#Persuasions of the Divine || Quotes

[empatheticxangel]

Tag Dump

Tag dump 3

Shed Your Bloodstained Wings || Out of Character

Reflections of My Empathy || Musings

Angelic Sights || Aesthetics

Persuasions of the Divine || Quotes

Can You See How I Feel? || Videos

The Voices of Higher Beings Sing To Me || Audio

Words Do Not Always Heal || Memes

The General Has Flown In || In Character

The Council Has Heard Your Queries || Asks

Masked Emotions || Anonymous

Counting Fallen Feathers || Starter Call

Recalling The Council || Mutuals Only

Focus Not On The Colors I Bear || Images

May You Fly With Angels || Promos

Emotions Tell No Lies || Headcanons

Sinful As Any Other Man || Self Promo

Feathery and Sweet Confectionery || Food

Honorably Discharged || Retired Veteran AU

[cooki3face]

their favorite things about you 💐

Hey, welcome back! I recently added to my list of readings i offer on my booking site so go check that out as well as my official business hours (that are also in my pinned tarot reading info post right here), I posted them over on my Instagram and TikTok as well as my site. If you haven’t been on my Instagram today (@cookiefacetarot) I would go check it out, today I posted a mini divine masculine and divine feminine update in preparation for my in-depth one that I’ll be posting here tomorrow as well as morning message and the daily quote per usual. I’m excited for this reading today, I love to do love readings and they get such a beautiful reaction from the collective. I’m missing my own divine masculine very much right now so sometimes when I do these readings and I’m apart of one of the piles, it gives me heart ache lol, lol well anyways, enjoy! I love you, book a personal reading with me if you wish! 🤍

***

i.

Your person loves how smart you are and how skilled you are. You could be good at many things or have a really broad skill set and just be overall very intelligent and your person finds this so attractive. They know you’re destined for good things and they may even brag about you to others. Like, when you finally get recognition for something that you do or when you finally reach your highest level of success within your life this person is going to be at the grocery store talking to the cash register like “I knew her/him before she/he was famous.” I’m hearing this person is really proud of you too or they want you to make them proud. They’re excited for you because they know you’re about to do big things with your life. They also like how decided you are or seemed to be, you have your mind made up about many things in your life and you won’t accept anything less than that. I feel like if you’ve known your person for a long time or you’ve been in love with your person for a long time and they know about it they also find it incredibly attractive how much you like them or love them. You could be very romantic at heart and have heavy Scorpio placements like a Scorpio Venus or Mars or even a Scorpio stellium. I’m not extremely educated on astrology but that’s what I heard a Scorpio stellium I looked it up and that’s exactly what energy I was feeling so I know what I’m talking about. You can be very selective and picky in your life as well and this person really eats that up.

You make them feel like a luxury item, like a must-have. Yes, your person loves how romantic you are too, you could be a hopeless romantic, you could really see things through a rose-tinted glass, or just overall really give off this seductive air of romance and your person loves it. I also see them saying that you’re very charming and persuasive, something about you really falls into archetypes of the girl next door, the mother, the maiden, the mystic, and the lover. You may even resonate with the high priestess card in major arcana. You’ve got it all is what this person really likes about you. You could be very versatile, you could be very sweet and gentle yet sexy and alluring. You really reel this person in. This person thinks you’re magic, this person knows your magic and they know everyone else knows it. I’m hearing the siren as well. This person knows you’re of very high value and it makes them feel very special and safe to know that you chose them, emphasis on the word chose because they know you’re not the type to need anyone. You desire them, you care for them, you comfort them. They ask, could I ask for anything more???

This person likes that you’re independent and you’ve got your own stuff, your own life, your own hobbies. With or without them you flourish, you don’t give them the energy that you want to leech off of them because you don’t have to regardless of whatever circumstances you may face in your life. It makes this person want to be a man about it and take over and take care of you. This person also likes your voice or believes you’re a beautiful speaker or communicator. Clear boundaries, clear communication. Crystal. You’re not confusing, you’re not complicated, you don’t do mix signals. What you see is what you get with you and they love that. You are who you say you are. You live an honest life. You make an honest living. This person also really likes the high-maintenance energy you give off. You’re expensive. Very pretty, trophy wife energy. “She get money. Her body tea. She super thick. She super pretty.” Lmao like you’re all that and a bag of chips. You’re this person's wish fulfillment. It’s always been you. They keep their eye on the prize and the prize has always been you.

They also like that you’re always changing, healing, and growing. You guys are resilient and strong and this person really likes that about you. No matter what life throws at you, you can catch it and turn it into light and energy. This person also really likes that you’re introverted or a bit of a lone wolf as well. This person may be the same way. They may crave social interaction or like to be around people so they attempt to put themselves in the position to be around others but in spirit, they’re truly lone wolves and they’re very different from everyone else and can’t/won’t blend in no matter how hard they try and they feel like you’re the same. They relate to you. This could be a high-level soul mate or a twin flame but for many of you, this is a twin flame connection. This person honors you the way that one honors themselves when they are in the energy of self-love. It’s unconditional, it’s irreplaceable. They have the energy of trying to stuff their heart inside of yours to keep it safe like a locket. You may own a locket or be attracted to sentimental/romantic pieces of jewelry as well.

They also like how anti-drama you are or how peaceful your energy is. You protect your peace above all else. You only invest your time and energy into good things. People may try to fight you or start things with you and you make them feel stupid and irrelevant by not entertaining them or paying them any mind.

***

ii.

Hearing “at your best” -Aaliyah. This person feels very safe with you their favorite thing about you is the way they feel when their around you because your energy is so calm and steady regardless of what’s going on around you or in your life. This person also feels like you’re very successful or have a lot going for yourself or have the potential to continue to be great and get so much better as time goes on, this person really believes in you and wants the best for you I’m hearing. Just even without reading the cards I can tell you mean so much to this person and you make this person feel very steady when the world around them is crashing down, this person loves you, they adore you, they genuinely care for you, all they do is care for you. That’s all they want to do all day is care for you, love you, give themselves over to you and do things for you.

This person also loves how like…(I want to say aggressive but that’s not the right word!!) and I don’t want to code switch either but that’s the only way I can say it because I don’t know how to say it any way else, you’re really about it, you pop shit lmao. This person feels very safe and protected by you. They could’ve witnessed you take control of situations and squash drama and conflict when it’s really necessary by whooping some ass and they know if they needed to be protected or if something was going on you’d be able to protect them and defend against anything that could cause them harm. You could also be very strong as well, this person admires your physical strength or is very attracted to your body/body type. I’m hearing you’ve always been this persons type. They saw you one time and everything changed.

This person also loves how emotional or sensitive you are or even compassionate and understanding with others, people with different backgrounds and experiences. You care for people and it shows. Or you’re kind and giving and you’re emotionally in tune and you’re naturally very sensitive and empathetic. You could be a water sign or have heavy water in your chart. This person loves how much heart you have especially if you’re a man. The way society criticizes a man with a heart. You’re the only living boy she knows. You’re the only living boy in the whole entire world. I think also your person may have a lot of opinions on society and the way it’s harmful views, expectations and values affect the people in it and this person admires you and loves your authenticity and your beauty and your heart. You’re a breathe of fresh air for this person. You’re one in a million.

In a world of 7 billion people, this person is only thinking of and looking at you. Imagine that. What you did to this person to make them love you this way we’ll never know but it’s deep and swampy, it’s fast. If you’re not capable you’re sinking into it. This person loves how different you are and how much you stick out like a sore thumb lol. You don’t fit in anywhere and this person loves that about you. You’re only there’s. You belong nowhere but in their embrace. You may also be someone who has a lot of fears and has a lot of worries and I think this person on a very deep level not only relates to you but loves that about you because this person understands the significance of fear, they understand to fear means that you’re trying to survive in a world that is hard to you, that’s impatient with you, and that wants to eat you up and pull you every which way and they feel that very deeply that truth resonates with them. They don’t want you to worry and be afraid but you’re the person who makes them not feel so alone in the whole big wide world.

This person loves that your grip on reality is practically non existent. You live in your own little world, in your own little bubble. They love that distant dreamy look in your eye that you have. They also love the way you love them. You and this person could share a connection or love each other and it’s known by both of you because it’s undeniable and it’s hard to miss. This person may believe they love you more than you love them but I think I’m getting that you love them more than they will ever know. More than the two of you can fathom. It’s cosmic.

This person believes that you have a very beautiful and strong souls purpose even if they aren’t spiritual or don’t use those types of terms they know that on a soul level, on a subconscious level and this person believes in you the way someone believes in a religious deity. We are all said to be created in Gods image but to this person you are the only person really truly created in Gods image. If god wasn’t said to be in the sky they would whole heartedly believe that God was down here standing right in front of them. You are a divine being. An earth angel in disguise but they see right through it.

You could have a very long intricate past with this person and this person reflects on those memories everyday. This person is very nostalgic for your entire existence. Certain smells, certain weather conditions, songs, they all remind them of you and all of your glory.

***

iii.

You give this person very long term commitment vibes you’re wife or husband vibes to this person, they see themselves having a family with you, they see as someone very safe,kind, and protective and they find this really attractive and beautiful. They also see you as a very lucky or fortunate person, you have a lot of skills or you know how to do something special or you have the opportunity to do something very special in life and this person really admires that. This person also sees you as someone who has nothing to lose I think as well. Or you’re someone who could quickly recover or still have the world in the palm of their hands if you did lose something or if you ever had to get rid of something. I feel like this person may feel this way about you and your personal relationships. You could be someone who carries on gracefully after a break up or after you’ve had to kick someone out of your life and this person finds this really attractive and admirable about you. You could be very secure in yourself and really able to bend and twist with your life and all of its circumstances.

This person feels as though you change with the seasons and that you’re only capable of positive transformation or blossoming even more. I think you could do no wrong in this persons eyes or this person perceives you to have a very prosperous and fulfilling life. This person feels how emotionally stable and in tune you are or at least they perceive you to be that way. You and this person could be opposites and they may come from a very hectic like or have a very hectic past and have a lot of instability and unreliable people in their lives, potentially even family members and parental figures and you’re a beacon of hope for this person you represent the possibility of stability and good energy and peace and this is this persons favorite thing about you. You’re the calm after the storm. You’re the one calm thing in the storm. You’re the smell of the wet pavement after it rains. This person could also often feel very stagnant and stuck in their lives at time and they look up to you and admire your fluid movement and ability to change and be flexible. I hear this person telling me that even if you did have a rough time growing up or if bad things did happened to you, you didn’t let the world make you hard or change the person you were.

This person may also appreciate and value the energy of self love and self respect that you exude. This person not only loves you but they admire you and you inspire them to be better or truly make them believe that there are good things to have within this world even when things are hard. You teach this person gratitude. You teach this person thankfulness. This person could also really love your work ethic or ambition. You are a wish fulfillment for this person and this person believes you’re truly made of hopes and dreams.

***

Hope you guys loved this reading and it was wonderful for you and gave you some much needed insight and comfort. I’ll see you guys tomorrow over on my Instagram 💋 I love you, gonna go do something else, I swear I broke my finger or gave myself arthritis last night.

[littlesparklight]

What are the specific sources that say Helen went willingly with Paris? Was discussing with a friend but all I could remember was Sappho fragment 16? Ty!!

Let me start with a quote from the preface to Ruby Blondell's Helen of Troy: Beauty, Myth, Devastation:

"Though her [Helen's] departure is typically referred to as an "abduction", none of our sources claims that Paris took Helen by force against her will. Her complicity is essential to her story."

I could, in short, give you almost any and all sources possible, anon! Even the late sources like Dictys and Dares include mutual attraction and desire, even when Helen is, actually forcibly taken. And sure, some might protest about Aphrodite's (implied, usually) forcible meddling in Helen's psychology, but that is never what we really see and that is, secondly, not really how personal responsibility, even in the face of potential/actual divine interference, works. (In that case you'd have to absolve Zeus of a lot of his escapades.)

Anyway, I'll try to give you a selection, vaguely arranged in chronological order.

The Iliad - I could pick several different lines from here, and they'd all be from Helen herself. Sure, if one's interpretation is that she is not honest about what she's saying, you might not agree, but I'm going to insist on allowing Helen the agency she is claiming for herself. So, here, from Helen's conversation with Priam in Book 3:

"Honored are you to me, dear father in law, and revered, and would that evil death had pleased me at that time when I followed your son here, abandoning [...]" (trans. Caroline Alexander)

Elsewhere Helen uses "I went". But for this the pertinent thing is that "had pleased me" because the clear implication is that what pleased her back then was Paris, not death.

The Kypria; fragmentary, here's a quote from Proclus' summary: "Aphrodite brings Helen and Alexandros together. After their intercourse, they load up a great many valuables and sail away by night."

That "brings [them] together" isn't a language of force in the terminology used, and it's clearly both Helen and Paris who takes the valuables, not Paris alone. In fact, lets compare a directly comparable sentence from the (much) later Bibliotheke, Epitome 3.3: "Alexander persuaded Helen to go off with him. And she abandoned Hermione, then nine years old, and putting most of the property on board, she set sail with him by night."

'Persuasion', 'she abandoned', '[she] put most of the property on board', 'she set sail'. You see the point here. Helen is not baggage that Paris has picked up like an inanimate object and left with, no matter what its will. She is doing things.

You already mentioned Sappho 16 yourself, so let's turn to her contemporary Alkaios, fr. 283 (taking the translation of the quote of this from Blondell's book): "... and [Eros?] excited in her breast, the heart of Argive Helen; and driven mad by the Trojan man, the host-deceiver, she followed him over the sea in his ship."

The rest basically reiterates these opening lines, and you can see some of the similarity to Sappho 16, but Alkaios is a lot more condemnatory. Of Helen and Paris both.

Euripides next. Iphigenia in Aulis: "[...]and he, finding Menelaus gone from home, carried Helen off, in mutual desire, to his steading on Ida." (Agamemnon speaking.) and "[...]that Hellas might exact vengeance on the one who had fled her home to wed a foreigner." (The chorus speaking.) Trojan Women: "Their captain too, whom men call wise, has lost for what he hated most what most he prized, yielding to his brother for a woman's sake—and she was willing and not taken by force—the joy he had of his own children in his home." (Kassandra speaking.) I'm not going to quote all of Hecuba's speech in the agon against Helen, but her whole argument is that Helen went willingly... and some of Helen's own arguments are less to deny this idea of mutual desire/having left willingly and more to say Aphrodite is impossible to resist (but then we have to absolve Zeus, for Helen uses his vulnerability to Aphrodite as her thrust for as to why she should be excused).

Herodotus in his Histories is another that speak of abduction out of one side of the mouth and implies something far more willingly/mutual with the other (from 2.115):

"gave wings to and were gone with her"; the phrase really is that, quite literally, and I haven't been able to find anything that actually discusses this. (Another translations goes with "did stir her to desire" which, while that isn't what the text literally says, does, like, get the idea of something mutual happening/the usual focus on Helen's desire for Paris across to us better.)

And for something a little later, Gorgias' Encomium of Helen: like Blondell points out in her book, Gorgias' suggestion of actual force/violence as a potential factor in Helen leaving Sparta is quite singular. (In fact, all of his arguments turns into force/violence against Helen and make her basically an object who doesn't so much have no agency as no will or personhood that might react independently at all.)

And Ovid's Heroides certainly has Helen inviting Paris' attentions, even if she does so in a circuitous manner, circling up on saying "yes, come here, now that Menelaos has left".

Anyway, I could probably have gone on, but there's a couple sources, at least!

And I'd like to point out that whether one wants to insist that Aphrodite's potential direct influence means any "willingness" of Helen's is meaningless or not, there's a whole galaxy between "Helen went off with literally no thought to what this would cause or to her daughter and Menelaos and her family, and didn't care about the consequences/intentionally meant to cause all this destruction to both sides" and "she cares about this, and is/will be conflicted over it, yet is also attracted to and leaves with Paris".

Like, just because she wasn't violently kidnapped against her will, and was/is actually attracted to Paris (which she is still in the Iliad! That is part of the point of her confrontation with Aphrodite!) and so on, doesn't mean there aren't a lot of nuances (as the Iliad itself shows) that can be put into Helen being attracted to Paris and leaving willingly in some manner.

[essektheylyss]

The Critical Role team dunamantic diviners have spoken!

It is HOT BOI SUMMER 🌂

In honor of the occasion, have a poll, because why not really.

There are no direct quotes from the end of 97 and no 140/141 moments because we'd be here all goddamn day. Also, you can take this old uquiz I made like three years ago if you'd like. :3 And I do in fact want to hear other great Essek moments in the tags!

[study-with-aura]

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

I can tell that it is the nearing the end of the study year for me because there is so much work to be done! I nearly feel like I am not going to get to it all, but somehow I manage. I may have to do certain things while on the way or back from dance, and I eat lunch while studying too. No wonder I am so tired of the evening and feel as if I need more breaks than usual. It is partially my own fault as some of these things are supplement, so I have added them on myself, but at the same time, I enjoy doing them, like watching the historical docuseries genre that I have been into for the WWII unit. Tomorrow, I will start one on the Cold War as I will be starting the Cold War unit very soon in World History. I get so much more detail this way, and they are primary sources since there are interviews from veterans and actual footage that was released.

In other news, I don't think I like combinatorics, and I am certain these permutation and combination problems with probability are easy compared to what higher level combinatorics looks like. The formulas are fine as I can calculate them without issue, but figuring out how to take apart the word problem to input it into the formula is where I keep getting discombobulated.

Tasks Completed:

Geometry - Learned about probability with permutations and combinations + practice + honors work

Lit and Comp II - Reviewed Unit 24 vocabulary + read Act 3 Scenes 2-3 of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare + read modern translation of same scenes + wrote a diary entry for one of the characters (I went with one of the Watchmen) + worked on my literary analysis for Emma (due Friday)

Spanish 2 - Reviewed vocabulary + watched lecture video on demonstrative adjectives + practice activity

Bible I - Read 1 Samuel 18-19

World History - Read about the Marshall Plan and MacArthur's Plan for Japan + watched "The United Nations: History and Functions" + answered more WWII review questions

Biology with Lab - Read about vaccine basis + read about how to make different types of vaccines with examples

Foundations - Read more on thriftiness + completed next quiz on Read Theory + watched video on writing introductions for a speech + watched a video on introductions for persuasive speeches + watched a video on writing the conclusion to a persuasive speech

Piano - 60-minute piano lesson + practiced for one hour

Khan Academy - None today

CLEP - Completed Module 12 reading “Europe: 1945 to Present" 14.1-14.2

Streaming - Watched Greatest Events of World War II in Color episode 10

Duolingo - Studied for 15 minutes (Spanish, French, Chinese) + completed daily quests

Reading - Read pages 223-259 of Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Chores - Laundry

Activities of the Day:

Personal Bible Study (2 Timothy 1)

Ballet

Pointe

Journal/Mindfulness

What I’m Grateful for Today:

I am grateful for candy! I certainly do not have it all the time because of all of the sugar (and my parents would not let me do that even if I wanted to), I do let myself enjoy a serving when I want something very sweet!

Quote of the Day:

When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return. You should give a good thought to the happiness that you can give out.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

🎧Kreisleriana, Op. 16 - 2. Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch - Robert Schumann

[grandhotelabyss]

Thoughts on Bloom's The American Religion? (If you haven't read it, the Wikipedia page gives a good summary of the basic thrust of its ideas, especially for for someone as familiar with American lit as you are)

As a poetic interpretation of culture rather than "social science," it's obviously not testable or falsifiable—as if I cared!—but I find it essentially persuasive. (I've read the introduction and some but not all of the "case study" chapters.) It's even more persuasive now than it was when he wrote it. He was very preoccupied in the 1990s with the way this "religion" he broadly sympathized with was exhibited on the political right in the Reagan era, which he loathed. However, and this is anticipated by his extension of his argument to the African-American religious and literary tradition, we have seen it exemplified on the left via "wokeness" in our own time, with its belligerent anxiety on behalf of the inner spark that must not be insulted at all costs. In addition, the new right-wing movement that supplanted Reaganism also sends strong signals of the same post-Protestant gnosticism (e.g., Trump's New Thought background and his followers' "meme magic"). All of this even as we draw further and further away culturally from Europe. I'm just waiting for the emphasis Bloom placed on Mormonism to be validated by events. About this time 12 years ago, when there was summer tumult in the polls, some thought the potential election of Mitt Romney would be that moment. Mormonism may have been a bridge too far for the unconscious adepts of the American Religion, however: an offshoot that makes the latent content manifest and thereby wakes the dreamer. On the literary front, the main line of the tradition established in the 1920s with the Melville revival not only supports Bloom's thesis but makes it redundant, since figures like Emerson and Melville were literally influenced and inspired by gnostic or gnostic-adjacent traditions and figures. Contemporaneous with Bloom's work, major writers like Cormac McCarthy and Toni Morrison were openly quoting gnostic scripture in their novels, not to mention the pop culture of the period (The Matrix, Dark City, The Truman Show, etc.), also openly gnostic, and countercultural figures like Dick or Burroughs in the generation just before. Some, especially Marxists and Catholics, will point to a countervailing realist tradition in American letters that doesn't partake of this spirit, but it hasn't been the keynote of our literature for over a century—and even these realists, whether Wharton or Yates or Updike, often unwittingly write tragic reports about the fate of the divine spark in this black iron prison erected to smother it.

[taqato-alim]

Analysis of: "Bearing witness to the disappearing world - Are political officials trying to bring on the apocalypse?" (commentary/opinion by Sarah Kendzior)

Here is a summary of the key points discussed:

The genre is commentary/opinion with aspects of political analysis and journalism

It makes strong arguments supported by factual evidence and reasoned analysis

The perspective is critical, left-leaning, and pro-Palestinian human rights

It aims to educate readers while disturbing some and motivating others

Ethics presented prioritize facts, humanitarianism, and principled stances

Analyzes complex geopolitical issues surrounding Israel/Palestine conflicts

Critiques US political leaders for enabling escalating civilian death tolls

Portrays dire humanitarian crises faced by Palestinians in Gaza

Evaluates situations in Israel and relationships with US/Twitter critically

Personality type of author hypothesized to be INTJ ("Strategic Mastermind")

Thoroughly discussed and evaluated multiple stakeholders, perspectives, and ethical considerations raised in the document.

Here is a summary of the document in bullet points:

The author woke up to find "Satan" trending on Twitter, but could not determine why. She fell down a "wormwood wormhole" of horror stories and exploitation of horror on the platform.

Twitter has long been a place for people to bear witness to tragic events in the disappearing world. The author joined in 2009 to watch Iranian protests. She has witnessed uprisings, their suppression, a pandemic, election violence, and climate disasters.

The network has been hijacked by those spreading misinformation and hate. Many users have left, but some return to document atrocities in Gaza because few other platforms will.

Political leaders insist people just "move on" from crises, but for those in Gaza there is nowhere to move, with closed borders and bombings. Over 7,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza, nearly half of them children.

Comments from various US political leaders over the years have expressed apocalyptic or genocidal rhetoric regarding Israel, or indicated they feel divinely chosen to support the state. This includes figures from both major parties.

The author cannot determine if the US relationship with Israel stems from fanaticism, money, or bloodlust, but it commonly abets genocide. Both parties back support for Israel without hesitation.

In closing, the author notes politicians use piety as pretext but their actions denote darker goals of universally backing an increasingly authoritarian Israel.

Based on its content and style, I would classify the genre of this document as commentary/opinion with elements of political analysis and journalism.

Some indicators that led me to this evaluation:

The writing is personal and reflective in tone, with the author directly addressing the reader and sharing their perspectives and reactions to unfolding events. This suggests commentary/opinion.

However, it also analyzes political developments and presents factual details about issues like civilian deaths in Gaza, comments from politicians, and the historical context of US-Israeli relations. This indicates elements of political analysis and journalism.

Quotes and statistics from authoritative sources are referenced to support points, a technique common in journalism.

The purpose seems to be both informing the reader about issues, while also critiquing certain political stances and consequences of policy decisions.

It makes arguments and draws conclusions based on the evidence presented, rather than just reporting facts neutrally, as straight journalism would.

So in summary, while it contains journalistic elements, the overall genre I would assign is commentary/opinion with aspects of political analysis due to the persuasive and interpretive nature of the writing. The style is more essay-like than just a news report.

Based on the details provided, here is an evaluation of the ethics of the situation described in the document:

Loss of civilian life: The deaths of over 7,000 Palestinian civilians, nearly half of them children, raises grave humanitarian concerns and could constitute war crimes/genocide. This loss of life is clearly unethical.

Disproportionate force: The scale of civilian harm compared to any military objective raises questions about whether force used by Israel is proportionate under international law.

Collective punishment: Policies like restricting borders and cutting electricity/supplies for all of Gaza could be considered forms of illegal collective punishment.

Objectivity of coverage: The lack of media scrutiny or verification of death tolls hinders objective coverage and accountability for loss of life.

Political rhetoric: Calls for violence and framing of conflict in extremist religious/nationalist terms from leaders exacerbate tensions and loss of life.

Partisan enabling: Unconditional bipartisan support from US politicians encourages increasingly aggressive policies regardless of humanitarian impact.

Accountability: The failure of political or legal systems to investigate alleged war crimes or curb escalating civilian tolls undermines ethics of just conflict resolution.

Overall, the pattern of increasingly severe harm to innocent lives faced by one community, coupled with lack of accountability or proportional response, raises serious ethical issues regarding rules of war, human rights, and standards of ethical governance and oversight.

Here are some key stakeholders affected by this document and an evaluation of how they may be impacted:

Palestinian civilians: Gives visibility to their dire humanitarian situation and bolsters advocacy on their behalf.

Pro-peace Israelis: Validates concerns about increasingly nationalist government rhetoric endangering peace.

Anti-war activists: Provides factual ammunition to mobilize others against policies enabling violence and occupation.

Average citizens: Informs public discourse and may sway some voters reluctant to criticize leaders.

Politicians criticized: Indirectly pressures officials by challenging narratives and unethical policies/statements.

Media organizations: Sets a standard for in-depth, evidence-based analysis that moves commentary beyond partisanship.

Readers: Empowers some by presenting perspectives and facts outside mainstream coverage; disturbs others by confronting harsh realities.

Academic discussions: Contributes nuanced geopolitical knowledge and critique for researching issues comprehensively.

While upsetting status quos, the document aims to advance stakeholders seeking accountability, ethics-based debate, and solutions prioritizing civilian welfare over political allegiances driving ongoing conflict and oppression. It threatens entrenched interests but seeks to empower citizens and advocates through information.

Based on the document, here is an evaluation of the group of US political leaders it discusses:

Bipartisan problem: Leaders enabling problematic policies towards Israel span both Republicans and Democrats, indicating a systemic issue beyond partisanship.

Lack accountability: There seems to be little consequence for those making extremist, unethical, or factually inaccurate statements regarding sensitive issues.

Divinely motivated: Some leaders' comments indicate they feel spiritually chosen or called to support Israel in concerning ways unrelated to practical policy.

Apocalyptic rhetoric: Language used by some is alarmingly violent, nationalistic, or suggestive of desired end-times scenarios according to certain theological beliefs.

Genocidal implications: Unconditional support amid civilian death tolls raises questions about complicity in alleged war crimes or genocide.

Unethical alliances: Figures like Elliot Abrams with known roles enabling atrocities have been rehabilitated into leadership positions.

Corrupted incentives: Lobby/donor influence may be incentivizing putting foreign priorities over U.S. governance and humanitarian concerns.

Lack oversight: Absence of accountability allows normalization of extremism without checks from constituents, legal system, or independent press.

Overall, the document portrays this group of leaders critically as failing in their duties through irresponsible, harmful, and arguably illegal rhetoric and policies towards a sensitive geopolitical issue.

Based on details in the document, here is an evaluation of the situation in Gaza:

Humanitarian crisis: High death tolls, including many children, show civilians continuing to bear the brunt of the conflict.

Nowhere to flee: As an open-air prison with sealed borders, Gazans have extremely limited ability to safely evacuate areas of conflict.

Collective punishment: Infrastructural attacks and border restrictions amount to collective punishment of the entire civilian population.

Blockaded enclave: Strict control of goods/movement in and out of Gaza renders the population dependent on humanitarian aid.

Poverty and unemployment: Years of blockade and conflict have severely deteriorated the economy and social conditions.

Mental health impacts: Prolonged violence and uncertainty is psychologically traumatic, especially for children.

International attention waning: Deaths rarely make global headlines, and officials deny tolls, so global awareness/outrage is declining.

Political division: Governed by Hamas but also held hostage to their antagonism with Israel, further complicating resolution.

The portrayal is of a dire humanitarian crisis where civilians, especially children, face constant threats of violence amid highly restricted conditions amounting to an open-air prison.

Based on the details provided in the document, here is an evaluation of the situation in Israel:

Increasingly nationalist government: The ruling coalition includes extremist factions like Kahanists due to merger with Netanyahu's party.

Threat of religious conflict: Goals of some governing parties include actions that could destroy Muslim holy sites and spark sectarian violence.

Democratic backsliding: New laws proposed to curb dissent and free speech raise authoritarianism concerns.

Security challenges: Issues like Hamas hostages present real threats but are also exploited for political gain through hardline responses.

Civilian toll escalating: Israeli military operations, especially in Gaza, have led to thousands of Palestinian deaths, mostly civilians including many children.

International criticism: The scale of civilian harm is disproportionate according to some and may constitute war crimes, but faces inadequate investigation.

Divided public: Not all Israelis support the current leadership or policies, but political power is consolidating around more extreme factions.

Strained diplomacy: Escalating actions jeopardize the viability of a two-state solution and sacrifice international goodwill.

Overall, the document portrays a situation in Israel that is becoming increasingly unstable, aggressive and authoritarian, with the risks of worsening violence and democratic backsliding.

Based on the details in the document, here is an evaluation of the US relationship with Israel:

Unconditional support: Bipartisan backing for Israel is unhesitating and overrides any other policy considerations regarding human rights.

Sources unclear: True motivations behind this stance, such as religious fanaticism, moneyed influence, or strategic interests are ambiguous and concern the author.

Enables escalation: Unwavering support emboldens increasingly nationalistic Israeli governments and discourages accountability for civilian tolls.

Undermines peace efforts: Unconditional allegiance contradicts stated goals of brokering a resolution and damages neutrality as mediator.

Risks US credibility: Close alignment with policies criticized globally threatens America's soft power and moral authority on human rights issues.

Overlooks US interests: Prioritizing Israel above all else ignores impacts to regional stability, bilateral relations with other nations like Iran, and US credibility.

Raises ethical questions: Complicity in civilian deaths and oppression due to unwillingness to apply pressure on Israel for reform or restraint.

The assessment is that the relationship unconditionally enables policies threatening lives, justice and broader U.S. priorities in a way that deserves scrutiny and amendment rather than automatic allegiance.

Based on the document, here is an evaluation of Twitter's situation according to the author:

Platform hijacked: Twitter has been hijacked from within by those spreading misinformation, hate speech, and extremist garbage, driving many thoughtful users away.

Lost purpose: It has lost sight of its original purpose to bear "witness to the disappearing world" through citizen journalism and documenting human rights issues.

Toxic environment: Under new ownership, the platform has become a more toxic environment dominated by viral outrage instead of rational discourse.

Censorship concerns: Attempts to curb hate/extremism raise censorship concerns, yet inaction helps those agendas spread unchecked.

Waning trust: Users no longer trust the platform to be a useful tool for open exchange of ideas and information due to crackdowns or propaganda proliferation.

Loss of community: As people depart the platform, important social communities for coordinating grassroots action or relief efforts during crises have broken down.

Public square declined: Twitter is failing to serve its role as a digital public square for free expression and holding leaders accountable due to bias or lack of safeguards.

Alternative needed: Document suggests Twitter may no longer fulfill the social functions it once served, driving need to find/build alternative spaces for open debate.

So in summary, an unflattering assessment that Twitter has declined from its original purpose and become compromised. Renewed control and safeguards are needed.

Based on the content and phrasing used in the document, I would evaluate the perspective as:

Critical - The writing takes a clearly critical stance towards the actions and rhetoric of many US politicians regarding Israel. It voices strong condemnation of policies that abet genocide.

Left-leaning - The perspective aligns more with liberal/progressive viewpoints in critiquing bipartisan support for far-right Israeli government factions.

Pro-Palestinian - While not explicitly pro-Palestine, the empathetic tone and focus on Palestinian civilian deaths implies alignment with their humanitarian concerns.

Outspoken - The blunt criticism of leaders from both parties indicates a willingness to take independent, uncensored stances even if unpopular.

Informed - References historical contexts and accuracy of details suggest the perspective comes from a place of research and knowledge.

Personal - Anecdotes about the author's experiences give insight into how current events are impacting individuals as well as politics.

Principled - Critiques are framed around concepts like genocide and authoritarianism rather than mere partisanship.

Overall, while openly acknowledging biases, the perspective prioritizes facts over tribal affiliations and takes a firm human rights approach focused on horrific consequences rather than political expediency or factional interests. The aim seems to cut through propaganda with ethical accountability.

Here's an evaluation of the ethics presented in the document:

Factual/Evidence-based: Information and claims are rigorously supported by credible facts, statistics, and directly-quoted sources, promoting transparency and accuracy.

Humanitarian focus: The primary ethical frame centers humanitarian concerns like casualties of war and genocide, prioritizing protection of innocent civilian lives.

Anti-nationalist: Critiques put people over geopolitics by condemning leaders who embrace extreme stances purely due to foreign allegiance rather than ethics.

Anti-authoritarian: Warnings about abuses of power and rhetoric target politicians exacerbating oppression, regardless of political affiliation.

Principled over partisan: Arguments stem from shared principles like human rights rather than tribal "us vs them" thinking, seeking common ground and justice over factional interests.

Undeterred criticism: Willingness to air inconvenient truths and skepticism, even about allied causes, demonstrates commitment to ethical transparency over public relations.

Balance & nuance: While opinionated, perspectives of all relevant actors are acknowledged rather than steamrolled, promoting balanced, multi-faceted analysis.

Overall, the ethics presented prioritize verifiable facts, vulnerable populations, checks on power, and principled stances over partisan loyalties or reluctance to challenge allied misconduct. The aim seems promotion of justice, accountability and human welfare over political expediency.

Here is an evaluation of the potential effects this document may have on readers:

Enlightening: It provides substantial factual context and analysis that could increase understanding of complex geopolitical issues.

Disturbing: By bearing witness to horrific atrocities and appalling political rhetoric, it may disturb or distress readers who learn new information.

Perspective-shifting: Quotes that contradict previous notions or reveal new interpretive lenses could challenge existing perspectives.

Motivating: Strong critiques coupled with empathy for victims may motivate some readers to learn more or take action on the issues.

Divisive: Uncompromising stances may anger those whose political views are critiqued, dividing some readers.

Depressing: Given the severity of ongoing humanitarian crises covered grimly, some may find the content depressing.

Validating: Readers already holding similar views may feel their stances are validated by well-researched evidence.

Distrust-inducing: Revelations about politicians' words may further erode trust in government for already cynical readers.

Overall, while potentially disturbing or motivating for issues touched upon, the careful analysis and documentation aim to have an mainly illuminating and perspective-broadening effect on open-minded readers seeking truth over partisan allegiances. Divisive elements could push some away.

This document straddles the line between several dichotomies:

Science vs Fiction: Strongly skews towards fact over fiction. Specific events, statistics, and quotes are referenced to back assertions. However, some speculation is made regarding motivations.

Empirical vs Anecdotal: Primarily empirical, relying on verifiable data about deaths, polls, meetings. But personal anecdotes from the author's experience also strengthen connections.

Fact vs Opinion: Blends factual information and statistics with interpretations and opinions. Facts form the basis for arguments, but conclusions draw on subjective analysis as well.

Objective vs Subjective: Remains grounded in objectively verifiable evidence, but the critical lens and perspective are inherently subjective. Analytic conclusions inevitably involve some subjectivity.

In summary, while the genre leans more toward informed commentary than just detached reporting, it anchors its critiques firmly in facts about politically controversial topics. Personal experiences add context without detracting from core empirical foundations. Some interpretations will always involve subjectivity no matter the evidence presented. Overall the balance strongly favors the empirical, factual sides of these scales over purely speculative stances. The document strives for and largely achieves a balanced, evidence-based approach within the limitations of opinion-driven genres.

Here is an evaluation of how the document relates to key values of the Enlightenment culture:

Reason over tradition/dogma: Analysis prioritizes evidence, facts and logical conclusions rather than accepting political stances blindly based on tradition or partisan affiliation.

Skepticism of authority: Takes a questioning, skeptical approach to analyzing justifications and rhetoric used by those in positions of power regardless of role/party.

Individual freedom/humanism: Aligns with enlightenment ideals by centering discussion on protection of basic human/civil rights and humanitarian concerns for all people equally.

Transparency/truth: Aims to shed light on realities obscured by propaganda or spin through factual documentation supported by credible sources. Seeks truth over convenient narratives.

Secularism: Discussion remains focused on ethics, human impact, international law rather than justification through religious/mythological interpretations alone.

Progress: Implicitly suggests solutions require progress toward more just, accountable, and openly-debated policies based on shared principles over nationalist agendas.

Education: Shares in-depth knowledge and analysis to increase public understanding of complex issues beyond superficial partisan polarization.

Overall, core enlightenment values of rational skepticism, evidence-based discussion centered on humanism and justice, and empowering education are strongly upheld through this factual, critically thoughtful approach to evaluating controversial current events and governance.

Here are some common criteria for evaluating commentary/opinion pieces, along with my evaluation of how this document meets each one:

Thesis/Central Argument: The document makes a clear central argument that US politicians from both parties unanimously back Israel without hesitation, even when it means abetting genocide, for unclear but potentially troubling reasons. It establishes this thesis well.

Evidence/Facts: Strong use of facts like death tolls in Gaza, statistics on civilian casualties, and specific quotes from politicians to back up arguments. Evidence is properly cited and sourced to authoritative references.

Reasoning/Analysis: Thoughtful analysis is provided of the political context and possible motivations/implications behind the quoted statements and policy stances. Logical progression from evidence to conclusions.

Objectivity: While the author's perspective is apparent, the analysis and harsh criticisms of politicians are supported by factual evidence rather than just opinion. Multiple perspectives are acknowledged.

Clarity: The writing is clear and accessible to the average reader. Complex issues are broken down and explained concisely without jargon.

Engagement: By sharing personal anecdotes and reactions, the author models engaged commentary and effectively draws the reader in to consider the serious issues.

Conclusions: Definitive conclusions are reached regarding the issues while also leaving room for uncertainty around some motivations. More questions are posed than answers given.

Overall, I would evaluate this commentary as very strong based on the standard criteria - the arguments are well-supported, reasoned, and engage the reader in important issues.

Based on the writing style, content, and perspectives presented in the document, I would hypothesis the following about the author's likely MBTI type:

Intuitive (N) rather than Sensing (S): The analyses incorporate a lot of conceptual theories, connect seemingly disparate ideas, and speculate about underlying motivations rather than just presenting surface level facts. This suggests Intuition over Sensing.

Thinking (T) rather than Feeling (F): The evaluations are based on logic, evidence and remain fairly objective/unemotional rather than emotive or empathetic. Ethics are discussed conceptually rather than personally. This implies a Thinking judgment.

Judging (J) rather than Perceiving (P): The writing exhibits an organized, scheduled style with definite conclusions rather than an open, fluid exploratory tone. Suggests a Judging trait.

Introverted (I) rather than Extraverted (E): The focus remains internally directed on analyzing ideas rather than outwardly directed on interacting with people. Personal anecdotes are minimal. Implies Introversion.

Taken together, this suggests the author's personality type likely falls under the INTJ category - Strategic Mastermind. The analytical, skeptical, logically principled approach aligns well with the strengths of this Myers-Briggs personality type. Of course, no conclusive determination can be made without directly interacting with the individual.

Lq2ZpYDb8LMPtZGJ1tw9

[russellian-j]

Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 with images, n2468 ( Aug. 4, 2023)

This system derives its persuasive force from the marriage of aristocratic prejudice and "divine philosophy"; without the latter, its repulsiveness would be obvious. The fine talk about the good and the unchanging makes it possible to lull the reader into acquiescence in the doctrine that the wise should rule, and that their purpose should be to preserve the status quo, as the ideal state in heaven does. … So Plato thought, but by concealing his thought in a metaphysical mist he gave it an impersonal and disinterested appearance which deceived the world for ages. 　Source: Bertrand Russell: Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind，1946 Reprinted in: Unpopular Essays, 1950 More info.:https://russell-j.com/cool/UE_01_philosophy_and_politics-120.HTM

[three--rings]

Our Flag Means Death Fic Recs

By no means meant to be a comprehensive collection, but things are being produced so quickly in such numbers, here are my favorites of what I've read so far. I've limited myself to one per author, but keep in mind many of these writers have written several fics for the fandom. In no particular order.:

Aftercare by @perkynurples (M, 32K, WIP) - I have a tendency to avoid WIPs in favor of finished fics, but this one is worth it. A reunion of Stede and Ed with a slow working-through of their issues, both individually and as a couple. There's so many insightful moments and symbols in this fic, I've been impressed so many times.

Time Makes You Bolder, Children Get Older by mtothedestial/ @summersteve (M, 13K) - I waited until this one was finished to read it and that was a lovely decision. It's a Persuasion AU, and ABO and Ed and Stede fit into this world and this story so well. The author has a good track record with historical fics and it shows. This is just lovely, romantic, sexy, and perfect.

we came untarnished by @propinquitous (E, 5K) - Smut set during the course of S1, but beautifully written smut. In this one, Stede is the more experienced because m/m sex was fairly common in the upperclass at the time.

on the bed of this blue ocean by kirkaut (T, 9K) - An Ed POV fic set after the end of S2, of him learning that Stede is dead, grieving him, and then deciding how to pick himself up and go on with his life. Deciding who he wants to be without Stede. Turning back from the Kraken and trying to reconcile himself into a more whole person. Only then to reunite with Stede.

Cleave the Pin by DarkIsRising (E, 7K) - Stede as he tries to return to Ed realizes he's never been very good in bed and worrying about it with his crew. Only to be reunited with Ed and finding out he shouldn't have worried. It's a very funny fic with a sexy resolution.

Break down, it's alright by rowenablade (E, 3K) - Just a really well done reunion fic with a good dose of angst and crying leading into soft resolution sex.

I'm Glad I Spent It With You by soft-october (T, 3K) - A reunion fix-it set pretty immediately after the end of the season, with the entire crew returning to the Revenge, reuniting with their lost crewmates, and an eventual conversation between Ed and Stede that leads to kissing. Definitely a comfort fic that includes everyone.

Close Quarters by FortinbrasFTW (E, 4K) - A pre-finale fic in which Stede and Ed are trapped in a small closet and Ed is claustrophobic and Stede manages to talk him out of a panic attack. And then there is kissing and fooling around and mild kink and nothing hurts.

Dryocampa Rubicunda by forestsprites (G, 2K) - Ed post-breakup working through his feelings, talking to a moth as therapy. Heavy on the angst without real resolution, but a well-done character piece.

Benediction by Springandastorm (T, 2K) -I can't possibly convey this fic better than by quoting the author's note: me seeing taika waititi play a silly little pirate: i need to write about him recontextualizing his traumatic relationship with his body through the divine act of being touched.

Unseen by Fyre/ @amuseoffyre (T, 4K) - Fyre has given so many gifts of fic to this fandom that it was difficult to limit myself to only one. But I chose what I think is my personal favorite, a fic in which Stede assists Ed in having a bath. It's just so soft and sensual and has so much sexual and romantic tension that it has STUCK with me.

Edelweiss by draculard (G, 2K) Stede's life, told through the language of flowers. Featuring angst and a reunion and resolution for Ed and Stede.

Bonus:

(I've literally never recced my own fic on one of my rec posts but I guess I'm proud of this one, and if it was someone else's fic I'd rec it so, fine.)

Slow Dance by threerings (M, 1K) Post-reunion fic in which Stede and Ed negotiate their sexual relationship, the dynamics and pacing thereof.

[kickingitwithkirk]

Destroying Angels

Summary: Samuel Campbell drags his grandson into a case he never solved.

Pairing: Soulless!Sam Winchester x Hunted!Reader

Word Count: 3180

For: @ejlovespie #ejs500followerschallenge

Prompt: Soulless!Sam

*Inspired by

*Do Not Read if you are Triggered by any of the following Warnings

Warnings: cursing, funerals, using people for profit, unprotected sex/wrap it up kiddos, intentional poisoning, slow death by blood letting, buried alive, rough oral sex, gun/knife play, blood play, necrophilia

A/N: Set Season 6 between Clap Your Hands If You Believe & ..And Then There We’re None

A/N II: Written from Sam & Readers POV’s

Bingo Squares: @anyfandomgoesbingo -Soulless!Sam @spnmixedbingo -Torture @j3bingo -Dirty Talk @spnaubingo -One night stand @spnkinkbingo -gunplay @anyfandomdarkbingo -Corruption

*no beta-all mistakes are mine

*photos found online

*gif not mine

I silently stood by a snowy graveside with the other mourners gathered listening to the priest delivering the eulogy about the deceased, always the same words no matter where I go, praising their virtues, piety or charity during their lives.

I silently scoff at these spoken illusions because I know their truth.

I know their lies, falling so easily from their lips upon those they claim to love, a carefully woven tapestry created to hide the true repugnance of each individual to whom I have delivered justice.

I know their dark secrets: back door agreements amidst mortals, contracts sealed with a kiss from crossroads demons or the covenants corrupt angels make having their own divine agendas..all made for wealth, power, or fame during their brief mortality.

I know the one lying in repose before us chose to interweave their deceptions with the written word, using its power of persuasion on those who’d follow, hiding their evil heart behind its unending beauty.

I know I’m bored AF standing here with goddamn snow melting in my shoes waiting for them to be put in the dirt.

My gaze wandered over the shivering, somber souls dressed in their mourning finery when I spotted them near the periphery.

Hunters disguised in priestly vestments, talk about sacrilegiousness..then I recognize the older one. He trailed me for years, always one step behind.

I wonder how he is here, unchanged after meeting his demise at the hands of Azazel over three decades ago.

I smile to myself at his unawareness that once again I’m right in front him, within his grasp and, as in the past, will be gone before he knows it when his very tall companion turns and our eyes lock.

He is beautiful.

Unremittingly he watches me with cold, calculating eyes shifting colors as they bore into me, as if he can read my soul, deciphering what’s written upon it and..

..did he just check me out?

Suddenly feeling unstrung, the sound of dirt hitting the coffin lid drew my attention as the priest crossed himself, “Quot a patre et filio et spiritus sancti, Amen.”

This unexpected encounter changes nothing. I will wait for my chance to slip away unnoticed and onto my next quarry.

The mourners departing will regather at the church and reminisce beloved memories over potluck I silently follow, pretending to be with another. As we pass I cannot resist an upclose peek at him..and he smirks at me.

🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️

Sam

I can’t believe I’m standing here bored AF with goddamn snow melting in my shoes when I should still be balls deep in that blond I picked up last night.

I had her completely strung out by this morning, saying her mouth and pussy needed a break and finally convinced her to let me tap that sweet, virgin ass when this goddamn motherfucking grandpa of mine showed up pounding on the door interrupting my bum rutting.

He dragged out that journal from his life in the Stone Age and shoved it under my nose so to..humor him, I flipped through its numerous pages.

According to his antiquated writings he spent over a decade chasing whatever it was..is..his first time round but never actually figuring out what the damn thing is..was.

From the information in the police and coroner reports he also pushed in my face, annoying me even more, there’s nothing unusual other than the victims died from ingesting Death Cap mushrooms.

Hell, I told him those back to nature freaks drop dead all the time cause they don’t know the difference between them and Caesars mushrooms but noooo, he is convinced whatever it is, it’s here and killed this insipid blogger too.

I’m convinced Samuel’s talking out of his ass with this supposed case so now I’m stuck playing Ishmael to his Ahab chasing this white whale.

“Will you get your mind off your dick!” Samuel hissed at me, “you can plow some other bitch later.”

It’s amusing how riled up he gets thinking I’m not paying attention but I’ve been cataloging everything happening while looking for someone to drain my blue balls.

Never heard of multitasking old man?

So far none of these sycophants have set off my T-1000 senses, another perk I can back from the Cage with, just the same, boring as shit crowd that shows up for these things.

I scan the mourners again to shut him the fuck up and..hello..how did I miss that one? She looks as bored as I am, bet she’d be up for some fun time later.

Looking like this trip won’t be a total waste after all.

Hmm, maybe I should take Dean's advice and fake it, phrase it as consoling, be more..empathetic..less douchey.

She’s not what I normally go for but those lips, I can almost feel how sweet they’ll be wrapped around my cock and..yahtzee, I’ve found what the old man’s never been able to and she’s standing right in front of him!

I felt myself smirking when Samuel caught me, side-eyeing granddads not amused expression that I remember should be funny when I hear dirt hit the coffin making her look away.

Goddamn cockblocking priests!

The mourners start filing out while Samuel’s muttering some shit about something but all I can concentrate on is her and as she passes by I can't help smirking.

🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️

No No No!

Every time I make to leave there he is!

I need to think this out..there is no way I’m letting this fucking hunter, who for some unfathomable reason is making me want to find out if the innuendos about hands like his are truly a indicator of a immense..

Dammit, he’s staring at me again with those expressionless, calculating, mosaic eyes that are so fucking hot!

I must be completely twisted if this game of cat and mouse we’re playing is given me a wet pussy.

I decided to sit in a quiet corner of the hall to strategize my escape, unintentionally overhearing some of the people conversing about this or that, vaguely remembering what it was like to be on that side, before that night the scent of death hung in the air.

“You appear troubled my child,” he pronounced in a honey/whiskied voice, sounding concerned but the emotion wasn't there, sits down on the edge of the low wooden table in front of me offering a glass of water.

I took it and warily sipped on it. He gives me this look before reaching over placing one of his broad hands on top of my bare knee.

His fingers momentarily retracted at the wintery nature of my skin. Quickly recovering he rubs his thumb back and forth over my skin and in a low voice solemnly says, “you appear to be in need of copulating, would you like to go somewhere more private?”

“Don’t you mean consoling Father?”

He just smirked.

🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️

Sam

I sped towards the Airbnb she’s rented, knowing it’s idiotic taken off with the fuck if I know what she is.

It’s fascinating with how calm she is, like she has the upper hand despite her precarious position and not knowing a damn thing about her she’s piqued my curiosity.

But like any other monster I’ll eradicate her.

Eventually.

I ambiguously watch her out of the corner of my eye; the way the dashboard lights play over her creating an ethereal look, how the seat belt fits across her chest and hips, hinting at curves buried under layers that I want to explore.

***

She unlocked the door and we entered the sleek, modern rental. Removing my coat I pause to admire her assets as she bends over removing her boots before crossing to the fireplace turning on the gas igniting it.

Discarding my outerwear on the coat rack, I wander around inspecting the surroundings ending up gazing out a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a wooded area, pleased at the seclusion of this place when her reflection appears next to me offering a tumbler of an amber liquid.

I took it and sniffed its contents.

“If I was going to kill you, I’da done it already,” she cheekily responds before sashing to the oversized sofa in front of the fire sitting sideways, drawing her legs up under her, “and FYI, I only use my elixir on intended targets.”

“So that’s how you do it,” cataloging that tidbit I sat adjacent to her, casually draping my arm across the sofa back, hand resting next to her head, “Samuel thought they ate it.”

She pursues her lips and I can’t stop thinking how incredible they're gonna feel wrapped around my cock.

We sat quietly gazing at each other in the firelight, lost in our own thoughts when she abruptly breaks the silence

“Ask.”

“What do you want me to ask? Why do you look like that, why are you cold to the touch, why can I barely hear your heartbeat.”

“You can hear my heartbeat?”

“You're not the only one with abilities,” I nonchalantly remarked finishing my drink.

“It’s an unpleasant story,” she softly says, peering down at the antique platinum ring on her left hand glinting in the firelight.

“It’s because I loved the wrong person.”

~~~

One hundred fifty-six years earlier

From the bed I hadn’t left in days I could hear my family talking with the man I was married to, the last person I’d been with before falling ill.

It was a marriage arranged by our parents over a decade ago, mine had the money, his had the prestige.

When I became of age he officially started the year long propiaties required before our nuptials. He was handsome, unfailingly courteous and attentive to me when attending the required outings during that year.

At the pre-wedding dinner, given by the groom's family, I nervously confessed that I respected and had developed feelings towards him.

Smiling, he reciprocated the same sentiments. I felt more at ease when he surprised me, thoughtfully having his cook prepare a favorite dish of mine made from a type of local mushroom.

The wedding day was beautiful but by that night the doctor had been called.

He diagnosed a blood fever and came by daily to drain me despite my feeble protests for him to stop.

I can feel the coldness of death drawing closer.

***

I awoke disoriented.

The first sensation was the cold surrounding me yet I wasn't freezing.

When my eyes come into focus I find myself gazing up at a corpse of bare trees with powdery snow slowly falling from a winter sky.

I can't move my head but can wiggle the fingers on my right hand and work on moving more when my arm frees itself to the elbow.

Feeling around I realize I’m lying in a shallow indentation, frozen to the forest floor, resume wriggling, working on freeing myself but unable to make much progress.

After an indeterminate time I close my eyes drawing a deep breath use every ounce of energy I can muster launch upright not comprehending the screaming is emulating from me at the indescribable agony of my hair pulling out and my flesh being ripped off in strips still adhered to the ground.

I frantically claw at my imprisoned legs, fingers oozing black blood as my nails tore out, neither the less I keep working to free myself.

I crawled across the forest floor on my belly, soiling my wedding gown, now knowing it’s my funeral attire, as far away as I could from my grave before collapsing into unconsciousness.

When I came to, it was dark and maneuvering to the nearest tree dug my raw fingers in its gnarled bark climbing upon unsteady feet lean heavily against it, feeling lucky for the first time.

The moon was in waxing phase moving across the clear sky allowed me to somewhat get my bearings, deciding to head south, remembering that water flows that way and I had a better chance of finding civilization.

The sun was breaking on the horizon when I came upon one of my family’s property corner markers and found the old path that led to the main house. I was passing the fenced horse paddock when the odor of wet, burnt wood assaulted me.

I rounded the barn as dawn fully broke revealing the charred hull of what was once my home.

Next thing I remember I was standing at a crossroads when I felt something I couldn’t identify, a weird sensation skittering across my skin, then an accented voice spoke.

“Hello love..names Crowley.”

🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️🍄☠️

Sam

“So you made a deal with Crowley,” I state handing her the glass I’d refilled and she raised an eyebrow, “if I had, you would have already dispatched me after the holy water laced with rock salt back at the church.”

She sighed, lightly tapping her short nails against the glass. “Crowley was sorta an adviser in my early years and while I do take the occasional job, if he asks nicely, I don’t work for him.”

“Independent contractor?”

“I know you’re trying to suss out what I am, it’s the reason you came here with me,” she leaned towards me with an amused expression, “you’re hoping I’ll slip up, give you a grain of information helping you figure me out how to gank me so I’ll throw you a bone. That demon blade won't work. Ruby tried to dispatch me with it and I sent her skank ass back to the pit.”

She paused, squinting at me, “last I heard it was in Sam Winchester's possession but he’s a little preoccupied being Luci’s and Michael’s fucktoy..”

“..I’ve never been anyone's fucktoy.”

“You’re Sam Winchester and you what..somehow miraculously escaped the inescapable Cage?” I nonchalantly shrugged, “something pulled me out after I jumped.”

She gave this paquiler smile, “that’d explain your missing piece,” I narrowed my eyes, “but not why Samuel was brought back too.” How could she know I didn’t have my soul and about Samuel?

She settles back studying me, “you don’t strike me as someone who would put up with his bullheadedness, why do you work with him?”

“It's a family thing.”

“Samuel Campbell was a proficient hunter for his time period..but I’m better.” She waved her hand in a vague gesture, “you may not like it but we’re in the same business. You exterminate actual monsters.. ”

“..and you the human ones?”

“I sure as fuck don’t do it for pleasure! I became this,” pointed to herself, “because of a human's evil intentions and someone has to deliver justice when the law turns a blind eye.”

I sipped on my drink considering her logic. It made plausible sense if I am to believe she isn’t killing anyone who’s an innocent, then I remember the police reports note about that blogger being investigated for fraud and their accountant having mysteriously disappeared.

“So where does this leave us?” I frowned at the question, “you still planning on trying to off me or walking away.”

“I won’t have to try to off you sweetheart.”

She snorted at that, “I’m tougher than I look Winchester.”

I had to concede that point. She wouldn’t have lived..existed this long if she wasn’t. Still, I’m not going to let her just walk away.

She bolted from her relaxed position knocking me backwards, head hitting the couch arm as she straddles my legs, pinning them between hers holds a very sharp knife against my jugular.

“I enjoy foreplay as much as the next guy but I’m not into necrophelia,” I comment making her laugh, “technically I’m not dead and you didn’t have a problem fucking Ruby in that recycled meat suit.”

“How did y..”

“Bitch never could hold her arsenic.” She glanced down when my gun pressed into her diaphragm, angled in an upward trajectory, “she also mentioned you were pretty vanilla in the sack.”

I slowly trailed the gun downward, “let’s say the last few years have changed my proclivities,” working the muzzle between us rubs the sight over her clit making her gasp, “I know the safety’s still on.”

Flipping the safety off and, with a finger still inside the trigger guard maneuver it further back causes my hand to brush her bare lips, ”only dirty girls don’t wear underwear in public,” tapping the sight against her rim makes her flinch before I slip the muzzle into her cunt, wedging it open.

Surprisingly warm fluids flow freely as I pump the steel shaft back and forth, making her moan at sensation, smoothly rotating it till I hit that spot and felt the blade split my skin as her head fell back, body shaken as she’s cumming, the coppery scent of blood mingles with her release.

Fucking hell, that’s hottest thing I’ve seen in so long I cum untouched.

Her muscles finally go lax allowing the muzzle to slide out and I drop the gun on the table watching copious amounts of cum flow out the barrel.

Gonna have helluva time cleaning it later.

“Definitely not vanilla,” she briefly mouth over my neck before sitting back licking blood smeared lips, “more like a swirl,” then looks down at my soaked pants, “that all you had in the chamber?”

I sat up running my fingers over those copper tainted lips, “how about using this mouth for something more constructive.”

Dumping her on the floor between my knees she unbuttons my pants, dragging them and my boxer briefs off, tossing them over her shoulder, “what makes you think I won’t..” snapping teeth together.

I pause unbuttoning my shirt and pick up the discarded blade slicing through her shirtwaist and skirt, lightly teasing a pebbled nipple with its tip before trailing the deadly steel down to her bare mound, “you do and I’ll gut you like a fish.”

“It’d be interesting,” she muse’s wrapping her fingers around my root, “to see which of us would bleed out first,” not breaking eye contact she takes my balls in her mouth briefly sucking on them before moving her tongue slowly up my cock and with a smirk nips at the sensitive area underneath the head then continues up to lick the pearling precome off like my cockhead like it’s an ice cream cone.

“Were you..fuck..this much,” I tangled my fingers in her hair, pushing her head down till I hit the back of her throat, “fuckingfuck..a..coquette..” hold her still I start facefucking her “..fuckyeessstakenmycocksogoood..” hips thrusting hard and fast, “when alive...FUUUCK!!” I cum again deep down her throat.

I let go collapsing against the couchback, chest heaving like I’d just ran a 5k when she climbed back onto my lap picking up the knife and drew it across my lips and with a throatfucked voice asks..

“Still wanna try offing me or shall we continue getting off?”

SPN TAGS: @donnaintx @lyarr24 @flamencodiva @b3autyfuldisast3r @lassie-bird @nancymcl @spnbaby-67

Sam/Jared: @idreamofplaid

[clericofsune]

Translating the Gaang to DnD 5e

When I say “translating” what I mean is converting their party roles to a DnD party while not strictly adhering to their powers and abilities so strictly. The reason for this is that because they need to use elemental magic, it would get rather boring having all of them be Sorcerers. So this is more or less an approach of what they would be if they’d been born in the world of Dungeons and Dragons as their original setting.

AVATAR AANG CIRCLE OF WILDFIRE DRUID

This one may come across as a surprising choice, but I think it fits for Aang thematically. As the Avatar, Aang is responsible for balancing the world between humanity, nature, and spirits. He’s cried over a burnt forest, felt drawn to a swamp as though it was calling to him, and eventually learned how to listen to the earth itself. The Circle of Wildfire creates an interesting connection to the Avatar Cycle. The idea that death is merely a phase of life. That destruction and death lead to new life, and that death is never the end. Just as the forest will grow back after a wildfire, so too will the Avatar return when they’ve passed away. There is an argument to be made for Divine Soul Sorcerer as Aang literally has the spirit of Raava inside of him, but both Sokka and Katara have pointed out how wise and insightful Aang is. That sagely wisdom is why I leaned toward Druid over Sorcerer. A 1 level dip into Monk can make Aang more elusive, but Druids do get spells for all 4 bending elements, allowing Aang to stay true to his avatar roots.

Protector Aasimar (+2 CHA/+1 WIS) Background: Hermit (Medicine, Religion) Druid Skills: Arcana, Animal Handling

AANG’S SPELL LIST C Create Bonfire, Gust, Mold Earth, Shape Water 1 Burning Hands, Cure Wounds, Earth Tremor, Ice Knife 2 Dust Devil, Gust of Wind, Flaming Sphere, Scorching Ray, Warding Wind 3 Erupting Earth, Plant Growth, Revivify, Tidal Wave, Wall of Water 4 Aura of Life, Control Water, Fire Shield, Stone Shape, Watery Sphere 5 Control Winds, Flame Strike, Malestrom, Mass Cure Wounds, Wall of Stone 6 Bones of the Earth, Investiture of Flame, Investiture of Ice, Investiture of Stone, Investiture of Wind, Move Earth 7 Fire Storm, Whirlwind 8 Earthquake, Tsunami 9 Storm of Vengeance

KATARA LIFE DOMAIN CLERIC

Between the death of her mother and her father being a soldier, not to mention women being expected to be healers within her culture, I would not be surprised to find that Katara was sent to a temple to train in the healing arts under her gran gran, choosing to eventually strike out on her own by Aang and whatever shenaningans he drags her and Sokka into. When it came to her spell list, I remembered her famous quote “I don’t want to heal, I want to fight”, so I made sure she was more than capable of bringing the pain as well as taking it away.

Variant Human (+1 WIS/+1 CON) Bonus Skill: Athletics Feat: Inspiring Leader Background: Acolyte (Insight, Religion) Cleric Skills: Medicine, Persuasion

KATARA’S SPELL LIST

C Light, Sacred Flame, Spare the Dying, Toll the Dead, Word of Radiance 1 Bless, Ceremony, Cure Wounds, Guiding Bolt, Inflict Wounds, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith 2 Augury, Lesser Restoration, Prayer of Healing, Spiritual Weapon, Warding Bond 3 Aura of Vitality, Beacon of Hope, Clairvoyance, Remove Curse, Revivify, Spirit Shroud, Water Walk 4 Aura of Life, Control Water, Death Ward, Divination, Guardian of Faith 5 Commune, Flame Strike, Greater Restoration, Holy Weapon, Mass Cure Wounds, Raise Dead 6 Harm, Heal, Sunbeam 7 Resurrection 8 Sunburst 9 Mass Heal

SOKKA BATTLEMASTER FIGHTER

Like Katara, Sokka likely ended up having to live in a temple, though not all who serve the gods are Clerics. Sometimes, knights are trained to guard and protect the temple and the priests inside, and I think Sokka would have followed this path to stay with his sister and look after her, becoming something of a bodyguard to her. This is also seen in the show itself, Sokka’s main reason for traveling with Aang and Katara initially was to watch out for his sister and protect her, and kicking some firebender butt along the way was an added perk. Sokka’s primary character arc revolves around coming into his own as a strategist, so the Battlemaster Fighter felt like a natural translation of his abilities, and is also how I would build ATLA Sokka as well, so he’s one of the few characters I probably wouldn’t change.

Variant Human (+1 STR/+1 CON) Bonus Skill: Performance Feat: Slasher (+1 STR) Fighting Style: Dueling Background: Soldier (Athletics, Intimidation) Fighter Skills: Insight, Perception, Survival

TOPH BEIFONG BEASTMASTER RANGER

While this might seem odd at first, I think this is the most appropriate build for Toph in a DnD setting. Firstly, the Ranger class gets to pick a fighting style, and they can pick the Blind Fighting style so Toph can fight without needing to see. Secondly, Toph is connected to the Earth. Aside from the Druid, no other class is as connected to nature and the earth than the Ranger. Thirdly, Toph ends up a hermit living in a swamp. So clearly given the choice between dealing with people or living alone in the wilderness, Toph is going to pick the wilderness every time. She even learned how to see and fight by leaving civilization and learning from animals in nature, and she complained about feeling “confined and restricted” upon entering Ba Sing Se, showing a clear distaste for cities and large crowds of people. As silly as the idea of a blind archer might seem, Toph is surprisingly appropriate as a Ranger. I chose Beastmaster as while ATLA Toph doesn’t have an animal companion, I could easily see DnD Toph having a Badgermole mount or some other Beast of the Earth by her side. Or perhaps give her a Winged Boar, since it’s the symbol of her family.

Variant Human: (+1 DEX/+1 WIS) Bonus Skill: Intimidation Feat: Alert Fighting Style: Blind Fighting Background: Outlander (Athletics, Survival) Ranger Skills: Animal Handling, Nature, Perception

TOPH’S SPELL LIST 1 Ensnaring Strike, Hunter’s Mark, Searing Smite, Speak with Animals 2 Beast Sense, Summon Beast 3 Conjure Animals, Conjure Barrage, Speak with Plants 4 Dominate Beast, Locate Creature, Guardian of Nature 5 Commune with Nature, Conjure Volley, Swift Quiver, Wrath of Nature

ZUKO THIEF ROGUE

When Zuko’s not firebending, he shows a mastery of ninjutsu techniques. Between the Blue Spirit, his infiltration of the Northern Water Tribe, and his teaming up with Katara in the Southern Raiders, we see time and again that Zuko is well-equipped for stealth missions, utilizing the ninjutsu arts of In-Nin and Yo-Nin, sneaking in covertly without being seen, and hiding in plain sight to avoid detection. We also see in the show that Zuko has no issue with theft, as his second outing as the Blue Spirit is used to disguise himself as he robs and intimidates Earth Kingdom civilians. I could see Zuko being the son of a powerful crime lord, with his sister as a dangerous assassin while he’s a skillful and nimble thief. Or perhaps he was abandoned by his posh, aristocratic family and took up a life of crime to survive. There’s a lot of ways to cook a backstory for Zuko here, but being a Thief feels about right for where Zuko would be in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. Like with Aang, one level of Monk can make Zuko more dexterous and nimble if one so chooses.

Variant Human: (+1 DEX, +1 WIS) Bonus Skill: Intimidation Feat: Fighting Initiate (Two-Weapon Fighting), Dual Wielder Background: Urban Bounty Hunter (Deception, Stealth) Rogue Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Sleight of Hand, Perception Rogue Expertise: Athletics, Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth

SUKI WAY OF KENSEI MONK

The other character I’m unlike to change, Suki has been trained in hand-to-hand combat as well as weapon training. However, unlike the Unarmed Fighting Style Fighter, Suki clearly showcases that she’s far more focused on dexterity, and the Unarmed Fighting Style focuses on Strength-based punching. So, the Way of the Kensei Monk is the best way to make her able to fight with Dex-based hand-to-hand combat or dex-based weapon attacks, such as with her fans, a sword, or a bow.

Variant Human: (+1 DEX/+1 WIS) Bonus Skill: Performance Feat: Fighter Initiate (Dueling Fighting Style) Background: City Watch (Athletics, Insight) Monk Skills: Acrobatics, Perception

I think all around, the Gaang translates pretty well to the DnD setting. Obviously, some powers are lost in the process, but their actual core personalities remain in tact, and the skills and abilities they learn from the DnD world feel organic to the types of people they would be in this alternate universe without bending. If you want to see how they’d be built without losing their elemental powers though, check out their builds on Youtube by Tulock the Barbraian, he’s the main reason I did a translation post instead of a direct build post.

[empatheticxangel-archive]

Tag Dump 3 (End)

[astrognossienne]

scandalous star: gary cooper -an analysis

“I don’t like to see exaggerated airs and exploding egos in people who are already established. No player ever rises to prominence solely on talent. They’re molded by forces other than themselves. They should remember this – and at least twice a week drop to their knees and thank Providence for elevating them from cow ranches, dime store ribbon counters and bookkeeping desks. ” - Gary Cooper

He didn’t say much, but when he did, it carried a lot of weight. He was the archetypal hero of the Old West; the quintessential masculine ideal of the stoic and “strong silent type” that most Taurus men are. But for famously laconic Gary Cooper, his good looks and earnest, haunted eyes for decades made him the quintessential lonely American of motion pictures.He was a more equanimous, human protagonist versus boisterous, bigger-than-life Hollywood supermen. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his individualistic, emotionally restrained, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made. He was a man’s man...as well as a ladies’ man. Cooper became a hero to many, even as he developed a reputation as one of the most notorious philanderers in Hollywood. Privately a debonair ladykiller with a taste for high society, he crafted an image as just the opposite from his prototype cowboy image he materfully portrayed on the silver screen. He was insatiable, before and during his marriage. How did he reconcile his moral righteousness onscreen (Taurus sun) with his philandering offscreen (Sagittarius moon)? That was the work of the fixers, gossip magazines, and the studio system at large, which ensured that Cooper was never caught, never denounced, and held up as a paragon of American values.

Gary Cooper, according to astrotheme, was a Taurus sun and Sagittarius moon. He was born Frank James Cooper in Helena, Montana, the second son of an English farmer from Bedfordshire, who later became an American lawyer and judge, Charles Henry Cooper (1865-1946), and Kent-born Alice (née Brazier) Cooper (1873-1967). As a child, he met a freed slave woman named Mary Fields, otherwise known as Stagecoach Mary, and so awed by her was she that he later wrote an account of his memories of her in Ebony magazine. His mother hoped for their two sons to receive a better education than that available in Montana and arranged for the boys to attend Dunstable Grammar School in Bedfordshire, England between 1910 and 1913. Upon the outbreak of World War I, Cooper’s mother brought her sons home and enrolled them in a Bozeman, Montana, high school. Upon graduation, he eventually matriculated at Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA, where he attempted to nurture a passion for drawing - until a serious car accident ended his college days in the summer of 1920. He would recover from his severely injured hip through an odd but painful therapy, horseback riding.

When his father retired from the bench and moved his mother to Los Angeles, Cooper gave up agriculture classes to try his hand as a Hollywood extra. Cooper played an extra in a handful of silent films before arriving on the set of The Winning of Barbara Worth in 1926. The actor cast as the second male lead didn’t show, and someone shoved Cooper into the part. He appeared with Clara Bow (who soon became one of his conquests) in her star-making film It, but it was his appearance in another Bow vehicle Wings, released later that same year, truly launched his career. He plays a World War I flying cadet, and although his screentime was still relatively short, there was one scene — an extended close-up shot, the light streaming in from outside — in which he looked gorgeous. In 1929, he filmed The Wolf Song with Lupe Vélez. He soon had an affair with Velez, who purportedly claimed that Cooper “has the biggest organ in Hollywood but not the ass to push it in well.” For more on their relationship, read my star analysis on Lupe.

Cooper filmed The Virginian — his first real “talkie,” and the film was a major hit and cemented the foundation of Cooper’s image. His ability to project elements of his own personality onto the characters he portrayed, to appear natural and authentic in his roles, and to underplay and deliver restrained performances calibrated for the camera and the screen helped make him a cinematic success, often lauded by those he worked with. However, his good looks and charisma made him a success with women, whether he worked with them or not. Over the next few years, Cooper was paired with the most gorgeous and promising female stars in Hollywood —with Carole Lombard in I Take This Woman (whom he slept with), Claudette Colbert in His Woman (whom he allegedly slept with), Marlene Dietrich in Morocco and Desire (who he famously slept with more than once), and Joan Blondell in Make Me a Star (who he allegedly slept with). In 1932, Cooper and his Paramount “rival,” Cary Grant, were cast against Tallulah Bankhead in Devil and the Deep (1932). Like Lupe Velez, Bankhead was a loose cannon, with most famous quote being:

“The only reason I went to Hollywood was to fuck that divine Gary Cooper.”

Amidst all his public and private action, Cooper began courting Veronica “Rocky” Balfe, a starlet who went by the stage name of Sandra Shaw. She was also best known as the blonde dropped by King Kong. The two were wed in late 1933. Balfe retired from the screen to become a wife and mother, with her giving birth to their only child, Maria, in 1937. Cooper portrayed a new type of hero—a champion of the common man—in films like Mr. Deeds Goes To Washington and 1941′s Sergeant York (which won him his first of two Best Actor Oscars). Cooper met Ernest Hemingway at Sun Valley in October 1940 and they were friends for the rest of his life. He co-starred with Ingrid Bergman (with whom he had a year-long affair with) in a the film adaptation of Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. He kept starring in more films and bedding his female co-stars until he got more than he bargained for when he made The Fountainhead. Naturally, the 47-year-old Cooper had an affair with his co-star, the 21-year-old Patricia Neal. However, this time things got crazy: Neal wound up pregnant with Cooper’s child. He insisted she have an abortion. When Cooper’s long-suffering wife found out about the relationship, she sent a telegram demanding he end it. This didn’t work; he also confessed that he was in love with Neal, and continued to see her. Cooper and his wife legally separated in May of 1951. Cooper’s daughter Maria, by then in her early teens, famously spat on Neal in public. Neal later claimed that Cooper hit her after she went on a date with Kirk Douglas. Neal ended their relationship in late December 1951. Amid all this drama, Cooper starred in what is now regarded as his defining role: the beleaguered sheriff in High Noon, which won him his second Best Actor Oscar. In later life, he became involved in a relationship with the costume designer Irene, and was, according to Irene, "the only man she ever loved".

Maybe all his previous actions had an affect on him because Cooper converted to Catholicism in 1958, and reconciled with his wife and daughter. Also, he began starring in films that centered around searching for redemption, such as Friendly Persuasion (1956) and Man of the West (1958). In 1960, Cooper fell ill with prostate cancer, which quickly spread to his colon, lungs, and bones; he died of it shortly after his 60th birthday in 1961. A year after his death, Irene committed suicide by jumping from the 11th floor of the Knickerbocker Hotel, after telling Doris Day of her grief over Cooper's death. Regardless of his philandering, regardless of the arduous work of his studio’s publicity departments, there was something plaintive, almost childlike, maybe even innocent about Cooper, so he can easily be forgiven his sins. He acted out what mattered to millions of people, and that act made him a star beyond measure.

Next, I’ll focus on his former paramour Lupe Velez’s arch nemesis. A woman who happened to be wife of MGM art director Cedric Gibbons (Gary Cooper’s wife Rocky’s uncle). She was another pioneer of Mexican cinema who was arguably the first Latina to successfully crossover to Anglo audiences: Leo Dolores del Río.

Stats

birthdate: May 7, 1901

major planets:

Sun: Taurus

Moon: Sagittarius

Rising: Taurus

Mercury: Taurus

Venus: Taurus

Mars: Leo

Midheaven: Aquarius

Jupiter: Capricorn

Saturn: Capricorn

Uranus: Sagittarius

Neptune: Gemini

Pluto: Gemini

Overall personality snapshot: He was torn between an instinct to roam free and a determination to find security and make a solid, lasting contribution to the world. As he repeatedly changed horses in search of both ultimate certainties and high-spirited adventure at the same time, he could find himself deeply divided and uncertain. He sought to earth the fire from heaven and put it to work, but he found all too often that it would not let him rest. In his search for stability and security, he became a farmer and was immediately confronted with the changing seasons. He embraced the solid certainties of geology and are hit by an earthquake. He liked to feel the solid earth move. He sought certitude and permanence, yet his endless inquiries constantly confounded yesterday’s certainties. When he got his own uncertainties together (by accepting he wanted the best of both the changing and the unchanging worlds), he could have been a brilliant teacher, conversationalist, counselor, entertainer, wit, creative artist or entrepreneur – in fact he could have been anything he wanted. Once focused, he could be a human dynamo, and wonderfully humorous, witty and entertaining with it. As he discovered, his quest for solid material certainties did not make a happy bedfellow for his yearning for excitement and larger religious and spiritual understanding. In one way or another, be it through philosophy and the spiritual quest or through writing, music or art, he needed to put together and formulate a total vision of the universe which is based on unassailable facts yet satisfying to his idealism.

Constantly seeking, he was a natural agnostic, applying the criteria of science to counter woolly speculations, yet at the same time highly skeptical of the limited and statistical pronouncements of unthinking science. The danger, if he did not marry these elements within him, is that he would swing from one to the other and undermine the virtues of both. A restless changing of jobs, careers, partners, visions or aspirations left him drunk with his own spinning. When he deliberately tried to remain sober and commonsensical, it seemed to make matters worse for there was something of the gambler in him. This all-or-nothing streak can temporarily overcome your natural caution and enable you to burn your bridges (though you will usually ensure there is something tucked away for a rainy day). He felt an impulsive need to do things on a grand scale, to live with commitment, to feast on the world, and to understand what it was to be alive in all possible ways. He seemed to be called both to explore the reaches of the imagination and to build secure foundations. He brought far-reaching visions into manifestation, and these visions injected his conservative desire for stability and security with flair and colour. His vision of tomorrow and the larger world gave spice to any project he undertook. He saw endless possibilities and wanted to make them real. In this he could be the natural entrepreneur who saw economic opportunities at every turn, an inspiring counselor and teacher, and a stimulating companion whatever he did.

His well-shaped body displayed a warm attractiveness and ripeness. In his later years, he may have needed to watch the tendency to gain weight too easily. His strong broad shoulders supported a very large neck size. His most outstanding feature was his eyes and his gentle smile and voice. He was big-boned. He enjoyed dressing well, preferring soft colours. He was practical, steady and patient, but he could  be inflexible in his views. One thing he did have was plenty of common sense and good powers of concentration, although he tended to think that purely abstract thought was a waste of time. His thought processes weren’t as quick as others, but his decisions were made with a lot of thought behind them. He also had the welcome ability to bring people together. He needed to be able to show his originality and independence in any job for complete satisfaction. His work should also satisfy his scientific bent and humanitarian leanings. He needed scope for his inventiveness, because he was able to bring a fresh view to any job. Ideally, his work should permit him to express the idealistic side to him character and allow him to help as many people as possible. He could be extremely efficient in the way that he tried to get maximum result out of minimum effort. He didn’t like extravagance and waste. He was a thoughtful and resourceful person, who was well-informed on many subjects. Success came gradually and as a result of hard work. Success and growth, for him, were expressed by material and financial achievements, bringing status and prestige.Worldly success was well within his reach, because he possessed all the necessary talents to gain power, influence and status. He was practical, determined and patient. When there were hitches in his plans, he simply worked around them. He knew where he was heading to, and had already figured out the best way to use his talents to reach his goals.

Although he could be fairly pessimistic about life in general, it didn’t put him off aiming for the top. He could be very single-minded about reaching his goals, and was prepared to put his career interests above his personal happiness. He was extremely aware of his own worth. He was prepared to work beyond the call of duty. His strong sense of ambition gave him a certain rigidity, arrogance and selfishness in the eyes of others. He belonged to a generation with fiery enthusiasm for new and innovative ideas and concepts. Rejecting the past and its mistakes, he sought new ideals and people to believe in. As a member of this generation, he felt restless and adventurous, and was attracted towards foreign people, places and cultures. As a member of the Gemini Neptune generation, his restless mind pushed him to explore new intellectual fields. He loved communication and the occult and was likely also fascinated by metaphysical phenomena and astrology. As a Gemini Plutonian, he was mentally restless and willing to examine and change old doctrines, ideas and ways of thinking. As a member of this generation, he showed an enormous amount of mental vitality, originality and perception. Traditional customs and taboos were examined and rejected for newer and more original ways of doing things. As opportunities with education expanded, he questioned more and learned more. As a member of this generation, having more than one occupation at a time would not have been unusual to him.

Love/sex life: His sexuality was a wonderful combination of sensuality and basic laziness. He let himself be carried along by his pleasure-seeking instincts, greeting every new experience with fresh eagerness and then slowly draining from that encounter all the joy it has to offer. This passive, easy-going approach to sex not only made for good technique, it also conceals the egocentric strength and stubbornness that was at the core of his erotic nature. People don’t realize that beneath all that luxurious hedonism he was always the person in control. He was a conservative lover for whom appearances were always important. There may have been occasions when his sensuality lured him into indiscretions but he was quick to cover his tracks and hide the evidence. The quiet practicality of his sexual nature served as a handy antidote for his Martian braggadocio. He knew that he was the best there is but he was willing to sit back and let the world find out the good news on its own. In his youth Cooper was endorsed by several female “experts” of the time (such as Clara Bow, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead) as Hollywood’s sexiest man. His soft spoken and manly sex appeal projected just as well on the screen. After marrying at age 32, Cooper’s sex life became somewhat more sedate though he never lost his ability to attract women.

minor asteroids and points:

North Node: Scorpio

Lilith: Scorpio

Vertex: Libra

Fortune: Capricorn

East Point: Taurus

His North Node in Scorpio dictated that he needed to be careful not to let the more emotional side of his personality overwhelm him. Instead, he should have set out to consciously develop his more practical abilities. His Lilith in Scorpio ensured that he was dangerously attracted to those women who seduced and conquered on a daily basis; who liked life intense and was judged for her sexuality and general vibe and learned early on how to deflect moral judgments. His type of women may have been tried in the court of public opinion but no way were they going to show up for the sentencing. His Vertex in Libra, 6th house dictated that he llonged for a union of souls that was based on a model of pure peace and justice. Images come to mind of a mythical life on Venus, the planet of love, where there is never a discordant beat between lovers, but rather, continual harmony even if played in the minor chords. Physical lust was certainly a necessary aspect of two beings eternally intertwined, but the platonic component far outweighed it in importance for him. He had an attitude of duty, obligation and sacrifice when it came to heartfelt interactions. The negative side was the tendency to become hypochondriacal or martyristic to get the love he so desperately wanted. There was a need for others to appreciate the sincerity of his intentions, to the daily tasks he executed in a conscientious and caring way and for others to know that his actions, no matter how routine they may seem, were based on devoted love. His Part of Fortune in Capricorn and Part of Spirit in Cancer dictated that his destiny lay in creating practical and long-lasting achievements. Success came through hard work, determination, responsibility and perseverance. Fulfillment came from observing his progress through life and seeing it take a form and structure that will outlive him. His soul’s purpose guided him towards building security in his life, both emotional and material. He felt spiritual connections and the spark of the divine within his home and family. East Point in Taurus dictated that he was more likely to identify with the need for pleasure (including the potential of liking himself) and comfort.  

elemental dominance:

earth

fire

He was a practical, reliable man and could provide structure and protection. He was oriented toward practical experience and thought in terms of doing rather than thinking, feeling, or imagining. Could be materialistic, unimaginative, and resistant to change. But at his best, he provided the practical resources, analysis, and leadership to make dreams come true. He was dynamic and passionate, with strong leadership ability. He generated enormous warmth and vibrancy. He was exciting to be around, because he was genuinely enthusiastic and usually friendly. However, he could either be harnessed into helpful energy or flame up and cause destruction. Ultimately, he chose the latter. Confident and opinionated, he was fond of declarative statements such as “I will do this” or “It’s this way.” When out of control—usually because he was bored, or hadn’t been acknowledged—he was bossy, demanding, and even tyrannical. But at his best, his confidence and vision inspired others to conquer new territory in the world, in society, and in themselves.

modality dominance:

fixed

He liked the challenge of managing existing routines with ever more efficiency, rather than starting new enterprises or finding new ways of doing things. He likely had trouble delegating duties and had a very hard time seeing other points of view; he tried to implement the human need to create stability and order in the wake of change.

house dominants:

12th

9th

8th

He had great interest in the unconscious, and indulged in a lot of hidden and secret affairs. His life was defined by seclusion and escapism. He had a certain mysticism and hidden sensitivity, as well as an intense need for privacy. Traveling, whether physically across the globe, on a mental plane or expanding through study was a major theme in his life. He was not only concerned with learning facts, but also wanted to understand the connections formed between them and the philosophies and concepts they stood for. His conscience, as well as foreign travel, people and places was also of paramount importance in his life. He loved the totality of the human experience and embraced the whole cycle of human life, including birth, sex and death. His darker side, and the complexes and emotions that he preferred to keep hidden, even from himself was a theme throughout his life. His ability to undergo deep personal transformations and spiritual regeneration was also highlighted.

planet dominants:

Venus

Saturn

Sun

He was romantic, attractive and valued beauty, had an artistic instinct, and was sociable. He had an easy ability to create close personal relationships, for better or worse, and to form business partnerships. He believed in the fact that lessons in life were sometimes harsh, that structure and foundation was a great issue in his life, and he had to be taught through through experience what he needed in order to grow. He paid attention to limitations he had and had to learn the rules of the game in this physical reality. He tended to have a practical, prudent outlook. He also likely held rigid beliefs. He had vitality and creativity, as well as a strong ego and was authoritarian and powerful. He likely had strong leadership qualities, he definitely knew who he was, and he had tremendous will. He met challenges and believed in expanding his life.

sign dominants:

Taurus

Sagittarius

Capricorn

His stubbornness and determination kept his around for the long haul on any project or endeavour. He was incredibly patient, singular in his pursuit of goals, and determined to attain what he wanted. Although he lacked versatility, he compensated for it by enduring whatever he had to in order to get what he wanted. He enjoyed being surrounded by nice things. He liked fine art and music, and may have had considerable musical ability. He also had a talent for working with his hands—gardening, woodworking, and sculpting. He sought the truth, expressed it as he saw it—and didn’t care if anyone else agreed with him. He saw the large picture of any issue and couldn’t be bothered with the mundane details. He was always outspoken and likely couldn’t understand why other people weren’t as candid. After all, what was there to hide? He loved his freedom and chafed at any restrictions. He was a serious-minded person who often seemed aloof and tightly in control of his emotions and her personal domain. Even as a youngster, there was a mature air about him, as if he was born with a profound core that few outsiders ever see. He was easily impressed by outward signs of success, but was interested less in money than in the power that money represents. He was a true worker—industrious, efficient, and disciplined. His innate common sense gave her the ability to plan ahead and to work out practical ways of approaching goals. More often than not, he succeeded at whatever he set out to do. He possessed a quiet dignity that was unmistakable.

Read more about him under the cut.

Actor Gary Cooper was born on May 7, 1901, in Helena, Montana. Spanning from the silent film era to the early 1960s, Academy Award-winning actor Gary Cooper built much of his career by playing strong, manly, distinctly American roles. The son of English parents who had settled in Montana, he was educated in England for a time. He also studied at Grinnell College in Iowa before heading to Los Angeles to work as an illustrator. When he had a hard time finding a job, Cooper worked as a film extra and landed some small parts. After his appearance in

The Winning of Barbara Worth

(1926), a western, Cooper's career began to take off. He starred opposite silent movie star Clara Bow in Children of Divorce (1927). Cooper also earned praise as the ranch foreman in

The Virginian

(1929), one of his early films with sound. Throughout the 1930s, he turned in a number of strong performances in such films as A Farewell to Arms (1934) with Helen Hayes and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) directed by Frank Capra. Cooper received an Academy Award nomination for his work on the film. Cooper continued to excel on the big screen, tackling several real-life dramas. In Sergeant York (1941), the played a World War I hero and sharpshooter, which was based on the life story of Alvin York. Cooper earned a Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of York.

The next year, Cooper played one of baseball's greats, Lou Gehrig, in The Pride of the Yankees (1942). Again, he scored another Best Actor Academy Award nomination. Appearing in a film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls,  Cooper starred opposite Ingrid Bergman in a drama set during the Spanish Civil War. This role garnered him a third Academy Award nomination. In 1952, Cooper took on what is known considered his signature role as Will Kane in High Noon. He appeared as a lawman who must face a deadly foe without any help from his own townspeople. The film won four Academy Awards, including a Best Actor win for Cooper. In addition to his excellent on-screen performances, Cooper became  known for his alleged romances with several of his leading ladies, including Clara Bow and Patricia Neal. The affair with Neal, his co-star in 1949's The Fountainhead, reportedly occurred during his  marriage to socialite Veronica Balfe with whom he had a daughter. Their marriage seemed to survive the scandal. By the late 1950s, Cooper's health was in decline. He made a few more films, such as Man of the West (1958), before dying of cancer on May 13, 1961. (x)

[study-with-aura]

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Reviews have started for Geometry, and I think I will be starting reviews for my other courses soon too. I am glad to be done with my literary analysis. I could have spent some time tomorrow working on it too as it only had to be complete tomorrow and emailed to my mom, but I did not want to deal with it on a Friday, so I finished it today. I might look over it one more time tomorrow with a set of fresh eyes again before sending it to Mom, but I think it turned out okay.

The bad weather we were supposed to get never occurred today, which was nice. I hate when we have to drive in the rain. People do not know how to drive around here when it is storming or the weather is anything but sun.

Tasks Completed:

Geometry - Geometry Basics review + honors questions

Lit and Comp II - Reviewed Unit 24 vocabulary + read Act 4 Scene 1 of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare + read modern translation of same scene + typed up a page about about the "pairs" in the play for a 10 minute writing challenge + completed edits and the final draft of my literary analysis for Emma (due tomorrow)

Spanish 2 - Reviewed vocabulary + completed listening practice exercises

Bible I - Read 1 Samuel 21-22

World History - Added WWII information to my timeline + began reviewing my timeline (it's my final project done as a presentation)

Biology with Lab - Microorganisms vocabulary assignment

Foundations - Read more on tolerance + read another article displaying media bias + wrote an analysis of my audience for my persuasive speech (I am using my parents as my audience)

Piano - Practiced for two hours in one hour split sessions

Khan Academy - Completed daily High School Geometry mastery challenge

CLEP - Completed Module 12.2 lecture video + completed Module 12 reading "Europe: 1945 to Present" 14.3

Streaming - Watched Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War episode 2

Duolingo - Studied for 15 minutes (Spanish, French, Chinese) + completed daily quests

Reading - Read pages 294-323 of Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Chores - Put away the dishes + took the trash out

Activities of the Day:

Personal Bible Study (Romans 12)

Ballet

Pointe

Journal/Mindfulness

What I’m Grateful for Today:

I am grateful that the storms we were supposed to get today did not come, although it was cloudy.

Quote of the Day:

It's not a crime to feel joy, even when things seem hopeless.

-Divine Rivals, Rebecca Ross

🎧Op. 44, Polonaise in F sharp minor - Frédéric Chopin

[deathlessathanasia]

"When thinking of influence, one must first ask when we can consider the Theogony as something like a “text” that others might quote or imitate in a detailed manner. Such evaluations are, to a degree, subjective. I shall argue from a smattering of evidence scattered across the Greek world that by 600–575 bce we begin to see other authors “reworking” passages from the Theogony and Works and Days in something like their present form. Prior to this point, creation stories differ significantly from Hesiod’s.

We have already seen that Homer calls not Earth but Ocean and Tethys the first of the gods and that he has his own account of the division of the world. The Titanomachia, attributed to Eumelus of Corinth (fl. ca. 730), or Arctinus of Miletus, also has its version of origins: “everything comes from αἰθήρ” (aither, the higher, purer air), which is also Akmon, Anvil (meteorite?), “tireless fire,” the father of Ouranos (Sky). Zeus is born in Lydia. The Hundred-Hander, Aigaion, is born of Earth and Sea (Pontos), not of Earth and Sky, and Helios is a Titan but he does not fight against the Olympians.

Bits of evidence from early Sparta suggest that it may have had its own theogonic tradition, although a fragment from Terpander, Sparta’s oldest, semi-legendary poet, suggests that he, like Hesiod, viewed music as an expression of and a means to social harmony: kings “set the laws (νόμοι) of the Spartans to music” (Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.16.78.5). … Later Spartan poets, however, seem to have deviated from Hesiod’s vision of communal harmony. The war poet Tyrtaeus, ca. 650 bce, appears to have called one of his elegiac poems Eunomia, where the term means something closer to “Discipline,” to describe the city’s political and educational system (cf. Herodotus 1.65.2), rather than Good Governance. We see in the choral poetry of Alcman, Tyrtaeus’s younger contemporary, a tendency, like Hesiod, toward abstraction and analytic description of the physical world, but the sparse details suggest little in line with a Hesiodic tradition. One verse reads: “Αἴσα (Portion or Destiny) and Πόρος (Ways and Means/Pathway or Allotment), the most ancient of all, prevailed over (all)” (fr. 1.13–14).4 Another has Eunomia, Tyche (Fortune), and Peitho (Persuasion) as daughters of Promathia (Foresight) (fr. 64). According to Diodorus Siculus, Alcman made Sky and Earth parents of the Muses (fr. 67), although in two fragments a Muse is identified as the daughter of Zeus (and Mnemosyne?) (fr. 27 and 28).

Perhaps roughly contemporary with Alcman, Epimenides of Crete is credited with composing a Theogony of 5000 hexameters (five times the length of Hesiod’s), fragments of which suggest an intermixture of Hesiodic and Orphic components. In addition to living to a great age (either 157 or 299 years) and having out-of-body experiences, this semi-legendary holy man napped for 57 years at which time he conversed with Aletheia (Truth), Truth being Epimenides’ claim to divine authority, perhaps a more reliable source than Hesiod’s Muses who can tell the truth but also lies sounding like the truth. Epimenides identifies Aêr (Air) and Night as primordial progenitors, parents of Tartarus. In Orphic fashion, two unnamed Titans, perhaps generated asexually, emerge out of Tartarus, and they co-mingle, producing the world-egg, from which Earth, Sky, and perhaps Oceanus are born (DK 3 B19). Differing from Hesiod, this Sky gives birth to Aphrodite, the Fates, and the Erinyes, all through natural means. There is one hexameter from Epimenides, however, that is intriguingly close to one in the Theogony. This is Epimenides: Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται, κακὰ θηρία, γαστέρες ἀργαί (“Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slothful stomachs”) (fr. 1 D-K) compared to Th. 26: ποιμένες ἄγραυλοι, κάκ’ ἐλέγχεα, γαστέρες οἶον (“Shepherds roaming the fields, evil reproaches, mere stomachs”). Is Epimenides deliberately reworking Hesiod? In contrast to the Muses who in the Theogony never tell Hesiod that they are in fact telling him the truth, in this version presumably Epimenides has Truth speak the reproach quoted above as a prelude to her asserting that she is about to convey the full hidden truth. Parallels between the two poems are closer than what we find from Sparta, but it is clear from all the passages discussed above that the version of creation as told in the Theogony was only one of many competing creation stories."

- Hesiod's Theogony: from Near Eastern Creation Myths to Paradise Lost by Stephen Scully

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 433

THE MAIN FACTORS IN THE SPREAD OF ISLAM: Part 2

A. J. Arberry has also pointed out that the reason for the spread of Islam is Islam itself and its religious values. (Aspects of Islamic Civilization, p.12)

He writes:

‘The rapidity of the spread of Islam, noticeably through extensive provinces which had long been Christian, is a crucial fact of history. The sublime rhetoric of the Qur’an, that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy…and the urgency of the simple message carried, holds the key to the mystery of one of the greatest catalysms in the history of religion. When all military, political and economic factors have been exhausted, the religious impulse must still be recognized as the most vital and enduring.’

Brockelman, who is usually very unsympathetic and partial, also recognizes the religious values of Islam as the main factor for the spread of Islam (History of the Islamic Peoples, p.37). Rosenthal makes his point as follows: ‘The more important factor for the spread of Islam is the religious Law of Islam (Shari‘a, which is an inclusive, all-embracing, all-comprehensive way of thinking and living) which was designed to cover all manifestations of life.’ (Political Thought in Medieval Islam, p.21).

Besides many other reasons which are responsible for the spread of Islam, it is the exemplary life-style and unceasing efforts of individual Muslims to transmit the message of Islam throughout the world which lie at the root of the conquest of hearts by Islam. Islamic universalism is closely associated with the principle of ‘amr bi’l-ma’ruf (enjoining the good) for Islam is to be spread by Muslims by means of ‘amr bi’l-ma’ruf. This principle seeks to convey the message of Islam to all human beings in the world and to establish a model Islamic community on a worldwide basis. The Islamic community is introduced by the Qur’an as a model community: We have made of you an Ummah justly balanced, that you might be witnesses (models) for the peoples, and the Messenger has been a witness for you (2.143). A Muslim or the Muslim community as a whole thus has a goal to achieve. This is the spread of Islam, conveying the truth to the remotest corner of the world, the eradication of oppression and tyranny and the establishment of justice all over the world. This requires the Muslim to live an exemplary life, and thus the moral and the ethical values of Islam have usually played an important part in the spread of Islam. Here follow the impressions of the influence of Islamic ethics on black Africans of a Western writer of the nineteenth century:

‘As to the effects of Islam when first embraced by a Negro tribe, can there, when viewed as a whole, be any reasonable doubt? Polytheism disappears almost instantaneously; sorcery, with its attendant evils, gradually dies away; human sacrifice becomes a thing of the past. The general moral elevation is most marked; the natives begin for the first time in their history to dress, and that neatly. Squalid filth is replaced by some approach to personal cleanliness; hospitality becomes a religious duty; drunkenness, instead of the rule becomes a comparatively rare exception chastity is looked upon as one of the highest, and becomes, in fact, one of the commoner virtues. It is idleness that henceforward degrades, and industry that elevates, instead of the reverse. Offences are henceforward measured by a written code instead of the arbitrary caprice of a chieftain–a step, as everyone will admit, of vast importance in the progress of a tribe. The Mosque gives an idea of architecture at all events higher than any the Negro has yet had. A thirst for literature is created and that for works of science and philosophy as well as for the commentaries on the Qur’an.’ (Quoted from Waitz by B. Smith, Muhammad and Muhammadanism, pp.42-43)

The tolerance of Islam is another factor in the spread of Islam. Toynbee praises this tolerance towards the People of the Book after comparing it with the attitude of the Christians towards Muslims and Jews in their lands. (A Historian’s Approach to Religion, p.246). T. Link attributes the spread of Islam to the credibility of its principles together with its tolerance, persuasion and other kinds of attractions (A History of Religion). Makarios, Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch in the seventeenth century, compared the harsh treatment received by the Russians of the Orthodox Church at the hands of the Roman Catholic Poles with the tolerant attitude towards Orthodox Christians shown by the Ottoman Government and prayed for the Sultans (T. Link, A History of Religion).

This is not the only example of preference by the followers of the religions for Muslim rule over that of their own co-religionist. The Orthodox Christians of Byzantium openly expressed their preference for the Ottoman turban in Istanbul to the hats of the Catholic cardinals. Elisee Reclus, the French traveller of the nineteenth century, wrote that the Muslim Turk allowed all the followers of different religions to perform their religious duties and rituals, and that the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Sultan were more free to live their own lives than the Christians who lived in the lands under the rule of any rival Christian sect (Nouvelle Geographie Universelle, vol. 9). Popescu Ciocanel pays tribute to the Muslim Turks by stating that it was luck for the Romanian people that they lived under the government of the Turks rather than the domination of the Russians and Austrians. Otherwise, he points out, ‘no trace of the Romanian nation would have remained,’ (La Crise de l’Orient).

The Muslims’ attitude towards the people they conquered is quite clear in the instructions given by the rightly-guided Caliphs: ‘Always keep fear of God in your mind; remember that you cannot afford to do anything without His grace. Do not forget that Islam is a mission of peace and love. Keep the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) before you as a model of bravery and piety. Do not destroy fruit-trees nor fertile fields in your paths. Be just, and spare the feelings of the vanquished. Respect all religious persons who live in hermitages or convents and spare their edifices. Do not kill civilians. Do not outrage the chastity of women and the honour of the conquered. Do not harm old people and children. Do not accept any gifts from the civil population of any place. Do not billet your soldiers or officers in the houses of civilians. Do not forget to perform your daily prayers. Fear God. Remember that death will inevitably come to every one of you some time or other, even if you are thousands of miles away from a battlefield; therefore be always ready to face death.’ (Andrew Miller, Church History; Ali lbn Abi Talib, Nahj al-Balagha)

A historical episode which Balazouri, a famous Muslim historian, relates, tells about how pleased the native peoples were with their Muslim conquerors is of great significance

When Heraclius massed his troops against the Muslims, and the Muslims heard that they were coming to meet them, they refunded the inhabitants of Hims the tribute they had taken from them, saying: ‘We are too busy to support and protect you. Take care of yourselves.’ But the people of Hims replied: ‘We like your rule and justice far better than the state of oppression and tyranny in which we were. The army of Heraclius we shall indeed, with your help, repulse from the city.’ The Jews rose and said: ‘We swear by the Torah, no governor of Heraclius shall enter the city of Hims unless we are first vanquished and exhausted.’ Saying this, they closed the gates of the city and guarded them. The inhabitants of other cities–Christians and Jews–that had capitulated did the same. When by God’s help the unbelievers were defeated and Muslims won, they opened the gates of their cities, went out with singers and players of music, and paid the tribute (Futuh al-Buldan).

To sum up, although most Western writers, under the instigation of biased Orientalists of the Church, have alleged that Islam spread by the force of the sword, the spread of Islam was because of its religious content and values, and ‘its power of appeal and ability to meet the spiritual and material needs of people adhering to cultures totally alien to their Muslim conquerors’, together with some other factors. Some of these factors are the tolerance which Islam showed to people of other religions, the absence of ecclesiastic orders and hierarchy in Islam, mental freedom and absolute justice which Islam envisages and has exercised throughout the centuries, the ethical values it propagates, and Islamic humanitarianism, universalism and brotherhood, and its inclusiveness. Sufi activities, the moral superiority of Muslim tradesmen, the principle of ‘enjoining the good’, and Islamic dynamism and the magnificence of the Islamic civilization contributed of their own to the spread of Islam.

The main religious qualities which attracted people to Islam were:

(i) the simplicity of the theological doctrines of Islam based on the Divine Unity;

(ii) rationalism of the Islamic teachings;

(iii) the complete harmony of the Islamic ideals and values with human conscience;

(iv) the inclusiveness and comprehensives of Islam, covering all aspects of physical, mental, and spiritual life of individuals and societies, hence the harmony of religion and life which it established;

(v) the lack of formalism and mediation;

(vi) the vividness, dynamism and resilience of the Islamic theology, and its creativity and universalism, and its compatibility with established scientific facts;

(vii) the cohesion and harmony of the Islamic principles, and

(viii) the shortcomings of other theological systems.