to? Expecting an afterlife and finding themselves husks stuck in the inbetween abandoned by their religion now twice over, brewing in hatred and misery existing in the perpetual state of their collective deaths? That is something scary. That is the kind of shit that leads to a haunted as fuck place like the hall.

- The stuff about the Fittes boy breaking his neck on the stairs while trying to escape the screaming and his body lying there for decades... awful. Especially with how his ghost tries to help the group. I'm glad he gets a proper burial. And I'm glad Stroud doesn't shy away from how exploitative this whole business would be of children. How gruesome it often ends.

- I forgot Lucy nearly jumps in the well because of ghostlock eugh that whole scene unnerves me. King Lockwood and the teenage urge to blow up scary shit. Love when they use magnesium bombs and flares to solve problems.

-Sidenote No wonder so many kids are agents you just get weapons. They give these kids bombs to blow up ghosts.

- Hated every second of Fairfax talking hes so slimy and sexist. Love the scene of Lucy opening the locket so much. Still so satisfying 11 years after I originally read it to see that old man die horribly.

- Quill having to do cleanup with his team, barely able to move around plastic boxes. Theres no meat on that twig of a man. I love it.

- Okay the Skull trying to be all mysterious and scary to Lucy? Incredibly funny knowing hes just a scrawny teenage boy. And a brat. Bro I've read (most) of the other books. You are not scary. Creepy at most.

- Now I've finished it, The Whispering Skull is next. Its probably my least favourite of the books so we'll see if thats changed but I doubt it. Fav is the 3rd book by far, the department store shit is proper scary. But I do enjoy the heavy plot stuff about Bickerstaff that gets revealed so looking forward to that! This reread is VERY fun.

[dilftaroooo]

a lil something for my black gorls bc apparently every reader in this fandom is fair skinned </3

oh lord ghost turns into holy spirit bc of how much he worships u and yo body goodness gracious (i am so sorry father god 💀🧎🏽‍♀️). got carried away. p.s. yall i haven’t written anything in a hot minute so this small thirst might be raggedy as hell (my coochie was doin the thinking)

tags: smut + afab reader + ghost loves you sm + just as much as u love him + finger lickin good pussy eatin + body worship + slight dumbification + i was planning on making him rough with u but then i went soft :) + p power + piv sex + barely proofread + im so sleepy i’ll probably edit the format later + forgot how much i fucking hate tumblr’s editing antics.

You had lost count already. How many times you came to be exact. Has it gone up to Two? Three? Yeah—three. At least that’s what you think. Well—you suppose thinking is starting to become more and more of a rare luxury considering the state you were in—dazed and stupid. Eyes decorated with a red glow from the tears that spilled from them along with a glossy sheen that finished the look.

Subtle hints of wet mascara slid down the apples of your cheeks as Ghost’s fingers delve deep within your wet entrance. His digits were more than acquainted to the slimy ridges that lived inside of you. He graciously pets your most sensitive spots with the utmost care, making your pussy scream as his moist lips kisses your bothered clit as though he’s cooing it to sleep. His tender nature juxtaposes the foreboding gleam of his skull mask and dark eyes drowning in war paint.

It’s those eyes. The ones that made you shiver and whine whenever they catch sight of you. The ones that glare under dim, yellow lights when you inevitably made him jealous. Enough to make them turn green. The ones that form crescent moons whenever he reminds you how much he loves you (the mild appearance of crow’s feet adorning the outer corners). Those eyes—

God, those big fucking eyes.

Sweat makes your melanin coated skin glisten, emitting a warm glow that send tingles up Ghost’s spine. He can feel the goosebumps covering his body as you inadvertently arch your back, pushing your warm sex up against his upper lip, making him groan into your sensitive nub. Your core tighten once more, your pedicured toes stretched across the apex of his back, polish chipped and damaged from irritation, the power of your orgasm jolting you with a hot flash.

Now it's your fourth time.

Brown areolas raise up and down from your big breaths, in the process of coming down from that high you’ve encountered just a second ago. But Ghost doesn’t know rest as he gorges your nipple in his mouth, adoring the quick yelp escaping your lips.

“Ah, Ghost…” You say with kind fragility. Your palms lightly tap his shoulder. Not telling him to stop but telling him to slow down. It was too much. His hands caressed your naked curves. He loved admiring your body. Taking the time to relish just how gorgeous you really are—from head to toe:

Your cornrows styled in intricate parts, freshly layered with the tropical smell of coconuts. Skin gleaming with the overly used shea butter that rarely missed a day off your body. Lips full and plump and coated with that cherry chapstick he loves to taste. Your breast were round and soft to the touch. And your pussy—Fuck, that pussy shined with your juices. Juices he created from fucking you silly with his fingers.

Ghost wasn’t a religious man. He never was. But of all the possible religions out there, your pussy was the one he worshiped the most.

He loved this pussy. Kneeled for this pussy. Prayed for this pussy.

Your being was his shrine and your name was his mantra. He couldn’t get enough of you and your light touches and gentle praises. Ghost couldn’t find more ways to thank you for your existence.

He releases your nipple with a soft pop and utters a voice lower than you’ve ever heard him use, “I need you, love.” You don’t take long to nod with evident fervor. Languidly aiding him in unbuckling his pants and releasing him from those tight restraints.

“I need you,” He repeats. “need that soaking wet cunt.” His Mancunian accent is thick and laced with desire when his mouth spewed that last word. You let go of a wanting mewl before spreading the dark, puffy lips that lead to your sopping wet hole. Just what he wanted.

You both moan in unison as you both get what you want. His hand engulfed yours and you’re quickly reminded of how big he is. His fingers are long and thick. Your legs twitch as you remember how they feel rubbing inside you. He leisurely finds his way deep in your sex. Your tightness pains him in the way that he likes. Leaning down to grunt into your ear, nose filled with that familiar coconut scent, you clench around him when his teeth bites down at the shell of your ear.

He loves you. He loves you so much—your hair, your eyes, your lips, your smile, your voice, your taste, your scent. You’re wonderful. Breathtaking. Beautiful. So so beautiful. He’s so glad he has you. That you’re in his arm moaning so prettily for him. And its almost unbelievable to him that you think of him the same way he thinks of you.

Once your breathing gets heavier and his thrusts gets sloppier and your eye starts twitching, you both finally succumb to the hot rush of pleasure. You don’t object to his heavy weight toppling over you after he fills you up (you encourage it with a hug despite how heavy he is). It feels good—laying like this. So intimate. You pet the back of his head taking in his warmth. Time passes before he slowly looks up at you, his eyes the same temperature as both of your bodies meshed together, and he suddenly states,

“That’s your fifth one, doll.” And you can’t help the quiet snicker that leaves you before giving him a playful slap to his arm, telling him to shut up. You somehow manage to catch a small glimpse of him rolling his eyes beneath that inky mask of his. This was intimate indeed. You finish off the night with a kiss to his forehead and you felt your heart flutter when he answered with a subdued hum.

[utilitycaster]

ok just a list of even more questions re: Ruidus and its creation and society and basically everything

How much of the creation myths are true? Are bormodos descended from dwarves or halflings or something, or were they drastically changed by Predathos, or something in between? Were cytaa lizardfolk once?

Similarly are Reilora entirely of Predathos or do they have an Exandrian counterpart?

Absolutely fucking wild guess here that's almost certainly wrong but also this took place in the Founding and we don't even know how long the Age of Arcanum was; are bormodos and cytaa and reilora somehow truer to what Exandria was at the time, a la how the North American English accent is arguably closer to the 1600s British English Accent than many modern British accents are?

(my planetary science knowledge is limited and I respect if Matt "oh shit forgot about the polar day/night cycle in the summer in the arctic" Mercer decides to handwave that because frankly you can just say Magic! but why does Ruidus have similar gravity to the much larger Exandria as well as a seemingly comparable atmosphere)

How much of the "design" claimed in the Imperium's religion is in fact deliberate and how much is simply claimed? Are flares purposeful or involuntary? Are they made by Predathos or by the Weave Mind or by Ludinus's bullshit at this point?

Not a question so much as an observation but given that traditionally psionics are INT based in D&D and the Vanguard is sorcerers this explains a whole lot about how dysfunctional it is as an organization: in keeping with the sorcerer theme, it's the most "dish it out but can't take it" group of people that ever existed. You could DEVASTATE these CHA-based fools with a well-placed Synaptic Static, psychic resistance or no.

Did Otohan discover the method by which one became Exaltant via her experiences in the war? This would explain a lot and be literally by far the most interesting thing about her.

Literally though how would one of the Vanguard members who joined due to religious trauma respond to being taken to The Religious Trauma Capital? Are they all going to turn around and be like "well now I'm the one in power, so it's okay" (which is not uncommon as a response irl and would be fascinating to unpack) or are some of them going to turn upon realizing they're just trading one religion for another?

How long ago did the Vanguard and Imperium begin collaborating? For that matter, when did Ludinus specifically get involved given that only Exaltants could do anything with Reilora prior to the solstice?

The most recent Reilora Imogen summoned was not of the Imperium, but Kadija noted that the kinder Reilora Exaltants met in their dreams were sometimes replaced by more aggressive Reilora. Is it a crapshoot whether she summons a Reilora friendly to her cause or unfriendly? Is this also true of the Vanguard Exaltants?

[bettertwin1]

Me and flower grew up very religious. By using flowers correct ‘neopronouns’, does that mean im going aganist my religion? If I myself do not use neopronouns, but still call other people their neopronouns, is that bad? I honestly don’t know when flower stopped believing in our beliefs, but I know she hasent told anyone but me. Flower told me she didnt want to be sent to a religious summer camp again. Does it make me a worse person to tell our family or not to tell them? I want her to be fixed but, I still want flower to trust me. And to answer your question if your using her ‘neopronouns’ right, i have no fucking idea.

-paragraph anon

Wait omg paragraph anon i literally forgot religion existed for a moment this makes so much sense now

Also super sweet of you to attempt using flowers pronouns in this one. That's a genuine start! Now lemme see if I can word this properly, if I don't i'm sure someone else will on my behalf

Religion is a touchy subject, I personally didn't grow up in an extremely religious household so I won't be able to fully relate or understand how this makes you feel.

But.

I don't think religion should dictate whether or not you should love someone for the way that are. There is a phrase "there is no hate like christian love" that reminds me of how you are reacting to your sibling wanting to use neopronouns. You may think what you're doing will keep flower safe, but it won't.

There is nothing to fix. That's just how flower is. No amount of prayer or religious camps will change flower. Rejecting flowers identity will only hurt flower.

I think it says alot about you if flower trusted you enough to tell you flowers identity, it probably means you're a wonderful person aside from what we've seen from you <- which now seems like a fear fueled hatred you have in hopes of protecting flower but I promise you loving flower for being flowerself will not make you a bad person, ever.

Flower told you cause they trust you, if Flower hasn't told your parents then you shouldn't tell them <- (your parents) about it, it's not your job to do that, it doesn't make you a bad person for not saying anything about it to them, you aren't disrespecting your religion for calling people by their preferred pronouns either!

It's really sweet how much you care for flower, anon, but the best advice I can give you is to just, love flower unconditionally and to learn more for flower instead of being afraid of how the world will treat flower. Be the shoulder flower knows they can lean on in a cruel world. Be flowers support! Supporting flower doesn't make you evil or terrible, genuinely

[i-am-autism]

(Fuck autism speaks.)

I am autism.

I’m visible in your children, but if I can help it, I am invisible to you until it’s too late.

I know where you live.

And guess what? I live there too.

I hover around all of you.

I know no color barrier, no religion, no morality, no currency.

I speak your language fluently.

And with every voice I take away, I acquire yet another language.

I work very quickly.

I work faster than pediatric aids, cancer, and diabetes combined

And if you’re happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails.

Your money will fall into my hands, and I will bankrupt you for my own self-gain.

I don’t sleep, so I make sure you don’t either.

I will make it virtually impossible for your family to easily attend a temple, birthday party, or public park without a struggle, without embarrassment, without pain.You have no cure for me.

Your scientists don’t have the resources, and I relish their desperation. Your neighbors are happier to pretend that I don’t exist—of course, until it’s their child.

I am autism. I have no interest in right or wrong. I derive great pleasure out of your loneliness.

I will fight to take away your hope. I will plot to rob you of your children and your dreams. I will make sure that every day you wake up you will cry, wondering who will take care of my child after I die?

And the truth is, I am still winning, and you are scared. And you should be.

I am autism. You ignored me. That was a mistake.

And to autism I say:

I am a father, a mother, a grandparent, a brother, a sister.We will spend every waking hour trying to weaken you.

We don’t need sleep because we will not rest until you do.

Family can be much stronger than autism ever anticipated, and we will not be intimidated by you, nor will the love and strength of my community.

I am a parent riding toward you, and you can push me off this horse time and time again, but I will get up, climb back on, and ride on with the message.

Autism, you forget who we are. You forget who you are dealing with. You forget the spirit of mothers, and daughters, and fathers and sons.

We are Qatar. We are the United Kingdom. We are the United States. We are China. We are Argentina. We are Russia. We are the Eurpoean Union. We are the United Nations.

We are coming together in all climates. We call on all faiths. We search with technology and voodoo and prayer and herbs and genetic studies and a growing awareness you never anticipated. We have had challenges, but we are the best when overcoming them. We speak the only language that matters: love for our children.

Our capacity to love is greater than your capacity to overwhelm.

Autism is naïve. You are alone. We are a community of warriors. We have a voice.

You think because some of our children cannot speak, we cannot hear them? That is autism’s weakness.

You think that because my child lives behind a wall, I am afraid to knock it down with my bare hands?

You have not properly been introduced to this community of parents and grandparents, of siblings and friends and schoolteachers and therapists and pediatricians and scientists.

Autism, if you are not scared, you should be.

When you came for my child, you forgot: you came for me.

Autism, are you listening?

[notafragilething]

9-1-1 Rewatch: 1x01 Pilot

Today begins the start of my rewatch and omg, they're all babies in this. Most of what this post is going to include is me rambling, making random connections and just sharing my stream of thoughts. Hopefully you enjoy. These are roughly in order of how they happened but I may go back and add details.

Buck's a kinky fuck boy with a heart of Gold. Literally the first real scene we have that focuses on Buck is him stealing a firetruck to have semi-public sex with a girl (whose name he doesn't even know) in it. Something that happens TWICE this episode. I'm glad he grows out of the fuck boy portion of this but not his love for kinky sex. This episode also has the scene that instantly made him my favorite: him running to the ambulance with the premature baby. Oliver is just really good at doing so much with his facial expressions and body language.

Bobby and Religion: Watching Bobby trying to talk the jumper down by explaining to her that everyone who has survived immediately regretted the decision just has so many more layers now that I know what Bobby was planning at this point in time.

Chimney: Seeing him dating someone that isn't Maddie is just weird and I don't like it. I honestly forgot this whole girlfriend even existed.

Athena: God she's fucking hot and badass and I'm obsessed.

Abbey: I didn't mind her the first time I watched this but now that I know how her storyline ends she kinda bugged me this time around.

Overall thoughts: This was actually a pretty solid episode. I liked the calls, even if none of them involved a fire, and I still love how they established Buck, Bobby and Athena in this one.

[theproperweirdo]

Now wtf does that have to do with the religion rewrite? You may be asking because, oh boy can I make yapping side quests likes I was born for it

That pretty much is just a result of the previous two points

Old religion/history was kinda “non-politically correct” + shallower -> we need a new backstory -> add a new minor god that the Maulers can worship, one that further aligns with their cultures and traditions

This decentralization of Dura also explains Misarte and the wilders. After all if we’re tossing the Maulers a new deity what’s one more? This story choice can help make the factions more distinct culturally as religionous culture is very important in AFK, but is also just a bit more interesting for inter-faction relationships. Specifically for example Atalanta and Lorsan’s reoccurring arguments during the deer spirit quest where Lorsan’s religious beliefs in Misarte conflicts with Atalanta’s religious views.

Okay ngl i totally forgot what the bullet points were so hopefully i got everything ;-;

Also a good analysis!

I was also a fan of adding lesser gods to the game, but I wasn’t a fan of how it happened. The way they had factions have their own beliefs, practices, etc, was really cool and the cultural influence was awesome for world building

However, they never make any actual distinctions between Dura and co. In game. I had to learn off this site that they were different 😭😭 The reason Everyone worships Dura is because of her kindness to Esperia. She convinced the celestials to give mortal magic, so they could fight for themselves. Humans, thankful to her, started worshipping her the way we see now.

But this is also why Annih, god of death, renounced his own divinity. After humans got magic, they started rapidly modernizing. Jealous of the attention Dura had, he whispered to human mages that there was a way to achieve divinity, and become immortal like celestials (This is when the cradle of truth happens). Obviously he was lying n shit, but the mages believed him and went at their lil experiments, creating the Ya.

The Ya become maulers. Then, filled with anger towards the lightbearers, they declared war on them. It lasted FOURRRR CENTURIESSSS 💀💀💀 The hate and negative feelings from the war is what created hypogeans (Hypogeans exist everywhere! They develop from disarray and hatred) but they aren’t unified at the time. It’s only when Annih brings them together to launch war that they become a big threat.

This was me yapping but my point was that; they should’ve explained why these lesser gods exist and how. Religion in Esperia is the result of Dura being the only nice god (for a while at least) and the fact that other gods got fucked up 😭😭 Before the Dawn star era (current time period of Esperia in Arena) Dura is the only god if we aren’t counting celestials, but the factions all have their own stories, interpretations, and gifts from her. I felt like that’s what made her special, that she became like a separate god to each faction despite being “one god”.

Ngl I’d be mad if they erased Annih totally and gave the graveborns their own god 😭😭 that’s get rid of so much story

[desolationlesbian]

Saw a christian billboard for some shrine to a Saint Nsomething but for a second I completely forgot that saints are a real thing catholics believe in and not made up for fake religions in fantasy fiction so for like five seconds I was deeply confused at the idea of a shrine to a saint existing outside of like fucking dark souls I was like where am I is this a joke

[sophieinwonderland]

From some random post we saw while doomscrolling through syscourse(which, are you alright? You're the top poster, which isn't really something to strive for in one of the most hate and rage driven tags systems can find themselves in on tumblr... should take a mental health break every once in a while):

Because, frankly, the anti-tulpa narrative was manufactured to shutdown created systems, and present bigotry in a way that appeared progressive. People aren't actually against words from other languages and religions being used in new ways. They're against these words being used by endogenic systems.

As a pro-endo mixed/POC system who has spent hours upon hours trying to understand the tulpa language discourse argument- I'm honestly really fucking hurt by this hugely inaccurate assumption. I don't see how we're trying to shut down created systems, what i see is trying to educate and steer people away from a term that was created through ignorance, racism [albeit not forwardly malicious], and cultural appropriation.

Tulpa creation bears no connection to Tibetan Buddhism anymore —not that it ever really did, given this exact phenomenon is not actually mentioned to exist, ever, by, i forgot the name of the person who invented the term but i know she was a) white and b) racist in ways outside of this — but is still touted around as being connected and part of that spiritual practice.

It's not about "we dont want endos using this term." It's that we want the term to stop being used ALTOGETHER. We personally have witnessed traumagenic systems exploring creating headmates, and we have steered them away from using tulpa language in favor of "parogenic" as a term.

It saddens us that you can just so brazenly dismiss it as a whole as shutting down created systems while so much else is going on that you're choosing to ignore.

You have a good heart - do more research into why people are saying what they are and don't just dismiss them like that. Please don't speak over those people who are a part of the culture being appropriated, simply because of refusal to change.

And yes, we asked this on anon not out of cowardice, but because we'd really rather not start getting a bunch of death threats on our main blog.

-Enzo

Okay, let's try a thought experiment. Imagine for a moment that there are two universes. In one universe, the anti-tulpa narrative begins and is popularized because it's harmful to Tibetan Buddhists as an ethnoreligious group.

In the other, the anti-tulpa narrative is concocted and pushed heavily by anti-endos as a way of delegitimizing one of the strongest and most well-researched endogenic communities.

What would you say the differences would be between these two universes?

Personally, I think if one were to enter the first universe, you would find several things.

Anti-tulpa sentiment probably would have begun in the early 2000s as the internet was coming into more sidespread use and shows like Supernatural and X-Files would use tulpas as horror monsters.

Similar to above, once backlash started, it would be hitting all presentations of tulpas, including in creepypastas and its use by the SCP Foundation.

Much of the backlash would be coming from members of the Tibetan Buddhist community, including at least some spiritual leaders because yes, religions have hierarchies of leadership.

Well, what about the second universe? What would we expect that universe to look like? Personally, I would expect the following:

There would be zero trace of anyone ever taking issue with the tulpas in shows like Supernatural or X-Files prior to tulpamancy being formed.

All backlash would be focused solely on tulpamancers. Nobody ever would mention the SCP Foundation, Mandella Catalogue or creepypastas about tulpas.

Most of the anti-tulpa backlash would be coming from system circles, and would be heavily pushed by anti-endos. While you might be able to fund a small handful of Tibetan Buddhists who have been convinced by anti-endo rhetoric that it's bad, there would be no spiritual leaders getting involved and most Tibetan Buddhists you ask outside of system spaces wouldn't care.

Which of these two universes do you feel most resembles our own?

Before you answer, here's a fun thread comparing the differences in people's opinions on r/systemscringe vs those on r/Buddhism

When r/systemscringe is pushing a narrative that the word is appropriation while actual Buddhist communities on the same site shrug their shoulders and don't care, this should send up immediate red flags as to the legitimacy of this whole controversy, and which groups are actually interest in pushing it.

Now, I am not suggesting that none of the very small handful of actual Tibetan Buddhists who have taken issues with the practice don't legitimately feel as they claim to.

The problem with propaganda is that it's often very good at manipulating people's emotions. If it couldn't do that, it wouldn't be effective.

We've seen this with similar anti-endo smears, like the ones claiming "system hopping" was appropriated from RAMCOA systems. And sure enough, despite its use in the plural community predating any RAMCOA connection by a full 16 years, this claim still persisted. And some RAMCOA systems were even manipulated by these lies and convinced endogenic systems were stealing terms from their community.

We actually see this same tactic over and over again.

We see it with "system hopping" which they claim was stolen from RAMCOA systems. We see it with "sysmed," which they claim is stolen from the LGBT community. We see this with the very concept of plurality itself.

The fact of the matter is that this has become a core manipulation tactic in the anti-endo playbook, designed to sew division.

[joltai-showa]

Upon reading the latest chapter of Karameru's "If you can press rewind" (do check out, it's pretty fun) I remembered something that made me laugh, so here's some random analysis of Naruto, in particilar, the topic of religion.

And I don't mean stuff like afterlife, random alien rabbits, etc etc, I mean like what beliefs people practice in Naruto world. This topic is brought up in, like, one arc which is Akatsuki supression arc and with one character who is Hidan. That arc is pretty funny in that it brings up two things that should realistically play a pretty significant role in characters' lives - money and religion - buuuut it's instantly forgotten in favor of more Sasuke bitching. Anyway, that's besides the point, back to the topic of religion.

Here I am gonna be laying out things that I certainly remember from my reread of Naruto like a year ago, so not everything might be mentioned, blah blah blah.

Obviously, we've got Jashinism and Hidan as the only known member (no, little Bolt's adventures are not canon to me, there are fanfics out there that have better writing than that excuse of a sequel series). As far as I remember, it's generally treated as a cult, so it's not widely practiced, even though it does offer these tiny little perks like LITERAL IMMORTALITY.

(sidenote but why the fuck was Orochimaru doing these replanting operations every three years when there's a cult like that literally one border away from Konoha? you're gonna be murdering people for experiments anyway, grab a knife or smth and shout that they're dying for Jashin's glory, you literally don't have to change your routine at all and get free immortality as well?)

ahem. anyway. Who the fuck is Jashin? Why is the guy capable of making his hardcore followers just straight up not die from physical injuries? How does he fit with the other stuff like Pure Lands, Limbo, aliens, etc, etc? Nobody knows, but by far the most broken religion in the world where it feels like all major characters have commited at least one war crime.

Now things that are (likely?) more widespread and commonly believed in are Wills, and really there are only two Wills that we ever learn of, first being the Will of Fire (obviously practiced in Konoha) and Will of Stone (literally only mentioned in Onoki's flashback with his grandpa).

Will of Fire, from how I see it, is something similar to beliefs in spirits of ancestors that continue to linger on and provide help given the fact that certain rituals are upheld that are pretty common in many countries in Asia. Sorry if the phrasing is a bit weird, I can barely formutale it in my first language, not to mention English. Anyway, this is, as far as I remember, is pretty widely practiced in Konoha which is not a big population centre in the Land of Fire, but also practically the capital for shinobi forces in the country, y'know, shinobi that have an average lifespan of like 30 years. Will of Fire acts like both the origin point for Konoha shinobi (your ancestors and fallen comrades are part of it and continue watching over you) and the end point (this is what awaits you beyond, presumably honorable, death). So Will of Fire is by far the closest thing that we see to an actual religion.

(also decided to scroll through wiki on this point and lmao of course Will of Fire came from Hashirama, because making everyone go along with your philosophy gonna be great in the long run. no wonder the hidden village system didn't fix shit)

Now Will of Stone is a really weird one because it's actually kinda closer to a philosophy? It just describes what virtues Iwa shinobi is supposed to have, however that might just be an issue that Kishimoto forgot about Iwa's existence for like 80% of the manga, thus whatever lore is there for them is half-done. Anyway, with what we are given Will of Stone is more about what qualities Iwa shinobi should strive for, and, funnily enough, nobody seems to remember that this Will even exists besides Onoki. The youngest generation represented by Kurotsuchi, Akastuchi and Deidara (who is a nukenin which might have explained why he doesn't give a shit about the villages' beliefs) are never shown to acknowledge Will of Stone.

Anyway, that's it for fully fictional religions in the world of Naruto, but we are not done yet, because Kishimoto sometimes really liked to slap elements from Buddhism or Shinto, which I presume to be not completely intentional on his part as he was prioritizing aesthetics of a scene/jutsu rather than the implications this creates for the existing religions in the shinobi world.

Okay, what conclusions can we make regarding what had been given to us in canon? Shinobi definitely have

a) their local religions and beliefs that are pretty strongly assosiated with their villages

b) various cults

c) likely some form of Buddhism

So why did I decide to write up this post after reading the recent chapter in "If you can press rewind"? Well, the most obvious thing from the list above is that Christianity doesn't exist in the context of Naruto world. And, as a result, the characters from that world have no idea what Christmas, Easter, St. Valentine's day, etc etc are, because these holidays simply don't exist for them.

(This is not to throw shade on anyone, just a thing a remembered)

Anyway, so funny story time: there was a post in a Naruto discussion group where the admin brought up this exact same topic and people began analyzing if there were any other signs of real-life religions that shouldn't really exist in the context of Naruto.

And they way everyone LOST THEIR SHIT when someone pulled up a page from the manga where Jiraya was called Naruto's "godfather". Which really shouldn't be a thing unless Christianity does exist in the shinobi world. People began a full-on dang investigation into that page, we're talking about a dozen of people pulling up different translations of the same page, comparing and arguing about the validity of another translation.

It did end well, after a while someone pulled up with the page in Japanese and explained that yes, Jiraya is kind of called Naruto's godfather, but the term in the original text is different to the one used to describe godfather in Christianity, meaning Jiraya is simply someone with guardian-like role to Naruto. Limitations of translations and all, yada yada.

But goddamn was it fun to see people try to fit Holy Crusades into the already messy lore of Naruto

[dark-nimbus]

A Rant on Representation in Media (mostly comics)

CW: ableism, disability erasure, mentions of fat phobia, mentions of fetishization, lmk if there’s anything I missed

I can’t believe that here in 2023 we still have to say this, but fuck it this year has already been hell enough so why not add another thing

Representation, whether it be for disabilities or culture, race or religion, any marginalized group— ALWAYS MATTERS

I spent the majority of the other night dealing with people trying to downplay the impact of Barbara Gordon’s paralysis being retconned. Wanna see how that went?

“Oh, but it’s okay if Barbara Gordon still has some mobility because there’s paralyzed people that regain their ability to walk”

Her spinal cord was completely severed, she was left fully paralyzed from the waist down

“There’s a 60yo fighting in a Kevlar bat suit and shifting clay people, but Barbara getting her legs back again is a problem?”

Okay, can clay people restore a spinal injury? Can Batman punch a nervous system into fully functioning? What relation does that have?

Aside from the fact there’s zero connection between the two, paralysis actually fucking exists. Batman and clay shifters, believe it or not, don’t. Lemme know if you find an irl Batman or Clayface that needs representation. Go on, I’ll wait

“Barbara being able to walk again isn’t disability erasure, there’s other paralyzed characters”

The definition of disability erasure is literally terminating someone’s disability under the belief it makes a person less than. The fuck you mean it’s not?

And how many paralyzed comic characters can you name? I’m willing to bet it doesn’t come to 50. Every character belonging to an underrepresented group matters. Whether their representation is taken away completely with that one character’s erasure or not isn’t the fucking point. You’re still fueling the already negative stigma around disabilities and sweeping disabled people further under the rug

“Her disability erasure doesn’t matter, DC will just paralyze her again in later issues”

I’m sorry, are you completely paralyzed from the waist down? Do you embody each and every paralyzed person and their experiences? No? What makes you think that you get to determine whether the erasure of something you don’t even have matters?

As for DC re-paralyzing Barbara, it’s been retconned since 2011. Even if they do plan on undoing whatever whack job microchip magic they’ve got going, they sure as hell are taking their sweet-ass time

I can’t believe people were actually arguing in favor of Barbara’s disability erasure, but here we are. Representation has always mattered and always will, and yet media loves grossly misrepresenting everything. Barbara was such a strong character as Batgirl, and flourished in her character development even more as Oracle. Her struggles, overcoming them, and learning to love herself and value her abilities beyond the mantle made her a well-loved inspiration for many. To have all of that stripped away and undone with a microchip was just as insulting as it was a destroyed opportunity for character growth

And unfortunately that’s not the first conversation I’ve had regarding the representation of characters

Oh, you thought I was done? Ha! I wish. How about Spiderverse?

“Oh but Sun-Spider can’t be a superhero, she’s wheelchair-bound!”

Professor X. The Chief. Oracle.

And just to cover all my bases: Bucky Barnes, Daredevil, Hawkeye, Doctor Mid-Nite, Hornet, Jericho, Cyborg. And that’s not even going into characters with much more hidden disabilities. Disabilities never stopped anyone from being able to achieve anything, nor should it ever

“Fat spider-people? Really? That’s just unrealistic”

Yes, really. What’s the problem with that? Surely it’s not the webbing, which have been proven to be durable enough to support buildings. No way it’s how they’re shaped when there’s a car, a horse, and a whole ass T-Rex spider variant

Some people really forgot the whole concept behind the first Spiderverse movie. How Stan Lee made it clear that “anyone can wear the mask.” It doesn’t matter your body type, whatever disorders or disabilities you have, your ethnicity or your upbringing. Being a hero is so much more than that, and the diversity of each spider-variant only reinforces how Spider-Man represents everyone

But let’s go even further with voice acting

“So what if Sunspot is being voiced by a white person instead of an Afro-Brazilian voice actor? It’s animated”

Oh wow I wasn’t aware that representation stops at the sound machine. Yes, Sunspot’s newest voice actor is Brazilian, but with a character whose ethnicity plays an integral part in his story, you’d think Marvel would figure casting an Afro-Brazilian VA would be more authentic for the role than the fourth white dude in a row, but no. Of course not

And with each VA they cast, Marvel pushes Afro-Brazilian VAs out of this role they’d intimately understand and be passionate in representing. VAs that Sunspot fans would love to see knowing that their favorite character (or even themselves) would be understood, rather than being hollowly voiced with characteristics that don’t match the person

“If Sunspot should be voiced by an Afro-Brazilian voice actor does that mean Magneto should be voiced by exclusively German Jewish voice actors? It’s not a monolith”

And neither are Brazilians. Hell, neither is any religion or race. That’s why we want an Afro-Brazilian VA. There’s so many nuances that can only be breathed into the character by someone who understands because they themselves have lived that life. It may be small but those nuances are what make the character feel alive to their audience, and the closer a VA is to the experiences of their character, the more genuine the character feels

Portraying animated characters doesn’t fall completely on the writers and artists. Artists may take control visually, and writers may be responsible for plot and voice lines, but it’s the VAs that are in the spotlight. VAs are the ones that gives these characters character. And those characters can’t be fully and properly represented for viewers if it’s not all there

Representation always matters. Its significance doesn’t go away with erasure, and it definitely isn’t less important because other people who aren’t among that marginalized group refuse understand. Disabilities don’t define who someone can be, nor does body type, or culture, or religion or any other background. It doesn’t stop at the sound machine. Anyone who says otherwise are just adding to the ignorance most media uses to excuse the already shit representation of the entertainment industry

Every marginalized group is valid. Every minority deserves to be portrayed as they are and not feel like they’re being fetishized, infantilized, or inaccurately represented for the sake of plot

Little me, the queer adopted Asian kid with raging ADHD, severe anxiety, and shit communication skills deserved more than the fetishization from anime characters and shouldn’t have needed to wait until they discovered Cassandra Cain, the first character to show that superheroes could look like them too

And people that never struggled to find themselves represented in media sure as hell don’t have an excuse to encourage lacking representation and feign ignorance when common decency and basic human empathy is free

[wonderlandleighleigh]

8 for Maisel? 🥰

Gordon's Emmy's party is just as insane as Midge thought it would be, and while she does love a great party, this group is hard for even her to keep up with.

She didn't bring a date, and it makes her popular, unfortunately. Canon fodder for the single men present. And even some of the not-so-single men.

And so she finds herself in the garden outside of the very fancy venue Gordon's team rented. It's strange but there's far less light pollution out here, and Midge can see some stars peeking through in the night sky, and it's...

Well, honestly, it's beautiful.

She finds a bench and settles down, smoothing out her black designer gown, breathing in the cool air and enjoying the calm.

"No, you see," a familiar voice tells her. "This is my bench."

Midge can't help a slowly smile as she looks up at Lenny. "I was wondering if you were going to show up to this thing."

"Ah, my manager told me I had to make an appearance," he shrugs, sitting next to her. "But it turns out it's an awful fucking party."

She nods in agreement. "Yes, it is."

They sit in silence for a long time, both of them looking up at the night sky in companionable silence.

"I always liked stars," he admits quietly. "It's harder to see them in the city, but...I always..."

Midge turns to look at him, tilting her head. "What?"

He shrugs and gestures up to the sky. "It always struck me as very strange, and very beautiful, that we exist alongside all of that."

She smiles and rests her head on his shoulder. "I never thought about it before. But it is nice."

"Yes, it is."

More silence settles over them as Lenny slides an arm around her shoulders.

"Wow. I never would have guessed."

Midge rolls her eyes as she looks up at her boss. "Hi, Gordon."

"Midge. Lenny."

"Hello," Lenny greets.

"What are you two up to?" Gordon smirks. "A little alone time?"

"Literally just looking at the sky," Midge tells him unimpressed.

"Sure."

"Did you know Saturn has nine moons?" Lenny asks.

Gordon blinks.

"Nine," he nods. "It's a lot of fuckin' moons. We've only got the one. Hell, there might be more."

Midge grins a little, watching the exchange.

"...Okay," Gordon says awkwardly. "I think I forgot that you're a dweeb."

"I did an entire television segment on flea circuses once," Lenny points out. "I blew my nose on the air on Playboy Penthouse. I probably got snot on Hue Hefner. How could you possible forget that?"

Midge laughs into his shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut. She knows it's going to get her in trouble with Gordon to laugh this hard, but she's note sure she cares very much.

"Right," Gordon nods slowly. "I'm uh...I'll leave you two to it, I guess."

Midge lifts her head and smiles. 'Bye, Gordon."

He walks off and Midge buries her face in Lenny's shoulder again.

"Of course I'm a dweeb, it's how I get arrested all the fucking time," Lenny grumbles. "I know too much about the American legal system, and religion and the state of our economy and I get busted for spouting facts mixed in with swear words and dicks jokes. Forgot I was a dweeb. Fuck's sake."

She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses his cheek. "Just enjoy the view, Lenny."

He pulls back a little, lifting his eyebrows as he gazes at her. "Yes, it is a very lovely view."

Midge feels herself flush a little, biting her lip.