#association is still damnation

[seiya-starsniper]

Disappointed, but not surprised.

[newnitz]

I don't really see people talking about how cultural Christianity is applied to Jews.

In Christianity, Jews are the people who rejected and betrayed Jesus and are punished with statelessness and destitution, whose only redemption is accepting the Messiah and the Son of God. This is the basis of several antisemitic tropes, most prominently deception, religious supercessionism and the Wandering Jew.

In cultural Christianity, these tropes are considered tenants of Judaism rather than Christianity, as Judaism is considered Christianity without Jesus.

Christians see themselves as tortured saints, persecuted for spreading the truth of Jesus and God across the globe. Missionaries who go to non-Christian lands to try and get the people to convert by fearmongering with damnation to Hell see themselves as victims when they're rebuffed and asked to stop.

Cultural Christian non-Christians are usually atheists and adherents of folk religion revivalist movements who have suffered religious abuse, as many sects of Christianity normalize emotional abuse by instilling inherent guilt in the Original Sin and even physical abuse in "Spare the rod; spoil the child". These cultural Christians see the millennia of antisemitism and roll their eyes, to them we're just another sect of delusional religious people with a persecution complex.

To become a Christian all you need to do is accept the Father Son and Holy Spirit, to affirm your beliefs and confess your sins. To become a Jew you are either born a Jew, or you learn the Jewish culture and religion for months on end and must live half a year under the strictest restrictions of the Jewish lifestyle to show commitment. That is the difference between a universal religion and an ethnoreligion.

In a Culturally Christian world there is no room for ethnoreligions, and they do not exist. All religions are about your faith and which God(s) you believe in. So in a Cultural Christian's eyes, a country of Jews is a country that holds one faith supreme above all others and conditions rights with conversion, as that's how Christian countries have historically been.

Christianity's common ground with Jews comes from the Roman Empire appropriating the religion from the Cult of Jesus, and making it more appealing to the masses by introducing Greco-Roman and Germanic folk religion aspects into it. Xmas is Yule but with Jesus, Easter is a fertility holiday but with Jesus and so on. In the eyes of the Cultural Christian, Christianity and Judaism are two once-antagonistic sects of the same religion, no different than Catholics and Protestants.

Cultural Christianity erases and appropriates Judaism and is as inherently hateful of Jews as religious Christianity.

Now, when it comes to the elephant in the room: Islam.

Islam, like Christianity, is a universal religion. You must believe in Allah and accept the prophets, which include both Jesus and Muhammad. It is no more inherently violent than Christianity, though it's no less. In the Christian's eyes, Islam is the competitor, the enemy. The Muslims conquered Christian lands and converted them, and they've fought holy wars against one another throughout the Middle Ages.

To become a Muslim the Cultural Christian doesn't need to unlearn any of the core tenets of their culture. They can simply apply it to Islam.

Which is why many Cultural Christians, damaged by Christianity, are sympathetic to Islam. And since Muslims and Jews are no longer on good terms, they use this sympathy to give themselves a free pass to be antisemitic. Whether Muslims check their converts for bigotry, allow it or are powerless to stop them, that's another issue.

Jews are not diet Christians. We have less in common with you than you have with Muslims. Unlearn Christian cultural appropriation.

And no, I don't care that it's "offensive" to associate you with Christianity due to the religious abuse you endured. You still see the world through a Christian lens.

[starzzmissthesun]

drop the bartylus song explanations bestie (pls pls plssss plsplss)

Hiiii!!!! Sorry this a little late I've been a little busy the past couple days! This ones definitely gonna be a long one, but i might skip a few songs, so if their are any other ones you'd like to hear about lmk!! Some of these i associate with one of them in particular rather than both. The relation to them and the song is not necessarily what i interpret the song as, but just how it fits and relates to them!!! (also guys dont judge me for the music taste)

Trees-Mcafferty

So this one is very much like catholic/religious guilt, but is even just like being in a family and culture (like the purebloods, like the blacks) that is very very homophobic and strict. The first verse says "my mom was a christian, my dad is an alchie, i bet that he kills me", this to me is very regulus in the whole, walburga being someone who was brought up in a strict and 'be perfect' way, which she then puts onto her kids. And orion someone who is way harder on them, no room for repenting, just damnation. Though they both could represent this song, for they both had such controlling and strict home lives. I feel like it also, especially towards the ends of the song, talks about being different and "wrong" and a freak, feeling just so outcasted and trying to fit in, but never being able to.

If I Saw Him, Id Still Kiss Him-Mcafferty

This is veryyyy Barty's POV after Regulus died. It describes a house filled with ghosts and memories. Barty wishing they ran away instead "Lets go to italy, just you and me, i think wed really like it there", thinking that maybe regulus wouldnt have had the fate he did if they left the whole war behind. It describes the depression and loss of self/hope throughout the rest of this war. The verse from "took a picture of a picture" to "Get to New York for the sunsets" to me, describes how regulus had a different relationship to him than anyone else. I mean this song to me is especially sad if you think of it as they never really got together it was just an almost/what if?

Blue Eyes Like The Devils Water-Mcafferty

This is another Barty POV song to me, but its overall just a description of them being in bad situations and them falling for each other was just making everything better and worse at the same time. This shows how they were kind of raising themselves, both parents ignoring them so long as they do what theyre supposed to. It's just the two of them kind of deal.

The Lions Den-Mcafferty

Another song about them going down together, Barty POV again too. He sees Regulus falling more and more into this dark obsession and going down together. I especially think of the lions den as The Cave, especially in a Barty went with him Au. Him watching regulus getting pulled down everywhere, in his dreams, in real life, hallucinations. "I still remember his eyes on mine" The guilt consuming him, wishing he went with him too. Going crazy because of it "Let me break, let me slip to the bottom of this hill, let my body fall into the pit, into the lions den" and "this is just a bad dream, everybody wakes up soon" convincing himself its not real, that one day hell wake up and regulus will be ok, so everything is. Or the "waking up" is death, he wishes to fall under the water aswell, to die, to be at peace with regulus.

Alligator Skin Boots-Mcafferty

This song is regulus when he's had his change of mind, when he's decided to sacrifice. It starts with him kind of comparing himself to his parents and their complacency and their being messed up. Then from "Im cold to the touch" to then end, is him in the cold waters dying, for his friends who are now in the order, and hoping the others will be safe once the war is over, too.

Pine Point-PUP

Ok so this ones very special to me for them! To me, its them both looking at each other as they go their own way once they've lost each other in the war. "where i kept my eye on the prize, it was you" Barty going crazy after loosing reg, Regulus seeing barty get more and more into the death eater stuff right as he is changing his mind. They have such a intertwined history and memories. Now they're both praying they're doing right for the other, and that the other is doing something right. Bonus points for this song: mentions of loosing an older brother, also just like an awesome breakdown riff.

Just gonna saying im not gonna go into the pheobe bridgers ones rn cause soo many of her songs are them (specifically reg's pov in my mind) but if anyone wants me to, lmk.

Geyser-Mitski

This is the yearning for your best friend song!!! Like just being like, "is this not enough? i have everything, yet i still want to be more with you" To me, its so them cause of the "ive turned down every hand that has beckoned me" cause i think they never would even consider being with anyone else, its JUST the other for them. And also "I will be the one you need, i just cant be without you" is their obsession and need to be with eachother, and the way they idolize each other, the need to be congruent. The whole song just describing a love so strong it builds up inside you, it calls to you, but pushing it down ruins you from the inside out.

Old friend-Mitski

This is in a scenario where they've broken up(which would never be by their choice imo). Idk i feel like if they ever broke up, itd be similar vibes to these lines: "I havent told anyone, just like we promised, have you?" "everytime i drive through the city where youre from i squeeze a little" "Ill take anything you give me". Do you see the vision?? Drowning mention too!!! It's more of a mentally/emotional drowning(like in depression/insanity, etc). in my mind the "someone whos loves me now, better than you" would be less of a literal statement, and more of a hope or a wish. Like they each would be unable to be together because they each have to be with a person who is "better" for them, since they enable each other to be really themselves. It's denial that they actually want the love the other gives.

Me and my husband AND two slow dancers-Mitski

Literally regulus as he's drowning in the cave. He's remembering barty, all of their shared memories, and praying that theyll "stick together" like they always have. Two slow dancers, maybe his afterlife. Or his last thoughts that lull him to "sleep". In the chaos of the hands and air squeezing out of his lungs, hes brought back to a memory of them. They both wish they could go back to before the whole mess, "to think that we could stay the same" hes criticizing himself for hoping the two of them could join this war and stay as they were.

I will-Mitski

ok, picture me this: regulus lives AU!! Maybe Barty went with him, or found him, or reg goes to him after the cave, but nonetheless!!! He's weak, hes scared for defecting, theyre both at odds. But all Barty can do is take care of him, and reassure his fears, though he, himself, is feeling those as well. Just like listen to the lryics:(((

Crack Baby-Mitski

This is Regulus watching Barty get more and more obsessive over Voldemort, as he's slowly doing the opposite. Reg knows Barty doesn't notice and doesn't know why he craves this approval, but Regulus does, he can tell. "With wild horses running through your hollow bones" that father figure voldemort is to barty is something he need so bad, its unstoppable. Just like that, dark magic, the murder. He caught a taste of it, and he can't go back.

Once more to seeyou- Mitski

(starts shaking) They can't be seen together, not just the homophobia of the time, and pretentiousness of their families, but their families hating each other. "but with everybody watching us, our every move, we do have reputations" GOD tell me that's not them!! They are both in such "important" families, for two opposing beliefs, that taught them they must hold themselves to high expectations to keep up the family name. Everyone's eyes are on them both!!! Rumours start easy!!! "and felt the taste of you bubble up inside me" Having so much love for each other, but having to hide it!!! It destroys you!!! Having to hide your emotions and wants not just in public, but to your family as well, and just wanting and yearning for the fairytale domesticity!!!

Im your man-Mitski

Everyone's like, this is barty to reg. NO!!! Its regulus to barty!!! REGULUS was the one who grew up in the pureblood culture/beliefs, he might've been the one to convert barty, to introduce him to it. i could quote the entire song, but i wont... BUT!! This is, to me, Regulus towards the end of his life. He's changed his mind, and now he sees how he destroyed Barty, how he guided him to voldemort, and told him all of his beliefs. How, in his old, skewed view of the world, he was "turning" barty away from what he now saw as the right way. He wishes barty chose someone else, who wouldnt've done that. And now, standing at the edge of the water, he can feel his death, his fate coming close. He knows that it was his choice to be so horrible. And now, after leading barty astray, hes leaving him there, hes betraying not only voldemort, but the love of his life.

The frost-Mitski

Barty's all alone. All of his friends are dead, his family is gone, regulus is missing and betrayed him. "youre my best friend, now ive no one to tell, how i lost my best friend" he not only lost regulus, he lost the only person who would truly know how he feels about it. He feels resentful towards regulus, not for betraying him, but that he was never told!! did he forget? did he think he wouldnt understand? Did something change? Did nothing change and he never really knew Regulus like he thought he did? Should he have seen it coming, but he was to busy pretending everything was ok? "but me, i was hiding, or forgotten"

Heaven-Mitski

Either one of them POV reminiscing over the last time they were together, regulus before his death, and barty after regulus' death. Equating their love to heaven, the love they have for eachother is religious. Very love song by LDR. Both sensing their fate coming near, the calm before the storm. Regulus knows hes going on a self sacrificing mission, and barty knows his mind is unraveling quicker and quicker as the days go on.

When memories snow-Mitski

"and if i break, could i go on break? be back in my room, writing speeches in my head" Barty is crazed with guilt, hes breaking. Hes replaying the last conversation, moment, argument, touch, glance, anything he had with regulus. Looking for anything different he could have done instead that wouldve changed the outcome. His memories are mixing together, he cant remember what actually happened and when. Those memories snow and they obscure his view of reality.

Early sunsets over monroeville-MCR

STOP!!! Barty is grieving!!!! "running away and hiding with you, i never thought theyd get me here." him staying down low enough that he wasnt suspected to be a DE, he ran away from his dad to be a DE. He thought they could never find him, and now his soul is close to being taken from him, til hes nothing. all he has left are jumbld memories. "but would anything matter if youre already dead? and should i be shocked by the last thing you said?" The betrayal means nothing, for regulus is dead, who is he supposed to be mad at? and maybe he shouldve seen it coming, maybe there were signs. He can never go back. "and in saying you loved me made things harder at best, and these words changing nothing as your body remains" Regulus loving him makes the hurt only worse, and admitting that to himself hurts even more. No matter any scenario in which he said something different, where he begged regulus not to go, or that hed leave with him, or they never joined in the first place matter, because regulus is still dead, his body is still at the bottom of that lake.

Living legend-Lana Del Rey

This is Regulus POV!!!! He worships Barty, he idolizes him. "..all the things you do, and the ways you move, send me straight to heaven." He regrets never telling Barty just how much he loved him, and he regrets having to betray him "and darling i never meant to defy you" This is set to me, once again, once hes changed his mind and is going on his mission. "I never meant to be bad or unwell, i was just lving on the edge right between heaven and hell, and im tired of it." trying to balance how he feels about barty once hes switched beliefs, he still is utterly devoted to barty and loves him, but they now have these huge opposing beliefs. and he cant help but blame himself. That part right after the last chorus that is just "why?" over and over and over again.

Mojo Pin-Jeff Buckley

This song is literally describing still feeling your lover there, long after they are gone, and feeling conflicted about how you should feel. "Dont want to weep for you, dont want to know" maybe barty is conflicted, he doesnt want to know what happened to reg or why, he knows he wont like the answer. he doesnt want to accept regulus is gone, and he doesnt want to accept why hes gone. "oh the welts of your scorn. my love, give me more, send whips of opinion down my back, give me more" Barty has now changed his mind, he realizes that he would rather know, he would rather regulus had gave him reason, then he couldve gone with him, and maybe he wouldnt be dead. As long as he's still getting something tangible from his lost lover.

Oh my GOD!!! go listen to ghost of you by My Chemical Romance, every single lyric is barty after regulus died, im not doing this one, cause id have to to just say every line, but PLEASE look at the lyrics and think of them!!! JUst some of the lines are: "if i died wed be together", "all the things that you never ever told me", "ever get the feeling that youre never alone?", "And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me" like please somebody help barty!!!

Yours, mine, hours-mcafferty

So, first of all, this song switches from regulus' POV to barty's at the lyric "and i wrote all of my songs..." just to be clear. Regulus wants to be the perfect son for his family, and he takes it too far in the process. "and you are innocent, at least you wish you finally were, you gotta keep your head up, but not too high, cause youll lose sight of what youve got" He doesnt realize barty is in the DE stuff just as deep as himself until hes changed his mind. "and im sorry, my love, that i ruined what we had" hes betraying barty, hes abandoning them. Then every line from bartys POV is just perfect. "he says 'i miss my brother, but hes not coming home, and i know that hes better, so its tie to grow up'." i mean COME ON? "you were my best friend, so i will love you 'til the very, very end" They both have so much guilt and regret and have wronged each other, but they still cant bring themselves to hate each other.

Anyways! im done for now!!! but if anyone wants my thoughts about them (about anything really) in relation to a song lmk!!it doesnt have to be angsty! also sorry if this is long and doesnt make sense:/

[sky-kiss]

Sending prompt for Dadphael! Maybe the kids getting in trouble but Raphael is low key proud they managed to pull it off. I just need Dadphael in my life and I love baby Orin.

A/N: I can do this. Not the best, but hopefully you chuckle.

Dadphael: He Shouldn't Be Surprised, He Robbed His Dad Too

Raphael's first reaction is blinding rage. A voice in his head screaming how has it come to this? How, in the name of the gods above and below, by all of Asmodeus' grace, could his spawn have been so colossally, unequivocally stupid?

His second reaction is begrudging respect. 

He settles somewhere in the middle, screwing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose. In the most even tone he can manage, the devil says, "Explain your vision."  

Orin's brow furrows. In contrast to her brother, who has adopted an expression of absolute contrition, his daughter seems to weigh her answer. Her expression shifts, visibility reactive to the path of her thoughts: confusion, desperation, irritation, all in quick succession. 

She settles on a petulant. "Haarlep?" 

"Are you naming your inspiration? Or enquiring after the source of your damnation?" 

She turns her nose up, crossing her arms over her chest. "Both." 

"Mm, then, in the spirit of fair play," he steps forward, linking his hands at the small of his back. "Yes. They sold you out. Let this be a lesson to you, pet: trust carefully. Better yet, trust none but me." The impudent little thing snorts. Raphael holds his hand out, "And now, an explanation is in order: why have you robbed me?" 

Carlyle steps forward, the pilfered item in question held before him. Orin favors her brother with a look. It is so simultaneously venomous, and so pleading that the boy cannot fathom how to proceed. "We meant to return it, Father, truly. But Korilla would not allow us near portals…" 

"With excellent reason." 

"...and we needed the scroll to contact an associate on the Prime Material." 

"Why." 

"Don't tell him, stupid," Orin hisses.

But Carlyle is determined to come clean, his sense of fair play and respect for his sire winning out over whatever fear his much smaller sibling might inspire. He hands the scroll of dimension door back to Raphael, standing tall and proud. "A gift, father. Haarlep gave us the location of one of your preferred artists. We'd hoped…" he shrugs, attempting a smile. And it is fundamentally strange to see his own expression reflected at him, all on the face of himself in miniature. "To commission something." 

The idea reeks of sentiment rather than bloodlust. Carlyle's idea, then, not Orin. Raphael eyes the pair, suspicious, irritated. "And how did you intend to pay for this work?" Orin produces a back of coin from her pocket, grumbling as she hands it over. "Ah. Is there anything else I should expect to find missing?" 

They answer as one: "No, my duke." 

"And you know better than to lie to me, yes?" 

"Yes, father." 

"Off with you then, little failures. Consider what you might have done to succeed. Learn from this." He is feeling magnanimous, infernal wine still heady in his system, a night of potential pleasure stretching out before him. Let them take this as a lesson and be done with it. 

A decision he comes to regret later. 

The little shits are, in fact, acting as a distraction. Haarlep has slipped from the House (also highly against protocol). Haarlep contracts the artist for the little beasts, and they present their gift to him a month later, beaming and unrepentant. 

He is caught entirely off guard, delighted and horrified in equal measure. Conniving wretches! Little thieves! They beam at him, a united front, unrepentant and full of potential. 

He still sends the little shits to their room without supper and confines them to their wing of the House for the next month. 

He's proud but too petty to pass up seeing the look of betrayal on their little faces.

[salixsociety]

The Problem of the 'Witch's Sabbat'

Why we should stop calling our non-jewish holidays 'Sabbats': a (hopefully) definitive guide.

It is the year of our Gods 2024, and to this day I still enter communities and see the word 'sabbat' as one of the first. It is common practice to refer to any holiday, but especially those as featured in the Wheel of the Year, as sabbat(h)s, and frankly, I am sick of it. So I hope that I can use this post to convince some people on why it is time to remove that word from our vocabulary.

Where Does the Word 'Sabbat' Come From?

The very root of this word is the Hebrew ש־ב־ת (sh-b-t). It is the root word for many words pertaining to rest and not working (or more broadly: 'cessation'). This word evolved into שַׁבָּת (shabát), which translates to Saturday or weekly rest-day, normally. This word, also often spelled Shabbos from Ashkenazi Hebrew, travelled through various antique languages (Ancient Greek -> Latin -> Old French) directly to Middle English, where it became 'Sabat', and later Sabbath. While this word, in its travel through Europe, has influenced some words, you'll notice that it has also stayed one unique word, with a unique meaning: the Jewish Rest Day. The Sabbath, Shabbos, Sabbat, Shabat, et cetera, will always and has for most of its history been the word uniquely reserved for Saturday in Judaism. To those not very well read on Judaism, it may be helpful to know that Judaism is what is considered a closed practice. It is only permissible to practice Jewish religious tradition, and to a large extent, Jewish culture, if you are a Jewish convert. By extension, that should clue you in on the nature of the word and holiday of Shabbat.

Further reading on this topic: Etymology, Jewish Sabbath.

When Did it Become Relevant to Witches?

The first time the words 'sabbat(h)' and 'witch' were uttered in the same breath would likely be around the late Medieval period. The reason why this is, is something not nearly enough people are familiar with: the incredibly deep link between antisemitism and witch-hunting. Before the early Church turned its hateful eye to the concept of 'witches,' it was firmly on Jews. Jews, alongside other heretics and oppressed minorities like the Rroma, were considered utterly worthy of damnation. They were seen as antagonistic to the Church, going against everything the Church stood for, and furthermore as misanthropic, greedy, unreliable enemies. They were the scapegoats for many disasters and indeed frequently accused of practicing magic or poisoncrafting to invoke these disasters on the 'Good Christian Folk'. Furthermore, and this may sound familiar to you, jews were accused of 'consorting with the devil' and murdering children in order to consume their blood to mock the Eucharist, often referred to as blood libel. It was often claimed that this (nonexistent!) practice was done on the Shabbat, alongside other practices twisting and mocking those done in Church on Sunday. The persecution of Jews in Medieval Europe was horrific and seemingly endless, having origins in antiquity and reaching a peak during the Crusades, and another when the Plague ran rampant. Jews were banished, forced to convert to Christianity or brutally murdered, not infrequently by burning or strangulation.

What all of this is meant to illustrate is that the witch stereotype, or the wish to persecute witches in the early modern period, didn't come out of nowhere. There is a reason that caricatures and cartoons of witches feature a short and stocky body, a big and 'ugly' nose, green skin, red or dark hair, buckled shoes, and a conical hat (which before it became associated with witches, was often called a judenhut or jew hat). The roots of the witch stereotype in antisemitic caricatures and stereotypes are well-recorded and easy to see. And, indeed, the crimes most witches were accused of and burned for, directly mirrored the crimes jews were accused of before them. Consuming 'pure' Christian blood, mocking the Eucharist, fornicating with the devil, and all of this at the 'witch's sabbat', a made up gathering that witches would supposedly fly to on their broomsticks.

The idea that witches existed and the wish to eradicate them didn't purely come from antisemitism, of course. Misogyny, xenophobia, religious idealism from the Church, and other factors played incredibly large roles. But let us remain forever aware that the people burned were not in fact people flying on brooms, having sex with the devil and drinking the blood of Christian children. They were jews, they were Romani, they were people of color, they were women accused of stealing milk, they were victims.

So, the word 'sabbat(h)' wasn't just appropriated because somebody else wanted it or didn't understand it, like in many other cases of (mis)appropriation. It was appropriated explicitly to harm and eradicate several already fragile and oppressed, and in the case of Judaism, culturally exclusionary, communities.

The Role of Western Esotericism and Wicca

One could have expected the concept of the witches' sabbath to die out alongside the trials, but there is a secondary evil in this story, and it is Wicca.

In the late 19th century, English anthropologist and folklorist Margaret Alice Murray, one of the few women in her field, was halted in her research about Egypt, and was forced to find a new field of interest. She developed a hypothesis, based in mostly fantasy, that certain 'witch-cults' had survived the "Burning Times" in Europe. They were, according to her, secret societies upholding prehistoric fertility cults. Though most of her work was based in fantasy and speculation, her theory had one passionate follower: Gerald Gardner. But we will get back to him in a moment, because there is someone else pivotal to Gerald Gardner's beliefs: Aleister Crowley. Crowley is perhaps one of the most famous sexual predators, racists, antisemites, and cultural appropriators in the history of western magic. But, he was 'intelligent', well-travelled, privileged, and obsessed with occultism. He joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn when Gardner was already there. Both during his time in the Hermetic Order and after, he studied many religious traditions across the continents and wildly appropriated from all of them, most notably for this story, from Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism). I will not go in depth about him, but he, and his fixation on Kabbalah, were extremely important to Gardner's views. Gardner, amateur anthropologist (with two fake PhDs!) and former devout Christian, used the works of Margaret Murray and Aleister Crowley to justify his claim that an old witch named Dorothy Clutterbuck had initiated him into one of these prehistoric fertility cults, one that survived the witch hunts. This is where Wicca started, and that makes the formation of Wicca entirely impossible to separate from antisemitism - and that is reflected by their language and rituals. From appropriation directly from Kabbalah, a closed practice, to calling their (mis)appropriated holidays 'sabbats', the origins of Wicca and their views on the trials are abundantly clear.

The Harm

I think we are now at the point in this blog where I should no longer have to explain that taking the word 'Sabbath' (or any other spelling of it) outside of its cultural and religious context, and applying it to practitioners of magic, is outrageously antisemitic. It is the propagation and preservation of notions and habits that got thousands of people, jews and not, brutally murdered, displaced, and forcefully converted, and it continues to conflate jews and witches - something that we've had to agree is antisemitic quite a few times, after quite a few genocides.

Another major evil in calling pagan/witchy holidays 'sabbats' is that it misconstrues what the witch trials actually were - it was the persecution of heretics. Witches are heretics, heretics are non-christian, jews are non-christian, therefore jews are heretics, therefore jews must be witches! In both the Old and the New World it was always the different, the other, the unfamiliar that were murdered. Again: people of color, Romani, jews, muslims, scary and ugly women, thieves, disliked women, the disabled, the mentally ill. It was not, and it will never be, privileged white women. In fact, it was generally them assisting in the eradication! I mean this with quite some distaste: if you are one of those people that says 'we are the daughters of the witches you couldn't burn', I know what you are. You are either uneducated or hateful, and I hope you fix that sooner rather than later.

Something else rather distasteful to me is how casually people are willing to dismiss the arguments against the use of 'sabbat' by the pagan/witch community. Antisemitism is not considered as serious, as severe, as relevant, as important, as worth considering. Not as much as other issues. I have had days-long arguments with people providing source on source on source and been met with: "I just don't see the harm." And I hear what you are truly saying. What you are truly saying is: "it's only antisemitism." When it is the appropriation of white sage, when it is the appropriation of Papa Legba, when it is the appropriation of something you don't want all that much, you are willing to stand up. But when it is antisemitism, when it is a word you've used for years, when it seems small and like it would be more convenient to just keep it, you are willing to stand by. And that is performative activism, and that is perpetuating the casual willingness to appropriate from Judaism. And it will be the reason that you and the people in your circle will also feel confident casually appropriating from other cultures.

Intersectionality

Despite the fact that the antisemitic nature of this usage should be enough, there is so much more harm to be done. After all, as was mentioned, it wasn't just jews that died. It was everybody who was not a white, wealthy, able-bodied, heteronormative, Christian man. It was women, so many women. It was schizophrenics. It was slaves, freed and not. It was natives. It was everybody who was different. When you stand by when people call their holidays 'sabbats', you are not just saying yes to antisemitism. You are saying yes to racism. You are saying yes to homophobia. You are saying yes to indigenous hate. You are saying yes to misogyny. You are saying yes to ableism. You are saying yes to ageism. You are saying yes to xenophobia. You are saying yes to hate.

After all, even when it starts with one group being persecuted, the persecution will go on after the extinction of the first group. And when the persecution finally reaches your group, and you have let every other group before you gone extinct, there will be nobody but you to fight for you.

Further Reading

OTHER BLOGS: The Witch Hunts & Antisemitism: An Often Overlooked History Why I Don't Call Them Sabbats, Why You Should Stop, and Other Thoughts on Problematic Aspects of Western Witchcraft The Antisemitic History of Witches Jews and the Witchcraze Can You Be a Jew and a Witch? Why Do Witches Wear Pointy Hats?

BOOKS and PAPERS: The Saturnine History of Jews and Witches - Yvonne Owens Heal the Witch Wound - Celeste Larsen “Persecution Perpetuated: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Semitic Violence in Nazi Germany,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 127, iss. 3 (2012) - Nico Voigtländer and Hans-Joachim Voth "The Malleus Maleficarum of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, translated with Introduction, Bibliography, and Notes by Montague Summers Do What Thou Wilt - Lawrence Sutin Witchcraze - Dr. Anne L. Barstow Imagining the Witch: A Comparison between Fifteenth-Century Witches within Medieval Christian Thought and the Persecution of Jews and Heretics in the Middle Ages Male witches in early modern Europe - Lara Apps, Andrew Gow

[sirfrogsworth]

The number of items you qualify for determines which circle of Hell you will end up in.

Here is a handy guide to see who you will be partying with in The Inferno.

First Circle: Limbo or "Heaven Lite."

Were you a decent person but forgot to get baptized? Welcome to Meh-ven. Not quite as good as Heaven, but you still get to live in a neat castle.

Second Circle: Lust or "Too horny for Heaven."

This circle is for those who banged their way through life. You are punished by being blown violently back and forth by strong winds, preventing you from finding peace and rest.

So, basically Chicago.

Third Circle: Gluttony or "You should have ordered a salad instead of that Bloomin' Onion."

I'm pretty sure this is the fat shaming Hell. You are overseen by a giant worm monster named Cerberus and placed into a large slushie machine. You must lie in frozen slush for eternity thinking about all of those hot dog eating contests you won.

Fourth Circle: Greed or "What? I gave $20 to the Red Cross every year!"

You are overseen by Pluto, the dog of Mickey Mouse. Or maybe the demoted dwarf planet. I honestly did not do enough research to be sure. Circle 4 is divided into people who spent too much and people who hoarded too much. They must push giant boulders at each other in a game of eternal rock jousting.

Fifth Circle: Anger or...

The angry must join a fight club and brawl each other atop the River Styx.

The grumpy must gurgle beneath the pugilists--submerged forever in that same river.

Sixth Circle: Heresy or "Ya know, I'm pretty sure the Earth revolves around the Sun. Hey, why is this priest placing me in shackles? It's just science, bro!"

Did you go against the Church? Well, for that they just straight up set you on fire. Not the most creative damnation, but I'm sure all of the flaming souls look neat from a spectator's point of view.

Seventh Circle: Violence or "Apparently, these things are all the same amount of bad... murder, suicide, and booty sex."

This circle is divided into three other circles. Which means there are 12 total circles. Which is confusing, but whatever.

In sub-circle 7a, you have the murderers. They are submerged in a river of blood that is also on fire.

Is blood flammable? Did Dante even try to set blood on fire before writing this? I'm thinking, no. YOU ARE TESTING MY SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF, DANTE.

In sub-circle 7b, you have people who have taken their own life. These folks are turned into shrubbery. Once in your final shrub form, this handsome harpy gal slowly eats you for eternity.

In sub-circle 7c, you have all of the anal fornicators. If you ever stuck it in a butt or had it stuck in your butt, you get to spend your afterlife in a desert of burning sand. And it is raining. So it is one of those rare rainy deserts I guess. Oh, but the rain is on fire.

WHY ARE SO MANY NON-FLAMMABLE THINGS ON FIRE, DANTE?

Eighth Circle: Fraud or "Is fraud really worse than murder?"

I'm going to be straight with you.

The eighth circle is a hot mess.

I'm pretty sure Dante was getting tired of creating new circles for every bad person, so he made a catchall for the villains that didn't quite fit into the previous circles and sub-circles. Instead of creating 10 sub-circles for the 8th circle, he decided to just throw everyone into their own hell ditch. These ditches are called Bolgias.

And now a Top Ten List from the home office in Wahoo, Nebraska.

Top ten types of people stuck in an eternal Bolgia ditch in the 8th circle of hell.

10. Falsifiers such as counterfeiters and wellness gurus. 9. Divisive individuals such as Fox News pundits and Chris Pratt. 8. Advisors such as self help authors and life coaches. 7. Thieves such as whoever created overdraft fees. 6. Hypocrites such as rich Pro-Lifers who have paid for several abortions for their mistresses. 5. Corrupt politicians such as (the list exceeded this post's maximum word count). 4. Wizards!

3. People who purchase pardons like pretty much anyone associated with Donald Trump. 2. Flatterers such as pick up artists and old ladies who tell me I am handsome in the grocery store. 1. Seducers such as people who have cake and want sex and are like, "Would you like some tasty cake in exchange for sex?"

Look, seduction is in the eye of the beholder and all I'm saying is cake would probably work on me.

Circle Nine: Treachery or "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!"

Okay, so the 9th circle has 4 rounds.

Which sound an awful lot like circles.

Which brings us to 16 circles in the 9 circles of Hell.

I'm wondering if Dante named the book before he wrote it and everything was done with permanent ink so he couldn't change it.

The 9th circle has 4 frozen circles rounds, each dedicated to notorious traitors. Like a tribute to their epic level of sinfulness.

First up you have the Cain round. He was the first person to ever have a little brother and no one told him you can't just kill the little shit. People in the Cain round are encased up to the base of the neck, so they can still look around and stuff.

The second round is dedicated to Antenor. He was a Trojan. In reality, he negotiated peace with the Greeks. In myth, he opened the city gates and let the Greeks in so they could murder everyone. He was spared because he painted his house with panther blood.

"Panther Blood... 60% of the time it works *every* time." --Antenor

People here are encased to the top of the neck, so they are looking one direction forever.

Coming in round three we have Ptolemy. He didn't care much for his father-in-law, Simon Maccabaeus. So he invited Simon and his sons to a fancy banquet and Red Wedding'd the shit out of them. Ptolemy rounders are encased face-up in the ice just below eye level. That way, whenever they cry for being damned, their tears will freeze over. Over time those frozen tears create an ice visor that takes away the ability to weep ever again. And I'm guessing everything is real blurry too.

Round four is dedicated to the most infamous betrayer of all time. That's right, my favorite character in JC Superstar... Judas Iscariot.

Judas rounders are completely encased in ice. Permanently frozen and immobile with their bodies in every conceivable distorted and twisted position. Chances are, they have too much Heaven on their minds.

And in the very center of the nine-ish 16 circles of Hell, you have Satan himself. The fallen angel, Lucifer.

The story, as I like to imagine it, goes like this...

Lucifer was shooting the shit with the other angels and was all, "I could probably take God, right? He's not so tough."

And since a utopian existence is actually pretty boring and without drama, the other angels responded, "Absolutely! You've been working out and look totally jacked. You got this, dude." All while trying to hold in their laughter.

ANGEL PRANKS!

Lucifer then challenges God and gets instantly Thanos snap'd into a frozen lake. Lucifer sulks for all eternity wondering why those other angels told him he could whip God's metaphorical noncorporeal ass.

Satan is depicted as a hideous three-headed beast frozen up to his waist. He has six bat-like wings that flap and create a chilling breeze that keeps the ice frozen. Literally a hell of his own making. In each of Lucifer's mouths is a famous traitor being forever gnawed. History's most famous collective stabbers, Brutus and Cassius are being chewed in the left and right heads. And Judas is stuck in the viscous center maw while getting the world's worst backscratch from Satan's claws.

But wait, it gets racist!

Each devil head is a different color... Red for Europeans. Yellow for Asians. And black for Africans.

Dante, you little shit.

Alright folks, it is time to add up your totals. Which circle or sub-circle of Hell are you going to party in for eternity?

I'll do mine.

I am slightly homo for Chris Evans when he uses his biceps to curl a helicopter. I want him to hug me because I think he probably smells nice.

I do consider myself a feminist because I watched too many woke Disney films and I was indoctrinated by public schools.

I once ran out of RAM because I had too many tabs open in Chrome. I'm not sure if that qualifies me as a "porn freak" but I'm going to count it.

I smoked pot twice. The first time it made me feel like my head was full of bees and then I passed out for 12 hours. The second time I only inhaled once... and my head filled with bees and I passed out for 12 hours. Counting it.

When I was 18 my church's youth counselor matter-of-factly stated that my best friend was going to Hell. I thought, "That's silly, he's just a theater nerd who wore a floofy shirt and a Phantom of the Opera cape to school on multiple occasions. He's harmless and religion is dumb." So a big check for atheist.

I idolize my bestie Katrina because she is very good a puns. Is that worthy of idolization? Probably not. But I stand by it regardless.

And as far as masturbation goes... again, I ran out of RAM for having too many tabs open in Chrome.

I think I qualify for the seventh circle of Hell. I think I am going to engage in some mild thuggery so I can hang out in 7b as a nice shrub getting eaten by a harpy.

I realize there are only 12 options and 16 possible circles. So I have decided you may use a yoga pants multiplier.

1x if they are too tight but you went through tremendous effort to put them on so you are just going with it. 1x if they were acquired from an MLM mom on Facebook. 1x if they make that booty pop. 1x if they contain a pattern with as many non-complimentary colors as possible.

Welp. I put way too much effort into this.

I guess I'll see you all in Hell!

[warrioreowynofrohan]

For the fanfic director’s cut: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

YAY thank you!! Do I get to take this as three sections? I’m gonna take it as three sections.

The first one isn’t really a section, it’s the title of The Castaway, which I kept expecting/wanting to be asked about but never was. I finished the fic without having yet thought of a title and this one came to me as a melded reference to a combination of Calvinism, Cowper, and Victor Hugo (combined with the imagery fitting well with Maglor spending millennia wandering the shoreline).

The word “castaway” is connected to the Calvinist concept of predestination, referring to a person predestined to damnation; it shows up in a fair amount of 1800s English literature, including the Brontës. It's also the inspiration for Cowper’s poem of the same name (people may recognize from the 1995 Sense and Sensibility, where Edward’s emotionless reading of it frustrates Marianne).

Obscurest night involved the sky, The Atlantic billows roared, When such a destined wretch as I Washed headlong from on board Of friends, of hope, of all bereft, His floating home for ever left....

No voice divide the storm allayed, No light propitious shone, When, snatched from all effectual aid, We perished, each alone: But I beneath a rougher sea, And whelmed in deeper gulfs than he.

There's a scene of remarkably similar imagery in Les Misérables, as a symbolic evocation of society casting off the convict.

A man overboard! What matters it! the ship does not stop,. The wind is blowing, that dark ship must keep on her destined course. She passes away... He implores the blue vault, the waves, the rocks; all are deaf. He supplicates the tempest; the imperturbable tempest obeys only the infinite. Around him are darkness, storm, solitude, wild and unconscious tumult, the ceaseless tumbling of the fierce waters; within him, horror and exhaustion. Beneath him the engulfing abyss. No resting place.... The sea is the inexorable night into which the penal law casts its victims.

This all exists in the context of the abundance of Christian hymns that describe salvation as being saved from shipwreck:

I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more But the master of the sea heard my despairing cry From the waters lifted me, now safe am I! Love lifted me, love lifted me When nothing else could help, love lifted me Love lifted me, love lifted me When nothing else could help, love lifted me!

So, all of that came together to feel like suitable symbolic associations for a fic that is oriented around the question of at what point, if ever, a person can be considered irredeemable, and about the nature of grace and of hope.

For a second one, I'm going to pick the end of Raised by Wolves. This is in one sense kind of the opposite of the The Castaway, in that it ends with Elrond not forgiving Maglor; but that's not exactly it.

The entirety of Raised by Wolves is about Elrond working through his complex and conflicting feelings about Maglor and his upbringing; the way that Maglor separated him from his family and, by his very care and fostering, alienated him from being part of the culture that he truly identifies with, that of the Sindar.

The issue is not one of Elrond being too angry with Maglor to forgive. The issue is that that forgiveness would need to come from Maglor being willing to hear and understand and acknowledge Elrond's emotions and pain in all their complexity, and let that conversation be about Elrond's feelings, not his own. And Maglor's not willing/able to do that; he's still focused on his own feelings and his own guilt.

Maglor's formed his own idea of what he would hear from Elrond. And because he's not willing to open himself up to that conversation, he doesn't find out that he's not going to hear that, and that instead he would have heard something that was painful in an entirely different way. Elrond's sentiments about the mix of good and bad in that fosterage involve very different things than Maglor's, things that Maglor has never considered. Maglor's guilt is centred on the obvious - that he killed nearly everyone Elrond knew, separated him from his family, and made his life far more dangerous. The idea that raising him as a Noldor - something Maglor couldn't help doing, as it permeates everything he knows - was a wrong, and that is something it's harder for Elrond to deal and forgive with than the more obvious wrongs, is something that hasn't even occurred to him. Having that conversation is something that would be good for both Elrond and Maglor, but one of Maglor's basic personality flaws is conflict-avoidance, and he can't bring himself to open himself up to it.

For a third one - this is going to be more of a confession. Gnawing Itself In Bitterness is the first fic I ever wrote, and is very short (less than a thousand words), about Fëanor in halls of Mandos brooding on how everything is everyone else's fault (the Valar, Fingolfin, Maedhros...). It basically evokes why I have trouble imagining Fëanor ever leaving the Halls - not because he's been sentenced to never leave, but because he's stuck in a resentful, self-deceptive spiral that will never acknowledge he could have been wrong.

It's also pretty much taken directly from C.S. Lewis' The Last Divorce, something I didn't realize until years later when I reread the book and noticed with a shock that I had echoed Lewis' depiction of Napoleon Bonaparte in the afterlife so closely (at least, in that the fic started and ended with "It was all the fault of the Valar..." and continued in that tone throughout) that that must have been my subconscious inspiration:

"What was he doing?" "Walking up and down - up and down all the time - left-right, left-right - never stopping for a moment. The two chaps watched him for about a year and he never rested. And muttering to himself all the time. "It was Soult's fault. It was Ney's fault. It was Josephine's fault. It was the fault of the Russians. It was the fault of the English." Like that all the time. Never stopped for a moment."

Thank you so much for this opportunity to ramble about my stuff! <3

[marzipanandminutiae]

Why did the early-mid century culture hate the victorians so much? Was it just "my grandparents lived through it so I associate growing up around this stuff with being outdated and yucky" kinda like how I've seen the 1970s-80s regarded? Or was there something else going on there culturally?

I suspect it's partially that, and partially just. How much everything changed aesthetically in a relatively short span of time.

I mean, if you look at the feminine fashion differences between 1860 and 1880, the trim and silhouette obviously differ greatly but the basic composition of the outfit is the same. Same under-layers, same general bodice-and-skirt format for most dresses, same hemlines, same broad expectation for the hair (long, mostly one-length, natural colors) even though the popular styling of women's updos changed.

and then you look at, say, 1905- Edwardian, but that same general outfit format -to 1925.

(Le Costume Moderne, 1905.)

(The Delineator, 1925.)

There had been radical aesthetic shifts over relatively short periods before- see also: 1780 vs. 1800 -but to my knowledge few of them involved changing the composition of outfits so radically. The 1920s saw the beginning of the now-familiar bra and panties model of conventionally feminine undergarments, for example, as opposed to the immediately prior "chemise and drawers, or combinations, and corset" model. In a very real way, that decade seems to me to have introduced the way we wear clothing today. Obviously some things like girdles and slips have mostly fallen by the wayside, but. It's the beginning of a clothing system that seems vastly more familiar to most of us now than what came before. And with that shift came a lack of understanding of how the earlier model actually worked in everyday life. Combined with new strides being made in women's rights compared to the previous status quo, it could be all too easy to see such totally foreign fashions as awkward and oppressive.

Also it was very much a time that emphasized all things new and exciting, as humans are often wont to do. So the past, and all it represented, cut very little ice. Especially the relatively recent past.

I mean, look at Art Deco and Midcentury Modern. They're basically the polar opposite of Victorian styles that emphasize heavy ornamentation, natural materials, maximalist decor, organic lines, historical inspiration, etc. It's not hard to see that someone raised in that environment might look on the very alien houses- and clothing -of the past and recoil a bit.

And yeah, I think there may have been a bit of a Granny Effect going on- something you grew up associating with fusty old people is bound to have less romance than something you've no direct connection to. Indeed, we do see a bit of Colonial Revival architecture popping up in the 1940s-50s U.S., suggesting that it wasn't necessarily the past as a whole that people of the early-mid 1900s objected to.

(Also, you do occasionally get bits of Victorian nostalgia. Often in the form of art depicting earlier times with varying degrees of accuracy, dolls costumed in past styles ditto, movies set in the mid-late 19th century, recommendations about how to make one or two bits of Victorian furniture into "quaint" statement pieces for a room, etc. Still, it's often a general damnation with faint praise.)

So those are my rough thoughts on the subject!

[age-of-moonknight]

Do you know comics where moon knight team up with strange? Or deadpool?

Or where he interact with magic marvel characters?

Oh, for sure! Moon Knight has teamed up with Doctor Strange a couple times, as well as with Doctor Voodoo and Clea. There's also the Damnation event which involved a whole slew of magic users and magic-adjacent characters, including Doctor Strange, Doctor Voodoo, and Wong. The event itself, however, is,,,,unfortunately (fair warning, the following is largely just my opinion) not the greatest in its portrayal of MK. It tends to use Mr. Knight as the comedic relief and the "comedy" boils down to "ohohoheehee I'm so unstable and can someone please recommend me a psychiatrist," which can be...abrasive if you're feeling charitable and I've seen others who were feeling decidedly less charitable describe it as a little offensive. Which is a shame, because at least in my eyes, the event has a great line up and could have been even better. I'll throw in the citations though for anyone who wants to check it out and form their own opinions.

MK's relationship with Deadpool is uuuuh unfortunately a bit more rocky. Moon Knight's goals rarely line up with Deadpool's in the 616 Universe, so MK doesn't "team up" with Wade so much as, as I said in this post (and I quote myself not to self-aggrandize, but because, well, I'm not particularly creative in my metaphors), use Wade like one of "those stress-relief squeeze toys." Moon Knight was greatly intrigued when he discovered Wade can't die and consequently uses that to his advantage. Outside of the 616 continuity, Mr. Knight is much more sympathetic to Wade in Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again, but gosh, I never feel great recommending that series without some degree of forewarning. While I genuinely enjoyed some moments, as you can probably guess from the title,,,,it has such a terribly sad ending that still kind of haunts me tbh. But I'll include that just in case you're curious! All of the associated citations are beneath the cut as this was starting to get a bit long (whoops mea culpa)

Doctor Strange

Moon Knight (Vol. 1/1980), #36: A classic two hero team-up

Marc Spector: Moon Knight (vol. 1/1989), #44 and #46: Strange was pivotal in I guess what could be considered exorcising a demon out of Moon Knight

“The Empty Tomb,” Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood (Vol. 1/2022), #2: I'm not entirely sure if this is 616-compliant (and I kind of hope it isn't personally), but this is another case of Marc approaching Stephen for medical/mystical advice The following are instances I found of MK and Strange being on a larger team together but their interactions are comparatively minimal

Marvel Knights (Vol. 1/2000), #8

Original Sin (Vol. 1/2014), #4

Punisher (Vol. 13/2022), #9-12

(Special Note) The Avengers (Vol. 8/2018), #33: the infamous time Marc punched out Strange and stole the Eye of Agamotto, which Marc mentions he wishes he could properly apologize for in Death of Doctor Strange: Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2022), #1 and is pointedly brought up by Wong in Moon Knight (Vol. 9/2021), #9 (the Damnation event is also alluded to in that latter issue) Deadpool

Vengeance of the Moon Knight (Vol. 1/2009), #7-8: Their only major interaction, as far as I'm aware, but it's not a team-up unfortunately (mainly they just beat each other up)

Deadpool (Vol. 4/2008), #28-9: Some collaborative work together, but the most interaction they have is when Moon Knight needs very little prompting to snap Deadpool's neck (unfortunate all around)

Deadpool (vol. 4/2008), #49.1: the previous incident gets a one-page musical reprise (this is Deadpool we're talking about, so you know I'm not kidding hahaha)

Deadpool: Assassin (Vol. 1/2018), #4: They do manage to have a comparatively amicable one-panel interaction here though...

“So White. Yet, So Dark,” Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood (Vol. 1/2022), #1: ...but not amicable enough that Marc will lend Wade the Mr. Knight suit the next time they see each other

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again (Vol. 1/2017) #1-3

Doctor Voodoo

Moon Knight (Vol. 1/1980), #21: Classic team-up

Marc Spector: Moon Knight (vol. 1/1989), #6-7: Classic team-up

Black Panther (Vol. 3/1998), #20-22: Collaborated on a team together

Clea

Strange (Vol. 3/2022), #5: An absolute delight of a classic team-up

Doctor Strange (Vol. 6/2023), #2: Mr. Knight calls her and Stephen in on a case

Bonus: according to Strange (Vol. 3/2022), #9, after working together, Clea thinks Moon Knight is a "dear," much to Stephen's consternation.

Moon Knight did work with the Strange Academy kids in Strange Academy: Moon Knight (Vol. 1/2023), #1, but that ends on a bit of a cliffhanger (for MK at least) that never did quite get resolved, unless I missed something entirely.

The issues Moon Knight appears in for the Damnation event are as follows, in chronological order:

Doctor Strange: Damnation (Vol. 1/2018), #1-2

Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider (Vol. 1/2017), #15

Doctor Strange (Vol. 4/2015), #387

Doctor Strange: Damnation (Vol. 1/2018), #3

Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider (Vol. 1/2017), #16-17

Doctor Strange: Damnation (Vol. 1/2018), #4

And with that, I'll leave you with something that could have been and something I will never miss a chance to bring up: Greg Smallwood's Midnight Sons (I WEEP for roads not taken, let me tell you)

I hope there's something in here that is of interest to you! Happy reading!

[blowflyfag]

WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION MAGAZINE : OCTOBER 1997

Dude Love… or Delusional?

By Bill Banks 

Has Mick Foley finally reversed his 30-plus years of madness?

In terms of any psychiatric evaluation, Mick Foley could be classified as a medical miracle… a human being on the brink of irreversible madness who somehow cured himself without the use of any known medical technology.

The slow backward grinding of the gears in his mind began sometime during those in-depth RAW IS WAR interviews back in June… perhaps the moment Mankind watched a quivering Jim Ross gag for air on the floor of the Titan Television Studio. In a way, that was his little brother of some 20 years earlier under his torture, while his mom was somewhere in the back of his warped mind yelling at him to stop bashing his sibling’s head into the wall. In that moment of utter chaos, some say the mind that no mental ward would touch was being repaired.

In the following weeks, it would take the trained eye of a psychologist to realize that Mankind was slowly reversing from crystal-clear dementia to the roots of his former wrestling persona Cactus Jack. In several subsequent matches, he would begin to stare into space and then spontaneously deliver his once-tokened “BANG-BANG” from his days as the man from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. It was a sign that “Jimmy” had jarred something loose inside his mind… and now the personalities of Cactus and the Boiler Room Dweller were combined into one human being–although both sides seemed to be at war with the other. 

Despite the fact that his grotesque mixture of madness and morbid aggression was welcomed with open arms by the fans, Mick Foley was still in search of someone who would give him the one thing he never had in his life–acceptance. You think he liked going home and turning off the lights because he couldn’t stand looking at himself in the mirror? It as a torture he had gone through all his life… from being shunned by classmates in grade school to the emptiness associated with never getting the chance to show that he could love. However, looking toward Stone Cold Steve Austin for that affection would end up being a damnation–or a saving grace–depending how you looked at it. 

For some inexplicable reason, Mankind chose to ignore the warning signs pointing toward trusting in the proverbs of Austin 3:16. In June, when Shawn Michaels’ sabbatical from the squared circle opened the door of opportunity for the Deranged One to plead his case, weeks of politicking lead the Victoria, Texas native to plan the ultimate slap in the face for this “long-haired freak.” On that RAW IS WAR episode in July when Foley confronted his future partner, he was met with a dubious mutual respect by Stone Cold. Just moments later, however, millions would discover those open arms were not Austin helping to exorcise Mankind’s demons; but rather, a butcher welcoming the lamb to slaughter. After finding the very acceptance he had spent a lifetime reaching for, Stone Cold snuffed out the hope like he was squashing a cockroach with his steel-tipped boots.

The Stone Cold Stunner that followed would be the final treatment which Mick Foley would require…

[What followed was truly something out of Homer’s Odyssey… a tale of a misguided soul which had finally found acceptance after years of searching in dark corners.]

After confidently leaving the “freak” in the fetal position on the canvas, Austin 3:16 began his long walk back to the dressing room. Shortly before parting the curtain, however, he was met with a dark voice unlike one that has ever been heard in the Federation. Sure enough, it was Mankind, but what he had to say was far more disturbing than any interview he had ever been a part of. By promising “drastic measures” the following week that would “change the Federation forever”, the former Boiler Room Dweller touched a disturbing nerve in each of the millions watching at home. Prior to this announcement, fans had always listened with a sense of intrigue concerning his ramblings, but this was a far darker side to his personality than anyone had ever witnessed. A sense of fright and urgency filled the stomachs of every spectator, as if he could have snuffed out the entire crowd the following week had he been so inclined. 

This announcement would serve as the final bridge to Dude Love… without it, Foley might have been stuck in some kind of limbo between Mankind and Cactus Jack for years to come. Had the in-depth interviews conducted by Jim Ross not taken place, there would never have been the change of gears or the politicking to “Pick Me Steve.” And without the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle–the Stone Cold Stunner–Dude Love might not have existed once more. One action connected to the other, resulting in a total reversal of 30-plus years of insanity seemingly curing themselves. The following week in the final match of the Federation Tag Team Title tournament, the transformation was complete when an image of a tie-dyed “Hip Cat” descended on the San Antonio, Texas fans. Indeed, he had found the means to his end. 

What followed was truly something out of Homer’s Odyssey… a tale of a misguided soul which had finally found acceptance after years of searching in dark corners. Out of the locker room walked Dude Love, the lone shred of decency  Mick Foley still held dear to his heart–and the one man he never had the chance to be. Stone Cold, who couldn’t believe what he was witnessing, had no choice but to accept this newfound partner. Several minutes later, “Dude 3:16” was not only a co-holder of the gold but years of pain were finally wiped away when Austin offered his hand as a gesture of respect–this time without opposition. Then gold, the women, the fans and acceptance… indeed, Mrs. Foley’s baby boy had it all.

Or did he?

In one week’s time, millions of fans began jumping on the “Dude Love” bandwagon, as it was enough to overshadow the return of Shawn Michaels and the debut of the Patriot on that RAW IS WAR episode. However, one must wonder whether by participating in the dreams of Mick Foley… could we possibly destroy it? The plight of Mankind to find acceptance was something he never intended to share with millions around the globe. It was HIS dream and in a way, the prostitution of it in the form of T-shirts, banners, posters and internet posts only seems to chip away at the true meaning. Perhaps, like old stars up in the sky, the phenomenon of Dude Love will burn itself out… and the persona of Mankind may be the only escape for Mick Foley once he realizes everyone has become a parody of his lifelong struggle. 

Until that star stops shining, a little bit of Dude Love lives in all of us… 

[real-godzekiel]

Hey! Any headcanons about Opal and her family when she was a baby?

hi im just waking up so please ignore any mistakes.

opal was probably born with the expectable amount of health problems. at much i like to think her mom would have tried to keep her baby safe in the womb, probably didn't try hard enough to prevent this. I'm not that good with headcanons regarding illnesses and disorders and syndromes and that (i don't even know that well about my own body) but i think that because she was being born from an alcoholic malnourished mother, opal had some physical differences from other kids growing up that's not associated with her homelife. and she probably have FASD

i like to think that her parents tried. i mean i sure fucking hope they tried when opal was little. seeing as how opal cares about grandpa's health to hide his ciggies and how mom's entire thing is that she relies on a idea of having a child to take care of and be taken care by i think they paid quite the attention to opal when she was a baby. I can vividly picture wine mom (which I will after this refer to as "Hope" for convenience) holding Opal and just staring at that baby when she is sober. I don't think Hope talks a lot when she is sober so she's just silent. Hope takes care of baby's physical and emotional needs (again, she tries) and grandpa, when he was more lucid, would let Opal watch whatever kiddie stuff was on the television. I think that's how Opal started daydreaming. Most of my daydreams when I was a toddler was from the TV. What a lovely way to escape, the TV (it's not lovely). not to mention that it's likely that grandpa was never the best person, as he definitely had a part in Opal's mom and dad turning out this way. i'm guessing that he might have a softer spot for grandkids for a while before his health got worse and worse. And Mirror Dad when his appearance was still relatively normal? I don't know. People tend to think he's the nicest but I always thought Opal was just less afraid of him and more annoyed by him than anything because he wasn't really that much a part of Opal's life when she was young. But this is just me projecting now. but still i would think that when Opal was very little Mirror Man had mental and physical health that was okay enough for him to be out most of time. trying to earn money and find job. This definitely doesn't go well most of the time because as distorted as every other family member's self-image is, at least theirs are stable. His lack of presence in home definitely made baby-Opal unconsciously start seeing him as a stranger, especially with Hope and Mirror Man's interactions being awkward to say the least. Let's not even talk about Opal's mom and dad's relationship with grandpa. its awful awful awful. its. yeah. Now that Mirror Dad is back in the house for eternal damnation in futile labyrinthic self-examination in hopes of restoring self-image Opal is starting to know him better now. She still doesn't like him very much.

I think Opal would find her time being 1 to 3 years old being the happiest period of her life when she was still in this particular household. She spent most of her days during that time listening to her drunk mom rambling or reading stories while holding her, but safe in that she does not understand anything she is saying yet. when her mom is (in an attempt of) preparing food, she is in her grandpa's arms seeing images on a screen that is not static. Birth from 1 year old is ok but it hurt. Physically. Her body was too small and weak that she cannot make a noise and that means not enough energy to have awareness so life can be at least entertaining. When she slowly healed through time at the point of 1-3 years of age, she can yell and babble and make noises usually without that much a reaction from her mom. That's because these noises did not form words yet. The burden of language, man. I think that's it for now I'll add more if I have any. Kind of funny I love varying interpretations so much until it's my own. I think I struggle to find the right balance when writing these.

[cock-ainee]

Matchup, for my dear friend!

(I hope this shii doesn't contain too much of like, my own assumpted things..? Like, there are certain actions/behaviors of yours that you didn't strictly mention..? I hope it is okay and doesn't seem like i was "following the path of least resistance")

Anyways love yah and i hope you enjoy >//w//<

(he's so cutie patootie)

Your match is Genya!

Oh... Let me tell you this. The process of you two getting close was hard. As expected.

Genya is such a shy guy, especially around girls, everybody knows. He sits, or stands still, red faced and completely stunned, unable to utter a word. That's why he appreciated that you did all the talking. He liked listening to you, talking about your interests and even got really into it!

Sometimes he'd utter a question or two, asking about some facts of your favorite games or for you to explain how they worked.

He could say he was quite.. addicted to your voice.

He noticed you tend to apologize a lot, and he wondered if that was associated with any trauma of yours..? Some bad life experience..? Or were you just this kind..? It was hard to tell.

He really adores your talent to draw! As a not really manually gifted person he appreciates the art you make! He makes sure to praise you for them, so you feel good about what you do! He's such a supportive boyfriend! He's always there when you need him, and it pains him so much to see you sad....

It also makes him wonder why you seem to distance yourself from him at times. Only then did he realise (or possibly you told him, because poor boy tends to be so confused about some things) that you do it because you think you annoy him, and that you force yourself on him, and that he's tired of you. Afterall, Genya is always so quiet around you it's odd.. And oh how wrong you are!

He LOVES to listen to you yapping about things, telling him all the news you might've heard, listen to you telling him about your opinions on things, or even just complain about people that annoy you! Because even if he's not really sociable, he feels like he's a part of the community, like he hasn't just been totally thrown beyond the margins of society.

And that conversation of yours also led to him getting out of his shell a bit. He tells you he never felt really confident around women because he was shy and a little insecure, but you were so much of an angel to pull him out of the damnation and make him happy, and feel desired as a friend and.. maybe a little more??

He's very satisfied that you're failing in changing your personality, he'd hate it so much if you suddenly went quiet!

And a lil grumpy if he found out you tried to change just to please others !!

To him, you're perfect just the way you are - you are his world! Though he doesn't tell you often because he still has to get used to being so close to a woman, you mean so much to him, he loves you so much and is glad that somebody like you is willing to be with him!

I hope so much you liked it, that it's not too short or YOU'RE NOT MAD IT TOOK SO LONG 😭😞💋

[titleknown]

HELLOWEEN # 5: MIINOS

-MIINOS is a Great Judgement of hell, with 44 courts and 12 jails to his name. He may give false judgements to thy enemies, transmogrify dwellings into labyrinths and haul 320 stone of burden across a road. He appears as a man in chains with the head of a bull and a great scales across his back like a yoke-

In hell, there is the possibility of advancement to true diabolatry for souls that are canny and ruthless enough. And yet for most of them, they are consigned to the lower ranks of hell, all their ambition that consigned them to damnation only allowed enough egress to make the misery of their lowliness all the greater.

Thus is the case of King Minos the Second, his hellish name obnoxious to say perhaps as a joke on his personage.

While one may associate Minos the first with the courts of hell, for reasons I was unable to ascertain, one would not intuitively associate his descendant of many follies with them too.

And yet, he is, but in the lowliest possible way, more akin to a piece of equipment than a true judge, he is utilized as a means of analyzing data and determining guilt or innocence. Albeit, in an unorthodox way.

In that, whatever he says, the opposite reading is taken, guilty means innocent and vice-versa. Perhaps that is his reputation for bad judgement proceeding him. That is, when he is not utilized simply for menial labor, in-between his transport to the courts.

One might pity him until one talks to him. His ego was unspeakable, continuously self-justifying for his many sins related to the Labyrinth which he carries a piece of still within.

I did not bring the subject to mind, he simply spoke of it unprovoked. Though, speaking as one who knows both the other stories of the Minotaurs or the true tragic path of Daedalus after his escape and loss, I will assert Miinos' self-justifications are selective at best and generally made up of half-truths and total falsehoods.

Perhaps if you had been a true father to Asterion this would not have happened, you son of a bitch.

-Xavier X. Xolomon , Monsterologist and Understudy to The Librarian Of Babel  

———————————-

I basically made this guy as an improv-thing, and when giving him the bull head I thought of Judge Minos and how there's apparently two Minoses, and the whole story followed from there.

And yes, for the record, the whole reverse-judgement thing was inspired by the Quintessons.

As per usual the whole descriptions, designs, ectcetera from this project are free to use as you see fit under a CC-BY 4.0 license so long as I; Thomas F. Johnson, am credited as their creator!

[diana-fortyseven]

Someone needs to remind me that I still need to edit the Halloween Party tag set and associate character and relationship tags with the non-video game Hitman fandoms.

You don't need to nominate them unless you want a specific character that's only in one of the novels or in the comics, like Helen in Damnation, for example.

If you're out of slots, let me know and I'll add them for you!

[catboy-bride]

my ada wong headcannon masterlist

warning - this is kinda long and yes it will be going all over the place, small tw for a vague mention of self-harm

also please feel free to add any of your ada hcs, i wanna hear them !!

general stuff

mtf trans

even though "ada wong" was initially a pseudonym (something she used actually pre-transition), she pretty much considers it her real name at this point

she's originally from hong kong but spend a fair amount of time in mainland china as well as a few countries in the former soviet union as a teen

speaks several languages besides english but is most fluent in mandarin chinese, cantonese, russian, polish, spanish, french, and japanese

things about her that make me want to scream and cry

she has very specific methods she uses to ground herself in order to keep her composure

tensing every muscle one at a time from her jaw to her feet, and if interrupted it can make her lash out 

she pinches herself to force herself to focus

she avoids certain foods that she associates with her life before abandoning her original identity

she also just avoids eating things that she didn't make out of a general paranoia of being poisoned

double or even triple checks that her weapons are on her person as well as their functionality due to a past slip-up

paranoid of wiretaps/people having hidden microphones and obsessively searches people (usually leon) which she often does under the guise of initiating romantic interactions

repeats the same phrase in every language she knows as another way to ground herself and it can again make her lash out if she is interrupted

over time she's trained herself out of showing any emotion which leads to really unhealthy was of emotional release that typically involve indirect forms of self harm

she was really upset by luis' death, as she had grown to see him as a friend and even possibly as a lover, but had to disguise her feelings to avoid showing weakness to krauser and wesker

in fact she very seriously thought about going to desprate measures in order to save luis through the use of one of the virus samples she had collected, but decided against it because she knew how wrong and twisted reanimated human life could be

she's saved leon more times than he or even the audience knows, even on smaller missions, if she learns that leon is out doing government work, she will (directly or indirectly) keep an eye on him to make sure he's okay

no matter how much time has passed, she still can't fully explain why she saved leon the first time in 1998

other tidbits :3

ada was a gymnast from early childhood into her teen years

part of the reason she dresses in a very hyper-feminine (specifically in re2 and re4) was to curb dysphoria, even to the point of being impractical, although overtime she learns how to make the outfits practical (ie; the blade hidden in her heel in damnation)

learned how to play violin, flute, and piano when she was younger but only really remembers how to play piano

she is a very giggly (but emotionally unpredictable)

her ideal date would be either going to a very fancy opera/orchestra performance or a very simple home movie night

she's only genuinely ever really let her guard down around leon and to a slightly lesser degree luis

she's been "romantic" with many people but has only really had a few intimate relationships, those being with wesker, leon, and luis

wesker was absolutely smitten with her for a while and she very much used that to her advantage

she's a vers top c:

ik this is more of a leon hc but she was leon's first

she enjoys classical music but sometimes listens to shitty 90s/2000s emo/rock because it reminds her of leon

she cannot stand certain textures of fabric

a lot of her clothing is custom made because it's hard to find clothes that are cute and practical that also use fabrics with palatable textures

in re2 she clocked the shit out of leon even before seeing that he was binding so she kept trying to drop hints that she was also trans but since leon is a little bit bad at picking up on implicit tone she eventually had to just straight up tell him

[shiny-jr]

About your mythical creature au, did you get inspired by the twst yokai au? It seems pretty similar

Kinda? Not really though. I've just been seeing a lot of twst aus recently. Like some yokai aus I've seen here and there, also a mutual Rem's monster au that's like based off different insects and corrupted beings, and other aus I've seen while scrolling. But through all my scrolling, I haven't seen anyone use like mythical creatures and I don't mean vampires and stuff, I mean like creatures from folklores and stuff. Creatures that aren't super commonly heard about. Different folklores that's not just Japanese like in the case of most yokai aus. They're cool, but I feel like you can explore way more outside of just Japanese folklore.

When I didn't see anyone with an idea like with different mythical creatures, I was surprised. I was actually thinking of fresh ideas I could present here for readers, something kinda original, and that's when I thought of it. Also because I was thinking of a way to relate it to fairytales and mythical creatures are associated with tales so it was super easy. So of course I had to talk about it. I don't think I'll write too much for it, at least right now. I might write a request or two if people ask for it, (I have a Silver request for it rn that I want to work on later) but I don't have any plans for a series or anything, not while I'm still working on damnation and other twst series. I should probably still come up with a name for this au though...