#i am not a catholic so if anyone has more to add about it. please do

[heligan]

I am thinking, on this fine winter evening, about Raphael’s halfhearted belief in heaven because he thinks it’s a better thing to believe than the alternatives. How does the Catholic idea of having a fixed point of death after which he can go to heaven, hell or purgatory match up with the knowledge that he doesn’t die in the sense that other humans die, because there’s no moment in time at which he becomes dead but rather he slowly becomes less and less alive?

(Cut because it’s a bit long)

There’s clearly a progression from being alive and human in all ways except physically - ‘just the same; his colours all gone but just the same’ to unmoving and unresponsive like the markayuq in the graveyard, to wearing down until they are only distinguishable from normal stones if you know exactly what to look for, but it’s unclear whether there is an instant in which a markayuq becomes definitively dead.

In chapter twenty-seven Raphael does refer to the markayuq in the house and graveyard as ‘nearly dead’ but there’s a few reasons why I think this might not be an accurate description. Raphael has spent his entire working life thinking about and dealing with death from a Catholic perspective, having not had a chance to interact with anyone from his home since childhood. There’s also the fact that there is only one markayuq in a generation at most, so although he seems to be an expert on them from Merrick’s perspective (not that the bar for that is high), there was nobody to teach him properly so it’s quite possible he doesn’t know as much about the markayuq as he should. In the same chapter he finds out for the first time that markayuq talk to each other and that St Thomas used to know Atahualpa, the last Incan king. Even if he is aware that the end of a markayuq’s life is more complicated than just dying, he’s speaking to Merrick and therefore could be referring to the decay markayuq undergo as death for simplicity, which certainly aligns with his own attitudes towards inter-cultural translation.

Incan attitudes towards death, however, make a lot more sense in conjunction with the idea of markayuq not having a fixed moment of death. Markayuq used to guard the Incan kings both while they were alive and after death at their tombs, and so the view of them decaying over time matches the view the Incas had of death, also not as a fixed moment but as a linear progression beginning with the decay of the mind and body in old age and ending with ‘social death’ - when one is forgotten by the last living person who remembers them. A person’s heart stopping, or consciousness leaving them, are just one step along the way - and even these two often occur at different times. Incan kings especially were viewed as still being active in society after their physical death and therefore still alive in other ways; their bodies were mummified to preserve them and their panaca (some particular relatives) would make social and political decisions on their behalf which would be taken into account as if the king was still alive [1].

It makes much more sense to have kings who slowly became less alive as they become older, new kings reign and their influence in the courts wane, guarded by markayuq who also become less alive as they spend longer and longer asleep and their stone bodies are worn down by the elements than it does to have markayuq who die and go to heaven. Raphael is, however, as Merrick puts it, one of a ‘new generation of hispanicised markayuq’, and the only one who holds a belief of the afterlife which is not only different to every one of his peers but also is at odds with the very nature of his existence.

Raphael thinks of his own belief in heaven: ‘it wasn’t belief of the mathematical, reasoned kind, only the sort that arises when the alternative would mean becoming one of those men who worked like machines and never spoke to anyone, old at forty.’ but that’s an understatement! His alternative is slowly losing his ability to move and think after watching everyone around him be buried, accompanied only by people who consider him an outsider in his own culture, no more kings to guard on their own paths to being forgotten until his body eventually becomes building material for the Spanish, yet never truly dying.

No wonder he wants to believe in heaven.

[1] Rostworowski Tovar de Diez Canseco, M. 1988, Historia del Tahuantinsuyu

[kiwiana-writes]

Six(ish) Sentence Sunday

*taps mic, leans in carefully* This thing on?

(Thanks to @onthewaytosomewhere for the tag!)

So… yeah. It's been a minute, huh? I didn't write anything for literal months, and then I dragged my muse back kicking and screaming via Kinktober which I wrote and posted on the fly so never really had any WIPs to speak of, and now I guess it's time to actually take a peek under the hood of my neglected writing folder. FOR EXAMPLE, the Big Secret Collab with @indestructibleheart that I decided to add some Big Fucking Feelings to this week. I am so hype for this fic and for us to actually start letting you in on what we're doing, y'all have no idea.

For Henry, religion has always been intrinsically intertwined with appearance and duty. Religion in his family meant uncomfortable suits and the flash of camera bulbs, just to sit through a service that held no more spiritual significance than the assemblies back at Eton.  It’s different for Alex, he knows. Alex can go a year without ever stepping foot inside a church and not think twice about it, but as soon as he does, there’s a peaceful slump to the set of his shoulders as though he’s literally setting his burdens down at the door. Henry has heard Alex refer to himself as “extremely fucking Catholic, which to be clear, is not the same thing as being a good Catholic” on multiple occasions, usually in the midst of a rant about a company applying the Twelve Days of Christmas to the wrong dates or a misunderstanding of what the Immaculate Conception refers to. Alex’s Catholicism is wound into his DNA, one of the many strands that have made him the wonderful man that he is.  Until now, though, Henry doesn’t think he’s ever realised just how much of that is very specifically Diaz.

Tags below the cut, and you may notice I'm paring this list WAY back from what it used to be. Please keep tagging me in your snippets, I love seeing them! But the whole thing was feeling very rat race-y which was a not-insignificant contributor to my writing burnout, and I'm trying to take the pressure off myself a bit by not constantly stressing over whether I've left someone out.

Tagging @blueeyedgrlwrites @cactusdragon517 @celeritas2997 @cha-melodius @clottedcreamfudge

@cricketnationrise @dumbpeachjuice @everwitch-magiks @firenati0n @getmehighonmagic

@hgejfmw-hgejhsf @indestructibleheart @inexplicablymine @lilythesilly

@myheartalivewrites @nontoxic-writes @notspecialbabe @orchidscript

@piratefalls @rmd-writes @sherryvalli @sparklepocalypse

@stereopticons @thesleepyskipper @tintagel-or-cockleshells @welcometololaland @whimsymanaged and, as always, anyone who wants to play! 

[pomefioredove]

so yesterday I theorized that the fae in twst could be french, possibly breton inspiration, and was mercifully corrected by @tresgansosenunabrigo who actually knows things about french folklore unlike meee

we had a really good talk, which breathed life into a thought of mine about Briar Valley being parallel to ancient Irish mythology, that I had brushed off as insane months ago

some of the following is an old essay that I wrote, that I now find very very... um, incomplete at best, incorrect at worst. I've done my best to put out something more accurate, relevant, and interesting

but, for the sake of this essay: this is only for speculative purposes in the context of fiction. I am only drawing small parallels, and this is not a theory. I am not a teacher. I am not claiming to know everything. I'm just some guy who reads

a brief forward:

my credentials are "religious studies major" and not much else. I am not Irish, nor am I pagan, and my knowledge/study in Irish mythology is very secondary to Catholicism. I have been close to and spoken to a handful of experts within the field but am not one myself.

furthermore, I look to old/historical sources for knowledge, and reject eclectic and appropriative wiccan ideas. this has been a seven year long labor of love, but I'm still not perfect, and continue to sift through my sources every day. The misinformation that eclectics have created about Irish mythology have made way into books, into articles, into common belief, so it is, in fact very difficult not to internalize misinformation. I'm trying </3

and I am begging anyone in this field to correct any mistakes I make.

additionally I've only read a little bit of book 7 so I may be totally crazy. this is just a speculative piece, after all.

a glossary of knowledge:

for the purpose of this essay, I may use "fae" as an umbrella term, which includes pixies, medieval French fae, the aos sí, and the Tuatha de Danann*

*please note that the Tuatha de were gods in their original sources, but were changed to fairies, other supernatural beings, and occasionally kings in later Catholicized retellings.

I will be focusing most on ancient beliefs, with vague mentions of medieval/post-Catholicism ones. Catholicism is extremely important in the context of these stories, as it was the Catholic monks who preserved them in written form, and it's quite literally impossible not to mention. it's had a huge influence.

etc.

when talking about folklore, mythology, or religion, it's literally impossible to draw definite lines. it's why I hate when people say "well this religion stole this thing!" because religions intermingle, they share, they swap, they sometimes even meld with each other into something unique. ever-changing and different and the same. the Romans adopted their beliefs from the Greeks, and they shared gods with the Gauls, and then Christianity used the image of Jupiter as God. a big part of being a history major is understanding how to draw connections between cultures and peoples.

Admittedly, I am not familiar with the French idea of fae. I know that it is medieval. post-Christianity. it's a fairly loose term that denotes a "magical woman, skilled with words, herbs and stones" (via Wikipedia) and not much else. this is relevant to the Sleeping Beauty story, in which all the fairies are women. Maleficent's guards are not fairies, but ghouls (is that the right word?). I couldn't tell you the exact origin of French fairies, but it's not far-fetched to say they could have had "Celtic"* influence

*in reference to more than one culture in this context. scottish, manx, welsh, irish, etc

It is, perhaps, more important to add that French fairies are romantic figures in nature. very... fairy-tale esque. characters such as the fairy godmother and the good fairies in Perrault's version of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are good examples of this.

TWST fae... are... a little different. obviously. while it may be easy to simply argue that "it's twisted, so they're darker" or "Briar Valley is based off Maleficent's domain so of course it's dark", it's implied (and shown!) that good entities come from Briar Valley, too. pixies exist in TWST, for example. then there are the good fairies from Sleeping Beauty, which have to exist alongside Maleficent in the canon of TWST. The fae here are layered, much more so than in their sources.

This is where I start seeing shit.

war, weapons, and invasion

When speculating on the influence of French folklore in Briar Valley, I was told that "war" is a rather uncommon thing in their stories. Invasion is, of course, an imperative theme in Briar Valley history, in Lilia's background, and in book 7 as a whole. So. I get thinking.

The war between the fae and the humans carries significant parallels to the war between the Tuatha de Danann and the humans in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, the Book of Invasions, wherein the "fae" and the humans warred over land and resources until the former were driven out of Ireland and the humans became the ancestors of the modern Irish. And by "parallels" I mean this exact thing happens. THE EXACT THING. The Book of Invasions was literally the first thing I thought about when in Lilia's dream.

War is, of course, a recurring theme in Irish mythology. Ná Morríghan is associated with war, there's that entire book of invasions, like, anything about Cú Chulainn, etc.

I also, very quickly, want to draw a comparison between Lilia's magearm and the four treasures of the Tuatha de Danann, which are described in literature such as the Lebor Gabála and Cath Maige Tuired (iirc). magical weaponry is a fairly common motif in various Celtic mythologies. in Irish mythology, it's the Spear of Lugh, and various swords, clubs, etc. The magearm just struck the same chord for me.

nature

I fear this is about to get very ~ohooo magical pagan connection to nature!~ please bear with me.

The mythology of Ireland is very, very, very tied to the land. You can still see this today, actually. Various natural formations- hills, islands, etc- have mythological names. Much like Olympus in Greek mythology, places mentioned in Irish mythological sources have real-world counterparts, such as Tech Duinn, the House of the Dead, being Bull Rock- a tiny island off the coast of Cork (cool post about that and the ancient Irish belief in death here). Trees had important religious, cultural, and linguistic (see: Ogham) connotations. Many of the Tuatha de had animalistic attributes and associations, such as Morríghan and crows. Even more were associated with fertility and agriculture, which was kind of a big deal. Symbols that which represent fertility, are rather common motifs (such as the Lia Fáil on the Hill of Tara, which I've read is theorized to be phallic).

That's not even mentioning the oceans, the cliffs, the forests, or the sidhe (a "fairy mounds", manmade or natural features that connect our world to the otherworld of Irish mythology).

At multiple points in Lilia's dream do we hear the fae talk about how important nature is to fae. I am unsure if this strong love for land is a theme in French folklore.

I also want to briefly point out that, in reputable sources, the "Celtic" day began at sunset. Darkness- night, winter, cold- were important to the ancient Irish, both in culture and in mythology. It's probable that their "New Year" began at Samhain (soh-wen), the holiday that celebrated the beginning of winter, to put it briefly. Here's a discussion post about this (and I sent this ask!!!!)

I just find the significance of darkness and night to hold some ground with the concept of "nocturnal fae" in TWST. "Night's blessing's", they say.

form

I also want to add, very quickly, that there are multiple different iterations of "fairies" in Irish mythology and folklore. The Tuatha de resemble humans. The modern aos sí are more mystical. The Fomorians (whom are or are not fairies, depending on who you ask?) are described as more animalistic and monstrous. The nature of fae in TWST is unclear, but they read, to me, as human-like with different abilities, different physical attributes, and a different connection to land and nature. Which is, in form, similar enough to the "fae" of Irish (and other Celtic) folklore.

Lilia

Head in hands. Shall we talk about the importance of the paternal figure in Irish mythology. I feel I have to.

I really really hate saying the word "fertility" so much because I start sounding like a Wiccan, I promise I'm going somewhere with this.

In the Nature segment, I briefly touched on the importance of fertility and the phallic symbol. I know that usually, when talking about ~fertility~ in reference to paganism, people are talking women/goddesses, but throughout my readings of Irish mythology, I've found that male fertility is just as important. More specifically, fatherhood. I, unfortunately, couldn't find much input on this, but I think it's safe to say that The Dagda, for example, is considered an important father figure and is associated with fatherhood.

It's just important.

Head in hands again. Now let's talk about fostering. Fosterage was, by most sources, a really big thing in ancient Ireland. Raising someone else's child, including that of your enemy, was not only acceptable, not only common, but traditional. And the themes of fosterage exist in the mythos, too- in Tóraigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne, the demi-god Diarmuid was fostered by Aengus Og. Aengus Og was also fostered. Fosterage is a theme in Cú Chulainn's story, so on and so forth. The gods/fae/etc foster humans, they foster demi-gods, they foster other gods.

I wanted to mention both of these as important themes in both Irish mythology and Lilia's story because like. come onnn lol.

And One More Thing!!!

This isn't super relevant to this essay, I just like to bring it up: Lilia is vampiric? Well, there's vampires in Irish folklore (or close enough, anyway. the link gives a few different versions of the story and their origins). Some think that Abhartach was actually the true inspiration behind Bram Stoker's Dracula. I don't know how much credibility this theory has, I've read a few essays on it. I just think this is fun.

Silver

Much of what I said in Lilia could be said here, too. All I really want to bring up is the symbolism of acorns. I've mentioned that certain trees had mythological connections, and the oak tree was. Um. A big one. It's a recurring theme, past, and present. Even the "Celtic Tree of Life" is an oak. I don't know, it's just important.

I could also draw some pretty stark comparisons between the story of Fionn mac Cumhaill, a heroic figure in Irish Mythology, and Silver, but that would be a bit much.

Sebek

Half-god and half-human heroes, fae, whatever etc are very much present and important in Irish mythology. That's all I can think of for now.

Malleus

I suppose I could, if I tried very hard, find something to say about Malleus, but this is where the ~medieval Europe~ starts to seep in. I am unaware of any dragons or dragonlike creatures in Irish, or other Celtic, myth.

Nobility is, however, a major theme in Irish mythology. There are many rules, there are laws, there are gods and goddesses of sovereignty, it's huge, and sort of parallels Diasomnia's structure, in a strange way. I'd need to know how their housewarden is chosen, lmao.

conclusion

Do I think the TWST writers have an intimate knowledge of ancient Irish mythology and are purposefully making allusions to drive me insane specifically? no. obviously not. is it possible that these myths have influenced the general idea of fae, and thus were included in the writing process unconsciously? yes. absolutely!

Ultimately, this is more of a thought exercise and an analysis than a theory. Take it as you will.

so on and so forth.

[wisecrackingeric-2]

Luis ramble time

TW//homophobia??

I think my favorite thing about Luis has to be the idea that his religious trauma led him to become homophobic but not in the sense of how it normally is. I think he internalized it as he grew up in a Catholic setting and became more interested in other people. This is why I believe he probably wouldn't have kissed Leon,,he will flirt and make flirty gestures but I don't really believe he'd full on go for it. I think it's more believable that he would've felt guilty because we all know one thing Luis still holds dear is his religion.

To me Luis is bisexual and when he met Leon it made him remember those odd feeling but he was to afraid to express them both from fear of loosing Leon and the feeling of being sinful. (this comes from someone who connects to Luis in these regards,,dw I came to terms with myself awhile ago!) And just like everything else in his life he ran away from it and ultimately..

He never let himself feel those emotions nor tell Leon

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO GET TO BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW FERAL I WENT OVER THIS I STARTED GOING DOWN SUCH A LONG RABBIT HOLE OUUUUGHHH

BUT YOURE SO RIGHT YOU HAVE A BIT BEAUTIFUL BRAIN IT HURTS SM,,,,,,,, I think you’re absolutely right but I wanted to add my own headcannons too cuz I think it could be a very very interesting discussion!!!!!! I’ve put my thoughts under the cut so it doesn’t clog up peoples dashboards!!!!

I couldn’t agree more I think it’d be pretty safe ro say Luis has a FAIR BIT of internalised homophobia from his religious upbringing (now I wanna clarify that I don’t have any religious trauma like, at all, I wasn’t brought up relifious but I have TONS of friends who’ve gone through it so I’ve done my best to understand it best I can!!!!) and where my headcannon sliiiiiiiightly differs from yours is that I think Luis probably would have come to terms with his own queerness by the time he’s working with Umbrella

Obviously he’s already very flamboyant and VERRRRYYY flirty w both men and women and he’s clearly confident in himself- but what a lot of people seem to forget that the lovely @blveherb and @possessionisamyth have gone into detail about is that Luis is an immigrant, and if you look at literally any piece of history from before like,,,, roughly around the 80’s queer and immigrant history were REALLY intertwined, like, the two communities would often be at the same places or facing the same struggles at the same time etc and obviously white historians haven’t done us any favours with preserving this history (and ALSO also i am WHITE AS ALL HELL so im obviously not in a position to be speaking on topics that i dont fully understand/havent affected me which is why i ask that if anyone is more knowledgable on the topic please do elaborate on it!!!!!!!)((also it’s obviously very very important not to try and take away focus from or erase poc history when talking about queer history!!!!!!!!!!!!!))

So I don’t think it would be much of a stretch to say that Luis, after leaving Valdelobos and ending up wherever he did, would have also discovered the queer community as a whole just by virtue of being apart of a minority (again, this isn’t something that’s ever even remotely effected me so please if I’ve made any mistakes or if anyone wants to point anything out do so!!!!) also I just imagine that, in general, Luis would’ve been grateful for any kind of community to fall back on after he left his own- how old he was when he left is unknown obviously but I can’t imagine being barely even an adult discovering the big wide world for the first time after spending your entire life in a tiny rural catholic village would’ve been easy which is why communities like that are so important (also you could absolutely go into how Umbrella would’ve fed that need for a community even further in a young naive Luis but that’s getting ahead of the subject)

Also somewhat on and off topic but M A A N Y historians have pointed out that Don Quixote is a pretty queer fricken book. That’s an entirely different discussion in and of itself but the whole book itself, the relationship between Alonso and Sancho, the history itself surrounding the book etc can leave a lot of queer interpretations to be read (and @highball66 has pointed out that while not specifically a term used for gay men, in some areas ‘Sancho’ has been used to refer to ‘the other guy in the relationship’, ie the man the husband is sleeping with etc) ((AND also it’s just,, kinda hard to analyse super old books through the lens of the LGBTQ+ community as we understand it roday- Kaz Rowe on YouTube has some good videos on the topic I can’t reccomend enough!!!!))

And so I personally like to imagine that by the time he returns BACK to Valdelobos, he’s probably come to terms with it- but like most traumas, returning to the place where it all started and manifested probably would’ve brought up those same feelings of internalised homophobia like you’ve said; which is why he’s so afraid to confess to Leon. Even if he KNOWS he’s come to terms with his identity n such, that doesn’t mean that returning to the place where it all started doesn’t bring back up those old feelings (also him returning home in the manor that he does just makes my theory/headcannon that he’s Trans go WILD but I’m saving that for ANOTHER DAY)

‘He holds Religion very Close to him’ GOD YOURE SO RIGHT ABT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like even if he doesn’t still believe in god or anything his upbringing still effects him!!!!!!!!!!!!! He still always does the sign of the cross whenever he sees a dead body and obviously that classic catholic guilt and need to repent follows his every actions alongside just, y’know, the average amount of guilt people would feel in his situation BCNEHENDJDND so can you imagine how much WORSE he’d feeling going BACK to Valdelobos and meeting LEON and having all those feelings and fears come up again???????????? OUGH WHY MAKE ME THINK ABT THIS OP /lh

AND and, like you mentioned, Luis always has this reoccurring theme of thinking he has more time than he actually has and that he can run away from anything. It’s honestly so so so very tragic; and just the idea of that cycle repeating AGAIN in something SO PERSONAL (ie, his love for Leon) is just,,,,,,,,,, o u g h it’s so heartbreaking man why would you say that I am strangling you /jjjjjjjj

Luis always thinks he has more time to fix his mistakes, to be a better person- and even when he starts to realise he doesn’t, he still holds out hope. He thinks, ‘tomorrow I’ll tell Leon’, but he never gets that opportunity.

And finally this one is purely self indulgent but I’ve always pictured Luis as being the kind of person to just be happy labelling himself as ‘queer’ cuz it’s quick and convinient but BISEXUAL LUIS SL TRUE

(Also obligatory ‘these are just headcannons/theories/analysis nobody is saying these are CANNON this is just an observation’ message!!!!!!!)

[starkwlkr]

please post about what’s happening in palestine you have a big account

A lot has happened since i left. I’m still educating myself on everything that’s been going on so if i get anything wrong, please let me know. Thank you.

As of now, 7,028 Palestinians have been killed. Many of them are minors.

Recently, Israel denied the Gaza hospital attack. In response, the Palestinian Ambassador called the Israel PM a liar for blaming Islamic Jihad.

I found an article from the New York Times that says American officials say the attack likely killed 100 to 300 people. Gaza officials estimate the death toll closer to 500.

Here are some accounts that have more information and where you can donate.

Some more news about recent events that had happened, one of which has affected my family.

In Lewiston, Maine, a a mass shooting occurred in a bowling alley. The shooter is on the run, his name is Robert Card. At least 22 people have been killed and over 50 people are injured.

The following people are some of the vicitms I could find as more information comes out:

Tricia Asselin, the only woman killed.

Bill Brackett

Michael Deslauriers II, had a girlfriend and three children

Bob Violette

Steven Vozzella

Joseph Walker, 56, he was the manager at Schemegees Bar & Grill. His father told ABC News that his son attempted to go after the shooter but he was shot twice in the stomach.

Peyton Brewer-Ross

Tommy Conrad, he is survived by his 9 year old daughter. He was a new manager at the bowling alley.

Both Steven Vozzella and Bill Brackett were part of a gathering of deaf people playing cornhole at Schemegees Bar & Grill.

In Mexico, Hurricane Otis has left 27 people dead and four are missing. In my house, we cut the cable because it was getting very expensive so we only have wifi so I don’t want the news on TV. I learned about this Hurricane when my aunt from Mexico called my mom yesterday and told her all the damage that the hurricane had caused. I have family in Acapulco, Guerrero, so we’ve been making calls and watching the news on our phones.

Hurricane Otis was a category five.

The storm is one of the strongest ever to hit the southwest coast.

“Communication and power systems remained largely off in much of the state, making the scope of the hurricane’s toll difficult to ascertain.”

Acapulco is a port city with more than 852,000 people. It is the largest city in the state of Guerrero. Many hotels were packed with tourist since the city was hosting a international mining industry convention.

80% of hotels were damaged by the storm according to the governor of Guerrero.

Acapulco remains without power, water and communication.

More than 8,000 members of the armed forces have been deployed to the area. More than 500 emergency shelters were opened for residents.

The president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has acknowledged that the government was late in arriving because of the havoc that Hurricane Otis had left.

I am praying for everyone that has been affected by these tragic events. I know people hear this a lot and think “oh they’re just saying that, but they don’t actually mean it. It’s just to make them look good for the media.”

No, in my family, we always pray for everyone. Especially now since dia de los muertos is coming up, my family prays a lot during that time. I am catholic, I was raised catholic and I pray for peace on this earth.

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

End gun violence

Pray for Acapulco 🇲🇽

If anyone would like to add links for share more information, please do so!!

Here are some links that I found talking about Palestine.

[the-owl-tree]

PLEASE tear into moth flight's vision i am so interested in hearing ur thoughts about it

look at the time the fandom hyped up dotc so hard i got my hopes up and i vehemently hate this arc because of it. it is a hotbed of misogyny, ableism, shitty characters who are never portrayed to be wrong, abuse apologia, fatphobia, and did i mention the misogyny? like wow. they fucking hate women in this arc.

and i'll be honest when i went i first read moth flight's vision, i was already going in with a negative view because i hated dotc so fucking much...and i hated it! I ended up rereading it waaaaayy later and hated it AGAIN i have no clue why people put this arc or era on such a pedestal it sucked ass so bad. i want a written apology and financial compensation from the erins after i read it.

i know im being like a little dramatic but listen to me. i need everyone to hate this arc as much as i do.

Moth Flight's super edition is a mess of ideas, half-baked executions, and honestly...just bad? It doesn't convince the reader why a cat would be pushed to do this. Everything that goes wrong is because a) Moth Flight doesn't ask for help and b) Skystar, despite being redeemed, is a continuous antagonist that fucks over anyone for the sake of the plot.

The book is so afraid of having to deal with an actual redemption that Skystar is allowed to be the reason why Micah and Tiny Branch are killed yet the narrative refuses to foist any responsibility onto him. He's not allowed to be a villain, he's just there to service the plot then walk away scot free. Why? Why am I reading this??? What is the point of 6 books of this guy being an arrogant bloody dick with a half-baked redemption only for him to saunter out to cause problems with the books need it and don't even bother with sticking to him being an antagonist?! Anytime he's on screen I'm begging for someone to kill his ass already, I don't understand why the narratives tries to also push the blame on Moth Flight.

....speaking of her, her entire conflict doesn't work. Look, the idea of an individual problem leading to an entire societal wide change that cause more problems than it solves is interesting but the book doesn't sell it! The Clans are communal, she has tons of options in asking for help. The narrative is constantly patting my back saying see? see? she can't do it therefore it makes sense why she thinks no one can do it. It's an entire book of "how can a WOMAN raise her CHILDREN without her MAN" and the answer it gives us is: she can't :'( and by the end of the book i feel like i've been spit at. There's an overwhelming sense of disdain towards parents who ask for help (how Moth Flight treats Slate is cruel) and all of it is presented as in the right because the entire thesis is that despite living in a literal communal society where there's an entire rank dedicated to looking after children, single parents (read: mothers) are unable to look after children without a partner (read: the husband).

There's nothing wrong with a law being cruel or unfair, it actually adds to the story! It makes things interesting! But her entire story doesn't sell me on why the law was made, it makes me think more and more that the erins are really fucking weird about women (which has been made even more clear by that shitty kits & queens article no i will not let that go). But Moth Flight's conflict sucks ass, I don't buy it, and I feel I'm being shown one thing and told another.

I especially don't get why they didn't go with the obvious reason of having it be for superstitious/religious reasons (this shit is already so catholic, just go even further into the nun thing). Like, okay, here's my pitch of the law: kittens of medics are thought to be more at risk of curses/sickness/etc. Having it so Moth Flight's children share the same fate as other characters who are born to Medics: doomed to a life of suffering or go onto a path of destruction.

It wouldn't be true of course, the reason these children go off the rails is because the Clans expect them to but it would still be interesting!!

and that is my rant on this shitty super edition, thank you for asking :D

[parishqs]

ੈ✩‧₊˚ wanted connections ( +3 ) ˚₊‧✩ੈ

ੈ✩‧₊˚ OPEN / closed ˚₊‧✩ੈ MASON GREEN ( grant gustin ) is looking for their TWIN SISTER around paris ! they’re apparently around 31 years old, and look like a copy of ANYONE WHO LOOKS LIKE THEY COULD BE GRANT’S TWIN. the mun DOES ask to be contacted @lamouretlechocolat (or @cirillawitcher) before applying. // the two of them were always close growing up. With Mason being the shy one, I’m thinking his sister is more outgoing. But they always have each other’s backs. It would be fun for them to be a musical duo but totally not necessary, that’s just for funsies. All other details are UTP! Feel free to contact me and we can establish some additional headcanons so we are both on the same page. So if the musical duo (think Donny and Marie) is not your thing, then we can think of something else and work their dynamic! 

ੈ✩‧₊˚ OPEN / closed ˚₊‧✩ੈ LUCILLE JACQUEMONT ( taylor swift ) is looking for their EX FIANCÉE around paris ! they’re apparently around 31-33 years old, and look like a copy of ANY FEMALE FC FITTING THE AGE RANGE. the mun DOES ask to be contacted @bigbadwclf before applying. // Due to Lucille's rebellious behavior entering her teens, she was sent to a catholic all-girl boarding school in L.A in hopes her behavior got better. This is the place where she started her metal band and where she met your muse, who was her first friend ever in America and dormmate, and eventual first love. The two developed feelings for each other and started a relationship that lasted around 9 years to the point they were engaged, but things went down between them as Lucille tried to deal with the increasing fame and chose poor coping mechanisms for it around the summer of 2015. They haven't spoken since they parted ways, but she remains Lu's greatest love to date that still haunts her, so seeing her around again would really mess her up. I left the actual reason why they broke up open cause I'd love to plot it all out so I'd please need you to contact me so I can share Lu's bio and we can sort details out. The angstier the better bc I'm such a sucker for messy drama! 

ੈ✩‧₊˚ OPEN / closed ˚₊‧✩ੈ ALEXANDER MORGAN ( tom blyth ) is looking for their FANSERVICE FAKE RELATIONSHIP around paris ! they’re apparently around 27-30 years old, and look like a copy of NAOMI SCOTT, EMILY RUDD, SEYCHELLE GABRIEL, JAZ SINCLAIR, ANY FEMME FC . the mun DOES NOT ask to be contacted @xcestlavie (or actuallystumacher on discord!) before applying. // alex was known for his work on a show in american where he worked with y/m and it was no secret that the pair were shipped because of 'undeniable chemistry', his team saw an opportunity and jumped on it proposing a 'relationship' to the pair to keep their names on people's tongues. alex at least found some hesitation with the set up but after a month of convincing they made their first public appearance. it's been two years since than and alex has moved on from the show to make a bigger name for himself in the industry, the pair still keep up the act because it's what's worked so far. alex moved to paris because he likes the culture and france was also the backdrop of his most recent project, your muse could've followed to keep up the appearance of support for their boyfriend/for a project of their own/or another reason. literally everything about this is plottable, i am a big fan of slow burn (enemies to lovers) type situations. i think it would be hilarious if they didn't even like one another at the start and still take little small jabs one another now. Please be sure to add any extra information or diversity notes here: any femme or nonbinary fc is welcome that fits the age range! where they’re from isn't overly important and completely up to you, i just kind of defaulted to them being american. this isn't an immediate end game situation but has potential to be??? i ship chemistry before anything.

[edenfenixblogs]

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT ANISHANAABE/OJIBWE/CHIPPEWA AND AM NOT A NATIVE OJIBWE SPEAKER

Please ALWAYS defer to actual native people for the most accurate and complete and true information on their own culture.

I took an interest in Ojibwe after reading Tracks by Louise Erdrich (a book I cannot recommend highly enough). All the chapter titles/headings/pages are in a mix of English and Ojibwe. And the book is written in two different first person perspectives—both of Anishinaabe people: one elder and one woman who has purposefully left the culture and is a Catholic (Jesuit? It’s been awhile since I’ve read it) nun.

There’s a distinct difference in the way these two people use language. Idk how to best describe it but the woman’s voice and use of language is a little more familiar, but also more threatening. The elder’s use of language was more poetic and gentle and visceral to me. The way the character spoke reached into my chest and gripped my heart and twisted until it touched my soul.

This sounds weird and bad and like a stereotype of native culture and people and that’s not how I mean it. I don’t mean it in the way. I meant that I recognized something I couldn’t identify in the language that stuck out to me in a meaningful way. The writer, Louise Erdrich, is Chippewa woman and her relationship to the language and culture of Ojibwe was evident in her work—even when the character himself was written in English, especially in the elder/grandfather character.

So I started looking into the language. That’s my background with it and again I must stress the importance of getting the full picture from actual Ojibwe speakers, as I’m sure my understanding is woefully limited.

But the adjectival mechanism I am specifically fascinated/in love with is color:

Colors and shapes are typically used as verbs or adjective prefixes by fluent speakers.

So, instead of “the sky is blue,” you could say “the sky blues.” And I believe many adjectives are like this. So instead of “the bed is comfortable,” it could be “the bed comforts,” which I love. It gives agency and life to things that people without that kind of linguistic mechanism do not typically think of as lively.

I’d tag some Ojibwe/Chippewa/Anishinaabe bloggers but I don’t want to make them have Discourse™️ about their culture without consent. So I’ll just place tags in this post and if anyone wants to add input or correct me or yell at me for being very wrong, they are more than welcome to do so.

Star Wars in Ojibwe/Anishinaabemowin!

[the-firebird69]

Watch "WARHAMMER 40K Tyranids Pissed Off Space Marines Fight Scene (2023) 4K ULTRA HD" on YouTube

I tried to stop him from infiltrating the shadow dome and getting the giant robots and robot armies and I did but tell my own detriment and the robots deteriorated just as everybody said they would and I could not help it the second I took them out he would start trying and his computers are varied and it takes over computers and uses different formulas just like our friend says he's a Master formula it is working very well for him now I have to figure out what it's doing and our friend said it's fine and easy it said fortress that I described to women bill on Titan and it's really a system of computers and one person can run it but you have to have a whole bunch of laser light computers and what we're saying is all sorts of malarkey and ridiculous and we have to get to it and it makes sense that jhwb defeated him and he defeated him back and also makes sense that Max after it but our friend says that it's a lot more to it and he says he's asking me how many churches there are on Earth that are Catholic and I said about 450 million and then Protestant would be about the same and then there are temples and cathedrals that are not churches the add it all together this 5 trillion of these places with alters each and every one of them probably has something under it and alien each and every one of them are to raise others and maybe even raise something larger they knows how to so we are in a lot of trouble these monsters are all over the place we found them as gargoyles this is going to be chaos and that's what he wants I don't I don't get why he's doing it yes I do he was persecuted and blamed for everyone's crimes it's because he was a sinner and disguising himself but everybody else is but what he does is horrific he says his body and skin can transmutate into just about anyone and he can probably sit there and do it with blood with special with some chemicals and some radiation and not much else and nobody can and his granddaddy did a little to an extent and family and race but he's different just like her friend is and his DNA proved it and thank heavens he mentioned it he didn't know what to do he said he's a giant and I am but I've never been Giant so he's kicking my ass so he has to tell someone this is the story and I'm sticking to it I'm losing and everybody is losing and these Giants came out of nowhere and kicked our robots ass and I had him juiced up okay and we had some teams in there they have to be really bad now these new robots will be hard but I don't think impossible he said what made sense as he took it three or four tier mutant which exist with us and The Rock says Yes and then there's been like he'dora which are higher and have lasers out of their eyes and you mix it with one of the humans and somehow and there you have it Galactus and he says it's amazing please and I do see it too he's got to look the look let me know that we know how to fight these guys these things okay there's someone human and they do feel pain and there are ways to hit them even if they're robotic and I'm not going to disclose where but several places at the same time and I've seen people do it that was The Rock and he said he's valuable and here it is

Not to go on talking but we have to do something

Tommy f

[angeltreasure]

I have been wanting to become Catholic for a few years and have been working through my difficulties. However, the thing i keep coming back to is birth control. I actually came to the Catholic belief on birth control before I really realized i wanted to be Catholic, and so my husband and i have been trying to practice NFP. However, that has just resulted in me being pregnant every year for the past four years. And i love my children of course and I am glad it happened how it did. But it's gotten to the point where I am constantly stressed about becoming pregnant again, and I have postpartum anxiety and depression and I can't even focus on the kids i already have. I still feel that the Catholic position is right, but i don't know how I can practically live it out in my marriage. I can't ask my husband to be celibate indefinitely and nfp hasn't worked at all. I've had 3 miscarriages in between 3 pregnancies and I'm just physically exhausted. And now to add to it i feel i can't ever become Catholic because if i commit to that i have to fully commit to never being able to even use condoms, and i just know I'll be pregnant for the next 10 years and i am terrified of what the next pregnancy could be like because they've always been difficult for me. So I may never be able to participate in the sacraments that have drawn me to catholicism. Do you have any advice or i guess just prayers.

Just in case you did not know this before and I do not claim to assume that you may or may not know already: birth control and contraceptives such as condoms, are not 100% preventative. Condoms, for example, can possibly break.

While the Catholic Church is certainly against all forms of contraception -but approves of NFP- please do not feel unworthy. You can absolutely join the Catholic Church, not matter your past. Do not feel afraid. There are many options we have as Catholics and pro life when raising a child. Many people are willing to volunteer to watch your children, Catholic churches will assist in donating free items to you, pregnancy resource centers offer free classes / free supplies / free support and free counseling. We also have options of adoption, safe haven baby boxes, and surrendering your young baby to a safe place such as hospital / police station / fire station if you cannot raise another in your family. I can link you up to wonderful, free pro life resources if need be. You don't need to be Catholic in order to receive these free resources.

I highly suggest talking to your nearest Catholic priest (or bishop). He will not turn you away; he will be so patient and answer all the questions you have about this in more detail than I can, as someone who has personally not had children yet. You don't have to be Catholic to speak with him. You can e-mail him, call him, or even speak in person to him. It's never too late to consider Catholicism, or even just asking for help in general.

Do not afraid. I will pray for you, and anyone else who sees this. God sees you and understands.

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Hi, thank you for all you share on here - it's been so helpful over the years. I've just been asked to be godparent to a sort-of friend's baby. I haven't been attending my old church in the last few years because it's catholic and I am still working out how I feel about that. and I also don't think my friend knows I'm gay. I'm feeling conflicted about whether I should tell my friend that to make sure she's okay with it, and also if it'll be okay to even take that role on? I'd be so grateful for any light you could shed on this situation 💜

Hey there, thank you for your kind words! This sounds like a complicated situation that's largely out of my wheelhouse; ultimately, you'll have to decide what's best for yourself. And if anyone else has thoughts, please share!

But yeah, here are my thoughts:

Most important question before anything else is: you want to be a godparent? Especially to the child of someone you classify as a "sort-of" friend? It's okay to turn down the request if you don't think god-parenting is for you / don't think you want that kind of deepened connection with this person and her family. .

If you're not sure whether you want to be / are qualified to be a godparent: I personally think the not-attending-church-often thing doesn't automatically disqualify you. You could bring that up with this friend first though, see what she thinks. But yeah, that aside, the biggest thing about being a godparent is whether you are up for the idea of supporting this child — especially if the worst happens and their parents die, but even if that doesn't happen. Will you commit to offering spiritual support? .

To me, that doesn't have to mean Catholic-specific support. I said yes to being my little sister's Confirmation sponsor while I was in college, even while I was starting to have an inkling that I was queer. And even now that I've "left" the Roman Catholic Church, and am a PCUSA minister, I don't regret my "yes" to being her sponsor. I'm still committed to supporting her spiritually (and holistically) in every way I can — praying for her, offering advice or information when she seeks it, etc. (She's actually not religious at all anymore, which adds more complexity to that; but spirituality is something anyone can cultivate, so I try to help her navigate more "agnostic" spirituality! But that's a tangent.) .

So yeah, if you want to be this child's godparent, I do think your instinct about making sure your friend knows you're gay is probably right; you wouldn't want that to come up later and have her act "betrayed." (If that were to happen, that would be on her, not you — but still probably something you don't wanna have to deal with years down the road). If you don't feel comfortable telling her you're gay, that's okay! That might mean it's best not to say yes to being her kid's godparent — usually being a godparent to someone's kid means being close to them or becoming closer. (You know your own context better than I do, of course; maybe you are able to cultivate close relationships with folks who don't know you're gay! That's fine too; this is just my thoughts about if I were in your shoes, I guess.)

Not sure if this was helpful or just made things more confusing, but there's my two cents for ya! Wishing you well as you reflect on this, anon! <3

[my-strange-attraction]

Ok, so time for a follow up. CW for sex/ sexual topics.

This is about to get more TMI than any of my posts in the past, because I’m sick of trying to censor myself in my own space, which has really been my big struggle with sexual orientation this whole time, when you boil it down to the basics. Also, tumblr can go fuck themselves for making us hide behind a million censors and veiled references to sexual topics when there are literal nazis on this website who can talk freely. This is the sex positivity site! Let us talk about m*sturbation and tag it!

Ok, mini rant over. This is gonna be a long one, guys. I’ve been holding out. Update under the cut.

Right so I’m pretty certain at this point that I’m not asexual or honestly acespec at all and I am demiromantic/ grayromantic. If you’ve been following my journey, you’ll know that last fall I very very suddenly went from not having any sort of orientation (sexual, romantic, or alterous) to being a lesbian.

Never ever before last fall did I even suspect having felt any sort of sexual attraction toward anyone. It would be obvious, I told myself. Everybody else recognized it immediately, everybody knew exactly what sexual attraction felt like because they felt it when they looked at somebody else and they HAD to do something about it, at least, eventually.

I also thought I didn’t have any sort of sex drive. I’d tried to touch myself ~ down there ~ before, even looked at diagrams because I have female anatomy and there was supposed to be a spot where it felt good just by touching it, without even really trying, right?

So anyways, naturally this all started when I read a ~ stimulating ~ fic one morning, couldn’t stop thinking about it all day, and then discovered that spot when I went to bed that night. I... definitely have a sex drive.

A bit of background about me that might be helpful at this point: I grew up in a very sheltered household. I was raised Catholic, and believed in it for most of my life, pretty much up until college. I also grew up in the midwest, in an admittedly progressive town, but the schools still had shit sex ed. And I am an incredibly anxious person and have been selectively mute in the past and that has had the effect on me that I learned from a very young age to figure things out on my own so I wouldn’t have to ask anyone anything ever.

I am lucky in that even though I was sheltered growing up, my parents have always encouraged me to make up my own mind about things and live my life the way I want to. The only thing they’ve really forced me to value is focusing on my education, but as long as I’m always trying my best, they’re not strict about what kind of grades or whatever I get either. That said, I never really felt the need to have a rebellious phase, and I always just wanted to please them.

All this just adds up to the fact that I definitely used to think it was noble to not be a sexual being, and that’s been a hard instinct to let go of over the years, even as I’ve stopped being religious and become the label anarchy sex positive person I am today.

The reason I even felt comfortable enough to really try to figure out how to have ~ fun sexy times ~ (I truly apologize for all the ways I’m referring to this, I’m cringing so hard but I don’t want to get in trouble with the tumblr gods) with myself was because over the past few years in college I’ve been around a lot of people who are pretty open about this stuff, and one person in particular who is very educated about sex and likes to drop fun facts about it.

So, I discovered I had a sex drive. Fine, cool. So I actually WAS a late bloomer (read: so repressed that I had myself convinced that I was not actually feeling sexual arousal ever, it was just another feeling bodies had sometimes that was uncomfortable and went away eventually). But what did that mean for sexuality? Did I actually feel sexual attraction all this time and not realize it?

I came to the conclusion that, for women, yes. And for men.... eh I’ve never really become good friends with one, too weird to think about, I’m gonna go with nah.

The rest isn’t really a long or complicated story. Realizing my attraction to women was easy because 1. I’ve already mentioned my “friend crushes” many times on here, translating that was easy, 2. despite the fact that I am female presenting and being gay SHOULD be harder, being straight has always seemed the harder thing to me (refer to above; I don’t talk to men a lot), 3. I am afab, and thinking about the other “parts” was scary, not to mention straight sex = chance of pregnancy, and 4. despite working to rid myself of this bias, I still have a tendency to think of men as “more sexual” than women, in general.

And that instinct is still there, to be as unsexual as I can. To think of sex as something inherently dirty and liking sex as something rebellious that troubled kids do. (I am not a kid, but I am 21, so I still feel like a baby.)

But lately I’ve been realizing that, well, one does not really read about mlm romance and smut for years without being at least a little interested in men. At least not the way I did it (to feel the butterflies in my stomach when they finally kissed and got together, to feel my face get hot when they got together.)

I've also been thinking a lot about what people mean when they say they are attracted to someone. The implication is sexual attraction, of course, so I always assumed that meant that just looking at someone turned people on, but it's a bit more complicated than that, isn't it? After thinking about it a bit, I actually think attraction is much more like just being excited to see or talk to a person in the same way that kids get excited for Christmas. It's anticipation, it's knowing, or at least guessing, that this is something that will make you really happy.

And that, I guess, is kind of at the heart of why I never understood my own sexuality (well, other than the whole repressed thing). I did the classic "think you're ace/bi when you're actually bi/ace because you feel the same about both genders," except I never considered it because there was a time when I understood attraction and myself less when I was questioning bi, so I thought I got that out of the way.

For a long time, I thought I felt nothing because I didn't talk to guys and I was certainly straight, right? Because there was no other option. I had a lot to learn at this point, and I imagine I still have a lot to learn now, but I think my gut was right on that, at least the first part.

I've still never had any romantic crushes, and I do think the not talking to guys is part of it, but what I was missing is that (and I've said this before on here I'm sure) I also never talk to girls I'm actually interested in. Most of my friends are girls and have been for my whole life, but when I see a pretty girl, I do tend to turn in the other direction because why would she want to talk to me?

Anyways that was long and long winded, and I still honestly don't want to put a label on things, just because it's all so new and I think my tendency to want to immediately label myself after I figure out something new about myself holds me back sometimes, but that's the update! If you made it this far, I literally don't know why, but thanks for coming along on my journey! As always, I will keep y'all updated because you know I can't help myself but to overshare on the internet.

Questioning my sexuality again, what is this?

[cheerfullycatholic]

hi:) I left church when I turned 18 and now I want to return as I never really lost my faith. I did not grow up strictly religious (my parents told me to „figure it out myself“ which basically meant I didn’t do that) but the polish side of my family is catholic and so was my grandma. I knew this was important to her and knowing how much good it brought her, I want to feel connected to that part of me again.

I struggle a lot with coming to terms with my existence. I tried everything but nothing gives me the warm feeling that I get whenever I think of god.

I want to go back to church and connect to my roots again, but my anxiety goes to the roof when I see more than one person in a church. I am so very afraid of getting judged and I don’t even know how to approach it as my social anxiety took the best of me.

I hope you could help me a little.

Hello ☺️ I totally get what you mean, I have a lot of anxiety at church, as well. What helps me, and I don't know if it'll help you or not, is firstly getting a seat where you're most comfortable. My church has a balcony which usually doesn't have a lot of people in it, I love sitting in the back where I can't easily be spotted. If I can't sit in the balcony, the back row is an excellent place, as well. And, some churches offer a separate room, it's usually for families with children, but anyone can go there. A church I visit sometimes has a room like that with a huge window so you can still see Mass, but you're not technically with the rest of the people. I've never been in it, but it looks nice, and I believe it's connected to the bathroom!

Something else that has helped with my anxiety is knowing that, church isn't about the laity. It's about God. We go there for Him. We're Catholics because of Him. It's all about Him. It doesn't matter what people may or may not say or think about you, all that matters is the Mass. No one's opinion of you is important except for God's, and I know that He is so proud of you, how far you've come, and how much you're trying. He sees your effort, and He sees your struggle. He's with you and He loves you. For me, personally, knowing that makes me feel better.

Another thing you could do is start small. Go to daily Mass, which usually has a lot less people. Get familiar with your surroundings. Being in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people can be scary, maybe knowing your church's layout could help you be more comfortable on the weekend. Or you could get to know your priest. Having someone you know there helps sometimes, too.

Now, as for your existence, I don't know what to say. I struggle with that a lot, as well, and I haven't figured anything out. Sometimes I question my existence, sometimes I hate it 😅 but I guess God has a plan for everyone. I'm trying to trust Him. Some days are harder than others. I wish I could help you.

I don't know if any of this was useful to you or not. I hope it was. Thank you for reaching out, anon. Please know you're incredibly loved and you're in my prayers. I am so proud of you.

If anyone has anything to add that may help them, please reblog this!

[zombiemarydaly]

https://terfsarehomophobic(.)tumblr(.)com/post/668614247922728960/i-kinda-hate-when-radfemsterfs-saying-that-they

thoughts on this post?

https://terfsarehomophobic.tumblr.com/post/668614247922728960/i-kinda-hate-when-radfemsterfs-saying-that-they

Looking at people discussing what they call "terfs" and then there’s me, a person who doesn't believe the people they call terfs should be called that is difficult. Some of the people they think are "terfs" aren't radical feminists at all to the point the label is ridiculous. Others are radical feminists but aren't actually excluding of transitioned people or people who identify with some gender, just the dogma of gender theory.

I don't "exclude" Catholics from feminism just because I disagree with Catholic dogma and point out where it is anti-feminist. They are welcome to participate and reap the benefits of radical feminist change. They will need to tolerate our criticisms of patriarchal religion. No demand to agree, or get lost, or to quit making their case it isn't anti-woman actually, but we aren't shutting up for anyone.

Aside from that I don't think I have claimed people are murdering women for being radical feminists on any kind of scale. I am not aware of it and may not be the best person to ask.

What the OP may be mixing up is how we discuss femicide. People are murdering women and girls for being female. Some of these happen because of a pattern of exploiting female reproduction, sexuality, and menial labor. Some happen due to other social injustices and average physical differences that leave women and girls more vulnerable to attack. Misogyny fuels hate that pushes even more violence. Discussing that is not discussing violence targeting radfems but I could see someone like OP confusing it. Those recent posts of gender fans losing it over "femicide" somehow being a transphobic idea make me suspicious.

Still, the calls for violence against "terfs" are common online on major social media platforms. It is fair to be concerned about that even without claiming murders are happening. People making these calls seem to not really have a grasp of what a terf actually is so that is extra concerning. Sometimes it seems to just mean lesbian @terfstillmeanslesbian receipts blog for that.

Arguably the murder victims of David Warfield aka “Dana Rivers” may have had differences of opinion on transgender issues involved in his motive. I do not think we can know for sure. We do know he protested Mitchfest and that both of his victims were lesbian women who attended Mitchfest despite the protests, plus their adopted son.

Some of the other claims made in this post... UK radfems and gender crits, do you feel "welcomed with open arms"?

I thought it was in the UK that some of the smaller acts of violence against radfems or just gender critical women in general have happened. I don't keep track of all this but I think I remember someone got assaulted in a park. Various incidents of trans activists calling the cops on women. If someone actually recalls the details here please add them.

Lots of women getting no platformed though I won't pretend that's violence. It is silencing. This includes Linda Bellos.

"And I don’t condone violence but if you show up somewhere openly disrespecting and being hateful to a marginalised community, I can’t blame people from the community for how they react to you really."

This would almost make sense if they could consistently distinguish "being hateful" and "openly disrespecting" from anyone who dares to disagree at all, no matter how sincerely open to discussion and anyone who dares to question at all, no matter how nicely.

It still would leave a lot to be desired because yes, you can hold people accountable for rashly deciding to be violent rather than mediating their conflict. Even when actual bigotry is involved. Even actual bigotry is not always a life and death scenario or one that violence is the best response for.

Ask any woman who has to live in this world. If we attacked all sexists we encountered we would have no time left for anything else. Even if we just limited our selves to the serious cases.

Anyone who understands restorative justice knows it is not an easy process or a comfortable one. It isn't always minor disputes among friends. It's also worth noting sometimes two people or marginalized groups can both be hurtful to each other, and there is no clear "hero" or "villain". In those cases mediation stands out as especially important. You can't just say go ham, heroes! Beat the shit out of the villains! That solves everything!

@terfsarehomophobic in case you wanted to respond to anything. I do not know much about what alleged claims of violence you and your anon were reacting to.

[the-quiet-winds]

The Gravity of Tempered Grace (part six)

[part one] - [part two] - [part three] - [part four] - [part five]

[Part 6: When We Live Such Fragile Lives]

The Life and Times of Jane the Queen, Chapter 7 - The Maid of Honor

“In 1532, Jane was promoted to maid-of-honor in the court of Queen Catherine, where she had served as early as 1527. The two were quite close - both were devoted Catholics, even as Catholicism in was falling out of favor in England, which brought them together, even as Jane served Catherine.

Jane’s sister Elizabeth also served Anne Boleyn, remaining loyal to her until Anne’s execution. Due to Jane’s own loyalty to Catherine and her daughter Mary, Jane did not bring Elizabeth into her own household when she became queen.”

Cathy and Catherine exchange no words as they race up the stairs and split off different directions down the hall.

Catherine barges into Anne’s bedroom, where the woman was starfished out on the bed, and shakes her awake. “Don’t make a sound,” she whispers as soon as she sees Anne’s eyes open. “Henry is here.”

Anne, still half asleep, looks alarmed. “Here?” She whispers back.

Catherine nods. “He’s here for Jane. I don’t think he would expect all of us to attack.”

Anne clambers out of bed, but keeps her footsteps silent as she follows Catherine into the hall, where Cathy and a somewhat-awake Anna are standing.

Catherine jerks her head in the direction of Kat’s bedroom, and Anne takes the initiative to wake her cousin.

“Kitty,” she whispers, “Kitty wake up. Janey’s in trouble.”

Kat’s eyes shoot open, but no sound leaves her mouth, even though Anne’s shadowed face lingering inches from her own was definitely enough to justify a squeak.

She and Anne return to the hall, and the house is still silent, everyone waiting for the explosion from downstairs.

But they all hear nothing.

No words spoken, no sounds of distress, just nothingness.

On silent feet, they begin to slowly descend the stairs, but the space Jane had occupied at the front door is now empty.

The door is closed, the lights are all off, and it’s almost as if Jane was never there in the first place.

Just as Cathy turns to the others, a small lamp by the couch flickers on.

The sight waiting for them makes Kat almost gag.

Henry is lounging on the sofa, one arm propped on the back cushion, with Jane curled up against him, her head resting on his chest. They almost look like a picture-perfect couple from those romantic comedies the queens sometimes watched when there was nothing else on late at night. They look like they’re just head-over-heels for each other, except when Henry turns to the ones intruding his precious moment, there is nothing but malice in his eyes.

“Do you mind?” He asks, and if he finds the appalled looks of his ex-wives amusing, he doesn’t let it show. “I am having a moment here with my love.”

“We know about the heart,” Catherine says boldly, stepping in front of the others. “We know you’re just controlling her.”

“Controlling her?” Henry repeats incredulously. He laughs. “Dear, you’ve been reading too much of this world’s fiction.”

“Enough of the games, Henry,” Anne warns, trying to seem imposing in her diminutive frame. “Let Jane go.”

Henry turns to the peaceful woman next to him. “Do you want me to leave?”

In her blissful haze, Jane shakes her head.

“Now, could you all please leave? It’s been five hundred years since I’ve seen my wife, I’d like to catch up with her.”

At the way he spat the word ‘wife’, how he possessively holds Jane, and Jane’s nearly drunken demeanor, all hell breaks loose.

It isn’t clear who lunges where and who grabs who, but at some point Jane is wrestled away from Henry and the former king is on the floor.

“Where is it, Henry?” Cathy demands. “Where is Jane’s heart?”

He gets to his feet slowly, almost as if for dramatic effect. The light from the lamp catches his face in shadows, and the womanizing king they all remembered is truly standing before them once again. 

“Now ladies,” he hisses, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Drop the act,” Kat spits, “where is it?!”

“Watch your tongue, woman. You forget who you’re speaking to.”

“You are no more a king than we are here,” Catherine says, stepping in front of Kat protectively. “You are just as mortal as us. So tell us - where is her heart?”

She’s nose-to-nose with him now, and the tension in the room is so thick you can almost taste it.

“Do you really want to test me?” He warns softly. “I may not be king anymore, but I have other ways of putting you in your place.”

Catherine almost smirks. “Is that a threat?”

“Perhaps.”

“You’re outnumbered here, Henry,” Anne says. “It’s five to one. You can’t win against all of us.”

He narrows his eyes at her, and, oddly, he chuckles. “My, my, I always knew you were short-tempered, but now you’re just… short.”

Anna has to hold Anne back at that, and the former king just laughs again. “Wow, I never thought I’d miss any of you, other than Jane, of course.” He glances to the blonde woman, sitting on the floor with Cathy, incredibly vacant. “But I’ve certainly missed your fire, and tenacity, and,” he leans slightly, catching Kat in his gaze, “other talents.”

God above, Catherine wants to strangle him.

“Why are you even here, anyway?” She demands. “You have Jane’s heart, can’t you bring her to wherever you were?”

“Well what’s the fun in that?” Henry asks. “Then I wouldn’t get to see the look on all your faces when you see me take what’s mine.”

“She doesn’t belong to you,” Anna snarls. “This isn’t our time, anymore. Women aren’t their husband’s property. She doesn’t owe you a damn thing.”

“You may be right about that, Anna,” Henry says. “I don’t own her. But you’re all also right about something else. I do have her heart.”

There’s a cloth bag sitting by the couch, nondescript and nearly invisible, which Henry picks up carefully.

He reaches in, and pulls out a heart.

Jane’s heart.

It isn’t nearly what anyone had expected - it doesn’t have veins running all over it, or a faint sheen of blood - it’s just red. Bright red. Almost glowing red.

“You caught me,” he says, but he’s smirking.

“Give that back,” Catherine demands.

“How many times do I have to say no before you’ll stop?”

“As many as it takes,” Anne says.

“You all are quite committed to this,” Henry comments softly, as if surprised.

“Jane’s our family, and we won’t let you torture her anymore!” Kat says, defiant and strong as she stands next to Anne.

Henry regards them all, scanning each face thoroughly, then looking to Jane and Cathy on the floor.

“Jane,” he says shortly, “come here.”

Without hesitation, Jane gets to her feet and moves to his side.

A cold, harsh shiver runs down Catherine’s spine at the sight of her friend, her once trusted confidant, so helpless against the evil man before them.

“These ladies want me to leave you, do you want that?”

Barely, Jane shakes her head.

“Come on, Jane,” Anna pleads. “Snap out of it. Henry’s controlling you. He doesn’t want what’s best for you. He wants to force you into a relationship.”

“Jane, you deserve better than that,” Catherine continues. “You deserve to have your own adventures and be your own person.”

“He says he loves me,” Jane whispers.

Anne pipes in next. “He says that Jane, but all he’s done is manipulate and control you. That isn’t love, no matter how you look at it!”

“Jane,” Kat adds softly, clearly quite uncomfortable with the circumstances, “he doesn’t really love you. If he loved you, he wouldn’t be forcing you into situations without your say.”

“And he wouldn’t feed you lies,” Cathay finally contributes. “We love you, Jane. We want you to be able to feel again, and do whatever weird things you like to do.”

There’s a tense moment, one where the world stands completely still, and smile begins to creep on Henry’s face.

But then Jane inhales sharply, and her eyes are more alert than anyone has seen in this life. 

“Jane?” Anne asks.

“What is happening?” Jane demands, looking wildly between her fellow queens and Henry. Her gaze finds the heart in his hand, and she lunges for it.

He pulls it out of reach, though. “Back up, Jane.”

Unable to resist, even as her face contorts with frustration, Jane complies, taking several stilted steps back until she’s among the others.

“I see being in the same room with your heart has woken you up,” Henry muses. He clicks his tongue. “How unfortunate. Just means that now I’ll have to kill you.”

[pomefioredove]

oh god this is long. warning for bad english and incomprehensible rambling

a brief forward:

my credentials in this area are "religious studies major" and not much else. I am not Irish, nor am I pagan, and my knowledge/study in Irish mythology is very secondary to Catholicism. I have been close to and spoken to a handful of experts within the field.

furthermore, I would classify myself as a reconstructionist, meaning that I solely draw from old/ancient/historical sources, and reject eclectic and appropriative wiccan ideas. this has been a seven year long labor of love, but I'm still not perfect, and continue to sift through my sources every day.

(I implore anyone in this field to correct any mistakes I make)

additionally I've only read a little bit of book 7 so I may be totally crazy and wrong. this is just a speculative piece, after all.

a glossary of knowledge:

for the purpose of this essay, I use "fae" as an umbrella term, which includes pixies, medieval French fae, the aos sí, and the Tuatha de Danann*

*please note that the Tuatha de were gods in their original sources, but were changed to fairies (and occasionally kings) in later Catholicized retellings.

I will be focusing most on ancient beliefs, with vague mentions of medieval/post-Catholicism ones. Irish Catholicism is extremely important in the context of these stories, as it was the Catholic monks who preserved them in written form, and it's quite literally impossible not to mention. it's had a huge influence.

etc.

when talking about folklore, mythology, or religion, it's literally impossible to draw definite lines. it's why I hate when people say "well this religion stole this thing!" because religions intermingle, they share, they swap, they sometimes even meld with each other into something unique. ever-changing and different and the same. the Romans adopted their beliefs from the Greeks, and they shared gods with the Gauls, and then Christianity used the image of Jupiter as God. a big part of being a history major is understanding how to draw connections between cultures and peoples.

Admittedly, I am not entirely familiar with the French idea of fae. I know that it is medieval. post-Christianity. it's a fairly loose term that denotes a "magical woman, skilled with words, herbs and stones" (via Wikipedia) and not much else. this is relevant to the Sleeping Beauty story, in which all the fairies are women. Maleficent's guards are not fairies, but ghouls (is that the right word?). I couldn't tell you the exact origin of French fairies, but it's not far-fetched to say they could have had "Celtic"* influence

*in reference to more than one culture in this context. scottish, manx, welsh, irish, etc

It is, perhaps, more important to add that French fairies are romantic figures in nature. very... fairy-tale esque. characters such as the fairy godmother and the good fairies in Perrault's version of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are good examples of this.

TWST fae... are... a little different. obviously. while it may be easy to simply argue that "it's twisted, so they're darker" or "Briar Valley is based off Maleficent's domain so of course it's dark", it's implied (and shown!) that good entities come from Briar Valley, too. pixies exist in TWST, for example. then there are the good fairies from Sleeping Beauty, which have to exist alongside Maleficent in the canon of TWST. The fae here are layered, much more so than in their sources. This is where I start seeing shit.

Let's start with the war we're introduced to in Lilia's dream in book 7. "war" and "fairies" are probably not two terms a classic fairytale enjoyer would associate with each other, but, God, you know who would? me.

the entire concept of humans invading fae land, using resources and pushing the fairies out, resulting in a war, is so so very Book of Invasions to me. as in, that happens in the fucking Lebor Gabála Érenn itself, the war between the supernatural entities (in this context, the Tuatha de Danann) and the humans over control of land is a huge part of the story. the humans win at the end, however, and become the ancestors to the modern Irish people, while the Tuatha de return to their homeland and become the ancestors of modern fae (in this context, the aos sí). This is quite literally the very first thing I thought of when reading chapter 7.

I don't think it's supposed to be a 1:1 parallel ofc but I DO find the parallels absolutely fascinating. there are a few other things, like the use of masks, the importance of magical weaponry, the connection with nature and animals, and such that also reminds me of common themes in Irish history and mythology. if we want to play with the whole "Lilia is a vampire fae" idea I can point you to the Irish myth of Abhartach, which some claim to be the actual inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula! then we can also talk about the Fomorians and how the Fomorians had animalistic features in many accounts and intermarried with the Tuatha de, etc etc there's a lot going on. Irish mythology is far more complex than people give it credit for.

And then Halloween exists in TWST. which indicates to both Christianity and later Samhain traditions (though not ancient Samhain itself, which is different still from Halloween), Samhain (pronounced sah-wen) being one of the four big seasonal holidays in the ancient Irish calendar, what I would argue to be one of the Irish new year, a time when the "veil" between worlds grows thinner.

speaking of which.

Let's talk about the worlds. for all intents and purposes I will be referring to this place as Tír na nÓg, thought that's just a more specific name for "the otherworld". the home of the Tuatha de, of all fairies, really, which overlaps our own world. at certain points in the year- Samhain, the beginning of winter, and Bealtaine, the beginning of summer- the "veil" separating our world and the next becomes thin. this is a popular notion in later Ireland, and those who argue for Samhain's connection to Halloween point to this a lot.

Now, Tír na nÓg is frequently (and often, accidentally) host to many mortals. Oisín is probably the most recognizable/famous example of this. by all accounts, crossing over to Tír na nÓg is rather easy- traveling west over the sea can get you there (like I said, the worlds overlap; they exist alongside each other), or you can go through burial mounds (or fairy forts), or you can be invited or "summoned" by an inhabitant. sometimes even kidnapped, if we take later ideals into account.

So why is this so important to me?

Yuu, us, we're unknowingly and unwillingly transported into another world, one of magic. the exact reasoning of why or how is never explained, but if we're drawing parallels between how worlds work in our fae's mythology, is it so strange to assume that we were kidnapped? summoned? there are lots of stories about fae women being smitten with mortal men and sweeping them away to "the otherworld"

Who's to say that the same thing didn't happen to us?

Do I think the TWST writers have an intimate knowledge of Irish mythology and are purposefully making allusions to drive me insane specifically? no. obviously not. is it possible that these myths have influenced the general idea of fae, of other worlds, and thus were included in the writing process unconsciously? yes. absolutely! the unfortunate thing about Irish mythology is that it is not held as sacred as I'd like it to be, and has been very subject to appropriation and misinformation over the years, leading to a disconnect between the stories and their sources. I would bet anyone here that they'd been exposed to ancient Irish stories/holidays/customs without even knowing it. it's very possible that some of these common themes got passed along without intent.

Anyway. I guess I just find the parallels very interesting. and this is just about the writing, if we wanted to take a canon approach it wouldn't be crazy to say that modern-ish TWST fae are descendants of a Tuatha de equivalent. which carries its own implications.

the thing w the fae origins is that I just could not even BEGIN to describe how massively important that information would be to the main plot. it would take so many paragraphs to even scratch the surface. the implications of it have me rocking back and forth going crazy over like maybe 2 or 3 parallels that normal people wouldn't even think twice about