#dependence upon God

[kdmiller55]

A God Who Can Be Trusted

1 The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2 Reaiah the son of Shobal fathered Jahath, and Jahath fathered Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites. 3 These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi, 4 and Penuel fathered Gedor, and Ezer fathered Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah,…

[ricky-mortis]

Curtwen Week Day 6: Happy Ending

[moongothic]

Rereading Dressrosa for the first time in quite a few years, after having become a Crocodad Truther specifically, was a really interesting experience, mainly due to the relationship between Kyros and Rebecca and Luffy's very strong feelings about those two in particular

Starting with the latter point; watching Luffy get really passionate about making sure Rebecca reunited with her father, instead of the two never seeing each other again as Kyros had planned, was just really facinating to me.

Now there ARE layers to this; Luffy saw first hand how much Rebecca and Kyros love each. Even if he didn't know or understand all the details, he knew these two were family forced to live apart due to Doflamingo's rule and that, even though Rebecca didn't know Mr Soldier was her father all those years, he still looked after her and did all he could to protect her. Luffy understands how much they matter to each other. Luffy also gets that Kyros was trying to make a sacrifice out of self-loathing; Kyros saw himself as a bloodstained monster who did not deserve to be by his daughter's side, thus his insistence on them going their separate ways. But not only is that "sacrifice out of loathing" not a thing One Piece rewards within the narrative*, but Luffy emotionally understands what Kyros was trying to do was stupid as hell. *(See; Robin trying to save the crew in the CP9 Saga, Sanji trying to offer his head to Kuma to spare everyone else (because he saw himself as the "least worthy", compared to Zoro who believed he was the only one who could actually tank Kuma and survive), Sanji again during Whole Cake Island, etc)

Adding to that, in what I feel also harkens back to Alabasta (vaguely important since Dressrosa in many ways is a reflection of Alabasta); Vivi made her decision to stay in her home because that's what she wanted deep in her heart, because she loved her country. Just the same way, dethroning Doflamingo, getting revenge for her mother and reuniting with her extended family were all fine achievements. But all Rebecca wanted deep in her heart was to stay with Mr Soldier (regardless if he was her father or not). That's what mattered the most to her.

How could Luffy even think about leaving without making sure Rebecca was able decide on her own if she wanted to stay with her father, instead of him making that decision for her, not because it was truly "for the best", but out of Kyros' own guilt and self-loathing.

All of that to say; Luffy becoming so emotionally involved in Rebecca and Kyros' father-daughter relationship is perfectly normal and on-brand for him, it's not strange at all.

...At the same time. I could not help but to wonder if those two's relationship could somehow reflect Luffy's relationship with his estranged parent(s), and more importantly, kind of debunk the fandom idea of Luffy as someone who 100% does not care if people are related or not and has ZERO interest in Dragon etc

Like I have discussed this before but I've been meta posting for so long on here I'll repeat myself just a lil; I feel like it's less "Luffy doesn't care Dragon is his father" and more "Luffy doesn't know HOW to feel about Dragon". We don't know what Garp told Luffy about his parent(s), presumably and based on the conversation post-Enies Lobby it just seems like Garp never mentioned ANYTHING to Luffy? Like he didn't even tell Luffy a white lie about why his parents weren't there for him? We simply do not know. But what we do know is these three things: 1. Luffy hates being alone, even more than "being hurt". Being alone is his worst fear 2. Although Garp was responsible for raising Luffy, he wasn't always there, meaning other townspeople and Shanks' crew alike were equally "responsible" for looking after Luffy. 3. Meaning Luffy was essentially an orphan. Fans will joke about Luffy's surprise at him having a father being because he's stupid, an asexy and doesn't know where babies come from, and while I may not be fully able to debunk that conceptually. Like. It's just as possible that because Luffy was raised like an orphan, he might have assumed that either his parents were dead or had abandoned him because they didn't want him. And I'm going to argue that if that's what Luffy always assumed was what happened, yeah, it'd contribute to his fear of being alone. It'd explain why he'd be surprised to find out he actually does have a father out there somewhere. And yeah, Luffy might not know how to feel about Dragon if that's the case. Should he hate Dragon because he wasn't ever there for him (from Luffy's POV)? Why wasn't Dragon there for him? Did he really not want Luffy, or did he have some reason for leaving Luffy? What is he like anyways, is he nice or cool or a dickbag?? Should Luffy even care about any of that stuff??? All of that to say; I don't think Luffy is completely disinterested in Dragon, I think he doesn't know how to feel or think about Dragon, and it's not relevant to Luffy right now anyways because Dragon's like, out there somewhere while Luffy is on his journey. Where as, if Luffy were to meet Dragon, get to know what he's like, why he wasn't there for Luffy and most importantly, how he feels about his only son (does he care about Luffy and his wellbeing? Is he a Kyros or a Kaidou?)- yeah, I think then Luffy COULD learn to be interested in Dragon and care about him Not out of obligation (because of their blood) but out of Luffy's own will, out of Luffy's acknowledgement of Dragon's love for him

And yeah, then we get to add the ever-delightful layer of Crocodad Trutherism to this mess.

You know how my personal theory goes; that Crocodile's been trying to find a way to overthrow and nuke the WG (potentially with an Ancient Weapon) to make sure his long lost child would be able to live freely and do whatever the hell he wanted without having to fear the WG would ever target him because he has Evil Revolutionary Leader Blood coursing through his veins. That's what makes the most sense to me as Crocodile's ultimate motivation. To protect his child, no matter the cost, even if he had to become the devil himself.

And hey, what was the story between Kyros and Rebecca again? Kyros trying to overthrow a corrupt government (a fallen Tenryuubito to boot) to protect his child so she could live freely without having a target on her back?

I don't need to explain how One Piece does have repeating themes and motifs, surely. (Also there's something to be said about fathers in One Piece who would go to hell and back for their daughters, Kuma being another example, but that's a whole different essay. But Oda's Girl-Dad Agenda is showing)

But yeah, what's even more interesting here is how Kyros believed he didn't deserve to have a reunion with Rebecca. He commited a murder decades ago, and although everyone else seems to have forgiven him for that crime, Kyros himself still thinks of himself as a horrible murderer with bloodstained hands. Not helped by how Kyros thought him teaching Rebecca self-defence skills was a failure on his part as a father (instead of him doing all he could in the horrible situation they were stuck in; teaching Rebecca how to defend herself was absolutely justified, and Kyros shouldn't have blamed himself for anything there).

Kyros didn't think he deserved to be with his daughter because he wasn't a good father, because was a monster. And Kyros could not believe anything other than that until Rebecca essentially forgave him, by explicitly telling him she wanted them to stay side-by-side. That she wanted him, and no one fucking else, as her father.

And I once again repeat myself just a little as I ask; how would Luffy feel if he found out Crocodile was his father? How would Luffy feel if he found out the reason Crocodile was going to destroy Vivi's country was because he was trying to protect his son from the WG? And that son was Luffy himself? How would Luffy feel that the asshole who stabbed him through the gut, mummified him and poisoned him was his very own family? Who also saved Luffy's life the second he learned of their blood connection? How would Luffy feel in that situation, if he found out Crocodile cares about Luffy, and wants him to be okay? And how does Crocodile feel? After stabbing Luffy through the gut, mummifying him and poisoning the brat, does Crocodile feel like he has any right to call himself Luffy's parent, let alone father? He knows Luffy rightfully hates him for all the horrible things he has done, how could Luffy ever accept him?

The past is in the past and it can't be changed. But you always have the choise, the free will, to change yourself and become a better person. You can choose to do better things, to help others and be kinder. You can have a second chance.

Robin was given a second chance. Hacchi was given one too. Kyros was given that chance to become better. So why not Crocodile?

[elkian]

Also one reason Bauhauzzo really speaks to me is how he takes in the beauty of the world. Of being alive. Not just natural beauty like sunsets and sunrises, but the beauty of human effort and interaction.

I get choked up all the time thinking of ancient manuscripts with cat pawprints on them, graves someone 400 years ago made for their faithful dog, stick figures with far too many fingers made by bored kids centuries past.

Humans have always been and will always be humans, and there are dark sides to that, but it's not all doom and heartache. Bauhauzzo talks about authoritarian-worshipping goosesteppers, but he also talks about the joys of innovation. He fondly remembers Cobigail's acts of fun and kindness alongside her pranks. He waxes poetic about how someone went to all the effort of breeding a blue rose, a thing that does not exist in nature. He remembers the light of the flames of war on the water in the same paragraph as he remembers the scent of a loved one's home-cooked meal.

I've said it before but what makes him such an excellent God of Memory and History is that he understands the past, he remembers it, but he doesn't live in it.

I haven't gotten all his anecdotes yet, but I did get the one about the Spire, and I think it's really characteristic of him. He remembers its lifetime fondly - he asks you to kiss the doorway. But he doesn't say, "everything is ruined forever until it is restored to its former glory". I don't think he'd be opposed to its restoration, necessarily (depending on the why of it, given how BuzzHuzz goes), but he acknowledges the movement of time and accepts the present, while still maintaining a fondness for the past. The Spire conversation opens with him talking about loving one's home, and I think the reference to Marie Kondo's system of Sparking Joy is deliberate. Keep what brings you joy, but you don't have to hold on to things just because they were once important to you.

Bauhauzzo loves and acknowledges and embodies the past, but never truly lets it hold him back. He understands that the present, and the future, are as important to History as the past. He doesn't want the world to stop, even if he feels a bit of nostalgia from time to time. He knows that's a natural feeling, and he might be a bit culpable for the BH situation, but it was never his intention. He was deliberately taken advantage of by the very people who claimed to be there to help him, and the very first thing he asks of you is to help him right this wrong.

Bauhauzzo is great.

[aroaceleovaldez]

Not to get pedantic (oh who am i kidding that’s most of this blog) but I am genuinely fascinated by the potential applications of the established canon in HoO and TOA that the gods canonically have both historic and regional forms, and can appear as specific versions of those forms and have kids of those specific forms, which influence what powers the kid has/what pantheon they fall under/etc etc (and also the implication that demigods can be born under multiple forms of a singular deity). This is somewhat backed up even earlier in the first series when we’re told that Percy has earthquake powers because of his father being Poseidon “The Earthshaker” (which is Mycenaean Poseidon) - which could also tie into why Percy generally takes leadership roles, is hopping in and out of the Underworld a lot, and is apparently particularly powerful for even just a Big 3 kid, since all that would line up with Mycenaean Poseidon being generally put at the head of the pantheon and also being a chthonic deity.

Now this gets really interesting when we start looking at deities being combined and conflated, because a.) the Romans weren’t the only ones doing that and b.) the Romans had their own gods originally, they didn’t just take the Greek ones and slap a new name on them. They merged a lot with their own preexisting deities alongside adopting worship of deities from other cultures as the Romans spread (and the Greeks also did this), and c.) the ancient Greeks and Romans did exist at the same time.

Like, we know in terms of the Greeks and Romans that if their godly parents are “equivalent” then their demigod children are siblings, just like if Greek demigods have the “same” godly parent then they are also siblings. However, very few Greco-Roman gods are one-to-one, and a lot are like three gods in a trench coat, and then if you want to get into historical forms then you can start running into weird things like “Well, if you go back far enough, these two Greek gods may have originated from the same thing-” and also if we’re talking historical forms, again, the Greeks and Romans existed at the same time! Which means there would be historic forms of godly parents that are both Greek and Roman! So like, where do we go from there? Would Hazel be equally siblings to a child of Plutus as she is to Nico because both Hades and Plutus were conflated into Pluto? Orcus was also conflated with Pluto - does that mean when Nico killed Bryce Lawrence, he was killing his half-brother? (cause then that parallels just a couple chapters later when Will faces off against Octavian-) Are there demigods who, depending on their godly parents’ form(s), are technically both a Greek and Roman demigod? If Hermes and Pan possibly originated from the same god, does that mean all the satyrs are siblings with the Hermes kids? If we want to get into all the nonsense of Dionysus’ origins and Zagreus and Hades, does that mean Nico is technically siblings with Dionysus kids? Does Dionysus joke about this during their therapy sessions? Are some demigods in certain cabins siblings with kids in other cabins but each others’ siblings aren’t siblings depending on what form their godly parents were in?

I have a headache now.

[realbeefman]

i just think the idea of. house, who always takes, who can be so deeply selfish, literally giving his blood, giving himself to feed vampire!wilson and wilson, who is so repressed, who bends over backwards to accommodate everyone around him finally taking, indulging, savoring the flavor of love on his tongue. “blooddrinking is a doing verb” or whatever the quote is

[cronchyradish]

anyways goblin shark woman. ALSO INVOLVES TOXIC YURI!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

she doesnt have a name yet i just call her ‘Mama’ cus shes the mother of two other ocs. Scorpion, who is from Aya’s story, and Navy, who is the secondary main of Story B. They’re half brothers

[myfictionalfables]

Making my own TFP AU and making all the designs rather than the lore and rewriting bits of the story

[sarosenna]

Did Aryan Simhadri have a growth spurt between filming episodes 3 and 5 or is it just Grover's gradually emerging confidence?

[autism-corner]

Goddamn

[kdmiller55]

The Mighty Men of David

8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time. 9 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew.…

[gorror-whorror]

(stares at wall) pearl. was a good film.

[ghwosty]

an older coworker (I think she's in her mid-late 50's) just gifted me some vintage from the 80's doc martens?? just bc she's been wanting to clean out her closet?

Hello??

[swimmingferret]

in regards to your poll, vermithor would also be a great choice and really thematically resonant as you pointed out, but the idea of rhaena - traditionally feminine, soft spoken compared to her twin, the sister that's more often overlooked - claiming the unhinged Fuck All of Ya'll dragon that eats other dragons for sport is really fucking funny and I'd love to see it

yea! like I was first thinking Vermithor since he's such an icon of the first solid step of the Targaryen rule and even in the current asoiaf books Jaehaerys is still regarded as the greatest Targaryen king, but Cannibal is just so unhinged and having him devour Sunfyre, who Aegon made his golden banner after, would be so fitting

Also toying with the idea Rhaena even offers Morning's egg to the Cannibal to distract him long enough for her to climb onto him, and then she just has to hang on as he goes postal when she jumps up onto his neck. (like you know Avatar where to be chosen and tame a Banshee it would attack them first? sorta like that)

Rhaena: *climbing up the Dragonmont* alright I must tame a dragon to help my family in this growing war, especially after Rook's Rest. Hopefully Vermithor is near, as he would be used to humans so he would be a safer option than the wild Sheepstealer or Grey Ghost. Or even Silverwing, as she had a female rider so she may be more partial to me.

Cannibal: *hanging off the side of the mountain and blending into the volcanic glass that she nearly runs into him*

Rhaena: ...fuck it, we ball

[caesarsaladinn]

you know I am beginning to suspect that I have Problems. like half a dozen various Problems Syndromes. mostly but not solely psychological. just a generally poor constitution. yes it’s very silly and humiliating and stupid. and et cetera and so forth. sorry man.

[tsubasaclones]

me but about tsubasa