#he’s just making peace with the fact that his god and the christian god don’t align too well

[the-casbah-way]

FINALLY finished my outline for prodigal son it’s going to end up way longer than i planned </3

[noodle-is-unstable]

Please know that my words were in no meant to be a jab. I didn’t even know anything about your sexual orientation at all actually. I was scrolling and something told me to stop. I was just drawn and felt the need to tell you. Anyone who has ever used Christianity or any other religion to be cruel to you in any capacity was awful and that’s not at all how one should treat people. Nor is it the way that Christianity is supposed to be practiced. The love God has and his people has is supposed to be unconditional. There’s no place for cruelty, bullying, alienating or violence among people who are different and have different and beliefs. I genuinely apologize that you’ve come across individuals who have used it as an excuse and a warrant to do so. You didn’t deserve that condescending attitude towards you and those people heavily miscommunicated and misrepresented what Christianity is supposed to be about. I myself have church hurt due to the mistreatment of people and it took me pursuing my own personal relationship with God to hear his voice and be exposed to what his love is truly supposed to be like. I realized I let the misrepresentation of his people determine my perspective on the entire faith all together. It’s not about being perfect or judging other people and pointing fingers at people who are different and go through certain struggles and things. I grew up in the church thinking the strict suffocating and hyper judgmental environment was normal. I promise it’s not supposed to be like that. It’s supposed to be a safe space and a genuine relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit where you’re loved and guided regardless of where you are in life and what you do. Please know I never meant any harm or hurt towards you in any way. I feel like it’s a good thing you’ve set boundaries but just know to distinguish between genuine and disingenuous people. The same way that a person can get one idea about an entire sexuality is the same way a person forms a belief on an entire people. Prime example: you mentioned being mistreated for being apart of the LGBTQ+ community by people of religions. I as a Christian is flat out tell you that some of the most helpful, sweetest and accepting people I’ve met in life have been members of the LGBTQ+ community. A lot of believers have this idea that they need to point fingers and mistreat people who’s lifestyles don’t align with the gospel and they have this idea that you’re all evil in some way and unworthy or love and kindness. It’s the furthest thing from the truth ever and the absolute opposite of what Jesus God stands for. He doesn’t pick and choose who to love and it’s in his word to love your neighbor. It doesn’t say straight neighbor, gay neighbor, tall short white brown fat or skinny neighbor. It just. Says. Neighbor. And that’s where the foul ups are. The only job we have as Christians is to show love and kindness people regardless of their lifestyle, personality etc and spread the word of God. Christians aren’t supposed to in anyway shape or form make you feel less than or correct/judge you with a heart full of distaste or hate in any way. Realizing that has helped me find clarity and peace with forming a consistent relationship with God. Because I got a genuine idea of who he was and how loving his is first hand. That could be the starting point of your relationship. Address the fact that you’ve been hurt by his people. Talk to him and tell him every cruel word ever uttered to you and all the tears you’ve cried and pain you’ve felt and after all is said and done listen to any guidance or peace of mind he offers so you can understand what following him and experiencing his love is supposed to be like opposed to how the people who mistreated you represent the faith. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but just know you’re loved and seen by God. He won’t force you to have a relationship because he wants it to be genuine and he won’t intervene with anything in your life unless you go to him and ask. He’ll provide so much if you let him. 🩷

You're no better than any of the people you're talking about for one simple reason

I told you I'm agnostic and don't want religion on my page. You disrespected my right to not participate in religion by coming onto my page to push your religion

You clearly have no respect for me and my choices even it you claim to. Your words are nothing but a gross attempt at justification

Pushing religion on people, especially people that have already stated their beliefs, is a disgusting overstepping of boundaries

Not so kindly fuck off my page. Show up in my asks again and I'll block you. Have some fucking respect for other people religious choices

[characteranalyst]

Phayu Character Analysis : The Man With a Borrowed Halo and One Foot in Hell

“My brother is far from simple, you’ll get burned if you don’t know how to play with fire” - Saifah

Gather round LITA obsessed children for an in depth analysis of our resident Daddy Dom Brat Tamer Phayu who Christian Grey wished he was and tried to be. You either hate him, love him, want to be him or all of the above.

I know PhayuRain’s arc seems like on the surface just a fluffy little romance with no need for lengthy think pieces.  But I’m obsessed with their dynamic and I could not let the hyper-fixation pass before doing a character analysis. Phayu haunts the periphery of dreams and I am hoping that this analysis will help me exorcise this beautiful spectre so I can finally know peace.

As much as I would genuinely love to crack open his skull and unspool all of his thoughts and motivations I cannot do that. So disclaimer obviously this will just be conjecture and my opinion and I am going to try and stick as closely as possible to canon and refrain from falling into head canon territory.

I have read Love Storm but I’m only going to be referencing how Phayu behaves in the series because I prefer that version of him. Also this is going to be a very LONGGGG post. I have many thoughts on this man. Feel free to skim through or save it to read for some other time.

I am mainly going to be speaking about the main character traits that I have observed from him and how he relates to the rest of the characters in the series. I think I am going to make a separate analysis of his dynamic with Rain because going in depth with that would be too much for me to mention here. 

Alright let’s get into it.

(1) EARLY CHILDHOOD AND YOUNG ADULTHOOD

We are given little to no information on his childhood and or young adulthood. What we do know is that his parents left him and Saifah an incredible house and the luxury garage so we can assume that they weren’t strapped for cash.  

Him and Saifah seem like two relatively well adjusted young men so I guess we can assume that there was little to no childhood trauma. In episode 6 during their pillow talk Phayu tells Rain that his parents are off living in Korat and enjoying their lives, I’m assuming. So I guess they’re not divorced. So he has no ‘separated parents’ trauma to deal with.

The only thing that gives us a little insight into how his childhood affected who he became as a person was when he told Rain the story of how his mother always used to argue with his father about how he could fix bikes beautifully but he could not build a house for them.

So Phayu decided that he was going to ensure that he was able to fulfil both by becoming a mechanic and an architect. I think from this we can conclude that Phayu is an overachiever and this displays his seemingly constant need to be perfect and the best.

I think this may also come from a child’s instinctual need to please their caretakers and make them proud. Phayu also seems like someone who has had a Type A personality from birth. In contrast to Saifah who seems like a little more laid back more go with the flow type.

From this little snippet of information we can also assume that his affinity for being a mechanic was either inherited from his father or taught to him and Saifah.

In conclusion it’s safe to say that Phayu does not really seem to have any trauma to speak of, he's just kinky.  I like the fact he doesn’t have any heavy trauma or unsavoury character traits (well I take this back he’s a little pushy and manipulative) he needs to get over. There is beauty in this simplicity where as a result, the majority of the narrative is focused on Phayu Rain falling in love with each other.

(2)   PHAYU AND HIS AIR OF MYSTERY (DR JEYKLL AND MR HYDE)

One thing that stood out to me when we as an audience were introduced to Phayu was his air of mystery. Everyone knows of him of course because he has been knighted as the God of the faculty of architecture.  But we see quickly that very few people actually know him personally. We can see how this fact plays out in the series through the following examples:

Pun says that she has no idea what kind of business Phayu runs but it's ok because she likes a man with a little mystery. (Episode 1)

Phayu refuses to tell Rain what he likes to eat on their first date because he says that Rain has to know him a lot longer before he can ‘snoop for information’ as he puts it. (Episode 3)

Phayu shares only a little information about his life with his senior Mhok before abruptly cutting the conversation short so as to not reveal too much information about his personal life. (Episode 4)

Phayu only reveals deep information about himself and his parents and childhood to Rain after their second time during pillow talk. (Episode 6)

He also doesn’t really seem to have close friends except for Prapai and Saifah. I don’t really think Saifah counts because he’s more of an unwilling captive because they have to share everything that their parents left them. I really don’t think they would even be friends if they weren’t brothers honestly because of their differing personalities. 

I think this ability to guard what he reveals to people helps maintain his mystique. There needs to be a certain level of distance and holding people at arm’s length that needs to take place in order for people to project their fantasies onto him and build him up as some sort of God among men.

I think the reason people idolise Phayu and like him so much is because they like the idea of him rather than the reality of him. I think if more people knew who he actually was in reality, they would be put off by how intense he is.

Rain seems like the only person who had become disillusioned with the idea of Phayu. After the debacle in Episode 1 he sees Phayu not as his ‘cool handsome big bike bro” but as a pushy piece of shit bastard that tried to assault him. I also think some of his anger towards Phayu had to do with him being confused by his feelings for him;  creating a cocktail of confusion for poor Rain to sort out. So he was able to view Phayu as a person and not place him on a pedestal like other people do.

I think this is what PhayuRain’s relationship needed to flourish as well because Phayu needs someone who is able to challenge him. We are well aware of how much he loves brats. The worshipful gaze of Som and Pun would not be satisfactory for him because they had him on a pedestal and were blinded by their idea of him so they would readily submit to him without much push back.

He needed someone with a backbone who could engage in a sort of push and pull relationship with him and our adorable little firecracker Rain was the perfect match. Phayu has people falling at his feet daily; he was in need of much more excitement than that.

Like the story of the titular character Dr.Jekyll a well-respected scientist who used his alter ego Mr.Hyde to delve into the darker side of science without repentance or taking responsibility; Phayu has that same sort of duality. I think Phayu keeps his kinky side under wraps and he’s very careful about whom he shows that part of himself to. Presumably only his lovers or potential lovers get to see his ‘bad side’.

So his DR JEKYLL would be, so to speak,the Phayu that is seen as a smart, capable, polite, helpful and well-adjusted young man, loved by all and sought after by many. This is the Phayu that would leave a random stranger his set square with an encouraging message about his future in architecture.

On the flip side his MR HYDE would be Dom Daddy Brat Tamer Phayu with a penchant for sadism and degradation.

At the end of the day both sides come together to make up who Phayu is as a person and there is nothing inherently wrong with his Mr. Hyde as long as he is able to channel it and engage with it safely with willing participants. Fortunately for him, he has Rain for that.

(3) WONKY MORAL COMPASS BUT STRINGENT PERSONAL RULES 

I really had a hard time dissecting this part. But I have come to the conclusion that Phayu deserves to be labelled as a morally grey or morally ambiguous person. I really have a soft spot for morally grey characters in media or literature. 

It makes the narrative far more interesting to follow. In real life however I would run in the opposite direction and call the police. But this isn’t supposed to be real, it's supposed to be a fantasy so I’m not going to go too much in depth about Phayu’s moral failings. This show doesn’t take itself too seriously so I’m not going to either.

Phayu is not a ‘nice’ person plain and simple and he knows it, contrary to Pun’s expository gushing in the first episode of the show when she refers to him as “super-duper nice”. After the spanking incident in Episode 2 (which was wild now that I think of it) where Rain declares that he is going to make him fall in love with him he says to himself;

 “You’re going to make me fall in love with you but do you know what kind of man I am.”

I think Phayu says this because he knows himself thoroughly the good, the bad and the ugly. Phayu has overcome himself. He has recognized all his shortcomings, all his base desires, all his lowliness, all the self-imposed restraints he places upon himself and overcome them. 

Phayu also strikes me as someone who has engaged with his shadow self and explored the parts of his psyche that most of us would repress and compartmentalise because we are too ashamed of our darkness to engage with it.

He has looked his darkness in the face and come to terms with it. That is why he says, "Do you know what kind of man I am?", because he understands people’s perception of him lies in stark contrast to his unsavoury character traits.

I also think his dabbling in BDSM has given him the room and space to conduct such exploration of himself in a safe, sane and consensual way. I think the nature of BDSM can afford people an outlet to engage with their own darkness and sort through it so that it doesn’t manifest in their life in other ways.

In Episode 1 we see where Prapai likens him to the devil (jokingly) but under every joke there is definitely some truth. If Prapai is calling him that it must be the truth because as we know Prapai looks like his only close friend.

We can assume that Prapai is incredibly familiar with Phayu’s Mr. Hyde as we can presume that they know each other very well so his assessment of dubbing Phayu as a devil must be accurate. 

Also head canon (I know I said I was going to refrain from going into head canon territory but please indulge me a bit) I’m sure they’ve fucked before in a bro-ish kind of way. I mean their both hot and bi and Prapai’s a sub in top’s clothing (I know Dom/sub and top/bottom are two separate things just enjoy the joke you know what I mean)  so it’s not far fetched to think they would have at some time fucked around a bit. 

Although I know Phayu is hardly the correct type of Dom for Prapai’s specific brand of subbiness. The point is I think that Prapai would be privy to Phayu’s true nature and how much of a little shit he can be when he isn’t using his powers for good.

In Episode 5 Saifah, the only other person we see having a close relationship with Phayu refers to him as a Devil as well.

I just know these two have witnessed some shit over the years of knowing Phayu that warranted him being referred to as a Devil.

Discussing Phayu’s moral code is very weird because it’s obvious that he doesn’t really adhere to a normal set of rules. We can assume he’s not particularly religious because it wasn’t mentioned.

I think Phayu is very domineering and kind of manipulative but at the same time he commands an air of respect. He is not necessarily what you would expect from someone who is so widely lauded as an exemplary person.

What also struck me about Phayu was the fact although his moral code seems a little flexible he has a few hard and fast non-negotiable rules that may seem arbitrary to someone like Rain but to him it may as well be gospel. 

One of these rules in the show is seen where we see he has a big thing for respect. We see an example of this when he calls Rain after he picks up his car from the garage and he tells Rain that only ill-mannered boys don’t greet the owner of the house when they stop by. He also ends the call by telling Rain to be respectful. We also see his thing for rules when he tells Rain that he doesn’t like ill-mannered boys and that he should address him as P’Phayu emphasising the use of honorifics.

Phayu is also a man of his word in Episode 7 when Rain tells Phayu that he will unleash his wrath on him if he ever cheats on him. Phayu just laughs and says he will never let Rain down. He holds true to this in the Special Episode when Rain accuses him of cheating on him with Natsu he utters the same sentiment that he promised to never let Rain down. This man looked absolutely horrified at the accusation like he wouldn’t even dream of it.

I think his strict adherence to rules other than him being a Dom could also be influenced by his exposure and affiliation with the likes of P’Pakin and P’Chai.  He knows that there will be dire consequences if the rules aren’t strictly adhered to. This is why he curses Stop for mentioning the race in public and he reprimands Rain for thoughtlessly wandering into the illegal street race without permission to be there.

BUT ON THE FLIP SIDE

He’s so stringent about ensuring that Rain is polite and respectful but he thinks it’s perfectly fine to tamper with Rain’s car so that he would have an excuse to be his knight in shining armour and save him so they could hook up. The math is not mathing at all. I know he’s an experienced mechanic and he wouldn’t have tampered with anything that would have led Rain getting in an accident and getting injured but still. WEIRD BEHAVIOUR KHUN PHAYU!!!!!! Also don’t even get me started on him using the debt of fixing Rain’s car as some weird way to stalk him??? RED FLAGGGGGG!! His methods of courtship definitely need some fine tuning. 

In conclusion his contradictory moral code gives me whiplash trying to figure out where on the scale from angel to devil I should place him. But I think he’s just human. No one is all good and all bad and I think that Mame writes very human raw characters that make you feel something. I’ll give credit where credit is due.

(4) AN EERIE LEVEL OF SELF CONTROL AND THE PATIENCE OF A SAINT 

This man probably never has New Year’s Resolutions because he’s already operating at optimal condition. Phayu is portrayed to be quite literally always in control. The only time he looks undone is after THAT SCENE in Episode 6.

We see this self-control manifest in the way he makes love to Rain in a very formulaic, worshipful and almost performative manner. Gently throwing Rain’s head back, holding his hands down and caging his body. Rain responds in kind to his dominance by always baring his throat in submission and allowing his body to go lax under Phayu’s ministrations.

It’s so gentle but he’s still being dominant and in control. While Rain always looks halfway between heaven and earth during these scenes Phayu always seems wholly present and tethered to earth (like a good Dom should be) creating a space in which his precious sub can feel safe enough to fly out of this stratosphere.

The subtlety with which he maintains control makes me absolutely feral. There is hardly any jostling or manhandling but it’s still forceful. I think a great example of the subtlety of how Phayu displays his dominance can be seen in the PhayuRain make-out scene in Episode 5.

The natural way he cages Rain’s neck to control the flow of the kiss.

The way he stop kissing Rain when Rain tries to lead and he put a finger to his lips in a way that almost screams “Relax I’m in charge here.”

Unlike our donut firecracker Rain (my sweet boy) that was ready to scrap at the first sign of disrespect, Phayu seems like he is not one to resort to violence if they could sort it out by just talking and coming to an amicable solution.

We can see an example of this where Phayu refused to be baited by Stop into fighting with him even though Stop was about to punch him at the night racing circuit in the beginning of Episode 6.

Also before the race between him and Stop where Stop was trying to rile him up. He was able to remain level headed while Stop immediately lost his cool and tried to fight him once again when Phayu insulted him.

I’m assuming this self-control is more nature than nurture. It seems like he is the type to have always been calm and self-contained. He doesn’t need to bark loudly because his competence and self-assuredness speaks volumes. 

He quite literally doesn’t yell often he just uses that husky dom voice. The only time he ever really raised his voice was when he was shouting at Rain in Episode 2 when he was worried that he could have gotten killed for sneaking into the illegal street circuit race.

The thing about dominance and control that I think people like Stop with fragile egos get wrong is that they think it comes from a place of aggression, peacocking and forcing people to bow to your will. This is however not the sort of dominance that will truly gain you respect and have people willingly obey you.

Phayu’s dominance and control comes from a place of nurturing and caring and people only defer to him and his authority because he has proven time and time again that he is capable of shouldering the responsibility of what this control entails and he has consequently gained their respect because of it.

(5) PRIDE GOES BEFORE A FALL 

No matter how level headed he is and self-control he possesses he’s still a man and he has been socialised to exist as a man. So he’s not above engaging in a motorcycle race with an asshole like Stop to prove a point and because of his pride.

I like how this moment humanised Phayu and showed how no matter how above petty human emotions he seems, he’s still liable to fall victim to making decisions based on ego.

However, I like that he was self-aware enough to realise that he was indeed only participating in this race because of his pride because he says to Rain when he tries to stop him some things just don’t have an explanation. 

We can contrast him racing Stop because of his pride and him kneeling before Stop and crawling to save Rain from being hurt. Although he has an ego he was more than willing to put pride aside to ensure Rain’s safety.

(SIDENOTE- I died watching the kidnapping ordeal in episode 7 that shit was so unserious. The picture of Rain that Stop sent Phayu lives in my head rent free and I cackle from time to time because of it.) 

(6) “P’PHAYU LHOR MAKKKKK!” – Pun  (PRETTY PRIVILEGE AND THE HALO EFFECT)

Physical appearance is often a major part of the halo effect. People who are considered attractive tend to be rated higher as possessing positive traits in contrast to people who aren’t considered conventionally attractive.

I think beauty can be blinding and make people more willing to overlook people’s misgivings. As the halo effect states people are more likely to project good qualities on to people they deem to be conventionally attractive.

As I said when I was addressing his air of mystery; because people are so predisposed to projecting all these good qualities on Phayu the distance and the space that he creates between him and other people can be filled with these projections and good qualities so that they build him up in their minds as this amazing person.

This man radiates and secretes ungodly amounts of sex appeal without trying. So I think his general attractiveness is one of the reasons as well why Rain had a hard time getting people to believe that Phayu was a pushy manipulative little asshole in the beginning.

Do I think Phayu would have commanded the same level of respect that he does without also being pretty? I don’t know to be honest. I do however think Phayu is an unintentional cautionary tale about the dangers of projecting good qualities on someone just because they’re attractive and being blind to their faults.

(7) SELF ASSURED, CONFIDENT AND CHARMING – CONCEITED?

I mean I’d be that confident too if I was rich, handsome, talented, smart ANDDDDD could fuck like a porn star but I digress. Very much a quiet confidence to him as was elaborated on when I spoke about the air of mystery. He is evidently very capable and consequently people rely on him and I think his self- assuredness comes from the fact that he can back up his claims because he has every right to be self-centred.

Without mincing words this man is very conceited. However although he is conceited he doesn’t lack empathy and he doesn’t seem too self-involved as evidenced by the way he ensures that he takes care of the people he cares about.

(8) PHAYU THE COMPULSIVE CARETAKER, CONCEITED BUT NOT SELF-INVOLVED

We see in Episode 4 how Phayu puts Rain’s needs before his by ensuring that Rain focuses on his school work and ensures that his development and advancement as a person comes before pursuing a romantic relationship with Phayu.

He ensures that Rain understands how slacking on his work in pursuance of other things will affect his work life and he lectures him while still comforting him after. I really liked this scene in Episode 3 because Phayu is able to help Rain because he’s older and more experienced and he’s gone through it before. I also like the fact that there isn’t a hint of condescension in his voice, just concern and wanting to ensure that Rain becomes the best version of himself.

Phayu shows how much he cares about Rain and is invested in making Rain a priority in his life in so many little ways. We can see in Episode 5 how Phayu leaves an important meeting to answer Rain’s text messages. Also in Episode 4 When Rain finishes his project early after an all-nighter and instead of sleeping he goes straight to Phayu. Phayu ensures that there is reciprocity in their relationship by saying that you missed out on sleep to come see me, so I'm going to hurry up and finish my work so we can hang out.

He makes an effort to help Rain finish his models like he promised to do in his speech in Episode 5. Also in Episode 4 he apologises to Rain for his phone dying and for making him wait for him in the rain. In Episode 6 after he almost gets in a fight with Stop the first thing he does is ask Rain if he’s alright even though he was the one that almost had a brawl with Stop.

I think we really see throughout the show how the way Phayu interacts with Rain takes on a sort of paternalistic tinge. The title of Daddy is incredibly fitting and I really just think this is him being a good Dom.

That’s why I think this is the reason Phayu looks so touched and taken aback when Rain and him first meet and he holds the umbrella for Phayu while he’s changing his tire. Phayu’s so used to being relied on and being assumed to be competent and well put together. He’s used to giving without expecting anything in return. So when Rain does this small act of kindness in an effort to repay this Good Samaritan, Phayu becomes fascinated with him. 

(9) ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS B.R. (Before Rain)

Was he possibly a whore? Not as much of a whore as Prapai but he has definitely spun the block. Whereas our beloved service top Prapai has built a gated community in which he resides on said block. Phayu had a condom stashed under that toy car so we know he was getting some action.

He was probably not a whore whore because as he said to Rain in the bathroom scene:

We all know why he’s particular. I don’t think he would have been able to find a lot of people willing to put up with his domineering attitude and controlling nature long term if they didn’t have that sort of kink no matter how insanely hot he is.

But there were definitely others before Rain if we can take cues from the offhanded comments of the other characters in the series. Saifah tells Rain in Episode 3 when he’s waiting for Phayu that there were others before him. Was it a lot of others though? The world may never know.

Saifah comments on the fact that Phayu has been single for a long time and Saifah tells him if he wants to be happy like him he should get in a serious relationship. So we can assume that long term romantic relationships for Phayu have more than likely been few and far between. He probably was not celibate though as we see how he was going to have a one night stand with Rain.

We see Saifah saying that he feels bad for whoever is making Phayu smile like that and how he warns him not to be too mean to Rain because he will run away. We can assume that others have been perturbed by how intense Phayu was in the past and they have run off.

I’m sure Saifah knows Phayu very well and even if he isn’t aware of the details of his kinkiness he knows Phayu has a thing about control and a mean streak. At least that’s what Saifah computes it as in his vanilla mind. I’m sure this poor man has heard and seen way too much. JUSTICE FOR SAIFAHH!!!!!!

Lastly before they get together Phayu constantly tests Rain to see if he can handle what a long term relationship with him would look like. I’m sure this comes from things not working out in the past and Phayu wanting to ensure that Rain can handle him.

We can see that Phayu may have abandonment issues from things not working out in the past with his romantic pursuits when in Episode 5 he’s scared and panicked and sad when Rain runs away after they have sex for the first time. I have three theories about this:

(1) He didn’t want to lose Rain because he’s a unicorn and he may never have hope of finding someone so perfect for him again.  

(2) He was abandoned before because he was too much and overbearing and it triggered him.

(3) He’s big on communication and he feels slighted that Rain ran away before they could discuss how their relationship would develop after they had sex for the first time.

It could have quite possibly been a combination of all of the above. Phayu seems like the type to be fully invested in a long term relationship and he seems like someone who loves deeply so I think him testing Rain was him just trying to ensure that Rain was worth the investment before he got too attached.

(10) PHAYU THE SCULPTOR ; HIS OBSESSION WITH POTENTIAL AND MOULDING THINGS TO HIS LIKING 

“Rain before you design a house you need to design your life first”- Phayu

I get the impression that Phayu’s view on life is that everything can be curated and tailored to his liking if he tries hard enough. He’s definitely not a go with the flow kind of person. Every single move he makes is intentional. Looking at his two professions being an architect and his side of job of being a mechanic; these are two things that require moulding, precision.

Architects are able to create and design and bring their vision to life and make it tangible. It’s a very creative profession with the added bonus of having something you designed realised in real life.

Also mechanics are constantly tinkering with engines and in control of powerful machinery. Whether they work on maintenance, diagnostics, or repairs, they have to perform those tasks with exacting detail. That is because this careful work on important vehicle components could save someone’s life.

This speaks to Phayu’s pedantic nature with the added element of not wanting to deal with the consequences of disappointing Pakin. These machines are kind of like a puzzle to be solved.

But the catch is those things aren’t really his and they don’t truly belong to him.

In Episode 3 we can infer that sometimes clients may criticize his designs and he has to mould it to their liking instead of relying on his own vision.

In Episode 1 Prapai tells him your babies are so beautiful (referring to the motorcycles) but Phayu corrects him and says that they don’t belong to him.

But I think that although he doesn’t own these things and that he may be required to tailor the design of a house to someone else’s liking still these tasks scratch his itch for moulding and creating.

Then *enter stage left* a wild Rain appears, a blank canvas unmarred by past sexual or romantic experience. He has no expectations and no idea how anything works so he’s able to become a sort of pliable clay that Phayu can use his deft fingers to mold to his liking consequently making Rain his.

We can are shown how their relationship is mutually beneficial and how it works for them. Different folks have different strokes.

The glint in his eyes and the way Phayu all but shivers in excitement every time Rain tells him he can’t do something. 

Episode 4 – "I’ll teach you"

Episode 6- "I'll train you to be the best rider"

In the infamous Daddy scene in the special episode he says "When I teach I teach to the core" 

It’s not explicitly stated but I’m sure this man got off constantly at the fact that he was Rain’s first everything when it came to sex and romance and he is constantly in charge of moulding him.

We can definitely see how much of a diligent student and quick learner Rain is and how Phayu is consequently able to enjoy the fruits of his labour. (SIDE NOTE: I’m sure Phayu wasn’t prepared for the monster he created in Rain.)

I love the reciprocity in their relationship as Phayu shows Rain just how desired he is and worships him constantly.

(11) WHY HE WAS DEFINITELY A KID WHO HATED SHARING HIS TOYS 

Phayu strikes me as a man who knows exactly what he wants and  how to obtain it and when he finds it he will hold on to it and never let it go. We are given countless examples of Phayu’s blatant possessiveness over Rain once they begin their unorthodox courtship.

When after their first time Phayu says to Rain that he must repeat the phrase “Rain belongs to P’Phayu.”back to him.

This man heard that Pun was in Rain’s general vicinity and immediately drove to him to stake his claim. Also when he admits to being “insanely jealous” of Pun ever since he heard that Rain used to have a romantic interest in her.

He removes Saifah’s hand from Rain’s shoulder in Episode 4 and tells him to get back to work after Saifah suggests that he could teach Rain how to ride a super bike.

I do think this possessiveness is also in part because Phayu realises how much of a rare find Rain is and he will do everything in his power to ensure that they stay together forever. I also think in contrast, Rain’s possessiveness has more to do with him constantly having to fight off potential suitors because everyone is in love with Phayu (well the idea of him). 

I appreciate however that his possessiveness isn’t portrayed as particularly toxic because in episode 5 when Phayu is having lunch with Sky and Rain and Rain tells Sky he loves him after he told him that Phayu and him were dating.

Instead of getting unreasonable jealous of Rain and Sky’s obviously platonic relationship, Phayu simply says that he has no reason to be jealous because he knows that Sky and Rain are just friends.

I think if they ever decided on venturing out and engaging in a threesome it would 100% be Rain’s idea in order to satiate his own curiosity. Phayu would go along with it (ever indulgent of his sweet boy) but he would probably have to be in control the entire time while simultaneously barking orders at the third party about how to pleasure Rain properly.

(12) THE SADISTIC  LITTLE SHIT (AFFECTIONATE) AND HIS “DEK NGO”  "DEK NARAK"

I know PhayuRain and their kink list is longer than the elevator ride to hell but I’m going to focus on what in my opinion is Phayu’s poison of choice. That is sadism and degradation.

More specifically emotional and psychological sadism mostly. I don’t think he’s particularly opposed to physical sadism though. In the special episode he said he punished Rain until he was sore but Rain liked it. Although this is vague and he could have been sore for different reasons we see in Episode 2 when Phayu is berating Rain for breaking into the illegal race that isn’t above spanking Rain.

I don’t really know for sure if Rain is a masochist though I think he is definitely willing to try things with Phayu but he didn’t really seem to enjoy the spanking but I guess that was mostly because they didn’t know each other that well.

So I think while Phayu is mainly an emotional sadist and he prefers it he partakes in physical sadism with Rain because I think Rain would prefer that more based on his personality. This is mainly because of his obvious praise kink.

(CC: Rain’s blissed out expression when Phayu whispered “keng mak” i.e. “Good job” in his ear in the bathroom stall scene after Rain had followed his instructions.)

So the degradation that comes along with emotional sadism may not be Rain’s cup of tea.

After the incident in Episode 3 where Phayu told Rain to change ‘ngo’ to ‘narak’ ; I think he realised how insecure Rain was about being called stupid and that this was a hard limit for Rain. We can see as the story progress after this incident where Phayu either calls him “naughty boy” or some version of good boy.

I do think that this is an example of how Phayu is willing to tailor and transform his kinks and compromise to ensure that Rain is comfortable. He realised that Rain responds far better to praise and made the necessary adjustments.

We also see Phayu’s penchant for degradation and humiliation in  Episode 3 where he buys Rain extra small underwear. Although they were the correct size for Rain, Phayu had to throw  in a little dick size shaming for his own amusement. The smug little smile after he riles Rain up about this speaks for itself. 

However I wanted to fight him when he made my baby Rain cry in episode 5 after he made Rain think that he didn’t want to be with him anymore. Although I kind of feel like this was sort of more punishment for the fact that Rain ran off after their first time in Episode 4 and made him worry. I guess it’s safe to add dacryphilia to their long ass kink list. Phayu you sadistic little shit. 

If we also listen to the words of Phayu in his little speech before they make out in episode 5, I swear the only thing missing from this was Phayu getting down on one knee and proposing to Rain. 

He says:

We can see that he enjoys this and gets off on being the one to tease and degrade Rain. He knows Rain’s limits and he ensures that he follows up any degradation with praise as a  salve to any open wounds he’s caused with his words. I think Rain eventually adapts to this part of Phayu however because in Episode 7 he tells Phayu that he is willing to let Phayu tease him forever. 

I love how they are both willing to adapt and compromise to better serve each other’s needs. Phayu constantly keeps Rain off kilter constantly guessing, constantly teasing him but at the same time he ensures that Rain understands that Phayu loves him and he is valued.

Phayu is constantly and reflexively adjusting himself to meet Rain's needs from moment to moment and I applaud him for it. Good job Daddy you get a gold star for all your hard work.

(13) PHAYU THE INVENTOR OF HEALTHY COMMUNICATION

This definitely has to be one of my favourite things about Phayu. I’m sure Rain isn’t the first person Phayu has attempted to have some sort of D/s relationship with and at the core of this is communication, consent and boundaries. 

D/s relationships especially 24/7 ones involve copious amounts of consent and negotiation and communication but I know that the show couldn’t necessarily explicitly address the fact that they are in a 24/7 D/s relationship so we don’t get any sit down moments where Phayu and Rain discuss it blatantly. However I would assume that at some point Phayu sat Rain down and explained to him what their dynamic is and what was expected of him.

We definitely see how much Phayu values communication in the Special Episode when Rain misreads a situation. Where he sees Phayu talking to Natsu on the couch in Phayu’s home. I mean to be fair sparks were flying between them. I don’t know  if that was just a Boss thing because good God this man can generate sexual tension with a  wall. (Went off on a tangent there moving on back to communication.)

I think that Phayu understands that Rain has a sort of inferiority complex that is made worse by people being constantly baffled as to how Rain ended up with a guy like Phayu. Rain also most likely due to immaturity and lack of life experience has a problem with communication and conflict resolution. 

Phayu has to drag the confession out of Rain about why he’s upset with him. We see where this man has quite literally done nothing wrong yet still he gets on his knees to apologise and tries to make it up to Rain. 

I love that Phayu possesses the maturity to  never allow misunderstandings to remain unaddressed and fester. Although Rain may lack the maturity to speak up and directly tell Phayu what is bothering him in any given situation, Phayu ensures that they talk it out so that their conflicts do not go unresolved and that resentment does not have the opportunity to set in. 

(14) PHAYU SEX & SEXUALITY 

Phayu is an unapologetically shameless and sexual person. This comfortability in his sexuality and his lack of preoccupation with other people's opinion of him allows him to exude a calm self assurance and striking sex appeal subconsciously. 

This comfortability with his own sexuality was displayed many times throughout the series. In Episode 3 when that are at the porridge shop and Phayu goads Rain into being unashamed of the fact that they were in public and on a date with each other.

In Episode 5 after Rain told Sky that he was dating Phayu he said he was happy that Rain told his best friend about them because he understands that he would be apprehensive in case Sky would start to see him differently. I like that he lets Rain come out on his own time and he doesn’t rush him. Lastly in Episode 6 Phayu proudly introduces Rain as his boyfriend to P’ Chai at the street race. 

Phayu is a readymade character who has presumably gone through the stage in his life where he would have explored his sexuality and unusual proclivities and has come to the point of acceptance. I think that is why he is portrayed as someone who knows exactly what he likes and enjoys and is unashamed of it.

This is why he seems to be such a safe place for Rain to explore the full spectrum of his own sexuality.  There is never any judgement in Phayu's eyes when they uncover another one of Rain’s off the walls kinks. We just see at most a sort of mild amusement and an instant willingness to acquiesce and indulge Rain.

Phayu being out and proud made Rain feel like it was ok to have these feelings so his apprehension about identifying as such quickly dissipated.He’s constantly willing to teach, indulge and hold Rain’s hand through this journey and I just think that’s so neat. 

Everyone deserves to have a safe place like Phayu when dipping their toes in and navigating the troubled unpredictable waters of sex and sexuality especially when coming to terms with their own queerness. 

WHAT IS PHAYU’S MAIN MOTIVATION THAT UNDERSCORES EVERYTHING SINGLE ACTION THAT HE TAKES?

The simple answer to this is control. This is important because I don’t see Phayu as someone who particularly chases after power but control? Yes most definitely.Power is the ability to make something happen. Control is the ability to make something happen the way you want. We are all created differently but Phayu needs control at all times in the same way we need oxygen to survive. It’s just the way his wires were crossed. 

Phayu could have easily just admitted to Rain on their first meeting that he remembered him and he could have left it to chance how their encounter would have gone. He could have also gone through the Prapaiesque route and  just pursued Rain himself. 

But he was different; he made sure that he was in control of  their dynamic from the very beginning. The aforementioned options left far too many variables that could have thrown a wrench in Phayu’s end game which was getting Rain. 

He even somehow managed to get Rain to pursue him and have him think that it was his idea. Even though he was the one who liked Rain from the very beginning.

This desperate all-consuming need to be in control at all times is tempered by Phayu’s ability to adequately shoulder the responsibility that comes with that control. Everything he does is calculated. There is always an end goal. Consequently he thrives and is most content when he has someone like Rain to be in charge of in a sense.

The contentment and ease that seems to overtake Phayu when he and Rain are in an established relationship is a sight to see. He’s no longer untethered; he's firm and grounded.

CHARACTER’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE PLOT

There isn’t too much angst and the denouement/final conflict just concerns external factors and has nothing to do with Phayu Rain’s romantic relationship

The plot is just romance; from the meet cute in the rain to the established relationship. I love how we just felt like we were along for the ride to watch two men fall irrevocably in love with each other and fit together perfectly like puzzle pieces.

CHARACTER’S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE SERIES

I’m going to be honest I don’t think there was much life altering character growth with Phayu. When we meet Phayu he seems like a fully fleshed out character who knows what he wants and isn’t ashamed of his proclivities and sexuality so there is no room to explore there or for any consequent development. Phayu is a static character with no change in behaviour, and his values and attitudes remain pretty consistent throughout the entirety of the text and the series. 

I don’t think I’m getting over PhayuRain anytime soon. If you got all the way to the end I hope you enjoyed my ramblings. Let me know if you guys have anything to add. The plot as well as the characters in this show were a far cry from perfect but I keep coming back to it so they must have done something right. 

[jasper-pagan-witch]

Hermes/Mercury In Poetry: A Compilation Of Poems By Sappho, Carl Dennis, And Shirley Burger With Mediocre Analysis

Hermes and Mercury are a god who has remained in the public consciousness despite the fact that worship of them has dwindled to nearly nothing (shoutout to my fellow Ancient Greek polytheists, though). Due to still being in the public consciousness despite everything, it’s not that surprising to see Hermes and Mercury still popping up in everything from video games to battleships, and don’t get me started on Hermes Trismegistus. (No, really, please don’t, I don’t know enough about Hermeticism to get into that.)

This is not any form of professional comparative essay. Or even a casual comparative essay. This is just me going feral over poetry and Hermes/Mercury. Let’s get this shit started.

In Sappho: A New Translation (translated by Mary Barnard), Hermes appears in two parts: 14 and 97. These depict Hermes in two vastly different roles: cupbearer and psychopomp.

Fragment 14 goes as thus:

PEACE REIGNED IN HEAVEN Ambrosia stood already mixed in the wine bowl It was Hermes who took up the wine jug and poured wine for the gods

Fragment 14 depicts Hermes in the role of cupbearer for the gods, a duty more often attributed to Hebe (the daughter of Zeus and Hera, the goddess of youth) or Ganymede (a Trojan prince, the constellation Aquarius, god of homosexual love, playmate of Eros and Hymenaios). Theoi.com lists him as being a cupbearer among other things due to his ministry to Zeus, but I’m gonna be honest, I had a hard time figuring out how to read their citations and couldn’t find any other instance other than the general page about this particular thing. The most likely answer here, though, is that I just suck at reading.

Meanwhile, Fragment 97 depicts a more well-known side of Hermes:

I HAVE OFTEN ASKED YOU NOT TO COME NOW Hermes, Lord, you who lead the ghosts home: But this time I am not happy; I want to die, to see the moist lotus open along Acheron

Our girl Sappho was fucking going through it, man. This poem calls to Hermes as a psychopomp, a duty attributed to him in Homer’s Odyssey (an epic from C8th B.C.), the Homeric Hymn 4 to Hermes (an epic from C7th to C4th B.C.), Aeschylus’s Libation Bearers (a tragedy from C5th B.C.), and more and more as we get closer to the current period in history. According to the Homeric Hymn 4, he got this job after being sent to retrieve Persephone and handling that whole scenario, so Zeus just appointed him to keep that psychopomp job. The downsides of pulling things off well, I suppose.

So, that was how Sappho perceived Hermes through poetry. How about something more...modern? In 2001, Carl Dennis published “Practical Gods”, which won the 2000 Ruth Lily Poetry Prize and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize. Greek, Catholic, and Christian figures appear through these poems as Carl Dennis draws on mythological and religious imagery for his works. Hermes appears in “A Priest of Hermes” in his psychopomp duties, and the idea of Death and how one dies appears in other poems in this book, like “Eternal Life” and “Progressive Health”. (Not every poem in this work is focused on Death, but those ones were the most striking to me when I first read them.)

A Priest of Hermes The way up, from here to there, may be closed, But the way down, from there to here, still open Wide enough for a slender god like Hermes To slip from the clouds if you give your evenings To learning about the plants under his influence, The winged and wingless creatures, the rocks and metals, And practice his sacred flute or dulcimer. No prayers. Just the effort to make his stay So full of the comforts of home he won’t forget it, To build him a shrine he finds congenial, Something as simple as roofed pillars Without the darkness of an interior. If you’re lucky, he’ll want to sit on the steps Under the stars for as long as you live And sniff the fragrance of wine and barley As it blows from the altar on a salty sea breeze. He’ll want, when you die, to offer his services As a guide on the shadowy path to the underworld. Not till you reach the watery crossing Will he leave your side, and even then He’ll shout instructions as you slip from your shoes And wade alone into that dark river.

To me, this poem feels warm and comforting, in a way that Death is only sometimes described. Death as a gentle force is becoming more popular to depict rather than violent Death, as Death is slowly being seen as something that comforts you after a long period of hardship (fighting terminal illness, being in danger, a heart attack, et cetera) or to help you step forward if you die in a more peaceful manner (such as dying in one’s sleep). This poem being so calming makes sense: a psychopomp’s duty is to guide you to the afterlife, and it’s hard to guide someone who’s flipping the fuck out.

Let’s fast forward five years, to 2006. Noble House Publishing put out “Songs of Honour”, an anthology of poems that span all kinds of authors and subjects. (It’s also completely unclear whether or not the writers knew that their works were being used in this, and it doesn’t have an ISBN...) But the poem of note here is Shirley Burger’s “Mercury, Oh Caduceus”, found on page sixty-nine (nice). Let’s see if you can figure out why it was so interesting to me. The poem goes as follows:

Mercury, Oh Caduceus Mercury, such a toxic rhyme... A goddess, once upon a time... Twisted with your mammon ways... Oh my Father counts the days... When your Caduceus will be revealed... For all your bronze and all your “steal”... You’ve preyed upon the children dear... And as you speak all I can hear... Is poverty upon us all... You’ve tripped us up and made us fall... Soon your serpent ways will see... Nothing about you makes us free... Your lies are beneath all your hidden ways... Oh how my Father counts the days... Until your statue crumbles hard... And frees the people once again... From what you’ve told us is our friend... Your lies stroll forth unto the day... When thoughts of you will go away... Forever.

Okay, yes, yes, this poem treats Mercury as being synonymous with the serpent that convinced Eve to bite the fruit of knowledge and reads like a Christian freaking out about heresy and misleading the children, yes, sure, whatever. It’s like the polar opposite of Carl Dennis’s approach to Hermes.

But most interesting to me is the fact that the author refers to Mercury as a goddess. This is fascinating to me because in Western astrology, despite Mercury being a “masculine” god, Mercury the planet is considered to be perfectly neutral in terms of masculinity and femininity. I have no idea how Shirley Burger managed to make the jump from “Mercury is a Roman god” to “this is a goddess”, considering everything, but it’s fascinating to me.

There is no closing statement for this post! It’s not even a formal essay! I’ve said “fuck” four times, after all. But this is the end of the Tumblr post. Enjoy the poetry.

Sources & References

(Yes, I found an online MLA 9th edition citing website tool just to make these look fancy. Fuck you.)

Wikipedia contributors. “Hermes.” Wikipedia, 10 Jan. 2002, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes.

Wikipedia contributors. “Mercury (mythology).” Wikipedia, 17 Nov. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(mythology).

“HERMES - Greek God of Herds and Trade, Herald of the Gods.” Theoi Greek Mythology, www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes.html.

Sappho. Sappho: A New Translation. University of California Press, 2019.

Dennis, Carl. Practical gods. National Geographic Books, 2001.

Burger, Shirley. Songs of honour. Edited by Noble House Staff, Noble House Publishers, 2006. “Mercury, Oh Caduceus”, pg. 69

Burk, Kevin. Astrology: Understanding the Birth Chart : a Comprehensive Guide to Classical Interpretation. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2001.

[talenlee]

The Unutterable Smugness Of Being

A complaint I heard a lot, about ten years ago, was that Online Atheists were ‘smug.’ This was seen as a major complaint about us, which didn’t really do anything to bring our attention to the very real problems we had with misogyny and racism and transphobia and islamophobia, but it also worked as a really good kind of social brush to tar a group with because even now, you’ll hear the word used like it’s an automatically necessary descriptor: ‘smug internet atheists.’

Good news, I have no desire at all to ask you to change your mind on internet atheists, because there sure are a bunch of them who seem to be complete tools. Again, the ones I think of as tools, I would probably recommend that it’s much more important to confront them on, again, the racism and the misogyny and the transphobia and the islamophobia and then on the misogyny again because that… that sure is the actual problem, but I’m not seeking to claim unsmugness.

Just, like, what does ‘smug’ mean?

I got started on this thread when I realised if I had to see another well intentioned atheist youtuber bring up a clip of Mike Winger to provide an illustration of a Christian apologist delivering a particular family of bad point, I was going to stop watching them altogether. Not because what they did was fundamentally a bad thing, that they were somehow platforming a bastard, but because Mike Winger as a person to me, is painfully, unpleasantly smug and condescending and almost always, completely and utterly wrong.

I find Mike Winger really smug.

Smug in this context isn’t really a fact or a testable trait. I don’t think people mean smug as smug as like, the dictionary word. Smug means, in the dictionary, that someone is ‘highly self-satisfied.’ This is a complaint I hear a lot about a type of person, usually a type of person I am, usually around me, without actually realising I am a member of that community, which often results in me asking some questions making a mental note about someone to never bother talking to again and peace the heck out. Pretty consistently, I hear it used as a way to describe someone who is right but do they have to be an asshole about it? Or, someone who isn’t right enough, like Jon Stewart when he derided George W Bush for being bad at being a president, was just ‘smug’ about it.

You do know one of the people that atheists present themselves as against is the pope, right? Like, it is a not insignificant thing that there is a man whose job title is ‘the voice of god on earth,’ who is the head of a corporation and a country and who oversees what his church claims is 1.3 billion people. That organisation claims that membership and boasts of its charity work running 5,000 hospitals worldwide, which is a heck of a number, but also seems pretty titchy when you line it up alongside the claimed populace of 1.3 billion. For comparison, India, population 1.4 billion, is estimated to have around 70,000 hospitals. And I know it’s a cheap shot to bring up the way that the Catholic church compares badly to a country, but it is a little weird, right, for a thing that’s ostensibly empowered by god itself and headed up by, again, the voice of god on earth, to boast about 5,000 hospitals when a mere country, a country with comparatively few Catholic people, is able to lap that number ten times and change? Is it smug to think that India builds more hospitals than the Catholic church does? Is it smug to think that owning a golden throne is still bad even if you don’t sit on it?

At that point it’s kinda a positional thing, an aesthetic, right? It’s not what’s said, it’s the overall demeanour of the person saying it. And the thing that messes me up on this front is that like, atheists are people primarily responding to the most powerful social organisations in their societies, who in addition to their positions of actual literal privilege and prestige, are making claims about knowing the creator of the universe personally and being able to make value judgments about who you should or shouldn’t marry or why, based on that insight. Right?

You know they’re still mad about gay marriage, don’t you?

Okay okay, but like, ‘what is smug,’ it’s being highly self-satisfied. And I find Mike Winger smug. Well, yeah, and you might wonder ‘who is Mike Winger?’ He’s a Christian apologist. He has an audience for his youtube channel in which he delivers a really badly made point across ten minutes or so about his faith, usually in an attempt to ‘address’ some problem with his opposition, which, like

You gotta remember that a lot of the time it’s gay marriage.

Now this is entirely a point. This is, strategically speaking, a thing that Mike Winger is actively trying to do. Mike Winger has an affect and a disposition that comes from the overt position that he is an expert in the most important thing in the world, and that he is humble about it, and that everyone who doesn’t agree with him just chooses not to agree with him. And this is where a lot of these professional wheezes wind up falling into a problem of just being bad at their jobs, because rhetorically, they’re not making good points or making them well, because you can always see the seam when they have to ignore the actual argument and make it about something else. Winger believes that Atheists don’t really mean it, even if they think they mean it, because they don’t really mean it, because he says they don’t really mean it.

And remember: atheists are the ones he even complains about being smug.

What I would ask, is if you’re someone on the sidelines, who doesn’t know what the discourse atheism is engaged with, and if you’re not familiar with the parties involved, is to interrogate what the smugness is that you dislike. Delivery? Aesthetics? And if that’s the case, sure, don’t engage with it, seems like a great reason to not bother. But it’s really important to remember that one side of this argument has golden thrones and laws made for their benefit and billionaire lobbyists and asserts it knows the future and is willing to support genocides to make that future happen and that they’re good people for it and that maybe that’s kinda highly self-satisfied too.

Oh and stop responding to Mike Winger, the man is at best an insincere liar and deserves to be spat on in the street.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[rucbarthatbowtiesarecooldw]

Saturday Morning Session

Come Ye That Love the Lord

Conducting: Dallin H Oaks

The Morning Breaks

Sustaining vote – in the morning session? Normally afternoon

Church audit report – in the morning session? Normally afternoon

Did You Think to Pray

Jeffrey R. Holland

Awwwww the most fortunate of men!

More concentration, focus on the Savior, hope on His word, etc.

“Thanks are the highest form of thought. Gratitude is Happiness doubled by Wonder.” – Chesterton?

God hears every prayer we offer.

- Prayers are often answered differently than we expect

Our prayers are our sweetest hour, our most sincere desire, our most purest form of worship

Hesitation to pray doesn’t come from God.

Prayers should be spoken out loud. -It is a conversation with God

Listen to the spirit to know how to pray

If you don’t know what to pray for, just pray anyway!

Even the Savior had to pray to be closer to His Father – even He could pray “more earnestly.”

J Anette Dennis

You can look for a deeper meaning in all the things you read – how does this bring you closer to the Savior?

Jesus Christ is the center of ALL covenants we make.

Covenant relationships bless us, but it is out choice as to how,

Everything done in the Temple points to Gods plan for us. -Prayerfully seek the further meanings

Our symbolic outer clothing is only worn in the temple. Other than the garments, although those show that Jesus covers us.

Armor of Light – which is Christ

Choose to have a relationship with God by making and keeping covenants with Him

Alexander Dushku

Restoration began with a boys desperate prayer and a pillar of light

Rather than a pillar of light, the Lord sends us a ray of light – and then another, and then another

How do you experience the rays of light from the Lord? -Peace, impressions, desires, testimonies, hopefulness, prayer, feeling the love of God as you serve others

If we’re believing and repenting, we ARE living in revelation, even if we don’t recognize it or think we are experiencing it.

You cannot always expect big miracles and pillars of light – the Light comes line upon line, precept upon precept, here a ray and there a ray

Experiencing depression and anxiety make it difficult (sometimes impossible) to recognize the Spirit - Sometimes we don’t even know we are feeling the Spirit at all until after the fact!

Perhaps one ray is not enough for a Testimony, but together they can become a Light that will scare away the darkness.

D&C 93:36 “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.”

D&C 50:24 “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”

Press Forward Saints

Ulisses Soares

Covenant confidence through Christ

When we enter the Lords house, we embark on a sacred journey to become like Christ

What happens IN the temples is important

Remain Confident in Christ

Confidence in the covenants made with Jesus Christ is something you should pass on to your children

“My disciples shall stand in holy places and not be moved.”

Go to the temple with confidence and humility - Make preparations to go – not just for those going for the first time. We should be perpetually preparing - Will help with anxiety about worthiness

Home centered, Church supported, Temple Bound - Being Temple bound connects us to the Savior

Cast not away your confidence, instead let your confidence wax strong.

Jack N Gerard

Jesus Christ is our exemplar. - Integrity means being true to God, to each other, and to our identity.

Do what is right, let the consequence follow.

Exercise integrity in your choices

Would others see God through my conduct?

A life of integrity is not a life of perfection - Due to the fact that during this life you literally cannot be perfect - Perfection exists but not in me

Christian kindness is not a substitute for integrity - Meaning don’t be fake in your kindness? - Don’t be hypocrites?

I Know that My Savior Loves Me

Henry B Eyring

Story about going to the temple and finding out after the sealing that people have lost houses (teton dam break) and they left their kids at home and had to spend the night in a hotel and couldn’t make it home

“How can you sleep at a time like this?” - Whatever the outcome, all will be well because of the temple. We have made covenants - Apostles at gethsemane

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

God will not abandon His relationship to all those who have covenanted with Him - He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His willingness to support us

Light and hope can come from keeping covenants, and they are opportunities to draw closer to God

We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 4 - Catholic Character Tournament

Propaganda below ⬇️

Gambit

He is catholic, cares about the cross and baby jesus and everything. He also has red and black eyes and a member of a Guild of Thieves. He has been a thief since a child and is proud of it. His marriage was anulled and he got remarried later, but inbetween he had a lot of sex with random people. The fact that he is catholic and doing all this shit is never brought into question.

Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler Propaganda:

good lord where do i start. in the animated series he converts logan to catholisism and then fucks off basically thats the main thing he did there. i think one time they tried to make him a demon to explain how he looked but everyone hated that. he sold his soul one time to help his friends out after he died. he and logan have a weird little gay thing. he was a priest one time but he was made a priest by a fake bishop from a religion that hates mutants iirc so he just wasnt a priest. like 3 people have written him in a way i like and one of those is my friend just talking about how they view him.

wow marvel loves making catholic characters dress/look like demons

Kurt is a mutant who was born to mystique who looks a LOT like a devil (technically is half one but that cannon truth isn’t real go back to bed), his mother dropped him off a cliff when he was born and he was picked up by a Romani group/circus (fuck old comics man) however he then narrowly escaped being sold to a freak show and found himself in a small German town. There he met a kind priest, who showed him God, and he quickly grew attached to the idea- However, it wasn’t long before people began labeling him a demon and soon the whole town was against him with pitchforks and fire. Cornered and injured, Kurt thought this might be the end for him- maybe he would see heaven so long after finding it- but he was then saved by Charles Xavier who invited him to the X-Men. AND ITS BEEN SO MANY YEARS AND HE HAS BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH THERE. SO MUCH. SO GOD DAMN MUCH. BUT THE MOST AAAA THING TO ME CONCERNING HIS FAITH HE WHEN HE LITERALLY DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN BUT THEN BECAUSE OF DRAMA WITH HIS FATHER HAD TO BRING HIS FRIENDS IN WITH HIM FROM THE BEYOND. THEN WITH ALOT OF TROUBLE THEY FOUGHT HIS FATHER AND THE ONLY WAY KURT SAW TO STOP HIM WAS IN A MOVE THAT STRIPPED THEM BOTH OF THEIR SOULS AND PUT THEM BACK ON EARTH. SO KURT CANONICALLY HAS NOW LOST HIS ABILITY FOR ETERNAL PEACE, LOST HIS VERY SOUL, TO SAVE PEOPLE- AND ALSO TOLD NO ONE NOT EVEN HIS GAY LOVER WOLVERINE.

Nightcrawler is a mutant vigilante who looks like a classical demon. He can’t even go to church without people panicking and trying to exorcize him. Despite it all, he’s so full of faith and hope and compassion, and he wants to believe the best of everyone. Also, he’s bffs with an extremely angry Jewish sword lesbian. That has nothing to do with anything, but it’s important to me that you all know that.

What if you were a devout christian and literally looked like the devil? He nearly became the pope, which was a plot by some supervillains that also involved faking a rapture? There is nothing like comics I swear to god.

A catholic who is half demon I don’t think I can better explain a struggle than that. But his character is so relatable to people who feel unwelcome with their congregation because of something that is a part of them but still feeling a connection to the faith. Kurt actively engaged in his faith and shares how his faith helps him through all the things he has faced in life and how he found a home with those of the church who leave the judging to God.

so they made kurt a priest briefly before deciding to retcon it, resulting in nightcrawler actually being part of a plan by villains to promote him to pope then reveal to the world that the pope is a demon. wild.

I have a side blog and a tattoo about him and i really really want him to win

Wisecracking devil-appearing devout Catholic with the Best superpower (teleportation)? HECK YES

German Catholic circus acrobat who looks like a demon & can teleport through a hellish alternate dimension with a puff of sulfur. Character of all time.

hes catholic and his dad is the devil. what could be funnier than that. also hes my silly little guy.

Nightcrawler is the world’s most fun catholic priest. I first was introduced to this kindhearted teleporting acrobat while he saved a boat full of stowaway refugees from inter dimensional pirates with swashbuckling gusto!

[trustfallwithgod]

Via Steward & Son

Day (Lost Count) - He didn’t catch me

I’ve had some atheists direct message or repost some of my content with rebuttals and cynicism. I had tried to respond to them but they weren’t accepting responses. So I guess, this post would make them glad. God did not catch me.

God might as well be a million miles away, I felt the devil and man’s evil more tangibly than I have felt Him. I guess this is just a longer way of saying Job’s famous “darkness is my friend” line 🤭. But I’m ok with all of that. He’s God and I am not.

What I’m not ok with is how my Father watched me get beaten and broken and then left me there and now someone’s thumb is in my wound pressing yet somehow I can minister, and even though I shouldn’t be able to pour from an empty cup, somehow, I still have something to give those who are needy and hurting. I am receiving grace somewhere that I can give to others. So there’s only one conclusion: God’s presence and Holy Spirit is undeniably with me.

I think this time, God has really killed me

So where does that leave me? I’m still doing essential work for the Lord but it appears His graces are for everyone else and not me.

This is where the Book of Job shines. You see, right now, I am focused on my performance when what God wants is relationship. In a long tradition of biblical figures like the older brother (in the story of the Prodigal Son) and Martha, the sister of Lazarus, I’ve been so focused on “doing the work of God” that I have not taken the time to be honest with Him like Job was and this has allowed the enemy to plant seeds of resentment.

Life is lived forward but only understood backwards

I absolutely love my Father but I cannot fathom His treatment of me and yet duty has compelled me to promote a brand of “feel good Christianity” (because I thought that I had to protect the feelings of those I minister to, completely forgetting that my role is only to evangelize and the “nurturing of the faith” work belongs to the Holy Spirit), completely ignoring the fact that in real relationships, fights happen. Parents and children argue and have disagreements. The enemy is the one attempting to nurture a garden of unhealthy “sugar daddy” expectations.

Look at Jonah, a lot can be said about Jonah but here’s a crucial verse that everyone misses in the Bible: Jonah was asleep in the storm (Jonah 1:1-6) just like Jesus was asleep in the storm (Mark 4:35-41). Jonah had faith in God’s goodness that he knew that if Nineveh repented, they would be spared but Jonah didn’t want that, he was disobedient to God’s plan for him however, Jonah offers himself to be a sacrifice to the sea knowing that it will calm the storm. The circumstances and context between Jesus and Jonah’s storm experiences may be very different but the outcome is similar, the storm calms. You can have faith and still struggle and chafe at the will of God or you can have faith and utter obedience.

This is where spiritual warfare begins to get terrifying: the closer you are to God, the more your own unworthiness is felt, making the battle a complex discernment process to separate your own thoughts from what the enemy is planting. Should you give up on God because you don’t recognize that He is walking with you along your own Emmaus Road? Or do you invite Him for dinner and then during the breaking of the bread, you realise that God was walking alongside you the whole time?

The disciples walking the Emmaus Road shared one very important thing with Job, they were brutally honest with God about their disappointments. Which brings me to another point: like any war, peace is hard fought. The difference is, this is a battle that Jesus fights, you only need to bring your sorrow, heart ache, disappointment and honesty to Him and in doing so, honour Him like you would your earthly fathers.

Really tell God how you feel and then like the Psalmist says in Psalm 143:8 “let dawn bring news of your faithful love”

Dedicated to Sharon Woo

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Hot Season

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+ Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

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VERSE OF THE DAY

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+ Daniel 3:23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM IN MY HOT SEASON

I LOVE GOD

I AM STRONG

I AM HOPEFUL

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READ TIME: 7 Minutes & 43 Seconds

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THOUGHTS:

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 No matter how the situation looks, how we think it will turn out, or how we think the enemy has us, he doesn’t. God has us in his hands, and he is so sovereign. He's so excellent and merciful that whatever we get ourselves into or do, he will always help us in his way, and in his time, we must trust and believe.

   Look at these three men. They were bound and tossed into the furnace, but God saw them and had other plans. Many of us don’t believe that, but he does. The situation might look hard and complex, but trust and believe that whatever God has in store for us will change our current situation. We must be patient, and these three men said this to King Nebuchadnezzar verse 18: “ But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

  Wow, this was bold statement ; many of us must be bold like this. With sin in our life and with the enemy, say to him hey, whatever you do to me, I don’t care; I won't serve you; I won't turn around. I will continue to serve God, and many of us won't do this. Because we know that’s not our plan, we know that once it gets too hot, we will jump out of the frying pan without consulting God because we don’t want to go through ,sometimes God wants it to get Hot a little bit , for us so we can learn to count on him, so we can learn to rely on him.

 Many people today don’t want to go through the downs of life because they feel they don’t deserve it. We all deserve punishment and judgment, but because of Jesus, we don’t have to go through those things because he changed how we will go through some things in our lives; this is not to say that when we give our life to God that nothing won't happen because it will but it's up to us to trust that God is sovereign and lord over everything. He will keep us safe and sound.

  Verse 22 Since the king’s command was so urgent and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flame skilled those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

     Sometimes, what we go through will affect other people, maybe in a good or bad way. In some cases, the men that put them in got burned very severely, but sometimes what we must suffer, and people see us suffering, will save someone's life. Sometimes it won't. That is why we must stay prayed up while going through and not do anything to sway someone away from following God.

    As we go through our fiery trail and deal with our challenging moments, remember that we aren’t doing it alone; it might feel and look that way. Still, we aren’t we must continue to stay focused on God and stay focused on the fact that he’ll never leave us or forsake us,

  Verse 24-25 Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He told his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?” Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king. 25 He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

  Even if it looks like we are alone, we aren’t. They didn’t know God would send his angels to help and protect them, and the king, seeing this, saved his soul. It changed his mind about God; we often think people aren’t watching and what we are going through is just for us. It isn’t what we go through sometimes for others to see and to be saved by God. That is why, while going through it, we must change how we act and handle things. Imagine if Daniel and his friends started fussing, cussing, and acting in any way. God might not have sent his angel, and the king would've never changed his mind.

 Verse 29 Therefore, I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb, and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.”

   See, he declared that no other god could deliver like this; God wants our life to be an example of who he is and what he can do. A lot of us do anything we want; we say anything we want because we feel that it doesn’t matter, and we can see in this story it does matter how you handle everything that’s in your life.

 James 5:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

   The Bible tells us that those who remain steadfast during a trial are blessed. We have to stay strong because God is trying to prepare us for our next season or next mission, our following action, but if we can’t stand through the Hot season, how will we make it through a season of growth and season of isolation ,a season of drought because every season we go through is tough but it’s easier when we accept the call and hold on to God.

  *** Today, we learned it’s okay to be HOT to have a fiery trail because what we think looks bad isn’t ,what Daniel and his friends saw looked bad, but what they went through wasn’t because God protected them through it all; we have to learn to trust in Jesus and know that through everything he’s going to walk with us, God loves us so much he wants us to learn from our trails what to do, BEING HOT doesn’t mean we did anything wrong it means he wants to show us what to do during this time he wants to show us how to walk in his path and ways.

  Every time it gets a little hot, don’t get upset or say what I did wrong, lord? Say, God, I know it’s hot, but what are you trying to show me in this season of my life? And he’ll show you a lot of times we continue to go through because we don’t recognize or see what he’s trying to show us, and in this season, he’s trying to show us we are going to be okay and that through him we will have a testimony don’t let what you see to cause you to act different than what you should let what you see make you stronger and mightier through God ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, we thank you for everything. We ask you to help us through our hot season and help us conquer everything in our lives; lord, we give you everything, and we thank you. Lord, help us not be like anyone else but to be like you; help us pray more and listen more. Lord, we are thankful for every season we are about to express lord; we thank you for the word and for your strength; in Jesus Name, Amen

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REFERENCES

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+ 1 Peter 5:10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

 

+ Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and constantly pray.

 

+ Romans 5:3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

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FURTHER READINGS

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Proverbs 14

Leviticus 14

Psalm 93

Judges 14

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[sidebaxolotl]

I have a question for you if you wouldn’t mind answering. I’m a lesbian and I’ve been considering turning to religion and being side b, but my main question is why would God want me to suffer this much? Why would He let me date my girlfriend for 3 years, all of which has been blissfully happy and feels totally right and good, if He really wants me to give it all up and break both of our hearts? It doesn’t feel like sin to me. We didn’t even sleep with each other until we’d been together for a year because I found it very hard to get over my shame and they waited for me the entire time. Isn’t there that verse about the fruit something brings? Being a lesbian has brought nothing but joy into my life. In fact, the only suffering it’s caused me is when I used to try to be side b. I don’t see why God would want that for me if He allowed me to be made a lesbian.

And to be honest, it seems like most of the side b people I know struggle a lot with being side b, like it doesn’t come naturally to them. I wonder how you reconcile that difficulty and pain with believing that a good God would want this for you. You could make the argument that Satan wants you to suffer and is causing your temptation, but if that’s the case why doesn’t God just fix it, if He’s all powerful? Maybe He wants me to have free will, but I’ve asked Him countless times to make me straight so it’s not like I want to be gay.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I just find this sort of thing really hard to wrap my head around, but I want there to be a good answer that I can hold on to.

Hey friend! To be honest I do understand where you're coming from. My relationship with my ex was one of the most wonderful things ive ever felt, and it did feel right and very good, unlike a lot of the sin in my life. Even now I struggle sometimes to reconcile that and I know if things hadn't ended so badly I'd be in your situation right now. I also prayed many times that God would make me straight (and for a while I thought it worked lmao). For a long time after The Breakup I struggled really hard with what to do, i was struggling with lesbian erotica/fandom content, wondering what to do with my faith, wondering if I should force myself to marry a man, crying out to God to curse Him or blame Him for my situation, for taking her away from me, etc. I fell into a very deep depression and was very close to unaliving myself over it (and other things). I had to go on medication for an extended period of time because I did not want to live. It was a really rough time in my life and I'm glad despite all the things that I said and did out of grief that I made it out of that period of my life with my relationship to God in tact. Letting go of sin, particularly sexuality related sin can be really hard because sin doesn't always feel bad. A lot of sin does and has immediate consequences, which makes it particularly easy to avoid/stop doing but a lot of it doesn't. We live in a world where sin has permeated the deepest reaches of our universe and our own bodies. Our own judgement apart from Christ cannot always be trusted:

"The heart is deceitful above all things,     and desperately sick;     who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9

So it might not feel bad or wrong(it still doesn't feel that way to me personally), but we know God is objectively good and knows what is best, so if He says its bad, then its bad. There are reasons for this, but that's beyond the scope of this post so maybe another time. What I will also say though, is that the Christian life is hard in general and suffering is guaranteed. The apostles suffered--many of them endured gruesome deaths for the sake of the gospel, and even Jesus, the author and sustainer of our faith was abandoned by his friends and made to unjustly die on a cross with common criminals. If the son of God, the prince of peace, could not escape this fate then neither will we. This particular passage comes to mind:

"But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps" 1 Peter 2

The thing about Christian suffering is that none of it is meaningless. Because of God's grace and mercy He can use something that was never meant to exist (suffering and pain) and use it to bring us closer to Him and help build us into the people we should be, emulating God's character and love. These are some verses about suffering in regards to faith that I've found particularly helpful or enlightening:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" 2 Cor 4:16-18 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" James 1:2-4

And as Christians we know for sure our suffering is not eternal. When we shed this mortal coil we will never feel the sting of sin ever again. And when the New heavens and the New earth are brought to fruition we will experience life as it always was supposed to be. And even now my life isn't just suffering. I'm doing very well now. I'm no longer depressed, I'm off medication (with doctor approval). I genuinely love my life. I'm super satisfied with being single, i freaking love it honestly lol. And my relationship with God is stronger than its ever been. Being side b isn't always easy but it really is not a death sentence devoid of happiness either!

[thyshadowwriter]

Hi! I love your Viking headcanons, but I don’t see anything for Floki! Can you do what Floki would be like with a younger female S/O, how they met and what the relationship is like, how he treats her etc?

A/n: You know, I’ve been wondering why the lack of Floki myself too.

Also, I’m doing this as he never left after avenging Ragnar 🙂

Floki is not going out of his way to have another relationship, he’s in fact actively avoiding it, so she’s making all the push.

They’ll meet through the religious practices. Floki is a devout man, so a woman that has a deep belief in the gods and is comprehensive will call his attention.

Even though, he’ll not make a move. He’s already old and too heartbroken to deal with the dating game. Even if she catches his attention, he isn’t doing a thing about it.

She’ll have to be constant and ready to face his standoffish behavior for quite a good time before he shows any signs he’s returning her affections.

It will be something subtle. A simple conversation or maybe just a look, but from there on her presence will be more welcomed.

As it progresses, he’ll be more open to talk with her, share a story from his past, talk about the Gods walk around with her, let her see him work or just share a silent peaceful moment.

When it reaches that moment, Floki will expect her presence and even hope for it.

Even so, she’ll have to make the first move.

He’ll question why she wants to be with him. He never knew why Helga loved him so much, nor did he feel worthy of it. But at least they were both young, which is definitely not his case now.

The best option to convince him is to simply be truthful about her feelings. It’s likely he’ll need some time before making a decision, but by the time that conversation happens, he’s more accepting of a new relationship.

He comes with baggage, a lot of it. Betrayals, jealousy, defeat, tragedy, pretty much all of it, so she’ll have to have patience to get through his very thick walls.

He also comes with an unofficially adopted son with anger management issues, so she has to know how to work with that.

Floki doesn’t want any more children. He never put his foot down with Helga, letting her have her way and look how that played out for him. His new lover needs to be ok with him not wanting children, either his own or adopted. There’s not a single thought that terrifies him more than that and he would rather not.

She has to be ok with a more secluded life. Floki was always a bit of a hermit and that became much more evident in his late years. Even with all the chaos among the Ragnarssons and the war with Christians, he manages to lead a life quite separated from it.

If she’s alright with all his conditions, Floki will welcome her in his life, if not he’ll break it off before it starts because to him, she’ll come to her senses and find a more suitable man.

Floki was never a ladies man, so she won't have to worry about him straying like his bestie Ragnar.

Love for him will be a slow thing. It will be built day by day, but it will be solid.

He never believed he would have love in his life before Helga and believed it even less after her. Part of him is wary that this is another cruel play on him.

Either way, Floki will be loving and caring. He’s a romantic at heart and as such, fully enjoys spending quality time with her and little gestures of affection.

She’ll never feel unsafe after settling down with him. Not only is he a talented carpenter, he’s also a capable fighter, even in his old years. Few would dare facing him either because they’re afraid of his brutality or because they respect him as the legendary boatbuilder.

His unrivaled talent as a boatbuilder provides him a rather comfortable life and he has no problem providing for her. She’ll live comfortably and have nice things.

Given the age difference, it’s likely there will be times she’ll need guidance and support to face life dilemmas. Floki was never known to be reasonable, or sane, but he lived enough to know better and he can read people like no other, so he’ll be happy to guide her and support her through adversities.

Floki is in another stage of his life. He’s not as brash or as radical as he first was. He’s much more understanding and calm, so a life with him would be quite peaceful.

All in all, it’s a solid relationship and one she would feel secure in, appreciated and loved.

[hiswordsarekisses]

This is long but so good. (These are the best excerpts!)

“…Yesterday, I asked my kid to imagine people who have never heard of Christianity and what they would come up with if you told them to make up a story about God coming to Earth. We decided that they'd make him a 7-foot-tall billionaire muscled-out Chad with wings who lived in the Hall of the Mighty with his army of angels who would use bolts of lightning to smite the 1% of naughty subjects who don’t believe in him.

Here’s what people wouldn't make up about God coming to Earth. He is born in a barn as a helpless human baby to a teenage nobody. For the first years of his life he is forced to live in exile because a murderous king wants to kill him. His family eventually settles in a rough, backwater town. He is not wealthy, he is given a common name, and he has unremarkable looks. He suffers all the indignities of being a physically ordinary human. As an adult carrying out his earthly mission, he lives in poverty, is hated by the authorities, and is disbelieved by many. He teaches obedience, meekness, and forgiveness. He heals the sick and ministers to reviled, rejected, and forgotten people. He then willingly submits to wrongful conviction and the most painful, ignominious death possible.

To our modern sensibilities, this actually sounds like a great plot for a fantasy hero origin story—right up until the part where the main character lives in poverty and preaches submission to God and loving and forgiving people you don’t want to love or forgive. And where the story really falls apart is when the King of kings, the Lord of the universe, the Mighty God come to Earth, doesn’t deliver a rousing speech before a cowed Pontius Pilate, doesn’t come flying off the cross to exact flaming vengeance, but is executed like the worst sort of criminal, leaving his followers in disbelief and despair.

No, this is not the sort of story people make up about God coming to Earth. Not even the people who believed the Messiah was coming thought it would look anything like this.

In fact, the story of Jesus as told in the gospels is so implausible as a made-up story that this alone compelled me to investigate its truth when I was a non-believer. But this is our Wonderful Counselor, our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, and our Prince of Peace. Worthy of our love, our trust, and our devotion.

I’m often asked about the scientific plausibility of the star of Bethlehem that guided the three wise men to Jesus’ birthplace, especially around this time of year. Some guess that the star was a comet or a conjunction of planets or maybe even a supernova, and they ask if there’s any physical or historical evidence for such an event.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, it was necessary for God to use both the natural and the miraculous as a guide, but this time to be compelling to the right people (the wise men) and to be obscure to the wrong people (King Herod). That ruled out ostentatious displays like a giant flaming arrow or angels pointing to the location. So, God used a star.

The word for star in the New Testament could mean any kind of natural object that appeared in the night sky, like an actual star, a planet, a comet, and so on. In my opinion, the star of Bethlehem was a natural phenomenon, but probably not one that is embedded in the natural or historical record. We can use astrometry to track where planets and stars were thousands of years ago, but we’ve found nothing remarkable for that time and place. We can look through historical records for mentions of comets or supernovae around the time of Jesus’ birth, but we find no mention of objects like that. However, this isn’t a problem. Just as God miraculously conjured up temporary pillars of cloud and fire to guide his people, he could easily have conjured a temporary star in the sky to guide the wise men.

Are there such things as temporary stars in nature? Yes. In fact, I believe God used what’s called a nova as the guiding star of Bethlehem. A nova (Latin for “new”) is a star that temporarily flares up, but not in a way that ostentatiously destroys a star like a supernova does. During a nova, a star that’s usually not bright enough to be seen from Earth can, in a single day, become bright enough to be visible from the Earth—hence the name “nova” referring to an ostensibly new star in the sky. A temporary “new” star would not have been so bright as to get attention the way a supernova would, but it would’ve been bright enough to get the attention of someone looking for a sign. And it would eventually have faded away into invisibility within a few days or weeks.

Personally, I like the idea of a nova as the star of Bethlehem. Something that was there all along, invisible until the perfect time, heralded the once invisible God who was now physically with his people.”

Written By Sarah Salviander

Full Story and pictures can be found at the link below:

https://sarahsalviander.substack.com/p/christmas-reflections?publication_id=1229747&utm_campaign=email-post-title&r=25ik5q&utm_medium=email

[yallwildinrn]

Vent, cw for religious guilt/trauma, ask to tag

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive religion for the fact that I’m probably going to live the rest of my life in fear of god. I realize now that I never loved him, I’ve always been scared. I’m scared of hell and being stuck there forever, and Christianity’s pursuit of trying to prove it to be real only makes me more scared. I think of all those near death experiences, and the few talking about hell (and heaven) seem to line up with traditional christian views. Is god real? Does he hate me like his followers do? Am I just damned to either deny my very being or rot for eternity? I don’t love god, but I don’t want to go there. It fills me so much dread and fear it makes me sick. Why do I have to serve a god who functions off fear and obedience, not love? I haven’t felt like god has loved me in years. I just feel an iron fist demanding I do what he says lest I suffer and rot and burn. Is that love? Is that what I am supposed to worship? I understand the Greeks and the Romans, offering sacrifices out of fear. Please don’t hurt me. I don’t love you and I never will because I don’t think you can love me how I need but please keep from rotting. I don’t want to suffer for eternity, I just want to stop existing. I am happy to end it at the end of my life. I’m so sick of religion. I wish I had never known it. Then I could live in peace. Every time someone mentions hell, I get sick. I’m trying to enjoy a book I got from the library, but it’s so religious and it’s so painful because all I can think is that I’m a dirty fucking sinner, doomed because of my human pridefulness and abhorrence of the lord. I’m so tired. I just want to be free of it.

[undertalehuman]

my undertale au

so i may be Catholic Christian but i have always been interested in myths and the gods of polytheistic religions, primarily the greek and roman gods. so a while back, (like 3-4 years ago) i started making an au based on mythological stuff, and i just thought i’d share it. it’s mostly based off of the greek/roman gods, but not entirely.

sans: king of the gods. god of the stars, the sky, the planets, etc. married to Toriel.

Toriel: queen of the gods. goddess of life and marriage. created the humans. married to sans.

Undyne: goddess of war and judgement. and anime, despite that literally nobody else acknowledges that part of her. married to alphys.

Alphys: goddess of science and technology. married to undyne.

Mettaton: (in this au, he was not really “created” by Alphys or anything) god of dancers, performers, singers, entertainers, etc. entertainer of the gods.

Napstablook: goes by DJ Napstablook. god of music, musicians, and DJs. musician of the gods. always wearing headphones. when mortals offer up a single sandwich with a very specific unknown recipe to him he will come down and perform for them.

Chara: (female in this au) goddess of chocolate and death. basically the main character (first character i actually made in this au). capable of interdimensional travel. all the other gods are so obsessed with chocolate that they grant her access to their powers as long as they have access to her magic factories of chocolate. always wears a green hoodie that contains a pocket dimension in the pocket. she is self-aware and can hack into the universe itself. daughter of sans and toriel. (my au’s chara was very much based on storyshift chara but evolved a bit from the original)

Frisk: (also female in this au): goddess of vitality, youth, and peace. literally the only being preventing all of the violent gods from attacking each other. daughter of sans and toriel. younger than chara by a few centuries (because of the fact that gods don’t age much compared to humans, they’re basically the same age)

Asgore: god of the underworld, former king of the gods. after he became corrupt he got dethroned and sentenced to 1x10^208 years of watching over the underworld. literally cannot leave, and the only person who’s nice to him is Frisk. no longer corrupt but still has to serve his sentence.

Papyrus: god of friendship, spaghetti, and the sun. brother of sans.

NOTE: it’s not entirely finished and stuff, and some of the roles have been changed from the o.g. since it’s been a few years. there’s no official au name (if there was i forgor) feel free to ask me questions or make suggestions through the ask box or somethin?? idk, i’m new to tumblr. ALSO: should i include UTY characters?

[angeltreasure]

Hello I hope you had an amazing Christmas!

Can you please pray for me as I feel like this is something the enemy attacks me about time and time again and I know who I am in Christ and I do think the chains have been breaking recently so idk if that’s why he’s trying but I feel like sometimes I just feel like I can’t be ‘like other Christian’s’ or whatever because I got tattoos before I was Christian or even random other things that I feel like makes me doubt that God wants me which is so sad and I see people and celebrities giving their lives to Christ and Kat Von D etc and it’s so nice to see and I know so many who do also so I know it’s an attack from the enemy and every day lately I’ve felt like I’ve been getting so close to God and everything I worry about doesn’t matter at all like the things or comparing myself etc it is an attack but it’s so tiring and it does feel like the enemy is trying to steer me off course??? I don’t know but it’s disheartening and sometimes makes me feel like I don’t belong in Gods kingdom which I know is not true but ahhh :(

Good Morning! Thank you, I hope you are also having an amazing Christmas and a peaceful New Year!

I’ll pray for you. The closer we try to get to God, the more the enemy will attack. The enemy, especially Satan, is smarter than all of us combined. The enemy will try to use any means possible to make you feel temptation, to make you sin, and most of all, to pry you away from God.

I have listened to many exorcists speak on YouTube and one said the enemy can use even use images in your mind to temp you. This is why pornography is so bad. However, it’s not just porn that can be used to create temptations for us, but social media. When we see so many people, especially popular people and celebrities, having fun, making so many accomplishments (good or bad decisions), changing their appearance, buying this or that, sponsoring this or that, visiting here or there, we can feel overwhelmed all of a sudden and feel like we are the ones missing out. We can feel envious not only a materialistic things a celebrity or friend has, but we can also feel envious when we see even stories of them turning their lives around to find God, making you feel doubt that you are unworthy. These feelings of unworthiness, fear of missing out, and envy are not from God but the enemy. The enemy has found your weakness. Do not be afraid, there is away to stop it.

It’ll be hard at first, but you need to get rid of all social media. Unfollow/unfriend/unsubscribe everything. Keep of course your own family if you absolutely must keep one form of social media or two just to stay connected family wise. Limit your screen time. Instead, spend the time you would use on a screen with people in real life and in prayer. Set aside each day for at least one prayer. You are a child of God and you are worthy. You are worthy by the simple fact God wanted you to exist that He willed you into existence (Psalm 139), making your guardian angel wait for the year and day for you to be born to gift him to you. Next time you feel temptation, ask your guardian angel to help you overcome those feelings. That is one of his special gifts, but he won’t do that until you ask him yourself.

[bingejesus]

how do you reconcile your gender and sexuality with your christianity? i've been struggling immensely with this because i don't know how to deal with myself. i have been out for years and it feels so hard to give up either part of myself, and i don't think i can exist as both. please don't answer this if you feel uncomfortable, but how do you do it?

So sorry I’m just now getting to this, friend. I hope you’re well.

So, it took a while to get where I am. I had always been attracted to both boys and girls, and only discovered my gender recently (and am still discovering) but I’ve struggled with God for pretty much the whole time I’ve been on this earth. Not just with my sexuality and such but with everything. For the first 18-20 years of my life I grew up convinced God actually hated me and couldn’t wait for me to slip up so bad that he could send me to hell.

Then after some time in college, I finally admitted to myself that I wasn’t straight, and I wasn’t cis. And that only pushed me farther because of course according to my background that was a grievous sin. And for a while I hated God because I couldn’t reconcile this idea of non-straight, non-cis, non-Christian people being completely evil with reality. I started really reading and studying and searching and ultimately found that what I’d been taught wasn’t the whole story. I found stuff like the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was not “being gay”, it was exploitation and mistreatment of the poor. I found credible sources explaining that the cultural difference between then and now was extremely wide and what we would call homosexuality wasn’t about love and orientation, it was about once again power and exploitation. And when I finally came back to God, expecting anger and judgement, I instead received joy and love and peace. I thought for sure he would tell me I had to be straight and cis because that’s all there was—but actually he was strangely silent. But he answered through knowing and meeting real people, recognizing harmful patterns in society, and through the realization that God was so concerned with reconciling and loving the least of these that he didn’t care if I liked both boys and girls and if I wanted to use they/them pronouns because it made me feel better in my own skin. (“Didn’t care” meaning it was never condemned, not that he was indifferent.) He made gay people gay and trans people trans, and he made the spectrums of sexuality and gender and we were discovering that now and how grand and vivid and weird and creative his creation is. God isn’t in a box, and he does unexpected things.

Basically when asked how he felt about my sexuality and gender, his response was—

“I love you. And I want you to love others.”

It’s still hard sometimes. There are many things I’m unlearning. But the condemnation I feel never comes from him.

So, I say all that to hopefully encourage you. Our paths may be different and maybe God speaks to you in a different way than he has to me, but there’s one thing he will always be consistent on and that is his unconditional love for you. You’re gay and he loves you.

I don’t believe this means he may not call you to singleness—He calls both straight and gay people to that sometimes. Not because it’s wrong to be in a relationship but because there are other plans he has. (This may not be your struggle, but I thought it might be a good example)

The only part of yourself that he asks you to give up is the part that chooses fear instead of love.

You’re so beloved, my friend. And only you can know what God is saying to your heart, but I know for a fact it will always be with love. So, while you’re figuring out how to be both authentically, cast all those cares on him because he cares for you.

I hope you found encouragement in this. May God bless you and keep you, and make his face shine upon you, my friend. ❤️