#election of grace

[scripture-pictures]

[the-paris-of-people]

Also it's fucked up to yell at members of marginalized communities for acting within the two party system and not burning it all down when you don't have a plan. People are not your fucking sacrificial lambs to skewer and roast on a stick

[deansxharley]

i feel like the only reason that leo and annabeth aren't Best Friends is because jason and percy are doing everything within their powers to make sure that doesn't happen, for everyone else's safety and sanity. piper on the other hand... piper dares them to make stupid and dangerous inventions and watches the chaos unfold

[hazellvsq]

less discourse about whether the roman campers are child soldiers more discourse about how reyna/jason/percy/frank consistently tried to topple the democratic process of camp jupiter

[adorkabletwilightandfriends]

Adorkable Twilight & Friends - “Political Hack"

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[dreamaboutwhathappens]

taylor’s post falls so perfectly in line with the harris-walz campaign rhetoric of not treating trump like he’s this mythological Big Bad

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jacina Hollins-Borges at MMFA:

MAGA media figures are preparing their audiences to believe that the upcoming presidential debate on CNN will be unfairly biased against Donald Trump.  While Trump has already begun saying that the June 27 debate will be rigged against him, right-wing media attacks escalated this week after an interview with Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt was cut off on CNN’s This Morning when she refused to stop attacking network anchor Jake Tapper. Right-wing media seized on the incident as supposed evidence that the CNN debate will be unfair, and some called for Trump to cancel the debate if the network does not officially apologize.

Right-wing media had a meltdown over CNN’s Kasie Hunt cutting off Trump spokesliar Karoline Leavitt on Monday’s edition of CNN This Morning.

[fictionadventurer]

All the tour groups in Springfield should be very proud of me for how well I refrained from sharing all my fascinating Lincoln facts.

[foreverknightalways]

Grace says, She looks nervous. Natalie answers, They're picking on her. I mean, what the hell is this, some sort of TV charisma lie-dector test? Hiatt is just a better liar, that's all. Grace says, You think Norton's lying about something? Natalie snaps back, That's not what I said. Oh, man. I'm sorry. I just feel...helpless.

[cogentranting]

@the-coal-mines-knew-it-best has suggested that we name the twins Stanley and Eudora and I'm willing to second that motion.

[novelmonger]

I've been thinking a lot lately about how we as sub-creators can learn a about our Creator through our own little acts of creation. Particularly in the area of the fates of our characters. When they die, how they die, whether they're "saved" or not (which can mean different things, depending on the context of that particular story).

There are some characters we create for our stories, intending all along for them to die. Characters we create, intending from the first for them to be evil and to never repent and never have any sort of redemption. Because that's what the story needs.

Of course, the analogy kind of breaks down because, unlike our Creator, we are writing under the curse of sin. We can't fully understand or comprehend all of the implications of certain things happening, or why God has chosen to let them happen. So we do our best to mimic what we see, to sub-create in a way that feels authentic to us, but we can never quite reach the perfection that is God's story.

Still, writing about characters and deciding their fates, looking down on the story from the outside and understanding more than the characters in it really helps me get an idea of what that must be like for God. The characters in my stories might shake their fists at me and demand to know why a certain character had to die, or why they couldn't be saved, but I know in a way they never will why it had to happen, for the sake of the story I wanted to tell.

In a way, I find that encouraging for my own life.

(There's more I want to say, but that means spoilers for chapter 8 of TMI, so I'll put it under the cut.)

And yes, I've been thinking about this a lot in the context of Mabel. My poor, dear Mabel, whom I knew from the moment I made her into more of a character than just "Jake's mother" was going to die right in front of her father.

At one point during the writing process, I don't know why it suddenly hit me this way, but I started agonizing over the fate of my characters' souls. I guess it was because I was dreaming up ways that some of the canon characters might come to Christ, and of course that just made me want to save everybody.

But I'd written myself into the tricky situation of having a bunch of babies dying, as well as somewhat older children and an adult. To me, it's somewhat easier to accept adult characters dying, and knowing in the back of my head that, if these people really existed, they would probably end up in hell. After all, everyone is responsible for putting their faith in God, even if they only have a very limited understanding of who He is, even if only through general revelation. As Romans 1:20 says, "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."

It's harder to wrestle with what happens to babies, especially those who have died in the womb or right after, before they have any sort of capacity to understand right and wrong or who made them. But, being a Calvinist, I believe that God has predestined even them to be elect, or not, according to His will. God is just, and God is good, so all I can do is trust that He knows what He's doing.

But for some reason, my mind just kept sticking when it came to Mabel. Even though I still believe that it's God's will where she ends up, and our salvation is not ultimately determined by us choosing God, but in God choosing us...somehow it felt different. Because she's an adult, but being raised by Hydra has given her no access to the gospel, and not even really any chance to understand how the world really works, and so how can we expect her to even extrapolate truth from general revelation? Everything is stacked against her - because I stacked the story against her that way. So if she ends up in hell...does that make it my fault?

And yes, yes, I know this is a fictional character I'm talking about. But I love her. I love her like she's my own - because she is my own. She is my creation. So I'm responsible for her, aren't I?

But then, taking the analogy of me being to Mabel what God is to me, in a limited way...what determines who goes to heaven and who goes to hell? It's God. God ordains who is to live and who is to die, who He chooses to be His own people and who He does not, according to His perfect will and for His own good pleasure. If He wants someone to be saved, they will be saved - whether they've ever read the Bible or heard a sermon, whether they have the mental capacity to understand what sin and salvation mean, whether they've ever drawn a single breath. Ephesians 1:4-5 says that "he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will."

And so, if I am in a very small way to Mabel what God is to real people in the real world...and if I want her to be saved...then she is saved.

In this fictional world that I've created, with characters who are real within this fictional context, Mabel is in heaven.

[scripture-pictures]

[the-paris-of-people]

The past couple days online have been... interesting. I consider myself a leftist, think capitalism is corrupt, and think that it needs to be seriously reformed/overthrown. I admit that while I've thrown around phrases and terms like "burn it all down" and "the revolution needs to come" out of frustration without actually thinking about what a revolution entails: excellent organization, unity, and strategy to defeat the United States, the world's largest military superpower which has inflicted political and social destabilization across the majority of countries around the world. There also needs to be superb infrastructure and community to support the disabled, elderly, and poor populations who rely on government assistance and programs, healthcare, and accommodations while this so-called revolution rages on.

All I've received from the far leftist movement are lectures from condescending intellectuals who rattle off academic citations regarding ideological theory rather than practical, tangible steps to advocate for change in our local and regional communities. I have not seen one of them actually discuss conversations they've had with their friends, family, or Americans about what they want to see reflected for the future of the country. I have not seen one of them discussed how destructive, detrimental and traumatic a Trump presidency was for social prejudice and morale in the United States. I understand that for many marginalized groups they've been living in a facist state for centuries so the possibility Project 2025 doesn't galvanize them to see the two parties differently, but I don't think it is fair to white leftists falsely equivocate the election of both parties for the entire American population at all??? Or like at least specify the issues you're referring to in which you view both parties as the same????? Literally one TikTok creator who I used to follow talked about how true leftists are so much better than liberals because they aren't waiting for a presidential candidate to save the world NOW due to the accelerated apocalypse due to climate change but when asked how to change the world they suggest sharing ideas of your future utopia with other leftist groups. How the fuck is sitting around talking about living in a walkable community is great considered "saving the world now"? How are you going to dismantle and restructure American infrastructure to create these communities? How are you going to remove existing racial and social tensions to create a community where everyone lives happily side by side? Do people not consider reality at all?????

And is it not wrong for people to have a fucking sliver of optimism and hope at incremental change that's achieved within the corrupt bipartisan system of American politics, even if they know it's propaganda??? Is it wrong for people to have a singular fucking moment of relief in feeling like their values, beliefs, and lives will be better protected and THEY can advocate for change better??? Is it wrong when there's a couple months until the most pressing election in recent history for people to make the choice they feel will reduce the most amount of harm???

[invinciblerodent]

"I need to rein it in, I don't know the characters yet, so I won't write fic about them- it'd just end up being out of character anyway."

(proceeds to write like four pages)

"well, okay, that's.... fine, it's ambiguous enough, they barely speak. but i won't mention the kind of tattoos this character is supposed to have without seeing what options I have for them in the cc, just to keep things neat and canon-accurate."

(proceeds to spend like half an hour brainstorming ideas for exactly that)

[quoththecanary]

Dammit Hoyoverse, did you have to make him SWEET? I'm already dead.

[brianbachochin]

1 Corinthians 1:26-31: He Who Glories, Let Him Glory in the Lord