#jesus was a middle eastern man

[maladaptations]

the epistemology of ignorance

"omg you're an arab CHRISTIAN??!?" girl where do you think jesus and his bois were from?? fuckin new jersey?

[queenlucythevaliant]

We see him come and know him ours

Russia: "Carol of the Russian Children," traditional // Kenya: The Nativity, Elima Njau // France: "Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella," Nicolas Saboly // Haiti: Madonna and Child, Ismael Saincilus // Australia: "The Three Drovers," William James // China: Tryptic by Lu Hongnian // Canadian/Algonquian: "Huron Carol," Jean de Brébeuf

[ceasarslegion]

The leftism leaving peoples bodies when you tell them that literal terrorist organizations arent the good guys just because theyre against a bad guy

[a-boat-on-the-sea]

Jesus was a brown-skinned, Middle Eastern man, who spent his early childhood as a refugee. He spent his life telling people to give all their belongings to the poor. If he knocked on the door of many Republicans, they would get one of their guns and shoot him in the face.

[theladyregret]

I once got an art commission for art that would be on a church pamphlet and…words cannot accurately express how uncomfortable my pagan ass was trying to ask this black minister…what color skin he wanted Jesus to have…

Commission

[flagellant]

How To Be Native American: Five Tips To Acknowledging The Indian In You!

Wonder why you're writing this. Debate with yourself about the form and the function. By making a performance out of your criticism of the inherent performativity of being a white-passing Native, is that denying or adding to the power imbalance that actually white people already have over your life, your identity, your culture? Ponder blood quantum for the seventh time today and really just sit down and ask yourself, "Is this going to be the metaphor that justifies my existence within my culture to white strangers online?" Accept it probably won't be and write this inadvisably anyway. They weren't ever going to get it anyway, but for once, this isn't about them.

Do your research! Take your knowledge and academize it. If you can't cite your sources when you try and explain why this privilege is killing you, are you really a victim of genocide? Or are you just 1/16th Cherokee Princess? FUN FACT: So many people are "Pretendians" that anthropological scholars are trying to examine the psychology behind why! You know why, of course. They feel so alienated from their culture as settlers that they cling to whatever they can, like mud on a duck's bill, steadily reshaping Turtle Island in their image. Remember that by criticizing Pretendians you simply give people more reason to assume you're one. Pretend this is fine.

Read Braiding Sweetgrass again. It won't help, but the words are familiar enough by this point that you can start the grief process a full three chapters ahead of the words you're thinking in your head. Wonder if this is all you'll ever get to have: Stories of dead grandmothers and dead strawberries and dead nations, bones piled upon bones with none of the nitrogen fixing jack shit. Think about how you have never gotten to braid sweetgrass with someone who understands who and what you are. Reread the last few sentences because your tears have blurred the ink so badly at this point it's like trying to be fluent in a language no one will teach you.

Brush your hair out, because you have gingery ringlets rather than sleek, thick flint. Your name is Red Fox Jesus Man and you've only got a little bit of a complex about it. Think about how, when people claim you look like Jesus, they aren't talking about the Middle Eastern Jew, they're talking about the Italian. You aren't even a little bit fucking Italian. Microaggressions are a form of racial validation, right? Especially if they aren't intended to be, right?

Light a candle for your dead grandfather. None of his stories got passed down onto you or your mother or your father. Maybe none of your great-great-grandfather's stories got passed down to him either. This is a comfort, in a selfish, self-destructive way. If you don't know the names of the teachers in the Mission your people were sent to, that is a sort of pyrrhic victory. Not a meaningful one, but scraps will fill your stomach if you settle for enough of them.

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Golems, Orcs, & loser party that got TPKed by bugs (<3)

He's so competent, I love him. I really appreciate that post pointing out that this whole party is pretty near the top of the game in terms of genuine competency at adventuring. It's hard to tell when we rarely see other adventurers.

Just a few pages later, Senshi seamlessly takes out 3 golems on his own!

Water fountain shaped like a lion head!

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Senshi has just been single-handedly keeping the dungeon from getting so dangerous that the Elves get to bully their way in, huh. Do you think dungeon experts have been wondering what's taking so long, and will one day find out that it's this one weird dwarf. I hope so.

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I like the dragon being so goat-like.

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HUZZAH!

Side note: I think an ideal live action Senshi would be played by Nick Offerman.

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Marcille and the orc chieftain fighting while Senshi pointedly makes bread gives me such "The Last Supper" vibes - that is, the song in Jesus Christ Superstar. Two people having an increasingly vicious argument over dinner while everyone else in the room says increasingly loudly, "Wow, this food is great!!"

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HEY LOOK THE NEXT CHAPTER STARTS WITH MY MAN!!

I'm sure this isn't novel analysis but man I like how directly Kabru's party mirrors the original Touden party. (Side note: I wish each party had a name that wasn't just the name of the party leader...)

Toudens':

6 members

3 fighters (Laiois, Shuro, Namari)

2 mages, 1 for damage (Marcille) and 1 for healing (Falin)

1 lockpick (Chilchuck)

2 long-lived (1 dwarf, 1 elf)

4 short-lived (3 humans, 1 halffoot)

3 men, 3 women

4 tall, 2 short

1 Easterner

leader is a mall tallman fighter

lockpick is halffoot

1 mage is tallman, 1 is long-lived magic-heavy race

1 fighter is a dwarf

Kabru's:

6 members

3 fighters (Kabru, Kuro, Daya)

2 mages, 1 for damage (Rin) & 1 for healing (Holm)

1 lockpick (Mickbell)

2 long-lived (1 dwarf, 1 gnome)

4 short-lived (2 humans, 1 halffoot, 1 kobold)

4 men, 2 women

3 tall, 3 short

1 Easterner

leader is a male tallman fighter

lockpick is halffoot

1 mage is tallman, 1 is long-lived magic-heavy race

1 fighter is a dwarf

A) it's obviously a solid party composition in terms of classes, and playing into D&D stereotypes (born of Middle Earth, as many D&D stereotypes are) of correlations between PC race and class.

B) Ryoko Kui was like, "There are going to be PARALLELS in this story and you are going to APPRECIATE THEM", and she was so goddamn right. Subtle themes are great but you know what's even better? Like 5 different really overt themes that are all happening all the time and interweave so constantly that subtlety is created in the infinite nuances of overlap. Eat or be eaten and to eat is to live is to want and understanding is compassion but it's also violence and we're all incredibly different and we're all incredibly the same and we're all trying to eat or be eaten in an elaborately connected web of life, and--

I want an orchestral arrangement of this story.

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I'm not carefully counting all winged lion motifs but I AM going to count the number of Kabru Winks(TM). We're at 3 in this chapter.

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EXQUISITE SMASH CUT

[pastelalleycat]

There's a genuine concern about Christian nationalism here in the States with Trump most likely entering office in 2025 and the agendas the Republican party has. Several states are legally requiring the Ten Commandments to be hung up in classrooms, Bible stories to be taught in classes, PragerU curriculums to be utilized. Our country's children- and us- are going to be endrenched in Christian ideology beyond any cultural norms we've ever seen, and we need to be vigilant about who we're getting our information from and putting our trust in.

To be clear, I do NOT think all Christians are Christian nationalists, nor are all Christians the bad guys. Liberal and non-Trumpie Christians are our allies. The kind of Christianity I'm talking about here is Evangelical Christianity- the kind that commands sharing your religion with other people so they don't go to Hell, giving up control of your personhood in favor of what the Bible teaches and church believes.

Thankfully, Evangelical Christianity has a lot of special lingo, and they love to cycle through the same talking points. This isn't some mystery we know nothing about- this is something, like anything else, we can use critical thinking to track and reason through. As a former Evangelical Christian living in the Bible Belt, here's some buzz points you're going to want to be aware of. Please feel free to add on if I missed anything, or correct me if I got anything wrong.

Phrases

Calling the Bible:

the Word (of God / God's word)

the Gospel (of Jesus)

The Scripture(s)

The Word / Gospel according to [book name]

Calling God:

Yahweh (my apologies to Jews for writing out the full name. I wish I didn't have to. There's been a rise lately in Evangelicals saying it, unaltered, and it's extremely rude to y'all.)

King Jesus

(the) Lord / Lord God / the Lord our God

(Heavenly) Father / Father in Heaven

(the) Savior

About the world:

We live in a fallen/broken world / there is so much sin around us

We can't trust our feelings / we can only trust God's word

We can do nothing apart from God

We must humble ourselves before God

We need Godly leaders in this country / we need God to lead this country

God works in mysterious ways

We need to say "Merry Christmas" more (not joking)

Wars and rumors of wars (this pertains to the end times as described in Revelation)

Topics

LGBTQ+ issues:

"Homosexuality"

"Transgenderism" (the 'ism' is important)

"Pornography"

"One man, one woman"

"God's picture of marriage [heterosexuality]"

"Family values"

"Sodomy"

"An abomination"

Abortion issues:

"Pro-life"

Pro-choice people called "pro-death" or "pro-murder"

"Sanctity / protection of life / the unborn"

"The choice of life"

Women framed as childbearers, mothers, and wives, generally given little worth otherwise

Immigration issues:

"Border security"

"Protecting our society"

"Drug crisis" (which to be fair is a problem, but not the whole of this issue)

Emphasizing Arab / Middle-Eastern immigrants as particularly dangerous

Emphasizing Hispanic immigrants as dangerous

Israel

'The Holy Land'

'God's chosen people'

"Zion"

"The birthplace of Jesus"

"Persecuted"

Empahsizing right to "self-defense"

General topics:

Humility

Modesty (pride dress, sexuality)

Sexual immorality

Sin

Trusting God / not trusting own feelings

Preparation for end times (imminent or mysterious timing depending on who you ask)

"Protecting children"

"Family values"

[livmightlive]

okay I apologize to any Christians, I hope this isn’t offensive but I can’t stop thinking about it 😭

so you know how Christianity is semi-canon in the downfall timeline? Yeah- how would that work???

Christianity exists on Earth because of a long and complicated collision of history and pagan stories and then the death and resurrection of Jesus, a Jewish middle eastern man who was trying to defend his people against Roman oppressors. i know reasonably that Nintendo might’ve not expected that the Zelda series would take off so much so they probably put in some Christian iconology bc the Catholic aesthetic is kind of popular in Japan. It shows up a lot in anime too.

but now there’s a canon religion the series follows with a couple of goddess 😭

my only reasoning is that the Hyrule Christians believe that God is all powerful and that maybe Hylia, Din, Farore, Nayru are either angels or saints? More Catholic I guess

and maybe the hero of Time would be a Jesus figure?? His birth COULD be immaculate, we don’t know his parents. maybe Christianity comes from Calatia? Hylia I think only focuses on Hyrule??

in the Linked Universe I don’t personally head canon Hyrule or Legend to be catholic BUT. I think it would be really funny if they were

Legend calling Hylia a false prophet 😭

Hyrule holding up his cross like: “I prayed to God and now I can see moas”

If Time is downfall Jesus I think they would both probably have a spiritual crisis depending on how devout they both are 😭

also Legend just REALLY gives me Catholic guilt vibes.

When I was a kid my grandmother would have me recite the “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep” prayer which terrified me as a kid 😮‍💨 I feel like Hyrule would recite it every night and it would kind of just unsettle the chain.

PLEASE. Please tell me if anybody has thought the same or has thoughts on how it would work. This has been plaguing my mind

I’m sorry Christians

[hero-israel]

A few months ago I saw a few lgbt horrified at everyone ignoring Hamas members saying that “once we destroy Isreal we will cleanse the area of the degenerate homosexuals!”, a few weeks ago I saw a whole bunch of Venezuelans being shocked and betrayed at how many pro-pali’s criticizing them for taking away attention from Gaza (point blank telling them Palestinian lives are more important), followed by a bunch of Ukrainians showing solidarity with Venezuelans for having the exact same think happen to them once Palestine became more important. And now I’m currently watching major Pro-Palestinian accounts tank their relationships with black people. And not just black Americans, Congolese people are coming out of the woodwork now that people are finally willing to listen to them to express frustration that what is happening to them is always a token at the end of posts about Gaza. Add in Christian groups sick of Pro-pali’s co-opting Jesus, Syrians and Yemenis tired of seeing their tragedies used as propaganda, and non middle easterners in general wondering why they should get dragged into the conflict, and we are certainly heading in a directional I didn’t think we would for another few years. But man these online “activists” sure are making fast work at exhausting all their friendships.

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[maybebi47]

this is silly i know, but sometimes i think about how brennan lee mulligan portrayed Jesus in The Unsleeping City s2

"a young handsome middle eastern man"

the way Jesus greets sofia lee with "happy holidays" on christmas, the way he said he was spending the holidays with as many people as possible, the fact that he just walks up to people and checks in with them and makes sure they're not cold or alone, the fact that he works as a union carpenter in newyork city, the fact that he tells sofia that her husband that she lost still has love for her even after death, the way he is so warm...

it makes me emotional, i wish people knew that this is how jesus was, just a sweet kind palestinian man who took care of people, ya know?

[anamericangirl]

Hi, you are aware 99% of ppl condemning the colonizers are also condemning past colonization yes?

I condem the settler state of Israel. i conem them for what they have done to Palestine,i condem them for how they treat holocaust survivors.

I condem them for using the genocide of their ppl as a reason to cause genocide.

I condemn them for Bombing hospitals full of the sick elderly frail and young. Saying that a building AT OR BELOW SEA LEVEL can have tunnels. (Fun facts we all have “tunnels” it’s called SEWWERS)

You know that they have indiscriminately killed off some of the oldest CHRISTIAN bloodlines yes? Because your savior, the prophet son of god, Jesus was a Palestinian. A middle eastern man. So Ofcourse his first followers, and their descendants would be living in Palestine.

Jews and Muslims and Christians lived and coexisted in PEACE for millennia. And then Israel was formed as a way to get rid of the Jews from Europe in a “humane” manor. As a way to put a western agenda in the Middle East.

I condemn what Jesus would condemn.

And this is not to say I’m gungho Hamas. But if you were constantly being curb stomed. Killed starved imprisoned. You too would get to a point where you would consider violence.

It's amazing how you guys manage to get literally every single fact wrong. It's ok not to know things or not even to know everything, but to know nothing about a cause you are advocating for? And more than that, every single claim you make is false? That's inexcusable.

"I condem the settler state of Israel."

They aren't a settler state. You don't know what a settler state is so you should not use that term until you can do so correctly.

"i conem them for what they have done to Palestine."

What have they done?

"i condem them for how they treat holocaust survivors"

How do you think they treat them?

"I condem them for using the genocide of their ppl as a reason to cause genocide"

You are a massive fucking hypocrite. You acknowledge their people are under threat of genocide without condemning Hamas for trying to genocide them and then you condemn Israel for a genocide they aren't even guilty of.

They are not causing genocide and you're pretty rotten to condemn them for a genocide that's not happening while you refuse to condemn the genocide that you admitted was being attempted.

But I guess you don't care when it's a genocide of Jews, huh?

"I condemn them for Bombing hospitals full of the sick elderly frail and young"

They didn't do that you moron. Hamas, the terrorists you simp for, LIED. That is a verifiable fact.

"Saying that a building AT OR BELOW SEA LEVEL can have tunnels"

lmao glad to see you condemn Israel for this but not Hamas for lying, attempting genocide or using children as human shields you ignorant little terrorist apologist.

"You know that they have indiscriminately killed off some of the oldest CHRISTIAN bloodlines yes."

Prove it.

"Because your savior, the prophet son of god, Jesus was a Palestinian. A middle eastern man. So Ofcourse his first followers, and their descendants would be living in Palestine."

Jesus wasn't Palestinian you ignoramus. Palestine didn't exist. Jesus was a Jew.

"Jews and Muslims and Christians lived and coexisted in PEACE for millennia"

That's bullshit. Muslims have been starting wars with Jews and Christians since they came into existence.

"And then Israel was formed as a way to get rid of the Jews from Europe in a “humane” manor. As a way to put a western agenda in the Middle East."

Again, that's bullshit.

"I condemn what Jesus would condemn."

You don't condemn what Jesus would condemn because you're lying about a country and people under attack and supporting their genocide and Jesus wouldn't do that. Don't use the name of Jesus to try and justify your filth and lies. That's blasphemy.

"And this is not to say I’m gungho Hamas. But if you were constantly being curb stomed. Killed starved imprisoned. You too would get to a point where you would consider violence."

You are gungho Hamas. Everything you accuse Israel of doing to them they have done to Israel and you justify their unjustifiable violence and then lie about Israel. What Hamas does to Israel on the daily is magnitudes worse than anything Israel has ever done so shame on you for standing behind them and lying about Israel to justify the slaughter of Jews. Hamas is lucky to have a moron like you at their disposal to spread their lies and anti-semitism for them.

If Hitler was alive right now you'd be kissing his ass too.

You got nothing right. You are a liar. You are just a nasty, repulsive person who hates Jews and supports terrorism and genocide.

So, from the bottom of my heart, fuck you.

[matan4il]

It's very interesting that anti-Zionists claim to be "anti-colonial" given the arguments I routinely see them use against Jews. For years, I've seen them use full scale blood quantum arguments, for one. Most recently, now that we're fully in "Jesus was a Palestinian" season again, I saw a famous economist claim that "Jesus is genetically closer to Palestinians, (particularly Christians) than to Israelis (0 connection to most groups)," which is false to begin with.

Personally, I'm very sensitive to this kind of argument because I'm a ger. These people go after Jews like us very hard because to them we have the wrong DNA and thus undermine Jewish indigeneity, peoplehood, and history. Even if they concede the genetic evidence of born Jews' ancestral origins, they still point at gerim and any of our descendants as the "fake Jews" who don't belong… anywhere, actually. We don't belong in Israel because we're "foreign interlopers," and we don't belong outside of Israel because we had the gall to become Jews.

It's one type of antisemitism I can't seem to numb myself toward.

Hi Nonnie! Thank you for the ask, and my apologies about how long it's taking me to reply these days. Real life is not currently kind... :(

Okay, I had to roll my eyes so hard at that propaganda lie about Jesus. (found the economist in question, love it when someone who is living as a colonizer on stolen Native American land, has the audacity to goysplain a Jewish man to Jews, who support Jewish native rights. There really is no end to how much Jews just don't count to such people, is there?)

And it really is remarkable how many things he could get wrong in just that one part of his tweet...

Jesus was not a Palestinian, he was a Jew.

If you traveled back in time, and wanted to ask him about being Palestinian, you wouldn't be able to speak to Jesus in Arabic, which is the language of the Palestinians as Arabs, you would have to speak to him in either Hebrew or Aramaic (which is so close to ancient Hebrew, that I can speak some Aramaic simply by virtue of being a native Hebrew speaker) for him to understand you. Because he was a Jew.

If you did speak to Jesus in Hebrew or Aramaic, and asked him about being Palestinian, he wouldn't know what you're talking about, because the Romans would only rename the land Provincia Syria Palaestina in 136 AD, over 100 years after his death. Calling Jesus Palestinian is like saying that Chief Powhatan (probably best known as Pocahontas' father) was a Virginian, just because he was born and lived on territory that would later become Virginia. It's anachronistic, blatantly untrue, and totally imposing colonialist inventions on native people.

To the best of my knowledge NO ONE has dug up Jesus' DNA to compare it to ANY group. This is how you can tell that when he gets to that part, this guy is just blatantly making propaganda up.

Israelis are not one group, but Israeli Jews do test close to other Middle Eastern groups, and closest to other Jewish groups from around the world.

I guess, why settle for one bit of bullshit, when you can go for five?

I find it so interesting that you used the term "blood quantum." For non-Americans, who may not know it, here's a short introduction:

A person's Blood Quantum is the fraction of their ancestors, out of their total ancestors, who are documented as full-blood Native Americans. The blood quantum policy was first implemented by the federal government within tribes to limit native citizenship. However, since 1934, tribes were granted the authority/ability to create their own enrollment qualifications.

I find it interesting, because I keep thinking Jews and First Nations have so much in common, as native peoples. I remember coming across at least two different stories of people being adopted into Native American tribes. Obviously, each first nation has its own rules about it, before and after the colonization of America, but the point is... there is room for someone to become a member of the tribe, not based on blood. Most of the time, membership of the tribe IS based on ancestry, but it isn't limited to that. Some people come and live with the tribe, adopt its customs and way of life, emerge themselves in the values and heritage, embrace its spiritual beliefs, become a member of this community, and then they are adopted in. It's the same with Jews. Most of us are born Jewish, some of us choose to live this lifestyle, embrace the customs, beliefs and culture, go to synagogue, get to know the community, and eventually adopt and are adopted by it. That's the thing. Converting to Judaism isn't just changing your belief system. It's joining a tribe, and changing one's identity through this process of mutual adoption. Converts to Judaism don't take away ANYTHING from the native rights of Jews. On the contrary, this process of conversion is so different to when someone moves from one religion to another (think of how much simpler baptism is, to the long journey of converting to Judaism), precisely because Judaism isn't just a religion, unlike Christianity and Islam. It is an entire, intricate identity that combines multiple aspects, as all ancient, native identities do.

And in this context, think of Americans who are mostly of European descent, and have nothing to do with Native American culture, or way of life, but they can point to having an "exotic" great great great grandfather, who was a Native American chief. From what I've gathered, they would not be considered members of the tribe by most Native American nations. But the person who lives with the tribe, and shares its ways and its fate? That person is recognized as such by the tribe members.

Jews are the same. We are not native just because our ancestors are from Israel. We are also native, because we are the people who have preserved that Israelite identity. We have carried its torch, and passed it on along the generations, and we have shared our light with those, who chose to stand with us, to share our ways, our fate, and the consequences of the horrible hatred aimed at us.

I love you, my fellow tribe member. Thank you for sharing the light, and the burden, together! *sending so much love* xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[demeterdefence]

Thinking about your "Rachel bashing og greek myths" post, methinks she believed herself to be making greek culture a favor similarly to the author of The Phantom of Manhattan, the unofficial sequel to The Phantom of the Opera

In the preface, the author begins by saying that Phantom, unlike Frankenstein or Dracula, barely made a dent in world culture until Andrew Lloyd Webber came along to make the musical, which he considers the "true" version even tho like...it wouldn't exist without the novel! He bashes Gaston Leroux and basically states that his attempt at writing failed miserably and it's like DUDE, again, the musical and your problematic sequel wouldn't even exist without it, and just because it was bigger in France than in the usa it doesn't mean it had zero impact in culture

But of COURSE unless it's usa-approved then it doesn't count and isn't worth anything *sarcasm*

PHENOMENAL point, FANTASTIC point, absolutely true and correct

i can't be a total dick and say this is an issue solely created and implemented by rachel, because we've seen non-western cultures and religions absolutely whitewashed to hell and back - like, people have been drawing jesus of the bible as white for centuries when he was a middle eastern palestinian jewish man, and good god look what the west has done to the religions of india, china, and japan. but it's the way these kinds of stories drip with a sort of smugness in removing the original culture, in depicting it as backwards and broken.

rachel wants to claim she's making a feminist retelling, but the original myth was already feminist. ancient greece didn't pretend their society was not fiercely male dominated and patriarchal, and hades stealing persephone was absolutely in line with the traditional myths - the twist is that demeter wins. demeter punishes the male gods who stole her daughter, and the ferocity of her rage and grief forces hades and zeus to give in. if persephone hadn't eaten the pomegrante seeds, she wouldn't be in the underworld at all! this is a story that is so clearly a triumph for the mothers and daughters of ancient greece, of many worlds over, because it depicted explicitly that a mother's love was more powerful than even the gods. and rachel pisses all over that.

literally even going beyond that, looking at the society that is olympus and the underworld - all the technology they use, all the innovations they have. who exactly is making these??? where exactly is the material coming from??? you can handwave away most of the inventions by saying it's magic, but we've seen demeter talk about algebra, which was invented in the ninth century by a muslim scholar from persia. in speedrunning to this so called perfect modernized world, rachel actually erases the cultural offerings and developments of dozens of other ancient worlds, and kind of just gives the credit to the underworld, which is run by a slave driver.

persephone constantly bemoans the dullness of the mortal realm, and prefers to literally lounge around doing nothing, when the mortal realm is inventing the olympic games, the democratic forum, FOOTBALL. you have thousands of things to show the gods involved in - largely because the gods were the patrons!!! why do we never see zeus looking over the olympic games??? they happen in his sanctuary!!!

like the disdain rachel has for ancient greece is insane. she can't even bother to research the food typical of the time period, seeing as she writes persephone being looked down on for being vegetarian when vegetables were a key and staple diet of ancient greece. one could argue that a vast majority of ancient greece were vegetarian by general habit. she's baking cheesecake and french desserts and having fast food and carrot cake and maybe - maybe - she'll mention baklava. the ancient greeks are FAMOUS for their art, but we sure wouldn't know that from lore olympus. the only character who even references ancient greek music is apollo, with his lyre, and that's not exactly a ringing endorsement.

and this is not to say that an adaption has to follow the ancient text to a t - that's just not feasible and no one is expected to do so. but there's really something to how rachel does dismiss or ignore the canonical importance of so many of these stories to replace them with a western interpretation. even the therapy speak is grating. in episode 227, when persephone is talking about the concept of virginity, she's absolutely correct in pointing out how that's largely a social construct - but in light of the world she lives in and the world she helps control, the same idea could have been reached through means other than americanized psych talk.

so often, people will look back at the ancient world and think we are morally superior because we do not have the same views, or we have seemingly "developed." that is a view i abhor, because it removes the very act of learning and developing and understanding. rachel really talked big about how removing the incest of ancient greece made the story better, but incidentally, she managed to also take out the feminism, and literally the entire lgbt culture of ancient greece. apollo was even considered the patron of homosexuality! he was called to bless same-sex unions! zeus had DOZENS of male lovers; ares, hephestus, and hermes had known male relationships, and several of the ancient heroes and gods of greek mythology were described in terms we would refer to as transgender in modern times.

if rachel had gone "i'm writing a love story that's originally inspired by the myth of persephone and hades but it's very much modern and removed from the myths" that would be one thing, and i would not be bristling at that; myths have inspired countless stories over the centuries and will continue to do so for centuries to come. the problem is rachel wants to claim a rooting in these myths with zero understanding of how they work or why they work, and absolutely lets her contempt for the ancients shine through in every single aspect of her comic. it's gross and it's petty and she deserves none of the self-appointed "mythology expert" she's given herself.

[theoddest1]

Rant Warning:

I know a many people have been saying the designs of the characters in hazbin hotel sucks which is true, like non of the sinners wear accurately in their time periods they died. I get Viv can do whatever she wants, but the most effort she could try is to research, RESEARCH, Viv, girl I know research is hard and it takes time but at least try to be mature when handling a criticism, and stop acting like a spoiled rich kid... (Bro lietrally Sir pentious is wearing a f-ing suit and bow tie, Viv where's the steampunk theme? Give my snake man a drip!)

This is where I am gonna nitpicky for no reason.

And then there goes to heaven- Okay I know I'll make people go mad at me so... Yikes, I don't mind heaven, it's actually better than hells design. The background looks angelic and amazing mostly the golden gate, but not exactly I think it would look like in my perspective cause again Heaven just looks like a average city with pastels colors.

The angels designs are meh.. I don't like the exorcist designs and Adams. Mostly Adam's golden wings apparently have stripes that my eyes got too eyestrain by the amount of unnecessary details that's already happening in this show.

The seraphim sisters, Sera and Emily are nice really, they don't have that curse forbid red candy color slapped at their designs, although I would like a bit of variety color other than blue or umm gray yikes.. I have nothing to say other than their dress is reminding me of Stella's dress. Idk if I should be concerned with this or I am the only one who think Viv just recycle Stella's dress and threw it at them.. That's my theory.

As for St. Peter..... BOI did they did him dirty- (this is just a me thing.) HE JUST LOOK LIKE SOME RANDOM WHITE DUDE? AND YOUR TELLING ME ITS HIM?? NAH UH!

This could've been solved if they just made st.peter design accurate, like his a (middle?) eastern Jewish fisherman and a old man, not some twink. I have a bad feeling the disciplines and jesus design ain't gonna look good, but I know fully well Viv won't bother to put them in her disastrous show.. Not even God.. But if she did then were doom.

That's all, sorry for the nonsense I was spewing.

Have a good day and night!

You're good! Sorry for taking so long to answer this ask. It was long, and I wanted to take my time reading it when I could, and for the most part, I agree with this, especially with ST Peter. His design is hideous.

The only one I kinda disagree with is that Heaven's design is good. I feel that it is indeed better, colorwise, but other than that, it's too similar to Hell with it being a city and all. It's very unoriginal as a result and shows a lack of creativity on Viv's part. The colors are pretty cool, tho, but I believe it may have the effect of looking cooler only cause we are so used to the overused pallets of Hell with the constant reds. [I still respect your opinion, it's valid af!]

[major-toast]

Wolfstar Microfic - Hellbent

@wolfstarkinktober2024 // day 31: hate sex // 2121 words // mdni

Yes, I know. This one ended up a tad too long. But I don't want to upload anything that is under 4k words to ao3. My weird mind simply works that way. Nonetheless, I'm sure as hell not missing out on a opportunity to post some casual hate sex microfic. Also, don't mind me reuploading this. There was an editing error. My apologies xx

SHORT DISCLAIMER (before anyone comes for my ass): This is part of toxic wolfstar™. The entire purpose of these characters is to be the worst possible versions of themselves. I'd never write either of them the way they are presented here unless it is explicitly in the context of toxic wolfstar™. Furthermore, I do not condone any of these actions. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Remus is on a rampage. Boiling, seething, and ready to tear everything to shreds. All it needs to do is stand in his way. With the paper a pathetic crumple inside his clenched fist, he is working his jaw, burning holes into everyone crossing his path. It’s enough to scare the desk lady into letting him pass with a simple raise of his ID. The elevator ride feels like torture with every passing second.

Two fast strides – more it doesn’t take for him to reach the door with the shining letters ‘659’. Not even hesitating, he starts banging against the polished wood; demanding, hungry.

Remus Lupin is on a mission and he is not ready to back down.

“Jesus fucking Christ. I already told you-“

The words get stuck inside Sirius’ throat as he realises who is standing before him. Remus almost breaks out in triumphant laughter as he sees the unfiltered shock and confusion flashing in those sparkling silver diamonds. But, as of now, he is not in the mood for laughter. No, Sirius made sure of that. He and his gorgeous hair, devilish smile and soft, smooth skin that Remus wants to sink his fucking teeth in.

“Did not expect me, did you?” he growls, only gripping the paper tighter until his veins start to budge. With great satisfaction, he witnesses Sirius grow a little paler. His eyes wander down to Remus’ hands and up again. He swallows.

“How did you get in here? What the actual fuck do you think you’re doing? Get out before I start calling security.”

Surprisingly, there is still the ever-present defiance inside Sirius’ tone, calm and stubborn. It only riles Remus up more.

“Oh, you’d love to know, wouldn’t you?” Remus taunts, lodging his foot between the door and frame as Sirius tries to slam it shut in front of his face. Using bare strength alone, he wrenches the entrance open wide enough to slip in. Immediately, Sirius takes a couple of steps back, only growing paler with fear.

How beautiful he is. Messy black hair is falling down his back and into his eyes, which are a beacon of silver adorning this oh-so-delicate face. Rosy, parted lips are scrambling for words and Remus would have loved to watch them move for all eternity, making all those angelic noises, if he hadn’t been so caught up on the robe draped over Sirius’ exquisite frame, tied sacrilegiously at the waist, and highlighting his sharp hip bones.

It’s a lovely shade of red, deep and velvet, like pomegranates in the Middle Eastern sun. The thin fabric reveals enough to spark even the wildest imaginations, yet not enough to keep one satisfied.

Soon enough, Remus will rip that fabric off with his teeth. Oh, he is sure. But not now. Now, he is still too angry.

“What do you think you’re playing at, huh?” he snarls, the door falling shut behind him with a loud thud as he waves the paper in front of Sirius’ face.

‘Supernova Sirius Black Spotted with New Lover’ the headline reads. ‘Who Is the Mysterious Man Behind the Dazzling Smile?’

Remus hadn’t been able to think straight ever since Peter flopped the paper down in front of him at the breakfast table, grinning that Peter grin that only ever means trouble.

“Is this why you’re all so dressed up, Black? For him? I bet you’re not even wearing anything underneath these expensive robes, little slut that you are. It’s really fucking pathetic.”

For the first time since Remus’ sudden appearance, Sirius looks him in the eye. A mocking smile curls his pretty lips.

“Or”, he says with a haughty raise of his chin, “you’re just pissed you never got the sight that he is getting. What? Never heard of actions having consequences, Lupin?”

“Damn right, I have.”

And with that, Remus starts moving forward, determined once more. Sirius is left with nothing aside from taking more steps back. His back hits the wall once they reach the other side of the room. Remus is on him in an instant, crowding him in.

“Don’t you think I don’t know what you’re doing? Taunting me? Riling me all up?”, he murmurs lowly, reaching out to gently caress Sirius’ cheek. Having run out of smart words, Sirius can only stare up at him. Smiling, Remus trails his thumb over the other man’s lips, wondering what they taste like. Cigarettes maybe. Or wine.

“But you don’t have to, sweetheart. You know I am all yours. Always. And I know that you’re always mine. No matter what the press says.”

“You’re delusional”, Sirius scoffs, finally bringing up the courage to push back against him. It doesn’t do much as Remus remains unmovable, simply grabbing his wrists and pinning them above his head. The time for games is over.

“I know you want me”, Remus continues, lodging his knee between Sirius’ legs, gently pressing against his crotch. A low hiss escapes Sirius. It awakens something inside of Remus. Something desperate for more. “I’ve seen the way you look at me. How you’re making sure I follow your every move whenever you perform. I know the magazine cover was just another of your honey-sweet taunts. So was the trick with the perfume. But what for? If you wanted my attention so badly, all you needed to do was ask. You know you’ve never been out of my mind. Not once.”

“Remus, I-“

“Shhh, baby. It’s okay. I want you too. God, I want you so much.”

Leaning down until his lips find the sensitive juncture of Sirius’ neck and shoulder, he uses all his weight to keep Sirius in place. Hungrily, he starts nipping at his warm skin, not stopping until the first bruise starts forming underneath his lips. Unable to move, laboured breaths turn into bitten-back moans, and Remus revels in the way how needy it makes Sirius sound.

“Look at you”, Remus sighs into the crook of his neck, pressing adoring kisses up to the shell of his ear. “So lovely, so beautiful. Every man who wouldn’t fall for you is a fool. But you won’t belong to any of them. No. You’ll always be mine.”

Turning his head, he captures Sirus’ lips with his own before the other man can answer anything he has said. And Remus doesn’t need him to. The way his body responds, with his hips grinding ever so slightly against Remus’ knee, the choked-up moans, and tongue sliding past teeth, Remus has the answer, that he was looking for. It delights him.

Carefully, he releases one hand, curiously wandering down the warm flesh pressed against him. Loosening the tie on the robe, he slips it past the fabric, pushing it aside. A small whimper can be heard from Sirius, and Remus cannot help but take it as an invitation. Tracing taunting circles across the inner side of his thigh and panting into Sirius’ opened, desperate mouth, he lifts his lover’s leg and hooks it across his waist. He wants to feel him better, see him better.

And what a sight Sirius truly is.

His face is flushed and his hair is dishevelled. Ivory skin glints with pearls of sweat, accentuated by the shimmering red of the silk robe. Dreamy, half-lidded eyes watch Remus move about while his chest heaves breathlessly. Gripping Sirius’ upper thigh firmly to keep him where he wants him, Remus lets go of his hands, surging forward for another hungry kiss.

Sirius’ fingers immediately wind into his hair, clawing at the curls, pulling him in. Enamoured, Remus lifts him up until both his legs are wrapped securely around his waist. Then, he carries him off, tumbling towards the couch in the middle of the living room.

Flopping Sirius down, Remus is quick to climb on top of him, drinking in the sight of the robe slowly falling off his shoulders, offering his body up to him, while he takes off his shirt. Kissing him some more, he circles one arm around Sirius’ waist, pressing their bodies closer together, and moves his hips against Sirius’ in feverish motions. Moaning and whimpering, their dance soon turns into a waltz of clawing nails, angry snarls and biting teeth. Yet, Remus doesn’t let him go. He wants all of this. He wanted it for far too long.

Hot and breathless, he reaches down once more, gripping Sirius’ cock and slowly starting to stroke it just the way he knows he likes it; moving up to the tip only to stop right before he reaches it and back again, teasing. Growing pliant underneath him with his back arching, mouth hanging open and eyes rolling back only a bit, Sirius lets him have his way. Remus cannot stop himself from grinning.

“You like that, huh? I knew it.”

“Fuck… you.”

“Oh, baby. You are reading my mind.”

Pulling down both his trousers and underwear to the back of his knees, Remus starts wanking off to the show Sirius is now performing for him. And, unlike all these where times where he kept taunting him on stage – dressed in the tightest of fits, moving his body across the floor like a desperate whore, hitting those delicious high notes still burnt into the most hidden parts of Remus’ brain -, this time it’s solely for him.

Bringing himself almost to a clean finish with a needy groan wrenching its way out of his lungs, he reaches for the bowl of condoms conveniently placed on the table atop the couch, rolling one over himself without much hesitation. Once he looks back, he can find Sirius watching him with the deadly and hungry precision of a starved dog. Remus’ chest swells with pride and burns with desire just the same.

“You know”, he tells Sirius, lifting him by his waist and pulling him closer to his hips, “I have dreamt about this moment ever since you first came back on stage, wearing this black garment. Multiple times, I have seen you in my sleep, just like you are now. And you know what, Sirius?”

“What?” Sirius breathes back, voice shaky with anticipation.

“Even if you tell me to fuck off once we’re done, you’ll not be rid of me yet. I will only have tasted blood. I’ll want more. And I will not stop until I have you back at my side.”

Laughing, Sirius shakes his head. “That’s not going to-“

Remus never gets to hear Sirius’ words as he’s pushing inside of him right this moment, successfully cutting him off. And to say that it feels good is a fucking understatement. Even a missile launcher wouldn’t have been able to shoot Remus off this cloud that he ultimately finds himself on. Curses roll off his lips as his hips start to move, fucking Sirius with every bit of burning passion and hateful desire pent up over all this teasing and taunting. Even as Sirius, moaning and squirming, lets his hands claw into Remus’ back, scratching it angry and raw, he doesn’t stop. Even as the orgasm ripples through Sirius, forcing him to let his head fall in a pathetic groan, Remus does not let go. He fucks him until the moaning and whimpering turns into blabbered nonsense and tear-stained cheeks. He fucks him until Remus himself is exhausted and spent, falling on top of Sirius’ paralysed and bruised body with a shaky sigh.

For a minute, maybe ten, they lie next to each other, struggling for breath. However, stubborn as he is, Sirius is the first to bear his wits. Slipping out of Remus’ arms, he pulls out the robe from underneath him and dresses himself back on.

“Are you happy now?” he asks through gritted teeth, not looking at Remus as he has his back turned towards him. Remus can only smile up at him adoringly.

“I could have not asked for more.”

“Good. Now get the fuck out of my sight.”

The smile turning smug, Remus does as he’s asked, putting his clothes back on. However, Sirius remains stoic, not giving him the satisfaction of looking him in the eye. Not once, and not even as Remus is heading for the door. Satisfied, he throws his shirt casually over his shoulder, showing off the bleeding scratch marks like a badge of honour. The whole world shall see what Sirius Black can do when edged on long enough.

“I know you’ll call me anyway”, he admits into the silence of the room, the triumphant feeling not leaving his body. “No matter how good your mystery lover is, he’ll never be able to make you moan like I can. Of that, I am certain.”

Sirius doesn’t answer, doesn’t have to.

This time, Remus knows he has won.