#i need something jn the background while i work

[rhysnolastname]

a 5 hour video on how austin mcbroom has mclost it. don’t mind if i do

[bugsinthebayou]

Blacked out saw cult in an oc lore post slammed the anon button so fast I'm here i wanna hear abt OCs and cults (< made a fictional one to toss my guy into so I can stretch and knead him like thinking putty)

HEHEHE HIIIII !! cult ocs r sooo fun :3

the ocs are named Guide and Runaway :3 they were both raised in a cult where runaway, who was called 'Vessel' during this time, was prophesized to inherit a great power and,,, destroy and recreate the world to be without pain (which would kill everyone and herself in the process)? something like that, i havent fleshed it out fully. guide was raised to be vessel's, well, guide. she was meant to ensure that vessel would follow her destiny and fulfill her role as a martyr for the cult. guide was only a year or two older than vessel/runaway.

vessel is like,, her deadname. both metaphorically and literally (shes mtf and transitioned after running away from the cult). im gonna refer to her kid self with she/her even though she didnt use those at that time.

for many years they were both very loyal to the cult for a while, even despite the odd teachings. they thought it was normal for vessel to be worshiped like she was. im not sure exactly how, but at some point in their preteens(?) vessel realizes something is wrong. guide also notices that its wrong, and truthfully has felt like something's been off for a long time, but still chooses to feign ignorance.

sometime in their teens, probably not even a year before vessel is supposed to use her power to reach into the weavings of reality, she wakes guide up in the middle of the night and tells her she's leaving. she holds her hand out to guide and guide really, truly, wants to take it but she cant. she tells runaway to leave before she alerts some of the other people in the house and runaway leaves. she's not happy about it, though.

runaway manages to find her way to someone that takes her in and teaches her how to properly control her power and just keeps her safe from people trying to take her back. for years, runaway and guide end up on opposing sides of missions and sometimes battlefields. as time goes on its clearer and clearer to runaway and the cult's trying to recreate her power into guide. and they're partially working; but not without severe consequences.

at some point, im not sure when but its likely post-some kind of big battle, the cult is disbanded and guide and runaway are reunited. they start living in the same apartment and are officially together. guide starts going to therapy (runaway's been going for a little while), and things just start looking up. until the events of the Extra Story happen but they're mostly jn the background (well, runaway's at the forefront of things but guide's chilling at home).

and so there's a brief overview of some of the major things about my longing cult yuri ocs! i love them dearly and really need to draw them soon,,,,

[colorguardsweetheartblurrsgirl]

I over exaggerated my guess based on habits I have in general of life. I tend to do more then needed "Overachiever" even though I have engrained in me that " Less is more."

So I exaggerated my guess.

For me it depends on the art. If I have several characters, each will have several layers from the face (I like to seperate eyes and hair. Outline... skin. Shadow. Lighting. Base colors. Etc. Etc. Also seperate hair sahdjng from shading in the hands, face/neck, clothes, etc... because I'm the type that if I make a mistake I dont want to mess up other stuff. So I'll have these separated (something learned experience). Depending on background I may have two or more layers solely dedicated to the background alone. Or it may be as simple as two to five... again it depends on details. I treat layers like reading and writing sheet music seperate each instrument and part. Combine similar areas into folders as often the Mezzo and First Soprano's share a line in a Choir that's SSAA, STB, SSTB,etc. Being a what kids who grew up similarly through the stations in my area called "Radio Baby" in all, music is how I often look at many aspects of life. So it's how I categorize. It literally helps me shape my life.

Please NOTE:

The Valentines Post I'm working on.

(Will likely post after Valentine's cause, The day after is my Moms Birthday. Valentines has always been a family affair for me cause moms birthday was right after (literally was born several minutes after Valentines day... so we treet both days as if her birthday) usually we celebrated both days cause love him, but my dad irritably likes working on her actual birthday cause the day after Valentines jn any job whether marketing sales in radio or working security is ALWASY a happening day, and hes a go getter... so much as it irritates my mother we wet aside both days for her. I often have to be available for both that way my mom has Someone available on her birthday... So expect now and jn the future Valentines posts to come early or later due to this fact. (Also same in March I'm the exact same when it comes to Saint Patties Day my Birthday... its ironic all family members were born a few minut ees s after some holiday its hilarious).

Only just this late figured I'd get this message I intended earlier, out now

I mean they say Its better Late then Never.😂🤣😅😅😅😅 so yeah, my Valentines art I started on late in the game kinda came up and surprised me how close we were days before literally and started on it. So it may be a few days if I don't get it done tonight.

(which as you saw I didn't manage, actually it's kinda due to several updates for things on my device laptop... I hope to either finish or get a majority of the work done on it tonight. Hopefully last nights updates are the last for a while in a good way as of 2/18/23. I also admit I think Thirsday after updates were done I actually turned my focus on updating a few aspects of teh other long time story I've mentioned on here... didnt mean to work as long as I did that day on it. So that was a mix of computer being slow and me putting focus on a doc while it was being finicky loosing pimento it).

Considering the subject matter though...

🤔🤔🤔🤔

My Valwntines intended art post bring used for an example... Well this one will have a simple background.... ssssoooooooooo....

Give or take each character may have anywhere from 3 layers to ten depending.... hmm...I guess based on that I could be more likely between 15-50 (most likely more like 15-30). But It has a chance to go up to 75 or 100. It depends on details. But I'm confident it's under 50 layers.

[mazeinthemiroh]

Hello can I request a stray kids with there s/o being a stylist !

( imagin one of them getting jealous on how close there s/o is to a other idols face when doing there makeup >-<)

stray kids with a stylist s/o

genre: fluff

word count: 0.9k

warnings: not proofread

pls like and reblog if you enjoy! feel free to request anything <3

bangchan

channie just loves the way you do his makeup. like he really feels only you bring out his best features. you make him feel confident in himself when he is performing because you give him outfits that not only are flattering but also that he feels comfortable in. even when you're not styling him, he might ask for fashion tips or your opinion on his outfit anyway. what makes channie super happy though is that you always remember to compliment his handsome face whether he is wearing makeup or not, knowing that he's insecure about his bareface. this makes his heart flutter for sure <3

lee know

minho loves the perks there are in having a partner who is a stylist. you have a good eye for things so he comes to you for free fashion advice and stuff like that. what he isn't too keen on is when you are styling other idols. he knows it's part of your job but when he catches glimpse of you leaned over another idol to do their makeup, he can't help but feel a little jealous. even if the other idols you are styling happen to be his members! why should they be worth more attention than him? that's where his mind is at. so be sure to pamper him and give him special treatment uwu

changbin

he loves the fact that you are mostly there backstage whenever he has a concert or special event. he feels like he can get positive vibes and support just by knowing you're not too far from him. he loves it when you take care of him, especially in between performances at concerts. while adjusting his make-up and outfit, you'll wipe his sweaty forehead and always ask him if he's ok and if he needs anything. you mkar him feel so loved and care for no matter what setting or circumstance. he likes to think that you take care of him at work and he get's to take care of you at home >.< idk the whole scenario is just very cute to him.

hyunjin

he admires your work because to him being a stylist is like being an artist; you have your own creative process and speculate on how to make things look beautiful or make outfits look unique for performances. he always claims that every time you style him, you give him the most iconic looks. whether that is giving him a new hairstyle or vibrant, intricate makeup on his face, or even a new style of clothes that has never been tried by an idol before. he likes making a good impression on the fans and being known as striking and daring, so having you by his side to support this idea is a dream come true for him.

han

he finds it quite a novle idea that he would be connected to his partner this way. he still finds it funny how he could ask about different clothes and hairstyles that you would be willing to try out in him while you talk long into the night. having you in his work aspect of life is something he is still getting used to, but definitely something he very much appreciates. just knowing you are there, even jn the backgrounds of the dressing room somewhere, even if you're styling another idol, he knows you're there. and that's the main thing. he feels he has someone to turn to just incase something happens. he is very comforted by you.

felix

every time you get the opportunity to do his makeup for an event, you also make sure his beautiful freckles are visible, which he really appreciates. as felix's stylist and partner you feel that you tend to focus more on complimenting his personality and talents than looks. this is because felix has expressed to you that he doesn't want to just be known for his handsome face, and you completely understand that. as someone who is constantly around handsome faces anyway, you tend to be unfazed with regards to looks, and so you reassure him that his personality shines the brightest <333

seungmin

before he started dating you, seungmin was super shy when you came over to style him, and this was mainly because you could not stop yourself from complimenting how handsome he is. i mean... i can't blame you?? i would totally do the same lmao. anyways, now that you both are dating he's a lot less shy because he's used to being around you a lot more, not just at work but also in a less professional setting, like when you guys at home. but you still make his heart flutter regardless; he's just not used to getting so much attention from just one person. it's a new feeling, and a feeling he likes very much indeed.

jeongin

you are able to shield jeongin from any awful hairstyles that other stylists attempt to infringe upon him. like the amount of times other stylists have come at him with hair crimpers is appalling and definitely not happening, not if you have any say in it! he definitely appreciates you understanding his wishes, for sure. when he sees you styling other idols, he can feel himself getting more and more jealous. he's just lowkey insecure, especially if he deems the idol you are so close to as being 'more handsome' than he is. but he will never mention it to you because he recognises that you are a professional and this is merely what you're paid for.

[smilingperformer]

Discussing the good and bad of Pokémon Journeys: Part “Rocket Gang”

It is no secret that the handling of Rocket Gang in Journeys is quite different from how the fans and audience have come to know them. Even I have tons to say about how I feel about Rockets in this series, so let's get started!

TLDR; Their handling in this series isn't exactly the best kind as it has removed one of the beloved aspects of them (having own Pokémon they bond very closely with) and is showing less often how they are RIGHTEUS evil, not evil evil. More under the cut, Journeys abverted to JN.

So. How do I begin. Let's start with saying: I am a Rocket Fan. A huge one. Ever since I started watching Pokémon couple years ago during Sun & Moon's first year, I fell in love with these buffoons, and I absolutely adored how the two bonded with their Pokémon and showcased that they're not that different from the brats, just on the villainnous side. Kojiro is a loving and caring man, Musashi has gone through lots of stuff and Nyarth has deep understanding over Pokémon's feelings due to his past experiences. Oh, Sonansu's there too, I love that blue blop so much. Honestly, the main reason I love these four so much is because they're such lovable villains who tend know what is right for their Pokémon, or other Pokémon they manage to bond with. And it was shown really well pre-SM as well.

Like, one of my favourite episodes of all time for Rockets is actually JN019, and it's because of how the Rockets end up helping a Ditto/Metamon who wants to be a proper actor, but thus far tended to fail in transforming into Pokémon perfectly. Musashi, as a actress herself, really bonds with this Metamon, managed to help it perfect the transformation with the help of Kojiro, Nyarth and Sonansu, and despite having the job to pokenap Pokémon... they actually end up helping Metamon to get back its job, to make sure it doesn't have a reputation of a Rocket 'mon. And they do SUCH a good job at acting like they're not intending it.

Like, during this acting performance, they really want to get blasted off! They don't even hide it. They keep provoking Satoshi to use Pikachu's Thunderbolt to blast them off and save Metamon that way. And I just fricking love them for this asjhgsjhgfs.

But aside from this episode, there really hasn't been that many episodes focusing on this aspect of Rockets. Another good episode for them JN is JN024 thou, where Rockets are on vacation and, are NOT on their villainous acts.

They're mere citizens in that episode, enjoying their free time in Sinnoh's Resort Area. And even when the brats come around, they fully ignore their need to capture Pikachu. For Sakaki-sama's orders. Akjhksajfh I just, really love how this ep managed to show that, even if they are part of Rocket Gang, it's merely their job, not who they are fully. They're not like Matori, they're not like Yamato and Kosanji- oh it's Kosaburo. They're merely doing the villainous stuff because they believe it to help make the world better. And when they're not working? They're good citizens. This was such a good episode for them because of this because it really showed that they could easily just be friends with the brats if they weren't on the opposite sides.

They even helped foil Matori's team's plans on kidnapping every single Pokémon in the Resort Area and sajghsjhgf. These four really hate Matori now do they. They're on her side, but they also keep foiling her plans. Even in Sun & Moon they foiled Matori's plans to pokenap Nuikoguma, because they knew their lovely Kiteruguma mom bear would be upset. As I said before: They're villains, but they're not evil evil. They do the evil stuff for their own rightful reasons.

Now that I've discussed the reasons I love Rockets and what I've loved in JN, let's talk about what it is that makes me feel iffy about their handling in JN, one of them being the lack of own permament poketeam.

In the past seasons, Rockets would always catch themselves one of their own 'mon that would willingly join their causes, and end up bonding with them deeply. In JN, this is... pretty much non-existant. We have the recurring 'mon of Kamukame/Chewtle and Morpeko, but the first one appears in such a rare rate, and latter one has been used as a... abuse comedy. When the Morpeko started following Rockets, I had hoped that it would end up bonding with the Rockets and they'd find some common ground, but so far, there's no sign of it, and Morpeko is more like a leech in their base instead of a powerful asset, and like. I feel like this was the show's way of trying to recreate Kiteruguma but with an opposite twist of it eating their rations instead of feeding them like Kiteruguma did, but it's not working as well as Mama Bear's gimmick did. At least in my opinion.

Now let me just say that, I don't really mind the Rocket Gacha machine. I feel like the concept it has is pretty cool, and seeing what kind of Pokémon Rocket Gang has managed to capture for using is super cool to witness. They also have been able to switch up it's results in unique and fun ways and seeing it sometimes fail is kinda fun and relatable to anyone who's played gacha games, sajhgfs. However, it feels like the Gacha completely replaced Rocket Quatret's ability to capture Pokémon of their own and, it hurts my soul to say it.

I think one of the reasons they did this route was due to how in Sun & Moon, Musashi and Kojiro ended up leaving their 'mon behind, due to knowing that they won't like it at the Rocket Head Quarters and leaving the cozy family that is Kiteruguma and Nuikoguma. So, maybe the writers felt like the Quatret would now feel bad about capturing 'mon they would bond closely with after this, and then ending up having to send them to HQ. So in a way, I get the possible intention behind this decision. Yet it still hurts. And I feel like most Rocket Fans feel the same way.

Their writing is pretty much the same throughout the show (which imo is kind of an average, as it doesn't hit the nail the same way I came to love them in Sun & Moon or OS to DP era, or even XY and Best Wishes DA! Arc), so it doesn't make sense for me to recite every single appearance of theirs, but I really have to discuss what irritated me a lot:

So. JN059.

I'll just say it straight away: I did not like how Rockets were written in this episode. At all. While their personality was spot on, their motives and actions weren't. Like... the fact that Grookey/Sarunori was a Rocket 'mon is a unique concept and I honestly like it. However, the way Sarunori ended up switching sides was so bad for me. So bad.

No. I am not one of those who think that Gou stole Sarunori from them and doesn't deserve it. No. That ain't my problem. It's more like the issue in how Rockets weren't allowed to learn more about Sarunori, bond with it, learn that it's not the one to want to join the villanous side and feels happier with Gou. The idea of the story for Rocket 'mon to switch sides is great. Excecution however is not.

Like... this line where Musashi says that Sarunori needs to be sent back to HQ to be re-educated specifically ticks me off in bad way and I hate to feel ticked off like this. And this line is all because they weren't allowed to learn more about Sarunori's motives. Because the plot had to be in one episode. I feel like the motives, Rocket Gang's handling and side switching would have worked better for me, if it was a longer built arc. Sort of like how Mijumaru/Oshawott, Hikozaru/Chimchar and the likes of them were done.

And this hurts more because of JN019 where they WERE allowed to bond and perform an act of helping Metamon get back its job. These buffoons KNOW when the 'mon deserves to go to the non-villainous side. And it's all because of JN019 that I feel so strongly ticked off for this line. "We'll... ...have you re-educated". That's not what they were gonna do with Metamon. Like. God damn it.

Rockets were there when Hikozaru switched teams from Shinji to Satoshi. They came to care for the lil monkey before this switch and after this switch. They KNEW it would be better off with Satoshi, and they kept rooting for it from afar, despite constantly trying to steal it. That's their job. Same with how Nyarth comes to like the Honcho Nyabby, due to its background, and finds peace with knowing that Nyabby will find a happy life with Satoshi. All of these examples are exactly why I strongly dislike how Jn059 handled Rockets, and I so god damn wish they would have ACCEPTED that Saruroni should join Gou, but make it so that they'd have to rescue Sarunori instead of giving it to them just like that. They're not heartless.

Unless this was an act from them. Which I doubt since Nyarth learns about Sarunori wanting to go with Gou late into the episode and then trying to deny it having been said??? Uuuugh. This episode really could have used more build up and different handling with Rockets.

Another option that would have made me like Sarunori's capture was if it had been some other Rockets it escaped from, like Matori Matrix or sudden return of Yamato and Kosaburo, or something else. I LIKE the idea of Sarunori being a Rocket 'mon, so I wouldn't change it. I just don't like that it was OUR beloved Rockets that had to be treating it this way.

Sigh. Now that that's out of the way. What else is there to say. Well. How would I try improving Rockets in JN? Simple: give them their own Pokémon to care for. Make them bond with more than just Chewtle. Let them have Pokémon they can bond with and show their loving side with. It's severely lacking right now and I feel like most Rocket fans are really missing this aspect a lot. Also please don't make them act like they don't understand Pokémon's feelings. They do. I'm glad that Satoshi still knows that Rockets care for Pokémon of their own and wouldn't treat them badly, but it still isn't showcased that well in JN. So I wish it would improve on that. I would also seriously love it if some of their old 'mon from past shows would come up from the Gacha Machine, as I'd imagine them being put inside there as well. It did have tons of Gulpin inside for some reason.... Sakaki, wtf.

Well. I guess there's not much else to talk about regarding Rockets. In short, I love Rockets, but I'm not happy with how they're handled in JN fully and despite there being couple really good episodes for them, and some of the episodes have excellent usage with them (like JN038 where Musashi just casually says "Evening" to Satoshi when he discovers them hiding in bushes, sajhgshfsghjf forever love that moment). I just want better handling with their righteus evil.

So. What's up next? I'm thinking about compiling a post of COTDs and supporting cast next time, which would include the likes of Kikuna, Renji, Sakuragi, family casts etc.

So, thanks for reading if you got this far, hope you enjoyed it despite possibly disagreeing with me, and I hope you'll all have a fantastic day.

Til next time! Aleira, aka Smiling Performer, signing out!

[demoisverysexy]

What is Truth?: A Faltering Mormon Epistemology

So this is my church talk from this past week. I had a lot of fun writing it, so I thought I'd share it here. Do be warned that this is like, full of theology, philosophy, and Christian and Mormon stuff. So if that's not your cup of tea, get out while you still can! But I can say that my takes on religion might be out of the box enough for some people to maybe consider staying longer than the might normally. I hope you enjoy it, or at least can tolerate that I'm posting it. :3

One of my favorite exchanges in all of scripture takes place in John 18. Here, Jesus has been betrayed by Judas, Peter has denied knowing him, and his other disciples have fled, leaving him to be arrested and mocked by the religious leaders of the day. And then, he has this strange conversation with the Roman governor, Pilate:

33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?

34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?

35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? … (John 18:33-38)

In this exchange, Jesus articulates brilliantly the difference between how his kingdom operates, and how the nations and kingdoms of the world operate. While the nations of the world legitimize themselves through violence, Christ’s kingdom is legitimized and sustained by truth, and those who seek and witness it. While the nations of the world are marked by division, anyone who is of the truth is a follower of Christ.

Pilate’s reaction to Christ is telling, I think. He doesn’t know what to make of him. Pilate lives in a world of the rulers and the ruled, the conquerors and the conquered. In short, he lives in a world where winning is everything. The kind of world that Jesus posits is incompatible with- incomprehensible to, even - the world in which Pilate lives. In Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” I think there lies a deep, abiding cynical skepticism of the truth Jesus offers. Or any truth, for that matter.

But what is truth? Even if Pilate’s question was delivered cynically, it’s still important to ask. Countless philosophers and theologians throughout the ages have had different ideas on that. In the medieval era, the common idea that truth was centered primarily on God, and his Word in the Bible is the key to accessing his truth. Then came the renaissance, and people began to use human reason and observation to discover truths, which gave birth to science as we know it today. Other philosophers thought truth was reached through competing ideas being synthesized, or that there was no single viewpoint capable of describing every possible truth. I think each of these views has something unique to add to the discussion on what truth is, and - much to the chagrin of anyone who knows me well - I will talk about them at length with anyone unfortunate enough to be within earshot.

For this talk, though, I’m going to focus on what truth does. I think that understanding how truth works is essential to understanding what it is, and how to find it. More though, I think looking at truth in this way can help us know how to better hear the voice of Christ, and understand what he is trying to tell us. To help with this, I will be focusing on something of a look at a case study: the events leading up to Joseph Smith’s First Vision.

Joseph Smith grew up during the Second Great Awakening, a time of great religious upheaval. Lots of religious groups were springing up, all passionate in their love for Christ and the pursuit of the truth. But that passion, sadly, quickly turned into strife. As Joseph puts it in Joseph Smith History,

For, notwithstanding the great love which the converts to these different faiths expressed at the time of their conversion, and the great zeal manifested by the respective clergy, who were active in getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of religious feeling, in order to have everybody converted, as they were pleased to call it, let them join what sect they pleased; yet when the converts began to file off, some to one party and some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good feelings of both the priests and the converts were more pretended than real; for a scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued—priest contending against priest, and convert against convert; so that all their good feelings one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions. (JSH 1:6)

These people, in their pursuit for truth, turned against each other, filled with anger and hatred for each other. Each one of them was so convinced of their rightness, and so convinced that the simple fact of having the Correct Information was sufficient to satisfy their own Righteousness, that anyone who did not have enough of the Correct Information was less righteous, and therefore less worthy. And what they were arguing about was the message of Christ’s love! In using the fact of Christ’s love for us as a weapon, they, as Paul puts it, “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator,” (Rom. 1:25).

And because of the anger, contention, and confusion caused by the dissonance between truth and hatred, Joseph couldn’t find the truth. In his words,

...so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong. (JSH 1:8)

Whatever these people were doing, it wasn’t spreading messages of truth. Divorced from love, and tethered to anger, hate and disgust, these believers of all backgrounds were incapable of listening to one another, learning from each other, and finding the truth. Worse, their strife made it hard for other seekers of truth to find it themselves.

If strife, hatred, and disgust cause truth to flee to the nearest exit, then I think that it is safe to assume that when love is present, so too is truth. Where there is truth, there is love, and where love resides, so too does truth. This leads me to one of the defining aspects of what truth does: It causes love to increase. To find truth, we must have love, and once found, truth increases the amount of love we have. Paul puts this beautifully in Ephesians 3, where he describes his wish for the saints in Ephesus:

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. (Eph 3:17-19)

Grounded in love, we are more capable of seeing the truth. And seeing the truth, we come to know of the love of Christ, and are thus filled with “the fulness of God.” And as John puts it, “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him,” (1 Jn 4:16). To be rooted in the love is to be rooted in God, and it is only rooted in love that truth can be found.

This love is not thoughtless, and it is not blind, however. If it was, it would be incapable of seeing the truth. The love of which Paul and John are speaking of here is the love that Christ has for us: a love that functions as a form of deep understanding. Animated by the desire to see things as themselves, this understanding makes love possible, by helping us to know how best to address the needs of those around us. I think this understanding of love might help us understand how central to Christ’s atonement was his experience of our suffering, pain and sin. As Alma puts it,

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance… (Alma 7:11-13)

On Alma’s account, Christ’s embodied understanding of us was - and is - central to the love and mercy he offers us. Without it, the miracle of his atonement would not be possible.

Understanding and truth as Christ does is central to loving as he does. And loving as Christ does - loving all, even our enemies, radically, fully, and unconditionally - is central to holding truth. More, in loving our enemies, we become more capable of seeing and understanding the truth. Adam S. Miller, my favorite Mormon theologian, puts this idea brilliantly in his book, Future Mormon:

Even sinners love those who love them. Even sinners love those who repeat what they want to hear and confirm what they already know. But such love is thoughtless. Those who hold the truth and are fearless in it will be marked by their confidence that every truth can be thought again-indeed, must be thought again-from the position of the enemy. Their confidence in this extension of the truth will be rooted in God’s promise that the truth must rise on the evil and the good, it must rain down on both the just and the unjust. All truths, in order to be truths, must be thinkable from the position of the enemy. All truths must be thinkable as an act of love for the enemy (71-72).

What if we, as Christ advises, “turn the other cheek?” What if we turn to see what our enemies are looking at? What if we were to try to see what we, from our limited perspectives, are missing? Animated by love, we are humble and fearless enough to know that we do not know everything. We recognize that we are all too shortsighted to know all that we must know, and that it is only through “the least of these, [our] brethren,” that we can hope to more fully see the truth, and in so doing, be filled with the love of God.

I admit now, that this is not really about truth. Or if it is, it is only about truth as much as it is about love. Love is really the central point: Without love, there is no truth. More, as Paul puts it:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not [love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not [love], I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not [love], it profiteth me nothing. (1 Cor 13:1-3)

Absent love, knowledge, power, faith, and miracles are nothing. More, without love, we are nothing. Goodness, knowledge, miracles, and faith only gain their power as such through love., and it is only through love that we can be fully ourselves.

[Love] suffereth long, and is kind; [love] envieth not; [love] vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. [Love] never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. (1 Cor 13:4-8)

Animated by love, filled to the brim, we will have everything we need to seek after the truth: humility, patience, joy in the truth, hope, endurance (all traits that the best scientists, philosophers, and other professional truth-seekers share). Even if we don’t have a full understanding of the truth (which is a sure bet), and even if we are wrong (which is also probably the case), if we have love, we can’t go wrong.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, [love], these three; but the greatest of these is [love]. (1 Cor 13:9-13)

If God is to be believed (and I think we should trust him on this, at the very least), there are “many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God,” that are yet to be revealed (Articles of Faith 1:9). There is so much we don’t know: Things that others have learned but we haven’t figured out yet, things that we’re just on the cusp of figuring out, things that we can’t even begin to comprehend. In the meantime, we must be ready for it. And it is only through love, the greatest and most important virtue, which never faileth, that we can be ready for the challenging truths that God sends our way.

In our own pursuit of truth, if we are guided by love, we will have all the tools we need to find the truth. Alma, talking about faith, outlines how this process plays out in our lives:

Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me. Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge. (Alma 32:28 -29)

Growth isn’t always pleasant. It often hurts quite a bit, to grow physically or as a person. But filled with love for God and the truth, we will be able to tell that the swelling we feel within us is enlarging our souls, and making room within us for an increase of love. Once we give place in our hearts for the truth, even if we do not have a perfect knowledge, we will be filled with the sweetness of the truth, which will in turn fill us with love. Truth fills us with love, and love makes us seek out the truth, hungry for more.

Joseph Smith, when he was seeking for the truth, discovered another resource to find the truth: God himself. In his studies of the scriptures, he stumbled upon one scripture that stuck out to him in particular: 1 John 1:5. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” If our own faltering ability to love is not enough to help us find the truths we cannot see, then God, in his infinite mercy and love for us, is more than happy to provide what we lack. This truth of God’s love and willingness to provide to his children shocks Joseph. He has tasted of this truth, and he becomes hungry for more. As he puts it,

Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; (JSH 1: 12)

But Joseph did know what to do. He had just enough love and truth in him now to know what he needed to do next. And once he did that, the truth and love he received was beyond anything he could previously imagine. That is a story for another time (though I’m pretty confident you all know how that story ends), but I think that this moment shows how the life of a truth seeker appears: as a constant hungering for truth, which in turn leads to an increase in love and understanding, which, once again, leads us to seek more truth. And so it goes.

Returning to the exchange between Pilate and Jesus, I think it’s safe to say that while we might understand truth a little better, we still don’t have an answer to Pilate’s question. But we understand something Pilate doesn’t I think: The truth that the Christ was talking about: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” The truth that Jesus is speaking of is the truth of his love for us, and by extension, his Father’s love for us. Knowledge fails us, prophecies fail us, our loved ones will fail us, even we will fail ourselves. But God and his love will never fail us. Trusting in his love for us, and loving him in turn, we will be filled with the sweetness of the truths he offers, and a sight clear enough and a heart big enough to seek out the truth ourselves. And when we fail to love, and miss the truth, God and Christ, in their great love for us, will fill us all the more with their love and truth. And thus filled with love, we will have the courage to embrace whatever truths God sends our way.

[littlemisssquiggles]

Pinehead Headcanons: Oscar’s Humanity

You know, I've been thinking about the whole "friendship bracelets for Team RWBY" idea that the CRWBY Writers revealed was scrapped for RWBY V7. 

For context, you guys remember the scene at the start of V6 where Ruby had a little gift shop bag that she was grinning and skinning about all happy Ruby-like, promising an impatient Yang that she’d have to wait till they got to Atlas to see exactly what her little sister had bought.

Remember that bit that wasn’t followed up in V7? Well according to one of the CRWBY Writers over on Twitter (can’t remember which one of them it was), apparently what Ruby had bought was supposed to be friendship bracelets for herself and the members of Team RWBY. Y’know something to symbolize their bond as a team that was originally meant to play a part in their final fight against the Ace Ops finale. I say “originally” since as I said, it got scrapped.

In more ways than one, this squiggle meister is actually kind of glad that the CRWBY decided to not go with that idea for the time being. If I'm being completely honest here, when I first heard that that was what the CRWBY Writers were planning to do with that bit, I didn't really like the thought that Ruby only purchased friendship bracelets for her team to commemorate their bond.

Listen. I get that Weiss, Yang and Blake are Ruby’s teammates and her supposed sisters in arms and while I understand that this would’ve been a cute idea to highlight the strength of the bond between RWBY…I’m sorry but in a way; I can’t help but feel like doing that could’ve unintentionally underplayed the importance of Ruby's friendship with JN(P)R especially coming off the events of V4-V5.

While Weiss, Blake and Yang are Ruby’s team---Jaune, Nora and Ren have also been there for Ruby too and have always had her back just as much as her teammates did with V4 andV5 highlighting that case for me prior to Ruby being reunited with her girls by the end of V5.

It’s why when I first saw the Gift Bag scene in V6, I was more open to the theory of the bag containing something that Ruby bought for everyone; not just her teammates. To me, it would've been sweeter if Ruby bought friendship bracelets for all of her friends---not just as token of appreciation for all the times they’ve ALL supported and been there for her when she needed it most in their own respective ways but also as a symbol of linking both teams together as our core hero group whose shared journey we’re following.

With this in mind, I like the concept of Ruby fashioning her whole group matching friendship bracelets with beats comprised of colours to represent everyone within their circle of friends---y’know red for Ruby, white for Weiss, black for Blake, yellow for Yang, perhaps a darker more golden yellow for Jaune while Ren and Nora both share the colour pink. I also like the idea of the beads being marked with letter of everyone’s first name with Ruby being thoughtful enough to even include two extra marked beads to represent the friends they had lost---meaning Pyrhha and originally Penny before they revived her for V7. Y’know something like this, for example:

In a way, this idea makes me think back to that moment from the original Yugioh series where Tea took a marker and drew symbols on her and her friends’ hands as a sign of their strong friendship and support of Yugi before he went off to dual Kaiba for the first time (at least, I think it was Kaiba. Correct me if I’m wrong).

And something like that could’ve also been used to highlight Oscar’s inclusion in the group as well with a bead in his signature colour---pine green branded with the letter ‘O’ for ‘Oscar’  being included in the bracelet design.

Think about it. Imagine…a tender moment where Ruby is giving out the friendship bracelets to everyone only for her to surprise Oscar with one too. I understand that the bracelet idea was scrapped for now but imagine if the CRWBY Writers decided to bring it back for V8 under the new notion that it’s something used to represent and strengthen the bond within the whole hero team rather than just RWBY alone.

With that thought in mind, as a way to work that idea into the established canon of the show, let’s say…instead of Ruby’s gift bag containing bracelets, what if…the bag only contained only the materials that Ruby was planning to use to make the bracelets.

This helps tie into her line to Yang about her having to wait to see what it was since Ruby hadn’t crafted the bracelets herself. I’m kind of digging this small little red headcanon I have here of Ruby using what little spare time she had between missions and training while in Atlas to craft the groups’ friendship bracelets in secret. I dig this concept just as much as the dig the thought of Ruby originally planning to surprise all of friends with the finished bracelets (inclusive of the newly reformed Penny) at some point during their stay in Atlas however she never got the chance given everything that happened while in the kingdom (preparing for Amity, the elections, the attack at the rally, etc).

I know the idea of having the bracelets now might sound weird however the reason I brought it up was because of this one thought. If the bracelet concept was meant to be something to bond the hero team together, then imagine…how depressing it would be if Ruby never got the chance to gift Oscar’s his own as her way of saying he was now officially a part of their team because she late discovered that Oscar was "dead"?

Imagine…how depressing it would be for Ruby to look back and realize that the very thing she had planned to be something to bind her and her friends together became a reminder that Oscar was now “gone” and that Ruby would never see him again.

Imagine…how depressing it would be for Ruby for her to realize that, much like her mother, Oscar had “gone away” and she never got a chance to say goodbye to him.

And…imagine how especially depressing it would be if Ruby had to hear that news from Qrow upon the team basically busting him and Robyn out of prison when they were hoping to rescue Oscar too. Crows are harbingers of death after all. So for me it would be fitting if Qrow is the one to begrudgingly deliver the news of Oscar’s “murder” to the team after Ironwood confessed to him while imprisonment under the guise of a threat on his life (or something like that).

I like this idea since it could lead into a potential parallel between Oscar and Summer Rose since I’d still like to stand by the assumption that Qrow was the one who broke the news about Summer’s death to her family. For that instance, I’m imagining a scene where a young Ruby and Yang are hiding in the stairway of their house on Patch, secretly eavesdropping on a private conversation between their father and Qrow who had suddenly shown up at their doorstep to tell Tai what happened.

I’m picturing a miserable-looking Qrow needing to prop up a now emotionally distraught Tai Yang who had just fallen apart at the news. Meanwhile in the background, young Yang is doing her best to hold back her own tears at the news; tightly hugging and doing her best to comfort a toddler Ruby who was just frozen at the whole thing.

In V2, Yang mentioned that due to her age, Ruby didn’t take the news of Summer’s death the best since for the most part she believed she was more confused at the whole thing; unsure of how to really process it.

This is why I’m imagining something like that happening similarly for Ruby with the news of Oscar’s “death”. With Qrow revealing to truth and Ruby just becoming completely frozen by everything---moving in a somewhat detached manner from the whole ordeal which was forcing all her repressed feelings regarding her mother to resurface in the process.

I’m even thinking of a scene where as Ruby is absorbing the news of Oscar’s death, she suffers a moment where while processing the news, she’s bombarded with the same flashes of her mother standing alone on the hill with her graveside, only this time Summer is joined by Oscar standing on the hill with his back turned to Ruby and the apparition of her forming her friend refusing to look her in the eye or something cryptically dark like that.

I just would like for the Writers to use Oscar’s “death” as a means to reveal more details about Summer and her death since in a sense, the way how Oscar “died” is kind of similar to Summer.

As a matter of fact, the way Oscar “died” is similar to how Pyrhha was killed. For me, I’m picturing Jaune being the most affected by Oscar’s “unfortunate passing”. In fact, I’m thinking Jaune would be livid over Oscar's "death".

For me, I’m envisioning a scene where a distraught Jaune is just angrily punching the wall so hard that it was slowly starting to bruise his fingers with small flecks of blood starting to trickle from underneath the armour giving the force of his punches.

I’m picturing Jaune bawling his eyes out and practically screaming how much nothing has changed for him. In spite of his training, in spite of how hard he had worked to grow stronger as a huntsman, in spite of the promises he had made and the things he had said, here was another example of him failing yet another friend he let walk off to “handle things on their own”.

Oscar was a part of Jaune’s team. He was placed in his care and had his trust and protection and I can picture Jaune believing that he had failed Oscar just as he had failed Pyrhha.

It would actually be kind of sad how just as Jaune and essentially Ren and Nora were starting to slowly  come to peace with Pyrhha and move on with Oscar looking to join them, he too suffered the same fate as Pyrhha and it’s a fate that I can see all of them taking responsibility in some way.

Heck I can even picture Jaune and Ren probably having an argument over this with poor Nora being forced to come between them. I’m thinking Jaune might get angry at Ren holding him responsible for making Oscar think he had to do something to help given his statement following the loss of the relic. That could be something but then again, these are only ideas.

Nevertheless, the similarities between the circumstances in which Pyrhha and Oscar were both “murdered” are too present that I can’t see it not being brought up for V8 as part of JNR’s side of things. Moreover, this is another opportunity for Oscar’s whole humanity and the way in which the whole group perceived his presence within their team to come into focus here. Think about it.

Imagine a moment where…upon learning the dark news, someone---maybe Nora--- brings up the fact about reincarnation clinging to the hope that perhaps Oscar could “return” somehow in some shape or form…only for Qrow to more or less burst their bubble.

According to my understanding of the whole Ozma Cycle, I’d like to believe that the way in which the reincarnation works is that Oscar would’ve only been able to return as a secondary soul inside the body of another is if he and Oz had already merged into one soul with Oscar becoming the dominating personality.

However if Oscar was killed before him and Oz could become one, I’d imagine that Oz---as the last version of Ozma’s soul---would’ve just moved onto another chosen vessel and have to redo the same induction process he had done with Oscar all over again. However Oscar would not be so fortunate. Basically what I’m saying is that Oz would be fine but Oscar on the other hand would be gone for good.

I just want the thought of Oscar---the soul that was Oscar----The part of him that was still the cute 14-year-old former farmhand that had shown up to RNJR in Mistral was now gone. I want that very thought to hit the whole hero team like a ton of bricks and to just see the reactions from everyone on the team at that profound realization. Especially the members of Oscar’s Inner Circle meaning RNJR.

For me, RWBY as a show has a weird habit of kind of doing a not-so-good job of proving how much the hero team actually value Oscar as their teammate. So I’m hoping that the news of his alleged “death” can spark this level of angst. It’s why I loved that V7 ended with Oscar being separated from the others with only Oz as his companion. It’s why I’m hoping that the CRWBY Writers allow for Oscar and Oz to finally have their own “journey” story away from the others.

As I’ve mentioned previously; not only is it a chance to develop and strengthen the relationship between Oscar and Oz that’s been strained so much since their first union but it’s also a way to highlight the importance of both souls’ existence to the people who knew them.

For Oscar, it’s a chance to see how he impacted the group in spite of his “short time” with them. Especially for RNJR since they technically knew him the longest having met him first and being comprised of the people who Oscar are closest to: Ruby as Oscar’s true rose (and potential love interest) and JNR as his team and surrogate family.  

And for Ozpin, it’s a chance for the show to finally touch base on his ties to Qrow, Ironwood and maybe the whole STRQ group particularly Summer Rose. There is so much potential in this for Oscar’s character and his respective relationships with his closest confidants that as a Pinehead, I honestly hope it will be taken. Finger crossed to that for V8.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

[formofaservant]

Musings on the Destiny of the Unevangelized

So I received a question from a couple students about the church's position on the Eternal Destiny of the unevangelized. The unevangelized are people who die prior to being able to physically "hear" the gospel preached to them.  This is a difficult question because the bible does not speak directly to the destiny of those who have not heard or presumably will not hear the gospel during their lives on earth; however, this does not mean that the church has not thought about this issue somewhat in depth. The problem with answering this question is that much of it is shrouded in mystery namely because, as we said, the bible doesn't speak directly to it. With that said, it doesn't mean that the bible doesn't somewhat allude to it. The church has been careful in making sure that it does not contradict the more fundamental aspects of the faith namely that Christ alone reveals the Father in His fullness and that Christ alone is Lord and Savior of humanity. What this implies is that Christianity must be in some sense exclusive in that it does not allow for competitors to God's throne to be options for deliverance from death and sin. Although the Christian faith is exclusive in the sense that it provides only one option in terms of humanity's salvation, it in no way is exclusive in whom it calls to join the story and life of Christ and His church. All, regardless of background, are invited to join in this way. If this is the basic criteria then it would probably surprise you all then that a universalist approach, the idea that all people will be saved (eventually), does find its way within the broader Christian dialogue in trying to answer this question. Although a Christian universalist will say that all the unevangelized will be eventually saved, they qualify that it will only be because they will in someway be transformed and meet with Christ Himself. In other words, Christian universalism suggests that all will be saved because Christ will eventually save everyone. It does not suggest that anyone and everyone will be saved outside of Christ as if a non-Christian will be saved as a non-Christian. All will be saved because all will eventually become Christian. This view can find its roots in the universalism of one of the early church fathers, Origen, whom we spoke of when discussing one of the many theories of the atonement, namely the ransom theory. He believed that since all souls proceeded from God that they would somehow find their way back to Him at the end of all things. This view was summarily rejected and considered a heretical point-of-view (although they did not totally reject Origen himself). Still further, another important church father Gregory of Nyssa suggest something similar along the lines that love must win. The assumption is that if only a few are saved, then love did not entirely eradicate evil. This would be an astute assumption to have if it weren't the case that's not what the story of God is about. The "competition" between Satan and God are not over love's power, but love's reputation and character. Neither of which requires the absolute salvation of all regardless of their responsibility to respond properly to the knowledge that all humanity has of God (Rom. 1:18-19).

There are plenty of scripture verses that suggest that Christ alone is humanity's savior outside of whom there is no salvation (1 Jn. 5:11-12, Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Cor. 3:11; Ps. 16:4). Yet, there is no need to read these in a way that implies that all who die unevanglized outside of Christ meet an unavoidable eternal destiny of separation from God. The main objection for thinking otherwise is that it would seem a bit cruel, extremely selective, and contrary to the purpose of evangelizing the whole world if the unevangelized meet not uncertain eternal demise (the implication being that all would go to eternal separation having no chance whatsoever to respond in kind). Scripture texts such as Luke 3:6 in its reference to Isaiah 40:5 seem to also suggest that everyone will "see God's salvation." When seen in light of other texts, Jn. 12:32, 1 Cor. 15:22-28, and Phil 2:9-11, one can easily see that a universal knowledge of the gospel is the ultimate end game. Although, this again in no way implies that all will be saved. It only implies that all will in some sense be "evangelized."

There is also the question of "if" that we need to consider. Matthew 11:21-23 has a curious case of Jesus calling down woes upon the cities of Bethsaida and Capernaum. He states that if the cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom (not unknown for their wickedness and sinfulness) has seen the same miracles these two cities had, they would have repented long ago. Some have pointed to this to suggest that God would save those who would have repented if He revealed Himself to them; however, this is a somewhat faulty implication. The thrust of the woe itself is not that God wills to save these sinful cities, only that God specifically chose not to save them despite their capacity to repent and turn. The point Jesus is making is not that God would have spared them, the answer is clearly that He did not. The point is that these wicked cities had the capacity to repent and would have if they could, yet these cities who are showered with God's miracles are so obstinate to the work of God that they refuse. The contrast is stark. The one who had no chance was not spared, the one who had a chance willed not to be spared. But here's one lesson to draw from this: God is in no way necessitated to save anyone who has already rejected Him since the days of Adam. Otherwise, it wouldn't be considered "grace." There is no biblical reason or logical reason why God has to save anyone. Unless the Lord extends His mercy, one's capacity to repent even in itself cannot save.

But then we must ask this question: if there are some whom God clearly passes over to leave them to their own demise, are there some God seems to pass over who will inevitably hear the gospel post-mortem and given a chance to repent? What we do know for certain is that Christ descended into the lower regions (hades or hell) as our creed states. But what was Christ doing there? In 1 Peter 3:19-20 we are offered a glimpse of Christ's post-mortem activities. It stats that Jesus "went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits - to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built." This offers us perhaps a clue that there is [or was] a proclamation of the gospel [presumed from context] to those who had died. It could very well be possible then that there is offered some ability for people to repent or turn in the confines of hades. Such a proclamation seems to have been foretold in Isaiah 24:21-22, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited." Is it possible that the unevangelized will be evangelized in the depths of hades? I would think most certainly. We have positive evidence from Holy Saturday and Christ's harrowing of hell. But we also have positive evidence, although cryptic, from Philippians 2:10-11 which states that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth..." The key phrase here being "under the earth." How can does "under the earth" bow their knees unless they have heard? It is not that they are mole-people to whom we must go as a church. They are the dead plain and simple. This, however, does not mean that those who have heard the gospel in life and rejected it are therefore given another chance post-mortem. No such hope is left for them, although I personally do not entirely rule this out. What all of our study does suggest is that concerning the unevangelized there does seem to be some hope for God's mercy even within the grave.

Now, some may point to Hebrews 9:27 which states, "And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this, the judgment." They read from this that there is no occasion to repent after death because one is presumably judged and therefore no such occasion but judgment is given. Perhaps this could be true, except the evidence we have seen elsewhere. There are a couple of assumptions from those who read this verse in this light. First, that there is an absolute temporal proximity of judgment as death. One must assume that the judgment here is speaking to the moment right after death; however, the judgment here could easily be referring to the judgment of all on the last day and that the time-frame between death and judgment are much larger than first appearances. The most we could garner from these words is that there is a logical link between the two: death and judgment. Furthermore, there is no absolute reason from the context of the verse that requires us to read it with the temporal proximity of those who may think the unevangelized are damned. Although I do not say that this is the reading of those who have this stance, there are many who may misread "judgment" in a negative light, namely condemnation." They do this because they have made the two words synonymous; however, judgment can also be a good thing in that one can judge something to be of value.

So in conclusion: The destiny of the unevangelized is ultimately based on the grace of God and from the looks of it, it seems that God is willing to take every step and measure to see that the gospel is known by all. This provides an occasion for those who may not be evangelized now to be evangelized later. Some may think that this puts a dent in our evangelistic work as if not evangelizing provides the same outcome; but I think this is rather wrong-headed. I offer two quick thoughts as to why: 1) we should desire everyone to have the life we experience now, rather than later, 2) Christ wants us to imitate Him and that means in witnessing to others as well, there is a certain kind of transformation that occurs when we ourselves participate in evangelism. But I will say that knowing that God does evangelize the dead does put my soul somewhat at ease knowing that even though I am a vital part of God's mission, I am not the only one working. It also teaches me not to presume the grace of God to not be somewhere that it very much can be. I know that the grace of God is in His church, in His Word, in His sacraments, in the liturgy, but I cannot rule out that His grace cannot be experienced outside. I, of course, can give someone any assurances that God's grace is found here or there outside of the church, like I can with God's grace within His church, but I do not presume then that such a grace cannot be found. Like the case of Cornelius, God can come to us through various means and perhaps in this life lead those who are unevangelized to the doorsteps of the church. Like the case of those who died long ago, God comes to the unevangelized to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom, an occasion that none of us should pass up.

So with that, let us pray for the dead, for those who are unevangelized both here on earth and under the earth, and for those who are evangelized but have not yet committed themselves to the Lord.

Lord have mercy.

[pope-francis-quotes]

17th January >> (Zenit.org) Pope Francis’ Simple Test for Youth gather at the Shrine of Maipú in Santiago: ‘What Would Jesus Do? ~ ‘Be young Samaritans, who never walk past someone lying on the roadside.’ (Jim Fair, Zenit.org) (Photo ~ Vatican Media Screenshot) Pope Francis urged youth on January 17, 2018, to use a simple test before acting: “What Would Jesus Do?” His recommendation came in a talk to youth gather at the Shrine of Maipú in Santiago, a stop in his apostolic journey to Chile and Peru. He said the question, “What would Christ do in my place?” was the “golden rule” used by Saint Alberto Hurtado, whose tomb the Holy Father visited yesterday. “You have mentioned it many times, young people must be the protagonists of the change, of a more just society, that worries about the weak, that appreciates the value of life, that may like the love of God in every brother and sister, born in our country or born on the other side of the world,” said one of the youth, Ariel Rojas, in a testimony before the Pope’s talk. “We recognize in you a model of life, a model of love, a model of the living Christ.” And, indeed, Pope Francis urged the young people to be “protagonists in the heart of the Church.” He recommended the examples of the Good Samaritan, Simon of Cyrene helping Christ with his cross, Zacchaeus, who rejected the material, and Mary Magdalene, “who finds in Jesus alone the answers she needs.” The Holy Father told the youth that in his ministry as a bishop, he had seen “how many good ideas there are in young people, in their minds and hearts. Young people are restless; they are seekers and idealists.” He admitted that adults sometimes fall back on how “things have always been done.” Pope Francis also reminded the crowds of the October, 2018, Synod18, which will address the topic: “Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment.” “Realizing how important young people and their experiences are, this year I wanted to call the Synod, and before it, the meeting of young people, so that you can feel – and really be – protagonists in the heart of the Church,” Francis said. “To help keep the Church’s face young, not by applying cosmetics but by letting her be challenged deep down by her sons and daughters, to help her daily to be more faithful to the Gospel. How much the Church in Chile needs you to “shake the ground beneath our feet” and help us draw closer to Jesus! Your questions, your wanting to know, your desire to be generous, are all necessary for us to draw closer to Jesus. All of us are all invited, ever anew, to draw near to Jesus.” The Holy Father’s Prepared Remarks Ariel, I too am happy to be with you. Thank you for your words of welcome in the name of all present. I am the one who is grateful for being able to share this time with you. For me, it is very important for us to meet and walk with one another for a while. Let’s help each other to keep looking ahead! I am happy that this meeting is taking place here in Maipú. In this land where the history of Chile began with a fraternal embrace, in this Shrine that rises at the crossroads of north and south, that joins the snow and the sea and is a home to both heaven and earth. A home for Chile, a home for you, dear young people, where Our Lady of Carmel waits for you and welcomes you with an open heart. Just as she accompanied the birth of this nation and has accompanied so many Chileans over the span of these two hundred years, so too she wants to keep accompanying the dreams that God places in your hearts: dreams of freedom, dreams of joy, dreams of a better future: the desire, as you said, Ariel, “to be protagonists of change”. To be protagonists. Our Lady of Mount Carmel accompanies you so that you can be protagonists for the Chile of which your hearts dream. I know that the hearts of young Chileans dream, and that they dream big dreams, for these lands have given rise to experiences that spread and multiplied across the different countries of our continent. Who inspired those dreams? It was young people like yourselves, who were inspired to experience the adventure of faith. For faith excites in young people feelings of adventure, an adventure that beckons them to traverse unbelievable landscapes, rough and tough terrain… but, then again, you like adventures and challenges! After all, you get bored when there are no challenges to excite you. We see this clearly, for example, whenever there is a natural disaster. You have an amazing ability to mobilize, which is a sure sign of the generosity of your hearts. In my ministry as a bishop, I have come to see how many good ideas there are in young people, in their minds and hearts. Young people are restless; they are seekers and idealists. The problem we adults have is that often, like know-it-alls, we say: “They think that way because they are young; they still have to grow up”. As if growing up means accepting injustice, believing that nothing can be done, that this is the way things have always been. Realizing how important young people and their experiences are, this year I wanted to call the Synod, and before it, the meeting of young people, so that you can feel – and really be – protagonists in the heart of the Church. To help keep the Church’s face young, not by applying cosmetics but by letting her be challenged deep down by her sons and daughters, to help her daily to be more faithful to the Gospel. How much the Church in Chile needs you to “shake the ground beneath our feet” and help us draw closer to Jesus! Your questions, your wanting to know, your desire to be generous, are all necessary for us to draw closer to Jesus. All of us are all invited, ever anew, to draw near to Jesus. Let me share a story with you. Chatting one day with a young man, I asked him what sort of things made him unhappy. He said to me: “When my cell phone battery runs down or I lose my internet connection”. I asked him: “Why?” He answered: “Father, it’s simple; I miss out on everything that is going on, I am shut off from the world, stuck. In those moments, I jump up and run to find a charger or a Wi-Fi network and a password to reconnect”. This made me think that the same thing can happen with our faith. After a while on the journey or after an initial spurt, there are moments when, without even realizing it, our “bandwidth” begins to fade and we lose our connection, our power; then we become unhappy and we lose our faith, we feel depressed and listless, and we start to view everything in a bad light. When we lack the “connection” that charges our dreams, our hearts begin to falter. When our batteries are dead, we feel the way the song describes it – “The background noise and the loneliness of the city cut us off from everything. The world turns backward, tries to overwhelm me and drown all my thoughts and ideas”.[1] Without a connection, a connection to Jesus, we end up drowning our thoughts and ideas, our dreams and our faith, and so we get frustrated and annoyed. As protagonists, which we are and we want to be – we can get to the point of feeling that it makes no difference whether or not we do anything. We start feeling that we are “shut off from the world”, as that young person told me. It worries me that, once they have lost their “connection”, many people think they have nothing to offer; they feel lost. Never think that you have nothing to offer or that nobody cares about you. Never! That thought, as Alberto Hurtado used to like to say, “is the voice of the devil”, who wants to make you feel you are worthless… and to keep things the way they are. All of us are necessary and important; all of us have something to offer. The young people in the Gospel we heard today wanted that “connection” to help them keep the flame alive in their hearts. They wanted to know how to charge the power cells of their heart. Andrew and the other disciple – whose name is not given, so we can imagine that each of us is that “other” disciple – were looking for the password to connect with the one who is “the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6). It was John the Baptist who showed them the way. I believe that you too have a great saint who you can be your guide, a saint who made his life into a song: “I am happy, Lord, I am happy”. Alberto Hurtado had a golden rule, a rule for setting his heart ablaze with the fire that keeps joy alive. For Jesus is that fire; everyone who draws near to it is set ablaze. Hurtado’s password was quite simple – if your phones are turned on, I would like you to key this in. He asks: “What would Christ do in my place?” At school, at university, when outdoors, when at home, among friends, at work, when taunted: “What would Christ do in my place?” When you go dancing, when you are playing or watching sports: “What would Christ do in my place?” He is the password, the power source that charges our hearts, ignites our faith and makes our eyes sparkle. That is what it means to be a protagonist of history. Our eyes sparkle, for we have discovered that Jesus is the source of life and joy. Protagonists of history, for we wish to pass on that sparkle to hearts that have grown so cold and gloomy that they have forgotten what it means to hope, to all those hearts that are “deadened” and wait for someone to come and challenge them with something worthwhile. Being protagonists means doing what Jesus did. Wherever you are, with whomever you are with, and whenever you get together: “What would Jesus do?” The only way not to forget a password is by using it over and over. Day after day. The time will come when you know it by heart, and the day will come when, without realizing it, your heart will beat like Jesus’ heart. It is not enough to hear a sermon or learn an answer from the catechism; we want to live the way Jesus lived. To do that, the young people in the Gospel asked: “Lord, where do you live?” (Jn 1:38). How do you live? We want to live like Jesus, with that “yes” that thrills our hearts.To put oneself on the line, to run risks. Dear friends, be courageous, go out straightaway to meet your friends, people you don’t know, or those having troubles. Go out with the only promise we have: that wherever you are – in the desert, on the journey, amid the excitement, you will always be “connected”; there will always be a “power source”. We will never be alone. We will always enjoy the company of Jesus, his Mother, and a community. Certainly, a community is not perfect, but that does not mean that it does not have much to love and to give to others. Dear friends, dear young people: “Be young Samaritans, who never walk past someone lying on the roadside. Be young Simons of Cyrene who helps Christ carry his cross and help alleviate the sufferings of your brothers and sisters. Be like Zacchaeus, who turns his heart from materialism to solidarity. Be like young Mary Magdalene, passionately seeking love, who finds in Jesus alone the answers she needs. Have the heart of Peter, so that you can abandon your nets beside the lake. Have the love of John, so that you can rest all your concerns in him. Have the openness of Mary, so that you can sing for joy and do God’s will.[2] Dear friends, I would have liked to stay longer. Thank you for this meeting and for your joyfulness. I ask you one favor: please remember to pray for me. __________________ [1] LA LEY, Aquí. [2] CARD. RAÚL SILVA HENRÍQUEZ, Mensaje a los jóvenes (7 October 1979). [00058-EN.01] [Original text: Spanish] © Libreria Editrice Vatican.

[jeena-aesthetic]

this isn't yourself at all. do all the questions.

wow you’re right, i definitely did not just ask myself to answer all the questions because i’m bored as shit. how’d you know? 

Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora? I pay for Spotify premium and I’m a broke college student, that’s how much I love Spotify 

is your room messy or clean? ....yes. an organized mess. 

what color are your eyes? a shade of blue, varies from very blue to like a gray-blue 

do you like your name? why? yeah i like it bc it’s kinda common as people know it and it’s on personalized stuff but not common enough where you can’t go a day without seeing someone who has the same name as you 

what is your relationship status? i’ve got a boy but he hasn’t talked to me at all today ??? so ???? that may change (i’m slightly kidding, it’s literally fine but like i need validation so i will just stress in silence) 

describe your personality in 3 words or less funny, worrisome, precise 

what color hair do you have? dirty blonde 

what kind of car do you drive? color? hyundai, black

where do you shop? mostly online, but target has become my main store 

how would you describe your style? you tried to look nice and it kinda worked or it’s a miracle you put pants on today... no inbetween 

favorite social media account either twitter or instagram 

what size bed do you have? my one at home is a full but the ones at college are twin xl 

any siblings? 2 

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why? probably somewhere in europe, probably like spain or norway or something. it’s really beautiful there and i mean you still get snow but it’s not fucking freezing so it’s a win win 

favorite snapchat filter? i don’t really use filters i just use bitmojis 

favorite makeup brand(s) i know nothing about makeup lol 

how many times a week do you shower? i mainly shower every other day, if not more than that so it depends

favorite tv show? one tree hill made me emo and i’m currently rewatching glee so 

shoe size? fuck if i knew, you try the shoes on and if they fit you buy them 

how tall are you? fuck if i know, probably like 5′7″ or 5′8″ 

sandals or sneakers? sandals probs 

do you go to the gym? hahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

describe your dream date currently i am in the christmas mood so like if jake came down and we went to the rotary lights i’d cry tears of joy 

how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment? likeeeeeeeee $40 I think ? doesn’t really matter 

what color socks are you wearing? orange 

how many pillows do you sleep with? one 

do you have a job? what do you do? lol no not yet, i’m gonna get a summer job working at a dog daycare tho 

how many friends do you have? like 2 

whats the worst thing you have ever done? hold on to things i shouldn’t have 

whats your favorite candle scent? I LOVE CANDLES LITERALLY ANYTHING 

3 favorite boy names meh 

3 favorite girl names too much thinking 

favorite actor? i feel like i’m obligated to say channing tatum but that ain’t even true... probably david tennant 

favorite actress? emma watson probs 

who is your celebrity crush? why does no one come to mind anymore....sad 

favorite movie? Mean girls or pitch perfect... or high school musical. actually no LEMONADE MOUTH 

do you read a lot? whats your favorite book? the last book i read was for my anthropology class and it was all about pregnancy and babies... i don’t really wanna read books for a while now 

money or brains? theoretically with brains should also come money.....so brains 

do you have a nickname? what is it? they called me jeena in high school... hence the url 

how many times have you been to the hospital? probably the one time when i was born in one 

top 10 favorite songs ain’t nobody got time for that... my spotify username is nikna40 tho 

do you take any medications daily? nope 

what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc) yes 

what is your biggest fear? drowning 

how many kids do you want? like two probably

whats your go to hair style? um. washing my hair and whatever happens, happens 

what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc) both are fairly big and almost like farmhousy 

who is your role model? me bitch 

what was the last compliment you received? i take each like on my tweets as a compliment 

what was the last text you sent? okie 

how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real? i mean i’ve suspected it since i was like 4... da fuck who just comes into our house and knows exactly what we want ??? why won’t i hear our cows mooing at the reindeer ??? 

what is your dream car? my current car but with automatic locks and cruise control 

opinion on smoking? FUCK IT THAT’S THE ONE THING I CAN���T TOLERATE WHO THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA 

do you go to college? lol yah 

what is your dream job? marrying rich and becoming a housewife 

would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs? rural 

do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels? no that shit ain’t good 

do you have freckles? yes 

do you smile for pictures? yes

how many pictures do you have on your phone? too many 

have you ever peed in the woods? um no 

do you still watch cartoons? um no 

do you prefer chicken nuggets from Wendy’s or McDonalds? CULVERS CHICKEN TENDERS 

Favorite dipping sauce? ranch 

what do you wear to bed? literally the clothes i wore all day if i didn’t wear jeans 

have you ever won a spelling bee? noep 

what are your hobbies? crying. jk looking at memes, watching netflix, making playlists, photography

can you draw? HA no 

do you play an instrument? i played saxophone in high school, kinda wanna learn ukulele and piano 

what was the last concert you saw? gavin degraw 

tea or coffee? tea

Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? um neither

do you want to get married? at some point 

what is your crush’s first and last initial? JN

are you going to change your last name when you get married? if it has a nice ring to it probably 

what color looks best on you? yellow or like turquoise 

do you miss anyone right now? kinda :/ 

do you sleep with your door open or closed? closed 

do you believe in ghosts? yes 

what is your biggest pet peeve? WHEN YOU LIVE WITH BOYS AND THEY CAN’T LEARN TO PUT THE TOILET SEAT DOWN. OR WHEN PEOPLE PUT IN TOILET PAPER THE WRONG WAY 

last person you called` kirstie probs 

favorite ice cream flavor? cookie dough 

regular oreos or golden oreos? da fuck are golden oreos 

chocolate or rainbow sprinkles? rainbow 

what shirt are you wearing? a shirt 

what is your phone background? whatever the default was. lot of diamonds. 

are you outgoing or shy? still kinda shy 

do you like it when people play with your hair? YES 

do you like your neighbors? they aight 

do you wash your face? at night? in the morning? yes, in the morning 

have you ever been high? lol no  

have you ever been drunk? lol yes 

last thing you ate? christmas cookie 

favorite lyrics right now nothing really comes to mind atm 

summer or winter? summer 

day or night? day

dark, milk, or white chocolate? white chocolate 

favorite month? september

what is your zodiac sign libra

who was the last person you cried in front of? my boi 

[wristwatchjournal]

Interview: Understanding the Swiss Made K1 Automatic Movement With Creator Jonas Nydegger

At the heart of each timepiece is a movement. It is an engine whose development has been continuously improved upon since the 16th century. Literally, hundreds of years of human skill and innovation are contained in modern-day mechanical movements, while most timepieces sold to mainstream consumers are, in fact, more like appliances and tools that have efficient, electronic mechanisms in them. Mechanical watches on the other hand are for people who can’t help but love a well-made machine.

Only a small number of companies around the world have the ability to manufacture or assemble mechanical movements, and still fewer have the ability to design them from nearly the ground up. THE+ and its in-house watch brand Horage represent just such a rare company. The THE+ is headquarters in the Swiss city of Bienne/Biel, a split name because it rests on an intersection between German and French-speaking Switzerland. It is also home to many of the world’s old names in Swiss watchmaking. It is where Rolex produces its movements and where much of the Swatch Group is headquartered.

More than a decade ago now, the same Swatch Group announced intentions for its in-group watch movement maker ETA to cease selling movements to a number of brands. At the time, ETA was one of very, very few companies to produce Swiss Made mechanical movements that it would sell to companies who could put them in their own products. ETA didn’t want to supply as many brands as it was, and the Swatch Group and the Swiss government are still today debating the actual terms of what ETA’s duties to the marketplace actually are.

In any event, for quite some time ETA did stop selling so many movements to brands outside of the Swatch Group and concurrently called upon the Swiss watch industry to invest in new and innovative companies that can make movements. This is precisely what happened — and THE+ is just such a company. What THE+ is not is one of many companies whose answer to ETA’s call to action was to simply copy ETA movements. Legally, patent or other protections on ETA mechanical movements have long since expired. While ETA continued to develop fresh technology, its mainstay movements used in a large number of globally available wristwatch movements could now be legally copied by anyone who tried hard enough to replicate them. This aforementioned approach as help supply a lot of mechanical movements, but THE+ had a different idea. It wanted to not only offer an alternative to the ETA mechanical movement experience but also to offer one that was wholly distinctive — and at a competitive price point.

This latter point is crucial because, indeed, a large universe of available mechanical movements do exist out there, but not at price points that would allow them to sell for anything close to as low as what an ETA-equipped watch could go for. For example, if a watch movement alone costs $3,000 for a brand to purchase, at what price point must the final retail price be for that brand to earn the desired profit margin? The answer is quite high.

Watch brands not able or willing to produce their own Swiss Made movements, but that want a less-than-generic experience for consumers in a $5,000 USD and under product, do not at this time have too many options. THE+ and its in-house designers developed and made K1 automatic movement system, now a 10-year-old answer to that problem. The K1 automatic movement is both an original base Swiss Made automatic and a platform for a host of modules, which when placed over the base can modify or add to the core time-telling functions.

Horage watches mostly feature K1 automatic movements, with various modules that add features and complications. I’ve worn at least two watches with the K1 and found them to be really impressive. I certainly put the K1 up there as one of the most desirable Swiss Made movements at this price point. I also think that, with so many watches having used ETA and similar movements over the years, a lot of brands could benefit from the novelty and new artistic opportunities that something like the K1 can offer.

Now let’s hear from THE+ itself, namely K1 movement designer Jonas Nydegger. We rarely interview actual movement designers, so I hope you enjoy this deeper look in the Swiss Made THE+ K1 movement.

aBlogtoWatch (ABTW): Horage and the K1 movement already have a story to tell with over 10 years of history. Jonas Nydegger, you’ve been a pivotal individual in the foundation of the company. Tell us a little about your background and just how things came to be with Horage and the K1 movement?

Jonas Nydegger (JN): I am fascinated by the development and production of mechanical objects. My drive is filed by an interest in technical production. In school, I studied watchmaking and apprenticed as a watchmaker. I later moved on to studying production engineering with a focus on watch movement construction, and later I studied system engineering. Over the past 15 years, I have met many fascinating craftsmen that inspired me to stay on this path. In my early years, I worked with companies on projects that implemented a lot of incorrect strategies and made costly operational mistakes. I learned a lot about what not to do, and these hard lessons helped me when I eventually ran projects of my own. Jumping ahead to K1, I was literally thrown into the deep end, as it was and is a massive movement project, but I knew how to navigate the pitfalls from previous experience.

The founders of Horage — Tzuyu and Andi — are two very open-minded and forward-thinking individuals and early on trusted me and let me take the lead with K1. In addition, Andi has challenged me to look further into the future and what modern watchmaking can look like. Tzuyu is the strategic mastermind behind THE+ our production firm and, aside from that, Tzuyu is also the best cook I have ever met — and I love to eat, so that makes me happy. I am appreciative of the opportunity Tzuyu has given me each and every day.

Tzuyu has shifted her focus to Horage brand-building and has given me the reins to the movement projects. We have an amazing young team, and we have a lot of fun making movements — things just keep getting better.

ABTW: How rare is it today for a watch brand (or any company for that matter) to build a movement from the ground up?

JN: Extremely rare. Just have a look at the market. The movement game is only set up for the big players to be a part of. There simply are not enough talented engineers on the market. Add in the cost of investment, and the risks are catastrophic. What we created with K1 is something very remarkable.

ABTW: Considering the extremely high cost barrier to entry, how easily can one access information and talent to see the project through to completion?

Making movements has three big variables at play; cost, talent, and time. Excellent engineering can reduce cost and decrease time to market by a few years, but finding a sound educated team willing to invest their time and their futures in such projects is an anomaly. The reason there is not more talent is that too many brands made too much money selling old technologies over the past 40 years and not investing in the future of watchmaking. No investment in future watchmaking means fewer apprentices being trained and, ultimately, the entrepreneurial spirit of an entire industry is left to die. Great movements take years to come to market, and there are few that have the balls to do something like K1.

ABTW: From the perspective of consumers, what is special about the K1 and why should they pay attention to it?

JN: K1 is a very interesting movement due to it being a first to have configurable modularity. Early on, we showed this modularity through various campaigns, and with our Multiply watch customers were able to configure the complications of their finished watch and still can today. The modularity of the design means it delivers a consistent dimension across all functions applied to it. This means that Horage, or any brand for that matter, can reduce stock, time to market, and be more agile in shifting production to markets demand on best-selling products. This means the work and financial investment becomes much easier for Horage to manage, and this brings a ton of value to the customer — better prices for increased quality as well as better spec’d watches leading to a more product diversification overall.

In the end, the brand is more flexible, reactive, and expedites product development time, and all this means customers get not only more value but also more of what they desire most. This means customers’ money can go into products they love rather than products a brand needs to market to make room for new stock. K1 is not a clone, but rather made from the ground up, in-house by us. It is built on the latest advancements in global production technologies such as more flexible production processes, new coating technologies, and new advancements in escapements like our silicon escapement that has a host of advantages, including anti-magnetism, increased power reserve, and fewer service intervals than traditional escapements.

ABTW: From a watchmaking performance perspective, how does the K1 movement compare to popular industry movements people known well?

JN: When it comes to performance, we have sound confidence comparing K1 with the latest and most advanced movements that are available on the market today, especially when one looks at the new generations coming to market from the big groups that have long power reserves as well as new escapement and hairspring technology. We achieve a comparable power reserve but deliver a more stable frequency of 3.5 Hz compared to hacked standard movements with a reduced frequency to 3 Hz.

Looking at one competitor’s newest movement that delivers around 70 hours of power reserve and is 5mm-high, on the surface it appears very close to K1; however, it is not modular and can only be spec’d to a standard three-hand and date complication. K1 can deliver much more with a big date, small second or center second, and power reserve indicator. Of course, there are other premium movement makers, but a premium movement comes at a premium price and is reserved for brands in the upper echelon of the luxury watch market. K1 has been designed to offer premium performance at a more digestible price point.

Service-wise, K1 is extremely stable, with modern construction, and the parts are easy to assemble, which means that should it need servicing the turnaround time is very fast. We recommend a service interval comparable with other industry-standard movements. However, we are confident that a run-time of up to 10 years is easily achieved before needing a full service inclusive of part lubrication.

ABTW: From a technical perspective what is interesting about the K1 in terms of architecture, materials, or construction?

JN: As relayed earlier, K1 is modular and this modularity brings efficiency, flexibility and lower cost to HORAGE and this inevitably leads to a greater value offer to the customer. K1 is a modern and compact movement. It is 25.6mm (11.5 lines) wide and 4.95mm high and this mean a multitude of watch sizes can be developed from a petite or small casual watch up to any size one would like. Currently the smallest possible watch we have is the 32mm Omnium and in such a size you can utilize every spec of K1.

From the early 1980’s until now there have been 3 standard movements produced by ETA, those being the 2892, 2824 and the 7750. The 2892 and 2824 are basic movements that offer a standard 3 hands and date. If a brand wanted to have a better spec like big date, power reserve indicator or others they would always have to buy a module to be assembled on top of the standard movements. This means that the movement is getting thicker and the watch case needs to change to accommodate this. However this is a costly exercise for a brand because for each and every spec, dial or face they need an entirely new case. That means a huge amount of case stock is needed to accommodate different movement specs. Planning for what the consumer is going to gravitate towards makes it nearly impossible to get the case stock correct and this means that if a product with a power reserve indicator is performing better than a 3 hand/date a brand cannot react quickly enough to the demand and then has to invest more heavily in marketing the dogs of the line. With our brand Horage we wanted to have this flexibility and felt others would appreciate such a movement.

K1 offers five specs that can be combined in 18 different face variations. This means all can be delivered within the same movement dimensions and that a brand needs only one case size per model for all model specs. Faster reaction to market demand can be achieved and the burden of inflated inventories can be avoided.

We looked to the car industry for our modular approach where such methodologies have been standard for decades. However, there simply has not been a lot of new movement development in the watch industry over the past 40 years and why such concepts are new to the watch industry and the watch enthusiast.

ABTW: From a watch brand perspective, what makes the K1 an attractive and affordable option for their upcoming timepiece project.

JN: The first point is availability and because Horage has K1 in-house it is available and doesn’t need to be sourced by a third party. Currently, there are extremely limited options on the market to brands looking for an up to date modern movement. If one wants to play in the same league as the big movement groups, then investing in the development of such a movement like K1 is needed. K1 is price-competitive with the new calibers coming to market from other makers. However, a comparison cannot be made to the basic shelf movements of yesterday that a brand can pick up for 70 Swiss francs. With new technologies and the desire for more precision and smaller movements, the cost of production of small-batch runs has dramatically increased. The sky is the limit when it comes to cost, however, the challenge is delivering a stable, modern movement at a competitive price — and this is something K1 delivers.

This price difference is seen in the final consumer price of products; many micro-brands are purchasing old technology that is easily obtainable and selling watches in the $500- $1500 range, depending on materials at play. With a K1 movement, the market entry could be as low as $1500 and then move up from there depending on what modular functions are utilized, what decoration is applied to the movement, and overall construction of the completed watch. Horage utilizes the very best materials available and has a start price of around $2,200 USD. There are many more costs that come in after the movement and materials, such as 904L stainless steel that is 8-10 times the cost of regular 316L, but the brand’s value statement starts with the movement.

Florian Serex, who has been a mentor to me, as well as a creative addition to the K1 project, was the one that saw the opportunity of combining the functions and decorations associated with a manufacture movement with the advantages of industrial reliability and scale. Thanks to his creative mind, forward-thinking and vast industrial knowledge, K1 is a hybrid of manufacture and industrial movement. Without him, K1 would not have seen the light of day. However, every fire needs a spark, and Stephan Kussmaul, the first engineer involved in the K1 project, birthed the idea of modularity — so their combined ideologies delivered a killer movement.

ABTW: There are a few other brands in the market turning out new calibers rather quickly, which makes one think that it might be easier than one thinks. How do these quick turn around calibers compare to what you are doing? How do these brands limit the invested time needed to bring a caliber to market?

JN: If a brand has an internal team and has gone through the development of a first movement, typically 7-10 years, and brought it to market, then it becomes easier to develop future movements. There is a ton of learning with a new movement, and the lessons learned can save a lot of time on crucial processes. However, this is a multi-year undertaking, and enough time must be taken to ensure stability. Brands should stick to one or two workhorses and limit their risk by not continually developing new movements. More movements mean less quantity per movement.

That leads to smaller batches which generate higher cost and less stable production quality. This is the line drawn when one compares a manufacture movement to an industrial movement. An industrial movement like K1 is designed for scale, performance, reliability, and cost reduction, but a manufacture movement means more new movements can be created in less time, but one sacrifices reliability, performance, and cost. We have taken the positive attributes of both manufacture and industrial movement and moved the needle a little further into the future.

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