#a biblical genius I'm sure

[cardinalfirefly]

This might be my new favourite thing on the Internet

[lastflowerofyourhouse]

what i love about gideon being named for the biblical gideon is that, initially, it's really confusing. or at least, it was to me. i got to the naming guide in the back of gtn after reading it for the first time and i wasn't sure what to make of it. like yeah, cool, gideon as in the biblical gideon, but other than the vague concept of being called to fight, there doesn't really seem to be much of a connection there.

even in nona the ninth, the connection feels a little tenuous. i mean yes, she does now officially fight for god, but she's not even called gideon anymore, and god didn't choose her so much as he very abruptly found himself in posession of a daughter and decided to make lemonade.

and then it hit me.

gideon the first. that's gideon the first's name. and it makes so much sense for g1deon to be named after the biblical gideon.

either tamsyn muir is a genius or i'm thinking way too hard about this. because to me, it really does feel like the name "gideon" was introduced into this universe specifically for g1deon, and the fact that our girl ended up with it is purely incidental.

and like. when you think of that in the context of her relationship to john. she wasn't so much chosen as she was convenient. she was never supposed to be here. even her name, which carries the connotation of chosen one, is borrowed from someone john actually chose.

that name was never supposed to be hers. it was always meant to be his.

i just. every day man. every fucking day i realize something about a tlt character's name. and i end up chewing glass every time.

[felixstudios]

Bellringer Art Set

I made a whole bunch of Bellringer art for a little project! And also because he is my current obsession because I cycle through like 20 Cogs to obsess over.

There's 1 PFP, 1 phone background, and 2 desktop backgrounds. These are free to use privately and free to use publicly with credit!

Extra ramblings about the art process below

The PFP was meant to make him look kinda like even when he was super tired, he'd still retain his elegant looks. I mean, he already does look tired all the time, but I was trying to lean into that a little bit. I struggled a lot with the upturned collar since that was actually my first time really drawing it LOL, but I still think it turned out okay.

The phone background was meant to look a little hotter, but uh... I don't think my intentions came across. I struggled SO much to draw the hand and I remember sending around "Biblically accurate Bellringer" which was just all the arm/hand sketch layers being visible because I'd made so many attempts. I do struggle to draw actual hands so the hand was no surprise to me, but the arm too? Seriously? That's usually like, one of the easiest parts of a drawing for me... But on the bright side, it still turned out alright. I think I'll be keeping anatomically incorrect Cathal as my phone wallpaper for now though {I <3 anatomically incorrect Cathal he's so cute even with his weird hand and his misshapen gear neck}.

The desktop backgrounds I'm definitely most proud of. I was complaining to my boyfriend about how I wanted a full piece for the set but wasn't sure if I'd have enough time, and he only said "ocean" in response which I think was meant to be a joke. For me, though, it was a stroke of genius because I realized I can just make a simple background. So, I drew the night/sunset sky. However, all the purples I was using for shading clashed WAY too much with the established style of the rest of the set, so I reused my lineart, reshaded it with red, and threw together a background that matched the other pieces in style. I also decided to pay slight tribute to my Danganronpa Amino days when I'd make "edits" of my favorite characters and subtly copied my old artstyle.

[rozieramati]

5/12/23

i’m fully convinced this boy i know is an angel incarnate. not because he is divinely sweet and lovely, though he is at moments. what mainly brings me to this conclusion is his energy of unrest. it seems as though he is a breaching beam of light, anxiously waiting to burst from the shackles of his human vessel. there’s an innate sadness to his existence that makes me want to bend to my knees and pray for him. no, i’m not religious, but if anyone were to make me believe in a figure such as god, and an afterlife such as heaven, his existence alone would convert me. i’m not sure if he’s religious either. but there’s something biblical about his existence. he’s gifted with beautiful looks and genius talents. so much so, that one may envy his life. but there’s a well of protruding sadness that he carries. it radiates from his pupils and is one that i cannot help from noticing. thinking about him is like the act of throwing oneself into a pit of endless tar. you’ll be stuck forever trying to help him out. he cannot accept help.  

what makes him all so confusing, and makes me sure of his potential relation to the divine, is his weightless spirit despite it all. so overtaken by love he is. so gold is his touch on instruments and on the scaled skin of others. he heals despite needing to be healed himself. he creates despite the cemented air of his existence scabbing on his shoulders. 

his life is too heavy to bear, yet somehow he remains weightless. 

i used to feel romantically for him. i’ve learned not to though. every girl i know falls for him. he’s desperate for love but no one is right for him. i don’t hate him for that though, in fact i have compassion for him. i think he may fear nothing will ever be simple in his life, no matter how much he tries to take hold of it. and i resonate with that. i feel for him, not romantically. but i feel for him. 

sometimes i confuse my feelings as romantic when it’s really something else. this is something else. i feel close to him and i don’t know why. i feel lured to him and i don’t know why. i cannot be around him for very long without being greatly impacted by him in one way or another. it’s beyond strange the emotions he stirs up in me. i can’t remember the last time, if ever, i was impacted by someone so deeply. 

i don’t want to kiss him under willow trees, but i desire to help him, to be apart of his world, and vice versa. i feel as if we’re meant to know each other for some reason, as though we’re meant to share a path. but i have to wait to see how it all unfolds, so i have been. the road is slowly revealing itself. i’m scared to make the wrong choice. i think we both are.

this feels karmic. 

p.s. i promise i'm not insane. you would understand if you knew him. everyone i know feels the same about him. there's something there- and him being an angel incarnate is the only (ironically) sensible explanation for it.

[novaloo]

Inevitable - part two - Science shenanigans

(this part takes place a day later in case you couldn't tell)

Both Dr Sunshine and Julie were in the lab. She was organizing research notes, he was sorting some chemicals. The radio played a nice melody. Sunshine jumped along to the rhythm slightly, but at one point he swinged his hand a little too much and knocked off the test tube rack. Substances spilled on the table, the empty vial falling to the floor and breaking with a quiet clink. Luckily none were explosive and no reaction occured. But the memories came flooding back in. And all he could muster was a frustrated...

"Fuck!"

But he didn't stop. He kept thinking out loud, reminiscing, talking to no one specific.

"I was an existential criminal

So innocently cynical

Ignorant as fuck-"

Then Julie chimed in.

"But a proud individual!"

Dr Sunshine continued with his train of thought.

"Originally meant to live a God-damned miracle"

Julie chimed in again.

"Might've been metaphysical"

And Sunshine continued once more.

"But I think it was medical

Testing my hypothesis!

Never finding a theory!...

Emulating animals and mental aboriginals

A miserable fuck-"

She added in again.

"But a loud Tao mystical!"

He kept going.

"An enemy of ritual

Traditionally integral

To Biblical originals

But literally pitiful"

Then Julie took the lead.

"Too impatient for outpatient

Paging Doctor Leary...

Did you lose yourself?

It's always in the last place that you'd check!"

Sunshine answered.

"I might find myself..."

His voice lowered to a quiet tone for one sentence, then returned back to normal.

"By retracing my steps...

But I don't remember!

Well, I forgot myself

I don't remember

I don't remember 2012!

I don't remember how I forgot myself

I don't remember

I don't remember 2012!

I don't remember 2012!

I don't remember-

Wow, the whole year's a blur!"

He hummed along as he used his leg to move the glass shards under the table for the time being to avoid stepping on them. Then, he kept musing, his tone upbeat.

"I think I bought into the comedy

And brought a lot of oddity

An odyssey I thought to be

Consider a commodity!

And not until anomaly abolished my monotony

Did I applaud autonomy

And modify a lot of me

I'll escape this reality!

Be the next Houdini!"

For a second Sunshine posed like a magician, with a big touch of silliness to it.

"Oh, glory be Satori

But it's hallucinatory

And it's sure to be a story

I can tell in purgatory!

I said, once I've lost it

Can there be a

Mahaprajnaparamita?"

Then he dragged his assistant to dance, stepping and spinning to the music on the radio. She did not oppose, looked happy even. He leaned in, close to her face, and quoted her own words.

"Did you lose yourself?

Well, it's always in the last place you'd check..."

Then he pulled away, the two separating.

"I might find myself..."

Again, his voice quieted down just for this one, same sentence.

"By retracing my steps..."

They both tapped their feet along to the rhythm for a while, before Dr Sunshine spoke up again.

"Wow!

I don't remember how I forgot myself

I don't remember

I don't remember 2012!

I don't remember how I forgot myself

I don't remember

I don't remember 2012!

I heard the world would turn to hell!

Compared to that I'm doing well!...

Oh, I don't remember how I forgot myself

I don't remember

I don't remember 2012!

I don't remember how I forgot myself

I don't remember

I don't remember 2012!

I don't remember 2012!

I don't remember 2012!"

And as the song ended, the two laughed warmly like old friends. Sunshine sighed, gazing off into the distance with a hint of nostalgia.

– Now that I think about it, I really was a miserable fuck...

– A miserable fuck no more, doctor – Julie reassured, her casual tone carrying a wave of warmth as always. – You've grown to be a proud and intelligent individual

– Oh, did I?

– Your unusual genius is known all around the town. Many admire it greatly.

He smiled. He knew full well these were just empty words, but it was nice to hear them nonetheless. She grabbed a cloth and a broom from the far corner of the lab and approached the messy table.

– Let me clean this up, hm?

[stonewallsposts]

16 personalities questions: 46-48

46. You rarely contemplate the reasons for human existence or the meaning of life 

Disagree. I do contemplate these things. I accept the Biblical accounting for them and they make the most sense for me. And those are that we were created to love God and be with him. That was broken through sin, and God himself, through the person of Jesus, paid the price for sin and we, through trust in Jesus, can be restored to the Father. That is our most basic reason for existence and meaning- to serve the Lord. 

While I accept that as truth, I am also interested in what people who disagree with me have to say. I try and learn some philosophy and understand what kinds of things people search for to provide meaning to their lives. But one of the things I've become convinced of through reading not only the philosophies, but the lives of the philosophers themselves, is that we are all subject to the time and place we live in. None of us has a full picture of life. As brilliant as some of these men were, their attempts to categorize all of life still falls short and is subject to their own limited view of life.  

With this in mind, I tend to read them with a grain of salt. I try to understand where they're coming from, and why they might believe what they do. To be honest, I try to do the same with myself, but I'm subject to all the same limitations, and lack the genius that most of them had, so I'm even more restricted in what I can figure out. But clearly, as Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:11, God has put eternity in the hearts of men. We are interested in such things and we can't help but think of these things on occasion. I know some people do their best to put it out of mind, but nonetheless, we can't escape it altogether.  

Perhaps this will seem a bit strange, but I've been mentally preparing for death, mine and others around me, for some time. I'm sure I've told many people this story, but years ago I read a long-form article in the LA Times about trucking deaths. The lead story was of a couple that worked in different places and had made a lunch date to meet someplace in the middle. The husband drove to the spot but the wife never showed. A truck had overturned on her car and killed her. The story had an impact on me and it struck me that we never know what is going to happen. I plan on going home this evening, but there's no guarantee that I'll make it there. I decided that I wanted to be ready for these things. So I have tried to live my life in such a way that I don't leave things unsaid to my loved ones. I let them know how much I love them. I was prepared for my father's death, and I'm prepared for my mom's, and I'm prepared for my wife or kids too. That's not to say it won't hurt, but I'm fully aware that this life isn't meant to last forever, and even if we live out the full measure of a human life, it is still, as the Bible says, a vapor: here and gone. 

This brings up another anecdote, but years ago I used to open up the church in the mornings for prayer. One morning I went in, and the sanctuary had been prepared for a funeral. In the back was a photo montage of the gentleman's life: he had been in the Air Force and there were all kinds of pictures of him. It hit me that one day, that would be me. The only thing left would be some pictures. A few people would mourn me for a while; my wife and kids would remember me, but beyond that, I'd be forgotten. The only thing that would matter at that time is what I did for the Lord.  

These little incidents have been formative for me, and cause me to approach life in a way that is informed and directed by Christianity.  

Of course, since I'm an idiot, I don't always live up to this, but I do think I contemplate the meaning of life. 

47. Your emotions control you more than you control them 

Hmmm, well, my gut reaction is to agree with this, but then maybe it needs more reflection. 

I think I probably control them more than they control me. There can be a lot of inner dialogue going on in my head over my reaction to things, so there is clearly a struggle. But the good thing is that most people are probably unaware of it. I take that to mean that I generally manage to keep the inner struggle under control. 

But given the previous discussion over the whole head v heart approach, I have decided that I don't like that dichotomy very much. I'm choosing to see them as simply different sets of input that inform the deliberation process, sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. So while I may feel like I'm making a logical decision, even my criteria are going to be informed by subconscious information.  

But perhaps this statement isn't meant to probe into this so deeply, they're just using colloquial parlance to express it. I'm going to give this a 5, slightly disagree. 

48. You take great care not to make people look bad, even when its completely their fault 

I'm towards the agree on this one, but only slightly. If someone makes a mistake, I'll usually do what I can to keep it from being a bigger thing. I make mistakes, and I don't like it when those get broadcast. 

So yeah, I'll probably go out of my way to try and not make people look bad, even if they screwed up. 

There is a bible verse that covers this too: love covers over a multitude of sins.  

But of course is someone is being a complete jerk, then I'm less apt to want to shield them from themselves.  

For myself, I don't really reject the hatred if I've done something bad. I don't like it.... but I accept it. 

A few months ago I had said something earlier in the day to our office manager, and later on I said something that she thought was a contradiction, so she called me out on it. I stopped and said: Are you trying to catch me in hypocrisy? She just smiled and said, Of course. I explained the resolution between the two statements and she sort of joke grudgingly accepted it, but I did think the interaction was kind of funny. Unless I'm really close with someone, I wouldn’t point something like that out, and even then, I'd be reluctant to do it.  

That has come through time and the experience of so many of my own failings. Years ago, when I was cheated on, I tried my best to reconcile. When she chose to move on, I stopped trying to shield her from the consequences of her actions. I sort of wish I would still have been more quiet about it. It's not like I broadcast it all over, but I didn't try to stay quiet either. I would do things differently today. 

So yeah, I take care not to make people look bad. 

[elbiotipo]

THANK YOU for this addition.

Tolkien was a genius on his research of folklore and literature (in the very specific areas he chose to research), and it was implemented on his fiction. Tolkienesque fantasy usually takes those elements for granted when in fact they were based on Tolkien's research on much older myths and motifs that are very complex. I think it's more rewarding to do what he did instead of just taking what he created.

I'm not exactly sure on the history of fire-breathing dragons, but I know fire-breathing or such "sulfur breath" (IIRC, there are stories of dragons with noxious toxic breath) was common in mythological monsters. And in the particular case of Beowulf, it was probably based on the biblical Leviathan which is very explicitly said to have a fiery breath. Which in turn might be based in older Semitic or Mesopotamian mythology.

also, while we are at it

"my dragon flies because it's magic xdxddxdxd"

fine, acceptable, it's magic. Okay. Even as a biologist I'm willing to give it a pass. God knows that in my space opera project I've went "mumble mumble convergent evolution mumble" for some of my earth-like aliens. The shape is kinda believeable and original, you chose some cool features, it's fine, no need for the whole phylogenetic tree.

Now, why is it magic? what does it mean it is magic?

Were dragons created by a god? are they manifestations of nature? why are dragons, especifically, magic and not say, crocodiles?

Is it a species with physical presence and a life cycle, or are they magical beings? how many dragons are there, how important they are to your world? are they worshipped, feared, venerated, just some kind of weird megafauna but otherwise unremarkable? what do they eat, how much?

If it's a sentient dragon from a physical species, as most modern fiction seems to assume (you'd be surprised that in most medieval works they were mostly mindless beasts or demons, dragons as noble creatures are very much a modern invention in the West) how do they think? How do they act differently from smaller, less powerful, shorter lived species? Do they have their own gods, their own rituals, their own beliefs? Are they lonely beings or are they able, or interested, to form part of society, or even have their own societies?

What's the cultural role of a dragon in the world you're making? What do your characters think when they hear the word 'dragon'? What do they know about dragons, when your hero goes and finds one, what are their conceptions of it? Can they fight it? How? Why?

Notice that most of my questions aren't stupid UNREALISTIC! CINEMASINS DING!, but things that actually affect your characters, setting and plot. Don't like to write a ethnographical paper about dragons? do it anyways or I'll shoot you, don't, but if you're introducing an element to your story, even if you're using stock fantasy elements like dragons, you will benefit A LOT from thinking how they fit into your story.

And even in settings were "it's magic" is acceptable as an answer, or more *surreal* or comedic stories where things happen without too much logic, a dragon is still a symbol. What does your dragon mean in your story? "oh, a magical dragon". Fine. Why is there a dragon on your story? Don't have a whole herpetology paper, because this is just a romance? Okay, can you spare me a couple lines to tell me what does a dragon mean in your world? That too, is yuri worldbuilding.

[drpreneursblog-blog]

VEGAN but not VEGAN

Statistically speaking

Unlike in the Western and European countries where VEGAN is already widely known and accepted, here in Asia specifically Philippines, only 0.7% of the total population is purely VEGAN. (see reference on the link below)

Mostly were vegetarians without labeling themselves and some I guess fall under the category of just living healthy or this one I recently saw in YouTube that labeled her channel as "Healthytarian".

As for Me

Call it however you like, in my case I would probably classify myself as a NATURE LOVER. Be it in food, place and products when it's naturally made, it twinkles my eyes and is a music to my ears. Although I admit that when I discovered VEGANISM in the beginning I thought it was merely just a more strict version of a vegetarian. Until in my further research I knew that they have a thing on ANIMAL CRUELTY and is the very reason for their emergence. So I told myself, hold on, I like everything about vegan, especially how creative they were in creating healthy meals out of all plant based without compromising the taste - except that they have deep sentiments about eating animal sources.

Biblically Speaking

Since we belong in different parts of the world with different cultures and beliefs, in my case I have no issues with animal cruelty as for VEGANS have. Well, primarily because I was born and raised an active Christian and growing up it is clear to me that plants animals were created by God for us to consume as written on this particular verse:

Genesis 9:1-4 New International Version (NIV)

God’s Covenant With Noah

9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.

3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

4 “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.

It says we can eat everything God created except for blood or anything with blood in it.

Clarification :

This blog genuinely have no intention of mocking any VEGANS out there, in fact I believe in the idea of PLANT BASED SOURCES and WHOLESOME FOOD and I assure in this blog more than anything else, RESPECT in every individual's belief is spared with perfect empathy.

So why blog about it?

Simply because I am more happy than I ever was since the emergence of these group of people advocating healthy lifestyle, healthy alternatives, promoting locally made products, and helping local farmers to sustain their living. Just Genius! Again if we will take it from the roots our food and medicines were all plant derived so what could be better than consuming whole than processed right?

I decided to blog just like others to create an awareness and convince more people number one, to appreciate what God has created for us, two, to maximize and enrich everything we have all in its natural state because it is when its best at, and finally, it is no doubt that it would prolong our lifespan enabling us to enjoy life to the fullest and for that I'm sure you would agree that's something worth sharing to as much fellowmen as possible.

The Label

I didn't blog to put a label on anyone as VEGAN, VEGETARIAN or what so ever, I blog to support this growing group of people who values the Nature and the Almighty Creator.

Muli, maraming salamat sa oras at pagkakataon.

(Again, thanks a lot for the time and chance given.)

[bargainbinwizard]

God is not a deity that believes in free will. Satan was

Um...no?

Satan isn't a deity (or at least not in Abrahamic religions). I think people have tried to equate Satan to various nature deities and gate opening entities because of folklore but I don't pay attention to folklore or history. I like reblogging shit that I don't read. My blog exists for entertainment purposes, it doesn't mean I'm a genius when it comes to magic.

Anyway, Satan isn't an entity that believes in free will either. Well, he wanted free will for himself so he could screw everybody over since he's the embodiment of evil. Just because he wanted to become free from God's influence doesn't mean he wanted to give us free will. I'm pretty sure he wanted to control and make us do messed up shit and also torture people when ever he pleases.

Unless you're talking about stuff from a Satanist standpoint which offers different views of Satan than what is offered in the biblical texts, Satan doesn't give two shits about us. Different denominations of religions rose out of ''non canon'' versions of religious texts that already exist that people have canonized after all.

Still, the bible version of Satan says he's an asshole.

[jewishangus]

(I'm not even sure if this is the place to ask, sorry if this is a weird question haha) I'm a fanfiction writer and now that angus has been confirmed jewish I don't want to ignore that part of him in my future works. But I know literally nothing about what it means to be jewish. As a jewish fanfiction writer yourself, do you have any advice about how I could respectfully write a jewish angus?

no its a great question!!!! dont worry about asking - if anything, im super glad you’re looking to create good representation!! (and humbled that you’re here asking me? fuck)

tl;dr: being respectful really just means putting thought into your character, and treating judaism like you would any other facet of someone’s personality. most of the time, it won’t be that prominent! but if you don’t think about it, you’re going to end up writing it badly.

under the readmore, however: how to approach thinking about judaism and working it into a character.

ok first of all, if you’re not jewish and know nothing about judaism, there’s a couple of things you should get.

first: ethnicity is key.i’ll leave you to do the googling on the terms - the key to all good representation is research - but if youre european/american, you most likely adhere to a denomination (which, for the numerical majority of jews, is either orthodox, conservative, or reform), if you’re from the middle east/north africa/actual real africa/far east, or live in israel now, you’re likely not to. 

second: surprisingly, politics dont matter. tradition, however, does.you can be liberal and orthodox and conservative and reform, even though orthodox judaism is the more traditional/patriarchal in nature of the two denominations. but you’ve probably heard of if not seen fiddler on the roof - its incredibly hard to stray against what you’ve been raised when youre jewish, mostly because most of your jewish identity comes from your parents and your history! a lot of people do, especially on the political front. but even if people differ from their parents politically, they might not do so jewishly.

third: jews are a nation as well as a religion.jewish culture exists (though it’s different for people of different ethnicities), a jewish language exists, a jewish history exists (even though schools suck at teaching all of it), and jewish national sovereignty also exists and is important - hence, israel. at the same time, a jewish biblical canon exists, and jewish books of law exist, and those two have to coexist together. for some jews, both are equally important. some prioritize one over the other, and do so in different ways.

last: stereotypes are…. actually kind of important.jews love to argue. true. jewish overbearing moms exist. also true. jews control all the money in the world? actually, we joke about that a lot, but sadly that isn’t true. however, for a nation with only ~15 million people, you’ll find us in a lot of high places; we’ll attribute that mostly to our brains, though.when you’re writing stereotypes, think about them. every jewish person thinks about them differently and treats them differently. people who grew up in more of a jewish bubble tend to be more comfortable with them than those who arent.whatever you do, though, dont avoid them like the plague. a lot of them are true, and cute, and a lot of them are something id love to see in fic! as an example, take a line from one of my wips: “So, deep down, Davenport knew it wasn’t a coincidence that when he collected the seven, they all turned out to be Jewish. It’s the Jew-dar, Merle jokes sometimes, or the “you were looking for smart people, what’d you expect?” that Taako said once, but their captain’s more serious than that. He thinks it’s destiny.”

there’s two different stereotypes in there: jews are smart, and the jew-dar, which is more a pun off of the gay-dar than anything. and yet, they’re used light-heartedly, for a laugh that doesn’t poke fun! kind of in the same way angus was confirmed to be jewish.

ok, now that that’s done with, a disclaimer that i implied heavily in the last bit but is very worthy to say outright:

every jew is different! 

when you’re writing a jewish character, this is the most important thing to keep in mind. a person can’t be just jewish, they’re jewish and [insert race/ethnicity] and [insert gender] and [insert age] and [insert socio-economic status] and [insert sexuality] and i can just go on and on and on, because even the men in black hats in nyc’s diamond district have a story and other facets of their personality.

so the key to write a jewish character is not to throw everything else in the garbage - in fact do exactly the opposite. decide everything else first, and then use that to reverse-engineer their judaism.now, this is true even for people who see judaism as their salient identity, like me! even if judaism is the most important thing in their lives, it’s that along with everything else that builds character.

let’s try it with angus, shall we?

okay, so who is angus?

-he’s a boy-he’s 11-he is, for whatever reason, mostly disconnected from his birth family-he loves to learn - an academic at heart-he’s fancy - his birth family was probably rich, or at least he knows his manners.

and if you wanna do some world-building you can - how do jews in faerun deal with magic/other gods/the astral plane/etc? thats a whole other post, but it’s interesting to think about in regards to angus’s psyche.

okay, let’s do this:

we don’t know angus’s race. if he’s white, what denomination does he slide into, if any? if he’s black, he’s either ethiopian or his family converted at some point in his history or he’s an extremely rare character. either way, his generation is probably like. one of the first to integrate into modern judaism. what’s that like? 

he’s a kid. his judaism is going to change over time! how serious is he about it now? is it a source of fun for him, a source of serious learning, or a mix of both? does he make sure to follow the laws, clearing his dorm of bread on passover or fasting on yom kippur or keeping shabbat/kosher, or does he just light candles for hanukkah and eat dairy on midsummer?

where is his family, and why would they have left him? the days of ditching your kid in fear of him growing up bad have been behind us for millennia. if his family is shitty or dead, where’s the extensive community that usually backs up kids of his character? does he still have a network? does he go back and visit?

he found a new family in the bureau and the ipre - are they jewish? do they support him or just leave him be?

he is a boy genius, in most understandings of the term. does he speak hebrew? know torah trope or prayer or jewish law? or is he more of a jewish history buff? or does he like secular subjects better, struggling over yet appreciating the old text yet turning his attention to something else? judaism seriously endorses academia - is that where he got his love for it from?

if he’s fancy, is he traditional? does he wear tzizit under his clothes or was his family not that jewish when they got rich?

the answers to all of these questions are going to create the kind of jew you want angus to be!

and yet - 

you can incorporate all of this character-building into angus and end up writing him the same way as you have this whole time - it all depends on the scene you’re writing him in.

your angus could be the same except he interrupts to ask a question about a religion/custom that’s different than his own. he could be the same except fixing the tzizit under his clothes is a fidget of his. you know what? his judaism is probably only going to come up in little snippets anyway - he could be asking taako which ones are the meat forks and which are the dairy ones, or magnus could play keep-away with his kippah, or lucretia could find him in his room studying torah. or maybe it comes up in conversation? maybe someone calls him a genius and he blushes and says he kinda struggles with his hebrew homework sometimes, and then the conversation moves on as if he hadn’t mentioned judaism at all.

so what do these questions answer, exactly? whether those snippets, those pieces of judaism that work his way into his daily life, are even there to begin with. 

does it come up in conversation? does he spend his free time studying torah? does he wear a kippah or tzizit? does he care about meat and dairy forks? does he end up going on an extreme teen adventure and ask a bunch of questions or is he worried about merle preaching? 

those are up to you, and those decisions are what im working to educate on in this post.

anyways, that’s about all i got! if you wanna find out more about judaism, feel free to ask - i was trying to avoid giving you a crash course on my religion and more focusing on how to incorporate it into a character, but if the former was what you were looking for, hit me up and ill write another 1500 words for you!

hope i could help, and happy writing!