#The requirements of the Lord

[s-o-a-p-ing]

JEREMIAH S.O.A.P. ~ CHAPTER 8

Thursday, 5/30/24

SCRIPTURE:

Even storks in the sky know their seasons.  Turtledoves, swallows, and cranes are aware of their migration,  but my people do not know the requirements of the Lord. ~ Jeremiah 8:7

OBSERVATION:

There are three requirements of the Lord:

Do justice

Love mercy

Walk humbly with God

Jesus tells me there are really just two:

Love God with all my heart, mind, body, and soul;

Love others He has loved us and as I love myself (or even better than I love myself...)

APPLICATION:

Do justice...

Love mercy

Walk humbly with and love God...

Love others...

Love - and forgive - myself... (He does and has...)

PRAYER:

Father God - forgive me when I make it so much more complicated than You ever intended it to be - quiet my heart by Your Holy Spirit and allow me to walk in Your presence and grace that those around me may see Your love and honor Your Name... In Jesus's Name, and for Your praiseful worship and glory...

𝖌

<))><

[iknowicanbutwhy]

Legit almost happened at work yesterday, why mouth form word not when want to but do when want not

[marinette-buginette]

Kiyi is not a Princess - A Look At the Fire Nation's Line of Succession

It's not even that much about Kiyi. But the creators seemingly got so lost in the sauce that their ideas about how absolutist monarchies work are as good as taken out of Disney movies now. So, let's set the record straight.

The Fire Nation line of succession

When it comes to royal lines, there were multiple elements that went into setting the line of succession: descent, sex, legitimacy, religion etc. For the Fire Nation, the ones we have 100% confirmed are descent and legitimacy (this last one seen with the Camellia-Peony War, where Chaejin was excluded from the succession because he was born out of wedlock). I would have gone on a whim to say sex counts as well, however, it is a bit foggy. In the Reckoning of Roku, it is mentioned that Firelord Taiso believed Zeisan (Sozin's younger sister) would have been a more competent ruler but could never become Fire Lord due to being a nonbender (I didn't actually read the book, so if someone who did wants to pitch in with the exact wording, please feel free to). This implies that being a Firebender is a requirement, but being a woman isn't. However, it also implies that Taiso would have been fine with ignoring the descent part (Sozin was older) if he deemed fit. Skipping the firstborn in favour of the second one isn't unheard of when it comes to succession so sure. And he is the absolute monarch, if he wants to pass papers to change the line of succession, he can. It is unclear to me if there is any power in place to veto or block a Fire Lord's ruling on any matter so for all we know, if he wanted, he could have. Plus, the fact that Ozai got crowned over Iroh because it was 'Azulon's dying wish'. For the religion part, it seems like the Fire Sages have to perform the coronation and acknowledge the monarch.

So to make it more digestible, the line of succession (while Azulon was still alive) is: Iroh → Lu Ten (firstborn of the heir) → Ozai → Zuko → Azula. With Lu Ten dead, Iroh MIA (at the time) then we have Ozai → Zuko → Azula. When Iroh came back, he gets added at the end of this line of succession. I am a bit unclear on Iroh in current times because it looks to me like he rescinded his role in the line of succession altogether with deciding to live in Ba Sing Se and letting politically inexperienced Zuko rule instead of taking over for a few years to create some stability.

Right now, we have Fire Lord Zuko and his heir presumptive (aka an heir that can be displaced if the monarch has children) Azula. Unless he wrote a decree to take her out of the line of succession — which would require a lot more brain cells than the writers are willing to give Zuko, not that he had a lot of them when it came to politics to begin with —then she's next in line. It doesn't matter how much anyone wants it or not, if Zuko drops dead tomorrow, Azula gets the throne.

Now, onto the other matter.

How does one become a Princess?

Option 1: You marry into the royal family. For example, Ursa was styled as a Princess, as she married Prince Ozai.

Option 2: You're born in a royal line. For example, Azula is a Princess because her father is a Prince, her grandfather, at the time of her birth, was the ruling monarch of the Fire Nation etc.

Bonus Option it's complicated: Royals had a habit of having children out of wedlock sometimes. Said children, if acknowledged, could be granted titles (Count of X, Dutchess of Y etc.) . Getting acknowledged and a title does not automatically put you in the line of succession, though. For example, Firelord Chaeryu was forced to acknowledge Chaejin and avoid dishonoring his noble mother and her house, but he excluded Chaejin from the royal family.

So Kiyi is not a Princess. Simple as that. Neither of her parents are of the royal line.

Could she become a Princess?

Well, this gets interesting.

Let's start with the fact that Kiyi got a pretty bad deal in a class-based monarchical society.

First thing, while her mother is a noble, her father is a commoner. Even if Ursa's family became destitute after Roku's death because of political reasons, it does not change the fact that she is still nobility unless Sozin revoked Rina's title, which I am not 100% sure he did. We don't know anything about Jinzuk besides the fact that he was the magistrate of Hira'a. While magistrates do not have to be part of the nobility, they can be. He could have been a second/third/fourth son of a small noble family with limited power/resources, given the position he was given was in a place like Hira'a, which is what I am inclining towards. He could have also been just some guy, but someone appointed him, and as a rule of thumb, you don't just go into the street and pick a random person to appoint to an administrative and leadership role, even if it's a small town. Given that Azulon was set on Ozai marrying Ursa because she was Roku's granddaughter, whether or not Jinzuk was a noble, it doesn't matter all that much in the grand scheme of things. However, in Kiyi's case, it does if Zuko wants to give her a title. It's more stigma than anything because people can be given nobility titles for specific services to the crown etc. But this is not her only issue. Which leads me to...

Second thing, Kiyi is a bastard. Which, in my opinion, would hold even more stigma than her father not being a noble. Ursa never divorced Ozai. As far as we know, polygamist marriages aren't a thing in the Fire Nation, so her marriage to Ikem/Noren is invalid. Could she be granted a divorce retroactively by the Fire Sages? Actually, yeah. Because Zuko named Shyu as High Sage, which was like the one sound political move he ever did tbh. We don't see what the Fire Nation's stance on divorce is, but given that Shyu is a Zuko loyalist, he'd probably grant Ursa retroactive divorce from Ozai. I am not a legal expert, however, as far as I know, retroactive decisions tend to be reserved for correcting a mistake or omission in the written record. She was still married to Ozai when she went and married Ikem. Though technically, she married him under a fake identity (and so did he), which might make the marriage void regardless in the eyes of the law. Idk how Spirit involvement affects legal matters in the world of Avatar, but as things stand right now, unless we pretzel-twist ourselves to make excuses, Kiyi is born outside of legitimate wedlock.

Now, Zuko might not care. In fact, he probably doesn't. He could still give Kiyi a title, including that of Princess. It was not uncommon for illegitimate relatives of rulers to be offered roles/titles once acknowledged. The real question is if he would put her in the line of succession. Kiyi has no business being there because she does not have royal blood.

Could Zuko do whatever he wants, give her the title of Princess and shove her in the line of succession while taking Azula out of it for good measure? Sure, he can. He'd probably love that, in fact. But that leaves two things open.

One, nobility would not take kindly to a bastard child of a commoner with no royal blood being in the line of succession. If we also add the angle of taking Azula out of it, it would just increase their ire. There is already a long list of why the nobility is probably angry at Zuko (and should attempt to assassinate him a lot more than they do), but I think this one in particular has other implications. There might be nobles who are neutral about Zuko. Shamelessly discarding societal norms on a whim might make their perspective swing towards negative. It could make him lose goodwill he might have or potential allies.

Two, it will make the commoners wonder. If this random girl, raised as a peasant, with a commoner father, born out of wedlock, can be put in the line of succession just like that — while discarding a princess of the blood if we are at it — then… is the royal line not that special? The whole premise of a monarchy is that the monarch and their descendants have the divine right to rule. Being part of that bloodline gives you the right to rule. So if that can be discarded, if that bloodline is not all that important… should Zuko be Firelord? And most importantly, does the Fire Nation really need a monarch at all?

Kiyi is not a princess, and for the well-being of Zuko's reign — which is already barely holding together — he better not make her one.

[altonate-universe]

lord of the flies?? more like lord of the. memes or something idk

[ancientnames]

Lord Huron fans I think we need to start dressing tf up for concerts. I wanna see ten gallon hats. I wanna see leather coats and slicked-back hair. I wanna see wild ass time's blur themed makeup. I wanna see your best Tubbs Tarbell cosplay. WE MUST RAISE THE BAR

[baranedizille]

Yet young

--------

When I learned Atris being into male exile is clearly written in the game (I never played the male) i was shocked, because I legimately thought she was into my fem exile as well?! And that her romantical attraction to the exile is supposed to be subtextual? Disappointing!

______

Anyway, I'm entering my "digital era". I've been scared of it for long, but then I figured out that I have nearly no problems with it lol

[dogpawsswapgod]

something I've appreciated about The Dragon Prince is how it eschews a good/evil, hero/villain binary and instead insists that what matters are choices: the path one chooses to walk. are you fated to walk a dark path? or did you make a choice with every step?

characters say "i had no choice," a lot, but eventually face the truth (usually before a big moment of growth): there's always a choice, and you've always been making choices. this is something pretty much everyone is going thru throughout the series but no one more obviously than Viren (and now, Claudia 😭).

when Viren faces his younger self in the mirror in season 5 and young Viren rejects the idea that he is "fated" to walk a dark path, he places his hand on the glass, saying "i am free, and so are you!" this is one of the series' main theses--alongside whether history is "a narrative of strength or a narrative of love"--that "i have no choice," is never true. our choices are all we have, and they shape our reality by paving the path we take.

Viren has been a worthy and engaging "villain" throughout the series, totally hateable, a grade A baddie, but I'm grateful for how his arc ended in season 6. i admit i shed a tear for that old war criminal.

if history is to become a narrative of love then different choices must be made.

making space for anger and holding "villains" accountable for their harmful choices, but also allowing for those same villains to change (or cut out) their hearts and thereby change the path they have walked--even if it's only in the final few days of a lifetime of wickedness-- all play well alongside the setting of the story: a magical world on the precipice of revolutionary transformation ("a long slow spiral into chaos," as one Star Elf put it).

can't guess how this will play out with the big boss battle against Aaravos himself in the final season, but for now, I'm content w how the writers seem truly invested in exploring these big ideas and applying them to the characters' story arcs.

[waltricia]

Another delightfully thirsty collection of Manny tweets ♥️

[essektheylyss]

The tragedy of Bor'dor is that he could've been deradicalized, and wasn't. And not only that he wasn't, but that there wasn't time for it. In isolation, his death could've been avoided, with time, but that isn't something that the Hells have right now. They have been well-outfitted, have many allies across the world fighting on their side, and have made enough of an impact to buy them a few weeks, but even that came at a great cost, given the loss of life we've seen in Uthodurn and here with Hevestro's circle.

And there are so, so many individuals among the Ruby Vanguard who are probably just like Bor'dor, who could be talked down from the ledge they've been egged upon by Ludinus's manipulations. We know this, actually, because the Nein did that for Essek, with, frankly, very minimal actual ideology—they did it by being nice and acting as someone else who listened.

But it's years too late for that, because there is now an army of those individuals, and they cannot be taken in isolation. They have passively caused significant loss of life across the planet by altering this solstice, and encouraging more through their ideological shoving, as in Hearthdell. There's no time because the war is already well underway—only the Hells have arrived in the eleventh hour. So the Hells can pity and mourn him, but Orym's assessment was right—they're at war, and the nature of this war is that it must be fought and won in order to even think about the future and rehabilitation.

The tragedy is that Bor'dor could've lived if there was time, but that time is already long gone.

[vigilskeep]

love when you arrive at d’meta’s crossing and the companions are all like “oh noooo it’s so quiet and spooky” but rook is already killing the vibe bc there’s SO many crates to smash

[pepperpixel]

SAID HE LIKES CRAZY GIRLS,

BUT HE HATES WHEN I ACT CRAZY,

IT TAKES TWO TO TOXIC!

FINALLY!!! Finished these pics of jinx I’ve been working on!!!!! HOLY SHIT, these took so long…. But finally… they’re done… pls enjoy this art of my beautiful princess w a disorder. Featuring alternate colors for the big pic and also a closeup! Cuz I rlly like how both the lines and coloring on her face turned out… like the pink gradients w her eye… her deer in headlights expression,, like uve just startled a raccoon digging thru ur trashcan and r two seconds away from getting mauled.. m proud of it!

[fleurdemiel-145]

Eyebrows : *exist*

Benjamin Walker :

[utilitycaster]

Ludinus: why are you here?

Bells Hells: ...

[quirkle2]

he likes being dramatic

[queerprayers]

i want to say first of all that i fully respect a community's/denomination's/culture's right to have closed practices. i am not entitled to other people's traditions, and when i am a guest in a space i understand that everything is not automatically for me. and i know i do not have to understand to respect.

and also! when i go to a catholic church and can't receive communion i want to fall on the floor weeping. what do you mean i can't have him he's right there. sorry my baptism was the wrong kind of baptism. i'm hungry and you want me to become someone else before being fed.

[feathery-bastard]

Lord of the flies fandom are you still alive. Lord of the flies fandom if you can hear me. Lord of the flies fandom please