#I’ve seen Rebels a lot

[carcassarkis]

Big Idea

Been rewatching Star Wars with my grandma (she’s only seen ANH until now) and had an idea I kind of like.

So you know how, in TFA, it is established that the stormtroopers of the First Order were taken as children for brainwashing purposes?? I propose that the same goes for half the officers there. Several volunteers, of course, but many of the extreme loyalists are part of this group of people conditioned into being members. And any kids of those who are part of the Order would be inducted into the group, too.

Here’s where the idea changes the sequels a bit (read: a lot):

Ben Solo was one of those who were taken and brainwashed. He would not be called Kylo Ren; in fact, he’d probably have some number like the troopers did. It’d be easy to make into a name though, like Finn. And, as a Force user, he’d have a different numbering system than those used for troopers or officers. He’d probably have something (hypothetically) like KR-00.

In this scenario, he’d have been given to Luke for Jedi training, as is canon. Then BOOM some terrible entity (Snoke) reaches his nasty little fingers out one night and takes little Benny boy right out from under the nose of the last Jedi. He’s probably like 8 or 9, idk. To cover his tracks, Snoke burns the school to the ground. Luke and a few students manage to survive, but seeing as there is no Ben, Han and Leia lose their shit.

They distance themselves from Luke, seeing as he got their kid killed (or so they think). Luke, along with the select few survivors of the fire, try to rebuild elsewhere. They vanish.

Several years pass (like 15 idk stop asking bro) and, in that time, the First Order has become an immediate threat to the New Republic. One of the most notable threats is their masked, Force-wielding attack dog. Someone with clear training and skill in the art of swordsmanship and wielding of a lightsaber, who has (seemingly) deliberately teamed up with this terrorist group/cult to destroy the New Republic.

The Resistance refers to this person as the Knight due to their armor and fighting capabilities.

The Knight has a reputation to keep. A brutal and bloody one. They’re Snoke’s right-hand (in a Palpatine-Vader way) and are expected to act as such. No one knows what they look like. They’re a perfect anonymous figure. They could go undercover and no one would know.

So, when word gets out that a Force-user claiming to be a Jedi has appeared, the Knight starts to track them down. Luke Skywalker is a valuable man, dead or alive. A First Order battalion is sent out to the planet this was reported on, which brings the Resistance to doing the same.

Which is how we begin our scene on Jakku…with the Knight, a stormtrooper, a pilot, and a Jedi.

[inquisitor-apologist]

Ok buddies I’ve dipped out on my rebels rewatch for like two weeks but BACK INTO IT! Rise & Grind, time for The Call!

[lulu2992]

I’m done writing the story of how I decoded the secret inscription on Atticus Noble’s Bone Staff... among other things and hidden messages! I’ve split that into 4 parts, and the first one is coming later today :)

These past few weeks, I’ve also tried to find the unreleased Far Cry 5 in-game “Encyclopedia” (I’m not sure what it was going to be called) in oasisstrings and reconstruct it, so those 6+1 posts are coming soon too!

[arolesbianism]

Glory my bestie Glory

[evandorepart2]

really funny how my nan (who ive never met but talked with a few times) REALLY doesnt want me going to this one school and instead to the smaller school near her which has about 260 kids and according to her ‘a boy on the cheerleading team and no one cares’. ❤️❤️

[astrow1zar6]

Astro Observations-19

I notice Earth suns tend to have a very bullying type of humor. Very harsh dry humor that’s borderline offensive is their style. Sometimes it’s hard to know if they’re joking or serious especially Capricorn’s 😭

Aries men are surprisingly not as hot headed as people would expect. It actually takes a lot before they really yell at you. Usually only if u insult something they’re passionate in. The women are a lot more hot headed & easily set off imo

Mercury Rx people usually struggle with speech or reading problems. I notice it can result in having a stutter or a lisp, dyslexia or just very bad social anxiety. In extreme cases I’ve seen selective mutism. I also notice they have a very intense relationship with books & reading, it’s either they absolutely love reading or it’s really challenging for them in some way. A lot started off in their earlier years finding reading challenging then ended up loving reading as they grew. It’s like a mental exercise for them.

Saturn RX people always make bad choices lol. They always choose the path that will lead to the most hardship just for the fun of it or the excitement (which it’s normally not fun for too long) they usually grew up having a hard time with authority. Could of had very authoritative parents that were too hard on them which caused them to rebel. In this lifetime they are here to learn the value of HARD-work because in past lives these people were usually really irresponsible & put fun and pleasure over building their futures. These people will face so much disappointment until they surrender their rebel lifestyle. Deep down they do want to mature & be better but many believe they aren’t good enough. Once they reach this maturity however their life will do a 360.

Venus in the 1st house people can act very unpleasant when they are getting ignored or the attention isn’t fully on them. They value people liking them & fitting in so when they feel like they aren’t vibing with anyone they go into this deep self pity downer attitude. Their self esteem and happiness is determined by how many people accept them.

Venus in the 3rd house people have relationships that look more like friendships. Their partnerships are more playful & light then deep and intense. They usually end up dating their best friend. Could lack in the physical realm however in some cases.

Venus in the 7th house people usually have a lot of crushes. Most of them however never turn into anything deeper. It’s surprisingly hard for these people to fall in love. They can also lead a lot of people on because of their multiple crushes. Not easy to keep these people attention.

Moon in Caps are really afraid of rejection. They will act they hate you even if they’re in love with you to avoid showing their vulnerable side. Their coldness can ruin a lot of relationships that they actually really wanted.

Mercury in Pisces people can never stay on topic while speaking 😂 they have this habit of going off topic then completing forgetting why they were even telling the story in the first place. They also disassociate like a mf. They can be staring dead in your eyes for hours and not hear a word you’re saying lol.

If you try to argue with a Mars in the 3rd house you will never win. These people are natural born lawyers. They come with all the receipts 👀

Cancer placements tend to have really round faces. Like the moon.

Pisces placements are really wise and really childish at the same time. They all have this naive childish aura around them where you assume they don’t understand much but then when you really get to know them they will talk to you like your listening to an Alan Watts lecture 😂

Mercury in the 12th house I believe is the most introverted mercury placement. Even with a more extroverted mercury sign there’s still this deep reserve to them. These are usually those kids in class that you never heard speak once then they finally speak u think “holy shit they do know how to talk” lol. I notice they choose to stay quiet because people ignore them anyways. Like people will ask them to be more open and talk more & when they actually try they are usually brushed off.. it’s really not fair, and they know this all too well.

Aquarius Venus 🤝 having their friends catch feelings for them

Uranus/Venus aspects are usually apart of the LGBTQ community.

[could-they-be-a-pro-wrestler]

Wrestling lore is really funny to explain to non-wrestling people, mainly because you have to suspend your disbelief much more than you would do for stuff like anime or superhero fiction. Think of it like this; it’s normal for a shonen anime protagonist or a superhero to demonstrate they have superpowers usually because it’s established early on. That also goes for other parts of the lore, such as the world-building, the MacGuffins, and the history of that world.

But in wrestling, characters and storylines change all the time and are ongoing (I’ve seen the term “longform storytelling” used). So you end up with HUGE leaps in logic, such as:

1) There’s a supernatural being from hell who temporarily became a biker gang member, and then went back to being a supernatural being from hell

2) There’s a male model who gave out grooming tips who eventually evolved into Captain America/Homelander.

3) Triple H committed burglary on camera. He invaded Randy Orton’s home, beat him up, destroyed some of his property, and then threw Orton out the window. But it’s all fine because he’s the good guy, so he’s still employed by the WWE.

4) Dominik Mysterio is beefing with his dad, who literally fought for child custody of him in a wrestling match. Keep that in mind anytime you see Dominik not getting along with Rey.

5) Edge got sent to hell, but is okay now.

6) CM Punk was once a cult leader, but stopped doing that after he lost his hair. Then he became the opposite, as in he turned into an anti-authority rebel.

7) A lot of wrestlers, such as Sheamus and Shawn Spears, apparently used to work at WWE as background staff/security guards.

8) Real life famous music artist Bad Bunny is part of the lore and he actually beat a world champion (Damian Priest) in a match. And I don’t mean Bad Bunny is playing a character. In the WWE lore, Bad Bunny is playing himself.

(Feel free to add on any other leaps in logic from pro-wrestling)

[kiapet2]

Alright, it’s less than a week since the Owl House finale aired and as expected I’ve already seen two direct comparisons to Steven Universe’s ending and several more vague-blogs, because one of this site’s hobbies is using other queer shows to put down Steven Universe. So let’s do this, then. Let’s compare the endings of Owl House and Steven Universe, and what each is ultimately trying to say.

Steven Universe and the Owl House are both shows that deal heavily with the clash of individualism and self-expression vs. socially-mandated conformity, and both shows’ final villains ultimately embody this conflict. One major difference, however, is that Owl House approaches this from the perspective of legal/societal structures, while Steven Universe approaches it from the perspective of family structures.

Steven Universe has always been about family--and particularly the ways traumas and biases are passed down through a family--and it has always heavily used the language of metaphor to discuss these topics. The Diamonds are the ultimate extension of this theme, something a lot of bad-faith (or just bad) takes on the ending miss; they interpret the diamonds in their literal capacity as dictators, rather than the way Steven Universe always portrays them, which is as matriarchs, i.e. the heads of a family who dictate and control all the family’s other members. This metaphor becomes more and more blatant until it outright becomes text, with the Diamonds turning out to be Steven’s literal family members, with whom his part of the family is estranged because of their previous controlling behavior.

In accordance with this theme, we ultimately find out that the Diamonds’ toxic ideology, with its rigid standards of perfection, are not only something they enforce on the gems below them, but also on themselves. They are suffering from the system in their own ways, unable to live up to the standards they themselves created. And who among us hasn’t known someone like that? A parent or grandparent who grew up under a cruel, oppressive worldview, and instead of rebelling against it internalized it--who turned around and said “I dealt with this, and so can you”? And so the ending of Steven Universe is the Diamonds realizing exactly how toxic the rigid ideology they’ve spent their lives perpetuating really is, and confronting the fact that their adherence to this ideology is what destroyed their relationship with Pink, and that the only way they’re going to have a relationship with Steven is if they’re willing to commit to changing both themselves, and the family structure they’ve enforced for so long.

Emperor Belos, in contrast, is not suffering from the structures he created, because his rules were never meant to apply to him. He sees the witches (and demons, and so-on) as lesser beings, evil beings, who exist to be controlled, and ultimately, exterminated. And every element of the society he built--the schools, the government, the police force, the religion--he intentionally constructed to keep these lesser beings under his control. The real-world allegory isn’t hard to see, here. And because what Belos represents in the story is, in fact, a fascist leader, the story shows that he can’t be reasoned with in any way that matters, and instead he is ultimately ground into paste beneath the boots of the people he sought to destroy. Different themes, different endings.

Now the usual argument that comes up here is as follows: but the Steven Universe ending isn’t as realistic! Not everyone is going to change, not everyone is going to be able to be reasoned with. Not every older, conservative family member is eventually going to accept you for who you are. And while that is true, ultimately SU isn’t meant to be realistic; it’s meant to be a power fantasy. Rebecca Sugar has come out and said before that they wrote a world in which there was good in everyone, because that’s the way she wishes the world could be. That’s the world they want to be able to believe in. And I am never going to begrudge a person, much less a queer person, for finding healing in writing that kind of world.

But you know what else is unrealistic? What else is ultimately just a fantasy? Grinding your government’s fascist leader into paste under your boot, then taking over and remaking society into something that accepts everyone. Sadly, Trump is not likely to get his ass beat any time soon. And more generally, punching fascists, while ideologically sound, is something most people are not going to get to do, due to real-world consequences such as “getting beat up by the fascist’s angry friends” and “being arrested for assault”. And even if you did depose one leader, our very society is set up in a way that perpetuates all manner of injustices, and systemic change is a complex and lengthy process that almost certainly won’t be completed in our lifetimes. But it’s fun to imagine we could, isn’t it?

Both endings are power fantasies. Both show the way they want the world to be, rather than the way it is. They are very different power fantasies, which fill very different--and at times conflicting--needs. And in situations like that, internet culture really likes to pick one to be the right fantasy, the right way to look at the world. 

But the truth is, both fantasies are needed! Some people need stories about your queerphobic relatives finally realizing the error of their ways and taking the necessary steps to accept and reconcile with you. And some people need stories where you get to grind fascist bastards beneath the heel of your boot. It’s okay if you prefer one type of fantasy over the other! But in the end, both are valuable, and both are important. 

And isn’t it wonderful, for us to have such a diversity of great queer stories? That we can explore both of these deep, conflicting needs? Let’s appreciate each of these fantastic works for what it was meant to be, rather than trying to pit them against each other or make them conform to a single, “best” way to tell a story.

[anonymous-dentist]

I’ve seen a lot of people genuinely and sincerely wondering why the Federation can’t heal Empanada back up to two lives using the Egg Hospital, and that just means that the Federation Propaganda is working.

So let me explain how the Eggs work within the lore of the QSMP:

The Eggs, in the beginning, were supposed to be a one or two week event. The parents with the happiest egg would get a prize. The parents with dead eggs would be punished.

Within Lore, these original eggs- Dapper, Leo, Chayanne, Ramon, Tilin, Flippa, Bobby, and Trump(et)- were the children of a “dragon mother” who had flown away from the island after the islanders blew up the wall. Tallulah was a later addition, but she is “biologically” (we’ll come back to the quotation marks in a second) related to the og eggs. So is Pomme, who had been stuck under the adoption center for over a month waiting to be adopted. Our outliers are Richarlyson- who wasn’t even supposed to exist yet, Sunny, Empanada, and Pepito.

And then there are the other Eggs. The dead ones. Like “Hope”, the egg the Federation left to die in the middle of nowhere waiting to be adopted. Or Egg A1, the egg ElQuackity was experimenting on that burned to death. Or the several dead eggs mentioned in the Maze Book, the ones who would be Sunny and Empanada and Pepito’s siblings if those three really are the three surviving eggs from the Maze Book.

You see, the Eggs aren’t real. They’re artificial. We’ve known this since May/June when SOFIA analyzed “Richarlyson’s placenta” (don’t ask) and found, wow! The Eggs are essentially artificial, inorganic lifeforms. And then we see ElQ experimenting on A1, and then we hear about the Maze Experiment, and then we find out about Egg Island and how the Federation technically owns it, and we realize, oh. Huh.

The Eggs have never met their supposed dragon mother. That’s because she doesn’t exist. The Eggs were created solely for the purpose of the experiment the islanders are unwillingly part of. They’re tools, and the Federation doesn’t care about them.

The Eggs, to the Federation, are more or less expendable. The Feds’ primary focus is the islanders and keeping them under control. The Eggs still being alive now is only because the Feds quickly realized that their test subjects would fucking lose it if the Eggs were taken away like they were supposed to have been.

But if the Eggs happen to die on their own, so be it. That’s fine. They’re kids, they’re fragile.

Tilin and Flippa and Trump and Bobby are all dead, and it’s been shown that the Feds could have brought them back permanently by putting them in the hospital they canonically have, or by bringing them back “by magic” like how Sapo Peta revived Flippa after the trial. This is why Cellbit infiltrated the Feds in the first place and it’s a HUGE part of why he hates them now! He knows that they could keep every egg safe and alive, but they choose not to because, again, the eggs are expendable!

If the Federation had their way, the Eggs wouldn’t have been retrieved at all when they disappeared. But the islanders started going berserk and rebelling and the Feds went “Oh, shit”, and thus the Eggs’ return was made a priority.

The Eggs are a form of control, and everybody even remotely questioning the Federation knows it. Keeping the Eggs around and alive serves to keep the islanders in line. If they rebel, the Eggs could die. This is why the Eggs were brought back in the first place, and it’s why the parents of dead eggs and those without eggs in the first place were the ones assigned to Sunny, Empanada, and Pepito. Those people couldn’t be controlled, but now they can be. People like Tubbo won’t mess with Cucurucho anymore because they don’t want their kids dead; it’s why Cellbit only started lashing out after Richarlyson had been gone for almost two months.

So… why don’t they just keep the Eggs alive?

Easy. Because the Eggs are expendable. Them living is the easiest option, but them dying isn’t really a huge issue. People like Jaiden have been easy enough to manipulate after losing their egg. Grieving parents so far haven’t had huge explosive reactions (except for Maxo, who very notably did have a huge explosive reaction.) Slime and Mariana fell into depressive states, Jaiden became easier to manipulate, Quackity was able to be kidnapped and brainwashed. Roier and Maxo kept their illegal rebellious activities under wraps, and neither really made any big huge moves against the Feds (again, outside of the nuke.)

If the Eggs die naturally, it’s fine. It’s the parents’ faults for letting their child die- just look at how nobody blamed the Federation for permanently taking Bobby away, but people both on the server and off blamed Roier for “getting him killed”, or how Mariana is the scapegoat for the Federation not bringing Flippa back to life when they easily could’ve done so.

Eggs dying naturally turns islander aggression inwards… with the exceptions of Cellbit, Roier, and Maxo, and now Bagi and Mousey. The Feds don’t want anyone getting angry at them, they want the islanders to get angry at themselves. That way, nobody can organize against them.

So the Feds won’t reverse a life lost. They won’t revive a dead egg. They don’t need to. The Eggs aren’t the experiment here. They aren’t important.

[saphronethaleph]

Applied Maya

“Your overconfidence is your weakness,” Luke said, calmly.

“Your faith in your friends is yours,” the Emperor replied.

Vader shook his head. “It is pointless to resist, my son.”

“It is pointless to control the galaxy,” Luke retorted. “I’ve learned things about the Force that mean I understand that now."

He waved his hand, and Vader tensed, but it turned out to be for emphasis instead of telekinesis. “The Force is everywhere. In everything. There’s… a level of reality which is far beyond what we care about. It’s around us, everywhere. Even in us.”

“What are you talking about?” the Emperor asked, thrown off his argument about how everything was futile.

“The Force,” Luke explained. “And… us. And everything, because the Force is everything. And we’re the Force. We’re… luminous beings, and our bodies are only crude matter that outlines them and gives our spirits somewhere to be.”

“What are you on about?” the Emperor demanded. “Vader! What is he on about? Is this some kind of Jedi nonsense?”

“It is possible,” Vader mused. “But I do not recall hearing it before.”

“I can explain more, if you’d like,” Luke said, earnestly. “The way that it works is that there’s more than one layer of existence, and this is a layer of reality but compared to the Force it’s just an illusion. Which means that – yes, you should do everything you can to make things better in this world, but – no, this world isn’t all there is, and you aren’t your body. Your body is just an approximation.”

He looked at his hand. “I lost this on Cloud City and… it didn’t make me any less of me. I’m still me, because I’m not my body, I’m the one who lives inside it. And the Force is like proof of that.”

That drew a blank look from the Emperor, and what would probably have been a blank look from Vader.

“Elaborate,” Vader requested.

“Well, we all know that the laws of physics exist, right?” Luke asked. “They define exactly how things work. How things fall, or they don’t. How orbits work. And yet, I can stretch out my hand and pull something into it. Which means the laws of physics aren’t laws, they’re just very persistent illusions.”

“I believe the interaction is mediated by midichlorians,” Vader said. “They are like mitochondria for the Force.”

“So?” Luke replied. “That simply means that part of how we are outside physical reality can be measured. I’ve heard the explanations, I’ve seen it – all that the explanation really does is put it into words, and give it a framework.”

He made another expansive gesture.

“This is trite nonsense,” Palpatine said. “Your friends on the Sanctuary Moon will not survive.”

“And if that happened, I would be sad,” Luke said. “Of course I would. But I came here willing to die, because death is not all that there is.”

Palpatine glowered at Vader.

“This one is broken,” he said. “Do you have another possible new apprentice for me?”

“The supply is a bit low, my Master,” Vader said.

“And I know about your rebel fleet,” the Emperor went on. “They will be ambushed by my fleet, just as an entire legion of my best troops is waiting for your friends.”

“That’s a shame,” Luke said. “But it’s not the same as something being unrecoverably bad.”

Palpatine blinked.

“...what?” he said. “You make no sense.”

“You can think of it like a shadow,” Luke said. “Or a hologram. It looks real, but it’s not the most real thing. It’s illusion, just a very persistent illusion which is why so many are taken in by it.”

“This doesn’t sound very empirically sourced,” Vader muttered. “Did you come up with all this yourself? If not, who taught you?”

“Yoda,” Luke replied, and both the Emperor and Vader flinched slightly.

“Yoda’s alive?” Vader asked, sounding horrified and fascinated.

“Not since… about three days ago, I think?” Luke answered. “I could be off by a day or two on that, I spent a lot of it in hyperspace.”

The Emperor tried very hard to stifle a sigh of relief, and didn’t quite manage it.

“You know Yoda?” Vader said. “You met Yoda?”

“Yes,” Luke agreed. “I was there with him at the end. Obi-Wan told me where he was living.”

“What?” Vader asked, now sounding baffled. “...how?”

It was his turn to wave his hand to make a gesture. “Because I remember Cloud City, and you were reasonably talented, but you seemed self taught. You did not fight like you’d had two and a half years of Ataru lectures from the death gremlin… there weren’t nearly enough backflips for it.”

“...oh, I see,” Luke said. “No, Obi-Wan told me on Hoth.”

“On… Hoth,” Vader repeated, slowly. “He’d been dead for several years at that point. Hadn’t he?”

“Oh, yeah,” Luke confirmed, readily. “He’s a ghost. He’s still around.”

The younger Skywalker shrugged. “Kind of proves what I was saying, right? Death isn’t the end of existence. A person lives on after the death of their body. They become one with the Force, and the Force is one with them, but they still exist.”

Vader was silent for a long time.

“...huh,” he said, eventually.

“Anyway, as I was saying – Father – Your Highness,” Luke went on. “I don’t fear death because death is the loss of the crude flesh, which is just a cloak for our true selves, who are luminous beings of light. To ask others to accept suffering of the flesh is unfair, because they feel it as real, but I understand it for the illusion that it is and so I’m willing to suffer and die for my beliefs – in a very real sense, it doesn’t mean as much to me as it would to anyone else. Because I know the truth.”

“This is all the ramblings of a senile madman, translated through the mouth of a naive boy,” the Emperor said. “What kind of proof could you possibly have?”

“...what, apart from the fact that I communicated with my dead mentor, and he gave me information that I did not know before?” Luke asked, curious. “That was sufficient for me to accept it when Yoda told me, but there’s also the extent to which understanding the illusive nature of reality amplifies my understanding of what the Force truly is.”

“I have to admit, it would explain why Obi-Wan vanished,” Vader mused, sounding like he was talking to himself more than the others.

“You don’t know about the Force,” the Emperor said, snidely. “Certainly your understanding is not as deep as mine!”

Luke examined him.

“You actually believe that,” he said. “But you think what I’m saying is nonsense?”

“If you understood the Force better, you would not be my prisoner!” the Emperor retorted.

“I’m not,” Luke said. “That’s an illusion as well.”

“You cannot just declare anything you don’t like to be an illusion!” Palpatine raged.

“I can if it is,” Luke replied, still calmly, and reached out his hand. His lightsaber slapped into it, then he let go and it floated back across the room to where Palpatine had put it.

He shrugged. “I’m here because I want to save my father. I surrendered because I thought that would be the best way to do it. I’m standing here on a battle station I fully expect to be blown up, because I am committed to saving my father. From you. That’s why I’m here, and it has nothing to do with you having any power over me. You don’t.”

The Emperor attempted to prove Luke wrong by electrocuting him, which lasted about ten seconds until Vader threw him out the window.

The air, on the other artificial hand, stayed put.

“You might be right, son,” Vader said, sounding scientifically fascinated as the room didn’t depressurise. “Accepting this really is helping me understand and use the Force.”

“I’m glad to have helped,” Luke replied, reminding himself that electrical burns were also illusions no matter how persistent they were. “What do we do now?”

“Leave the room, probably,” Vader suggested. “Then we can see about deciding whether we want to keep this station or destroy it.”

He made a curious noise with his respirator. “Are the Empire’s succession laws real or an illusion? I am fairly sure I could abdicate in your favour if you would like.”

“Mon Mothma would be better, I think,” Luke said, after some consideration. “Or Lando. Lando might work.”

[beastofbrden]

four times you and James were accidentally caught carrying pieces of each other + one time you did it on purpose| J.P

boyfriend!james potter x gryffindor!fem!reader

word count: 3.773 content: fluff, "secret" relationship warnings: reader has hair long enough to wear ribbons, not proofread notes: i love love love 4+1 fics and this is my first attempt at writing one. p.s girls when james potter can't be their boyfriend😫 i listened to littlest things while writing this :)

1.

- Hi, Jamie - you went to give him a quick kiss hello when you met at the hallway. When you distanced yourself, he pouted.

- Another one - he begged. You did as told, but when you distanced yourself a second time, he sighed in exasperation - Come here, will ya?

He held your face with his strong hands as he kissed you for a long moment. Your heart went crazy on your chest with the familiar taste of his lips and the warmth of his palms. When the kiss ended, he pulled away slowly, but kept his hands on your face, delicately brushing a few rebel strands of hair away.

- I’ll take this as you’ve missed me? - you teased, your eyes glimmering in the way they only do when you’re around James.

- Are you teasing me, missy? - he faked an overdramatic expression of offense.- And me here, thinking that you’ve missed me too, after such a long time we’ve been apart!

- We’ve had one separate class, drama queen. - you rolled your eyes at him.

- Well for me, it was a lot. But if you don’t miss your boyfriend, that’s fine… - He faked a hiccup and cleaned an imaginary tear from his eye.

- I’ve seen you this morning - you lowered your voice into a knowing whisper - Remember?

He dropped the act at the mention of the earlier morning and smirked in that cheeky way that made your heart beat two times faster.

- How could I forget…- He reached to snake his arms around your waist.

- Shh! James, stop. I think I’ve heard someone - You stepped away from him. You had heard talking somewhere around the corner of the empty hallway you were both in. You and James kept a distance as a group of third years passed by. They giggled when they recognized James Potter, the Quidditch captain, and your boyfriend, being the tease he was, waved at them, making them almost faint.

- They would miss me if i was their boyfriend, y’know - He said, and just like you predicted, he was wearing that pompous smirk he had when these things happened.

- You’ve eaten a little clown for breakfast today? - You rolled your eyes at him.

- No need to get that jealous of your competition, Y/N. - You crossed your arms and frowned. He laughed, placing his arms around you. - Even though you don’t miss me, you’re my favorite girl. 

- Even though you’re a smug prick, I did miss you. A lot.

- A lot? But it was just one class… - He mocked your previous words in a high pitched tone.

- It was one class too many  - Your heart turned into mush as you looked into his eyes, not being able to keep yourself from kissing him again.

Just a month before, being with him like this was just a beautiful, distant daydream in your head. You both were pining and longing for each other, handling what you both thought was an unrequited love for your best friend. Now, you and James were into that honeymoon phase of the relationship where you just couldn’t keep your hands (or your mouths) off from each other. That was logistically complicated, since you had decided to go slow and keep things a bit more private. You were just discovering the sweetness of finally belonging to one another, and you had the opinion that the gossip that would obviously arise from your relationship would take away some of that joy. So, for now, you were happy keeping it just between you two and the Marauders.

- What class do we have now? 

- Hmmm...Charms? Yeah, I think so. I’ll meet you there, I gotta give McGonagall some papers. 

- Alrighty - you agreed, getting on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek. - Don’t take too long.

- I think we both know I can’t stay away from you too long - he smiled.

James walked the hallways in that strut that he liked to deny having. Everyone was already inside the classrooms to resume the classes after lunch. He knocked on McGonagall’s door.

- Turn to page 278 to read about Vero Verto - James heard the professor’s voice getting closer to the door as she instructed the first year students she was teaching. - Silently.

- Good morning, Minnie. - He greeted McGonagall with a smile.

- Hm, good morning, Potter - He adored McGonagall, and he knew she liked him too, specially for bringing Gryffindor multiple Quidditch championships, but the professor was never one to smile loosely. However, the way she was scanning his face through her half moon glasses, her eyebrows furrowing even more than usual, made him uneasy.

- I just passed by to bring my homework, and… -

- What is that on your face, Potter? - She questioned abruptly. Her question caught the students’ attention, and all eyes turned to James. The room erupted with laughter. 

- Silence! - She commanded, her harsh tone making them quiet down, settling for muffled giggles and whispers.

- On my face? - James touched his cheek.

- Yes, Potter. There is a lipstick stain on your cheek.

He felt the blood draining from his face: Y/N’s lipstick must have stained his skin when she kissed him.

- Ah, that’s nothing, Minnie - he brushed his cheek aggressively. The rubbing must have only smeared the lipstick, because the class bursted into an even louder fit of giggles, this time followed by kissing sounds. - The girls these days, y'know…

The professor grabbed the papers he was carrying.

- Go clean yourself, Potter. - She eyed him suspiciously before closing the door with a bang.

2.

- I think she’ll eventually forgive you, Marls. There’s no way she would break up with you for such a silly thing.

- I don’t know, Y/N, she seemed really hurt this morning…

You gave Marlene a side hug, hoping to give her some solace. You had been comforting her since lunch, when she came to tell you about the fight she had had with Dorcas.

- Give her some time, yeah? I’m absolutely sure she’ll come around. I mean, she’s head over heels in love with you.

- You think so? - she looked up at you with hope in her red, puffy eyes

- I know so - You reassured her with a smile.

It was a windy afternoon, and a sudden intense breeze rushed through the castle’s yard, where you were walking with Marlene towards the Astronomy tower. Your scarf, loosely hanging around your neck, got carried by the wind.

- Ah, crap! - You started chasing it as it flew. Marlene started helping you, and after jogging a bit, she was able to fetch it.

- Here - she handed it to you. 

When you went to grab it, her eyes seemed to notice something in the end of the scarf. A sudden rush of panic flooded you as you noticed what it was: James’ initials.

You both had left his dorm in a hurry this morning (as usual), because he made you late (as usual). You two lost track of time, and before you noticed, there was only ten minutes left for you to get ready, get something for breakfast and get to Flitwick’s class. You had gathered your uniform where you had left it ready the night before, but you must’ve grabbed his scarf instead of yours, somehow.

- Is this…? - Marlene’s hand brushed the yellow embroidered J.F.P. At first, she looked confused, but when recognition downed on her, she squinted her eyes at you with a smirk - Is this James’?

Marlene had always teased you about James, making fun of how oblivious you were to his obvious crush on you. She was one of your best friends, and you could tell her the true reason why you were with James' scarf, and she would surely be over the moon for you. You were tired of hiding your relationship, but since you hadn’t talked to James, you'd have to lie, again.

Now, you couldn’t deny it was James’ scarf, because there weren’t many James Fleamont Potters around Hogwarts, so it would be, theoretically, only half a lie.

- Yeah - You tried to conceal the sudden high pitch of your voice, granted for when you lied  - It’s James’. He lent me his this morning, since, you know, it’s windy and I lost mine, uh… at the lake. It fell and I think the squid got it. You know how sneaky that little guy is, always fetching things. Anyways, thanks, Marls!

You laughed awkwardly and got the scarf away from her hands. As you tied it safely around your neck, you smelled a strong whiff of James’ scent. You didn’t know how you hadn’t noticed that you had gotten his scarf, maybe because you were already used to his scent, spending all the time wrapped around him. It would’ve been a plausible lie if you hadn’t gotten nervous and thrown all that squid nonsense in there. You felt like a kid getting caught eating ice cream before dinner. Your face burned when Marlene said in a casual tone, while clearly holding in a laugh:

- I could swear that I saw your scarf on your neck last night….

3. 

- Potter!

James lifted his head from his parchment as Frank Longbottom called out his name. You and him had been doing Potions homework in the common room, your legs resting on his lap under the table.

- I lost my prefect badge and I’m on patrol tonight. Can you lend me yours, just for tonight? 

- Yeah, sure! It’s in my dorm.

You lifted your legs to allow him to get up, and he winked at you as he and Frank headed upstairs

- The room’s a mess, thanks to Sirius, but I remember I put it somewhere around… here… - James started looking on his desk for the bronze badge. Sirius, being the hurricane he was, had thrown a bunch of his things over James’ desk, so it would take some digging. - Sit down, this might take awhile.

James dug through socks, blouses, but secretly thanked Sirius for the mess: that way, it was easier to discreetly push your things into a drawer so Frank wouldn’t see. A brownish glimmer caught James’ eye.

- Ah, found it! - James turned around holding the badge victoriously.

Frank was analyzing a plushie. Not just any plushie: the teddy bear you had given James the week before. ‘It looks just like you, Jamie” you had said, while giggling “It’s cuddly”. It was a brown bear holding a heart. You enchanted it so he would sing a sappy love song every time James squeezed its belly and even sprayed a bit of your perfume on it. James had absolutely loved the gift, just as he did everything else you gave him, so much that he kept it placed safely on his bed, where Frank had seen it. Then, for  James’ absolute panic, Frank pressed its belly., and the bear started belting:

And they called it puppy love, just because we're seventeen…

James snatched the bear away from Frank.

- Silencio! 

When he looked back at Frank, he raised an amused eyebrow.

- That’s… Sirius gave it to me - Why that was the first thing that came to James’ mind, he had no idea. But he would have to run with it.

- A plushie? - Frank chuckled.

- Yeah, you know the guy. Does anything for a laugh.

- Even enchanting it to sing?

- Er, he… - James searched his mind for something - He goes to great lengths. 

- I see, he sprayed perfume on it and all.

- Impressive lengths, really.

James gave Frank his best innocent smile. Truth was, he was tired of doing this, hiding things between you. He had been for weeks now, but he was afraid bringing it up would make you feel pressured. Frank was a really nice guy, and he was madly in love with his girlfriend, Alice, so he would surely be happy for you two, but since James hadn’t had the guts to discuss you two’s arrangement, he would need Frank to believe him, even if it was clear he was finding it all very amusing, and not buying any of it.

- I find this perfume a little familiar… Like I know someone who uses it… Probably Y/N - Frank put his finger on his chin, pretending to think while sniffing the air - But I think I’m mixing things up. Anyway, thanks for the badge, puppy love.

4. 

- It says we need to add… -  Mary leaned into her textbook to read the instructions while you laborly stirred your laughing potion  - billywig sting?

- Only sting? Are you sure? I remember it being billywig sting slime!

- I wrote down only “sting”, but I probably messed up. 

- If we add the right one, it’ll be the laughing potion. If we add the wrong one, it’ll end up a floating potion. I just can’t remember which is which!

- Maybe we should take a look at your book. Where is it?

- Yeah, sure. It’s in my bag - You cleaned a few drops of sweat from your forehead.

Mary leaned down to search for it.

- Got it!

She placed the book between you two and started browsing through, looking for the right page for the laughing potion while you attentively observed the suspicious blue tone of your potion. 

- “For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams of the beautiful Y/N”. Signed, James.

You turned to Mary in sheer terror. 

If you had to determine James’ love languages, it would easily be physical touch and words of affirmation. But lately, he had taken a liking to gift giving. Between paper rings, notes, letters, origamis, even silly stick drawings he did of you two, you had quite an extensive collection sitting in a tea box on your bedside table. He couldn’t help it: the silly gifts kept you smiling the whole day through. For James, drawing stick figures or writing little poems was a very small price to pay for your smile, the one thing that lit his whole world up like sunlight. He gave you this specific one, with a customized version of a piece of ‘“Annabel Lee” yesterday, and you had forgotten to add it to your extensive collection after coming by your dorm.

You dropped the spoon you were stirring the potion with. There was no denying this. James was a clown, he always had been, but one thing he never joked around with was other people’s feelings. Everyone knew that. He wouldn’t have written you this if he didn’t mean it.

- Aww, that’s so sweet - Mary smiled at the paper.

- Mary… 

- Y/N, hey, relax, alright? - She stopped smiling when she saw your eyes widen. - We all know it.

They all know it?

- Everyone sees the way you look at each other. And the people talk. Particularly, I’ve only heard people saying that you two are adorable, and some other people saying that they envy you or they envy James. It’s fine, I promise. 

- But I… we tried…

- I know you tried. But listen: ever since I first met you, whenever you and James are in a room together, it’s like you’re the only two people in the world, and we are all watching. So when you started to sneak around, poorly, may I add, leaving the dorm late at night, going around with his clothes, happier than I’ve ever seen, it wasn’t hard to add things up. Also, you guys suck at keeping things secret.

You two shared a laugh. Your long forgotten laughing/floating potion bubbled in the wrongest shade of green.

- I know. But we really tried our best.

She gave you a soft smile.

- Y/N, when two people are this much in love, there’s no hiding it. 

+1

You were laying down at James’ bed. It was a warm, sunny sunday morning that basked the whole dorm room in golden. James was standing by his chest of drawers, shuffling through his clothes to find his uniform for the Quidditch match that would start after breakfast. You watched the muscles on his back, the curves of his shoulder, the nape of his neck, his rebel dark hair. All the freckles on his skin that marked your favorite places to kiss.

- I can feel you looking at me, y’know. And I’m shy. - He turned his face to look at you. The movement gave you a view of his dark eyes, his glasses, the curve of his lips as he grinned, his straight nose.

- It’s not my fault you are beautiful. - You sighed.

- I’m beautiful? - He opened a genuine smile, one that showed his dimples.

- Yes.

In two long strides, he reached the bed. He sat down by your side, and his eyes scanned you lovingly, making you blush under his gaze. 

- I’ll only take your word for it only cause you’re the most beautiful girl in the world.- he whispered before kissing the tip of your nose.

You two looked at each other a bit longer. The sunlight that creeped into the room made his eyes look like warm dripping honey. James was never one to be sheepish, but you could tell by the soft tint his cheeks that you looking at him like he hung the stars on the sky made him shy.

- C’mon, sleepy girl, or we’ll be late. And I can’t play without my lucky charm, yeah?

You didn’t move, and neither did him, despite his words. You leaned in, getting closer to him.

- I want to give you something, Jamie.

- Your heart? I’ll take it.

- You already have it. It’s something else. Close your eyes.

He did as told. He was so beautiful that it made you dizzy. His eyes, his mouth, his hands, his skin. Every part of him felt like home. Unable to help yourself, you kissed his lips chastely and he hummed with satisfaction.

- Is that it? - He peeked.

- No. Keep them closed.

You reached for his bedside table where you had placed the ribbon you always wore on your hair the night before. These ribbons were your trademark, and you wore them every single day. You cut up a piece with a scissor you had brought for this purpose.

You softly grabbed James’ warm hand. You placed the satiny strip around his wrist, and with a touch of your wand, turned it into a compact ribbon bracelet.

- Open.

He immediately looked down at his wrist, and his eyes instantly flooded with emotion.

- Wear it for the game, okay? For luck. And after that, too, if you’d like.

- Y/N… these are your ribbons. Everyone knows…

- I want them to know. You are the best thing that’s ever been mine, and the rest of the world should know.

James stayed silent, fiddling with his new bracelet. Panic started creeping into your chest: it hadn’t occurred to you that maybe James wasn’t ready, but it probably should. What if that was too much for him? What if…

- I get it if you’re not ready, by the way, I just… You know - You tried chuckling to lighten up the mood, but it came out humorless.

- What? No! Of course I want that!

- I don’t want you to feel pressured…

James touched your thighs, urging you to look up at him.

- Y/N, I’ve been meaning to talk about this with you for a while. I was just thinking that you are so… delicate. I’m much more… flashy.

You frowned your brows in confusion.

- What do you mean?

James opened a mischievous grin.

- It’s your turn to close your eyes.

Blindly, you listened closely to the creaking of the bed as James rose, his steps walking to the drawer, his muffled laugh. 

- You ready? Open.

The sight before your eyes made you wish you had a camera to keep this exact moment forever. James was standing there, with open arms, and a white t-shirt that read: I <3 MY GIRLFRIEND. 

- This is my way of going public. Ya like it?

You burst out laughing.

- You didn’t!

- You’re shocked now? Wait until you see… this.

When he turned around, you got a look at the back of the t-shirt, where there was a photo of you. Your hands flew to your mouth in blissful shock.

- James!

- So, did ya like it?

James had the biggest, brightest proud smile on his face. You jumped into his arms, still laughing.

- I… loved… it! - You kissed his face repeatedly between words. - I want a matching one, though.

- I’ll arrange it. Do you think McGonagall would let me use this as a game uniform? 

- Maybe, since she will be too shocked to even answer.

- I don’t think so, after she caught me with a kiss stain on my face.

- What? When? You didn’t tell me that!

- Oh, trust me, I will. But later, cause right now I have a shirt and a girlfriend to show off.

[bigfatbimbo]

FIDDLEFIRD PROMPT FIDDLEFORD PROMPT

Mister country boy meeting a goth/rebel kind of reader and he is just putty but very embarrassed about it

Golden reviver boy and black cat gn

My P.U.N.K. Girl

warnings — SFW, just fluff, young!fiddleford, college fiddleford implied, gn reader

summary —Fiddleford x Alternative!reader headcanons

<𝟑 Imagine a small town country bumpkin who barely left the farm seeing a goth or punk person for the first time.

<𝟑 Your first meeting wasn’t even a meeting, because he was looking at you from a distance and ran into a pole.

<𝟑 Maybe you finally call him out on his staring, by marching at him very confused, and almost angrily. Presumably in the 70s, most states you got were with fowl intent.

“Why are you always doing that?” You ask, “Staring at me like I have a third head.”

His eyes widened. “Why I— I reckon your most striking person i’ve ever seen,” then he blushed and shrank back into himself, “If I may say so myself, [ma’am/sir].”

Your tone softened, “oh.”

<𝟑 He’d be so smitten with his alternative partner, thinking you’re breathtaking in every way.

<𝟑 The way you decorate yourself is just as fascinating to him as the politics of it all which, being as sheltered as him, he knew little about before you.

<𝟑 He doesn’t understand a lot of it, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t think you’re beautiful.

<𝟑 Imagine getting him all dolled up like you one time, after hours of persistence.

“I don’t know ‘bout this, darling, I think i’m better off—“ He’d try to say before you turn his chair around to face the mirror.

You shush him. “What about now?” He looked at himself and studied his face and clothes.

“Imagine me in this old getup— I look ridiculous!” He’d almost laugh.

You release a giddy giggle, “You look amazing!”

<𝟑 These movements are very rooted in politics, so imagine dragging him to a protest. He would probably feel incredibly out of place, poor thing.

<𝟑 He’d be so blushy around you, he just thinks your so breathtaking and bold, it’s hard not to get weak in the knees when your here.

<𝟑 If you have a punk or goth band that goes with your subculture, he’d be at every show! Despite how loud it is, and even if he’s swamped in work.

<𝟑 Picture him in the back, stopping his twiddling with his mechanics to look up at you, being utterly yourself. Perfect.

[maybeiwasjustjade]

The High King theory truly makes me ill.

And knowing SJM and her obsession with making certain characters superior and/or have some kind of divine right to rule, I know she’ll try to make it happen at the expense of literally everyone else.

Moreover, I don’t see how it can happen without a major war. They just got out of 50 years under Amarantha, I doubt the courts are itching for another incompetent warlords’ attempt at HK/HQ.

Who exactly would bow to Feyre and Rhysand? The High Lords meeting showed that barely anyone tolerated them, nor did they have any actual allies that wasn’t Helion. And I doubt Helion would be so forgiving when he finds out about Lucien. Tamlin and Eris would never, so they’d have to die. Neither would Tarquin or Kallias agree, so that’s a given war with the Seasonal Courts. Dawn would stay neutral, or end up the rebel court. It really is the only toss up.

And even with Gwydion (which rightfully belongs to Nesta alongside the Trove) as some kind of divine symbol, feysand genuinely sucks at ruling. Conquer Prythian—yes, conquer because the other HL would never submit if they asked nicely—when they can’t even rule or play nice with their own people. Enough with the HK dreams, Amren; Rhysand would be lucky if Illyria and Hewn City don’t band together soon to stage a massive uprising.

(Y’know I’m not surprised nobody in the IC can empathize with the CoN citizens. They were all trapped in Velaris for fifty years, where they were free and the sun still rose. Imagine if they’d been UtM with everyone else; maybe then they’d get it. That life where even the sun and trees and anything worth living is out of reach at the whims of a dictator is no life at all.)

And I’ve seen theories floating around that the HK plot is set up for Nyx instead, because he’s destined to inherit all seven powers of the court. Yeah, that’s equally terrible. Divine right to rule and conquer is bullshit. Balance is something that should exist but doesn’t in Acotar. If it did, Feyre wouldn’t be as powerful as she is. 7 drops is not a lot of magic; so tiny and miniscule that each HL didn’t even really notice they lost it. It doesn’t make sense that she could go toe to toe with them with just a singular drop.

Which is baffling when the same author wrote ToG. Everything that was given was scraped together and fought for miserably, and even in all that power, they had to sacrifice so much. Aelin Settled and got her kingdom back, but at the price of losing almost all her fire and getting to keep one drop of water. Dorian still has most of his magic, but at the price of being made a demon slave, committing fratricide, and having the sole responsibility of redeeming his kingdom ala Zuko. Manon fulfilled the prophecy and united her people, allowing them the chance to return home for the first time in 500 years. All it took was losing the Thirteen, who would never see that dream come to life.

Nothing came without cost.

And while yes, Feyre deserved to be remade after her death saving Prythian, the amount of magic she wields is the issue. Nesta having so much magic made sense given she stole most of it; we have yet to really see how much is left. But where’s the balance if Feysand does end up HK/HQ, or Nyx does. What have they given up that makes them more worthy to rule the entirety of Prythian than literally any other character? Because I can argue that they’ve lost a lot lesser. Whatever rights feysand believes they have is no more than a lot of other characters.

And the bloodline of Theia? Yeah, I’m pretty sure the important ones are her female descendants, like Bryce. And Bryce gave Gwydion to Nesta for a reason. If SJM wanted me to believe Feysand was the best choice, she should’ve made Nyx be born full Illyrian. Or better yet, mostly High Fae but with no magic. That would’ve been a much more interesting story to follow, given that Nyx might not be the next inheritor of the Night Court. And what it would mean for the Hewn City. She’ll never do it of course, but it would be fun.

[lornaka]

Agreed with all these points calling out discrepancies in the season, but I’m absolutely positive that at the very least none of the changes were made in reaction to the fan side of things, I believe the scripts were written years in advance. All scripts would have to be approved before they could be animated, and producing each episode start to finish takes about a year (that was the case for Rebels and TCW before that).

The script for the series finale was apparently drafted and most likely completed back in 2022. So whatever caused for season 3 to be the way it is.. it must have happened way back then. My bet is internal reshuffling, most likely caused by them not getting as many episodes as they were originally hoping for, idk. Same thing that the final incredibly rushed season of Rebels brutally suffered from tbh.

If anyone has any experience/insight into how animation production timelines and rewrites/"reshoots" work, I'd LOVE your input...

Because here we are more than 3 weeks after the Bad Batch season 3 finale, and for the past 3 weeks I haven't been able to stop wondering if the initial plan WAS to bring Tech back by the end of season 3, but given the discourse after season 2 including loud complaints of "STAKES!" and "death is meaningless in Star Wars!" and "no one stays dead!" the higher ups vetoed that plan and some changes had to be made before season 3 aired.

I'm probably wrong. It's highly likely that the creatives told the story they were planning on telling and weren't influenced at all by public opinion. But I still can't stop thinking about it.

And the thing is, if the stories are influenced by fan opinion, I question the chances of Tech ever being brought back even though they really did leave plenty of leeway for it.

Anyone have any insight??

[tyquu]

hi op! i love how your drew ezra, luke and mando in your style💗 i dont know if youve watched the ahsoka show but its been more than a decade since we've seen ezra bridger and when we see him again he grew his hair and beard out and even grew a lot taller! he's actually as tall as mando or han now there must have been something in that planet he was trapped in that made him shoot up 🤭

Gwahh thank you Anon! <33

I’ve seen two episodes of Ahsoka, I really need to finish it 😭 I’m just finding it a bit hard to to sit through atm. I’ve seen clips and stuff though so I have a pretty good idea of what happens!

I have seen bits of Eman as Ezra (he’s absolutely perfect for the role bwt! Love how he plays him!) and I can’t believe he’s so tall! Ezra was always a little shorter in my head (maybe like, 5,7 or something idk, however tall Hera is)

Cause I haven’t finished Ahsoka, whenever I’m drawing older Ezra I usually picture the sorta fanon interpretation I made up after watching rebels. I’m a die hard lover of Ezra joining the CDF temporarily. Thrawn and Ezra in Wild Space adventures the beloved. Maybe I’ll do a proper design for him one day.

Anyways, here’s two doodles of older Ezra cause I love him a lot and he’s my special guy.

[why-bless-your-heart]

Why do you worship your god YHWH as the only one? This is a legitimate question? What good does it do for you? Everything your god has done for you shouldn't have anything to do with his status, or uniqueness. I've seen the power of gods alien to your own, from Hel (the goddess I'm closest to, though I do worship others), I've seen her stop animals from moving, protect the sick and wounded, and cause a blind preacher to see her and flee. And I've felt her love, felt her comfort (I probably wouldn't even identify as agender if it wasn't for her help). But because she is not your god you would call this demonic? And say my soul is bound for damnation? Why not admit the existence of other gods, and keep to your own if you wish. How can your relationship with your god even be safe if you can't leave for another? How can it be called anything but bigotry to deny another god's divinity while you worship one yourself?

My legitimate answer is the book of Job. You don’t worship God because of what you get, you worship God because of who He IS. Yeah, I’ve gotten a lot from God, all my life. He sustains me, He’s educated me, He’s even granted me miracles. But I don’t worship Him because of that. If I were to be in desolation for the rest of my life, if I were never again to feel His affection or witness His goodness, if I got nothing at all from my faith or obedience, I would still worship. In a sense that’s the only difference between Heaven and Hell. Whether you face God and worship, or face God and rebel.

Polytheism is dumb because there can’t be multiple infinite beings who are uncaused causers + unmoved movers + etc. Demons can appear to have power, and angels act as God directs them, but divinity is, by definition, singular. It’s no more bigoted to say only God has divinity than it is to say only triangles are plane figures with three straight lines and three angles which add up to 180°.