#because their life their beliefs their relationships their thoughts its all practically you....

[shadystranger]

[fishnapple]

How to love yourself better? A request letter from yourself. (Channelled message)

This is a general reading meant for multiple people. Take only what resonates and leave out the rest.

Your feedback is much appreciated. If you find the reading resonated with you, leave a comment, I’d love to know 🎐

About me | Masterpost

Book a reading with me - KO-FI (Read this post : personal reading)

1. White

Dear myself,

If I could light a fire right now, I could, just to see if that fire can compete with my light, our light. And yet I got a feeling that fire will burn brighter than us, just because it had someone to start it. But ours didn't. We stowed our fire away, our light, for fear of burning the eyes of the world? Or for fear of being engulfed in the sea of darkness outside?

Have you ever seen a solar eclipse? People gathered to watch it, a brief moment of the sun being eaten. A brief moment. Imagine how the world would be if that brief moment turned into a very long moment, an eternal one? Panic, fear, despair. We have prolonged our solar eclipse for far too long, let the Sun has its shine. Does it sound arrogant when I talk of us as the Sun? No, you should get used to it. To be the light, the be seen. Even when the Sun seems like a solitary existence on the sky, it's not, so are we.

I wanted to tell you many beautiful words, give you praises and a pat on the head. Sounds embarrassing, right? We should learn to do that more often. And then practice it with other people too, we all need it sometimes, a lot of times.

Do you know what will happen when we turn the anger on ourselves? Somehow, it will ricochet inside us and finally shoot out at other people. It's painful, for us and for them. Let's hold it in our hands, watch it breathe and stroke it gently, find where does it hurt and tend to it, then poof- it's gone. You catch anger not by throwing it around and putting it in a cage but let it heal and fly away on its own.

I'm sure that sometimes you will find yourself drowning in life, in other people's water. Losing yourself could be your worst nightmare. But you will never lose me. It's odd how we're surrounded by people but feel like we are alone in our struggle. Where did all the people go? Are they also drowning like us? In a different sea? I hope that all the seas are connected to each other so we can all find others to swim with us.

Till the next sun rise, yourself.

2. Pink

Oh, how I want to just throw away everything and run barefoot on the sand. To lie face up, watching the clouds passing by for hours. To paint the wall bright pink and yellow (this combination might hurt your eyes if you stare too long, though). But we're not a kid anymore, or so people have told us, much like how we've told ourselves, convinced ourselves to behave.

It's fascinating to watch the process of our resistance to what is taught to us. Why do we resist it so much? It feels like being gravely offended. We have our principles, and now we have to listen to others telling us what is right? What is wrong? Let me tell you, in a small whisper, it's actually nice to listen. Just listening, not obeying. It will feel like swallowing a rock. Maybe we could learn from the chickens a little, metaphorically. They swallow small rocks to aid in healthy digestion. So let's swallow some of the hard lessons.

You always like to think in concrete fashion. You try to touch your thoughts with your own hands and knead them, mould them into whatever you want. And when you're dropped into a relationship with someone, you find yourself lost that ability. It's all a jumble mess. You find your hands reaching out, grasping for something. How about the other person? Are you afraid that you will lose yourself if you hold on to them? It's fine, you won't. It's just an outdated belief that you've held on for far too long.

As we were talking about swallowing, you may want to watch what you're swallowing into your stomach, literally. Watch what you eat! Don't make yourself, ourselves suffer by bringing unhealthy things into our body. We may want to live long, you know.

Hey, if you find a dance class is too embarrassing, how about we turn off the light and dance with each other in the middle of the night. Nobody will know, but we will feel good (I'm not trying to be a flirt with myself here)

Your best friend, love.

3. Red

Make me a cup of tea, please.

Let's have a chat, just us, lying around lazily, sipping our favourite tea, imagining some weird scenarios to entertain us, playing some puzzle.

I don't have much to tell you because we talk to each other every day and I know you always try to be better for us. I love you and I'm proud of you. Let's be vain and give ourselves applause every day. Make it a pinky promise.

A reminder when you're feeling sluggish and slow, we are going to exactly where we need to be. You are guided and protected.

Keep on shining and be the little kid that runs around in the rain.

I love it when you're running wild, letting yourself, me, free, splashing colours everywhere. I just want to grab other people's hands and drag them to the dance. I love it when you're laughing, loudly, even better when you jolted others around you, oh, their surprised look, priceless.

Just be sure to take care of your body. Don't over tasking them. Work hard, play hard, but rest hard also.

Have you been thinking about going on a trip somewhere? No? Then, allow me to make a gentle request. Let me put the idea in your head. Go on, go to wherever you're thinking, there might be a surprise waiting for us, *hint: it will make our heart flutter*.

Let's make it a ritual to go on a trip every year. Let's give our mind and spirit a makeover. Dust off any tangled mess we have and prepare a space for new things to come into. I'm so excited.

It's got me thinking lately, there's this small blinking light in the back of our mind, sometimes I can see it, sometimes I can't. I want to find out what it is. It's like a signal, trying to reach us, can you feel it? Sometimes, there's this odd feeling swelling inside that you can't put your hand on and naming it. I think if we can sit still, quiet, in the dark, we could see it better. It's guiding us. To where? I got a feeling that it's somewhere deep, somewhere with a treasure, waiting for us. If we can uncover it, it will be the greatest gift that the universe has ever given us. So let's go and find it.

Love, myself.

4. Green

I have some news for you. Brace yourself for changes. They're coming, very fast, very soon. Sit yourself tight. I don't want to give spoilers, but I guess we will receive some sudden confessions or offers. What you will do with those confessions is completely your choice. You don't have to feel guilty if you don't return their feelings, my dear.

I think the way the universe is sending us this kind of surprise is telling us to reconsider our 'single' thinking mode. We have stood alone, strong and independent for so long, I think it actually makes us a little too comfortable in being alone that the thought of getting into a connection with someone can be daunting. Will we lose our freedom? What if we are dependent on them? This time, the universe is saying: 'you and your worries will not make a good journey together, break up with those worries, here, I will throw in some opportunities for you to practice '.

If you don't want romantic connection at the moment, fine, different types of connections will come. No matter what, the universe is determined to get us involved with other people. It's for our own good. I have to admit that it's hard. It's not easy to change our way of thinking and believing. So surprises will be needed.

When opportunities come, the gate is opened, we just need to receive them. Walking through the gate will feel like walking out of a confinement into the wild, lively world outside. We will be propelled into a new path that we hadn't even considered in the past. Beware of what you said in the past about how you don't want to do something, you can't imagine yourself doing something. Well, guess what, we are going to do just that, joke on us.

So, in the meantime, even if you're resisting, it's fine. Just take care of yourself, of us. Obsessive worrying can sadden our body.

Something is going away, giving space to a new energy coming in. This new energy will be softer, more loving. The harshness of the past will go away soon. Trust me.

Love, Your companion.

[dangopango00]

KISSES WITH HIM

Giving, Receiving, Misc (General-Beginning-Comfortable)

Sports Characters x S/O!GN Reader

(Hyoma Chigiri, Kenma Kozume)

A/N: Random late night burst of productivity going crazy rn my heart is so full 🥹 love my long haired sports beloveds they’re both serving that black cat gf vibe but in different ways 

Also the misc is basically bout accessories n stuff; stuff that may or may not apply to you hc as well as yn wise 

Also messy bcos I haven’t slept um. Anyway, im sorry its so biased the thoughts were just flowing into my head my bad ill do better

HCS UTC

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hyoma Chigiri:

{ GIVING

I swear this dude makes flustering you his personal goal and he definitely likes to kiss you when you least expect it for his own amusement as he likes the surprised face you make 

Life hack to get more kisses is stroke his ego because he will give in 100% of the time even if he knows you have an ulterior motive; his heart just feels so full when you praise him because he knows you mean it AND he’s confident in himself, so he knows it's true too 

Basically an angel during the beginning of your relationship like he’s still him of course but he doesn’t tease you as much and he’s gentler since he doesn’t know you intimately yet– quick soft kisses and a ghost of a touch

I don’t think there’d be a time where he’s really uncomfortable per se in your relationship as he’s already quite bold and I am subscribed to the Hyoma best friends to lovers agenda but I do think he’d be more playful/confident as time goes on and would start messing with you more intimately like nipping your lip a bit when kissing and teasing you more often (he thinks it's funny)

HUGE TEASE but also just a bit clingy in general. Like I said, he likes to fluster you for his own entertainment, so he definitely does fakeout kisses but sometimes he just wants to be close to you. For example, getting impossibly close to you and giving you a smirk vs resting his forehead on yours, letting his eyelids flutter shut are very different moods for him but tend to have the same effect on you

{ RECEIVING 

Will refuse kisses on his face during and shortly after skincare time but you’re allowed to kiss him all you want right before then and once the products have set into your skin (you def do your skincare together); Once he’s had enough gently presses his thumb to your lips and teases you, noting that you seem to be in a lovey dovey mood

Definitely easy to fluster in the beginning of your relationship since he isn’t used to your relationship being intimate and probably gets needy fast if the kiss grows passionate

I just know no matter what he was doing, this dude was always ready and waiting for a kiss; this especially applies if he’s getting ready to leave for a prolonged amount of time like for practice or whatever he may have to do and he keeps looking over checking where you are to see if he will get the kiss he so desires

Once he gets more comfortable, he’d love it if you were cheesier tbh. I think he would find cheesy romantic gestures silly and endearing as he enjoys the simple things. He just likes to know that you love him and that you mean it; ESPECIALLY likes when you put your own personal spin on a classic cheesy gesture like giving him a bouquet of handwritten love notes or books he’d like (Booket booket for my sweetiey 🥹)

Not a big fan of being peppered in kisses especially if you’re wearing lipgloss/stick/balm (sticky and messy) but he really enjoys seeing the way you smile at him– the way any tension in your face absolutely melts after you do it 

{ BONUS/MISC

A HUUUGEEE sucker for you running your hands through his hair as you kiss, it drives him up the wall; contrary to popular belief I really don’t think he would like you pulling on it. Bye. He’d make a face 

I’m not sure how actually committed I am to this HC bc I do in fact have vampire fever rn but just thought of him with slightly prominent canines (little fangies) I think it would be cute; he’d def kiss your cheek then nip it a bit for fun 

His skin is SOOOOOO soft, the most squishable face in the world and that extends to his lips. Feigns irritation when you squish his cheeks and kiss him, but he thinks it's silly; rolls his eyes 

If you have piercings, he would NOT stop kissing them; loves the cold of the metal against his lips, especially if it’s a lip piercing

If you have curly/wavy/coily hair he’d twist your hair around his finger when flirting with you before or after kissing you

If you are muscular or have some chub he’d love to feel you up while you kiss; when it comes to muscle of course he’d love to run his hands over your muscles (namely your chest and back) and when it comes to chub, he’d be a fan of smoothing his thumbs over your love handles (area right before where your thighs start– pelvis bone area)

Kenma Kozume:

{ GIVING

He’s kinda in his own head so honestly, he probably wouldn’t be the initiator often even if you’ve been together for a while like he straight up forgets he can do that sometimes

DEFINITELY likes when you ask him to kiss you because it makes him feel needed; he’s always the one being needy for you, so he loves when you return the same energy for him because it reminds him that despite everything you do love him

You have to direct him a little bit in the beginning of your relationship bc he’ll just peck you and go back to what he was doing or linger hoping you’ll ask for more at most if you ask him for a kiss 😭 

Can’t stop smiling into the damn kiss once he gets comfortable in your relationship because he’s just so happy to be with you like going about his day is neutral but getting a kiss from you is something special for him 

When he does kiss you, he usually takes it very slow with chaste pecks on your cheeks and around your mouth until finally planting a gentle yet long lasting kiss directly on your lips

{ RECEIVING 

Is like a cat that gets a little overwhelmed at too much attention; scrunches his face if you kiss all over his face for too long, he’s not mad about it but he feels like his head will explode, evident by the wrinkle of his nose and by how tightly knitted his brows appear

Definitely a little insecure about his lips being chapped in the beginning of your relationship and lathers his mouth in chapstick before kissing you if he can help it

He even gets a bit nervous if you kiss him before he can get to it especially since your lips feel so nice to him while his are…meh

When he gets more comfortable in your relationship, he’d love it if you pulled on his clothes while kissing him like for example pulling him towards you by his collar or simply holding onto his clothes while kissing 

Huge fan of you kissing him while you’re both shirtless but it embarasses him so bad he would have a heart attack and a half, so he instead enjoys biting your shoulder from behind while you’re shirtless  

{ BONUS/MISC

I recently started hcing Kenma with like seasonal freckles at least so I think he’d be a big fan of you kissing them as he used to get made fun of for having them and often hid them if he could

Lwk likes it when you sneak up on him while he’s wearing his headphones and give him a kiss it’s like a treat especially if you do it when he’s about to get heated at a game he’s playing

This isn’t really a hc as he does have eyebags canonically butttt I think he would LOVE when you kiss his eyebags it never fails to make him smile and he doesn’t really know why, doesn’t really get why you do it in the first place either, but he enjoys it

If you have long nails, he’d be such a fan of you digging them into him a bit while you kiss (not too hard just enough to feel it)

If you wear sweetly scented smell goods (especially if it resembles the scent of freshly baked apple pie!!) it serves as a reminder that he should kiss you; pulls him out of his head for a bit 

If you wear jewelry, he’d subconsciously fiddle with some of your jewelry while you kiss, like holding your hands and twisting your rings a bit while you kiss or grazing over your earrings with his thumb

[thorough-witness-enjoyer]

The Witness and Why It (and its demise) Means Everything to Me (A POC Perspective)

Hey everyone!! The Final Shape has ruined me and has brought me to levels of not only grief, but hope, that I did not think possible, so I decided to give my thoughts on the different aspects of it that moved me to a place where I can be at peace with many things in my life and look forward to paving a better future!!! I think I’ll be making many posts pertaining to the Final Shape as a way to help me express my thoughts on how important this DLC was to me, but we will see!

Please note that these are just my loose, not fully structured thoughts and I’m yapping. My opinions are subject to change and I’d love to hear the input of others! We will be talking about subjects such as slavery, religion, black experiences, and personal experiences of mine!!! It’s very long too, so I’m sorry about that and any writing errors!!

Though I do not believe what I speak of was fully Bungie’s intentions when making the character, the implications and views you can take on the Witness do relate to what I will discuss.

I wanted to start off my return to tumblr with one of the many, many reasons why I have such a deep attachment to the Witness (Precursors and Dissenters will get a different post bc they mean the world to me too!!) , because truly, this entity owns my whole life. I think of it all the time, it lingers in my thoughts, my art, my writing, all of it. It has been so deeply intertwined with my enjoyment of Destiny since it appeared and has offered so much to my perception of the world. I do not think I will truly get over it and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t draw it every chance I get. It appears in every single thought of mine, it’s bad you guys.

I love the Witness so deeply because I have never harbored such a personal level of DISGUST for a character before. As much as I joke about it being silly and the love of my life, the very existence of the Witness revolts me to the core and the tragedies it has directly or indirectly caused squeeze my heart empty. This festering rot of an egregore SICKENS me as it is the beliefs that has robbed me and many others of family, culture, and livelihoods given form. My love for the Witness comes from how it instills in me such HATRED, and truly, we were far too kind to it in game.

For context, I am Caribbean American and have a tumultuous relationship with my heritage for many reasons, but it wasn’t until the Witness and its many victims that I felt like the religious imperialism that has affected my heritage was represented in a way that crept into my spirit.

My Caribbean mother always said to me that we are of this world, not in it. That the hearts of men are wicked and sin (cruelty) was embedded in existence itself. It is only when we give ourselves to a higher purpose that we will be free in the end from all suffering. To her, this life and everything in it did not truly matter for it was a temporary challenge to overcome in order to earn an eternity of salvation. A perfect paradise was awaiting us all if we just gave into the way and left everything else behind.

These were all convictions she held to her very core as she tried to shed away all other aspects of herself to give into this “truth”, especially her Caribbean culture.

She did not always believe this way, but to her, the island she came from did not truly matter at all. Those “wayward people” she grew up with were not worth anything and would die as nobodies on that nowhere island for their lives were not saved, even if they knew of the “truth”. In her adopted views, those people believed in false gods and practices (such as Vodou and beliefs that belonged to those taken from Africa and indigenous populations), they invited in frivolous wants of the flesh such as lust (with „improper“ attire and certain dances), and committed crimes that proved to her that they could never be anything more than what they already were (though she would be blinded to the fact that these behaviors are a result of hostile environments created by the systems established for slavery and racial subjugation). If she wanted to be fit for “walking the right path”, those people had to be left behind for they were lost causes who could not be saved unless they were delivered by the “respectable” ways of life. She had to discard her black mannerisms, hair, speech, and more to have a place amongst the truly chosen.

Religious imperialism has a long history of being heavily tied to discussions of race and colonialism as those who participated in subjugation believed themselves to be more enlightened than the people they brought devastation to, giving them an entitlement that drove them to force their way of viewing religion onto populations. After all, in their minds, they were doing the greatest good for they were setting the people they subjugated on a path for eternal paradise. There was no cost too high in this finite life for infinite salvation to colonizers and all efforts to convert populations who did not see this truth would be “necessary”. People would die or be forced into servitude in mass to support the ambitions of the “enlightened” ones, whole cultures and populations being scrubbed from the face of this Earth in an attempt to “heal what is sick”, to “break broken bones again to heal them right”. I think of all the generations lost to war, slavery, colonialism, and every other act done to deliver “purpose” onto others, all the people whose names will never be known because others used the breath needed to utter it on preaching of their own virtue, and I am left in ruin.

I think of how my mother speaks of those lost to destitute lives because of the social pillaging of the island as an unfortunate side effect of guiding them to the truth and I look at how her world view has been ruined.

My mother thought she was saving me by keeping me from my culture, my people, my family. I did not get to know the language, the customs, the land, but I did get to know how much my mother thought those were distractions. She spent my whole life trying to cement the truths given to her by the same people who left her island in such as state that she felt like she had to run from it, to ensure I would not grow into a person, but a vessel of the righteous message. After all, to be a person is to be complex, nuanced, and flawed and there was no room for that in the visions given to her. The complexities and human flaws that came with our culture would only distract us from giving our whole lives to freeing ourselves from the curse of existence.

The cruelty the Witness delivers with such gentleness as it razes civilizations, its unwavering belief that it is the objective truth and other perspectives are blind to this truth, the means it will use to get that “justified” end, its gut wrenching to me and all that has been lost throughout human history to ideologies that bear the same qualities. Its zealous, static nature that relies on circular reasoning keeps me up at night and makes me mourn what could have been if the unfamiliar and hard to understand parts of human expression were allowed to flourish instead of being eradicated for diverging from someone’s vision of what makes a life worth living. I see this big eyed vessel, incapable of growth and convinced of its own righteousness and my chest feels like it is going to cave in. I see its disciples and pawns in the faces of too many people I know and recall their stories in moments that remind me how poisonous what the Witness represents is.

The Witness is an evil that has hollowed out lives, homes, land, and futures, especially for those who come from heritages that have persevered against attempts to “rectify” them. I still grieve the empty life my mother lives and the people left to suffer the consequences of daring to create their own meaning. I look at the face of the Witness and think of the “burdens lifted off my mother’s shoulders” by those who thought themselves as witnesses of a truth that could not be contested with interpretations that could not be questioned. She prides herself on being a weapon wielded to correct the sinful hearts of men, but I just wish she prided herself on being a person because those who “delivered” her robbed people of color of personhood entirely.

The Witness is not a person, but the embodiment of these deeply rooted ideologies and concepts that affect so many. It’s horror, both in game and the parallels it has in reality, is far too grand and unfathomable for me to bear its weight on my soul and not agonize. Its very existence is monstrous, despite the understandable intentions that went into its making, and my stomach churns at the mere thought of it.

How many species in the Destiny universe will we never know about because their whole galaxy was used to get closer to the Final Shape? How many star systems were left barren because of the Witness’ ambitions? How many children, spouses, artists, philosophers, siblings, neighbors, and more, people who were something, became nothing because of eons of the Witness‘ justifications? Bile boils just thinking of it.

What the Witness represents has hung over my head my whole life and its perverse touch lingers on the whole Destiny universe, tracing many of the depraved atrocities in the game back to itself. It’s death in the Final Shape, at the hands of those it had turned into victims and left to deal with the repercussions of its influence united together, moved me in ways I do not think I could ever properly articulate. To see beloved characters I had given a decade of my life to come together from different backgrounds with different reasons to defeat such a heinous entity, I felt like I could do my part to bring others together, despite our struggles and differences, to rebuild what had been taken from us.

As a person of color from a group of people many still think are undeserving of life, seeing so many characters I have related to over the years say “I matter because I decided to and you can’t take that away from me” to an entity who thought itself so refined that it got to determine everyone’s worth strengthened my entire being. Existing as a person of color is bold in and of itself, but the defeat of the Witness at the hands of people who wanted to exist so bad they risked everything for it ignited in me a flame to be audacious. My existence and culture as a poc is unsightly and heretical, but TFS encouraged me to take on the prejudices of others by saying “Here, despite generations being molded into a “perfect” image and so many lives lost in the struggle to live personal truths, ergo sum. Ergo sum and there is nothing wrong with that”.

To me, the Witness’ death showed me that the stains left behind by social structures such as religious imperialism and colonialism can be overcome by people banding together to make the future different from the past. When we embrace the subjectivity of existence, we can create spaces for different views on life to flourish and reconnect with the nuances of this world. We can better the lives of our people, no matter who they are, not by abandoning all cultural practices and ways of life that were deemed meaningless, but by rebuilding our societies to allow for fulfilling lives and self efficacy for all.

My people no longer have to let imperial powers decide our fate for us or decide that we can be nothing other than the „nature of our race“ that they believe is inferior. Instead of looking up at others who asserted themselves as more enlightened for salvation, we can look at each other and realize there is no one truth to life, especially one worth all the devastation and cruelty placed against those who lived differently. The intricacies of life often lead people to belief systems that allow for comfort and understanding, alleviating the anxiety of possibly living an improper life that will forfeit a desirable afterlife. It is up to individuals to decide what makes their life fulfilling and what beliefs will guide their actions, for no one can make your fate but you.

My mother still likes to wear the patterns of the island and keeps paintings of island scenery in her room. She talks on the phone in patois when she doesn’t feel the pressure to be “proper”. She misses her mother because she used to make dishes from home. To relate it to Destiny, she still has the coordinates to her Lubrae in her pyramid despite convincing herself abandoning it all was for the best and there was nothing there worth keeping. I once thought reconnecting with our heritage alongside her would be a frivolous endeavor, but I hope that with time and understanding, the Witness may not have power over her anymore and she won’t look back on her disassociation with relief. Time and understanding will make our island grow and flourish, free to decide what it wants to be, not held back by preconceived notions of the worth of its existence.

Despite all the Witnesses in the world, I will persist on and try to acquaint myself with my culture without shame. The Witness is everything to me because I hope one day it desecrates nothing ever again. I hope the Witness becomes nothing at all and the cultures it has corrupted make themselves something audacious.

Thank you guys so much for reading!! I hope you guys don’t mind the vague language, I chose to spare some details for my own sake and to make the message more applicable!! I’d love to hear the takes of other people about this bc I love hearing people’s perspectives!! And always remember, no one makes your fate but you!!! Go be audacious!!!!

[kaibutsushidousha]

Thoughts on Kirschtaria?

I love Kirschtaria lots but he isn't exactly easy to talk about. Olympus was 4 years but I still think it's too early for this post. Kirschtaria is the one who knows what the entire Animusphere plot is about. Until his final scenes, where he opens rebellion against the CHALDEAS and tries to unfold his secret plan, he's under constant surveillance by the priestess and pretty much all of his actions and speeches inform of CHALDEAS's (Marisbury's) beliefs rather than his own. A good analysis of Kirschtaria needs to wait until we know what exactly he was involved with.

The post-rebellion parts, where we get to see his past and learn about his ideals, are not easy to talk about either because Kirschtaria is too much of a straightforward hero behind his mage posturing and 5D chess. He's cheerful, accepting, driven to be productive, loves his friends, believes in everyone's inherent potential to be good, and wishes to end inequality above all.

One of the parroted Animusphere beliefs that Kirschtaria showed to genuinely believe in is the idea that humans are unequipped to immediately make the right choice but he puts a positive spin to it making we are experts in fixing mistakes later.

I don't think I can find anything original to say by explaining how his experience with Pino taught him that beauty can come from the least expected places and how much that is reflected in his relationships with Caenis and Beryl, so I guess all I got to close off this with post with is some speculative trivia that never leaves my brain.

I strongly believe Kirschtaria's characterization is the result of Nasu really wanting to write his original version of Jesus but knowing exactly how much of a bad idea it is to portray the central figure of a massively active religion. This is the same guy who made the Buddha into a boss character with no speaking roles and removed Hassan's Allah Akbar chant from every rerelease of Fsn for sensibility reasons. Jesus himself gets referenced as the Messiah sometimes but never by name. Nasu plays safe with this kind of thing.

So instead of Jesus, we have Kirschtaria. Named after the Japanese "kirishito" spelling of Christ, but written with a very unusual romanization because Nasu really wanted the English spelling of the name to contain an anagram of Christ (irscht). Then he put Kirsch through the basic Jesus plot of carrying out a major project to free mankind from its history of sin and enable everyone to do better, with the only life paid as the price being his own. And in true Jesus fashion, this ends with Kirschtaria dying by the side of a huge sinner that he personally pardoned and inspired to be better. And since subtlety is for pussies, we also get a scene where Caenis sees Kirschtaria shirtless and practically straight up says "Dude, you look like one of those Jesus portraits".

I could continue with commentary on how Pino being poor, sickly, and homeless is in line with the standard archetype of characters who appear to receive miracles in the Gospels, or how Nasu's interest in Jesus is tangible again with his next story portraying both Avalon le Faes as prophesized saviors born through special means for the sole purpose of going on a painful journey of pilgrimage fated to culminate on them sacrificing themselves to absolve the people of an ancestral sin but I think it's better not to stretch the idea too much.

[hermajestyimher]

Hello <3

I am currently 20, in the process of enhancing every aspect of my life so I would really appreciate if you could generously list your resources for self-improvement in general.

And one more question, how to make people take me more seriously? I am quite the youngest member in my family and everyone have always been so over-protective of me that they always see me as this little girl even though I am almost a grown woman lol.

Thanks!

Thanks for your question. I commend you for wanting to invest in yourself and self-improvement.

The resources I use to shape my mindset toward success are a mixture of books, podcasts, subliminals, and direct revelation from God. I'll break these parts down for you:

✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞

Books:

There are a lot of books out that deal with the topic of self-improvement and you are almost guaranteed to find some that will be able to help you in whichever area of your life you wish to get better at. The key, when it comes to these books, is that you have to find ones that you know you can action realistically in your life. Theory can be energizing and inspirational, but it is ultimately futile if you are unable to put the gained knowledge into reality.

You must seek books that are practical in their way of describing how to succeed in whatever subject they touch upon and focus exclusively on that specific book so that you may action its commands and see real results in your life.

I'll give you 5 books that I've used throughout the year that have helped me mold my character in meaningful and practical ways:

She Comes First, by Brian Nox.

Can't Hurt Me, by David Goggins.

The Alter Ego Effect, by Todd Herman.

Stop People Pleasing, by Patrick King.

Fabulosity, by Kimora Lee Simmons.

Podcasts:

Podcasts are a good way of keeping your mind "fed" constantly with content and knowledge from others. I use them not just for knowledge, but also for entertainment. I enjoy podcasts that deal with politics, human psychology and behavior, societal phenomena, travel and culture, business, success life stories, and even some niche topics of interest.

Whatever podcasts you choose to listen to will be a very personal choice. My rule of thumb is to not waste time listening to someone just because they seem authoritative in the field of self-improvement if the messages they are putting forward do not resonate with you. It's ok to be picky with this type of content.

Subliminals:

This is something that I've never touched upon before directly on my blog, but it is something that I've been digging into a lot lately and I've found has been positively impacting my life.

Subliminals are audio messages that we play in the background while we do other activities. The concept behind them is that our subconscious mind can pick up and internalize the messages being played and therefore can help in reprogramming our own internal self-concept and beliefs. It can help you manifest things because you genuinely believe that they are possible for you, rather than pretending.

Subliminals are extremely powerful because if utilized correctly they can help you shape your entire personality and perception of yourself towards one that is more self-loving, positive, and confident. It can help us erase the damage of harmful things we've internalized throughout the years and replace them with thoughts that are working in our favor.

If you or anyone else from the blog would like for me to dive deeper into this subject and share some of the subliminal that have helped me (including my own creations), please let me know!

God:

This part is simply all about having communion with God. I've found out that in the periods that I'm away from him and that I do not take our relationship seriously, I become an easier target for spiritual attacks and also less in tune with my spiritual gifts. It's hard to hear from him when my spiritual life is filled with so much baggage that does not come from him. And whether you are aware of it, everything around us is spiritual in one way or another: the music that we listen to, the people we spend time with, the places we live, the content we consume, the things we allow others to speak into our lives, etc.

It's important that I read my Bible, pray, and worship without ceasing. God purifies our spirits and removes bondages this way. He gives us a renewed mind full of discernment and peace. We can hear from him more clearly and be led through a path of prosperity.

This is something that I need to get back on with him, as I have fallen off throughout the years. But understanding that you do not have to make life alone and that investing in your spiritual life can only tenfold your riches in the physical realm is crucial for us to live a life of purpose and success.

✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞✧༺♥༻∞

I hope this list was helpful, and if you or other people would like to delve deeper into any of these or other subjects, please let me know.

[shifterbee]

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD

My Relationship With Reality Shifting

What I'm going to be talking about:

How I found out about shifting

My initial thoughts/ feelings about shifting

What led me to believe in shifting

Why I don't doubt that shifting is real

What doubts I do have (let's be honest, not everyone can be completely free of doubts)

My approach to shifting when I first started

My current approach to shifting

I didn't want this post to be too long so if you want/need me to explain anything further then let me know <3

Any trigger warnings will be in place wherever may be necessary <3

How it all started:

Like many people in this community, I first found out about shifting through TikTok in 2020. In my case, it was around mid-September when I was scrolling through my FYP and saw the video that changed my life forever.

OK, that was a bit dramatic, but you get the point. The video that I saw was this girl acting out something that she claimed happened in her DR. The scene went something like this (my memory is really blurry, so bear with me):

She had just shifted back to her DR, and It was during the battle at Hogwarts. there were a bunch of people coming up to her saying things like "Where did you go?" and "We missed you so much"(your typical 2020 misinformation). the battle was starting, and she looked at everyone and said, "I know what will help us. everyone close your eyes, trust me." IDK, I think she was trying to group shift everyone out of her DR???? either way it didn't work but when they opened their eyes the portals from Avengers Endgame(I think) started opening up and the Avengers stepped out of them. Her reaction to that was like "Well I guess that also works".

There might have been more to it, but that's all I can remember right now. Also PLEASE tell me if you also saw that video and/or remember who posted it. I wonder what they're doing now.

At first, I was a little confused, but then I looked at the tags and saw one that said: "reality shifting." at this time, my FYP was filled with a bunch of fanfic-related stuff, So I guess because of that, I just assumed that reality shifting was just a weird fanfic tope used in crossover fics. I was also sort of on DracoTok, so I wasn't really confused about why I would be seeing Harry Potter fanfic on my FYP.

I scrolled away from the video and didn't think much of it until a few days later when I looked up the tag and saw a bunch of videos with advice and methods on how to shift. at this point I was very confused and I was just thinking "Wait, are these people being fr". After scrolling through the tag for a bit I found a video explaining what it was.

I don't know who made that video. But one thing I do know is that I have never doubted the existence of shifting since.

Why I started believing:

I'm just going to use bullet points for this section. but if you want me to go into more detail about anything, let me know.

my prior knowledge/belief of out-of-body experiences (i.e. astral projection)

my belief that humans are always more powerful than what we usually think/believe.

Also, potential TW: brief mention of drugs

probably the biggest reason was a story I heard from a YouTuber about one of his friends who, after taking DMT, claimed to have lived in a forest with elves for 3 years and was able to give a detailed description of what happened in those 3 years. The story I'm talking about is about 10 minutes into this video I immediately thought of this story when I saw videos of people talking about their experiences in their DRs. And since this drug is something that can be naturally produced by the brain, it didn't seem like much of a stretch to suggest that you could trigger its production without taking any drugs.

I want to make it very clear that I am not promoting or encouraging the use of drugs/illegal substances in order to shift.

My approach to shifting then vs. now:

I have always treated shifting like a skill. At first, I thought that if I practiced the methods/techniques I learned from Shifttok enough, I would eventually have to shift.

Now, I treat shifting as something you allow yourself to do rather than force. It's kind of like sleeping. The more you try to force it, the less likely it's going to happen.

More recently, I have been focusing more on improving my confidence when it comes to my abilities. In my opinion, it is not enough to intend to do something you also have to have the confidence to be able to do it.

I think that is why most people aren't shifting. There are only so many times a person can fail at something and not lose their confidence.

End Notes:

I think that this is all I wanted to say. But, once again, if you want me to explain something, let me know what it is.

[timhanauthor]

Tim Han Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course Review

Are you ready to tap into your potential and seize control of your life? Look no further than the LMA Life Mastery Achievers Course! If you're lacking direction, always feeling stuck or not living up to your capabilities, this course will be perfect for you.

Created by the entrepreneur and mindset coach Tim Han, it offers an experience that will empower you to succeed in all areas of your life.

Learn about LMA Life Mastery Achievers Course Review By Tim Han. We will also discuss the intricacies of the LMA Method, examine its advantages and disadvantages, compare it to development courses available and ultimately share our final thoughts and recommendations.

What is the LMA Method?

The Life Mastery Achievers Method is designed to help individuals unlock their potential. This comprehensive course incorporates strategies, powerful techniques and mindset shifts that can transform aspects of your life. It covers a range of areas, such as creating wealth-building relationships, enhancing leadership skills, increasing productivity and fostering personal growth.

The LMA Method is truly remarkable because it focuses on application. Tim believes that knowing alone is insufficient; it needs to be implemented to see results. This course combines lessons, interactive exercises, and actionable steps to empower you with the tools to create lasting change in your life.

Tim openly shares his challenges and successes throughout his journey towards achieving greatness, making it easier for students to connect with him on a level. His passion for assisting others shines through each lesson delivered in a manner.

Advantages of the LMA Course

Tim Han has created this program to cover aspects of mastering life, including mindset, goal setting, productivity and success habits. This comprehensive approach ensures that participants receive a rounded education in growth.

The course provides tools and techniques that can be easily incorporated into life. Students are equipped with steps to achieve their objectives, from visualization exercises to communication strategies.

Another advantage is the sense of community that accompanies enrollment in this course. Do participants gain access to a network to connect with like-minded individuals on their journey towards self-improvement

How is the LMA course different from other courses available in the market?

There are options in the market, each claiming to offer unique strategies and transformative approaches to success and fulfilment. However, assessing your goals and requirements is crucial before investing in any program.

The LMA Life Mastery Achievers Course stands out for reasons. Firstly, it is built upon the proven methods developed by Tim Han himself. With his experience as an entrepreneur and mindset coach, Tim understands what it truly takes to achieve mastery in life.

What sets the LMA Method apart from development courses is its focus on more than surface-level techniques or quick fixes. It delves into the core beliefs and patterns that shape our lives, emphasizing the power of mindset reprogramming. Moreover, it provides tools to shift limiting beliefs and foster lasting transformation.

In conclusion

Tim Han stands out as an entrepreneur and mindset coach, surpassing the ordinary. He has empowered numerous individuals globally to overcome their limitations and turn their wildest aspirations into reality through his involvement in the development sector. What sets him apart is his methodology towards mastering life. Read here to learn more about Tim Han's unveiling of the Mindset Maven.

The LMA Life Mastery Achievers Course offers numerous benefits, such as its comprehensive curriculum and practical tools for personal growth. However, potential participants must consider costs and self-discipline before deciding.

[stardustbarbarians]

Go to Sea No More

A Daniel Wagner / Sam Kiszka fic

Summary: You can take the sailor off the ocean, but you can’t take the sailor out of the man.

Tags: humor, fluff, hijinx, very very light angst at the start, ofthecaravel's Brandy au

Words: 3.6 k

A/N: Hi I missed the Brandy world a normal amount so I wrote this. This all began when I started to hyperfixate on shipwrecks and fell down a rabbit hole. All of the superstitions I use here are REAL I did not make a single one up. Huge shoutout to the youtube channel Maritime Horrors for posting about all of these hilarious beliefs. Dedicated to @ofthecaravel because yeah this is her universe. Title taken from Go to Sea No More by Sean Dagher. Enjoy everybody! <3

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Old expressions float around and are used almost daily. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. When it rains, it pours. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. But one old phrase in particular haunts Sam near daily: You can take the sailor off the ocean, but you can’t take the sailor out of the man. Sam was very aware of that when Jake had chosen the sea over his own family for two years. Even more so when the man he loved had abandoned him in the middle of the night for that briny, fickle mistress. 

However, both men had returned to port and promised to stay forever. Sam had never been more elated, finally feeling complete with their constant presence. All of them knew that while Josh was able to hold his own with his twin out at sea, Sam was worse off. Each time Jake would visit or send letters and gifts, it would make Sam more temperamental and anti-social. 

But, that was the past. With Jake and now Danny remaining in his life for the rest of the time they were able to spend on this earthly coil together, Sam was practically unrecognizable to his bitter counterpart. Instead of clipped conversation with shopkeepers and vendors, he was pleasant and amiable. While this could be blamed on the return of those he loved, Sam was also just tired of being a curmudgeon. He never wanted to be that venomous firecracker of a man, it was just his defense mechanism. But just like the change of the current is controlled by the sun, when Danny stepped into his life with the promise of forever, Sam had slowly shifted and made himself a better man. 

That wasn’t to say that their relationship didn’t have its quirks. 

Sam, having been born and raised in a port town, knew firsthand how superstitious sailors could be. He’d always signed off all those ridiculous fears as nothing but the salt water rotting away those seadog’s brains. While he paid them no credence, he found it was mighty easier to simply follow along with these fallacies. He’d long since tired of hearing “you’re trying to summon pirates, boy!!” roared at him after accidentally letting the dinner knives cross as he served men their dinners. 

And then he started living with a sailor. Suddenly, all those old seadog tales that Sam had scoffed at had to be heeded with the utmost respect. It was always extremely strange for Sam to watch the very level-headed and reasonable Daniel to act superstitious and fearful on a dime. It seemed logic and rational thought were all thrown out the window when it concerned the volatile nature of the seas. 

It all started one day when Sam was doing chores around the cantina. He had opened the windows to let in the cool ocean breeze to combat the scorching hot summer day, hearing the calming crash of waves against the shoreline. As he was apt to do, Sam was whistling while he worked hard to maintain his family’s bar. It was an old shanty that had been rattling around his skull for a few days now, hoping that whistling it would finally relieve him of the cursed tune. That was when Daniel had made a mad dash towards Sam, clamping his large and calloused hand over Sam’s mouth. To say the least, Sam had been startled and slightly afraid of Danny’s now erratic behavior. Sam had started to fear that perhaps some of Danny’s enemies from his old job had been spotted - Danny silencing Sam to avoid being noticed. 

It wasn’t until Danny had hissed a reprimand at him that Sam understood Daniel’s reaction. 

“Are you mad?? Are you trying to summon a gale?!” Daniel had this almost crazed look in his eye as he spat out his scolding. He kept his hand firmly pressed against Sam’s mouth as he leaned out of the window Sam had been mopping next to, screaming: “Apologies, Neptune!! He doesn’t know what he’s doing!!” 

Bewildered and more than a little annoyed, Sam managed to wrestle Danny’s hand off of his lips. “What are you doing??” 

“It’s bad luck to whistle! You’re challenging Neptune! Next thing you know there’ll be a hurricane battering us!” 

Sam looked out the window to see nothing but a clear blue sky and calm waves lapping the harbor. 

“You’re joking, right? Please tell me you’re joking.” Of course Sam knew Danny was a sailor, it was hard to forget. However, he had, apparently wrongly, assumed that Daniel was better than all those superstitions. 

Danny only blinked at Sam, sparing one last nervous glance out at the cloudless sky before slithering behind the bar to grab a bottle of wine. Sam watched on incredulously as Daniel walked towards the door with a bottle of the bar’s good wine in hand as if he were a soldier given direct orders. 

“What on earth are you doing now?” Sam cried, trailing after his sailor as he tore through the Caravel Cantina and out the door. 

“Making an offering to the sea god,” he solemnly answered, not even glancing at Sam as he spoke, his eyes dead set on the shoreline a few hundred feet from them. Sam could only watch on in dismay as the man he loved more than anything kneeled down onto the rocks of the shore, raised the wine bottle as Cain had raised the club on Able, and smashed the dark green bottle onto a rock, the crimson alcohol splashing everything in the vicinity. The former seaman watched as the briny water drank up his offering, picking out shards of glass from the rocks. Kids toddled this beach very frequently or else he would’ve left the glass shards as an additional appeasement to Neptune. 

Later that night when Sam would talk to Jake about it, he far from expected the man to take Danny’s side on the matter. 

“You should never whistle where the ocean can hear you, Sammy,” Jake had told him very solemnly. He had even taken on a somber look as he lowered his eyes to lock them with Sam’s. It had unsettled Sam to no end. That was when he knew there was credence to his belief that spending too much time out on sea rots your brain just like the driftwood she spat out from the shipwrecks she claimed. 

Making sure neither seafarers he kept company with were in sight, Sam stood on the pier and whistled a tune into the still waves of the night. When nothing happened for the few minutes he stood there, Sam walked away with a self-assured smile, proving to himself all those pointless worries by the sailors were just that. 

The near gale force winds the next day were just a coincidence. 

+++

Despite knowing how ridiculous it was, Sam kept his whistling to himself when Jake or Danny were near. However, that was far from the only superstition they subscribed to. Sam would learn all of these the more time he spent living with Danny. 

For instance, Danny just about had a heart attack when Sam handed him a salt shaker rather than set it in front of Danny for him to grab. He went pale as a sheet and refused to take the shaker out of Sam’s hand. 

“You don’t want to give me bad luck, now, do you?” Daniel nervously bargained with his boyfriend, an anxious smile tugging weakly at the corners of Danny’s lips. 

So, now Sam had to make a conscious effort to place the salt shaker in Daniel’s reach and not hand it straight to him. 

Another fear, the most ridiculous in Sam’s opinion, was that of bananas. It was agreed that Danny and Sam would trade off weeks getting groceries, writing down items that were needed on a list in the kitchen. So, when Sam had brought home the groceries one Tuesday and set down a bunch of bananas, he hardly expected to see Daniel gazing at them as if they had killed his sister. 

“What? Don’t you like bananas?” Sam innocently asked, glancing between the yellow fruit and Danny. It was eerie the way Danny refused to take his eyes off the fruit. 

“You don’t know? You’ve lived around sailors your whole life and you don’t know?” Daniel finally looked Sam in the eyes, that haunted yet slightly afraid look in them Sammy had come to associate with another superstition. 

The land-lover sighed heavily. He felt himself deflate as he forewent unpacking his groceries to lay his hands on the table to ground himself. You love him you love him you love him- 

“If you tell me they’re bad luck-”

“THEY ARE!! They’re nasty little buggers that rot all your rations and harbor poisonous snakes and spiders!!!” Daniel raved, his arms flailing as his eyes went wild. Sammy loved Daniel. He really did. Daniel was the only one who had wanted him for him and not just his pretty face. However, he was making it very hard to remember that at present. 

“Daniel,” Sam started, gently taking his lover’s face in his hands, making sure those picturesque hazel eyes were trained onto Sam’s, “you mean so much to me. I have been abiding by all your superstitions and asinine fears. However, I am not giving up bananas for you. So for the love of the sea you regard so highly, please let me have this one little thing.” 

After Sam’s speech, Danny took a deep breath. He leaned himself into Sam’s touch, sliding his rope-hardened hands to cover Sammy’s. “Alright,” he breathed. 

Laced into his single worded reply was an apology. Sam had heard it, Danny didn’t need to say it. As a sign that he accepted his mea culpa, Sammy left a tender kiss on Danny’s tanned forehead. 

“I’ll put them in the cupboard so you don’t have to look at them. How about that?” Sam offered, keeping his hands in their place at Danny’s cheeks. 

“You’ve got yourself an accord, matey.” Daniel’s smile was wide and dazzling, reaching his eyes and making them crinkle at the corners. 

Sam couldn’t help himself, he started to pepper Danny with hundreds of kisses all along his face. 

+++

The next few superstitions all came in a batch of a few weeks. And there was a good reason for that. Jake and Danny had finally saved up enough money to buy a two sail, forty-two foot cutter. It was an older girl, perhaps a few decades spent traversing the blue brine, but it was nothing that two experienced sailors who were former pirates couldn’t handle. Sam helped where he could with the maintenance, but there was only so much he could do. It was as if you asked him to speak Latin. But, he lent a hand and some elbow grease when the occasion called for it. 

Within a few months, the old battered cutter was more than seaworthy. Sam had wanted to get out on the water right away, eager to see the mighty and vast ocean he’d only glimpsed at from his port city his whole life. However, as usual, there was a superstition preventing that from happening. 

“It’s bad luck for a ship not to have a proper name, Sammy,” Danny gently explained, tucking a piece of Sam’s hair behind his ear. 

“It’s amazing she hasn’t sunk yet,” Jake strained, his torso hanging over the port-side bow of the ship, taking in the chipped paint where the name was meant to be. 

“But, it’s such a beautiful day out,” Sam lamented, looking longingly out at the sparkling, cerulean waves that seemed to beckon him with every undulating swell. 

Danny, glancing over at Jake to make sure he wasn’t looking, snuck a quick kiss to Sam’s temple. They weren’t a secret, but Danny had always wanted to save his former captain the grief of seeing his little brother getting kissed - Danny knew he’d appreciate it if Josie’s boyfriend did the same. 

“Tell you what,” Danny started, lacing his finger’s with Sam’s, “you can christen the ship. How does that sound?” 

“Why does he get to do it?” Josh whined, no longer distracted by the fish swimming along the harbor. 

“Well, it is traditionally done by a woman,” Jake mused, unable to hide his teasing smirk. The mirth in his eyes was all too telling that he knew he’d gotten right under Sam’s skin. 

“Oh, fuck you,” Sam spat, not really meaning it. Jake knew this, shoving Sam on the arm with a chuckle. Sam reciprocated the gesture, giving a begrudging smile to his older brother. 

“Josh, why don’t you pick the name?” Danny suggested. 

Josh pondered for a second, kicking his dangling feet off the railing of the ship. “What about The Clarice?” 

“Josh, all due respect to you and your daughter, but I’d rather walk around with a pegleg, an eyepatch, and a parrot on my shoulder before I name any ship I sail after a chicken.” From the look on his face, Jake was not kidding either. He picked off a piece of flecking paint from the railing Josh was sitting on, casting it into the water below. The paint job was the last thing on their to-do list, wanting to pick out a name for her before finishing up the maintenance. 

Josh grumbled, a knit in his brow as he said something under his breath that sounded like “you’re a terrible uncle”. 

“What about Calypso? It’s pretty close to Clarice,” Sam suggested, his thumb absently rubbing Danny’s knuckles. 

“I love it,” Danny added, instantly backing Sam’s idea. 

“God, you guys disgust me,” Jake groaned, rubbing at his eyes, “but, it’s a really good name. Nicely done, Sammy, you actually had a good idea for once.” 

Sam flipped Jake the bird, causing Danny to purse his lips to keep himself from laughing. 

Josh sighed, conceding to the fact that he was outnumbered. “I still think The Clarice is better.” 

When the time came to finally set sail on their fully refurbished boat, it was hardly recognizable from the near derelict ship it was months prior. Calypso had been carefully painted in neat print in a beautiful dark green on both the port and starboard-side bow, Sam watching Danny dutifully sketch each letter as he sat on the pier. 

Now, Sam was standing on that same stretch of pier, bottle in hand the same color as the paint Daniel used, his heart pounding in his ribcage hard enough to bruise. Just like everything else in his life after Daniel became a permanent fixture in his life, this moment was colored by superstition. A bad christening for a ship is the same as a death sentence, Sammy, Danny had told him one night, the two of them lying in bed after spending their day fixing up the new ship. 

“Swing it as hard as you can, Sam!” Jake cried, sending his little brother two thumbs up and a reassuring smile. As cheesy as it sounds, the fact that Jake trusted him helped ease Sam’s nerves. 

With a steadying breath, Sam clenched his jaw before swinging the bottle of liquor above his head and bringing it down against the side of the bow as hard as he could. 

To his absolute relief, the sound of shattering glass filled his ears. 

In an instant, he snapped open his eyes to see amber liquor pouring down the wood of the ship, the smell of saltwater mixing with that of a fruity aroma. 

“I thought you were supposed to use champaign,” Sam breathlessly inquired, his head turning to take in Danny standing at his side. He was the one to hand Sam the bottle used in this ceremony. 

With a blinding smile that made Sam’s heart flutter in his chest, Danny shrugged his shoulders. “Figured brandy would be more fitting. And this way I know this ship will be lucky if you distilled her christening liquid.” 

He pulled Sam into him by his waist, planting a kiss onto the top of his head. Sam all but melted into Danny like butter against a hot knife. 

“Blegh! Get a room, you two!” Jake pushed himself between the two lovers forcefully, the pair of them giggling at his discomfort. 

Josh smiled at them, always the more romantic of the twins. “Don’t listen to him. I thought it was delightful.” 

With the christening done, they were finally able to sail out on the ocean. As soon as Sammy stepped onto the deck of that cutter, he knew in his heart he was going to run into numerous more superstitions. However, he was far from expecting to run into one as soon as they finished shoving off of their port. 

“Right,” Jake started, glancing over at Danny standing to his left, hands on the helm he was manning, “you know what we have to do.” 

Before Josh or Sam could even ask a single question as to what that vague and slightly ominous statement meant, they watched helplessly as both sailors produced a herring. Their confusion only mounted into abject horror as, almost in slow motion, the former pirates bit off the heads of the fish and began to chew. 

It wasn’t clear who screamed first, but soon both land-farers were shrieking in terror. They were both frozen in place as the sailors not only continued to chew the heads of those poor fish, but swallowed them whole. 

“Oh, stop your whining! We did this for you, you know!” Jake yelled, tossing the rest of the half-eaten fish off the side of the ship and into the water below. Danny followed suit, his face scrunched up in distaste. 

“How was ANY of that for us??” Josh shrieked, his arms thrown out in dismay at the horror show he just witnessed. 

“It’s frightful bad luck to shove off on a Friday,” Danny explained, going about checking the various knots and lines along the deck. 

“So that means you’ve gotta eat the head of a raw fish?!” Sam cried, feeling like he was on the brink of tears. 

“We had to make an offering to Neptune! This way he may forgive our transgression and keep the seas calm for us,” Jake defensively shouted, his eyebrows knitting together. 

Sam and Josh looked at each other. They didn’t have to speak a word to understand what the other was thinking: they’re insane. 

“God, it never gets easy, though,” Danny lamented, picking a scale off of his tongue before tossing it overboard as well. Sam had to hold back his gag, a hand flying to his mouth to keep the bile threatening to purge itself at bay.

“I’m never kissing you ever again.” There was a firmness in Sam’s tone that lent severity and weight to his words. 

That solemn promise only lasted a few hours. Daniel had brushed his teeth under Sam’s watchful eye. Three times. 

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While Calypso was meant to be crewed by at least three people, you could get by with only two if you were only going out for a few hours. And after a few weeks of Sammy asking Danny and Jake to teach him the ropes (quite literally), he was deemed trained enough to go out with just Danny on the water. 

It was going to be a fun day out on the water, Sam helping Danny pack enough food for lunch and dinner. There were also a few bottles of liquor carried aboard as well, the day well prepared for. 

After they had shoved off without a hitch (and not on a Friday, thank you very much), Daniel had stepped away from the helm and sauntered up to Sam. The inexperienced sailor was tying off a knot as he felt a rough hand cover his own, ceasing his movements. 

“You know,” Danny started, his voice low and rumbling like a roll of thunder, “it’s bad luck for a lady to be on board.” 

Sam was, understandably, shocked. In a dramatic move, he swiveled his head around to look for whatever lady the man was referring to. “Daniel, it’s just us two.” 

“Unless she’s naked. Now, unless you want to piss off good ol’ King Neptune,” Danny continued as if Sam hadn’t spoken, “you might wanna lose all your clothes.” 

For a moment, all Sam could do was look at his boyfriend in shock. The man in question held his gaze with Sam, a wolfish smirk growing on his lips. 

“I’m not a lady, Daniel,” Sam spat, throwing down his rope and crossing his arms over his chest. 

This only seemed to amuse Daniel more, teeth poking out of his crooked grin as his raven curls haloed around his head at the behest of the wind. 

“Don’t you want to be my Brandy girl?” His voice had dropped to a lower register, sounding as smooth as the very liquor Danny was invoking. It had worked unfairly well to Danny’s favor, the other man weak in his knees. Sam had to grab hold of the wooden railing on the ship to steady himself, his cheeks getting hot. 

“You’re pretty enough to be a lady,” Danny continued, reaching a hand out to caress Sam’s jaw and beckon his eyes to meet the sailor’s, “I don’t think the king of the sea would be able to tell. Better safe than sorry.” 

Sammy couldn’t suppress the shiver that wracked his body, feeling the warm breath of Danny’s honeyed words ghost across his skin. He knew he’d lost the battle, but he was far from upset at having to concede. 

“Yeah,” Sam swallowed thickly after his voice cracked inside his throat, “better safe than sorry.” 

That evening, under a burning red sunset and with their blood humming with brandy, the Calypso was christened once more. 

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tags:

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[hyakinthou-naos]

So I’ve seen a lot of posts lately from other people on whether or not minors should be devotees and I’m curious your thoughts on that?

Khaire Anon,

Thank you for your question! This is a more serious and somewhat touchy topic in the community, so I am going to attempt to answer with grace and kindness.

Also, please also be aware that while these are the opinions of both myself and The Temple, neither is a religious authority and our word is not law.

With that being said, the short answer to this question is that - yes - I believe that minors can be devotees. So long as they understand what being a devotee means, and willingly consenting to said relationship.

(The following might seem like a silly analogy, but bare with me.)

When someone is a minor, they can consent to romantic relationships with others. These relationships are different than those of their adult counterparts, but they can still be validly classified as relationships/dating. However, minors cannot consent to engagement or marriage until both parties are of legal age.

I personally believe that religious experience and devotion/devotee-ship functions similarly.

When a minor is a devotee to a God/Deity - it may seem to the adults around them that they're not a "real" devotee (whatever that means). But just because it looks different than adult devotion, and just because there are limitations on the minors devotional practice does not make their experiences wrong or less legitimate within its own context.

There is some additional nuance to this subject that I will elaborate on below the fold.

Some Context:

I was raised Roman Catholic (my mother's family has been Roman Catholic for as long back as we can trace) and before I even knew how to speak I was attending mass. I didn't enjoy church as a child, but I was forced to go. I then became devoutly religious for a few years in my early teens before I symbolically left the faith. I say symbolically, because until I was 16 I was forced to attend mass as well as take Catholic Confirmation Classes.

So for the majority of my childhood and adolescence, I experienced what I call "Compulsory Worship" (aka Involuntary Worship).

With that being said - onto the nuance:

In the Hellenic Polytheist Community, as well as the Pagan Community at large, there seems to be the mindset (in some people, not all) that minors cannot consent to or have religious experiences.

I think that mindset is very dangerous, and swings to the opposite end of the spectrum from Compulsory Worship, into Religious Infantilization (aka Age Based Religious Infantilization).

If a person, be that they are a child - a teen - or an adult, wants to explore and experience religion then I believe they should be allowed to do so (as long as they are being safe, respectful, and kind).

When it comes to the topic of minors become devotees to a God/Deity - I think there is some grey area. I do subscribe to the common belief that minors cannot consent to the same things as adults - but that isn't to say that minors can't express and experience consent.

In my opinion, I believe that if a minor feels that they want to dedicate a part of their life to a specific God/Deity that they should be given the space to explore that type of relationship and commitment. However, I do not think that minors can consent to lifelong devotion and I do not think that minors can make oaths to The Divine.

At the end of the day, whether we agree with it or not, minors are going to engage with religious ideologies, concepts, and traditions. We can either help them and be a part of that process, or we can leave them to flounder on their own.

I think it is a much better use of our time to help these individuals explore these topics safely as opposed to shunning them or trying to control them without empathy.

But again, these are all just my thoughts and opinions, and I'm not the boss of anybody.

Thank you again for your question anon, exploring this topic through my answer was really enjoyable.

Eirene - peace and farewell,

- Aön

[davekat-sucks]

I think trolls are cool but also dumb. If they were never created the fandom wouldn’t be perfect but definitely less worse. The existence of trolls is what practically caused all the two-faced tumblrina types of fans to flood in the first place. I have nothing against the making of a fucked up fantasy alien species for the sake of being fucked up and going WOW THAT IS FUCKED UP! and to entertain people and to acknowledge what they are witnessing is fucked up. What I dislike is how this shitty ass canonically all related incestuous bug species is what ironically brought in all the morally self-righteous psychopaths just because of their weird relationship traditions and trolls would be considered LGBT by human standards and have a binormative society and that is seen as so cool yet people still wanna debate bullshit like their headcanon of Vriska as a lesbian dealing with comphet which makes no sense. If anything aro-aces would be the only oppressed sexual group on Alternia yet for some reason I barely see that discourse when it comes to these people. Also the species being so incestuous that it puts hillbillies to shame probably even makes the idea of race coding even more dumb but then again the point of race coding is that its only meant to apply to characters where being a human race is impossible because of genetics so. At the very least if psuedo-human characters get to be aracial because they are the result of ectobiology then I see no reason why the same shouldnt apply to pseudo-trolls who are also ectobiology made.

Even when people put the trolls into familial roles like people see Karkat and Nepeta as siblings because of the SignlessxDisciple as their reason to not ship KatNep, doesn't mean they won't fuck because incest is seen as natural in the eyes of Alternia. Do the humans in the fandom wish to correct the trolls if that is the case? So much about respecting troll customs and beliefs. Fandom picks and chooses what trolls count as incest despite it's practically every troll ship like EriSol and Vrisrezi. According to HIveswap, Jadebloods would become celibate because upon turning into an adult, they would be sent alone off in space somewhere. I wonder what would happen if there was a different troll, lowblood or highblood, that would choose to avoid sex at all costs throughout their life. After all, this is the same planet that says if you don't fuck, you die. And remembering Alternia is a planet full of nothing but kids, it's a sick thought knowing that someone as young as THREE YEARS OLD would know how sex works and doesn't see anything wrong. And that's not even trying to go into age differences of trolls being partners in any quadrants. It's a surprise that with all these problematic topics and implications, people that are super sensitive to those topics still want to get into the series. Then again, same can be said about other media works in today's times like anime, video games, tabletop, and more. South Park has been around longer than Homestuck and it is part of "show is problematic but still draws in fujoshi tumblr fangirls".

[primarilymedievalish]

as-as a birthday present (my birthday was yesterday wheee) can I get that sausage corruption ramble you promised? 🥺

Oh my gosh, happy late birthday!

Here is what I have so far. It’s not super polished yet, but I hope you enjoy!

(I’m going to make a lot of references to canon, here, to help illustrate my thinking and give me a place to start. Because do I ever have a lot of thoughts about this. This is going to be very, very long.)

In the beginning, Sausage tries his hand at sorcery and magic. We all know this. It starts in episode five with the gem crystals and the trees. He starts learning magic before the end heist; before the cod wars even begin or the wither rose alliance is formalized. It starts with magic from an outside source, channeled without really understanding how it works or what it takes, and he keeps experimenting and branching out and learning from trial and error. All well and good. This is the baseline.

Time passes. Fast-forward to episode fifteen, titled “THE MAGIC SUMMONING CIRCLE!!!”. This is the most drastic escalation yet. He uses a huge array of magical items, collected from around the world specifically for their amount of power (not type). I have a full list of the items he uses, but that’s not the most important part. The details of the summoning circle’s construction and the form the ritual takes are interesting; I have a friend, who’s relatively knowledgeable about this, who has variously described the summoning circle in Mythland as “more of a sacrificial altar than a summoning circle” and “a better place to summon things than to contain them.” Sausage throws the item into the sacrificial cauldron, kills a blood sheep, and summons Bubbles into this realm. He also claims to have consulted with many authorities, including the Sorcerer Supreme.

For the sake of transparency, I will say that my friend thought that Sausage’s ritual practices in episode fifteen were reckless, dangerous, and likely to go wrong in drastic ways. Please make note of this.

Shortly thereafter, Sausage puts on his blue sorcerer robes, almost abandoning his courtly attire completely. Sometime around this time, he claims to be making attempts to visit the spirit realms, and describes them variously as shadowy and cold. His behavior begins to draw concern from his friends. This is also the point in canon where he starts assassinating people.

In episode nineteen, Sausage first encounters the demon Xornoth outside the gates of Eastvale, who almost immediately singles him out as useful to court. Sausage seeks out their attention, and offers to free them.

Here’s why this all matters:

In my earlier post, I mentioned how fireblight, one of my real life inspirations for corruption, enters plants through injuries and natural openings. It is my belief that Sausage’s corruption began before he met Xornoth in Eastvale. His sorcery was risky, and held few safety measures. I imagine the results to be like a metaphysical strain or contusion; relatively minor, but an easy prelude to lasting complications. In addition, the summoning circle’s design, and the description of “cold” and “shadowy” spirit realms leads me to believe that Sausage found the fringes of Aeor and Exor’s realms, respectively, and caught the attention one attached to the latter of these two powers. Xornoth, being an opportunist, took the chance they had been given, before he even had the strength to be fully corporeal.

It doesn’t start that night by the gates of Eastvale. There’s not enough time for that.

Gem describes Sausage’s magic as ‘dark’. There’s a few ways we could take this, but I’ve found an interesting definition of dark magic in Empires SMP to be magic that is hungrier than usual. All magic leaves its marks on the caster, but dark magic devours. It’s not unlike a corruption of its own. The difference between a mutualistic symbiotic relationship and a parasitic one isn’t in their closeness. It’s that, ultimately, one side benefits at the other’s expense. Even before the demon, Sausage wasn’t exactly taking safety precautions with his sorcery. A perfect target. None of this is very cut and dry, but I don’t find it too hard to believe that it started to twist him. Fireblight infects its hosts through openings, especially injuries. Sausage’s experimentation with sorcery provided the perfect opening for Xornoth’s corruption to take root.

The summoning circle changed things. It was the first time his use of magic went from passive to active, using hazardous procedures and with limited experience. Sausage messed around with the nature of the universe without accounting for the nature of the universe messing with him. Before, his forays into magic don’t really affect him in ways that cannot be easily attributed to his baseline characterization. I do not believe that, if our ‘normal’ Sausage had been faced with the demon at the gates of Eastvale, he would have reacted the same way as the Sausage of episode nineteen. I don’t think that he would have been so easy for our demon to court. Sausage may not have thought of it as a big deal, or a betrayal, or anything that he couldn’t manage. That’s kind of the point.

You may be wondering how we can tell if his behavior in this arc, before meeting Xornoth, is due to his innate character reacting to the sudden availability of the pursuit of more advanced magic, or some subtle corruption, some spiritual mark. I’m certain that Sausage, too, would like to know the answer to that question. There’s no way to know for sure. But the thing about corruption is this: it finds its way to your heart, and there is where it grows, feasting on the worst parts of yourself. You will do things, and you will claim them as your own, because after all, they come from your very heart. Sausage needs no convincing to offer to kill the dragon and free the demon then threatening the life and home of one of his closest allies. His being, warped. Nothing new; only magnified. Helped along, by inches.

There’s no way to know for sure, but the results to me seem suggestive.

In episode twenty, Sausage does a few things of note. The first is take the title of Sorcerer Supreme, previously one of the authorities he consulted for approval before summoning Bubbles. Isn’t that interesting? A magical authority, separate and sought out, incorporated into his own name. Isn’t that an interesting thing to happen as his entanglement with dubious magical forces escalates? Isn’t that an interesting coincidence as he searches for ever greater magical power? A seeker of knowledge abruptly becomes its giver.

Secondly, Sausage subsequently makes his deal with Xornoth, forgetting all doubts as soon as Xornoth claims him as a friend. He furthermore, offers Gem and Jimmy protection from Xornoth in this same episode, and Gem at least finds his behavior markedly unusual and extremely offputting. He tells her about the demon, and his interest, although not the deal; Xornoth told him to keep it between them. He is still speaking with his own voice. He’s still acting within the framework of his own character. He’s not even free of doubts, or at least, not entirely.

It’s not inconceivable that Sausage would do this any of this own volition. But all together, I think it’s telling. By episode twenty, Sausage is being corrupted. And people are noticing. From other people’s perspectives, it’s obvious that something’s up. From his own, however, the creep is far more subtle.

I imagine he begins to show physical signs of corruption at about this time. Scrapes that don’t quite heal. Lumps and bumps that ache and sting and ooze with pressure. Black blisters, streaking beneath his skin. Nothing that can’t be covered up and denied. Nothing so great it can’t be ignored. It’s him, his choice. His own heart. He’ll tell you. He doubles down on his sorcery, in this period. Grows ever closer to the blood sheep and the demon. Is it corruption if it feels like himself?

He is being eaten. Cankers and galls and thoughts he can’t quite finish, routes he can’t quite take. He has always wanted; wanting is at the very core of his character. But the shape it takes is different, now; just a little. Twisted upon itself. If he notices, he doesn’t care.

Often, some types of parasites will hijack some aspect of the host organism’s behavior to serve their own needs. The host will act in ways that benefit the parasite, and may be completely alien to their own behavior and best interests. This is obvious from the outside. But from the inside, corruption is so hard to detect. Why shouldn’t you do this? Of course you would do such a thing; look, you’ve already started.

For context: all of this happens before Lizzie and Joel even get married.

So by this point, he’s already being eaten pretty rapidly. But the thing about corruption is that it feels like yourself. You are what you eat, after all; and he is like a cored and rotting apple, all worm-trails and bruises. It feels like himself, slippery sickness and all. He has yet to receive a single power. His alliances are crumbling. His body is starting to show the signs. All the harm to the host, all the benefit to the parasite. He does not waver. He is going to free Xornoth. He is going to kill the dragon. Of course he’s not corrupted. What a ridiculous idea!

There is no longer a clean line where Sausage ends and the corruption begins. There might never have been; but by this point, it is so deeply entrenched that I cannot imagine him even noticing as he grows ever more distant from his own self. I think you described it as dying a slow and horrible death while you can’t stop hearing the whispers? That’s pretty accurate for his case, too, with the caveat that he can’t even care. It’s just numb. He can’t feel the seams.

At about this point, Xornoth gives Sausage something called “Hive Corruption” via the summoning circle, which Sausage receives eagerly and delights in testing on a villager’s house—one that he, not so long ago, was so joyous to welcome his kidnapped librarians home into. He spreads the corruption without a thought. Why should he care if his people suffer? Why would that that a concern? Earlier, many of Sausage’s projects as king were for the glory, pride, and benefit of Mythland. People were fed and housed just as happily as mercenaries were directed into the heart of Pixandria. But of course, destroying part of his town is just him. Nothing out of the ordinary here. It’s his own heart. He wanted to learn magic. He wants to be more powerful than Gem. He will be more powerful than Gem, soon.

I can’t imagine the Hive Corruption being anything but a test. Xornoth likes tests; likes to see how far things can be twisted. It’s entertaining, for them, to watch people squirm and bend and lose their nature. I imagine that they were satisfied with the answers they received.

Xornoth is relatively subtle. It’s not possession; not yet. I imagine that actively directing a host’s actions requires much more effort and energy than eating them from the inside out. Xornoth still isn’t free. There’s not a lot of energy to spare. And why bother? Why bother, when the twisting and warping and stringing along is serving its purpose just fine, and getting Xornoth plenty to eat? Parasitism, after all, is a very successful strategy. So long as Sausage keeps willingly feeding them all that strength and vital energy… it’s a whole kingdom, effectively under their control, with a nice banquet to go alongside. A win-win.

Corruption is a parasite. Demons are corruption personified. You are what you eat. We will come back to this.

I could talk forever about this arc. But just around the corner is the Nether betrayal, and I can’t do justice to the topic of Sausage’s corruption without it.

I could talk about the lead up. I could talk about how, by this point, Sausage was convinced that his allies weren’t really his allies anymore; that his only real ally was Xornoth. I could talk about how fWhip and Gem grew ever more fearful of the same. But what I want most to mention is this: I believe the nether betrayal to be the first instance of outright possession in canon (not counting a few implied, brief instances earlier—like I said, Xornoth likes their tests). When Xornoth whispers in the nether, Sausage speaks only in echoes. Almost word for word, he parrots Xornoth. I highly recommend watching Sausage’s perspective of the battle; the degree to which he unthinkingly repeats and obeys is genuinely creepy. This is also the first time when Sausage actually receives special powers from Xornoth; further deepening Xornoth’s control over him in a way that doesn’t depend on direct corruption, solidifying Xornoth’s position as the single most important figure in Sausage’s life.

This, like the summoning circle, is a turning point. But his face is still his own. His voice is still his own. Xornoth whispers to him: he is special, he is strong, they’re betraying him, he should smite them with his sword. Xornoth whispers, and he obeys. It’s automatic. It’s unblinking. There’s not even a question in his mind. It’s not even his own heart by this point: it’s Xornoth’s. Why should it be otherwise?

Xornoth tells him to smite them with his sword. Sausage tells them: “I will smite you with my sword!”

His eyes are still blue. His face is still his own. His voice still sounds human. fWhip and Gem see his face, in that frantic, furious fight: it is utterly still. No leering grin, no wolfish snarl; no expression to match his voice. His face has never been still a day in his life, before. It’s like a death mask. It’s like a stranger. It’s like a shapeshifter stole it, wordless and alien and terrifying.

It doesn’t look like his own face, anymore, though the features all are his. Possession is active, costly, and so often pointless when you can twist and leech and rot instead. But I think Xornoth found it worthwhile in this instance.

Xornoth whispered; Sausage obeyed. This is the point of no return. This is the point where the distinctions stop mattering. This is how it ends: with a whisper. There is no Sausage without Xornoth. Who needs those other people? He has a better friend now. Xornoth told him so. Xornoth gave him special powers. Gem and fWhip are out to get him.

When the power fades, he doesn’t mind what he’s done. Why should he?

Rotten from the inside out. He’s not his own. He doesn’t care. He is being devoured; let’s say 60% of his soul is left uneaten. If you tried to exorcise him now, he probably would not survive.

He is dying. He does not care.

A thing about some behavior-changing parasites: the brain is left intact. Circumvented. Rendered irrelevant. So it is here, as well.

His face is still his own.

Of course, then the Dragon dies. This, too, changes things, but not much. He gets his powers, at long, long last. I imagine the blisters and cankers have popped, by now. I imagine his lymph nodes are swollen and dark. I imagine he aches all over. I imagine his hands tremble, when the strength recedes. I imagine it stings like lye in his veins. Animals fear him: he smells like death, not a human being. I imagine he, distantly, remembers his fear. But only distantly, for after all—the power is great, and isn’t his heart still his own? And if it’s Xornoth’s, it’s all the same. He still speaks with his own voice. He still looks at his reflection and sees his own face. Doesn’t he?

The powers he gains are a direct result of his physical corruption. Since corrupted tissues function more or less like normal, but with a connection to a whole network of power, it is fairly straightforward for Xornoth to leech some of the stolen vitality back into Sausage, making him faster and stronger. Of course, this is extremely deleterious to his health, and only hastens the rate of rot. When he is not being fed strength, he is therefore in even greater physical pain, and often has difficulty with physical tasks, due to rewired muscle memory and the extreme stress his body is under.

Of course, some of the vitality he’s fed for these powers was once his own. Never let it be said that the universe doesn’t have a sense of humor.

It is about this time that Sausage starts telling all and sundry that he is not possessed. He’s still in control. He made this deal of his own free will. Even if he fears—what then? What then? What friend does he have beyond Xornoth?

There are these scenes, now, where his mouse trembles on the screen. I imagine that it means something.

It is when he first loses himself that he truly remembers fear. His time is gone and his body is changing, and Pearl said he spoke without memory, with a voice that wasn’t his own, with words that weren’t his own—

Remember: corruption is what consumes. Demons are corruption personified. You are what you eat; and he is all but eaten away. And now we’re at the meat of the matter: the part I promised.

Demons form from active corruption. There is more of him that had been eaten than what which hadn’t. This is how demons are made. It’s not his heart, anymore. The corruption has a face, now: it has taken his. It has a voice: it has destroyed his. It has a name: it stole it from him, and called himself Supreme. Sausage is a side thought, now, a footnote, a thing drained almost dry. There is something else inside him, now, and it does not want to share. It grows, and with it, so does Sausage’s fear. But it’s too late for fear. There is nothing left of him. He knows this. And still, the power is great.

He does not remember his days, anymore. Later, they will be a void—blank, black, fleeting, fearing, doomed, deserving. He asked for this. He asked for this, of his own heart! It was his own heart, then, or at least, it felt like it. What’s the difference, in the end? He writes his will. He counts his days. He tracks the darkness and filth spreading beneath his skin. His eyes are still his own.

His face is still his own. And it is the face of a man who knows he’s dead.

He has his power, still. That is his doom: no one is strong enough to stand against him, anymore. He is sure of this. If there was, they could stop him. But here he remains.

The arena is the last day he remembers. His body’s destruction still lags behind the rest, but not by much. There’s nothing left of him intact. There is nothing the demon hasn’t touched. He doesn’t need to be twisted or possessed, anymore: he will do it all of his own heart, and laugh.

It isn’t his voice, anymore; nor his face. To the causal eye, Sausage looks like a different person, and a dying one at that. His eyes have burst from bleeding, and his hands are twisted black. There’s a pallor in his skin and a dullness in his eye. He’s lost weight; neither Xornoth nor Sausage Supreme think about eating when the corruption will sustain life, and when he is himself, he’s often too exhausted and in too much pain to even try. There is a gray-burning sludge oozing on his knuckles, staining his robes. He laughs, and laughs, and laughs. There is nothing left of the king of Mythland.

This is how demons are born. And he’ll play his role willingly.

Xornoth is shown as a vaguely humanoid figure, twisted beyond recognition, nothing left unblackened, nothing that has not burned. The same here, just not quite as far along.

And then, he fights with Gem. It turns out there is a speck of him left, in the end: just enough. The barest inch of him still existing. He asks for death, and dies in his own mind.

Like I wrote in my fic, Gem kills him accidentally, by ripping the corruption out. She thought it would save him. But the thing is, you can’t remove some parasites. They’ve grown too close to the host. Their lives are intertwined. There’s no way to separate them without killing the host. So: Gem uproots the corruption that had eaten itself replete on his soul, and Sausage dies.

The corruption, however, wasn’t destroyed. Ripped out with one staff, and sent away with the other—and Gem didn’t care where it went! She just wanted it gone.

I believe that Sausage Supreme is a demon: the corruption that consumed him, given solid form. It ate enough of Sausage to be able to survive the separation where Sausage couldn’t. It isn’t his ‘bad parts’, though that would be an easy mistake to make. He is what became of all of Sausage’s soul that got eaten, reshaped in his warped image; just barely recognizable. And he is not happy about this. He had everything! Power, life force to nourish him, things to corrupt, things to destroy. Now, he’s trapped in the void with nothing to do but hate. So hate he does.

Meanwhile, Sausage gets revived, barely.  Upon completion of his quest in the Spirit Realm, he is provided with enough vitality to return to his body and regrow the damaged and missing portions of his body and his soul. The process is not quite perfect; he is left with nothing missing, but nothing that was eaten is restored to exactly the way it was. Scar tissue. He wakes up sometime before his funeral starts, at least; he doesn’t remember when exactly, and who can blame him? Now we get to the fun part: he may have survived, but he has to live with being more scar than soul, with knowing what could be created from his own heart, with knowing that it felt like his own heart. And this has consequences! It changes him, in more ways than one.

Firstly, magic. His new powers, involving being essentially untethered from time and space, are a direct result of being devoured, ripped apart, and shoved back into life with a huge influx of raw power to keep him from just dying again due to the extent of his wounds. The common feature of all the magical skills he develops during the season’s final arc center around being somewhere he is not. We see this magnified  in season two, where, a thousand years and many lifetimes later, increasing exposure to magic starts fragmenting his presence and sending him to lives and times not his own. We see him both watch without any kind of physical presence (for instance, his view of Xornoth’s defeat) and interact with his surroundings in other worlds (such as ruining Rivendell in revenge for Scott hurting Gem). Ultimately, they and all inconsistencies in what he can and cannot do are rooted in the inherent instability of these powers, as they derive from the piecemeal nature of his death and revival. He died slowly, and was dragged back wrong. This lingers.

I suspect that all of the timeline nonsense and messy reincarnations that occur later are rooted in this: Sausage came back, but he did not come back whole. He is mentally, physically, and magically messed up, to the degree where it doesn’t really straighten itself out. Lifetimes later, he still feels the echoes, without knowing where they come from or why.

(Sausage’s death and subsequent visions have actually become the source for a lot of my headcanons about the nature of prophecy in Empires! To have visions of the past and future, all you need to do is weaken your connection to your current time. And what untethers like death and a not-quite-clean revival?)

Second among the impacts of Sausage’s death is the mental and physical scarring itself. He is not okay. He is so far from being okay. He is, quite literally, scarred for life. He can’t sleep. He can barely eat. He can barely walk for a while. He came back in better shape than he should have by rights, he knows that, but it doesn’t really feel like it.

Something I use from time to time is the idea that, in Mythland, the body is seen as an integral part of someone’s being. Sausage’s body is no longer one he recognizes. It’s not the fact of scars; it’s what they represent. Degradation. Downfall. Turning against everything he’d ever loved to get what he was sure he wanted. Sausage’s yearning had often somewhat ineffectual. There’s horror there, and disgust: this is what became of him when he finally got what he wanted.

Another element of this disgust is that dead bodies are often described as “corrupted flesh”; rotting and unrecognizable. He lived through the rotting of his own body, and then he died, and then he came back. Sausage at this point almost thinks of his body, and by extension, the rest of him, as a dead, hateful thing. Something that should have been put to rest, and is still wandering around in the broad daylight, worms and all.

There’s a lot of interesting medieval imagery about death and the pollution of the rotting corpse. Since it can get very graphic, I’m not going to go into too much detail here, but suffice it to say that all of that is running through Sausage’s head. Worms and all.

These scars are very distinctive, and cover most of his body. Since they are faintest on his face, and fashionable court dress involves high collars, long sleeves, and very little skin showing, many people don’t know the extent of his corruption.

The physical repercussions are more than aesthetic, as well. Exhaustion, lingering pain, and sensory disruption are part of it, as is retraining once-familiar tasks. Part of this is a direct result of having various tissues be eaten away and healed over; part of it stems more closely from the effect of his borrowed strength and speed. These powers put more stress on the body, and trained it in ways counterintuitive to healthy, long-term function independent of the corruption. I am not a physical therapist. I am not a doctor. But I do think that there would be a lot of work—usually hidden, somewhat shame-riddled work—needed for him to be able to comfortably do a lot of his usual tasks.

He has strong, visceral reactions to magic now, especially dark magic. It feels like it’s eating him alive again. That’s part of what keeps him from going back to his studies of magic, alongside his immense guilt and shame. It hurts to be near it sometimes. It’s just too much.

He has nightmares almost every night. Of what he’s done, and what has been done to him. He wishes he could wish they would not stop. Isn’t it only just that he suffer for what he has done? All the same, he tends his scars, and sleeps with the dogs (for they are warm and do not flinch away), and pretends he is at peace.

Sausage doesn’t remember being corrupted very clearly. He’s also got a boatload of trauma from this, and as time goes on I do think it develops into PTSD.

This leads us to the third thing he has to figure out after coming back: living with himself. Because you can bet that, by this point, Sausage absolutely hates himself, and his own stupid heart for leading him here. (It all felt like his own heart. Where does the corruption end? Where does he begin?) He doesn’t trust himself, anymore. He doesn’t know himself, anymore. If you thought he had issues before all of this, you should just see him now.

How does he even begin to keep going?

Just for fun, I imagine him finding some solidarity with other corruption survivors, if he can get over the guilt. There aren’t many of them, and he had the most severe case on record (you can bet he’s ending up in the textbooks for this). But the piglins and the people of the Crystal Cliffs especially had some survivors, and one way or another, he meets some of them. Just knowing that he’s not alone helps, I think. Seeing the same scars on someone else’s skin, and knowing that they lived, too.

Last of all, the conflict between Sausage and Sausage Supreme ends in season two with a duel where Sausage consumes the demon that ate his face, his name, his voice, and his being; the one that rotted him hollow, and left him scarred.

In the end, Sausage looks at the thing that ate him, and he eats it right back.

[heartlilith]

Hi if it’s not to much of a hassle can u talk about the themes of the 12th house profection year, specifically the age of 23? I’m an 8th house stellium so I think I’ll been good but I’ve just been reading things that make me nervous

Im in my 12th house profection year right now! Thankfully I'm almost done as my birthday is in August.

It really depends on the ruler of the 12th house, it's house placement in your natal chart, along with the aspects it makes. Also where the natal 12th house lord lands in your solar return chart and aspects to it as well. Say your 12th house lord is Jupiter, meaning you have Sagittarius in the 12th house. This year is likely to be more on the beneficial side because its Jupiter. But if your natal Jupiter is tied up with a lot of tight squares and oppositions, it could expand the negativity and problems, instead of being the positive Jupiter we all know and love.

If your 12th house is ruled by Pluto, we can agree that it's going to be a very transformational year, on top of the 12th house already being transformational. Everyone gets scared of Pluto and for good reason, anything can happen. All that's promised is you won't be the same when you come out of this profection year. Let's say Pluto, in whatever house it may be, is aspected well. It's mostly making trines and sextiles, maybe has one square and one conjunction (conjunctions can go either way as they amplify the energy). So for the most part it's fine. You could transform spiritually and come out of the year with a strong sense of oneness, religious/spiritual beliefs, you could go on a retreat and it could change your life. Change as well as death/rebirth isn't always a bad thing. It may start out "bad" but by the end of the year, you'll understand why it had to happen.

On its own, the 12th house profection year is a year where you will lose a lot. You could lose your job, friends, a relationship, yourself. 12th house year has a way of stripping everything from you that's even the slightest bit shaky, which can be very hard. 12th house also rules the unseen, everything we know is real but doesn't have a physical form so dreams, higher realms, "oneness", addictions. It also rules retreats, drugs/alcohol, hospitals, prison, philantrophy, spirituality, "wokeness", and deception/the hidden. All or some of these themes are going to show up for you, which shouldn't be too too bad since you have a lot of 8th house influence.

The benefits to the 12th house profection year is that it's getting you ready for the beginning of a new cycle, which starts with the 1st house (you, how you perceive the world, how you look) so it's getting you ready for a rebirth. You can't make room for new if you don't release the old. Don't hang on tight to anything, try to go with the flow as much as possible. You're at the end of this cycle now so you could even be getting revelations out of nowhere or gain a sense of clarity that you didn't have before. It's kind of hard to explain it to you, but you'll understand when you experience it.

Things to remember/advice: lean into spirituality, psychic powers, yoga, meditation, donate to charity, volunteer, be detached from outcomes, know that everything is happening for a reason even if you don't know the reason yet, nothing lasts forever (which is good and bad). Pay attention to your thoughts, start therapy, ask for help. Spend time in nature, practice good coping skills, no drugs alcohol or gambling, don't give in to addictive things because this is a year where those habits will form very quickly.

Hope this helps!

[jewishmcr]

I recently made the extremely difficult decision to leave my synagogue two months shy of completing my conversion requirements because I couldn’t continue to support a congregation that aligns itself with “liberal Zionism.” I’ve been working towards conversion for nearly two years and this decision has been weighing on me heavily since October. I wanted to share the email I sent to my rabbi, in the event that it resonates with or helps other people in some way (I have redacted information about the specific synagogue for privacy). I would love to hear from others pursuing conversion to Judaism who have experienced similar issues!

Dear Rabbi,

I’ve been putting a lot of thought into the conversation we had last week, and I appreciate the time you took to speak with me and help me think about next steps. I’ve spent countless hours over the past seven months interrogating my relationship to [synagogue], Judaism, and Zionism, and am devoted to continuing to pursue conversion to Judaism. Although I desperately wish to carry on and finish out the conversion process with [synagogue], I cannot continue to do so.

I acknowledge and deeply appreciate that [synagogue] takes the radical stance of wholeheartedly condemning the actions Israel has been taking against Palestinians, and that this opinion is extremely rare among synagogues. I am glad that [synagogue] continues to push for the dignified existence of Palestinians and the recognition of their right to exist in land that has long been their home. These stances give me much hope for the future of organized American Jewish life across the country, and I hope that [synagogue] will remain at the forefront of progressive Judaism. All of this being said, I refuse to compromise my own morals, those both personal and religious, for the sake of the convenience of completing my conversion quickly. Zionism, even “liberal” zionism, is a colonial project that has, from the very establishment of the state of Israel, resulted in the deaths, displacement, and torture of Palestinians. I cannot separate an idealized hypothetical version of zionism from its concrete reality. I do not believe that the Jewish people ever had an inherent right to occupy land by forcible displacement. I do not believe that the state of Israel had the right to be established in 1948. Especially considering that on May 15th, 1948, one day after the official establishment of Israel, the first Nakba began. The day that you and I spoke marked the 76th anniversary of this horrific event, something that weighed heavily on my mind during our conversation. It is also my belief that Israel should not continue to exist as a nation. This has been my belief for quite some time, but it has strengthened exponentially since October 7th.

I understand that many members of [synagogue], including possibly clergy, share these beliefs with me. I also understand that I would not feel content in my conversion if I carried it out in a synagogue that continues to ally itself with zionism in any form. The version of Judaism that I want to create for myself has no space for zionism in any capacity. I seek a Judaism that, in addition to condemning Israel as [synagogue] does, is anti-zionist in words, actions, and religious practices.

I am heartbroken to be leaving [synagogue], which has been providing me with a community of fellow LGBT Jews since I moved to [current city]. This is not a decision I am making lightly, nor is it a decision that I’m happy to be making. I do not know yet what the next steps of my journey will be, but unfortunately it will not include [synagogue]. Although I did not yet want to admit it, I knew this was my decision when you asked me towards the end of our conversation if I could see myself continuing to worship, celebrate, and mourn with the [synagogue] community if I were to continue pursuing conversion here. My answer, unfortunately, is no. My discomfort with [synagogue]’s treatment of the genocide in Palestine has already caused me to withdraw significantly from synagogue life, as well as from completing the conversion requirements. I have found it increasingly difficult to jump through the hoops when I have a strong moral opposition to [synagogue]’s identity as a liberal zionist congregation. This decision is particularly difficult for me because, as you said, I’m unlikely to find a congregation willing to openly condemn Israel any more than [synagogue] does. I remain optimistic that eventually, I will be able to complete my conversion of my own terms among a community that shares my anti-zionism stance.

I thank you, [rabbinical intern], and everyone else from the [synagogue] community who has been there for me over the past two years. I have learned much and gained invaluable perspectives during my time at [synagogue], all of which I will take with me as I continue on the path to conversion. I plan to reach out to [rabbinical intern] separately as well as share my decision with the rest of my gerut group.

Thank you for everything,

Oliver

[hupla222]

These Two

In coming giant rant about my theory. I just really like it is all. And I felt like compiling all my evidence so far (plus some new stuff). Let me know what you think!

I swear sometimes these sound the exact same at times, like the react the same way to certain things. Take for example, the idea that someone is just messing around:

They both have that very same "don't underestimate me/stop messing around" attitude (I know that quote isn't the same but the vibe is). Its like a reflex for these. Also look at this gem that I found trying to find that Amethio quote:

Like I swear their dialog is interchangeable sometimes. And this isn't even the first time I've noted this. In another post, I pointed out that they both have the same reaction to someone looking away from them. Please tell me I'm not crazy and there is a connection between these two because every time I see them I start seeing similarities. I've long held the belief that these two might be brothers (half or otherwise) and they way the two speak seems to support that. Like, they would've been raised in the same environment so it would make sense that they would see things the same way. Like, they both have that serious, "just get the job done attitude" and I don't think we've seen either of them smile.

(I'd talk about appearances but I already did that. Although I am noticing now in these two latest screenshot that they also have similar eye shapr, excluding the little...eyelashes(?) at the bottom of Amethio's eyes.)

Of course they have their differences of course, such as Amethio generally acting more reckless and Sidian generally acting more rationally. And while their battling styles are similar (hit hard, defend when necessary), they finish in different ways. Amethio generally just wants to win and Sidian generally wants his opponent to give up before he wins, a dynamic I can see as being a product of being forced to battle each other frequently. And just the way they act, with Sidian trying to act more mature than he really is and Amethio letting his more teen side show, is reminiscent of the "ignored first child" and "golden second child" dynamic, which I think would be interesting. Give Amethio his Zuko arc when he's really Azula.

Would also be a neat reason why Sidian seems to dislike Zirc and Onia (if their fear of him is anything to go by). I'd be mad too if I was pushed my entire life to be a good role model for my little brother only to be replaced. I don't think Amethio cares though, seeing as he barely acknowledges Sidian's existence. I think their relationship is more than a little rocky.

And wouldn't that be an interesting motivation for Sidian: trying desperately to even be acknowledged by someone who deemed him a failure from the minute his brother was born, made all the more tragic considering it seems people don't even remember his name. I could see it being that Gibeon only keeps him around because his seemingly unflappable loyalty makes him a good drone. Poor thing.

Additional Thought: Plus that whole bit in episode 57 with the Charcadet and the Nacli felt too specific to be a coincidence. It was practically telling us there's a connection.

[lover-of-mine]

You don't have to answer this question at all if it's too personal . I won't feel bad. I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect. I'm agnostic and wasn't raised in any religion. I don't even know really anyone who practices Catholicism. The only thing I can interpret from my friends who are Christian is its definitely, harsher??? Values ingrained in them. I was wondering if you were raised religious and had to battle being queer vs any pre conceived notions you held or your family may have. I swear you said something once about Nuns crossing themselves when they passed you for having colored hair? Sorry if I'm wrong on that. I just feel like if they are doing this they are really doing it and what a story of deconstructing yourself might look like.

Okay, this is a complicated question. I was raised religious and for all intents and purposes, I still am, but while I am christian, I was never catholic. I was raised with spiritism as a belief and they are a lot more open to stuff than different churches. The experience I had with catholic people telling me stuff like being queer is wrong was in school, because my city is very catholic and because we had a religious study class that was mandatory and the teacher was very Sunday school type vibes even though it wasn't supposed to be a catholic leaning class, but at that point I was old enough to push back, so I was constantly fighting my teacher. I'm not out to my family because while my parents never had a problem with queer people, my dad has made some comments about bisexual people that make me scared even tho they weren't fully bigoted, it's just boomer talk, being ignorant, and, honestly, I think he knows and he's waiting for me to say something because there was a situation with one of my cousins a few years back that got me really heated because her side of the family is very religious, and she's some shade of queer and people kept using religion against her, and my dad suddenly started talking about acceptance and stuff like that while supporting how frustrated I was with my uncle, but honestly, at this point I'm kinda settled into only coming out to them if there's a girl I want them to meet. I did go to university in a very religious city and I had to deal with multiple people commenting on my appearance, specifically colorful hair, the nun thing did happen, I had blue hair and I was wearing a shirt that had a cross made of skulls, they didn't like that, but I've had people tell I'm not getting into heaven and my sin was pink hair. I can't really help with this particular aspect because my struggle with being bi was never about someone telling me that loving women is wrong, it was always I do like men, so I just thought people felt that way about everybody. I fully kissed another girl and didn't accept I was bi until like, 3 years later lol. I will say that catholicism as a whole is very engrained into latino culture, and I did experience that adjacently, the whole being gay is a sin thing, but since in my house I didn't have that, I pushed back, I pushed back enough that my whole school believed I was a lesbian by the time I hit highschool (I grew up in a small town, everyone knows everyone)

Now, applying the whole thing to Eddie, I think with the way that Eddie talks about religious pressure defining some steps he took with his life, deconstructing his relationship with religion and the concept of God would be important for him to fully accept himself if that's where they're going. Mostly because I think he needs to confront the way he views the works and when you grow up religious, it does affect the way you look at things even if you don't believe that religion anymore. But I don't think I can give anything more insightful given the way I don't know how it feels like to experience catholicism the way Eddie does. I do believe that Eddie finding himself does mean Eddie accepting he is some shade of queer, and since they touched on the whole catholic guilt last season, that's a good way to force him to accept that there's nothing wrong with him, but it's more about the way I watched people go through similar stuff, not any personal experience.