#Slave to Righteousness

[steviebee77]

Love, Mercy, and Judgment

IT MIGHT SOUND STRANGE to hear the words love, mercy, and judgment in the same breath, but these three concepts are delicately interwoven and must be understood together. They are integral to understanding God’s response to sin. As Paul said, “…the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). Sin gives rise to God’s righteous judgment. In…

[yeslordmyking]

Romans 12:1 — Today's Verse for Sunday, December 1, 2024

[zerostareater]

am i truly unempathetic because i do not bend

to your every whim? am i a bad person because i’m

not your plaything? look me in the fucking eyes and tell me so.

[lemurchick]

Almost 7 years ago three girls in Moscow named Krestina, Angelina, and Maria Khachaturyan (19, 18 and 17 years old back then) agreed to kill their father. Only now in 2025 the court agreed they had the reason to: the deceased was tried posthumously and finally had been found guilty of abusing them.

He was a violent drug-addicted person with police connections, who beat his wife Aurelia for 20 years, kicked out his son when he was about 14 then Aurelia herself, and forbad her to contact the girls. He raped and tortured his daughters, threatening them with weapons and controlling their every move. Nobody helped even after he pulled them out from school.

In one of the interviews, Krestina told about the order their father established at home:

He demanded that we always be there and come at his first call. He had a special bell, which he rang, and one of us should immediately run up to him, day and night. And do whatever he says — to bring water, food and miscellaneous other… He could not make an effort even to open the window himself, and we had to serve him as slaves.

One night when he got angry with them again he tortured them with pepper spray, causing Krestina, the oldest, asthma attack. Later that night the younger sisters attacked him with knife and hummer and with the help of Krestina who woke up because of sounds of fighting they killed him.

I remember the initial news, the details about abuse that came later, the arrest of three girls. The BIL of the deceased was called a victim of the crime and was doing everything he could to influence the prosecution and the court so they would punish his nieces in full. He denied the abuse, accused them of lying, girls’ messages were leaked and used to paint them as spoiled brats. Our ‘Incels movement’ joined him in this.

At the same time there were a lot of feminist protests going on, and I think it was the last huge joint feminist activity before the war began and feminism was called destructive movement close to terrorism (they haven’t banned us yet, but it could happen any time). And it worked, it helped, and I think the decision to charge the deceased father with abuse was one of the last good news we had here.

In the year 2025 when feminism is a dirty word in our country, when domestic abuse is no more a criminal offence, when people get twice longer sentences for antiwar graffiti than for rape or murder, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the news today. I hope that sister will be found not guilty or at least will be considered righteously defending themselves and will get suspended sentences. Didn’t they suffered enough? They are still forbidden to meet each other.

[falllpoutboy]

the ritualistic humiliation of alicent this season was absolutely disgusting and the show constantly needed to remind us that she is the character we should root against all the time and never feel bad for her, everyone else gets a pass because they’re a slave to fate, apparently, but not her. nearly every single plot point this season regarding her is swiftly followed by a punishment, whether literally or narratively.

she starts this season by having clandestine consensual sex with criston cole her sworn sword. they are so bad at being clandestine that otto and larys have clearly suspected something is going on with them. after being stood up by her, larys then replaces her regular lady’s maids with some from his staff so that they can spy and report back to him which makes alicent uncomfortable enough to send them away. that’s punishment #1

she and criston are having sex when b&c happens and are interrupted by helaena and jaehaera running in. but remember, jaehaerys was not the original target of b&c, and the mastermind behind it, daemon is redeemed by the end of this season, so alicent is so much of a POS hypocrite that while she too busy having sex with the LC of the kingsguard, her grandson dies on HER watch. and as much as i loved alicole, i really hate that the writers used their relationship to seemingly punish the characters when they literally haven’t done anything wrong. and now helaena knows about the affair too. punishment #2

alicent is confronted by rhaenyra at the sept of baelor, who lets slip that she heard viserys push for aegon to be king as his last words to her. but oh no, silly alicent, rhaenyra is here to tell you about the song of ice and fire, this stupid prophecy that has been passed from Targaeryen king to heir for generations now. how would alicent have known about it when she is neither king nor heir? doesn’t matter, she’s stupid for believing his words to be literal and stupid for playing a part in crowning her son. punishment #3

alicent takes moon tea, as an abortifacient or as a late contraceptive, we’ll never know! but the very act of taking moon tea is now perceived by grand maester orwylle, who now also has reason to suspect queen alicent has been having an affair. punishment #4

bitter and disillusioned with herself for not knowing about a stupid fucking prophecy nobody told her about and letting her horrible son aegon be crowned (even though the council was planning on installing him anyways), alicent talks down to aegon by reminding him he’ll never be as good of a king as his father (L O L) and he should do nothing. such a rousing speech leads to aegon getting drunk, flying out into battle on his dragon and getting maimed because of it. why did you say such mean things alicent? now look what you did. punishment #5

back at the small council, alicent advocates for herself to be regent with only one person there to agree with her, grand maester orwylle but not even her lover and closest confidant advocates for her. the son she is scared of the most becomes regent instead. silly alicent, don’t you know you will never be respected in a room full of men? how do you like misogyny, something you have apparently never personally experienced until this day, now? punishment #6

alicent goes to the sept of baelor to pray with helaena when a riot mob happens and is forced to retreat. this mob is apparently so righteously angry at not having enough food, they throw fish in her face with such good aim and call her the queen of fishes, alicent trips and falls for leaving helaena behind momentarily, and she also receives a bloody gash on her arm before barely escaping with her life and helaena. oh alicent, didn’t you know that the blockade of ships that carries food into the city which has been enforced by rhaenyra and corlys has actually been your fault the entire time?? punishment #7

back at the small council, alicent confronts aemond and is relieved by her duty on there by him. maybe its because she brings up a theory that he is now avenging the bullying he went through when he was young, which one could argue happened on her watch, is why she gets the boot. oh well, there goes any little ruling power and say in the war effort she had left. punishment #8

alicent sees off her brother ser gwayne who makes mention that their father otto kept her closer to him than gwayne because she was his favored child. Oh! so because alicent was otto’s favorite, it doesn’t really matter that he sold her into marriage and marital rape at age 14 last season. why would you ever want to be otto hightower’s favorite child? punishment #9

alicent also asks about daeron, with gwayne saying how unlike to aegon and aemond he is because he was raised away from them in Oldtown and not by her.. she even says this and gwayne dissuades her of that opinion but honestly, once alluded to that alicent is a bad mom, it’s just her biased brother claiming otherwise. punishment #10

[diana-prince43]

Dany's antis: Her righteousness is false, it only existed in her mind...

Volantis slaves in Tyrion's POVS: HOLD OUR BEERS

[barrel-crow-n]

Something that makes me crazy is the difference in how Kanej deals with their issues.

Kaz was hurt so he hurt others. He got scammed so he became the scammer. He was beaten up so he became the one beating people up. He found a way to thrive in the toxic cycle of violence in the Barrel. This keeps him alive, but makes him a bad person. Kaz doesn't care. Kaz left decency behind the second that was what was necessary to survive. He shrugged it off like a cheap coat. Don't like touch? Simple. Break anybodies wrist that dares touch you; break their arm. Give them a reason to keep away. Make them scared because that keeps you safe (and as a result will keep them safer from you).

Inej was hurt so she prevents others from being hurt. She hunts down slavers so children won't have the same fate as her. She can't just leave decency behind, her values and beliefs won't allow it. She does penance after every kill, she cried after killing the first time, she isn't keen on violence and only does it when completely necessary (at odds with Kaz that attacks at the slightest provocation to the point of everyone giving him a wide berth). The violence committed on her makes her angry (and righteously) but she doesn't lash out at everyone like Kaz does, she holds that back for a select few, to make them pay for the suffering they've caused.

Kaz felt like he died and became someone new so he leaned into it. He change his name from Rietveld to Brekker, he became someone new, a stranger. Nobody knew who he was, or where he came from. Kaz Rietveld was dead, and a monster had taken his place.

Inej also says that she feels like she died. She says that the girl she had been died in the belly of a slavers ship. However, unlike Kaz, she refuses to change her name. And dehumanisation links to this!

Kaz was dehumanised so he dehumanised himself further. Dirtyhands. Per Haskell's rabid dog. Demjin. Kaz thrives in this, because it makes him feel safe, it makes him feel untouchable. Kaz Rietveld was weak, so was replaced by Kaz Brekker. When that isn't enough, Dirtyhands is there to get the rough work done.

Inej was dehumanised so she humanised herself. She is not a lynx or a spider or a wraith. She is Inej Ghafa. She is a pirate vigilante, rescuer of slaves. And the interesting thing is that Kaz offered this to her too! He asks her "Is that what you prefer to be called?" (referring to her name, Inej Ghafa) when buying her indenture at the Menagerie. He is offering her the same thing he did. A change of name, a clean slate. But she declines. She is a Ghafa and no matter what happens to her, she always will be.

Kaz was traumatised so he isolated himself. He holds people at arms length because he sees them as weaknesses, or as obstacles between him and his revenge. He put his gloves on and doesn't take them off, he failed once with Imogen and decided to never try again. He yearns for connection but it only serves to isolate him further. Because they have no idea what it's like to watch friends hug, knowing you can never have the same. Kaz builds up armour (the gloves) but he doesn't tackle the root problem that is his fear of touch. He tried once and failed and quit (which is actually out of character for him, in contrast with him learning magic ceaselessly until he has mastered it - and shows how terrified he is and how disgusted he is at himself) and this serves to make him feel like he just can't. Like the dream of friends is hopeless.

Inej was traumatised so she seeks human connection. She has Jesper and Nina. She has the other Crows. She tries to heal, to open herself up. She might still flinch at touch occasionally but her friends are helping her and she wants to try and heal. She knows how to ask for help.

In all, Inej's ways of coping are a lot healthier. Kaz is stuck in a toxic cycle, and has been for years, but Inej is giving him a way out of it. Finally, he can make the step towards proper healing. He won't change his name back. He won't stop being a gangster. But he can feel more comfortable in himself and with his friends. And that's what Inej wants to give him, because she knows how important that is.

[atopvisenyashill]

Hi! There are polarising views on Mirri Maaz Durr in the fandom. What do you think about her character?

A few things-

Mirri innocent

Mirri cool

Mirri damns Dany's status as a savior from the jump

I don't have much patience for this idea that the only thing Mirri teaches Dany is basically that you can have good intentions and it can still go badly. I think that's a very self centered view of what Mirri represents. It's all about how Dany feels and it is completely predicated on the idea that a) Mirri was acting purposefully and vindictivly (no she wasn't) and b) Eroeh literally already fills that role. What Mirri shows us about Dany is that Dany

has a temper she does not have a grasp on, and in fact refuses to get a true handle on

is significantly stronger with magic than most people in Terros are even capable of comprehending

has a tendency to posit herself (and "herself" is Westerosi and Valyrian, not just one or the other) as superior to the cultures around her despite knowing basically nothing about the history of her own culture & homelands, or the people she is associating with

will purposefully ignore and think around her own culpability so long as it means she can keep looking forward instead of looking back to reflect

Mirri, to make a comparison to My Literal Son Bran Stark, I think serves as a Theon Greyjoy type character in Dany's' arc. What she is doing here is showing us that this character who we have associated with goodness and righteousness is completely self deluded on the harm she causes to people "lesser" than her. Mirri, like Theon, is not a willing member of the khalasar but taken by force as a show of strength. Mirri is in many ways grateful (initially) that she is treated not as badly as she could have been by Dany. Mirri wants to be helpful. She wants to be trusted. She wants to survive. And unlike Theon, Mirri has a real and pressing deadline - Drogo says they are going to sell the slaves and Mirri is clearly angling to stay part of the khalasar rather than be sold. As an older woman, as a maegi, as someone part of the Lhazareene who has actually experienced the world outside, she knows what awaits her at the slave markets and she isn't interested in going there. Being a respected and beloved advisor to a khaleesi is surely a safer bet - especially when, right off the bat, she sees Drogo is willing to defer to Dany's judgement even over his bloodriders. Think about Theon becoming close with Robb, dreaming of marrying Sansa - it is simply safer to be in their good graces.

Now think of Robb losing it on Theon for saving Bran in an admittedly risky shot. A sharp rebuke for Theon daring to think that he can act without permission, even to save Bran's life. Think of what Theon says here-

"The noose I wore was not made of hempen rope, that's true enough, but I felt it all the same. And it chafed, Ser Rodrik. It chafed me raw." He had never quite realized that until now, but as the words came spilling out he saw the truth of them. "No harm was ever done you."

Does that sound familiar perhaps?

"I spoke for you," she said, anguished. "I saved you." "Saved me?" The Lhazareen woman spat. "Three riders had taken me, not as a man takes a woman but from behind, as a dog takes a bitch. The fourth was in me when you rode past. How then did you save me? I saw my god's house burn, where I had healed good men beyond counting. My home they burned as well, and in the street I saw piles of heads. I saw the head of a baker who made my bread. I saw the head of a boy I had saved from deadeye fever, only three moons past. I heard children crying as the riders drove them off with their whips. Tell me again what you saved." "Your life." Mirri Maz Duur laughed cruelly. "Look to your khal and see what life is worth, when all the rest is gone."

Theon is expected to be grateful to the family that stole him from his home and is called a turncloak and kinslayer for slaying people that are not and have never been his kin - people who have made it very clear to him that he is not their kin, even the ones who love him. This dynamic is pretty directly responsible for why Theon Acts Like That. But for some reason when Mirri is expected to be grateful to the woman who stole her away from her home she is called everything but a child of god and made to be the aggressor in this situation. She is not. She is reacting to being enslaved.

And Dany not only refuses to engage with her own culpability in Mirri's misery - "if i look back i am lost" is not in fact a triumphant battle cry but the horrified rationalization of a deeply traumatized teenager - in the moment she also refuses to engage it with it later on. She keeps insisting that Mirri was the betrayal for blood (except Mirri never betrayed her!) and is completely unaware to a point that is like, mind boggling naive and dumb on par with Ned's actions re: Robert, when it comes to handling similar issues in Meereen. Why is it okay that the slaves of Meereen raped and killed that boy's family but it's somehow the epitome of evil when Mirri not purposefully kills Rhaego? Is it perhaps because....Dany is a main character and that boy is not? And if that's the only difference than perhaps the narrative purpose Mirri serves is not to show that "even good intentions can go awry" but "dany does not have what it takes to be a leader over a situation as fraught as reconstructing an entire economy after toppling slavery."

It's amazing to me how people can understand that when a woman is killed for the story and growth of a man that's misogyny, that's fridging but when a brown woman is killed for the story and a growth of a white woman, that's somehow not misogyny and not a different form of fridging. But let's stop talking about Dany because it's all anyone ever says about Mirri - which you know, is it's own issue.

Now Mirri specifically.

First of all her name - Maz Duur. I've said it before I do believe Maz Duur means "maester" in the lhazar language (such that it exists - we don't have a lot of information on that) which makes sense as she was trained by a Maester - she names Maester Marwyn as a teacher she met in Asshai. Not only that, but further strengthening the bonds between them, Marwyn is referred to as "Marwyn the Mage" just as Mirri is referred to as a maegi, the Dothraki term for mage. Marwyn is also on his way to Dany the last time we see him to get to her before another maester does. There's a lot of questions there - why is he interested in her? How much of the truth is he telling when he speaks to Sam? And more importantly - will Dany recognize his name from her encounter with Mirri or, perhaps, will Marwyn hear that she was near Lhazar and ask if she encountered Mirri?

But also let's dig into Mirri's first name. Mirri sounds very much like Mary, and Mirri/Mary lives in Lhazar, of a people called the Lhazareene...Lazarus of Bethany or Saint Lazarus was brought back to life by Christ after four days dead, and Nazareth is famously the birthplace of Christ, whose mother was named Mary. People from Nazareth are often called, wait for it, Nazarenes. The Lhazareene also follow The Great Shepherd and believe all are equals in His Great Flock. Which is to say there's a lot of early Christiantiy references here. I think this is very interesting when you take Dany as a sort of corrupted Christ like figure - the corruption starts from the very root, where her Mother Mary is not truly her mother who was turned away from the inn, but rather a magical advisor who Christ enslaves, a mother who turns on Christ because She asks too much, and then is sacrificed by Christ alongside her own only son, Rhaego, to bring forth Lightbringer (note that Lightbringer is another name for the Devil, and if that interests you, definitely read more of maid-with-sunset-in-her-hair on the subject, she has a lot of really good writings on it) in the form of Drogon. You also have Drogo himself, who is several days "not dead" before Dany smothers him, just as Christ spends three days in the tomb before being resurrected.

All of that to say that people get so hostile at the idea that the fandom is "fixated" on Mirri. But we're fixated on her because she is integral to the overreaching narrative. She haunts it, she haunts every step in Essos, the same way Lyanna or Elia do, or the way Lysa haunts the Vale, the way Ned haunts the North. She isn't just a stepping stone in someone else's story. She has her own story, her own purpose in the story, and she has far reaching implications in both life and death.

Secondly - I don't think she actually cursed Dany's womb. IF she did curse it, it was likely a result of Dany going into the tent rather than the speech Mirri gives. Mirri isn't laying some sort of curse in that moment, she's speaking hyperbolically. My oomf here compared it to Renly's bitchy comment to Stannis and I agree there. IF there is some sort of curse on Dany's fertility it's an accidental one. THAT is interesting to me. For one thing, we see a pretty equal amount of accidental or instinctual magic being done as we do purposeful - all the Starklings are doing accidental magic, from their dreams to Bran's skinchanging Hodor, and I would count Dany's blood sacrifice of Mirri as instinctual and accidental as well. We get prophecies that are not only accidental they're unwanted in characters like Daeron the Dreamer, and it seems implied that the Ghost of High Heart doesn't want to be having her prophecies either. So IF Mirri is laying a curse here on accident...I don't particularly care about what it says about Dany's fertility but I do care about what it says about magic in general. Can she herself tell she is doing accidental magic as it happens? Is it similar to my Bran-Theon theory, that both she and Dany are feeding off each other's magic, sort of guiding each other, reacting to each other, on an instinctual level?

Then we have the actual magic she is capable of, which is shadowbinding. Can anyone learn shadowbinding? I know everyone loves to discourse about how "only valyrians can ride dragons" and if anyone else does that goes against how "george writes magic" but well - none of that is true lmao. We see people across cultures do all sorts of magic and we also see some similarities across elements of magic. For example, the shadowbinding happening in the House of the Undying - surely the Qartheen don't have a plethora of Lhazareene heritage. Could it be maybe Ghiscari heritage? But then you look to Melisandre, who does both fire magic and shadowbinding stuff but is not described as having any sort of Qartheen or Ghiscari heritage at all.

I think Mirri leaves more questions in the narrative than she answers! She has a fascinating background thats likely to have implications in the future. I think for a gray character she is very well written, very well handled, but I also think the way she is talked about in fandom is a direct result of the incredibly racist way the Essosi cultures and in particular the Dothraki and Lhazareene are depicted as by George himself. If this fandom is weird and racist about Mirri, it's a direct result from George not giving us any sort of sympathetic POV into these cultures, being unwilling to flesh them out the way he does the Meereenese, and pretty directly positing them as nothing more than stepping stones for Dany's corrupted savior arc. They are the canary in the coal mine, and that's all they're allowed to be, are omens, harbingers, animals, symbols. Despite that, Mirri herself rises to the top, forces her way back into the narrative, and continues to haunt Dany's every action.

[reality-detective]

Someone once said to me, “Do you always have to be so brutally honest?” to which I replied, “Would you rather I lied?” Which that kind of ended the conversation.

So I’ll be brutally honest with you now, I’m sick of it all!

I’m sick of Biden, Schwab, Gates, Fauci, Ursula, Trudeau, Macron, Hillary, Harari and all the psycho puppets that are being dangled on the world stage as some morbid entertainment, or rather psychological torture!

I’m sick of the LGBTQ narrative being shoved down our throats, of the transgender insanity, the ilegal immigrant invasion, the ongoing fearmongering with new pandemics, the constant threat of global war, the antisemitism narrative, the censorship, the ‘hate speech’ tyranny, the mRNA bioweapons and of the climate crisis bull shit!

I’m sick of humanity being stuck in this endless, nightmare of a loop without a resolution! Without justice! Without sense! I’m done with this shit show!

Always the same playbook, the same script, the same useful idiots, the same evil hands pulling the strings, the same narratives, the same psychological manipulation, the same false flags, the same lies from the media, the same ongoing madness! On and on and on and on…! Until when?!

When will people see? When will people realize that we are caught up in a matrix that exploits our ignorance and gullibility by capturing our perception as a means of control and enslavement? When will people recognise the patterns? The MO and the brainwashing techniques that they’ve been using for decades? When?

How many times must we endure the same narratives and events? The same divide and conquer strategies? The same color revolutions? The same infiltration techniques? The same provocations? The same ‘terrorist’ attacks?!

How many times before humanity finally realizes that we are psychological slaves with an almost fatal case of Stockholm syndrome? When will we acknowledge the problem? When will we start going to rehabilitation?

And no, you can’t say no! That response is not an option, unless we want to end up like that! So it’s about time we ALL try our best to wake up everyone! Speak up, share info, voice your real opinion, don’t be intimidated by the labels, be prepared to lose friends, stop caring what others may think and wage the flag of truth, of common sense, of righteousness and of kindness wherever you go.

Perhaps then we’ll get out of this sickening loop! It’s been going on long enough!

I'm just saying... 🤔

[idylls-of-the-divine-romance]

The anti-evangelizing attitude prevalent on progressive christian tumblr is problematic. And part of it most definitely has to do with a lot of progressive christians being universalists.

Now. I know this is a bit rich coming from me because I do not typically evangelize. My interest is much more in discussing the faith with people already in it. That said, it is one thing to not evangelize and it is another thing to be anti-evangelism.

And if you're a universalist, it makes sense why you wouldn't evangelize: everyone is going to be saved anyway right? If everyone is going to heaven why evangelize to them?

Except that's ridiculous. Not addressing the problems I have with universalism, assuming it's true that would not be a reason not to evangelize.

One of the definitions for "evangelize" is "convert or seek to convert (someone) to Christianity". But that's, I think, a poor tho technically accurate definition. A better definition is: "preach the Christian gospel." The gospel, ofc, is "the good news". More accurately this is "the good declaration". Because this isn't good news like "Oh the weather is 75 and sunny" this is good news like "Omg we have a new king who is going to execute justice, righteousness, and holiness."

In a lot of thought, sin is something inside of you that is wrong and depraved and etc etc. But that is not the only or even main way it's discussed in the bible. In Genesis 4 (where sin is first mentioned), it is a monster or beast that wants to devour you. One of Paul's favorite metaphors is that of a "Cosmic Tyrant". Sin is something that humanity and society on large is enslaved to, and Jesus has come to liberate them from that slavery so they can be who they were created to be: glorified images of God who rule and reign in the world through the power and love of God.

What does it matter if everyone is going to heaven after they die? Ofc on a certain level that matters, but that is not Jesus's concern, nor is that the primary concern of any biblical author. "Going to heaven" is not even a phrase used in the bible!! The focus is on life right here and right now. Union with God, the experience of his life-giving love and presence - that is available right now! Liberation from slavery to sin, the renewing of the mind, the enjoyment of the family of God - that is available right now and that is what Christ is offering people.

I understand not wanting to evangelize if your conception is "God is angry so God killed Jesus and not you so you can go to the good place when you die and not the bad." That's stupid and unbiblical. Plus, nonbelievers don't even know what "Jesus died for your sins" even means, so any conservative christians reading you've got to stop that it's also unhelpful.

I do not sing forever the praises of the God who didn't kill me. I dedicate my entire heart and being - my entire everything to the God who liberated me from slavery to Sin and Death by dying the death of a slave though he had no sin.

That is the gospel and should be preached to the ends of the earth.

[kawaiipienerdfreak]

I'll never believe your tears, Sunday.

edit: i was given a great analogy to zuko from avatar, and now i'm not so critical. thanks everyone for your attention

I want to say this upfront: as a character, Sunday works perfectly fine for me. But I absolutely can’t stand how the fandom obediently swallowed such a stupid retcon of his character. And I can’t stand fandom stripped him of all blame. Time and time again, I see posts like: “Oh, my precious little sunshine! Don’t cry... Oh no, he’s crying in his ultimate! He didn’t deserve this, poor thing!”

And I’m left wondering: what the hell?

What the hell was HoYoverse thinking when they gave us a dictator with a god complex (borderline chūnibyō syndrome) as an antagonist? A character who defended someone who sold children into slavery. Someone who mocked a slave for their origins. Someone who placed himself above the local police and even above the very creator of Penacony. All while chaos reigned under his (and Family’s) rule in Penacony. Within Penacony, everything’s a mess: banditry, alcoholism, shady financial dealings. Criminals hide from the hounds in the Dreamscape, and Sunday defends them, driving the hounds away. Many people work for pennies, losing any chance at a better future. And some have even been dragged back after death, turned into lifeless husks just to serve as local attractions.

Sunday knows how to act righteously, but he chooses to do things his own way instead. That’s his whole arc. He became a god (boss version) for the Dreamscape and felt zero guilt over the fact that Penacony under his rule remained a pit of sin and filth, far from any kind of paradise.

And then, we defeat him. He regrets... but only regrets losing. His remorse isn’t about what he did—it’s about being beaten. He’s ready to do it all over again, just with a different strategy.

So again, what the hell?

Why does HoYoverse give us a character like this (admittedly fascinating because he’s ridiculously stubborn, manipulative, selfish, and unhinged), only to suddenly turn him into a martyr, a lamb, and a tragic victim we’re supposed to feel sorry for? Poor Sunday, who only wanted the best but ended up dooming everyone to suffer. They’re so insistent about making us pity him that it’s disorienting. What’s the point? No one’s going to believe it. He locked his own sister in a cage, justified slavery, carried out vigilante justice, and controlled the fates of millions. No one’s going to believe he’s a victim...

Except they d i d. And that’s what pisses me off the most. People have forgotten that just a year ago, he was the thorn in everyone’s side, deliberately hurting those around him with glee. Now they call him “sunshine,” “poor thing,” “precious baby.” They wipe his tears during his ultimate move, saying he doesn’t deserve to be imprisoned, doesn’t deserve to face the consequences of his actions. Are you all out of your minds?

Why didn’t Kokolia get a chance? Why didn’t Tisok 2 get a chance? (Tisok 2 is from a side quest about a ruler whose memories were erased. In it, we’re shown that she was a tyrant before losing her memory. The NPCs ask us, “Does she deserve redemption?” And no matter what, the NPCs will yell, “No, absolutely not!” Funny. She doesn’t deserve it, but Sunday does?)

The idea that he isn’t to blame is also questionable. He and Robin grew up under the same person’s wing. Robin was constantly told her perspective was wrong, yet did she grow up as a submissive follower? No, she grew into a truly strong person capable of thinking for herself. But Sunday? He basked in the praise for his bad decisions. He’s just an overgrown brat who decided the world is his playground.

So no, I will never believe in his redemption. I will never believe he’s changed. HoYoverse can’t convince me that he’s repented or truly regrets his sins, because as long as he’s free and has done nothing for society, it’s all meaningless.

He will never have a place on my Express. The Express will never be his home. He will never stand among the people who’ve become my family.

[sherlokiness]

SPOILER ALERT 🚨🚨🚨DAENERYS WOULD NOT GIVE UP THE THRONE TO HER LOVER AND RIGHTFUL KING-JON SNOW. NOT FOR DUTY NOR FOR LOVE. Words are wind

Say it louder for the people in the back 🔊Her stans thought D*ny would take a back seat if she met a surviving member of her family. I mean she shouldn't have to but she should own it to herself that she wants the Iron Throne for DAENERYS TARGARYEN. It's for herself. Her reaction to Jon's secret proved she was lying to herself. All the self righteousness she used to chase the throne and the atrocities she committed to get to her goal was because she wanted it.

Hi, anon. Thanks for the ask.

Dany's hypocrisy regarding the Iron Throne and Jon was foreshadowed in the case of the rich woman.

A rich woman came, whose husband and sons had died defending the city walls. During the sack she had fled to her brother in fear. When she returned, she found her house had been turned into a brothel. The whores had bedecked themselves in her jewels and clothes. She wanted her house back, and her jewels. "They can keep the clothes," she allowed. Dany granted her the jewels but ruled the house was lost when she abandoned it.

This is a mirror of Dany's situation. If we go by Dany's standard then she has no claim to the Iron Throne anymore. The irony is unfortunately lost on her. George knew what he was doing when he made inadvertently Dany rule against herself.

A boy came, younger than Dany, slight and scarred, dressed up in a frayed grey tokar trailing silver fringe. His voice broke when he told of how two of his father's household slaves had risen up the night the gate broke. One had slain his father, the other his elder brother. Both had raped his mother before killing her as well. The boy had escaped with no more than the scar upon his face, but one of the murderers was still living in his father's house, and the other had joined the queen's soldiers as one of the Mother's Men. He wanted them both hanged.

I am queen over a city built on dust and death. Dany had no choice but to deny him. She had declared a blanket pardon for all crimes committed during the sack. Nor would she punish slaves for rising up against their masters.

It's funny how she hates Robert "the usurper" for the sack of King's Landing but then turns around and do exactly what Robert did. "Robert's sack was totally not okay! That was unfair. But mine is acceptable! That witch Mirri murdered my son!" But if we look at it from Mirri's perspective, wasn't she also a slave who rose up against her Master Dany? If one needs further convincing she will burn King's Landing for not falling at her feet then we have the scenario below.

"Grazdan went to Yunkai to deliver your terms." Ser Jorah got to his feet. "Mero fled, once he realized the Stormcrows had turned. I have men hunting him. He shouldn't escape us long."

"Very well," Dany said. "Sellsword or slave, spare all those who will pledge me their faith. If enough of the Second Sons will join us, keep the company intact."

Daenerys "the breaker of chains" Targaryen straight up said the only slaves worth keeping alive are those who will be loyal to her. They can only be freedmen if they're her freedmen.Deference to the mother of dragons is apparently more important than giving the slaves their freedom.

[404-found]

You Can’t Save Yourself

There’s a lie that slips into a lot of pulpits, youth camps, and altar calls. It sounds spiritual. It sounds biblical. It sounds good.

And it goes something like, “God did His part. Now you just have to do yours.”

No. You don’t have a part. You don’t contribute to salvation. You don’t meet God halfway. You weren’t drowning, reaching for His hand. You were dead at the bottom of the sea, and He pulled you out.

The Bible doesn’t say, “You were struggling, and then you chose God.”

It says, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1)

Dead. Not sick. Not weak. Not trying. Dead.

You don’t save yourself. You don’t wake yourself up. You don’t bring yourself to life.

God does that.

You couldn’t clean yourself up. You couldn’t turn your heart around. You couldn’t decide to follow Jesus unless He first made you alive.

Jesus didn’t say you might need to be born again. He said, “You must be born again.” (John 3:7)

And newsflash, You didn’t give birth to yourself.

The new birth is a work of the Spirit. It’s supernatural. It’s one sided. It’s not a reward for your decision. It’s the cause of your decision.

Let’s just say what needs to be said.

You didn’t choose God. He chose you. You didn’t chase after Him. He chased after you.

Romans 3:11 says, “No one seeks for God.” Not some. Not a few. No one.

If you’re seeking Him now it’s only because He opened your eyes first.

People like to talk about “free will.” But your will isn’t free. It’s enslaved to sin.

Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin." (John 8:34)

You do what you want, yes. But apart from Christ, what you want is never God. What you want is comfort, pride, sin, control, pleasure, self-righteousness, or self-protection.

John 6:44 says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”

No one comes. Unless. Unless God moves. Unless God calls. Unless God gives life to a dead heart.

That’s why salvation is all grace. Not grace plus effort. Not grace plus decision. Just grace.

God didn’t help you save yourself. He saved you.

Start to finish. Top to bottom. Dead to alive.

You don’t get to take credit for being rescued. You just get to worship the Rescuer.

If that humbles you, good. It should.

If it offends your pride, it’s doing its job. Because the Gospel doesn’t tell you to look in the mirror. It tells you to look to the cross.

You bring nothing to the table but the sin that made salvation necessary.

And God, in His mercy, brings everything else.

Praise Him for that!

[iukasylvie]

The World Government and the Vinsmoke family in the manga One Piece aren't just authoritarian systems. They're cults built around myth, scapegoats, and dehumanization.

The World Government isn't just political—

It's theocratic.

A global cult with the Celestial Dragons as "gods"——descendants of the twenty kings who "saved" or "created" the world after the great flood (a repressed truth from the Void Century).

Their divine right? Invented history.

Their enemies? Heretics.

The Buccaneers were branded a race of sinners—and that myth justified their systemic persecution. Even Bartholomew Kuma, born into this narrative, was sold as a slave and forced into divine servitude as a "Warlord" and living weapon for "peace."

The Vinsmoke family is a micro-cult built around a eugenicist dream:

Vinsmoke Judge's gospel is strength without humanity—no pain, no compassion, no weakness.

A vision of a "perfect" family where empathy is failure.

Sanji's love of cooking? A sin.

Reiju's kindness? Treason with a smile.

Sora—Judge's wife—died resisting this twisted myth, and her legacy of love was buried like forbidden scripture.

And like all cults, both systems maintain control through:

Sacred lies (e.g., the founding myth of Mary Geoise or the "scientific progress" of Germa 66)

Scapegoats (e.g., the Buccaneers or Sanji)

Emotional repression enforced as righteousness

Self-deification of the oppressors (the Celestial Dragons as gods, Judge as architect of a new humanity)

These aren't just stories of power—they're stories of inherited dogma, internalized cruelty, and what it means to break free of a myth you were born into.

Sanji, Reiju, Kuma—

They're not just rebels.

They're apostates of their respective cults.

TL;DR: In One Piece, authoritarianism survives not just through force, but through myth—stories that sanctify cruelty and damn those who dare feel, love, or remember.

[butterflydm]

rings of power, s2 eps7-8

I don't actually know if Sauron is my favorite character in the show or not, but he definitely consumes my thoughts the most, that's for sure.

Reactions to individual episodes first, then I'm going to pick away at the "Opportunist vs Planner" thoughts that I have on Sauron now that I've watched both s1 & s2 in a separate post. I think I want to do some rewatching of specific scenes for it.

This has spoilers for the show plus what I remember from LotR.

episode 7: Everything with Celebrimbor and Sauron is the centerpiece of this episode for me. Wow. So gripping and painful. Celebrimbor finally forcing his mind past the illusions that Sauron has wrapped around them.

So instead of mithril, the Nine Rings for the Men were made in part with Sauron's blood. Maybe that's the reason that the kings become wraiths in the future, instead of it being an inherent flaw in humans (at least in RoP continuity).

Lots of battle scenes, which I never really can feel analytical about. Except to note that, in this case, I feel like the times when people choose or don't choose to fight likely has a great impact on morale: the orcs saw very clearly that the Elves were willing to halt the fighting in order to attempt to make a play to save Galadriel's life when she was captive. Vs Adar throwing them into the meat grinder in order to get this Sauron guy that has never directly harmed any of them (that they know of). Adar says that he's doing this to prevent them from being Sauron's slaves, but these Uruks have never experienced being Sauron's slaves (yet).

"Elven memories do not dim" was said by Arondir a couple of episodes ago, but the meaning of it is tangled throughout the show -- elven memories do not dim, and so Galadriel chases a ghost for centuries because of the death of her brother. Elven memories do not dim, and so the Southlanders are kept a careful watch over and held accountable for the choices of their ancestors. Elven memories do not dim, and so Adar's desire to kill Sauron is as sharp now as it was when he first killed Sauron centuries ago and he cannot step back and think through it all logically and see that he is playing into Sauron's hands by treating his own people's lives as cheaply as Annatar is treating the lives of the elves of Eregion.

The tight (yet flawed) grip that Annatar has on Eregion also shows how deeply flawed his plans for Middle-Earth are. He papers over atrocity and calls it holding back the storm. But Celebrimbor was able to put his finger on the deepest flaw, which is that Sauron has convinced himself of his own righteousness. He believes that he's doing all this for his lasting peace, for the healing of Middle-Earth, for the perfection of the world. And any means are justified to achieve that end, in his mind.

But... and I can't remember where I saw this quote, which is a shame, but the thing is that there is no great end. It's all means. You never reach that perfect world of peace and healing, so all you end up with is the blood and terror that you caused in your attempts to create your impossible ending. But Sauron... I think he genuinely believes that if he only had more power, more control... then he could achieve that perfect world. If only everyone would stop fighting him, then everything would be great!

A tyrant, as Galadriel said last season. That's a tyrant's way of thinking. As he proves with what he does with Eregion, a city that is tightly under his control at this point -- he makes it into a bloody battlefield, and he uses up the people he is pretending to protect, because they are simply tools for him. (Poor Mirdania had a particularly nasty ending)

The conversation between Galadriel and Celebrimbor was really beautiful. Both in him extending hope to her, and also the two of them sharing that moment of recognizing that they'd both fallen for Sauron's words because they wanted to believe him. But Celebrimbor also reassuring her both that he is not certain if anyone is strong enough to fight Sauron when he's at his most persuasive and that "it is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light". I feel like there was a lot in his speech that calls forward to what does eventually defeat Sauron in the end. Not strength of arms, not even strength of will, but kindness, even pity, and the ability to keep going in the darkest of times.

Elrond has really come into his own in this season. S2 has been great for Elrond all the way through. And his hair has been looking great too. I loved the scene with him and Durin. <3

My mom feels like the world is doomed and Sauron has gotten everything that he wanted, or will get it soon (and wanted us to watch the next episode as quickly as possible). Very stressful episode for her!

episode 8: The moment when Sauron kills the orc (Glug, I think?) is darkly funny, but it also once again makes a point that the show has made before: surrendering to the invading evil doesn't get rewarded in the end.

The Southlanders who knelt to Adar were the first wave sent against their own people: cannon fodder to die.

And now the main Orc that we've seen through the season is casually killed by Sauron after his switch in loyalty led to Adar's death. Just like Adar did last season with the Southlanders, Sauron divided the Uruks against each other this season and, just like last season, the ones who surrendered their power to him were then basically on the front lines of being the next to die.

This was a strong episode overall. Not as focused as the last episode, because we checked in with all the other plotlines too, but still good.

So Durin IV has all the dwarven rings in his possession. He knows how dangerous they are. He has the connection to Elrond. But we also know that the rings resist being lost and cannot be destroyed by conventional means (Celebrimbor tried melting the Nine Rings and failed).

Gandalf has his name! And it sounds like the Harfoots and the Stoors are about to reunite and potentially become the Hobbits. I will say, RoP really redeemed Tom Bombadil for me. I never really had any positive feelings about him from the book, kinda found him annoying, but he was genuinely charming and likable in RoP.

Numenor has come to claim Pelagir as a vassel state. So it will be interesting to see where that goes. And Elendil is off to see his Mysterious Other Son on the West Part of the Island. I did not recognize the son's name, though maybe I should have, idk. But Numenor wants to cut down the forest that Arondir only just promised that they wouldn't cut down so... so that promise isn't going well.

Sauron's scenes with Celebrimbor and then Galadriel gave me a lot to think about. Both of them were able to make Sauron angry enough to lash out at them and get through the veneer of patience that he was trying to put on. I am going to want to think over those scenes some more. Definitely rewatching at least those scenes again. I feel like there was a lot going on there.

The scene with Adar and Galadriel was also really good. Heartbreaking but good. And it was a great contrast to Sauron, actually! Because both Sauron and Adar express an interest in creating a lasting peace -- only Adar then takes action to lay down his arms and make the first step towards peace with Galadriel by giving her back her ring. Meanwhile Sauron is, you know, torturing people, destroying a city, etc.

I feel like this season has done a lot of bookends and mirrors. Galadriel falling off a cliff to keep Nenya from Sauron echoes Elrond jumping off into the waterfall to keep the Three Rings from Gil-galad and Galadriel at the start of the season. And, of course, Adar using the Orcs to murder Sauron in the first episode leading to Sauron choosing that same method to kill him in this episode.

Both Celebrimbor and Adar seemed to be used, in part, to give us information about Galadriel and her feelings and reactions to Sauron. Again, something I think I want to poke at after rewatching some scenes. More thoughts later after I've had some time to think about it, I think.

Next season, I'd love to see Sauron and Morgoth interacting in a flashback! I feel like we would learn so much. We've gotten hints about their relationship (Sauron directly compares how he's treating Celebrimbor with how Morgoth treated him) but I'd love a flashback.

It seems like we're going to get the establishment of Rivendell next season. I kinda assume that's where they ended up.

My mom was really glad that (most of) her favorite characters survived! Also, I learned that her two favorite characters are Theo and Isildur, which I would not have predicted. She was glad to get some hope at the end of the episode after everything seemed so grim at the end of ep7. She loved the character development over the course of the season. The two characters she feels are the most attractive are Adar and Sauron (but Sauron has cold eyes and is less attractive as Annatar than as Halbrand, so Adar wins).

[tototalks]

Just over halfway through King’s Rising and am eating up all this drama lol. Welcome back weird tension, I have missed you 👀

- And we resume with that poor Veretian boy being taken advantage of by Makedon’s troops. I’m glad Damen sorted that cruelty out. I’ve always liked Damen’s character for his sense of honour, but I LOVE the uncomfortable acknowledgement that he himself was complicit when it came to keeping and participating in the slave trade, and this is a lesson that he is coming to learn.

- Shoutout to Paschal just because. Keep being unproblematic, king.

- Nikandros is just like, so done. 😂 This man sees, knows, and acknowledges that his best friend will see a pretty blond red flag and is but a charging bull.

- The era of weird tension has truly begun again. Laurent is so so petty and I’m so so here for it - that “good boy” for Isander was not, in fact, for Isander.

- This has solidified my belief that we should start having messy fights in public again, because what I wouldn’t give to be some random nobility standing in a hall sipping a dacqueri while Barius Big Balls straight up asks the kings of two nations whether or not they’re fucking 💀

- Damen was an ‘Again! Again!’ kid and you cannot tell me otherwise, except he didn’t want you to read a nursery rhyme, he wanted a whole damn performance of the Akielon Iliad lol

- “Let’s fuck.” - Ah yes, that infamously makes everything better.

- The little girl saying Prince Damianos killed her family and ransacked her village? Ouch.

- The fight between Laurent and Damen was everything I wanted. They’re so well matched in such different ways. Damen is strong and steady, but unyielding, and Laurent is quick and sly, and relies on his wits. With his defeat, Laurent knows he wasn’t good enough to best Damen just as Auguste wasn’t good enough either. There was nothing he could have done.💔

- “I could have done this any time when I was a slave.” And they’re both so RIGHTEOUSLY mad about loving one another because they had no business falling in love, and yet they did. I’d be mad if the universe pulled that kind of bullshit on me too. Like wtf.

- Laurent watches Damen wrestle naked and suddenly the Akielon games are hosted in Vere this year 😏

- Nik: “You surely didn’t suck his dick?”

Damen: “… I might have sucked his dick.”

Nik: “I cannot defend you anymore.” HELP THIS MAN 😭

- Makedon has one drink with Laurent and is going around like yes hello, this is my new best friend!! He’s from Vere!! We’re going hunting actually!!

- The information that Laurent is a lightweight is valuable and precious, but the tonal shift from “I miss you” to “yes uncle” has me chewing on drywall and boiling my teeth. 🫠

- Love how Nik has given up trying to talk to Damen about Laurent, so he just does the equivalent of shoving a box of condoms at him and leaves 😂

- Well hello, Jokaste! 👀 Cannot wait for her to gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss her way around this.