#but it's not any deep level of religious devotion

[thr4ce]

thinks... a lot... about how kara's two primary deities/lords are artemis and aphrodite. thinks about how she engages most often with the lady of the hunt. how she probably prays to artemis every single time she's in the tubes, if only in a casual/cursory way. may my arrow strike true.

[elysiansparadise]

Hello, my beautiful and brilliant sunshine!

Could you please do an interpretation of Jupiter in 12H. I have this placement. Thank you.

Have a lovely day! ❤️

Hello love! Sure, I can tell you about that placement. Lovely day ahead for you too. ❤️

Jupiter in the 12th house

These natives find a lot of relief, growth and healing by being alone, which is precisely why they choose to isolate themselves when there is a lot on their shoulders or a lot of stress going on in their lives. They have this old mind in young shoulders vibe, a mix of joviality and charm with hints of wisdom and compassion. They are not only very empathetic people but receptive to the energies of those around them. They have that quality of changing the vibe of a room by entering it, as well as reading between the lines of the other's small comments or behaviors. Throughout their lives, the most important journey they immerse themselves in is the journey within themselves, exploring themselves at a deep level, questioning deep and not so superficial matters. They are kind people with a very generous heart, especially with those they call friends. Their altruism and empathy can lead them to be very successful. They tend to care more about the common good, sometimes even before their own good [especially with tense aspects]. They have the tendency to give a lot of themselves in a selfless way, which can attract people who take advantage or intend to take advantage.

Many of these people are very focused and devoted to their beliefs, whether religious, spiritual or any other nature. Sticking to their ideals, they dream big and can be introverted and creative since childhood. They are very tolerant of people and, even without meaning to, they make others feel very good, either by listening to them or simply not judging them. People can get attached to them quickly and tell them those things that they don't talk about easily. They usually play the role of teacher, mentor or guide for many people around them, as people rely on them when they need support or advice. Jupiter in this house plays a protective role in the lives of the natives, since being the house of enemies, it will ensure that the natives always emerge victorious from any situation, whether they are aware of it or not. They may have a tendency to attract people who want to absorb their good energy, so it is crucial that they cleanse their energy and environments. The truth is always presented to them in one way or another and they are highly protected.

This is one of the places of resilience par excellence, because in the face of the various problems or difficulties they experience at the beginning of their lives, these natives are reborn and re-emerge stronger than ever. They know how to get ahead both with others at their side and on their own. Being in its domicile, Jupiter can present its best qualities, from the previously mentioned wisdom, to psychic, artistic or social abilities. They usually attract a lot of luck, recognition and appreciation easily. This astrological position favors foreign travel, increasing the chances that natives will explore distant lands or feel attracted to them. There is likely a specific culture or country that they feel connected to. These natives have a lot of positive karma from other lives and will be gifted with gifts, skills that they worked on in other lives or simply with that feeling of having luck on their side.

-> Go back to the masterlist

[thethiefandtheairbender]

as a lifelong ATLA fan who narrowly had ATLA dethroned as my top show by The Dragon Prince steadily over the past 5 years, the similarities between the two have very little to do with the surface level parallels that get regularly drawn between them.

Like ATLA, TDP has Books for seasons and chapters for episodes, but unlike ATLA, which only touched on storytelling sparingly as a theme, TDP is obsessed with interrogating storytelling and history and the presence of unreliable, biased narrators throughout many of its episodes (most notably 2x05, 2x06, 3x06, 4x04, and 4x07 among them). Half of what you learn in the 1x01 intro ends up being a lie once you reach S3, with more being steadily deciphered.

Yes, TDP has different magics with people living under those umbrella terms... for the elves. Humans are coming culturally at things from a completely different angle, and the elves' connection to their primal sources are discussed philosophically in detail, informing their practices and their culture first hand, including the way they chafe against humans, who are arcanum-less. Many animals in the world are also connected to magic, which influences both their design and which ones get hunted for humans' more 'clever' solution in dark magic, including each other.

The core issue of the Puppetmaster, down to being a coercive magic formed by someone deeply resentful of their imprisonment? Said puppetmaster is the main endgame antagonist of the entire show with all of S4 onwards being exploring the ethics of controlling people against their will in various methods, and the entire show itself being a thematic battleground of fate (imprisonment) vs free will for virtually every single character.

Where ATLA mostly concerns itself timeline wise with ending the war, very little thought is shown by any of the characters as to what they'll do after the war. This isn't a problem (as it reflects the sheer domineering scope of the conflict) but even Zuko being firelord is only ever really addressed with 2.5 episodes left till the finale. TDP, meanwhile, ends its 'war' in s3 and s4 opens up with dealing with the old wounds festering between people with centuries of history, the struggles that come when people aren't able to let go and believe they're safe or mourn in a healthy manner, and the religious/cultural clashes that may occur when trying to integrate different groups of people.

TDP also has an evil father with a devoted daughter and a brother who eventually defects, but it explores the reality of an abusive parent who loves/will sacrifice for you and your right to leave regardless, even if that means leaving the sibling you truly deeply love and who loves you in turn. Which means that when you and your sibling are on opposite sides of a deep ideological conflict, it actually really fucking hurts bc we've seen first hand just how much they love each other and also how and why everything fell apart not in spite of that love necessarily, but also because of it.

Is this to say that TDP is a 1:1 with ATLA or that it's better? No, not at all, and the latter is subjective. I prefer TDP, but I think they're about on equal ground when you look at each show currently as a whole (although TDP has two seasons left to go).

But TDP takes a lot of what ATLA was doing thematically with some of its most interesting beats and then builds or expands upon them further. It talks further and more consistently about the cycles of violence; in many ways, Jack De Sena's character, Callum, begins the series largely where Sokka had ended (and he's not the most like Sokka anyway; very much his own thing); we get Faustian bargains and centuries' long grief and fucked up people who are trying both succeeding and failing at not doing fucked up things. There are antagonists, but it is very hard to actually label anyone at this point a straight up villain. Moral greyness is where the show starts, and it just continues from there.

That's not to say the show is nothing but dark and depressing - like ATLA, there's a steady thread of hope and humour even as the show gets steadily closer and closer to its 11th hour point - but the show is usually emotionally heavier. There's more blood and potentially disturbing imagery with body horror and on screen death. There's so much foreshadowing you basically can't go more than 5 minutes into any episode without having something that's going to come back around or be referenced again like 3-5 seasons later.

Just to be clear - TDP is like ATLA, but it's like ATLA in interesting ways beyond the more shallow surface level that usually gets attributed to it, while still very much being its own show and its own thing. And that is why I tend to recommend it to people who like ATLA.

Thank you and goodnight

(Also, the fandom doesn't have any ship wars, and the show is queer as fuck)

[damiraeweek-damiraeevents]

DamiRae Week 24: Degrees of love

As with every year, we’re devoting an upcoming week to celebrate DamiRae and show off the glorious level of talent in our fandom. It’s been four years since our ship became canon in the DCAMU, and we aren’t slowing down.

Romance has a significant presence in Arabic writings, poetry, language, and art. Given Damian Wayne’s often underplayed and underrepresented heritage, we wanted to find a way to incorporate it into this particular fandom celebration. And so, we present this year’s theme:

✨The Degrees of Love in the Arabic Language✨

How to participate?

We wanted to do something special this year to bolster our little community and give people a chance to shine together. We all love a good collaboration, so this year’s dynamic will be:

Match made in heaven

While not mandatory, we’ll be helping to pair up any interested artists and writers whose themes intersect or overlap. Whether it be a story with accompanying fanart, or multiple writers and artists working together on a single piece, we’re truly excited to see what people can come up with when they put their heads together.

Without further adieu, here are the Degrees of Love you have to choose from!

Al meel - Liking/interest

This word is used to describe a fondness or penchant for someone, and can describe the early stages of someone falling in love. It is similar to the word hawa, which is used when someone begins to become more inclined towards a romantic interest. A functional English equivalent can be "to have a crush on someone" - a feeling that can be fleeting and may change over time.

Al khala - Deep friendship

This term is commonly used in religious texts and denotes a strong companionship. Al-khala is the feeling someone shares with someone they have a lot in common with, have a fondness for, and see in a positive light. The person will have a good influence on them, and there will be a strong rapport and loyalty between the pair.

Al shagaf - Infatuation

When love starts to have a physical impact on a person, it can be described as a state of infatuation. This stage causes the lover distress and difficulty, as they can’t be away from their beloved. Usually, when someone is at this stage of love, they are willing to compromise on anything for the one they love, regardless of the consequences.

Al eshq - Passionate love

This particular word features very heavily in songs and poetry and the direct translation of the word is "to be nested in". The stage of love can be described as a state of adoration, where the person is overcome with feelings of desire. This form may involve some form of intimacy, and typically the couple will be inseparable.

Al taym - Bewitchment

Similar to a type of love called al walah, meaning an absurd fondness or bewitchment, this kind of love is considered to be so intense, it is likened to becoming insane. With this intensity of love, the thoughts of the person in love will be completely preoccupied with their beloved. The intense feelings will cloud the person’s mind, leaving them unable to function properly.

Al luw’aa - Anguish

There are some expressions of love that are synonymous with pain, and describe how a lover feels without their beloved. A similar word is al shaju, which means grief, or sababa, which comes from the Arabic word for injury. The word describes the figurative act of spilling blood from one’s heart.

Al tadleeh - Disorder or enslavement

Tadleeh loosely resembles a disorder and comes from the word madlah, which means unable to pay attention.

This degree of love denotes a love so intense and strong that the lover's heart is no longer theirs and becomes a slave to their beloved. They can not free themselves of this love or let go of the person.

Controlling emotions becomes difficult, and the heart feels as though it totally belongs to the beloved. If this is where you find yourself, you are at a place where you are no longer yourself, as you have been fully consumed by your love. People in this stage of love can no longer focus on anything else and are left in a state of disarray and confusion.

Al sahd - Insomnia

At this point, the person has already become too attached to their beloved, and they cannot be without them or think of themselves without the other person. Their thoughts are completely preoccupied by the one they love, to the point that it causes them pain. Like another degree of love, jawa, which is a burning love similar to a heartburn, this degree of love has a physical impact on the lover.

Al istikana - Submission

This degree of love is often described as unhealthy, as it leads a person to a state of blind submission to the one they love. At this stage, one sees the other as almost perfect, with no faults. It can cause someone to overlook any issues or mistakes. In relationships, it can lead to someone being blindly obedient to the other, seeking their affection and approval unquestioningly.

Al huyaam - Madness

One of the most intense degrees of love, huyaam plunges a person into a state of insanity. At this point, a lover has lost all sense of reason and rationality. Containing elements of obsessiveness, this type of love can cause a person to act unusually and do things that are not typical of their personality because of how blinded by passion they are.

Next Sunday we will share a quick survey for anyone interested in collaborating so you can let us know your chosen degree of love and whatever specific idea you may have for bringing it to life. We’ll use that information to pair up anyone interested in collaborating. We will also choose the date to our lovely event, so stay tuned and don't hesitate on DM us if you have any questions!

[the-goya-jerker]

do you have any thoughts on nine inch nails/their song “closer” and the music video for it?

to preface: i am autistic and nine inch nails is a special interest for me. “closer” has a deeper meaning than “the sex song” and is part of a big concept album, and i genuinely think trent reznor is a great artist & director, but people brush off his music/videos because it’s “just” sexual or controversially erotic. well, like klimt or whoever said, all art is erotic!! everything has value no matter what part of your brain it is appealing to. the-goya-jerker dot tumblr dot com i think you are the only guy who actually understands this. you dont have to agree with me i just respect how you view art from the perspective of a nine inch nails fan

Thank you for bringing your special interest to me, dear stranger. I am a king, presented a beautiful gift on a velvet cushion. A princess being given the dearest of unicorn foals to nurture here.

I never knew that The Downward Spiral was a concept album. (My music knowledge tends to be broad and shallow over narrow and deep, y'know?). I knew a few songs (The Only Time is a personal fave) but I didn't know much about the band.

So, just as an overview of the album it's about the narrator's titular downward spiral. Wikipedia lists the themes as: "religion, dehumanization, violence, disease, society, drugs, sex, and finally, suicide."

Just looking at Closer, it's not hard to see why people think of it as a "sex song", honestly. But much like a lot of popular art, I encourage the audience to really listen to the lyrics here, to examine it in a different way.

The backing track (hiiii Iggy Pop! Iggy Pop cameo here!!) has a strong rhythm. The breathy vocals add to the sexual feeling of the song. The lyrics are, on a surface level, talking about sex. But there's some pretty loaded language included. The narrator doesn't just use your typical words like making love or fucking. He "desecrates" he "violates" he "uses". The use of the phrase "I wanna fuck you like an animal" isn't about the intensity, it's about self-degradation.

I think a pretty fair general interpretation (and do come correct me if you think otherwise anon!) is that the narrator wants to escape himself, his flaws, his self loathing, by having sex with people. He wants to be someone else.

This isn't a song about just having sex, this is a song about hating yourself so much that sex feels like it must be degrading for the other person just because it's with you.

There's also some things going on with religion and sexuality here. Sex is a desecration of the partner, it is making them worse, it is using them. But also there's this desperate devotion to this person. The way he says "You make me perfect / Help me become somebody else", the constant pleas for help dispersed throughout, even the section where he offers up himself entirely... it feels like borderline religious devotion. But this contrasts against the desecration in a way that's very fascinating to me.

As a review? I give this a 9/10. It's erotic, but not in the way most people assume. The devotion and degradation as constant themes really sell it. The religious themes add to it wonderfully. And I love to hear a man beg.

The only reason it's not 10/10 is because I know Closer to God (the reworking of this track) gets that honor. I think it just elevates the track even more when the two are presented side by side, and for me Closer to God wins out. The more staticky track is really right up my alley (I enjoy the more industrial and distorted sound of it).

In the end though, both feel transcendentally erotic in their own way.

The songs in question for anyone who wants them:

[weyounthevorta]

EDIT: Check out the newer version here, which has juicy new spicy content and two new characters (Harriman Gray and the Captain)

I saw something similar posted by @undeadgayboynes and was inspired to create my own. Which Combs character would you date?

Thy’lek Shran (Star Trek Enterprise)

‪Pros: Strong sense of justice, good at what he does, sexy, energetic. He’ll fight for what’s right and he’ll protect you with his life. He has a soft side and he’s not afraid to show it.‬

Cons: Hotheaded, a bit rash.

Anton Mordrid (Doctor Mordrid)

Pros: Fights evil, lives a quiet life. Financially stable. Has a romantic streak. Is an all around sweet guy who will bring you breakfast in bed and read to you. He teaches you wizardry.

Cons: Absolutely tragic sense of style.

Chaz (Dead Man Walking)

Pros: Is objectively very cute. He’d risk his life for yours without question. He works past his fear to achieve his goals. No doubt a snuggler big on showing affection.

Cons: Is a bit whiney, possibly has the plague. Tragic taste in nicknames.

Crawford Tillinghast (From Beyond)

Pros: Brilliant scientist and inventor. Submissive and sweet. Romance with him would be chaste and old fashioned. He’d do his best to keep you safe. Cute little guy in a big sweater.

Cons: Sexually repressed. A bad luck magnet. Despite his best efforts, trouble finds him.

Andrew Paris (Phantom Empire)

Pros: Strong sex appeal. Wears the tightest pants in existence. He wouldn’t object to spontaneous adventures. A relationship with him would be impulsive and quirky.

Cons: Any girl who flirts with him is a legit threat. He’s a slutty, wanton little strumpet.

Bill Knight (Felony)

Pros: Handsome, charismatic crime fighter. Eager to hop in bed with you if you show a smidgeon of kindness toward him. He whimpers very prettily. He’s quick and agile.

Cons: He is a total hazard. You’re in the line of fire if you hang with him. He may break into your house. He’s flown through an absurd number of windows.

D-Day (Fortress)

Pros: Adorable, good with machines. There’s kindness in him. He will risk his life for his friends. A relationship with him would consist of tentative, shy, and guarded advances.

Cons: He is easily led into dangerous situations. He needs a dentist. Hes in jail.

Weyoun (Star Trek Deep Space 9)

Pros: Ethereal. Obscenely sexy. Knows what he wants and how to get it. If he chooses to be devoted to you, he’ll be loyal unto death. Loves to have fun, and loves to tease. Kinky.

Cons: Religious nut. Can’t appreciate art, food, and many simple pleasures. Manipulative.

John Reilly (Castle Freak)

Pros: Handsome DILF. He wants to improve his life. Repentant of his sins, affectionate.

Cons: Touch starved, desperate, directionless, alcoholic, and when he falls off the wagon he falls all the way off. He also comes from a family of lunatics so there’s that.

James Wilkins (Hunter S07E13)

Pros: Sensual as fuck. Life with him would be a roller coaster ride of sex and danger. Tattoos, leather, fast cars, and he can’t keep his hands off you.

Cons: He’s a thief and a murderer. He’s attracted to women more dangerous than he is.

Milton Dammers (The Frighteners)

Pros: Once upon a time he was probably a sweet guy. He wants to rid the world of evil so desperately that he’s sacrificed his own sanity to do it.

Cons: He’s a broken man. He’s completely lost his grip on reality. He’s scarred, scared, troubled, and no you can’t fix him.

Herbert West (Reanimator)

Pros: Definitely handsome. On some level he wants to do something great for humankind. He’s capable of affection in his own bizzare way. Life with him would certainly never be dull. Despite his abrasiveness he’s got an undeniable magnetism.

Cons: Morals? Never heard of ‘em. Healthy boundaries are a non starter. His definition of intimacy likely won’t be aligned with yours. He will latch onto you like the codependent, murderous, evil little gremlin he is until one or both of you is dead or in jail.

[operationslipperypuppet]

the thing about fig and ankarna, that seems to go unmentioned, is that emily is never going to play straight up and down worship.

fig isn’t concerned with bringing ankarna back - that’s not her bag, it never will be, and emily is so cognizant of wanting stories to feel different (to the point where she didn’t pursue a pc romance in naddpod’s campaign one, even when she knew both in and out of character that her character’s feelings were requited, because a romance story was already being told by the third pc) that she wouldn’t want fig to tell the same story kristen did in fhsy.

i think this lack of worship is best exemplified with how emily’s other pcs deal with and have relationships to gods, but this got incredibly long so the rest is under the cut.

to briefly talk about emily pcs and religion in general, there’s never a straight worship happening. alongside saccharina’s cleric status, emily has played 2 clerics and a paladin in naddpod, as well as a druid with deep religious ties. i’m going to talk about those since i’m the most familiar with them.

i’ll actually start with saccharina, since this arguably a post about dimension 20. her cleric levels aren’t at all about worship, certainly not of the whole of the sweetening path (she was the one who wanted to kill the sugar plum fairy, and would have, but essentially let ruby), they’re about defiance. defiance of the nuns who raised and abused her. defiance of the mother who left her behind. defiance of the father who never came to find her, who never knew she existed, who pushed her mother aside to become king of candia and join the concord. the sweetening path exists as a separate entity and act of defiance to the bulbian church, the thing at the center of the existence of the concord. her use of that magic and those abilities is about controlling and directing her innate magic, embracing the storm within. it’s not about worship of an entity.

the two other clerics were tied to actual gods, the trickster and the elder, but aren’t concerned with worship in the slightest. fia’s ties to the trickster are from being a blade (organization with ties to the god to protect people from undead and solve mysteries regarding fairies and pertaining to the gods), from being saved and partially raised by a blade, from being raised in a place that was essentially a cult of the reaper (the third god, much more concerned with death than the other two) and nearly being a sacrifice to the reaper before being rescued, and from seeing trickster magic in her girlhood friend. the actual power she gets is more about the ties she has to irina, and she actually ends the campaign quite angry at the gods and fixing their mistakes. tarragon is a little different, and the most tied to an actual god of any emily pc i’ve seen. she becomes a cleric to repent for being a soldier who was experimented on and used by people in power, to make up for the killing she did in her youth, the razing she did as a dragon warrior. at the end of her arc, she isn’t as tied to the ideals of repentance and order and peace. she’s devoted herself back to her friends. and realized that she can do these things without involvement in the cult-like following the elder has in town.

the we come to calliope, the paladin. she is not sworn to a god. she’s an oath of redemption paladin of the serpent queen (and a little bit oberon if you think about it). she’s using her power and position to attempt to help redeem her mother’s memory, but also to change the path oberon set for the world. a prophecy is coming true that was set before the world got complicated. she’s less concerned with swearing herself to the powers that be and more concerned with helping the serpents themselves, making sure they are not being used by the wrong people, keeping them from harm. she’s worshipping no one. she’s helping the helpless.

then, finally, moonshine. i could write thousands of words on moonshine cybin, so i’ll stick to one or two things. her ties to melora are important to her. she does, in fact, pray to her god, especially in times when she’s feeling conflicted. but she also gets angry at melora. she hates melora’s neutrality, she yells into the sky at melora on more than one occasion, and she all but loses her faith in shadowfell. but she comes back. and when melora needs her most, she reaches out a hand to heal her, brings melora’s long lost friend in to help, and saves the world by healing the heart. she lets this god be complicated. she recognizes the human nature of her. they’re allowed to be flawed, but she’s also allowed to call it out.

fig as a paladin is no different from all these other examples. if you look closely, you can absolutely feel how fig and moonshine were created by the same person around the same time, and callie’s recentering on her paladin self happened shortly before junior year was filmed, so you can look at those things as connected. fig decided to become a paladin to help kristen, to help cassandra. not because she believes simply in the power and clarity of doubt. (the point made there by porter and zara about that not feeling like fig was fine, but that’s not how they should have said it, especially to a student who just made this choice). she’s doing this to help her friends. she took healing word so they’d go down less. she moved from whispers to lore and made it so she could do more support (counterspell, cutting words, etc). hell, her being a hexblade is so there are more people capable of melee combat.

protecting ankarna’s domain doesn’t change how fig sees herself as a paladin. it isn’t going to make her (or emily) want to move to a straight up “i pray to this god and get my spells”, cut and dry, type of paladin. she’s not going to put herself on the line and be the first follower of ankarna. but she’ll see a hurt entity for what it is, recognize the humanity of that, and do what she feels will acknowledge it.

she’s not removing the restraints placed when this god died. but she’s opening a door 1000 miles from it, for if ankarna is ever ready or able to walk through.

[andrewuttaro]

What the Holy Rosary tells us about worshipping God

Honesty is the best policy. To be very honest: I felt like the Holy Rosary was something only Grandmas do until I was a full-blown adult. My grandma prayed the Rosary, but my family was only anecdotally religious growing up, so the practice was never something I learned in any great depth. That is not to mention even as a child I realized it required a level of repetition, and therefore focus, which I would scarcely possess until adulthood.

Something changed in college as I went on service trips and retreats. While I had also done both those things in my High School Youth Ministry there was a whole different vibe to that in college. In college everyone is there by their own free will, no parents dropped them off threateningly, at worst someone was dragged on retreat by a friend. But there was more to it than that. Some of these trips exposed me to religious for the first time, that is Nuns, Monks, and even an odd oblate here or there.

To be exposed to people who prayed as if it wasn’t a chore allowed me to move outside my previous, very exclusively conversational way of praying. Conversational prayer isn’t inferior, I still do that daily as well, but rote, that is recited or scripted prayer, hit me differently as a college student. Allow me to be frank: I had now realized my very hyperactive, autistic brain, had found a use for repetitive prayer. The “calming of the monkey mind” as the Buddha put it.

Seventy years ago the Rosary was the undisputed centerpiece of Catholic devotional life. This was in no small part because Catholics did not have the Mass in their native languages before the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). That meant that if you wanted to be pious or feel closer to God at Mass before communion then you probably wanted to have some kind of prayer routine. That generation had the Rosary at the center of their devotional life as a result. My own grandmother gave me her mother’s Rosary which dates back to this period (forgive me for showing it off in the thumbnail). October has the Rosary as its monthly Catholic devotion.

Perhaps such a widely known devotion, easily still the most recognizable, distinctly Catholic devotion in our culture, needs a month of focus just to remember what it’s all about. I say that because even when I first picked up praying the rosary in college it didn’t stick, and I have never approached daily rosary reciting like the hardcore folks do. Nonetheless the practice has grown on me more than anything else in the intervening years.

The Rosary is so rich in the mystery of the faith that it reorients you to what faith is in the first place and why we worship the God we do at all. Put another way, the Rosary tells us something about how we ought to worship God. Yes, on the surface its repetition does wonders for the hyperactive mind; but the deeper you go the more you encounter the life-giving stuff the story of our faith is made of. Mystery is one word to use for this, the word that I think gets the point across better in English is peace. Just as mystery is an opportunity for faith, so too is the Rosary an opportunity for deep, spiritual peace.

A brief history of praying unceasingly

Long before anyone knew what a Rosary is there was the fundamental Christian call to “pray without ceasing” (1st Thessalonians 5:17). Echoing the practice of Jesus who frequently both prayed communally with his apostles and privately when he withdrew from them; this is taken as something of a command of the New Testament if not an overarching theme of the whole bible for a holy life (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2742-2745). How this call to unceasing prayer has been answered is an interesting prism through which to view the history of the Church.

You could say prayer was the unceasing practice of the Church as early as the first Christian communities in the book of Acts who persisted in breaking bread and praying together (Acts 2:42). The breaking of the bread was the Mass, and the praying together certainly involved rote prayers in addition to conversational prayer. These practices undoubtedly involved recounting their articles of faith in Jesus Christ and making petitions and intercessions in prayer. While further systematization would come, prayer was this constant practice of faithful Christians from the start.

The great third century scholar Origen equated the fundamental call of prayer to action when he wrote: “He ‘prays without ceasing’ who unites prayer to works and good works to prayer. Only in this way can we consider as realizable the principle of praying without ceasing.” As monasticism developed, first in the Near East and later in Western Europe, the call was answered with the classic eight fixed times a day when psalms, scriptures and other prayers were recited. The formalization of the Canonical Hours, better known as the Liturgy of the Hours or simply the Breviary today, occurred sometime in the early middle ages.

Think of the breviary as a daily devotional book with a little bit of everything prayed multiple times daily. This would be, theoretically at least, the constant prayer of the whole Church for a time. But the Church is a big place with a lot of different people and vocations.

By the sixteenth century revisions to the breviary were needed. As with the Mass and other liturgies, clerics will tell you many rote devotions grab onto the regular prayers of the church like barnacles onto the hull of a ship. Things had gotten unwieldly. Many priests, those who are mandated by their ordination to pray the Breviary, had fallen out of the practice which had long been their answer to the fundamental call. Though the Council of Trent successfully reformed the breviary to the point it was not changed significantly again until the 1960s, there were other prayer practices that were growing throughout the history of the Church.

Call it the Holy Spirit, there were always common ways to pray unceasingly. The Breviary had long been inaccessible to the illiterate masses. Knotted prayer ropes date back to the first centuries of the faith. The monks of the east, also known as the Desert Fathers, would use them to keep track of praying the 150 Psalms or just the Jesus Prayer (More on that gem later). Such rote, repetitive prayer styles evolved and changed based on who was praying them where and for what purpose. By the thirteenth century there existed a folk practice of praying 50-150 Ave Marias (AKA Hail Marys). It was here when St. Dominic comes into the picture.

In the year 1208, Dominic was praying and experienced a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the story goes. In this vision Dominic is given the Holy Rosary as a way to pray the central mysteries of the life of Jesus Christ as if with Mary herself. We Catholics see Mary as the central figure of the Communion of Saints which means we can think of her as something like the greatest pray-er out there, our greatest intercessor before God’s throne. It is like calling her the captain of the all-star team in a way. If the Saints are good at praying than she is their Great One. I have at least three other articles at this point about the Blessed Mother so by all means learn more and draw nearer to our Sacred Mommy.

Anyway, the Holy Rosary became the central devotion of the Order of Preachers (Dominican Order of Priests) which St. Dominic founded. The devotion was widespread by the end of the century and became exceedingly commonplace to the point that in 1569 Pope St Pius V (p. 1566-1572) made it an official devotion of the Church. At that point it had grown so popular that there were secondary and tertiary devotions built around the Rosary like Our Lady of Victory which commemorated a naval victory over an Ottoman fleet. It is difficult to call to mind a prayer technique outside of those explicitly spelled out in the New Testament that have reached the level of universal adoption the Rosary has.

Pope Leo XIII (p. 1878-1903) probably put the simple grandeur of it best when he said the rosary is how devotees accompany Mary in her contemplation of Christ. The more you think about Mary’s relationship with her son the more that affects you. Pope St. Leo XIII was the pontiff who instituted the custom of praying the rosary daily during the month of October. At that point in history this would have been like telling people to spend at least an hour a day on their cell phone to we moderns. People already did it quite a bit.

The Rosary historically had three sets of five mysteries: the Joyful, Sorrowful, and glorious. However in 2002, Pope St. John Paul II added a fourth set, the Luminous or Mysteries of Light, after St. George Franco Preca’s 1957 reflections adding five more mysteries of the faith taken from the life of Jesus Christ. The Rosary had now firmly become the people’s unceasing prayer of the Church to the Clergy’s breviary. I don’t think it is unfair to say the Rosary has eclipsed the Breviary, even among clergy.

Crash Course Holy Rosary

If there is any barrier to entry with the Rosary beyond merely knowing the prayers and the patience to pray them all, it is just learning how to let rote prayer open your heart. That little quote from the Buddha mentioned earlier about calming our monkey minds really provided me with an epiphany, my ah-ha moment, about rote prayer. The Rosary’s repetition helps you enter into a spiritually open mental state. Even if your mind can wander while praying the prayers themselves, the mysteries along the way demand your contemplation.

There are simply too many of those mysteries to discuss each in depth and still keep this article within the length of a blog post. Most Christians will recognize 75% of the mysteries of the Rosary right off the bat. Catholics should be able to recall 100% of them if their religious education was worth its salt. I thought a broad overview of the Rosary itself would be appropriate to frame what this all means for how we worship God if we are to be serious about our devotions and relationship with God as a whole.

You start with the sign of the cross and say the Apostles Creed. This is where I often incorporate some kind of dedication: who I am dedicating this Rosary to or what intercession, what I am praying to God for, as I pray the whole Rosary to follow. After that the practice Rosary, or mini-Rosary as I like to call it starts, that is a tour of the repetitive prayers used in each decade, or ten Hail Mary grouping, but only five prayers long minus any specific mystery.

I just made that sound way more complicated than it is. The practice Rosary is an Our Father followed by three Hail Marys capped off with a Glory Be: the shortened version of each decade of the rest of the Rosary. Its simple really.

Now we arrive at the first bead with a mystery attached to it. More on which mysteries to pray on what days in a little bit. After you recite the mystery you’ll be contemplating during the ensuing decade of Hail Marys and perhaps contemplating what fruit this mystery might provide you or some other attached devotion, you then pray an Our Father before the ten Hail Marys of the decade, one Hail Mary for each bead. After completing a decade you pray a Glory Be and boom, you’re at the next big bead where you recite the next mystery. This cycle repeats itself until you go through all five mysteries at which point you have a closing prayer, usually a Hail Holy Queen, at the three-way intersection of the Rosary.

There is an exceptionally devoted practice of praying all the Rosary mysteries at once in a 20-decade rosary. You rarely see this outside the confines of a religious convent or monastery. If you ever come across a 20-decade rosary you might do a double take because it really does look like a factory error.

Depending on the Church season different sets of mysteries are prayed each day. However the traditional schedule is Joyful Mysteries on Monday and Saturday, Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday and Friday, Glorious Mysteries on Wednesday and Sunday, and the Luminous Mysteries on Thursday. If you get in the habit of praying the Rosary I recommend being very flexible with this schedule.

My general rule is also that I pray the Sorrowful Mysteries more frequently during the Lenten season and the Glorious and Luminous Mysteries more frequently during the Easter season. I almost never pray the Rosary without some kind of complementary reading on each mystery as I go, it helps remind me the importance of what I am reflecting on as I pray each decade.

Finally, here are those mysteries I have talked up so much. Again, even a lapsed Christian will recognize most of these. See how many you know off the top of your head as we go through these:

Joyful Mysteries:

The Annunciation (Mary is told she’s going to give birth to Jesus)

The Visitation

The Nativity

The Presentation (Jesus’ dedication as an infant)

Finding Jesus in the Temple

Luminous Mysteries:

Baptism of Jesus

Wedding at Cana

Proclaiming the Kingdom (The Apostles sent two by two)

The Transfiguration

The Institution of the Eucharist (Last Supper)

Sorrowful Mysteries:

The Agony in the Garden

The Scourging at the Pillar

The Crowning with Thorns

Jesus carries the Cross

The Crucifixion

Glorious Mysteries:

The Resurrection

The Ascension

The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost)

The Assumption of Mary (into heaven)

The Coronation of Mary

What the Rosary tells us about worshipping God

Beyond the spiritual openness to God the Rosary can help us establish in our prayer lives, there is something deeper rote prayer practices like this tell us about who and why we worship the way we do. There comes a point in everyone’s spiritual growth as a Christian, or at least there should come a point, when the whole pursuit of religious faith stops being about us as individuals and starts to flow outward. That is outward horizontally to others in service and outward vertically to God in worship.

I could talk all the livelong day about the value of service, it is how the foundation of my faith was built over Service Camps and by way of several Vincentian Priests, but when we’re talking about the Rosary I think its insightful to look to worship. What do we mean when we claim to worship God? What is worship all about, particularly for us modern people, so predisposed to independence and righteous skepticism?

There was an interesting thing I uncovered while brushing up on my Rosary facts for this article. Apparently in some high-liturgy Lutheran circles, Lutherans correct me if I’m wrong, the Rosary is prayed without any Hail Marys. Instead the Jesus Prayer is said in place of the 53 Hail Marys in your average Rosary. This is called a Lutheran Rosary apparently. I found this very interesting, and not just for the normal sectarian reasons.

I found that so interesting because the Jesus Prayer substituting into the Rosary really drives home the point about what the worship element is all about in this. The Jesus Prayer is super easy, I can say it for you before this paragraph is done… Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. That’s it. That’s the whole prayer. There is simplicity there obviously; but stop and take in the humility and the orientation toward God it imposes in just a handful of words.

If one is to believe in God they must also believe they are not God. The Mosaic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) share an understanding of God as “the being which no greater being can be thought of” (St. Anslem of Canterbury) or in more philosophical terms: the four-A God who is all-knowing (omniscient), all-powerful (omnipotent), all-present (omnipresent), and all-loving (omnibenevolent). If such a being does exist, and they have created us with free will to choose for or against them as it would seem they have, that God is indeed all-loving because… well wow, think about that. Such a God is worthy of worship even if you contemplate him/her on a very brief, cursory level like that.

To be very blunt, none of us weary humans fit that bill. We are not God and if that God exists we ought to worship him as such. Frankly, if you have read this far into an article about praying the Rosary I would imagine you already believe God exists. If not, well then wow, thank you for spending this much time on my blog.

Humility before God is the right orientation of worship and all meaningful prayer.

Back to the Jesus Prayer: this ancient prayer is the distillation of that right orientation towards God. If we are to seriously worship God we have to take seriously his godliness and our humanity and the profound blessedness that relationship implies. If God wants a relationship with we human beings that alone is such an incredible blessing worthy of the response of worship. To then take the Christian step to say God was incarnate in Jesus Christ and committed the ultimate act of atoning solidarity with us should bring us to our knees just by believing in such a truth.

The Jesus Prayer orients us toward God properly, and that is why I think the Lutherans really did create something nice there with their version of the Rosary even if I feel somewhat slighted for my divine mother by it. The Rosary, Lutheran or Catholic, provides us with a unique combination of centering repetitive prayer and contemplative belief material to then pray over. In both motions of the Rosary then we find something of a blueprint for how to worship God.

One: clear the chaos of our mind and lives, casting aside what drives us away from being with God via repetition and practice. Two: once open to God’s action in ourselves and in humanity, dive into the sacred mysteries of his action which he has already done for us. Simplified even more we can consider these two steps a simple two-word cycle between conversion and transformation.

Knowing is one thing; believing, loving, and following God is another. To believe, love, and follow God we must be constantly converted out of old and or sinful ways of doing and living into what Jesus Christ has for us: transformation. Conversion is the movement of the heart, the willfulness, to a new way of doing things while the transformation is the work of actually changing. God helps with that, don’t worry.

Fun translation fact I always love to drop in during this discussion is the biblical command to repent. In English the word repent sounds very scolding and possessive. In the original Greek for repent, metanoia, the word is much closer to something like changing your thinking or changing your mind. For we fiercely independent and educated moderns that might be a little bit more palatable. Have the humility to change your mind and embrace God’s Will. If knowing that helps you worship God any more than before than I’ve more than done my job with this article even if you never pray a Rosary.

If nothing else worshipping God is a part of my life I would never want to give up. It is not an intellectual effort for me; though sometimes I must choose faith over the flatly logical choice just because real world relationships are built on faith more than they are built on facts. If my wife asked me if I was faithful to her on a business trip she really only has faith to go on. What I say in response is a mystery to have faith in or not. She could go to lengths to investigate my behavior on said business trip, but would that not defeat the purpose of the faith of the relationship? Can real, tangible love exist without such a foundation of faith?

For me there is a certain kind of joy in worshipping God every time I go to Mass or give him his due in prayer. It is not unlike the joy I feel at a family gathering or when I see my wife after a long trip away from her. Worship practiced in the context of relationship, particularly after some time with it, really becomes a thankful joy. The “pearl of great price” (Matthew 13:45-46) to use biblical analogy. That is the peace I think of when I think of praying the Holy Rosary.

My favorite late night comedian Stephen Colbert put his belief in God in terms of thankfulness as well asking: “If I didn’t believe in God where would all the thankfulness go?” St. John Chrysostom puts the finer point on that same idea: “Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.” That is a place of peace. That is what the Rosary is good at.

That is a prayerfulness worth unceasingly doing. I might try to pray the Rosary daily for the first time this month but even if I am unsuccessful the joyful thing the Rosary does will still be there for me whenever I pick it up. I understand now, after years of maturing, what its spiritual usefulness really is. I now understand how monks and nuns otherwise occupied with far more interesting life pursuits are so enthusiastic and dedicated to their prayer, their rosary praying, than what was apparent to me as a younger man. The joy of the Rosary is the love and faith of God rightly worshipped.

Thanks for reading! My book “How to catch feelings for Jesus” is available online. Share this article! I am in the swing of writing on a monthly basis now and would love to hear your input. Did you really read all that about the Holy Rosary to not have something to say about it?

[yandere-chocolate]

Yandere Monster OC x Reader ~(Romantic)~

TW/CW: Mentions of stalking, murder, decapitation, begging, loneliness, religious-like worship.

Summary: Mortivus was one of the many servants serving you after the royal family found you to be a god. After showing Mortivus kindness, something it has never experienced before, the Tennebris decides to worship you like the divinity you are. Even if it comes at a cost…

“Please, my beloved!” the weak Tennebris pleaded as it gripped the edge of your robes. Its tears trickled down its face, though it kept a wide, toothy grin as it stared up at you with pleading eyes. His chest heaved & his his breath was uneven, “You can’t leave me behind like this! Please, all I did was worship you!”

You didn’t know how to react to the poor, desperate creature in front of you. See, after you entered this world, you were regarded as some sort of anomaly from another world. Some thought you were a demon, some thought you were their version of an angel, a protector.

After being taken to the kingdom of this strange place, they decided you were instead a god (or at least some variation of one). Because of this, it was only really seen as fit for you spend time with the royal family, but of course you would have servants working for you. & Mortivus was one of them. He felt honored to serve you & hung on your every command (or emotion). The Tennebris would even stay up late to make sure no one stole away for their own personal use of your divine powers. But the second you showed kindness—genuine compassion, the Tennebris was gone. It had never received that from any of the royal family members. Or anyone at all for that matter...

The gentle touches on its cheek, your fingers combing through its hair, it all drove the touch starved Tennebris crazy. It had never even felt such love from its own parents. You really must have been a merciful, caring divine entity to be giving such attention to him of all creatures. Mortivus would not let your generous affection go unnoticed. Alters were made, he would pray to you each night.

Sure, Mortivus didn’t actually know what kind of god you were, but no one did! You kept insisting you weren’t one!

However, this devotion of his quickly bled into an obsession with you. Things of yours were stolen, you were given strange love letters, & Mortivus started referring to you as “my beloved”, “my liege”, “my love”, or “my divine”. But none of that came close to why you were here now.

Nothing came close to the sacrifices.

You currently look in shock & disgusts at the smell of blood & the sight of multiple Tennebis heads on multiple of the alters made in your name. & now here you stand, a weeping Tennebris groveling at your feet, clutching your robes. “Please, I beg of you, just speak to me!” he pleaded desperately, “I can do anything you want me to do, just please don’t abandon me like this!” the toothy grin was wiped off of his face as he keeled over. You tried to pull away & through little effort you succeeded. However, as you tried to run away from the small male, you were grabbed by your arm, untrimmed, jagged claws lightly digging into your skin. 

It didn’t hurt, but the act sent shivers down your spine as you were pulled down to the monster’s level.

“ʏօʊ ƈǟռ’ȶ ʟɛǟʋɛ ʍɛ…” the dark, deep voice said through its tears, “I̷ ̷Щ̷Ө̷П̷’̷Ƭ̷ ̷ᄂ̷Σ̷Ƭ̷ ̷Y̷Ө̷Ц̷.̷” It said with a snarl.

[There will be a drawing here…tomorrow, maybe.]

[secret-smut-sideblog]

To Build A Home

Gale x F! Tav (named)

(Child Of Dawn series, Part 5)

PG-13 religious trauma, complicated feelings, tenderness (platonic and romantic), love proclamations

The wound in her chest healing, Aurum confronts the ties that still bind her. And with Mystra's new expectations given, Gale cannot wait any longer to tell her of his feelings...

Masterlist, Prev Chapter

-

Sat in waist high grass, she waited.

World still dark, head bowed, hands resting in her lap.

As soon as the crown of the sun's head rose over the mountain, the hymn began. Low, distant, but gaining power.

Her flock calling for her.

She responded in the old song. Heart aching with loss, anger, regret. Fury at being here again, at herself for re-looping this cut thread around her wrist.

But, more than anything, ashamed at the relief. The feeling of not being alone. That her convocation was with her again.

Their voices strong, surrounding her in rapturous wordless prayer. Her own voice rising high above, feeling their devotion like lovesick children.

Tears streamed down her face, bitter and tender in equal parts.

As the sun, the true sun, fully crested the sky, their voices faded into the ether. Gone until the next morning.

Gripping at her weathered holy robes, her tears fell silent.

"I am not your savior." She whispered to the crickets, to the waving grass.

Her chest still ached, both in restraining the sun inside and the deep fracture that struck down it.

She had gone too far and she couldn't go back now. Unless devine intervention struck, the sun had been rose. And a false sun cannot set.

Reawakening had been what had saved him from the shadow curse, but at such a cost. She could never tell him the extent of the choice she had made that day.

Clenching her fist, she cried. So close. She had been so close to being out.

But what was done is done. Now she had to learn to live with it again.

Rising her palm to the sun streaked sky, she let the sigil of Lathander burn above her.

Maybe he would be more forgiving than Amauntor. The same god she is sworn to in essence, but a different facet. She did call upon some level of his power already.

But could the false sun turn him from her? The blasphemy seated inside her chest.

A dome of light covered the entire of the clearing as she hushed the incantation, lifting the ends of her hair.

She closed her eyes and tried to channel him, palm burning in defiance already.

Only when her chest began shrieking in indignant betrayal did she release. But she felt it, if just for a moment.

"Aurum?"

She turned her head, letting the spell fall away. Smiling warmly at the legs approaching in the grass.

"How'd your hunt go?"

Astarion flopped down next to her with a sigh, stretching long legs out.

"That good, huh?" She teased, resting her head on his shoulder. He leaned his head in kind.

They sat quiet like that for a moment, tall grass waving around them. Hidden away in a small pocket of the earth.

"I missed this." He sighed, lacing their hands together. "And I didn't even remember it. Isn't that silly? Missing something that you forgot you had."

Aurum hummed in agreement. She felt the same, tenderness between friends was something she could barely recall. But her heart ached for it all the same.

"So, how's the hopeless pining going?" He teased, knocking his knee against hers.

"Oh, about as well as your hunting."

He scoffed, and she laughed.

"I'm well enough that you can feed on me again, Astarion. I promise."

"I'll take you up on that offer. But you're avoiding my question, you're oh so good at that."

She sighed, turning to face him. Picking up pieces of grass and laying them in a line on her knee.

"It's just so complicated. There's so much going on even outside of my internal problem. The Absolute, the tadpoles, the orb... Gods don't even get me started on Mystra and her order to detonate it! The bitch..."

"Language!" Astarion admonished.

"Oh her and I would have words, I promise you that. It's just..."

As she trailed off he squeezed her hand in encouragement.

"I don't know how much Gale wants me or he wants another Mystra, you know?"

Astarion hummed in agreement.

"I think on some level he sought me out as a replacement. Another goddess to worship. Gods the way he looked at me in those early days, I felt like I was back in the temple in Waterdeep."

She looked up at him, smiling sadly.

"I wish he could see me the way that you can. Messy, imperfect, honestly a little annoying."

Astarion snorted. "A little?"

She pinched his thigh.

"I just... I don't want to be a devine messenger anymore. Though it seems that may be my fate."

She felt tears threatening. "I wish things could be any other way."

The sun flared in her chest, and she cupped her hand over it.

He put his hand over hers.

"I hear you."

She smiled, pressing her forehead to his.

"Thank you."

They took another moment of comfortable silence. Connected to one another.

"Let's go back to camp, darling. Before we get ticks."

She laughed, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"True, we only have enough room for one bloodsucker around here."

"Absolutely vile feedback, my dear."

He pulled her up by their clasped hands. Thumb rubbing hers as they walked. The risen sun at her back, they returned to their small noisy, messy world.

-

"One moment with you could sate me for a lifetime, and prise the fear from my heart. I'm so very glad you came, to share this with me."

Aurum's heart ached, finding his words to be true. The canopy of Weave he had constructed floating over her, blanketing the sky in ribbons of blue and purple.

"I know this is all unreal, but I created it for you. You must know that you're..." He paused, face tensing. "That you're very special to me."

She pulled her bottom lip into her teeth, not voicing her underlying thoughts but still feeling them.

"If things were different, if we were home, I'd have taken the time to do things properly. To say it all better. But time is short."

His soft brown eyes fell on her then, face strained.

"I'm in love with you." A near whisper.

She knew he was, had known for a while. In the way all devotees love their object of worship.

She took his hands and kissed him deeply.

"I don't think I can be what you want from me." She hushed against his lips, pulling away slightly. "I can't be your new goddess, Gale."

He took a sharp breath in, but didn't pull away.

"I know. I'm sorry. I've put you in an unfair position."

Relief flooded through her at his admission.

"If we do this, we must be equals. I cant..." She paused, tears threatening. Turning her face down.

"I can't take being held above anymore. It hurts too much."

He cupped her face, bringing her eyes back up to his.

"I can love you as mortals do, I promise I can."

A knot in her throat silenced her for a moment.

"I think I could love you the same if you'll still have me." She hushed.

He laughed softly

"Of course I'll still have you. Gods, that's a relief. It would be a shame to spend my final hours making an ass of myself."

Aurum giggled, wiping her tears with her fingers.

"Well, I had planned to bond with you the way gods do. But given the circumstances that would be rather ill mannered, wouldn't it?"

He offered his hand to her, pulling her up.

"So you've caught on." She teased.

He scrunched up his nose in that playful way she adored.

"But if you'll allow me, I'd still like to take you somewhere. How about the perfect night in Waterdeep? Yes... Let's imagine how it would be."

She nodded, and with a wave of his hand a warm room enveloped them.

"The scene is this: you and I stand in the room that is the center of my universe."

As he introduced the room to her, she followed behind him. Taking in the cozy decor, the crackling fire. Fingers gently trailing along small objects on his desk.

He got quiet, staring at her in adoration.

She picked up a small trinket and held it to the light.

"What?" She smiled to his staring.

"Oh, nothing. You just look good here. It suits you, being in the heart of my world."

Her chest lit up white.

She looked down in shock.

"Are you okay?" He stepped forward, concern in his eyes.

"I think so. It's just... it's never done that before."

She held her hand to the sun, feeling a pleasant heat.

Then she started laughing.

"Care to share your epiphany?" He stepped forward, placing his hand next to hers.

"You know we see the sun as yellow or even orange..." She started, moving her hand to let him have full touch.

"But it's an illusion. Its true color is white."

He smiled down at the brilliant light carding between his fingers, looking back up at her.

"Can I show you my favorite spot?"

She nodded, and he led her by the hand to double doors, opening for them with a gentle creak.

"Ah, the weary sun takes its gentle dive into the sea." He hummed as they stepped out into the warm light.

The sea illuminated in the soft pink hues of the resting sun. Sailboats drifting, the gentle sounds of lapping water.

Aurum walked out to the railing, taking in the view with him. Both tinged in longing for a place far from them.

"When this is all over, I want to go back. I miss Waterdeep so much." Aurum sighed.

He turned to her, taking both of her hands in his.

"Could I take you home? Would you allow me that honor?"

She smiled, squeezing his hands.

"I would like that. Though I don't know if I could call Spires of the Morning home."

She paused then, a sad but honest thought crossing her.

"I've only ever lived in temples. I guess I've never had a home."

He stepped forward, holding the back of her head as she looked up at him.

"If we survive this, and if miraculously by the end we're both whole and sane... if you still will have me by then, I will make a home for you. Whether my own, here, or one entirely new. Would you want that?"

The sun burned a radiant white inside her, telling him her answer before she could speak. But she did anyway.

"Yes. Yes I want that."

He kissed her deeply, drinking her through. As endless as the sea and as replenishing as summer rain, he poured love into her.

When he finally pulled away she whispered to him.

"Please take me to bed, Gale."

~

Part 6

[generational-atrophy]

this may be a weird request and feel free to ignore this if you're not comfortable doing it for whatever reason but I saw the request with a British S/O and I thought how about main 8 with a Jewish S/O? Being Jewish myself I just wanna see some S/O representation cuz there's almost 0 in the hetalia fandom and it'd make my week ❤️ ty in advance 😭 (this was longer than I meant it to be ahh sorryyy)

(Hetalia Main 8 x Reader) Jewish S/O!

(Gender Neutral) Scenario ~ A/N omg this is not a weird request at all!!! Im very happy to do this one!!!! Recently i have been seriously considering converting but idk wher to start fjkhjf sorry for taking so long!! PLS LET ME KNOW IF I SAID ANYTHING INACCURATE DEAR LORD

Trigger Warning: Religious stuff obviously, other than that just Fluff!

Alfred supports and loves you completely! His country was supposed to be a land of religious freedom, and he will defend that right to his death, goddamnit!

He has some basic knowledge of the Jewish faith, but most of the information he’s been told is horribly Christianized. A lot of is inaccurate, but rarely downright offensive. So when you correct him, he’ll end up asking a million follow-up questions. Maybe just bring him next time along you go to synagogue…

Now, anyone whose friends with him, is gonna know just as much as he does. If any religious thing gets brought up, he’s immediately trying to educate the rest of them on Judaism. It’s cute but… he’s also maybe a bit too enthusiastic. It’s like trivia night but the trivia is just things you’ve told him about your faith.

As happy as he is to spend time relaxing during Shabbat, he may get a little antsy… and a little annoying. It’s probably all that capitalist wiring messing up his brain, he’ll get used to it eventually.

Arthur has never delved deep into any religion since… well… not since the BCs. So your religion plays no part in his feelings towards you, he’d love you the same no matter what.

Even if he develops some affection for your faith, it’s unlikely he’ll be open to converting. Nothing personal, he supports you completely, it’s just… he’s just found that being religious leads to much more conflict than he prefers. 

But… if you want a wedding soon, he’s all in from the start. His country is known for their weddings, remember? And now the two of you will have to somehow throw the biggest Jewish wedding in the whole of Europe. Under your guidance, of course. Really, it’s just that Arthur wants to prove something about the two of you. But at least your family will have fun. Maybe.

Most of the holidays you celebrate, he won’t join in on unless you beg. He tells you it’s because he’s a protestant (he’s not,) but really he just feels like he’s intruding on your culture. But the days spent deliberately relaxing, doing nothing but eating traditional food? He can get behind those pretty easily.

Francis sees your Jewishness as nothing more than another fascinating piece in the painting that you are. If something is important to you, it’ll become important to him too!

Depending on your devotion level, he’ll try to support you as much as possible. But if your life revolves around your faith, he may get a little concerned. I mean,  being devoted is great! But your health and safety should come first as well. At least, that’s what he believes.

He himself, subscribes to no religion. Throughout the centuries, he’s passed from one to another, even being Jewish for a decade or two! But… that was also in the 200s… and he didn’t really commit. But if you want him to commit this time, he is absolutely ready to.

Oh, and the holidays? He would love to join you in observing them. Even the one which involve worship, he’ll happily do it as well, if you would want him to. He’ll even make a bunch of food to bring! Having such a strong community is something that’s really important to him, so he’d love to share that with you.

Whatever you believe in, it makes no difference to Yao. As long as you don’t think he’s going to hell, he’s cool with it… oh, you don’t believe there is a hell? Even better then!

He has seen many different belief systems rise and fall, so he’s never been that religious himself. The only thing he’s ever truly believed in were the things taught to him at birth, and even then he questions. But whatever makes sense to you, he’ll go along with it as well.

If you’re uber-devoted, it’s one of the main things he admires about you. It shows your courage and the strength of your ethics. Both traits he shares with you! Just… about different things. But if you’re not super into your faith, that’s totally fine too. That just means he doesn’t have to do as much.

As much as he loves taking things slow and enjoying the little things in life, he’s  quite the workaholic at heart. After a few Shabbat weekends, he’s itching to just spend time working on his home projects. All of which are…  pretty intense.

This is absolutely wonderful! Ivan would love a Jewish S/O, as he really respects the religion and culture surrounding it. 

Surprisingly, for an Orthodox Christian, he’s very familiar with the faith. Especially its history with his own religion. He rationalizes the differences between you as simply different ways to worship the same thing. Whether or not that’s accurate is up for debate, but either way, he supports you fully.

He’d love to observe Shabbat with you! Setting aside time, specifically just to enjoy the peaceful, domestic beauties of life… he completely understands why this would be a holy practice. He’s a little upset his own people haven’t caught onto that yet… why doesn’t everyone do that?

He’s… very enthusiastic about the concept of marrying you. Regardless of whether his church approves or your synagogue, he believes you two can mix traditions and have the most wonderful wedding. After all, nothing about the two of you is conventional in the first place!

While Feliciano may be devout himself to another religion, he has nothing but love in his heart for yours. Your differences only bring you two closer!

Always the romantic, he’s already planning your wedding in his head. And he wants it to completely align with your faith’s traditions! He’s had plenty of his own weddings before now, so he’d love to make it special for you and your family. He’s been saving just for a grand wedding like that!

Considering how strongly Catholic he is, he knows quite a lot about Jewish history. Religion has always been one of his little fascinations… so he’s very enthusiastic about learning about your faith. He’ll be a little awkward at first, not knowing which questions are ok to ask, but eventually, he’ll figure it out.

If you ask him to, he’ll observe some holidays with you, but most of the time he goes out of his way not to. Just in the same way that he tries not to involve you in his own practices. He doesn’t want you to feel like he’s overwriting your faith, and he’s careful not to intrude. He’s a bit overly sensitive in that way, but it means well.

While Ludwig himself does not care for religion, he respects your devotion greatly! Your beliefs harm no one, so he’ll happily support you in any way you ask of him.

Frankly, he’d probably be the most likely person on this list to convert. It reminds him of the faith his rulers have tried to instil in him, but in a more peaceful and traditional way that appeals to him. It wouldn’t take much of a push to get him all in-

Even if he doesn’t convert, he’s still nothing but happy to come along with anything you bring him to. He’ll be a little awkward, feeling out of place, at the start. But as long as you’re inviting him, he might as well get as much experience as he can!

Regardless of his current convictions, he’s unlikely to join you in observing any of the less vital holidays and practices. He’s still young for a nation and he’s quite the workaholic, so he’s always running from one place to the next. But if you get him to settle down and connect with himself more spiritually, it’d probably do him some good.

Kiku trusts you completely, so whatever religion you believe in, he’ll be right there beside you. Not in converting, per se, but he’ll gladly join you in any open celebrations or gatherings!

He shows his support for your beliefs in a… very Kiku way. He won’t bring it up often, but he’ll do a ton of research on his own time. You never have to remind him when an important holiday is coming up! He knows. And don’t worry, he’s got everything you need already. But will he come to synagogue with you? Well… maybe.

Frankly, I can’t imagine him being a marriage person. If that’s what you want, he’s totally up for it, but don’t expect him to do much planning himself. The one gripe he might have is just that he wants a small wedding… so hopefully, you do too.

[suzdotranslation]

[Interview TL] 4Gamer's Weekly VTuber Files #15 - Arurandeisu

source

Name: Arurandeisu Company: Holostars (1st generation) Streaming platform: YouTube SNS: X (Twitter) Hashtags: Live #アランストリーム / Fanart #アランの画廊 / Clips #切り抜きナンディス Character/Model designer: lack Debut Date: September 8th, 2019 Birthday Date: November 11th Height: 184cm Introduction: He is a detective, phantom thief, teacher, samurai, sniper, and demon hunter. A mysterious Italian who has traveled wide and far through different worlds. He currently devotes his days to this world after being entrusted with the dream of becoming an idol. While he claims to be the man of brains, he often relies on his brawn in the end. He likes pizza, meat, and cola.

10 QUESTIONS FOR VTUBERS

Q01. Tell us your main (streaming) content! Game and planned project streams, I also do DJ stream sessions playing Holopro songs, and I pretty much dabble in various genres!

Q02. What was the cue that kickstarted your streaming activity? Because I'd like to experience lots of things, I only got one life after all!

Q03. Please recommend us your “newcomer’s friendly” videos or stream archive! First, the quadratic equation-solving stream with Hiodoshi Ao-kun! To be honest I actually own a teaching license in science course, so I was able to make something like this. Of course, there's Ao-kun effort to solve the problems, and it shows in her remarkable growth in this stream alone! Link to the stream

Secondly, Since I have a pretty sturdy physics and all, I tried doing an experiment on myself. Now that I recall, each of these "world-level" tastes is pretty strong on its own. Once I had mixed it all in, turned out there was one flavor that stood out… Which you can check on the stream itself! Link to the stream

The third is a quick and entertaining one! I'd like to do something like this again but with more people. Link to the stream

Q04. Tell us things that you like or something you’re good at! I'm good at playing Rubik's Cube! I can solve one in under 40 seconds. And I like to stream, do muscle training, and DJ-ing!

Q05. Tell us a hobby or content that has piqued your interest lately! I've been really into fighting games recently!! In my day off I'd like to practice in the training mode quite religiously too. I also like reading manga and I have a wide preference in terms of genre. Among the ones I started reading recentlyー Chi. (Orb), Sousou no Frieren and Yofukashi no Uta are among the ones I really like!

Q06. Is there any VTuber around that has caught your attention? Let us know! Hanasaki Miyabi. The pioneer of our group, quite an interesting guy.

Q07. What are other things you’re paying attention to other than VTubers? Eiko Kano-san. I really like watching streams that could make me laugh a lot.

Q08. Is there a recent thing that left a deep impression on you, and is there anything else you’d like to try out? Since I like to do a lot of muscle training, I'd like to be involved in work with a protein supplement brand!!!!

Q09. What sort of content you’d like to challenge yourself for now? I'd like to come up with stream ideas, like holding game tournaments and such. It would be nice if I could make a fun project that gets people excited and happy!

Q10. Tell us your message to the readers! Thank you for reading this article until the end!! If you're interested feel free to check out my channel! It would be nice if you could watch my stream and comment on it tooー!!

[shipcestuous]

I think Alicent's recent behavior towards Aemond, while harsh on the surface, actually makes a lot of sense. On the one hand, she's a deeply religious woman (even if you the take the Seven-Pointed Stars in the Red Keep as only a show of Hightower power, she kept lighting candles for her mother through the years and extended her habit to include even Luke, and she thinks her acting for pleasure rather than for duty deserves divine punishment) and Aemond's just knowingly made himself a man "accursed by the gods" by committing possibly the worst sin he could think of. (Yes, the whole Dance is about family fighting family, but there's an ethical difference when you're not at war, even if a war is likely to break out soon.) On the other hand, Aemond's proved to her that she can't even trust him to go on a simple diplomatic mission (go to Storm's End, propose an alliance by marriage, get an answer, leave) without him losing it and just making their political and personal situation worse by murdering people he's not supposed to just because he can.

And that's just staying on the surface level. Going just a little deeper, Alicent's probably desperately wondering how the sensitive little boy she raised, comforted in his moments of despair, defended against his bully of a brother, stood up for to his father and her husband and king, raised a dagger at her former best friend and the heir to throne for, and watched grow into a sometimes impulsive but still dutiful and devoted young man, could ever turn into the kind of person who brutally kills his own family and then doesn't even feel any way in particular about it. To me, that little "Aemond is angry" speech felt very much like she was fishing for a way, just any way at all, to justify his actions so as to be able to look at him again like she used to. "Well, if you think about it, Luke did start it when he took his eye and wasn't punished for it" or something to that effect.

Remember: she's not in Aemond's head, and she can't watch the previous episodes or look up the transcripts online. And the face Aemond presents to his family is that of man who simply did what had to be done, was in control of his own actions and doesn't come even close to regretting them, and equates compassion for the enemy with foolishness. I'm convinced the Madam of the brothel was the first and only person he expressed his real feelings to... and even there, it was all "oh, I do regret that whole business with Luke," almost as if he were talking about the mocking toast to his "Strong nephews" instead of how he accidentally got him eaten by Vhagar. Our boy's just not good at vulnerability, even when he's willingly making himself vulnerable.

That's why I think Alicent's reaction is a feature, not a bug. She's a fallible human being dealing with her own deep-seated issues while acting on what little and incomplete information she has, not Super Mom, whose powers include mind-reading, instant forgiveness of anything and everything her children do, and the ability to switch off her own feelings and ideals as needed. I'm afraid that, realistically, Aemond and her will only keep drifting further apart from here (also because of some things that happen in the book and would make sense if it were somehow tied to what's happening in the show right now) but if they lived in a kinder universe and had the chance to resolve their conflict... I feel all it would really take to get back to the awesome mother-son duo we had before would be Aemond actually talking to her and explaining what really happened.

Would Alicent still think he's made some very poor choices? Sure, because he has, objectively. But I think she would also be just so, so relieved and happy her boy's still there under the mask.

This is weird comparison, and it may even be out place all things considered, but, remember those old Simpons episodes where Bart would do something rash and stupid like steal from the mall or dangerous and cruel like shoot a little bird? And then Marge would draw away from him and kind of into herself out of the belief she'd completely failed as his mother? That's what these two remind me of at this point. Except, in The Simpsons, you could always count on Bart to prove he was better than he seemed and on Marge to come around by the end of the episode.

And as I said, I don't think Aemond and Alicent will have the time or the right state of mind for that.

Really well put, Anon.

I think the characters have all made choices that make sense. It's just a shame we're on a train that's slowly crashing.

[ladyslookingglass]

One of my Baldur's Gate 3 OCs. This is Divimar, my Lolth Sworn Drow Tav character featured in my Fic "The Crisis of Choice"

Full backstory under the cut for anyone interested. TW: Child abuse, Self-harm, Religious trauma

Divimar (name meaning: Maker of Dreams) was born to a house in the city of Ched Nasad. It was a low ranking house of no real consequence and no strong ambitions. They care about their own self interests and their worship of Lolth and little else beyond that. The one big point of pride was that the noble family boasted nothing but daughters. The only male nobles being the house Patron and the Weapon Master but neither were of any blood relation to the Matron. It was suspected that the family employed a diviner and would end pregnancies if the result was anything but female, though no one would dare say it out loud and there was no proof.

Divimar was the youngest grandchild of the Matron, born as the younger of a set of twins from the houses eldest princess. He was an unexpected birth as his mother had only known of the one child which had been confirmed as female...to birth a second child and have it be male was a shock to everyone.

The Matron tried to convince her daughter to sacrifice the child. To claim some defect or another to be away with what she saw as a blemish on their otherwise blessed family. His mother however resisted, fearing that to do so with a child already confirmed to be healthy, and with no other sons in the House, would anger the Spider Queen. She argued that, being her son and not of the Matron, that his status as a commoner meant he would not reflect poorly on their family. The Matron relented reluctantly and Divimar was permitted to live.

Naturally though...growing up in a family made up of his mother, 5 aunts, multiple female cousins, and then 5 sisters, one of which being his twin,...well...he was in a bit of a unique position of being exposed more directly to things most males would not be so permitted. He spent much of his time around Priestesses and within the temple chambers of the house. In privacy his twin would share with him the many things she had been taught and during their time apart, when he would serve the house as little more then a slave, he spent that time in prayer, reciting and committing to memory the things he was told.

When he reached the age where he would begin his martial training he begged to be permitted to join his sister in the path to becoming a divine servant of the Spider Queen instead, much to the surprise of everyone present. In response the Matron took the boy into her private chambers to "determine the truth of his devotion". There she beat him severely, tortured him, insulted him, leveled all sorts of promises of the pain this path would bring to him and his unworthy self. All meant to convince him of the errors in his desires. When he refused to back down...and continued to proclaim his love for Lolth and his determination to serve her as well as he could...she realized she could not stop him and to continue to try may well bring about her own disfavor.

Angry, she took him to the family sacrificial altar and threw him down before it. She told him he would get his wish and the Spider Queen would accept him...but as a male he had to prove himself truly worthy. He had to sacrifice of himself willingly or She would never accept him. Believing her, he accepted these terms and his Matron took a knife to his face, covering the right side in a spiderweb of deep cuts all centered around his eye...then she told him to remove the destroyed organ and offer it to their Queen. Only then would she accept his vows and place as her servant. So he did. She refused to heal the wounds, stating that the scars were part of his penance. They would mark him as worthy to all who looked upon him.

His time training to become a priest would not be nearly as bad...but as he neared graduation he felt more often then not that he was not standing on his own as Priest as he sought to be. All to often he felt he was just an instrument for the others to use to further their own ends. Just a male. Just a tool to be used and then tossed aside. He determined that in order to stand on his own he would need to remove that which he felt separated him from his peers, the only thing they thought him useful for...so he did with his genitals the same as had been done with his eye. No more would he function as simply a conduit to bring about others desires.

He would stand on his own...or not at all, but his body and his pleasure belonged only to his Goddess as she deemed fit to give it to him.

[yanderefairyangel]

4 Hounds deep dive part 3 : Griss, the fanatic

Oh boi, how the heck did Engage managed to make it to a T rating with this thing over here like.... how ?! 

So of course SPOILERS AHEAD and no, whatever postive things I might say about this maniac, I don’t like him nor do I justify any of the things he has done but if I have to be critical, I’ll have to put my biais aside... that is if I have anything postive to say about this creep oh God...

I have no idea if FE ever had a “masochist” stereotype up until now, but if that wasn’t the case then congrats : Engage open a new tradition. So basically, like Gregory, Griss had parents who treated him horribly and ended up abandoning him/solding him to the Fell dragon chruch

I politely refrain from assuming they had a 1:1 childhood since the brilliant aspect of the Winds isn’t that they are” The Hounds but good” but actually different people who just happen to look the same and I think that if they work so well, it’s precisely because of the Hounds regardless, the begining is the same except that the violent ritual that scarred Gregory to death... gave Griss addiction to pain and fanatiscm. And you know what ... I never expected to have to write this much about a maso degenarate that managed to pass through the Treehouse innuendos detector in what is essentially a game whose story is mean to appeal to 12 year old teenage boy who believes in the power of friendship but here I go.....

1 - About Masochism because I know people actually have no idea about the original term

Basically this word was formed from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch to describe someone who in general finds pleasure in pain, and i stress, in general. The reason why it exist are incredibly ridiculous : they basically coined this word after that man’s name because he liked to write his own spicy fanfic with his female OC being girlboss and being the dominated one.... God, will one day humanity cease to surprise me ?

Anyway one thing really important about Griss is that his masochism isn’t the most common and well know one... it’s religious masochism

The difference is that it’s more or less similar to moral masochism, where the individual is having incounsious guilt and beacuse of this seeks to be victimized but really not of pleasure but for punishement sake... ok, so basically we have a new layer to add to Rafal’s psychological problem, but regardless the one thing peculiar about Griss relationship to this is that he takes it to a whole other level where it becomes the seek of appeasement that drives him, since the pleasure he seeks is a spiritual one as pointed out by Mauvier “ he considered his own pain to be spiritual - an offering to the Fell dragon”

In short, Griss’s masochism is a form of * drumrolls* ascetism

2 - Ascetism (because I am sure the kids reading this have no idea what it means)

By ascestism we usually are talking about discpline of the body and the mind to tend to perfection. In religious case, those are pratice of spiritually purfication. The one that Griss is actually addicted to his mortification, a religious Christian practice that consist into making yourself go through physical suffering to elevate your spirit. This includes whipping in case you sin in order to obtain forgivness or stuff like that to prouve your faith and devotion. And yes it can becomes addictive because of THAT very criteria since we got historical record of excessives tendencies for many ended up seeking an extreme suffering in spite of their bodies to punish themself and repent for their sins. I dont want to say anything dumb, but if I recall Louis LePieux was one famous case of self- whipping but you might as well check that yourself at any rate let’s get back to the main topic. Griss’s additicion to pain is actually an act of devotion, he suffers for the sake of Sombron... to prouve his love for Sombron... yes, i will, obviously be forced to talk ONCE AGAIN about Sombron’s kids because of this. And to draw some parallel with Gregory because i might as well do it (God the more I dive into the story the worse Sombron gets)

In the JPN version for instance, Mauvier is more explicit on Griss mutilating himself to offer blood for Lord Sombron yikes

3- Griss ascestism being a way of coping 

If Griss had a childhood like that of Gregory with violent parents that sold him to the followers of Sombron you can bet this itself is pretty traumatizing already. However when a child ends up in a violent environnement he can have two outcome : either you refuse to indulge into it, either you become yourself an abuser. 

In Gregory’s case he was in the same position as Alear and Veyle, trying to be a “good child” with a good nature and kind hearted heart that never got his parents to love him and could not bear the toxic environnement within Sombron’s sect so he left

I mean according to Mauvier it was so wild Griss was unable to speak to anyone until Zephia came along

In Griss’s case, he is like Marni and how Rafal ended up (almost) becoming (except Rafal was possesed so even this is... you know what, Rafal really deserves his own post). His acceptance of pain was a way of coping with the abuse he received... and boi, did he embraced it... wow, he though if he offered enough suffering, it would satisfy Sombron and since he worships him, it’s a religious effort in his faith that he most defintely embraced... So rather than lamenting, he takes pride and pleasure in it as if this experience was elevating him spiritually. It must have been easier for Griss to do so considering that the pain receptors shares their space into the human brain with the pleasure one and yes, it’s precisely the reason why you can’t stop scratching yourself even on places that hurts. But yeah, bascially Griss’s coping is through a weird sort of fanastism masochism form of ascestism that did he ended up interiorizing it and honestly... it’s basically well fitting with the abuser/abusing theme in Engage

4 - Griss masochism being representative of the endless circle of abused victims becoming abuser themselves

Abusers or bully are often people who faced themselves abuse and are unable to suffer that only would go through that kind of abuse, finding it unfair. I remember a one shot by Mihara Mitsukazu (whose title I can’t remember) about an abused young girl growing up feeling envious of the love she gave her own child and ending up abusing her too simply because she didn’t wanted her to be happy when she couldn’t.... 

Now imagine this but in even more messed up and ... you have Griss

Because of all the points I mentionned above, you know why he takes pleasure in pain but just as how Griss is a rare case of actual masochism, he also happens to be a rare case of actual sadist since he also takes pleasure in seeing people suffering but not to please them, but to make them really suffer... look I know it makes no sense but how can I help it that he is that messed up ? But yeah, basically years of abuse and cruelty with the followers of the Fell dragon turned him into a devout of pain and I let you imagine the terrible effect this has on a child’s mind. I mean Griss is just one of the possible reaction to abuse, you also have being emotionally broken (Alear) or scared of any form of pain (Gregory) or ... whatever state Rafal is in because i don’t even know how to name it...  but he clearly would not be able to change the way he is in any case, nor want to anyway. Regardless, it’s obvious it’s because of his childhood he himself ended up walking down into the path of abusers even if then it’s a bit complicated because he doesn’t partake into the abuse of Marni and Veyle by Zephia but he defintely is an accomplice. 

If I had to keep up with what I said about Zephia being influenced by Sombron, I think it’s a perfect example : When Sombron abused his kids, Zephia never took parts in the abuse herself, but she still collected the dead body and let the things happens. Well here same thing, Griss didn’t stabbed Marni himself but hum...

He is kind of smiling... Ok nuance here, cause Zephia herself found it sad that all of Sombron’s kid were destined to die and shown some empathy, here however, both Zephia and Griss are smiling and ehhhh wow, this scene was way more messed up than I thought...

I wouldn’t say Griss is upset but he still thinks that Marni died in vain, which is something Mauvier will never forgive of both Zephia and Griss

After all Griss still considered the Hounds family and here we go, the moment where you realize he really his messed up, but more than you though

5 - Griss and family, because of course all villains have the same motivations in this game

If you recall, Griss in his introduction was the first one to sort of mock the idea of the Hounds being a family, he said “ Hah! You tell yourself that. She’s a dragon, and the rest of us are humans. Family, she call us...” and coming from the one guy who will, as he agonize says he did really consider the Hounds a family

After all, he does call Marni’s death “a waste” and thinks she has been killed for nothing”. And when he fight against Mauvier he asks “You come to take revenge ? Or were you hoping the Hounds would you take you back ? We were a family, Mauvier. That makes us like brothers.” 

It seems obvious here that Griss wasn’t particulary enthusisast nor sad at Marni’s death and Mauvier leaving but he still thinks that if Zephia wasn’t such a coward (my words not his) the Hounds could still have had a chance to stay together. 

However I should clarify that there is only one person to whom Griss feels really like family and it’s.. you guessed it, Zephia.

If you recall Mauvier said everyone avoided Griss because of his... “devotion” let’s say, everyone except... Zephia, on the contrary this “devotion” caught her attention which is something considering she had eyes for no one but Sombron... nay actually that explains it, but since Zephia was the only person for him and he was very lonely..you know the rest

Much like how Zephia wanted to be seen by Sombron and was blind to what she already had, Griss wanted to be seen by Zephia but he wasn’t blind, just so loyal that he would never leave her hence his reaction when she asks him about joining Alear’s party

The key word here is “abandon” which is 1) Zephia’s worst fear and at the same time what she kept experiencing 2) what Griss’s parent did too him years ago. Zephia being the dearest person to Griss (his words, not mine) he would not be able to do that... that’s where you can actually see there is a limit to Griss’s pleasure to hurts others 

Look at how he reacts when Alear fights him :

Alear : Why are you doing all of this ? Is Zephia making you ?

Griss : What kind of question is that ?! I’m here because I wanna be Ok ?

Alear : I see

Griss : Hah! How sweet ! Worried about little old Griss ! That’s an insult to me and Zephia ! I won’t forgive that ever. Ever. EVER! I’m gonna hurt you every which way, and then kill you once and for all !

Griss is being much more polite here compared to the JPN version... basically Alear is asking him because all of the people in Zephia’s surrounding were either possessed (Veyle) either were coerced in some way or manipulated in some way since Marni stayed because of Zephia feeding her of praise and Mauvier stayed because of Veyle... Griss is the only member of the 4 Hounds who stayed with Zephia out of own volition and for Zephia in herself, so Alear questioning his loyalty toward Zephia pissed him so much he saw it as an insult towards the both of them and repeat 3 times “I wont forgive you” and put him in a state you never saw him during the entire game. He didn’t like Alear questioning his love for Zephia.

So when Griss ask Zephia why she turns her back only now, he isn’t saying he wished she had done things differently, but that he would have follower her even if she did it. That’s putting more responsabilty on Zephia’s delusion on one side, but if he did love her this much, shouldn’t he have tried to open her eyes earlier ? Regardless, the one person he definitely saw as family was her, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the real reason why he ended up being so devoted in her cause was because, upon seeing how they were both so devoted to Lord Sombron, he ended up having her as a second deity... so Griss was actually polytheist ? Eh I must not lose track right now. 

But yeah, it’s obvious that Griss really felt family towards Zephia alone since she was the only person for him and the only one he ever saw, repeating the Sombron/Zephia schema which itself is repeating the Sombron/0Emblem schema except Griss and Zephia’s relationship doesn’t end as tragically because Zephia is actually able to open her eyes, even if it’s too late and that she was able to return Griss’s feelings

Even in death Griss ends up following Zephia; without her, Griss is literaly nothing. He has no convictions besides her, no motivations other than her, had Zephia joined Alear, he would have followed but not for Alear, but for Zephia, Zephia and Zephia only... man, we got another yandere

Once again, Griss’s motivation are lead by his familial love for Zephia, which also are reason to explain why he became a religious masochist, but that doesn’t make him sympathetic in the least... he still is a freaking degenerate even abuse or not, and note that just as it was the case for Zephia, only when he died do you learn of his circumstances but seeing Gregory’s reaction, it’s pretty obvious that he doesn’t feel a single shread of sympathy for his analogue, heck Veyle herself strays up tell him that even though she can’t hate him, she can’t forgive him either and just as it was too late for Zephia to makes things right, it goes for Griss, not to mention that her support with Gregory shows how Veyle is scared of Griss... I honestly wonder how upon hearing it I am supposed to feel pity knowing that it just shows how Griss was a victim that ended up becoming an abuser and frankly props to anyone who though of showing this by making him sadomasochist

[rudo-lfium]

The Fall of the House of Usher - my 2c

So I'm only 3 episodes in, and I admit it's a beautifully made show, very artistic, extremely creative, visually stunning and all that.

However its artistic value is deteriorating rapidly in my eyes because, once you dissect its story, it becomes obvious that it's another lecture on Divine Retribution by religious zealots.

At first I was trying to willfully ignore the obvious signs and kept trying to treat the characters as real (sic) human beings interacting with each other in a material world and being driven in their actions by practical motives such as revenge, advantage, love, devotion, hatred and competition. You know, just like we do in our everyday lives.

However the further the show takes us along its dark narration, the more impossible does it become to brush away such glaring symbolisms as the number of children being 6, which added to the 2 main protagonists (or rather, anti-heroes), makes 8, and that is exactly the number of cardinal sins listed in the earliest religious texts on the matter.

Thusly the story is reduced to the level of another "deadly sins" fabula of which there is already an unnecessary abundance. And my gripe with such plots is founded in my deep resentment of organized religion and its extreme, inhumane, monstrous values which the Churchers like to call "virtues".

All these postulates were developed by The Church (let's use it as a collective term for the purposes of this discussion) in order to suppress free thinking and to punish the "too damn smart" ones. In practice this just means legalized murder. Justification of killing off of all those who refuse to comply. The moral aspect here is indistinguishable from "jihad" which by definition means physical annihilation of all unbelievers. Since Islam is based intimately on Judaism such kinship of policies is to be expected, really.

Literary works, or in this case, a television series, in which some supernatural Avenging Angel murders those guilty of "cardinal sins" without a trial-and-investigation serve as tools to promote the policy of intimidation and oppression. They convince the easily impressed in the legality of such methods and place their sympathies firmly on the side of the murderers.

And when someone is convinced that it's not murder but a completely justified Divine Retribution, they will readily push their own kin under the guillotine or on the pyre and will remain in complete psychological obedience to The Church -- or any higher authority. We've seen it happen a million times.

Back to the plot, let's take the court trial. It is shown to be helpless in trying to convict Usher Sr and Ms Usher, his sister. What is it if not a demonstration of the fact that "human courts" are powerless against "such monsters" and the only way to bring them to justice is to send Gabriel The Smiting down from Heaven to exact punishment on their heads? And since he acts on a warrant signed by God himself, it's all tip-top with everybody.

Thus anything done to the Ushers is completely justified and requires no investigation. He is deserving of punishment, think the believers, and as such must be subjected to all sorts of inhumane sufferings to make him pay for the sufferings that he had allegedly inflicted on others. So let's start by killing his children. Let's whack them one by one in most horrendous and gory ways possible to scare him into fits of hallucinations where he's surrounded by come-from-the-dead corpses of his offspring day and night and hasn't a minute's rest from the constant pain. And then we'll murder him and his bitch of a sister too, because, well, you know, there must be 8 sacrifices, IT IS WRITTEN. Oh yeah, and let's make sure that each and every one of these 8 have no redeeming qualities at all, let's paint them as utterly terrible people in every aspect, so as to ensure the public's total repulsion of their personas. It is imperative that no one is allowed even a faintest chance at feeling any sympathy towards either one of the marked targets.

What is Usher's sudden "confession session" with the prosecutor if not a symbolism for penance? That's what believers do to have their sins excused -- they confess to the priest in an attempt to buy their way into Heaven. Usher, too, is trying to reserve himself a seat on a cushy cloud after he dies, so he's "confessing to his crimes" as a last ditch effort to escape the fires of Hell. By the way, the highest percentage of devout believers is found amongst repeat offenders in prisons.

I wouldn't be surprised if The Lawyer (by Mark Hamill) of whom we get very scarce snippets on screen (he is mostly seen dropping a sparse remark or giving quick advise to the Ushers) is meant to be the Devil who always stays in the shadows and operates under the cover of darkness, manipulating his subjects into doing VERY TERRIBLE THINGS that ensure their souls wind up in Hell and thus contribute to the contents of the Devil's personal coffers. It's my guess but I could very well be wrong, so we'll see, if the show's finale isn't a picturesque PvP battle between The Archangel (Carla Gugino) and The Devil (Mark Hamill) who will shed their humble human camouflage and don their Biblical armor appearing before the audience in their True Form.

I'm almost angry at this show being so well made. It saddens me to think that more people will now submit to religion's monstrous ideals. It saddens me that human beings, while flawed in many aspects, are portrayed as complete shit. And it makes me angry that anyone can hide behind false virtues and annihilate anyone at all as long as they're convinced that they've got a license from God. Just like in the barbarous Medieval times, we still have Divine wool pulled over our eyes and must fight to have it removed at the risk of being destroyed and having our deaths celebrated by our murderers.