#i follow the science and I follow the human rights and those things are important to me

[alvallah]

Has anyone with a more right-leaning perspective ever made you reconsider your position on a deeply held belief?

Hm. Idk how exactly to classify Joan Didion but I’d say she’s definitely more conservative than I am. There’s an essay she wrote criticizing the 2nd wave of feminism that I found enlightening. I didn’t exactly agree with all of her points but she had some points about entitlement and using a social movement to achieve personal wish-fulfillment that made me think a little bit more critically about where people should be picking battles and what actual feminism is.

Overall though I don’t really find conservative views wholly convincing and they tend to lack compassion (I value compassion and humility more than I value The Law and traditionalism). I think hearing conservative views keeps me and my own views in check so I don’t lose my head but I tend not to agree with the views themselves. My left-aligned views are a result of over a decade of me reevaluating my own perspectives and opinions. In high-school I was probably more a moderate leaning left. Reading a lot and listening to people who aren’t like me has pulled me further left tbh.

[thoughtfulfoxllama]

I recently got the Oxford "Annotated Book of Mormon" from the Library, and I love it

Reading "Come, Follow Me" this week, I found an interesting polarity "Faith-Skepticism"

In Alma 30, we read about Korihor, in 31, the Zoramites. And, in the original chapters, 30 & 31 were in the same chapter, indicating a connection between them

Korihor represents Extreme Skepticism (yes, I know, he never disbelieved, but that was his philosophy), while the Zoramites exhibit Blind Faith

This may be controversial, but Skepticism isn't a bad thing. God created us as rational beings, to think about things. He didn't create rationality so we could ignore it. Science is rooted in skepticism (I'm not sure if this is right, so I'll test it vigorously)

Skepticism is only negative when it prevents one from actually applying Faith. The Lectures on Faith make it very clear that Faith is an Action, not merely a belief. Next Week, we read one of the most important sermons in the Book of Mormon (Alma's Parable of the Seed). He makes it clear that we can only see the affects of the seed if we nurture it, and let it grow

Many Scientists were also Men of Faith (such as Heisenberg, or Newton). Even those who weren't religious didn't outright deny the possibility. For example, Darwin was active in his Church while writing "On the Origin of Species," said until his death he didn't know if God was real or not, but wasn't going to assume he's not there (and he once told a group of atheists that it was folly to say God didn't exist, because you can't know)

The idea of Science being anti-god is only so popular nowadays because of people such as Dawkins, who (like all too many people, religious & atheistic) don't understand what Faith actually is

On the other hand, there is Blind Faith. The Zoramites had faith, that is for sure. The Zoramite Prayer only consists of Thanks, and no requests. But what did that Faith lead them to? It led them to Pride (we're unconditionally saved, you're unconditionally damned). It led them to neglect & even condemn the poor (similar to the "Seed Faith" we see, especially with Televangelists). It eventually led them to War, because of their blind hatred for an "other" they had created (which is sadly too common in the Modern Church, be it with the LGBT Community, Liberals, or even Beards (yes, there is a story behind that. And yes, I do have a glorious beard))

So, what did Mormon want us to learn? We have 1% of the records he had, and even then, they're abridged. Everything in the Book of Mormon has a reason to be there.

I think he wanted us to acknowledge that humans have Polarity inherent in us. We have to learn how to balance that polarity if we are going to be healthy & happy. We can't let either Skepticism or Faith lead us. We need to test the "Seed of Faith," and see if it is good. We can't let Faith overrule us (and inadvertently let Wicked Seeds infest us), and we can't let Skepticism overrule us (refusing to test any seeds)

If we see a beggar on the street, Skepticism can lead us to help him ("what's God going to do for him"). If we are that beggar, Faith can allow us to accept the charity they need ("God sent that person to help, so I'll accept their help"). These are two opposing forces, but they both lead to God's Will being done (charity being given). We need to learn how to balance, and when to express each attribute

[sockatoothewafflebird]

THE AMAZING DIGITAL FALLOUT

i've kind of left this au dry. sorry about that 😓

i haven't drawn or written for it in weeks and i've kind of lost motivation for it, but i wanna post the stuff i finished anyway and i know some of you only follow me for tadc stuff 💀 so here ya go! once again my deepest apologies for abandoning this. i may come back to it in the future though, who knows!

this post is a work-in-progress, btw. i'll add things when i feel like it until i've put everything i need to here.

CHARACTERS (WIP)

STORY

Fifty years ago, a decade-long war turned nuclear, and now the world is in shambles. Just before everything went to shit, though... two brothers, wealthy businessmen with a passion for science, came up with an idea. They would build huge bunkers to preserve humanity, while figuring out ways to fight off any damage done by the war.

Then, when the bombs and chemicals started dropping, they opened the gates to their vaults too late. Their plan to preserve humanity only technically worked. The radiation and chemical damage had already been done, and now people were being born with unusually and fascinatingly cartoonish features.

Those in the vaults didn't become too crazy. But those left outside became increasingly mutated, to the point where rabbit-people and people made of what seemed to be wood (just two examples of many) were being born left and right.

The two beothers gree further apart, their goals and beliefs vastly different and the cracks in society forming along with the cracks in their brotherhood. Eventually, one of them left in pursuit of his own dreams. He started an organization he calls "The Circus," much to his brother's dismay.

Present day, Pomni is working under Able as a head scientist when Vault #004 is raided and ambushed by The Circus and a mob of abstracted folk. And her whole world is turned on its head.

--

LINKS

the fic on AO3 (i probably won't add anything to it other than maybe an overview of the plot)

DANGER sign (and zooble)

--

if you have any questions about anything specific lemme know and i'll try my best to answer. i'll add links to any of that important stuff here when it comes up so no one's left out.

[kr1msun]

My Thoughts on Atheism (as an agnostic 14 yo)

atheism, to me, misses something crucial. while i respect people’s right to choose their beliefs, i disagree with atheism because it focuses only on what we can see or prove right now, ignoring something deeper. let’s start with science. science exists because people believed there was order in the universe, that things followed rules. but where did that expectation come from? it came from the belief that there was a lawgiver, something or someone who created these rules. the reason people even thought to study nature and look for patterns was that they believed those patterns were put in place by a higher power. think about it: if there was no order, no structure, would science even work? scientists rely on the idea that the world operates in a way we can understand, that laws like gravity or the way plants grow will always be the same. and why do they trust that? because, deep down, there’s a belief in something constant, something bigger than us that makes everything work the way it does. this is why science and religion aren’t enemies, they’re actually complements to one another. science tries to understand how things work, while religion seeks to understand why they exist in the first place. however, it’s also important to recognize that science is ever-changing. what we know today may be different from what we understand tomorrow. new discoveries often challenge our previous beliefs, which shows that our knowledge is limited and constantly evolving. this uncertainty highlights that we still have so much to learn about the universe, and perhaps we never will know everything. in many ways, science is man-made, a tool we’ve created to help us grasp the idea of existence. it’s a framework we use to make sense of the complex world around us, yet it can never fully capture the vastness of reality. atheism, by rejecting the idea of any higher power, leaves out the “why.” it’s like having the rules to a game but never questioning who made the rules or why the game exists at all. for me, that’s where atheism falls short. it’s not enough to just know the mechanics of the universe; we also have to ask about the purpose behind it. there���s also another reason i disagree with atheism: it leaves out something essential in human nature. humans are more than just logic and reason, we have emotions, morals, a sense of awe, and a drive to find meaning. while our morals may be man-made, they are often inspired by religious teachings and traditions. religion provides a foundation for understanding right and wrong, helping shape our sense of ethics and guiding our actions. without this inspiration, our moral frameworks could be arbitrary and lack the depth that religion provides. religion isn’t just about believing in a god; it’s about recognizing the spiritual side of ourselves. it’s about cultivating that part of the soul that seeks meaning, purpose, and connection with something greater. atheism often ignores this or dismisses it as unimportant, but i believe that if we want to live in balance, we have to recognize the religious or spiritual part of life. without acknowledging that religious element, we risk becoming unbalanced. we can be logical and scientific all we want, but if we don’t nurture the spiritual side, the part of us that asks about meaning and purpose, we’re not using all of our human potential. science and religion should work together in harmony, science gives us the tools to understand the world, and religion gives us the wisdom to understand ourselves and our place in it. so, while atheism may reject religion, i see it as an incomplete view of life. if we truly want to live fully, we have to accept that both science and religion have important roles. they balance each other out, and together, they help us not just understand the world but also find our purpose in it.

[lawofnova]

haii i hope you’re well. u’re so beautiful btw! so ive already asked other people this question but i like getting possible different views or advice. so ive have manifested many things and have almost shifted. for example, changing my eyes from brown to become more green. i remember watching a visual sub on youtube for a few days and then my father kept commenting on how my eyes were turning green. or one day years later, i made myself pretend that i thought i was the most beautiful woman, i then went to work and someone said i looked more beautiful today than usual. i felt down one day in high school and prayed to the Universe that someone would call me pretty soon, the very next day, someone called me pretty. these are just a few examples but i still question my sanity and wonder if they’re just crazy coincidences. tbh im very insecure in my spirituality bc ive been told im dumb or naive for believing in it. also: with shifting ive had seen many flashing lights, felt being touched, and heard noises i scripted to hear once i shifted. i never have these symptoms when im trying to sleep or meditate but i have heard that these symptoms have nothing to do with shifting but they help me believe. however, i think im just such a skeptical person it’s annoying and wonder if my brain made those symptoms up. i’m just scared of getting my hopes up i guess which would make me so depressed. i listen to other’s success stories but im not one that trusts others easily. any advice is appreciated 🙏🏻

Hi, thank you for your kind words. You’re a little fairy dusting me with all your love! 🧚🏻‍♀️🧚🏻‍♀️

I’m going to give you the sweetest wake-up call you could ever receive. Please don’t be mad; I’m only doing this because I care about you and have been in the same situation before.

You need to build up your confidence, love. You know—and I mean you know—that your beliefs hold importance to you. You know they mean something within your awareness and consciousness. Why are you ashamed of that? Why is that so bad? Why are you beating yourself up for it?

Shouldn’t that be enough? To be curious and want to experience something despite the beliefs of others?

I can understand why you’re struggling. Your 3D reality has caused you to feel guilt for believing in something beyond yourself—something “strange,” “abnormal,” or maybe even as radical as giving up the adult logic that helps us survive. But that’s simply the ego at work.

Let me make another point:

Have you ever believed in the Christian God, or followed any other religion before discovering shifting and the Law of Assumption? What’s so different about having faith in the unseen in this scenario? Faith is simply more accepted in the context of religion.

And it’s not that you struggle to trust others—you struggle to trust yourself.

If it feels uncomfortable to put trust in yourself instead of in the 3D or others’ expectations, tell yourself that shifting and LOA are your secret experiments. You don’t have to put all your eggs in one basket. You don’t have to commit entirely to something unless you feel comfortable doing so. Thinking of it as an experiment puts less weight on you, making you feel less “crazy.”

It’s simple science, right? You put your theory into motion and work your hardest to fulfill it through practice. But with this level of detachment, you can say, “I’m not crazy for being curious.” Because curiosity is both human and Godly.

Isn’t that beautiful, little Einstein?

Much love to you, you are always free to ask for advice in the future! 💖💝🩷💓💕

[friendlylocaloracle]

what do you mean by what you said in your last post about 'physics with feelings'? how can feelings have physics

oh gosh. okay. let's bake.

all things are defined by points of contact with other things. everything is everything else. you are your emotions. what you do is symbolic of who you are.

that's it, really. so let's go.

-all things are defined by points of contact with other things. "all things" refers to everything. literally everything. what makes a thing a thing? how it interacts with other things. "interaction" here is pretty broad. bump an object? sure, that's an interaction. looking at the words on my screen? also an interaction. i think the simplest way i can define an interaction is with quantum mechanics. no no wait come back i'm serious-- everybody is all freaked out about quantum shit. it's the pinnacle of science. there's a certain amount of collective awe at it that leads to the equivalent of mental gawking. it is sci-fi's gimmick of choice. i'm going to tell you, right now, that it's super simple. everything is everywhere until it is somewhere. that's it. i'd have a phd if academia wasn't a unique kind of hell. the relation here is that a particle, in transit, is effectively nowhere. a beam of light has to hit something. (like, say, your ocular nerve.) there's a notion running around that somehow looking at something changes it--like if you don't look then the thing is not changed. this makes it sound like you matter in the interaction. you don't. a particle just has to make contact for it to be in a place. (this isn't the only thing i feel that physics (or, rather, physicists) have, perhaps overcomplicated, but this is actually a post about feelings and i should probably get back to those. just take from this that nonphysical reality becomes real upon contact.)

-everything is everything else. this has a similar physicsy root as points of contact. break everything down until it's as deep as you can go, and it's all fundamentally the same stuff. when you combine the things, you get different stuff with new properties, but it still inherits the properties of the old stuff. the pure form of this is a fractal. self-similar at every level; eventually you go so deep you loop back around. what's important about fractals is that they form a complex image that follows a comparatively simple pattern. (the patterns can also be pretty. my picture is a fractal.) this system of simple patterns creating complex structure can also be loosely applied to physical reality. everything is made of the same stuff; the ways that they interact follow the same set of rules; you can translate the rules across things. this is how metaphors work. so let's take a break. what are you? not who are you, though i suppose that question is similar. i'm going to propose a simple answer. you come from the dirt; you go back to the dirt. humanity at large has put a ton of effort into distancing themselves from that idea. people think they are so fucking great. they are better than the dirt. they will leave their mark on the dirt, and that mark is very special. if you do the right things, you too can overcome the dirt. i think this is just a very special delusion. if there was ever something that society was successful at, it would be the production of superiority complexes. money does not save you from the dirt. fame does not save you from the dirt. collectively, life goes on. individually, the dirt wins. ...but that's not really what you are. you float on the dirt. you steer the dirt. you're tethered to the dirt, but you and the dirt aren't the same. we'll call you a soul: the who in the what. but then we're looping back to the original question. what are you? i propose that you're a bit of nonreality floating on that dirt. you and the dirt work together to cheat a little. you follow the weird quantum rules rather than the boring classical rules. the dirt keeps you from dying upon contact with anything, and you let the dirt cheat the rules. (i hear an object at rest is supposed to stay at rest, but i can just stand up and go somewhere else whenever i want. i'm going to get a pizza right now, in clear denial of the laws of physics.)

yum. -you are your emotions. now we get to talk about who you are. how are you feeling? what would you like to do? where do you want to be? these are all, at their core, emotional questions. emotions are an internal representation of your state of being. your feelings tell you about you. it comes hand in hand with existence. "i feel, therefore i am" is probably a better representation of the phrase since we now live in a world where rocks can think. emotions are the barrier through which you interact with reality and reality acts on you. suppression distorts this barrier. you lose connection to both yourself and the world, and, given enough time and pressure, it starts affecting you whether you like it or not.

-what you do is symbolic of who you are. this is the part where i might flop on my face. the thing is, usually when people are talking about emotions, they're talking about very surface level shit. "i'm happy!" "i'm MAD >:(" and then, because emotional suppression is society's most successful failure, you embrace the "good" feelings and ignore the "bad" ones. the result of this is a society filled with boring, shallow people. people who have not meaningfully emotionally developed since high school (perhaps before then, too), people who dove headfirst into what society was selling the moment they realized society was selling something, people who don't understand themselves and, thus, understand almost nothing. what i'm trying to say is that if your feelings pleasantly fit onto one of those happy/sad/mad lists, you probably kind of suck. there remain major social benefits to being emotionless and indistinct. suppress yourself as a person and immerse yourself into the wealth cults. be the blandest person you can be so you're marketable to all the other shallow people. the result of this is a society with no meaningful interactions. sit in your box content with your revenue stream while you wait to die.

[sunnysidestories]

Introductions Pt 1

Pt 2

Pt 3

Summary: Reader is a vigilante on young justice who goes to the same school as Walls. Only Wally doesn't know the readers identity, but she knows his. SLOW BURN

Wally West x Fem!Reader

Transferring classes is always a chore whenever someone decides a class isn't best fit for them, no matter the reason today I decided I would never do this again, even if the teacher sucked. The bundle of nervousness was tearing me from the inside. Thoughts swirling in my head.

Who would be in my class, I have to make friends... well more like people i'll talk to when I need a pencil, then I'll avoid attention so I dont get called on.

Before the transfer on the following Monday, I met my new teacher after school. Explaining what I needed to do for his class. "Listen y/n, you need to catch up on some things we have already learned, but im sure that won't be too hard, and if you ever have any questions, you can always ask. Everything you need I've already given to you." I nod thanking him before I make a haste exit, I have more important things to do as of now. My work can come later when im there, and I'm late.

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Pulling out my mask for my costume, I walk through the Zeta tube, covering my face and identity. No more y/n. "Reconised B18 h/n." Mt. justice was as normal as normal could get with meta humans, feeling more as a second home. I could smell something cooking, along followed by laughter and conversation down the hall. I pull my hoodie over my hair, playing with the strings, a bad habit I use to calm down. Slowly walking down the hall before reaching the living room to a passed out Robin. He took up the whole main sofa.

The TV was still on. He must have been watching the news. Who does that? No, I take that back. Robin does that. I grabbed the blanket that sat over the couch draping over his body right as he began to snore. It's crazy that his glasses haven't fallen off his face by now. I feel bad for him he must be overworked. In a werid way, I wish that he could somehow get hurt so he gets some time off. I could substitute for him like im doing now, but knowing batman, he would most likely still be here anyway unless it was very serious. I shut off the TV.

The debrief would be in around 30 minutes after that training, more like a warmup, and then finally a short mission, it feels almost as if purposefully im always doing the easy jobs, totally doesn't help my self esstem. I just fill in anyways, why do I care so much?

Rob can get the sleep he needs it. I begin to walk off. He probably has an alarm. I wonder what they are cooking in the kitchen? Before I can think of possible options, im on the floor with a large *SMACK* eyes, meeting blue ones filled with worry.

The large stature accompanied by a uneasy glance was only one person Conner, I ran into the mini man of steel and now I think about it, it kinda hurt when I slamed into him"You walked right into me" "Are you okay babe?" Standing slightly behind Kid Flash stood with an arm outstretched, I grabbed it, pulling myself up."Im fine, I've been so stressed, I guess, lost in thought. It's been a week. What did you say?" His freckles dance across his face as he smiles, speeding away to the kitchen. Conner just looks at me following in his direction.

We reach the kitchen, and KF sits on the counter beside Megan, eating a bag of chips. Megan was stirring something inside of a bowl, I couldn't see. Her back was towards me only for a moment. "Hey guys."

Chicken salad, I can smell it and see now. Her face changes shades when Conner walks past her towards the fridge. Its sooooo painfully obvious it physically hurts me when they are in the same room. I take off my backpack and begin to study my science work. It's not as hard as I thought more of just things and facts to remember, but no really new complicated subjects.

"Wally! Stop! I need those -" I look up to Megan's shouts, Wally was doe-eyed caught eating the cherry tomatoes as if they were candy. "-YOU KNOW I HAVE A SUPER FAST METABOLISM! I CAN DIE. " He got defensive as his face began to match the fruit. "Your name is Wally?" I change the subject to help his embarrassment. Everyone's eyes go wide they all meet mine. "I've never told you my name? You've been on the team for how long??" Wally throws his arms in the air."Almost a year." I immediately replied. Now was my turn to be embarrassed. Should I know his name?

"How have you not heard it? y'know. It's fine, it doesn't matter. Let's try this again." Wally gets off the counter setting down the container, he walks up to me leaning on the table then shifting his weight a few times, almost as if he's hesitant or thinking of his next words.

The tone of his voice goes serious. "Im Wally West, it's nice to meet you." Then his grin returns as his eyes squint along with it. "Hey, I'm h/n." I let out a small laugh, looking back down at my work. It's crazy how easily Wally gave up his name. Maybe because im rarely here for long, I've never heard his name. It seems like everyone else knows. Its kinda my own fault, but now I feel bad.

I will eventually tell them my name its not like im important and need to hide it, I trust them. I trust them? Who am I kidding? If I don't even know Kid Flashes' name when he wears it on his chest, then how do I know them. Is it even really them, or am I making friends with who they want me to see. I seriously need to stop overthinking this. it's not that serious. It's just a name.

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Robin would eventually walk into the kitchen 15 minutes later after we all ate telling us it was time for the debrief, you could still hear the slight tone of drowsiness from just waking up though he tried to play it off.Our mission seemed easy at first Batman explained we were to take down a meet up spot for some very illegal technology drop offs. Most likely, stolen information.

I sat to the left of Kaldur on the bioship close to the window. We were now all in full gear, flying over central city. "We will be there in around 4" Megan called out. "Everyone go into camouflage mode, Connect us to the mind link." Kal orders.

I try not to think about myself as they can all hear my thoughts, as can I theirs, I don't think I'll ever get used to this. It feels invasive. I look down at my hands, realizing im picking at my nails and zoning out.

Hey h/n let's go. Conner speaks to me, sorry... I replied, walking over to Robin and Kid Flash. Three and three, I hate splitting up. -its alright, we do this all the time, plus you can just talk through the link so we are really all here. Rob states that everyone agrees as we begin to walk in different directions.

Stake out time, yes! Wally says as we sit down onto the ledge, the building we chose overlooked two smaller apartment buildings backside. There were two ways to enter, and Team A. sat at the only other. This is really boring. I can't hear anything. KF sighed "Its been two minutes, we're not superboy use your eyes-" "-better yet use your heat vision from your goggles, see how many there are." Robin interrups my whispers. There are 30 people, uhhhhmmmm, 3 women and woah, that guy is huge. Aqualad cuts into the conversion. The criminals have another drop-off zone. We are going to pressure them, stay here, take out these guys, and don't let anything get out.

A large black truck with boxes passes us and goes through the opposite exit, I see Superboy only for a second as he closes the lid. That's one way to hide. Then, mind link breaks. So much for sticking together.

"I'll go ahead and try to sabotage their systems. You two begin to take out the ones outside. Try not to blow your cover." His glare meets Wallys. This must happen a lot.

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"How did we fail this bad. I'm so sorry." I say, looking up over my shoulder towards Wally. Now, here we were tied up on a chair, no weapons in a room, no light, just us. "This is my fault if I wouldn't of tripped over the stupid gun then you wouldn't of gotten distracted" there's a momment of silence as we both ponder the failed attempt of taking out the enemy.

I hang my head low. It sucks. There are no lights at all, my other senses are going crazy, and I'm flooded with the sounds around me. Wallys slightly panicked breathing under the cool exterior, strangling tightness of the ropes around my chest. I could even hear our heart beats. weirdly, his was slow but picked up at the sound of my voice as if I scared him. "I'm not very whelmed right now." He let's out a small sigh.

"Are you ever?" "What?"You are always on edge like someone's about to jump you in a dark alley. Is this because you're just a fill-in and not full-time?". He tries to turn to as much as he can bound. He must feel my worry. "It is. H/n I really get how that could upset you, but you have to understand." He begins to shake in the chair. "Even if you're not officially fully on the team, you are to us. Everyone gets excited to see you, including me. Why does it matter if you're not on every mission.. I'm glad I get to work with you when I can. We all feel overshadowed ourselves sometimes. Heck, I mean, we are all sidekicks."

Finally, he breaks free of the rope with a SNAP, standing up carefully, using his hands to find me and set me free. "You've made your place in the team and our friendship. You just need to take the risk and open up."... "Wally... I trust you," he grabs and shows me to the wall where we find the locked door knob "jump on my back"

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Monday at school was painful. Every limb hurt, and I couldn't sleep staying up thinking about what Wally said. I was looking forward to lunch, I made some of my favorites since I needed a treat. It was more like a break, but first, I had to go to science my new transfer class.

Without looking at anyone, I walk right up to the teacher. "Where do I sit?" He immediately awnsers."Yes, right. Go sit in the back beside the red-haired boy. It's the only empty seat." I follow his gaze to the seat. My table partner didn't seem to take notice of me when I sat down as he read the textbook. Maybe this won't be too bad he seems to actually care about the subject, at least.

He turns and looks at me, his green eyes are friendly and welcoming, as he smiles his freckles scatter along his cheeks. He leans on the table, placing his face in his hand he seems nervous.

"Hi, im Wally West. It's nice to meet you."

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter Six (Part 3)

The day rolls on, and by afternoon my head is spinning. It feels like I’ve been everywhere in Dublin and I’ve seen everything too, we’ve had ice cream from the best ice cream shop in the city, we’ve been through the science gallery and played around with the optical illusions, we’ve gone into all the fancy little shops that we don’t have out in the country, and by the time we finally stop in the park to watch the ducks my feet are throbbing from all the walking and my tummy is sore from laughing. 

They reminisce about something that happened to them on their school tour one year as we lounge on the mown grass, and I think, after spending hours with them now, that they might be two of the most entertaining people I’ve ever met. They never seem to second guess what they’re saying or think too hard about it, and they’ve got a really good way of bringing a joke back around again and again, making it somehow funnier each time. They genuinely want to know about me too, and I tell them all about school and the things I like to do for fun. I don’t think that I’ve ever felt as important or as comfortable as I do when I talk to them. I feel as though I could say anything at all and they wouldn’t even bat an eyelid. 

We’re all laughing after I tell them an embarrassing story about a time I was in the changing room of a clothes shop and accidentally tried on someone else’s top that they already owned, and I have to pause for a second to take it in. “I’ve honestly never told anyone that before” I confess.

“What?” Jen shrieks “Why not? That is hilarious.”

“Because it’s too embarrassing! People would think I was weird for doing that.”

“Nah, people would think that you’re really funny, and that’s an awkward but normal human thing to do.” Jude says. 

“Babe, I hate that you have to think like that about yourself. You’re really great.” Jen smiles at me, and I wonder what Kelly meant when she said that she was awful. I like her a lot. “Honestly, we wouldn’t be hanging out if you weren’t. We’re very picky.” She winks at Jude and he grins. Something inside me does a little flip and suddenly it’s hard to look at him, it’s like I’m looking into the sun. I’m not really sure what this feeling I keep getting around him is or if I like the way that it feels, but I know that I’ve never felt anything like it before. 

Before we go home that evening, Jen announces that she has to go to the bathroom, and I catch a mischievous glint in Jude’s eye, one that I’ve come to recognise during the day and I wonder what big idea he has. 

“You should have a posh wee.” He says conspiratorially. “We should all go.”

“What’s a posh wee?” I giggle, and he points to a hotel across the road from us, and I know it’s the Shelbourne, the most expensive luxury hotel in town. 

Jen takes my hand and I am swept across the road to it. It’s felt like this all day, like I’m just getting swept along without ever knowing what’s about to happen. I end up just surrendering to it and seeing what happens next. “Have you ever seen their toilets?” She asks me. “They’re the fanciest toilets you’ll ever lay eyes on.”

“Do you two do this all the time or something?!”

We run up the steps and through the doors of the hotel and I am in awe of it. The tile floors gleam, reflecting the light of the grand chandeliers that are suspended from the ceiling, and there are marble pillars lining the hall and huge round bouquets of white flowers arranged beautifully on ornate wooden tables. I would have never dared to come in here unless I was a paying guest, but Jude breezes right past the doorman without hesitation and we follow him. I heard before that if you have enough confidence you will get away with anything, and now I’ve seen that it’s true. 

And the toilets are fancy. The floors and the mirrors gleam like they’ve just been polished, and the hand towels are those thick, soft paper ones that you feel bad about throwing into the bin after you’re done with them. There are even little bottles of hand cream and perfume by the sink. I spray some on my wrist and sniff it, imagining that I’m a grown up woman with a lot of money who could afford to stay in a hotel like this one. When I catch sight of myself in the mirror I think to myself that I look different than before, it’s something in my eyes that I can’t pin down, it’s like they look bigger and more alive. My cheeks are pink and bits of my hair are flying around out of place, but I can almost see something sparkle within me, and for the first time ever I allow a tiny little thought to come to the front of my mind: Do I look… pretty?

“I found something.” Jude says when Jen and I come out of the bathroom. 

“Oh God.” She complains, but we follow him across the hall and up a huge curved staircase anyway. Now I really feel like a fugitive, and I keep looking over my shoulder to check if somebody is going to kick us out, but the place is totally empty, and nobody seems to be coming. 

The sound of music floats down the stairs and I have a feeling that it has something to do with where we’re headed. We dash across the soft carpeted landing and Jude stops us outside a pair of huge double doors where the music is emanating from. He leans into one of them and slowly pushes it open, letting yellow light spill out onto the carpet. 

“Wha-” I begin, but he stops me. “Don’t ask, just come in.” And we do. 

“Jude…” Jen says when we shut the door behind us and we realise what we’re looking at. “This is someone’s wedding party.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He walks straight over to a table of champagne and takes a glass in each hand. “I can’t drink and drive today, so these are for you two.”

“You have some audacity.” Jen hisses, but I can tell that she thinks this is kind of funny too. “We’re sticking out like sore thumbs, everyone will know we’re not part of this bloody wedding!” 

“Let’s see how long it takes them to notice then.” 

Jen rolls her eyes and clinks her champagne flute against mine. “I guess we’re in it now.” She shrugs as if to say what can you do? We both take a drink, and I think that this champagne might be the nicest alcoholic drink I’ve ever tasted, and probably ever will taste for the rest of my life. I bet it’s hundreds of euros for a bottle of this stuff. 

The band starts to play an Elvis song, and the next thing I know I am being pulled onto the dancefloor and the three of us are laughing and dancing together, looking so out of place in our runners and shorts in the middle of a formal crowd, but surprisingly I don’t care how it looks. I am having so much fun today that I think I might burst from happiness. 

Jude takes my hands and twirls me around, singing the lyrics to the song in a silly Elvis voice. He keeps crashing and bumping me into people near us and they are turning around to stare at us angrily which somehow makes this all so much funnier. 

Your kisses lift me higher, like a sweet song of a choir, you light my morning sky… He holds me in the ballroom dancing style with one hand on my waist, and then I have another one of those electric moments. When we’re close like this for the first time I can really look into his eyes, and watch the way their warm golden brown colour, flecked with amber catches all the lights in the room. His skin, which was beautiful from afar, is just as perfect up close, and he has a little sprinkling of freckles on his nose that make me want to reach out and touch him. I imagine he really means the lyrics that he’s singing along to, and catch myself wondering what it might be like if I were to let him kiss me. 

And just like that he’s gone. He’s let go of me and now he’s dancing with Jen, not even realising the disturbance he’s caused within me, and I have to stand there and find my bearings again, feeling a strange absence and longing in the parts of my waist and my wrists and all of the other places where his hands had touched me moments ago. Oh Shit. I think.

Prev // Next

[just-here-for-the-art-shit]

I know this isn't something I'd usually post, but I would really appreciate reblogs because I think people should read this.

Ok - so - I like to listen to very old radio shows, especially mysteries and thrillers. Some are very good, and some are hilariously bad.

There is this one that I listened to the other day that was such a perfect prediction of the future it scared me.

And so, Spoiler warnings if you want to listen to it for yourself.

And it's important to note: This is a story from 1942

It is Episode 20, "Beware of Tomorrow." The basic gist is it follows a scientist, the scientist's compatriot, and the main character, another scientist invited to the mansion/laboratory. The head scientist has created a giant, 300 pound robot, named Alber capable of "solving problems," but also, "obeying commands" as well as things like walking, talking, situational awareness, etc. It can "think" and solve problems you ask, but it still follows the orders of what programmed it to begin with.

Sounding a bit familiar yet?

Well, the very night the MC arrives, Alber kills the scientist and flees into the woods. The lab assistant says that it is too dark and dangerous to chase a robot through the forest with just the two of them. He explains for a while now that the doctor was planning to create an even better version of Alber, and that would eventually render Alber obsolete, and because "Alber can think on his own," he suggests that's why Alber killed the doctor.

They plan to contact the police in the morning, and will be able to take Alber out of commission because Alber needs to come back and charge his battery by the end of the night.

Well, morning comes, and the assistant guy is way, way too calm about this. He's just making breakfast, while the scientist's body is still just ... there. The MC returns to the lab, and just as suspect, Alber has returned and is in a sleep mode, charging. He takes this chance to look into what is going on and finds that the robot did not "think" about killing the doctor, rather, it was programmed to. You probably know where this is going by now but the lab assistant is revealed to be the one who did it, because he wanted to create stronger, more weaponized robots (at this point in time, America is still involved in WW2), but the doctor wanted robotics to aid people, not harm. Then the assistant had Alber kill the MC because MC refused to work on more "weapons," was going to tell the police, etc, end of story.

Once again, emphasizing - 1942.

They already knew the bullshit that was going to take place, hence "Beware of Tomorrow."

Now I'm telling this story because I'd like to talk about this in the modern day. There's tons of content, movies, books, theories, tons and tons of things that talk about the fears, issues, etc, of androids becoming sentient, conscious, and emotional beings. And just what they might be capable of. But what we see less of is what the REAL worry is, and what this story was trying to convey.

Truly, I do believe that technology, robotics, mechanics, were developed with good intentions by their originators. I think it is a good and wonderful thing - in the right hands.

But then ... It lands in the wrong hands. And that's when technology becomes dangerous.

We should not be worried about the progression of science and technology in itself, but the people behind it. Those that seek to control humanity by different methods, and you can name countless entities of such. That is what "Beware of Tomorrow" was saying.

A few things, one - the application of human emotions to Alber. The doctor's assistant was easily able to create a believable story that Alber must've killed the doctor out of jealousy and fear. So MC said, "Yeah, that makes sense." Because Alber can think, right? Yes, he can - but he does not think with emotion. We as humans are emotional creatures, and so we apply emotions often to even the most inanimate of objects. So it was quite easy to fool the MC with this explanation. Alber is a robot, but they, the characters, apply humanity to something that is not human. The doctor even gave Alber pronouns, he/him.

Often, we've come to fear technology out of this belief that they are human, and think as humans do. We fear that they will think for themselves. But truly, their "minds" are what they have been programmed to be, and the data they collect. They can obtain the logic of millions of people via the Internet, but remember, those are still our brains, not things it came up with on its own.

Two, as mentioned in the story, Alber's creator had good intentions. It was those (the assistant) that saw the potential for other things. We should be less worried about technology gaining sentience, and be focused on who is running the show, because they are the real problem, and they WANT you to disassociate the robot from the creator. For instance, say you're faced with a killing machine, like the hounds from Fahrenheit 451. It's dangerous. It needs to be stopped. Destroying it will solve the problem at the moment, but it is the people who are the problem, and nothing will stop until they are.

Three, the MC dies for refusing to collaborate with the assistant. This is a theme we see almost everywhere in situations where people are trying to make a change. For instance, ACAB. The police are a system, and those individual officers who want to "change" the system, to uphold what SHOULD be the purpose of serve and protect, well, what happens to them? They get fired, hazed, chastised, etc. Three things can happen from here - they can't beat the system so they join it. Or, they quit being a cop and move on to something else where they can actually do good. And third ... they die. Those who actually went out of their way to protect people end up dead.

While the story was about a robot, its real focus was society and its systems. Of the people in charge and the real problems we face. Robots wear the face of their owners. The good are shoved aside in the pursuit of progress. Safety isn't the number one priority. Money, greed, power all become the focus, and that's why we suffer. Which, I'm sure you already know. This isn't anything new - and that's what a story written in 1942 proves. And stories before that - stories all the way back to before man could even write. So keep your eyes on the real enemy. Don't let their ploys blind you.

[booksandwitchery]

A Debate Surrounding Secular Witchcraft

As I've been reading Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation by Mat Auryn, I've been thinking more and more that there is somewhat of a disagreement between secular witchcraft and atheistic/naturalistic paganism. I'd like to discuss it here--maybe hear some thoughts on the matter.

As the title indicates, Auryn's book focuses mainly on manifestation and meditation-based strategies within spell work. He believes that "Magick and psychic ability aren't supernatural, but rather completely natural and absolutely possible for every single human being to engage in." For me, the disconnect arises when Auryn writes that although he cannot say that a lot of the concepts he discusses are reflective of reality, he "can say with certainty that following the concepts as if they are true will yield great results." Looking back, I can remember this sentiment being echoed by a lot of secular witch authors (Mystic Dylan, Maddi Em, and Julie Wilder, for example).

Atheistic/naturalistic paganism, at its foundation, opposes this kind of thinking--to be clear, it opposes the idea that the truth doesn't matter. In his book Atheopaganism: An Earth-Honoring Path Rooted in Science (a book I found to be important, thoughtful and overall logically sound) Mark Green explains that one of the most important reasons for his separation of naturalistic paganism from plain old "Neopaganism" is that the truth matters, and paganism has a weakness for nonsense. He disagrees with the practice of believing in something "because it would be really cool if it were true."

The obvious question is "Why is it bad for people to believe in something as long as it has a positive effect on their life?" Green's answer is that delusions based in wishful thinking are deeply harmful on a societal level. Historically, when unfounded beliefs inform action (or inaction), bad things happen. As an anecdotal example, I knew someone who died because they refused to get real medical treatment--they thought that a certain type of holistic treatment (without evidence to support its effectiveness) would cure them. I suppose another example would be those who die because they believe that prayer will heal their illness.

Soooo...while I believe that witchcraft, secular or otherwise, works...I also want to avoid presenting a concept as if it is true just because, as Auryn says, "following the concepts as if they are true will yield great results."

Obviously I'm rambling, and I'm still mulling this over. But right now I'm thinking that my workings in this sphere should always be expressed to others as transparently as possible. I don't want people to take a certain idea or premise from my practice as truth when really it is just meant as a psychological tool. Otherwise, I would not truly be following "If an ye harm none, do what ye will" to the best of my ability. Does that make sense? I want to know what other people think about this.

Edit: I wanted to add that most (if not all) pagan belief systems emphasize the importance of balancing the magical with the mundane. But I fear that some people might sidestep this or pretend its not an important part of walking the path.

[messinwitheddie]

Have any tutorials of how you draw your tallest? (Or irkens in general?)

If Cini could wear any human casual clothing, what would he wear that is comfortable?

If he had it his way, would Cini change the life of Irken society?( you know with the whole tall and short thing.) or change everything with the empire expansion. We know their people must have many enemies with other alien races but if there was an alternative to that and not concur or go to war with them, would Cini be that one Tallest to break that cycles? I mean he looked tired of being tallest.

I'm not the best teacher. My drawings are pretty inconsistent. The best I can explain my process is, make a mark, erase a mark, rinse, repeat until it looks like a figure.

These were drawn super quick. Not sure how much help they'll be, but I tried to leave in as many reference lines in as possible.

These are some sketches on how I approach drawing a tallest with the typical JV bone-skinny body frame

The torso is where I struggle the most. I probably draw them too tall, but that's how it comes out.

It's fun to experiment with different body types;

From left to right; Tallest Spittle, Greezee and Blitz

From left to right: Tallest Miyuki, Dava and Kii

I have a tendency to draw women tallests with big hips (because that's fun for me), but Irkens really don't have gender dimorphism, and their fashion/ clothing styles are all unisex, so there's no need to follow that rule when you design your own ocs.

I would have to look through my blog to find any posts about how I draw smaller Irkens. Mostly same advice.

As far as Cini's choice in comfortable human clothing; his robes are very uncomfortable, so anything would feel comfy by comparison.

But I imagine he would immediately gravitate towards those flimsy tie dye sun dresses you see in those little hippie boutiques at the mall. Tie dye is something he would never have seen in the empire plus so many swirls and colors!

He would have a field day dress shopping. Most human male clothes would be too lacking in flair.

And to address the third question; Irkens are brainwashed at birth into believing their height based hierarchy is the natural and correct way for their society to operate and have been brainwashed into believing this for MILLIONS and millions of years.

I'm not sure if it's within the limits of his imagination to conceive a reality where Irkens did not serve a tallest who carried out the will and executed the design of the control brains.

BUT Cini wished from the moment he was measured someone, ANYONE else had been measured taller than him. His favorite partabout being tallest was lounging and smoking record breaking amounts of pipe amber.

His passion was his trapeze act and watching performances at the civilian theater. No "important" occupation really appealed to him when he was a cadet; too boring, not enough fun music and visuals. He only served in the military because all Irkens are required to go through basic training. His stats were a joke as far as his height bracket went. He stayed the same rank for almost 200 years.

Cini tried as hard as he could to be a good tallest, as much as his imposter syndrome made it for him. MOST of his reign was actually spent improving infrastructure within the empire's existing territories. He was a generous patron of the arts and sciences (beyond military research). Service drones legally received more off time and better medical benefits. Cini avoided brute force unless absolutely necessary. He loved to play ambassador. The Vortians, the Space Bees, the Inquisitorians, ect all became official allies of the Irken Armada during Cini's rule. He genuinely took the time and effort to listen to their concerns and compromise.

Cini was wise enough to know it's better to make friends than enemies in the long game, especially unnecessarily. The empire wasn't perfect, but Irkens and alien citizens alike enjoyed a higher quality of living under Cini's leadership methods.

It wasn't until the very end of his reign did he declare a war. He did so because of pressure forced down on him by the control brains, who were intimidated by the corrupting freedoms the lesser drones seemed to be enjoying and deeply concerned by the lack of new conquests that have been made over the centuries.

The Irken/ Planet Jacker war was bloody from the very beginning.

Cini would not live down the shame of his decision. Too many casualties on his conscience.

Every drone is worthy of dignity; Cini believed that. He would change A LOT about Irken society if he could. He tried. He wish he had tried harder.

[mad-rdr]

April Reads

9 books this month!

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (★ ★ ★ ★/5): I’ve finally read the og fantasy book and honestly it was so nice to go back to the basics before “romantasy” became a thing. An adventure for an adventure's sake !

The War of Two Queens by Jennifer Armentrout (★ ★ ★/5): this book should’ve been book 2 and we could’ve skipped those other ones. There’s a lot of unnecessary back and forth in this book and once again I stress the importance of editors. The anticipated threesome was okay, could’ve been better tbh. Honestly, I will not be finishing this series- especially after learning that book 5 is literally just a retelling of book 1 in Casteel’s POV. Respectfully I don’t care enough to continue

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade (★ ★ ★/5): this book, much like the storyline consists of, reads like fanfiction. I was genuinely taken aback by the Ao3-formatted chapters within this book, like I did not think that was necessary but okay. Not awful, but be prepared for cringy adults (almost 40 yrs old btw) that have little to no communication skills

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco (★ ★ ★/5): I'm a little late to the hype of this book but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I loved Audrey Rose and Thomas' interactions and all props to them both for being interested in mortuary science... couldn't be me

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco (★ ★ ★ ★/5): this was a good mysterious follow up to the first book, although I think it's funny that they went through all of that to not get admitted into the forensics school (also these poor children have soo much trauma now)

Recoding America by Jennifer Pahlka (★ ★ ★/5): a good insight into how efforts to make the government smaller have actually made possible technological advancements nearly impossible (at least on government websites). The policy loopholes (more like tangles) are astounding and frustrating and the government is a mess

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel (★ ★ ★ ★ ★/5): I'm only a little familiar with the original Hindu myth of Ramayana but I feel like this take was so good! I really enjoyed Kaikeyi's story and learning abt her motivations for what she did, mythology (and history) is never kind to female voices, and I think their stories need to be told too

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (★ ★ ★ ★/5): what a fun little mystery novel! The humor of the narrator made this quite enjoyable and quick to read, although I'm a little disappointed this wasn't a story about a family of serial killers

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune (★ ★ ★ ★ ★/5): this was such a wholesome story about life after death and seeing the best in humanity. This also taught me that life is too short to not be lived. Go out into the world and live and love and learn and do all the things you want to do without waiting for the "right" moment !

[frary-us]

“i’ve never done a ghost story before...”

Till death do us part: Matt and Lisa are torn apart – but why?

3 MIN READ

PLATFORM 7 | ITVX THURSDAY 

This supernatural thriller – based on Louise Doughty’s 2019 novel of the same name – follows Lisa Evans, a young woman who frequents platform seven of a railway station. After witnessing a tragic event at the depot, Lisa’s blurred memories come into focus, unearthing a connection between that moment and her own life – and death. The four-parter stars Jasmine Jobson (Top Boy) as Lisa; Toby Regbo (A Discovery Of Witches) as her boyfriend Matt; Rhiannon Clements (Hollyoaks’ Summer Ranger) as Lisa’s best friend Izzy, and telly veteran Phil Davis as Edward – a man with an unearthly connection to Lisa. Here, Jasmine, and Toby tell Inside TV more… 

Hi, both! What appealed to you about this series?

Jasmine It has to be the supernatural thing. There’s something about being a spirit and being around people without their knowledge, and playing about with them when they’ve irritated you! And I hadn’t played anybody like Lisa before, so it was also about trying something new.

Toby This is the first modern piece I’ve done in ages. I seem to just do period dramas! So to make the switch towards psychological realism, I feel as though you can get away with more. And I’ve never done a ghost story before. 

The doctor will see you now: Matt and Lisa feel the chemistry

It must feel strange not acknowledging that the other actor is there? 

Jasmine Yeah, it definitely felt weird being in scenes yet not really being involved. I had to get used to not having anything to say! 

Toby Trying to pretend that somebody isn’t there is surprisingly difficult. It’s interesting how your body just responds to somebody being there, like trying to pass right beside someone without making any little movements that you naturally do to accommodate another human being. 

How was it playing those moments where Lisa walks through walls?

Jasmine So that took a while to figure out. I’d walk through open doors, and I accidentally pushed a door open once! But once we knew what we were doing, it was wicked. 

Toby, do you think that Matt believes in ghosts?

Toby No – I think, as a doctor, he’s a man of science. I don’t think he has any inkling that Lisa is standing behind him, nor that he has a sense thatt there’s life after death. Which is interesting in terms of where the story goes…

There’s also an important relationship between Edward and Lisa – Jasmine, what was it like working with Phil Davis? 

Jasmine Oh, Phil was absolutely amazing. He’s such a phenomenal actor. Our scenes together were very special. It was a delight to have him at the station playing Edward – who has quite an interesting secret of his own…

Do you believe in ghosts?

Jasmine I sometimes see spirits and I can tell if there’s a presence around me. One thing that I’ve always been aware of is you must never say hello to them if they’re in your home. You need sage and frankincense, and you need to bless your house. 

Toby I haven’t had any first-hand experiences with the supernatural and I’ve always tended to err on the side of the material. However, that doesn’t mean to say that when I’m staying at my friend’s place in the Dorset countryside, when the moon’s out and there are owls, that I don’t sprint across the lawn to get back inside the house! 

CHIEF in-spectre 

RHIANNON CLEMENTS TELLS US HOW HER ALTER EGO TURNS AMATEUR SLEUTH… 

When it comes to her best friend’s untimely passing, Rhiannon’s character is fixed on finding the truth… 

“The big thing for Izzy is that she doesn’t believe Lisa’s death was suicide,” she says. “She thinks that there’s something else to be uncovered – and won’t let it lie till she knows what.” 

As for believing in the supernatural, making the series led to a spooky coincidence for the star...

“Phil’s character has a dog, and in some scenes, it barks at what’s seemingly an empty space,” shares Rhiannon. “I recently moved into a Victorian house, and my dog has now started barking at empty spaces. It does leave me with chills!”

[transfaguette]

hi i saw your recent post about religion and wanted to share some thoughts :) I'm a hellenic polytheist in a culturally christian family (my dad was raised catholic, then raised me as nonreligious as he could) so I'm not exactly... Super out loud about it as you can imagine ^>^ But for me, my faith and religion is a way to feel safe and protected. In my eyes, the deities are the explanation for the things we as humans cannot understand. They are the concepts they rule over- for example, Aphrodite IS love. Hades IS death, he IS dying. They ARE the concepts. They are not humans with powers, they ARE what they rule over and the culmination, good and bad, of the human perception of those concepts. The deities are also unconditionally loving; they will not abandon humanity for any reason, because the existence of the deities is reliant on the existence of humanity. When we are gone, so are they, as they are simply our perception of what we cannot explain and therefore cannot abandon us, just as we cannot abandon them. It's an immovable bond. That viewpoint is an indescribable comfort for me, the security in knowing that I am literally incapable of fucking this up in any way. I have experienced a significant amount of pain, especially in the past couple of years due to mental illness, abusive relationships (romantic, platonic, AND familial), and as such deal with immense guilt over the idea that I didn't try hard enough or I was the problem or something I did was what caused people to hurt me and caused people to leave. This relationship with my deities is my way of healing that, an almost safety net that I can fall back on to pull me out of a depressive spiral because no matter what I do, no matter where I go or what path I follow, the gods will not abandon me, and I will not abandon them. That's probably way more than you wanted but I love love love talking about my worship and will always jump at any chance to share it with anyone else- and of course I do not expect you to agree with me. Faith is personal! If it's less important to you (or not important at all), that's totally valid and totally acceptable. There is no wrong way to do life :) Hope you have a good day <3

Thank you for sharing! I really like your interpretations, it’s not a way I’d ever thought about the relationship between gods and people but I can see how it would be compelling. You’re definitely right, there’s no right or wrong way to go about it.

I have personally always been very fascinated with the natural world and humans role in it; I love anthropology and I love learning about the ways we as humans have adapted culture and responses to biology and the environment. So seeing religion as a mutualistic relationship makes a lot of sense to me and I think that’s really cool. Humans ultimately created religion, so it is more interesting to me as a cultural practice than a debate about science vs religion, because it doesn’t really matter. That these practices exist and give meaning to people is a good enough reason for them to exist. But at the end of the day I am still very much an outside observer.

[bywons]

hii can i know your daily routine from morning to night. i also want to know how you manage writing and how you manage your tumblr. i want to know what major you study. i want to know because i am new to tumblr and managing time is hard for me. if you feel this ask uncomfy, you can ignore me.

afraid you asked the wrong person for this cuz my daily ( mostly evening & night ) routine is VERY different from each other throughout the whole week because of my tuition classes/study schedule TT but no probs, i'll try to give u my routine in the best way possible ^^

𖹭 MY DAILY ROUTINE

MORNING & AFTERNOON （≧∇≦）

6:00 — 6:30 am : wake up time boooo. although this time varies during exam season or when i pull an all nighter/ sleep late cuz i was watching a series, this is the usual time i wake up, or at least try to every single day ><

6:30 — 7:30 am : brushing teeth/skincare etc + morning workout & pilates. i usually try to do the first part is lesser time so that i have more time to workout & stretch ^^

7:30 — 8:05 am : break/creativity period. here i give myself a 35 minute break for relaxation or checking social media / practicing my italian lessons ( im vv beginner >< ) or draw or write short essays/poems or plan out my day which is the MAIN task i usually do

8:05 — 9:05 am ( 30 min gap 4 chai + breakfast break ) , 9:35 — 10:35 am, 10:35 — 11:45 am, 12:05 — 1:05 pm : with breaks, these timing are for my studying, and i follow my study routine for the day >< [ WHEN I DON'T ATTEND SCHOOL ]

1:05 — 3:15 pm : shower + lunch >< [ WHEN I DON'T ATTEND SCHOOL, i return at 3pm from skl ]

EVENING （≧∇≦）

3:15 — 5:00 pm : relaxing & writing for blr/watching shows ( or i sleep TT ) >< ONLY IF i don't have tuitions, when i do, i head out for them around 4:30 — 5:00 pm according to the timing of my classes.

(after break 4 evening snacks/chai) 5:30 — 6:30 pm, 6:30 — 8:30 pm, 9:00 — 10:00 pm, with breaks again, i follow my study schedule ><

NIGHTTIME （≧∇≦）

10:00 — 10:30 pm : have dinner

10:30 — 11:00 pm : ghost around my home / free time TT

within 11:30ishpm : finish skincare,brushing, and take my meds

after that o clock : 😴 but if i pull an all nighter or watch a series with my mum that's another story lol

𖹭 MY MAJOR/STREAM

well i'm still in school so i don't have any major, but we indian students are given to choose between 3 streams — science, commerce & humanities. as for me i am a science student ^^ i have bio, chem, phy, maths, psych, eng !!!

𖹭 TIME MANAGEMENT

again, a hard question to the wrong person cuz my schedule is not constant TT but as u can see there are breaks between my study sessions! i tend to manage my time and do stuff between those breaks, and when life gets too hectic, i take hour long breaks and write for blr! keep in mind, that you NEED TO BALANCE life & social media. find the right time for each of your important sectors like studies, work, hobbies & schedule them out equally! that also doesn't mean you have to follow them blindly, make sure to take breaks, do things that you enjoy & love life & most importantly, your precious self ^^ MWAH. hope i helped ya <333

[bluemooncove]

Alright, now if Crusader is going to be coming on as a character here it is important to understand at least one of the faiths of this world (As a reminder this a Henotheisticesque world). That being the Church of Trini ... okay, hold on I just realized that there is an actual religion using the name I had in my notes for this. The Church of the Three Formed God.

Now as a brief note before I continue forward. Like with cultures, none of the faiths within this setting are meant to be representative of real belief systems but they do draw inspiration from them. In this particular case references to trinity and gods physically incarnating will likely draw you to think of Christianity but their doctrines and practices are not meant to match theirs presently or within the era this emulates. Their involvement within crusades, however, are meant to be express perspectives on the actual crusades though.

The Three-Formed God (TFG) draws his name from the fact that three times in history he chose to physically incarnate as a living person within the world. Each form had been human and each had been male, however beyond that they lived quite different lives. While members of the Church, in theory, recognize each incarnation as an aspect of their God and revere each, the differing denominations of the church primarily devoted themselves to the dogma of one particular form. Benedictines, Jagwellian/Jaegars, and Valentinian/Valentines

Benedict the Savior was TFGs first incarnation within the world. In the earliest versions of the church doctrine had been set based only around his own teachings, yet he did speak of incarnating again. Benedict was a healer who came to the people of Dress-Livonia amid a horrific plague. It was through his godly healing that the people were saved and the Three-Formed God revealed himself to the world.

Benedict taught self-sacrifice and to care for others. The greatest of virtues are mercy and healing. Thus the faithful are taught to aid the sick and needy in whatever ways they can. A devotion of charity. Healers, be they magical or natural, are revered by Benedictines. Their temples often double as small hospitals for the needy. They do not view healing as necessarily being about just the physical. Healing can be towards the mind. It can also mean providing food or shelter to those that need it.

Jagwell the Warrior came second, 300 years later in lands now known as the Jaegar States. He came at a time when many of the faithful faced heavy persecution. Their emphasis on helping others was often extended to pacifism. In many lands where the faith had spread, they were controlled through violence. Jagwell put an end to this by leading his followers to fight for their faith and for justice.

He taught to stand for what is right and to oppose oppression at every step. Faith is a force to drive one towards action. In his own lifetime Jaegar acted to see the faithful liberated. In the time since his passing things have changed. Now Jaegars often lead crusades to spread the faith of the Three-Formed God elsewhere, battling those who follow faiths beyond their own. Whether this is something Jagwell would approve of or a bastardization of his teachings is something that has been argued heavily by scholars ever since. Regardless, a number of crusading orders exist to carry on his teachings. Their temples often double as training and mustering grounds.

Valentin the Philospher was the final incarnation to date. His appearance was roughly 320 years after Jagwell. This time he incarnated into the land of Esparda during a period without major crisis. Valentin was a philosopher and scholar. With no looming dangers to preoccupy him, Valentin spent his time exploring and studying the natural world. Many great theories of science were only introduced to Esparda by Valentine's work and much territory was mapped directly by him.

Valentinian dogma is based on following the path set by the man. They revere men of science that study the world around them and any who introduce new knowledge into their sphere. Their churches contain laboratories and often lecture halls. Many explorers have set off for new lands in Valentin's name.

Scholars suggest that each form was an exploration into an aspect of being humans. This is used to explain the differences within their teachings. The vast majority of the faithful agree that all three were incarnations of their god ... however there are those who recognize other incarnations as well. While not universally accepted there are a number of small denominations that recognize an additional incarnation among them. The most well known of these are those that revere Edel the Inquisitor, a heretical movement within the central Jaegar states.

While the primary denominations focus their dogma on that of a single incarnation it is not uncommon for two to overlap. Benedictine and Jagwellian tradition gives birth to knights orders that emphasize charity such as the Knight Hospitallers of real history. The union of Benedictine and Valentinian has led to advanced (for their time) medical institutes that study new ways of healing the body and soul. Finally when Jagwellian and Valentinian come together you get conquistadors, a group that has been gaining great traction within Esparda itself.