#like my personal feelings about religion have nothing to do with this attitude. due to there's different bibles.

[hypokeimena]

me chanting to myself not everyone has to care about the bible

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

What do you think of the idea that male misogyny is rooted in male insecurity, esp sexually? Like that women can give birth, have multiple orgasms, and the fact that penises/balls are generally very vulnerable? Like we see all this inverted in our patriarchal culture, esp about how pussies can be "destroyed" etc when we know vaginas can take so much more than penises (just a fact). You've had a lot of sex with men, do you have any opinion on the link between male sexuality and psychology?

This is obviously my personal thoughts. I'll say what I think at present, but one post is not the end of the discussion as this is a complex social situation that continues to evolve over time.

Misogyny is about control.

I don't think it's a stretch for me to say that misogyny is a result of humanity choosing patriarchy as the primary social system for civilization. Humans are emotional creatures, and we take those emotions and build them into justifications for our behavior and our complex ideals. Misogyny is hatred, contempt, and/or prejudice towards women. To maintain a new social system, those in power will attempt to create an environment where any other other choice is unable to destroy the status quo in order to maintain their current standing. Hostility between status is, of course, one of the easiest ways to acheive this.

As you have probably seen by now, humans do not like the destruction of status quo no matter how fucked up it is. We are resistant to change, especially mentally. We might tack on biological reasoning, divine reasoning (religion), and all the other reasonings on why we continue to maintain such social systems but honestly these all feel retroactive. Men wanted the positions of power. To do so, they need control over the masses, and what became the most efficient way to do so over time was to create a prevailing negative attitude towards women. Emotional manipulation is much more effective and long-lasting than logical proofs.

The reasons you listed are reasons men use to justify their misogyny. Unquestionably, these things do occur (although men can have multiple orgasms, maybe they should try and not be so sensitive? hmmmm), but if insecurity was the root of misogyny then teaching men to be more logical would resolve the issue. It wouldn't, though. Misogyny is irrational. We can be more existential about it and say misogyny is a result of men realizing their existence is directly due women birthing them. However, humans are a sexual species, not asexual. The two sexes cannot survive without the other. It is possible ancient humans did not know about this, so I can't completely say they had this knowledge. At the very least current humans do have this knowledge so there's no excuse there.

Deciding on societal systems is not inherently a bad idea. Anarchy wouldn't get us anywhere. Anarchy also is hard to achieve. Humans are beings of complex cognition. We innately search for organization as a means to better navigate our brains. Patriarchy is not a bad idea but definitely has had bad consequences. There's nothing wrong with men having positions of power if they all care equally for everyone. If matriarchy had became the primary social system, would we be complaining about misandry instead? Remember, you currently already have the knowledge of what patriarchy looks like today. Women in positions of power today are also generally aware of the effects of misogyny over their lifetimes. If the reverse had been happening for their entire lives, their resulting attitudes today would be different. Hindsight is 20/20. Life could be better, but there's also a very real chance that it could be had as bad or worse. Power always corrupts.

From a pure logic standpoint, it doesn't make sense to make the differences between sexes a point of contention. It does, in fact, everyone's lives more difficult. The conventional way of giving birth on your back is less optimal than allowing gravity to assist in childbirth as it does with most animals. Less pressure on organs and the spine, reduced chance of vaginal tears, the list goes on. It would therefore make more sense to design solutions to assist with the most optimal way of giving birth. Instead, we ended up creating solutions for a less optimal way. Seems inefficient and irrational.

On the topic of orgasms, I am going to say this: people who have multiple orgasms are people who have taken the time to explore their sexuality beyond just getting the nut. There are also plenty of pussy-wielders who have a refactory period because they feel too sensitive after orgasm. I can't think of an evolutionary or biological reason for pussy to always have more orgasms. Sexual pleasure is often more mental than physical (perceived power, lust, love, etc). Funnily enough, men generally ignoring women's sexual needs have instinctively driven women to better educate themselves, creating a desire to connect with one's inner sexuality.

But also I don't have sex with outwardly misogynistic men. You're right in that I don't have that sample size.

If injury to penis+balls is a genuine worry, it would make sense for available protection to be prevalent. It is in sports but not into day-to-day. Can also make the argument that women's breasts are just as vulnerable. Most women don't wear corsets or padded bras anymore, so...? If this is someone's thought process, wear a padded jockstrap every day then. Everyone will think you have a bigger dick, too. Whatever happens after that, well, good luck.

Male insecurity is a product of misogyny. It doesn't make sense to feel insecure about something that you have no control over unless you desire to have that control.

No matter what gender you are, conventional gender roles have played a part in who you are today. I am not saying men are better than women, women are better than men, or that non-binary / agender / other gender people are best (the last catagory have probably thought the most about how gender roles impacted their lives though). I am saying that misogyny is an emotional result of patriarchal societies. It is a result of a desire to control the narrative. Insecurity is also a result of a desire to control. Is wanting a measure of control over your life a bad thing? No, I don't think so. Is wanting a measure of control over your life at the expense of other people a bad thing? Well. Is wanting to control the narratives of other people's lives a good thing? Why do so many people seem to think it is? Hm.

I personally think cooperation is more fruitful than turning life into a contest. We set ourselves back by constantly comparing and trying to one-up each other. Why is the prevailing attitude not adaptability towards our differences but contention? We have become too used to accepting antagonization without well-rounded reasoning. It is true that dissatisfaction leads to change but dissatisfaction often goes hand-in-hand with suffering. Sigh.

[fabulousraven]

A Child Is Listening: A Reflective Essay from the film "Prayers for Bobby"

Prayers for Bobby is a televised drama film that premiered on the Lifetime network on January 24, 2009. The movie is based on Leroy F. Aarons' book of the same name, which is based on the life and legacy of Bobby Griffith, a gay teen who perished in 1983 as a result of his mother's prejudice. Bobby Griffith is portrayed by Ryan Kelley, and Mary Griffith is portrayed by Sigourney Weaver. The film received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for various academy awards.

The challenges of being a homosexual in a traditional family were explored in the movie. Tragically, the events depicted in the film are still occurring today. There are still individuals who like Bobby Griffith. The family's favorite grandchild, Bobby, later came to terms with his homosexuality, which caused him to drift away from his religious family. I observed at the beginning of the movie that everyone is homophobic, starting with her grandmother. I came to understand that it's possible to embrace someone else's beliefs after spending a lot of time with them. even more so if it is your parent.

They are one of the persons who are molding you while you are still learning, growing, and exploring. Mary's homophobia, in my opinion, resulted from both her reading of the Bible and the family she was up in. She was raised by a homophobic mom. She aged like it. Due to his homophobic environment, Bobby developed the belief that being gay is a sin. Your attitude is shaped by the people you surround yourself with.

It is hard when your own parents do not value your individuality and discourage you from being yourself because they want you to at least resemble them. Sometimes, parents can be so selfish and thoughtless. This film really demonstrates that religion shouldn't be a justification for making other people miserable; rather, it should be a roadmap to becoming a better version of yourself. It is not irreverent or, God forbid, anti-religious. It is a message that includes God's genuine teachings for everyone who decides to follow him.

If I were to connect my circumstances to Kulber-Ross's Stages of Grief, I would begin with Denial. At this point, we often want to escape the circumstances we find ourselves in and fantasize instead. I could identify with this since there have been instances when I have chosen to ignore reality and simply exist in a bubble in an effort to feel better. I would simply lie in bed all day and do nothing in the hopes that my issues would disappear. Anger is the next stage. I can kind of connect to this because there have been times when I've vented my rage on something in an effort to feel better. The third stage is Bargaining, during which you regret it and wish it would never happen. I can still clearly remember praying to God for signs that would help me overcome my issues and understand why they had to arise in the first place. Depression is the fourth stage, where you withdraw from others and question whether you really want to live. To be completely honest, I would not claim that I have actually experienced this at this point because my depression runs deeper than we initially thought. Acceptance is the final stage, where you regain the will to live and accept the circumstances, the point at which you accept the new reality and move on.

This movie is about how important it is for people to accept and love us for who we are. It showed how some parents completely lack preparation for family life and cause devastation around them. Not all parents deserve the children they have. This movie illustrates the damage that ignorance creates. This film has given me a lot to think about, and I think all parents and even teenagers should watch it. There are a lot of Janes and Bobbys in the world. May they all be surrounded by more kind and understanding individuals who will encourage them to develop and thrive. Homosexuality is not a disease to be cured. 

"Change is not something you can avoid or pretend is not there, We all need to embrace it and faced it head-on." - Jay Shetty

[jt-artsandfics]

I’m 22 years old. I’m a female and I go by she/her pronouns. I’m 5 ft exactly and have a petite pear shaped body (smaller upper torso and bigger lower half). I also have light tan skin, green eyes and long, brown, wavy hair styled with full front bangs. I’d say my favorite part of my body are my hands and my thighs.

I am quiet. I observe and I don’t say much unless I feel it necessary. However, if I’m with close friends or family members I will speak more. I’m more of the support in a group and enjoy working behind the scenes. As for mental health, I struggle with depression and anxiety and I don’t do well with having lots of attention. I’m pretty melancholic. I’ve always just felt a constant sadness even if I’m experiencing happy emotions. Very loud and sudden noises also freak me out and I sometimes have to stand to the side and focus on my breathing to calm myself down. Sometimes the sound of people talking constantly and being loud can make me panicky.

I love studying world history, art history, different cultures, and religions. I’m an artist and I’m skilled in drawing, designing, and photography. I am also currently learning piano. I can play the flute and acoustic guitar. I love to read, write, and watch movies. I love fashion too and I love putting together outfits. I would say my style is cozy and dark but feminine.

I would say I’m a family person and I’m super loyal to those I love. I love kids and I hope to have some of my own one day. I really want to be a mother.

As for physical intimacy? Well, I’m really anxious about being super touchy in public. (I don’t know, it was always just frowned upon in my family.) anyways, I get scared of making others angry by being touchy with my loved one and I can only kiss for so long in public. In short, I’m really touch starved and I crave intimacy badly, but again it’s my fault for being too scared to express anything in public. I do like to be kissed, preferably on my neck. I also like having my thighs squeezed like dough and also behind head from behind in a hug <33

I match you with.... Crosshair

Crosshair and you both have alot in common and it is what brings you close. And how you both end up together. The dislike for physical touch and he's afraid he will hurt you.

Crosshair had been thought alot. Being poked and watched by the kaminoans for being 'different' even from his brothers. It's crossed over to him now. The reasons for the cold attitude and not wanting to be touched.

He takes notice of how quite you are first. It puts him on edge becuase he's the quite one of the bad batch. She he is constantly watching you so you do not cause harm to him or his brothers.

Once he does become comftable with you it's the little things that mean alot to the both of you. He will sit in the same room as you just a little closer then normal. His eyes focusing on everything to make sure nothing can harm you. The little twitches in his hands show his discomfort of not having control over everything around him.

You both suffer from different things. Cross being PTSD, trauma, skin conditions due to his Albinism and other more physical and mental health issues.

Crosshair anxiety is out of the roof of the ship and out in space. He's the most paranoid of his brothers and for good reason. His intuition has saved you and his brothers multiple times.

The both of you flinch at bombs and loud noises Cross is better at hiding it. But it's the time were he will be the closes not wanting to deal with it by himself or let you suffer by yourself.

You have multiple photos and drawings of Crosshair. He tries not to pry but he knows the sound of a camera click and sometimes he quickly turns to look at you. Images flashing before his eyes before he calms down realising it is you.

The longest conversation he had with you before you both became involved is him a asking you if you could design a tattoo for him.

Hearing you play the piano is something he will never forget. A mission which involved a senator. They were protection for said senator and he heard the light sound soft music which lead him to you. Fingers dancing across the keys. His eyes watching your every moment.

Watching you wirh kids makes him ache inside becuase it's something he would love but he doesn't think he would suit it. He has to much trauma and wouldn't want a kid to get that from him. But he does dream of the mission which lead you all to a small village out in the middle of nowhere.

The first time his holds your hand is an experience for the both of you. It's gentle, watching holosfilms and your hand brushed against his. You go to apologise and he just stares at your fingers as he gentle grabs your hand lining it up to his as he interlinked his fingers with yours.

Nothing is said but nothing needs to be.

Crosshair is tossing and turning again. He always does we they return to Kamino. Your eyes watch him from across the room, his breathing is erratic as his eyes flicker under his eyelids.

Slowly and cautiously you approach him. You can see the small beads of sweat forming across his forehead. With a bit of courage you sit down on the side of his bed. Careful not to touch him in case he loses out.

"Crosshair... Cross, wake up. Your having a nightmare" you call lightly hoping he will wake up with a light call. His eyes snap open as he looks around the the dark room his eyes shooting to your bed and the panic in his eyes when you aren't on it.

"Cross, I'm here. I'm safe, your safe" you call lightly as his eyes quickly flick to you and then his brothers mapping out where they each are.

His breathing begins to settle as his eyes focus now on you. They are quite pale compared to his brothers another part of his 'mutation' as the kaminoans called it. "I... I'm fine" he says moving to lay back down. He doesn't feel you move from his bed so he turns to face you.

"May I touch you?" Your voice is low but he hears you. He gives a quick nod as you move closer. A hand rest lightly against his outstretched one. He twitches lightly at the contact but doesn't move away.

Cross takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment before they focus back on you. His other had comes up to lightly brush your shoulders which makes you shiver. He frowns lightly before beginning to pull away. " You can touch me. Sorry just haven't really had much human contact recently" you reply and he nods. He brings his hand up enough to just brush thought some of your hair.

"Do you want me to stay tonight?" You say with a small tilt to your head as his hand that holds yours pulls you closer. "I....yes" he replys as he lets you moves to lay down beside him.

The tension between you both seems to grow until he places a shake hand on your waist as you curl up against his chest not wishing to cause him to much discomfort.

"The dreams, are they about the experiments they did to you?" You ask lightly. Crosshair sighs, his eyes are closed the bags under them are quite visible to You.

"If it isn't them it's missions that went sideways or nightmares about losing you.. or them" he says pressing the side of face further into the pillow.

"I'm hear to chase your demons away if you can chase mine away for me" you whisper lightly which makes him smile a little.

"Always Cyare"

[kickingasssince98]

Ikèmen Vampire OC:

The Dark Temptor

Marquis de Sade

Birthday: June, 2nd

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Height: 1.90 cm

Past Occupation: Nobleman & Libertine Novelist

Vampire Type: Lesser Vampire

"Do tell me all your sins, little dove. I can't erase them for you, but I sure can make you become proud of them..."

Background:

Donatien Alphonse François, also known simply as the Marquis de Sade, is a French nobleman, ex-revolutionary politician and philosopher who had became (in)famous for his scandalous erotic writings, which combined philosophical discourse with pornography, depicting sexual fantasies with an emphasis on violence, suffering, sodomy, crime, and blasphemy against religion.

De Sade spent almost half of his life in jail and later in an insane asylum as punishment for his freedom of thinking, but he was revived as a vampire by his old friend, le Comte de Saint-Germain, and brought to live in the 19th century together with him and his other well known historical residents.

Detached, indifferent and covered in mystery, De Sade seems like a very unapproachable man.

However, even the Devil himself was once a beautiful angel...

Appearence:

Messy neck-lenght, strawberry red hair with silver gray bangs

Tall and well-built

Eye color: Charcoal black

Has a long scar over his right eye

Black cross piercings in both his ears as a mocking simbolism to the fact that he's a vampire and that the cross had been used in the past by the romans as a torture device

Personality:

I will start this up mentioning that De Sade is not everyone's cup of tea most often than not. He's a very difficult person to be around to at first. He came back to life full of barely surpressed anger thanks to the trauma of his past, seeking out and picking fights just for the sake of it. So don't be too surprised to find out that he's not getting along with anyone in the mansion, not even with the sweetheart that is Vincent van Gogh and that is saying a lot...

Spiteful. He has a personal beef with Napoleon especially, due to the fact that our boy Leon, when he was the emperor, was the one who ordered the arrest of the anonymous author of the infamous novels "Justine" and "Juliette" and imprisoned him without a trial. De Sade is not the one to forgive and forget that easily...

But he's very intelligent and wise

Rafined and full of grace...

Listen... Thanks to him the term "sadism" was invented. He's yandere self is top notch and can make Shakespeare feel like a walk in the park any day, so choose your battles carefully around this guy

Sarcastic most of the time

And he's a man of a few words. Doesn't like to waste his breath and time explaining himself and is very anti-social

On the reverse of the coin, if you get to know him better, you gonna find out that he's a very sad and depressed person

Wanting nothing more than someone to accept him with all his flaws and traumas, someone who's willing to not judge him for the simple fact that he just wanted to explore the nature of the humanity with all its darkness and sins and speak freely about it...

Hobbies:

Writing, philosophy, politics, dancing waltz, taking long walks on the garden at midnight

Likes:

Fine clothes, luxury, comfortable and cosy beds

Dislikes:

The taste of champagne, birds, hypocrisy, being restrained to can't speak his mind directly

In Love:

Like I said above, Donatien is a very difficult person to approach at times due to his rough past. But this doesn't mean that, when a certain little human lady walks into the mansion through that mysterious door just Le Comte seems to use it, he's not as curious and interested like the rest of the vampires. Actually, he's the second character MC meets after Napoleon.

Picture it (Sicily, 1922... Lol, jk, but if you know, you know😉) after hiding behind a curtain, Napoleon's trying to find a way to help her out... Only to meet the owner of the footsteps that had made Leon going into hiding in the first place. A long arm coated in dark green velvet reach out, leaning its palm on the wall next to MC and Napoleon's heads, cutting their way of exit, a tall shadow looming over them

"My, my... And what do we have here? Why, Vôtre Majesté... the handsome man with bloody red hair who the arm belonged to couldn't help a sardonic grin to lift up a corner of his mouth. Sneaking mistresses into the house at night? I must say, I have expected this from that dim wit of a womanizer, but from you? I'm shocked really... Speechless"

From that encounter alone you're in for one hell of an emotional roller-coaster.

You can't help it but being attracted and fascinated by his darkness from the beginning...

Lots of angst? Sure. Lots of drama? You can bet. His dark eyes, black as the sins his at fault for, hides more than just harsh and mean, empty words to keep himself at distance.

If he falls in love, De Sade will give gladly and selfless everything that he is to you. He's a yandere so expect to be super possessive with you, to want you for himself.

He will tie and bond you to him (sometimes literally if you're into this, after all he's one of the pioneers of bdsm *wink*), keeping you safely into his arms, cuddling and opening his heart to you as time goes by and your relationship evolves into one of full intimacy

He'll respect and seek for you, adore you and protect you with all that he has, you're his world, his one and only true love that he ever known...

Trivia/Fun facts:

The long, ugly scar he have on the right side of his eye is the result of an old fight he got himself into in his "glory days" as a convict in Bastille. He might tell you the story if he trust you well enough

After all the years living in prison, sleeping on cold floors covered in rotten hay, smelling of igrasion and wearing a rag of a jail uniform, De Sade developed almost an obsession for fine stuff like clothes and smooth, cosy and so comfortable beds that he can feel himself sinking into them, things that offers him comfort, warmth and a sense of safety

He's one hell of a ballroom dancer, waltz being a personal favorite. If you're invited to a ball in the 19th century make sure to ask him for dancing lessons, you won't regret it. He'll make you a pro in a blink of an eye :)))

Even though he appears like a total jerk and some people will state that he is a real, scandalous monster, he can be a real charmer if (and when) he wants. He's a nobleman after all, he's a gentleman by default and can easily rival Le Comte smooth attitude if he cares to show his true colors to the right person

Being brought back to life as a vampire haven't made De Sade wanting to blend in with his new existence so he hadn't even bothered trying to find a new identity like his other house mates had for themselves. He prefer to go by his title of birth and if someone asks him out of pure curiosity he is his own "descendent". He's amused that even to this days some pleope whispers about him - his "ancestor" - with fear and contempt

He posess a ball python snake as a pet that goes by the name of Jaunir and De Sade has a real sadistic pleasure to let her roam around the house to scare the other residents. Sometimes you can see him wearing Jaunir roped around his neck like a scarf

[4thsun]

What connects the Square/”incompatible” signs

Aries and Cancer: Both are extremely caring and loyal to a fault. Even if their ways of nurture sometimes clash, each one of them is someone who would kill for their loved ones and wouldn’t hesitate to fight someone for them. Both of them are leaders, albeit in different ways. The Aries is a stereotypical leader, the strong and loud one of the pack, wanting to protect their people from the front while the Cancer prefers to be in the back and be the glue in their friend circle, being there to care and nurture everyone from the shadows and make sure they feel alright. Also, both can tend to be quite immature, especially emotion wise and can sometimes tend to be selfish when upset.

Taurus and Leo: In my experience, these are actually quite similar signs. Stubborn to a fault, extremely caring and kind, but also the capacity to be cruel and vindictive when angered. Usually self-centered, they can overlook other people’s needs, but not on purpose. They can be labeled as attention seekers, but in truth they are just so eager to share things about their lives to anyone willing to listen and want to make them laugh with their stories. Their kindness is like no other and they are the first to take sacrifices for their friends. But if betrayed, their whole demeanor shifts and they can be petty and aggressive, but only because they cared so much and have an undying loyalty towards the ones they love.

Gemini and Virgo: These two signs are both ruled by Mercury and are the intellectual powerhouses of the zodiac. Their minds are constantly working, constantly fixing things, never at a stop. They can relate to each other’s intellectual and calm approach to everything and how they prefer to show love by either giving advice or doing acts of service for them. Both of them talk a lot, their mouths trying to keep up with their minds and likewise they criticize a lot, not out of malice but out of genuine willingness to improve things, although they tend to give unsolicited advice and criticism as well. Also, both of them can become razor sharp when upset or in an argument. Enjoy intellectual stimulation a lot.

Cancer and Libra: The obvious thing that connects these two is that they are both people pleasers. Both of them are preoccupied with other people and how they get perceived by them and so become social chameleons, wanting to gain their favor and fit in. They can lose parts of themselves because they want to be with other people so much. Likewise, they discard their ego to build up the other person, always preferring to be there for them instead of venting out their own problems. Both of these signs are infatuated with romance, friendship and how media portrays those. They want a dream relationship, either platonic or romantic and want someone they can give their all to and sacrifice everything for. However, when angered they tend to become passive-aggressive and childish, thinking they are being non-confrontational and keeping the peace but really just dishing out bitter and snide comments and building up tension.

Leo and Scorpio: These signs are signs of pride and they will make sure you know it. Even if they differ in how they show that pride, it is very gallant and obvious. And in some way, it causes these two to be like predator animals circling each other, wanting to be the dominant one. They can be prone to childish fights and outbursts of anger and can be easily irritated by one another due to their clashing natures and need to be dominant. However, that also means that when they get to know each other and can put their pride away, they accept each other and become the alpha pack together. They can feel unstoppable together, their sense of humor similar and their power and energy when together obvious. Developing a partner in crime relationship, these two are an absolute force to be reckoned with when together and can bond over many things, good and bad, like their intensity, their flair for the dramatic, their energy, etc.

Virgo and Sagittarius: These two share a love for intellectual topics and debate, viewing each other as ideal conversational partners and appreciating someone who can stand on equal grounds with them. Both of them can have a certain god complex, thinking they are better than others and expressing that in passive-aggressive ways. Both of them are confident in their theories and advice and think their plans are always the best. Similarly, both of them can act as martyrs, taking on the pain and suffering of others to make them happy and to please them. This however can cause them to suffer from a victim complex and think they cannot be criticized since they are doing so much, even if those sacrifices aren’t asked for.

Libra and Capricorn: While maybe not obvious at first with the first party, these two are businessmen. These two signs study people and their ins and outs, they know how to exchange emotional labour and compliments for services they desire and they aren’t afraid to get what they want. They know what people want and give it to them, to gain what they themselves are after. Nonetheless, they naturally also use this ability for good, using it to calm down and cheer up people in the exact way they know the other needs it. While they may be selfish in some regards, the people close to them are extremely important to them and they are the best cheerleaders, always knowing how to be there for someone and give them a confidence boost.

Scorpio and Aquarius: Ride or die, these two are all or nothing with their interpersonal relationships, always seeking out intense affairs that make them feel something, think things over and challenge their mindsets. Additionally, they enjoy being “the odd one out”, the “special” one. These signs love being alternative and edgy and liking and knowing things no one else knows and thinking about things nobody else does. They bond over this similar mindset and can feel like the other is the only one who understands them, the only one who thinks about similar deep and unconventional topics.

Sagittarius and Pisces: Both of these share the same love of philosophical topics and a love for people in general. While they may not like other humans per say, they love humanity and studying it, seeing how they work and function, how they act and how their habits show in little ways. They love seeing those knacks in a person and completely figuring them out. They love probing deep into a person’s mind, even pushing topics that should not be talked about and be the first and only one to completely envelop the person’s mind. Furthermore, they share a passion for similar interests such as religion, humanity, religion, psychology, etc. However, these two also share a tendency towards escapism through media, self-denial, substances etc. and tend to run away from problems instead of facing them.

Capricorn and Aries: Both of these have a very imposing, brooding presence that is felt by everyone around them. Thus, people tend to either hate or love them and never be inbetween. These signs have confidence and aren’t afraid to show it and while their distinct energies may be different, people tend to have be conflicting when met with such a great presence. Likewise, they have a blunt and sometimes even rude way of talking and even if they mean well, their words can be perceived as unnecessarily harsh which can turn people off. In reality however they just want to be straightforward, thinking honesty is above all else and necessary to take the necessary steps towards improvement.

Aquarius and Taurus: When people look at these two signs, they may come off as unapproachable, as on another level somehow. They seem to exist in their own world, somehow standing out even though they aren’t doing anything special. People either admire or loathe these qualities and tend to make up their own image of these signs based on what they see from the outside rather on the inside, seeing a completely different thing when they ultimately step into their world and actually experience their personalities and how warm and kind they can be. Nonetheless, this can also lead to them living their lives in their own bubble, never wanting to shy away from what they know and not face people from the outside, content with never being challenged.

Pisces and Gemini: Quite easy-going, these two signs bond over their their mutual want for peace and a light-hearted, fun relationship. Never taking things too seriously, they share a similar sense of humor and are also able to stimulate each other intellectually and talk about deeper things and humanity as a whole, Gemini is eager to talk and Pisces is eager to listen, likewise both of them are eager to learn, especially from other people. They have an equally curious attitude about everything they see and want to experience new and exciting things, bored of routine and things that are too serious, though this also shows in their shared immaturity and inability to maturely handle criticism, feeling personally attacked when someone expresses dissatisfaction with them or their mindsets and opinions.

[komori--shoma]

Shoma Umi Komori.

🦢

(I'm sorry if my english is shitty-)

❛A sad soul can kill faster than bacteria.❜

—𝐽𝑜𝒉𝑛 𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑘

⟅☙⟆ Universe ⟅☙⟆

Diabolik Lovers. I plan, however, to take her out of the universe and make her a character of her own. Or maybe I'll just drop it and do both. Who knows?

⟅☙⟆ Full Name ⟅☙⟆

Shoma Umi Komori.

"Shoma" is a Japanese name that means "Woman who seeks the truth, who is not conformist at all."  Her second name, "Umi", is also a Japanese name that means "ocean".

⟅☙⟆ Kanji ⟅☙⟆

シ ョ マ

⟅☙⟆ Nickname ⟅☙⟆

Despite being initially confused by these, as she was not used to it, she was given the nickname "Engel" (which means "Angel" in German) by a family quite close to her.  The nickname was given by the mother and head of the family, since in the eyes of that woman, Shoma is an angel.

Seiji, who was the adoptive father of the girl, called the young woman "Astertea", which is quite a "peculiar" name in the bible.

Yui, with whom she is no longer in contact with Shoma, used to call her "Sho" or "Shomi" affectionately.

⟅☙⟆ Age ⟅☙⟆

She is eighteen years old, although she looks a bit younger.

⟅☙⟆ Gender ⟅☙⟆

Feminine.

⟅☙⟆ Sexual Orientation ⟅☙⟆

She doesn't know yet. Doesn't really bothers her to know.

⟅☙⟆ Height ⟅☙⟆

160 cm.

⟅☙⟆ Weight ⟅☙⟆

She used to weigh 35 kg., But now she is a proud 64.5 kg.

⟅☙⟆ Blood type ⟅☙⟆

OR-

⟅☙⟆ Status ⟅☙⟆

Alive.

⟅☙⟆ Race ⟅☙⟆

Human

⟅☙⟆ Birthday ⟅☙⟆

June 20th.

⟅☙⟆ Sign ⟅☙⟆

Gemini.

⟅☙⟆ Favorite Color ⟅☙⟆

Light blue and night blue.

⟅☙⟆ Appearance ⟅☙⟆

There is a great before and after in her appearance, and even though she is not shown in her story (at the end of the card), there was the occasional change in her future.

The girl has oculocutaneous albinism, so her skin and hair are snow-white.  Her hair, due to a small "situation", was long, straight and lifeless.  Her hair almost touched her waist, and she basically managed to cover her view.  She is now a cute short hairstyle down to the nape of hers, wavy and neat.

Her skin is very pale and fragile, although now she is somewhat better, before she was simply rough and damaged.  She has several deep burns and scars on this one as well.

The young woman, despite not having very good eyesight, has beautiful eyes of a light blue color, somewhat grayish.

She has a mark on her right leg in the shape of a fox with several stars on it.  It's a pretty special symbol, but she keeps it covered most of the time.

She usually did not wear clothes other than bandages to cover herself, although she still finds old clothes to wear, even though she was a little too big.  Now, she got used to wearing light clothes that cover most of her body;  like jeans, leggings, or long dresses with something underneath.  She doesn't really like to wear short or see-through clothes.

⟅☙⟆ Personality ⟅☙⟆

Many think that she simply doesn't have any kind of emotion. Shoma never shows any kind of expression in public, she is shown with her face up and with a look so cold that she makes it true to her appearance. The young woman is too serious, and depending on the person, it is very difficult to get her out of her typical attitude.

Sho is an elegant little girl, and full of grace despite all her troubles. She will never be friendly enough in front of someone (again, it depends on the person), but she will also not feel uncomfortable or unwelcome unless that is the goal of the little one. Shoma knows that she is able to erase someone from the earth fas if she wishes, but she doesn't abuse that thought, you just have to be careful not to make her angry or touch her too much.  It could be a big mistake.

Still, well ...

She is always alert, so it is very easy for her to get nervous or anxious most of the time.

She can also happen that she cannot do something right (she finds it very difficult to concentrate / think on several occasions, as well as sometimes she finds it difficult to understand what happens around her, etc).  Still, it is something that doesn't happen as much as before, after leaving the aforementioned situation in which she found herself.

She is easily frustrated, and this happens when she recognizes that she has trouble thinking.  It's very easy for her to cry or tear up in frustration (she doesn't do it in public, she refuses to do it, but that only makes it worse).  Also, her coping strategy is simply not talking about her emotions and keeping a straight face all the time.

Still, and even though she very reluctantly accepted help, Sho is willing to change and improve (even if she has to go through hell first).  She has shown to be too cunning for her age and to behave as if she were an adult, and even though she is slowly trying to behave according to her age, she is very difficult for her as well.

Anyway, Shoma can also be a girl who listens to others and is willing to do it regardless of the situation, and she is always there to be a shoulder on which one can cry.  She also tends to have fun when she feels calm around her, being one of the few moments when she feels and acts like a young little girl.

⟅☙⟆ Relatives ⟅☙⟆

⟣ Seiji Komori: Adoptive father.  Currently dead.

⟣ Yui Komori: Adoptive sister.  Currently alive.

⟅☙⟆ Favorite Food ⟅☙⟆

She doesn't have a single specific favorite food, but she definitely likes sweet and simple foods, like grated applesauce and banana, or a fruit salad.

⟅☙⟆ Hoobies ⟅☙⟆

⟣ Shoma likes to make paintings with her hands.  She serves to entertain him and clear her mind.

⟣ She also likes to make crowns with different types of flowers, even some bracelets and necklaces.

⟣ She has a certain fascination for mathematics and literature, so it is normal to see her do either of the two when she is bored.  The problem is when she has a hard time doing a difficult exercise.

⟣ She Likes to play decorating and decision-making video games. She likes to decorate and combine, so it is normal for her as a hobby to do the odd combination in video games, or in a room.

⟣ It may not count as a hobby, but Shoma loves to watch an episode of a series that she likes or a movie many times to imitate the lines, as if it were some kind of dubbing attempt.

⟅☙⟆ Occupation ⟅☙⟆

None, she doesn't consider herself a student, even if she studies at home.

⟅☙⟆ Relationships ⟅☙⟆

⟣ Seiji Komori, adoptive father.

She did not have a good relationship with him no matter how hard she tried at the time.  It was too obvious the favoritism that he had with Yui, and how she always stayed in the shadow of the blonde.  Despite trying to be like Yui, he could never have any kind of acceptance with her father.

⟣ Yui Komori, adoptive sister.

He adored her with her soul. Yui was Shoma's heroine, and she always tried to follow her example despite her unruly attitude as a child.  The elder Komori was Shoma's world, and he simply wanted to be with her all the time.

Things have changed now. She can't even look at her. The disgust and hatred that he has for that now young woman is simply immense. And believe it when I say she tries; she tries too hard to forget so many things that caused this feeling, but she just can't.

⟣ Yvonne Beauchene, the right hand.

Shoma's only trusted person alongside her family.  Yvonne was Shoma's guardian from the day he arrived at the church, although she had some problems because of it, and that is the reason why she had to leave, but surely nothing bad could happen, right?

⟅☙⟆ Likes ⟅☙⟆

⟣ Despite not having tasted it in recent years, she liked (and still remembers the taste of it, so she still likes) Yvonne's orange tarts a lot.  She used to do them when Seiji was not at home for her, Yui and Shoma.

⟣ She loves music, especially the one that doesn't have any type of letter and is only a beautiful and hypnotizing melody. Her favorite, and also Yvonne's, is "The Vampire Masquerade", which is the melody which Yvonne met her husband.

⟣ Regarding the above, she usually daydreams many times with music in the background and she likes that (because the real world sucks and it is her only way out of the stress and anxiety that she feels most of the time). She sometimes even draws or paints those scenarios that are formed in her head.

⟣ As said before, she likes to play decorating and decision-making video games.  Also, despite having the face of wanting some horror games (these make her heart race and sometimes she has panic attacks), she prefers Animal Crossing by a lot.

⟣ Loves snakes (which are not poisonous), cats and dogs.  Snakes are very good company, and cats and dogs are responsible for keeping her calm.

⟅☙⟆ Dislikes ⟅☙⟆

⟣ Despite having been seen surviving based on it, she does not like meat very much.  Of course, she can bear it, she even likes some (very few) meat dishes !, but there are certain types of meat that remind him too much of ... well, her own meat.

⟣ Obviously, she can't stand going to churches or things related to religion.  She gets too anxious and nervous.

⟣ Her body and mind literally rejects any kind of physical affection if she doesn't know the person very well or doesn't trust them. It's no surprise, considering her personality.  Very few people are lucky enough to even put a hand on her shoulder and not get hurt (Shoma doesn't do it on purpose).

⟅☙⟆ Fears and Phobias ⟅☙⟆

⟣ Somniphobia: fear of sleeping.

Oneirophobia, somniphobia, clinophobia or hypnophobia is an irrational and excessive fear of the act of sleeping.  People who suffer from it enter a state of panic caused by the fear that while they are sleeping something terrible will happen to them, such as the possibility of stopping breathing or that they will never wake up, even knowing that there is no threat, but  they stay awake, presenting insomnia.  Some people who have this phobia associate going to bed with death.

In some cases, panic is unleashed by the belief that the dreams that will be had when sleeping are actually delusions and these will favor falling into a state of permanent madness.  This type of phobia generates a great deal of stress and significant physical and mental deterioration, so it is not uncommon for many people to end up suffering from hallucinations, a fact that further aggravates this type of phobia: fear of sleeping.

Shoma cannot sleep because various things used to happen during these.  She remembers well once a nun (then she disappeared without a trace) entered her room and hanged her, almost killing her if it weren't for Yui screaming for help.

⟣ Theophobia: fear of religion.

Theophobia is the fear or aversion to religion or the gods, and being more common among people who are raised in an environment of iron religiosity.  Theophobia can express itself as fear, aversion, anger, or other negative emotion towards religious practices.  In some cases, the theophobic representation can categorize the deity as an arbitrary totalitarian dictator or, conversely, as unworthy of worship.

It is common among people who suffer from theophobia to avoid religious texts, houses of worship (churches, mosques, synagogues ...) and even the parishioners of a religion.

The young woman lived in a church for years and was not treated as "a daughter of God", but as "an aberration of satan" by her father and certain nuns.  She causes him so much fear that, if there really is a god, she has abandoned her for "not being worthy".  Many things together caused this irrational fear of religion in general.

⟣ Hafephobia: fear of being touched.

Hafephobia is a specific phobic disorder (unlike agoraphobia or social phobia) that causes great suffering in the person who suffers from it.

It is an irrational fear of great intensity that manifests itself when the individual suffering from the phobia comes into physical contact with other people and is touched.  It produces a series of cognitive, physiological or behavioral responses, among which extreme anxiety and the attempt to avoid the feared stimulus to reduce the unpleasant sensation stand out.

Shoma, of course, is working on this and for now she's doing very well, but if she's some stranger, she isn't going to allow herself to be touched or touched by another individual. She is so afraid that every touch will turn into a blow or something to harm her.

⟣ Atazagoraphobia: fear of forgetting.

Atazagoraphobia is the excessive fear of forgetting, which includes both the fear of forgetting and the fear of being forgotten or replaced by others.  Despite the fact that it is a common sensation, atazagoraphobia has been little described in scientific language.  In fact, it has been more pointed out by philosophers and writers who speak of atazagoraphobia as the fear of eternal anonymity.

Shoma was literally forgotten or ignored from a young age, and she doesn't want to go through it again. She doesn't want to feel so cold again that she can't breathe properly or move. She can't, she doesn't want to...

⟅☙⟆ Headcannon Voice ⟅☙⟆

Mia Rodríguez.

⟅☙⟆ Skills ⟅☙⟆

⟣ She is impressively good with knives and razors.  She usually uses them for cooking.

⟣ Literally she can imitate many voices, even male ones.  She uses it to make jokes or for some plan (to get some dessert) that she has in mind.

⟣ She is becoming more and more independent, and that is why she is getting very good at cooking.  She even manages to focus on that rather than other things.

⟅☙⟆ Extra ⟅☙⟆

⟣ She has undiagnosed “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”.

⟣ She tends to bite her arm or bite her nails if she is very anxious.

⟣ It is difficult for her to accept some changes in her life, but she manages to adapt step by step.

⟣ She likes to play with Yvonne's family, August, her husband, being Shoma's favorite.

⟣ She is considerably innocent of the world around her, but at the same time, she isn't.  She is aware that the world revolves around that filthy green paper, and she is very clever with it.  She knows that her "condition" and her situation may be a weak point, but it is for that reason that she is also careful who she hangs out with.

⟅☙⟆ History ⟅☙⟆

Shoma arrived at the doors of the Komori family church on May 22, 2001, with only a note that said "My name is Shoma, Mom and Dad can no longer take care of me," just three weeks after I was born. She was greeted by one of the local sisters, a favorite of the owner and leader of that church, Seiji Komori. The latter named was not on that cold night, with the snow falling slowly in that beautiful place, so the same sister took care of the girl in his absence.

A girl with blond hair and pink eyes like the petals of a cherry tree approached said sister, curious by the cries that began to be heard.  Seeing her up close, and seeing that beautiful celestial gaze, the seven-year-old girl took the girl in her arms (with the permission of her sister), and did not leave her during that night until the next day. It was no surprise to the sister that her crying stopped as soon as the young Komori began to gently cradle her in her arms.

Still, from the moment Seiji arrived, he knew that something was wrong with the girl, that she was "not human", and that he probably knew whose "gift" it was.  Shoma was unwelcome, and he couldn't show her that in public, not with Yui close to her. Also, the plan deviated. No, he isn't supposed to have two daughters, and she is supposed to be just one more orphan, but the young blonde girl already called her "Shoma Umi Komori", and that could be ... Something dangerous for him.  Obviously, the orders for Shoma to come to his office were not long in coming as soon as he was two years old.

What Shoma saw in her supposed father's room was sealed in her mind, and nothing else. Every time Shoma was called to her father's office, her heart raced because she knew something bad was going to happen.  Every time that happened it was because she Shoma found out more and more that she was going to happen to every sixteen, maybe seventeen-year-old on certain dates. It was because Shoma knew too much about her, and if he couldn't make her forget everything she had seen, then she would silence her to her grave.  Every time Shoma gained courage and told Yui, she was scolded for inventing such things, and she would see her father again for "breaking her promise" to him.

The only one who managed to believe her is the same sister who received her the day Shoma arrived there, although that same sister would get a serious face everytime Sho told her that, she never had to see her father when she told Yvonne.

But, one day, Seiji went a bit far with the punishments, and let the fury just blind him, even if he didn't even regret it afterwards.  Seeing Shoma talk to someone... Important, once this man left the church it just infuriated him. That man's smile when he stopped talking to her and saw him in the eye was not good news at all.  That night, everyone heard the screams of a three-year-old girl resound throughout the establishment, and she was found in the middle of the hall with a desperate Seiji, saying that she had been playing with a poker and that she tripped, with it smacking part of her face.

Shoma began to startle every time someone moved near her, every time someone placed her hand on some part of her body, or when they called her, or when they approached her. She didn't separate from Yui or the sister she trusted so much, and even though it started to be annoying for Yui as she grew older, there were very few times when she was really rude to Shoma due to the fatigue of having her on her back every day three seconds, but they just didn't help Shoma with her fear of being alone, either with Seiji, or with certain nuns. The sister who had her trust steadfastly refused to leave her alone if she wasn't with Yui, although it was only because she slipped out of sight once.

Things escalated to the worse on December 12, 2006, at exactly a quarter past two in the morning.  It was precisely an exhausting day for the girl, because the nun who was taking care of her and her sister had to leave due to family problems, or so they told her.

The albino-haired girl couldn't sleep due to some nightmares, even though she had become very habitual.  The young woman began to hear murmurs and footsteps outside the room that she shared with Yui, and she could make out her father's voice.  She could make out her desperate tone from her ... And, strangely, anger.

Carefully, she got out of her bed without making any noise, but following a little voice in her head, she took the camera that belonged to the blonde that was a gift from her only trusted caregiver, and opened  slowly the door.  Her father had locked himself in her office, and she could hear someone else's voice.  On tiptoe, he approached the door ajar, and looked behind it.  Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the body of one of the older girls on the ground, tied up and with blood pouring from her head.  That memory is somewhat blurry, but it remembers very well various parts of the conversation between her father and a man with long hair.  She took photos, and to her surprise, they did not have flash, and the photos came out perfectly ... That woman had many strange objects.

Once she finished, she turned, intending to leave, but one of the nuns spotted her, yelling to warn Seiji. Shoma wasted no time running and closing in on her sister's room, which she was awakened by her scream. Shoma told her everything quickly, leaving the photos to hide them, and the little girl didn't hesitate long to jump out the window (it was not the first time that she did that out of boredom), and she ran away from there.  Still, the nun had gone ahead, and it wasn't long to be just a few steps away from her with her father's poker, part of them burning. 

She remembers her sister with hatred seeing it all in horror and just standing there with the camera in her hands, shaking, to simply turn and turn her back on him.

In the blink of an eye, she was dragged by her hair by her "father" and other nuns, and before she had a chance to run away, the girl was thrown into the basement, away from other people, away from Yui, away from  everyone.  She tried to get out, scream, but no one ever came.

Nobody, nobody at all...

And here ends her story.  The young woman, thanks to her curiosity, sealed her fate.  She was destined to die in that place, even if she didn't want that, alone and starving, not knowing if Yui or someone would remember her...

But they say that there is always someone who takes care of us somewhere, right?  Even if she has no hope... Maybe there really is someone, even without her knowing it.

[hazbinhoteltheories]

Heaven Are the Ultimate Main Villains            

Yup.

You read that right.

I think, and this is only a hypothesis, but the way Heaven is portrayed as killing demons in Hell due to overpopulation… it seems suspicious and sinister.  So, I believe by the final season, we will learn that Heaven (or God) is ultimately the main villain. 

Also, I’m a conspiracy nutcase so yeah. lo

How do you do, fellow conspiracy nut? 

If heaven and God turned out to be to be the main villains in Hazbin Hotel, I wouldn’t be in the least bit be suprised. Look what they send down to "solve" Hell’s overpopulation problem every year. These things are supposed to be angels and yet, they’re more threatening and dangerous than most of the demon's we’ve seen down there.  

I’ve gotten more and more open to the idea that heaven will turn out to be Charlie’s biggest problem when it comes to redeeming demons because it’s nothing like how she, or we, envision heaven to be like but instead, how the Westboro Baptist Church envision heaven to be like. Or other words, a hyper-dictatorial cult leaders wet dream, with a ridiculous set of standards, a cut-throat attitude regarding who gets in and who doesn’t where sins are not forgiven.To the point where I’m almost completely convinced this the direction the show will go. Because it brings up the topic of radical religious beliefs vs morden society and our own beliefs. Showing the negative aspects of religion if it’s followed to an extreme and how some teachings again, if followed to an extreme (not every everyone who’s religious agree with the likes of Westboro Baptist church, thank god) contradict with civil and human rights,  And again, those “angels” do not look like they were sent by a caring, all-loving god.

This went over my head at first, because everyone who had been confirmed to be LGBT+ at the time, except Charlie, all had an obvious reason as to why they were in hell. But quite a few people pointed out to me that being LQBT+ could be a reason why people are sent to hell in Hazbin’s Hotel’s universe because their heaven follows an extreme form of Christianity. That would explain the overpopulation problem on it’s own. But if in Hazbin’s world, people are sent to hell just for being gay, imagine how many other “sins” a person can be damned for? And don’t even get me started on if people were sent to hell for not following god or not believing in one specific religion, it would be raining people down there every single day.

I’m also starting to think, in Hazbin’s world, all sin is punished the same regardless of reason or circumstance because of characters like Husk and Tom Trench. 

Tom doesn’t seem to be that bad a guy, at least in comparison to everyone else. The worst thing he did in the pilot was be make a perverted comment similar to half of Angel Dust’s dialogue. Unless he’s a news reporter version of Harvey Winestien, which I doubt, the only thing I can think of that would have got him into hell was that he fought in a war. Tom’s design heavily indicates that he died in WWI. He probably had to kill, A LOT, when he was on the battlefield and that’s how I think ended up in hell. 

Same thing goes for Husk, to an extent. I’ve seen a lot of people talking about Husk being a confirmed war veteran. I haven’t found anything about it on the wikki or anything but it would make sense. Because was in his 70��s when he died in the 1970′s, Husk could have been the right age to be drafted in WWII. Husk is a bitter man, with a devil may care attitude and both a gambling and drinking problem. If heaven is a place casts people out for the most minor of “sins” the drinking and gambling would have sent him down anyway but if it didn’t, I think this would have. Unless Husk made a deal with Alastor when he was alive or something idk 😗

When fighting in a war, these men would have been in situations where they had no choice other to take peoples lives, but to heaven, that might not matter. They still killed people, so they were sent to hell with all the other murderers. Maybe even ignoring all the factors that made people feel they needed to go to war or join the military, or if they even had a choice, and only focus on the fact did. This could be only one example of heaven solely focusing on what people did instead of considering why they did it.

Condemed even for a reason might have been beyond a person’s control or damned for the smallest of reasons or things that shouldn’t ever be a reason. Either way, I really do think this is a concept the show could explore. Heaven could very well turn out to not be the utopia or the solution Charlie wants it to be.  

Submitted by @sagetheai​

[michaelbogild]

Quotes by Mahatma Gandhi

A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.

A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.

A man, whilst he is dreaming, believes in his dream; he is undeceived only when he is awakened from his slumber.

A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.

A thousand candles can be lighted from the flame of one candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness can be spread without diminishing that of yourself.

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does the truth become error because nobody will see it.

An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.

Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

Compassion is a muscle that gets stronger with use.

Distinguish between real needs and artificial wants and control the latter.

Don't talk about it. The rose doesn't have to propagate its perfume. It just gives it forth, and people are drawn to it. Live it, and people will come to see the source of your power.

Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.

Everyone holds a piece of the truth.

Fearlessness is the first requisite of spirituality. Cowards can never be moral.

Friendship that insists upon agreement on all things isn't worth the name.

God has no religion.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

Hate the sin, love the sinner.

Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.

I call him religious who understands the suffering of others.

I cannot conceive of a greater loss than the loss of one's self-respect.

I may be a despicable person, but when Truth speaks through me I am

I want freedom for the full expression of my personality.

I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.

If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.

If we are to reach real peace in the world, we shall have to begin with the children.

In a gentle way, you can shake the world.

In doing something, do it with love or never do it at all.

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.

invincible.

It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings.

It is easier to build a boy than to mend a man.

It is wrong and immoral to seek to escape the consequences of one's acts.

It seems to me as clear as daylight that abortion would be a crime.

it's easy to stand in the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone

Liberty and democracy become unholy when their hands are dyed red with innocent blood.

Love is the strongest force the world possesses and yet it is the humblest imaginable.

Manliness consists not in bluff, bravado or loneliness. It consists in daring to do the right thing and facing consequences whether it is in matters social, political or other. It consists in deeds not words.

Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth, for being correct, for being you. Never apologize for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you’re right and you know it, speak your mind. Speak your mind. Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth.

My Life is My Message

No one can ride on the back of a man unless it is bent.

Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong.

Nothing has saddened me so much in life as the hardness of heart of educated people.

Nothing is so aggravating as calmness.

Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.

Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment.

Seek not greater wealth, but simpler pleasure; not higher fortune, but deeper felicity.

Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.

Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.

Speak only if it improves upon the silence.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.

The future depends on what you do today.

The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.

The more efficient a force is, the more silent and the more subtle it is.

The path is the goal.

The seeker after truth should be humbler than the dust. The world crushes the dust under its feet, but the seeker after truth should so humble himself that even the dust could crush him. Only then, and not till then, will he have a glimpse of truth.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

There are many causes I would die for. There is not a single cause I would kill for.

There are no good-byes, where ever you'll be, you'll be in my heart.

There are only two ways to live your life: as though nothing is a miracle, or as though everything is a miracle.

There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.

There are two days in the year that we can not do anything, yesterday and tomorrow

There is force in the universe, which, if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results.

There is no 'way to peace,' there is only 'peace.

There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.

There is no such thing as ‘too insane’ unless others turn up dead due to your actions.

There's no God higher than truth.

To forgive is not to forget. The merit lies in loving in spite of the vivid knowledge that one that must be loved is not a friend. There is not merit in loving an enemy when you forget him for a friend.

To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.

True beauty lies in purity of the heart.

True love is boundless like the ocean and, swelling within one, spreads itself out and, crossing all boundaries and frontiers, envelops the whole world.

True morality consists not in following the beaten track, but in finding the true path for ourselves, and fearlessly following it.

Truth never damages a cause that is just.

We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.

What barrier is there that love cannot break?

When asked what he thought of Western civilization): 'I think it would be a good idea.

Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love.

Where love is, there God is also.

Where there is fear there is no religion.

Where there is love there is life.

You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

You yourself as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve love and affection.

[pluviophile-bookworm]

I feel like I need to talk about this...

I’m very open about being aroace. At least here on Tumblr I am. (Outside of Tumblr, I am technically out, but some issues with my mother and grandmother have forced me back into the closet. I felt miserable about that initially, but I’m learning to be fine with it.) But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, I didn’t even know what aroace meant until I was 18. So how was I supposed to know when I got my first ‘celebrity crush’ that those last words do not, in fact, describe very accurately what I was experiencing? I didn’t know I had ADHD, either. I feel like that might have helped me realise some things about my experience. But let me go back a bit and actually tell you what happened and how it happened. [side note: I’ll be starting from a bit earlier than the ‘crush’ thing happened because I feel like it’s important for whoever reads this to understand how my circumstances shaped the experience I had]

Backstory:

I had always been different from my peers, so it was not surprising to anyone that I was bullied in middle school. [side note: Judging from my and my little brother’s combined experience, I feel like bullying is, quite unfortunately, something of a universal experience in middle school - in my day, I was on the receiving end. This last school year, my brother was the bully. Gosh, I wish I could tell my story without many deviations and without crying as I type, but I’ve already thrown both of those intentions out the window.]

So anyway, things got so bad that I was driven to suicidal thoughts. One night I was just lying in bed, thinking about going through with it, but I was like, well, I’ve got a test in the morning. Maybe after that. 13-year-old me had very weird priorities. I kind of still value my work over my mental health, but I’m working on it. So that night, I didn’t do anything. The next day, right before school, I was on the internet and I found out a new show had premiered. And then, as I was watching the pilot episode, that was when it happened. I saw this boy, whom I will not be naming, and I listened to him sing. I felt nothing much at the moment, but I couldn’t get the song out of my mind all day. Up until that moment, I had had a weird attitude towards music where I’d only listen to female singers. My ‘boys have cooties’ phase, I guess you could say. But this one, he was the first one I didn’t mind at all. In fact, I felt like I could listen to his voice 24/7. I’ve had that feeling hundreds of times by now, but I hadn’t before then. So I figured, this must be what a crush means, right? This must be what all my peers are talking about. The next day, I confided in a girl from my class with whom I was kind of friendly (though not actual friends, I’d say). I asked her if she’d seen the show, if she knew this person. She said yes and we kind of gushed about the song together, and I felt normal for a couple of minutes. I never knew the difference between my experience and what is considered ‘normal’ until years later.

For the time being, the thought of this special person was what was keeping me alive. I started having visions of him walking with me through the school hallways or sitting next to me on the bus home from school. I knew perfectly well those visions weren’t real, but they made me feel better. Happy. Safe. Seen. Full disclosure: I still have such visions, I’ve had them with different people through the years as my hyperfixations change. My latest one is what has enabled me to deal with some of my worst phobias (and I have a long list of them). I’ve never told anybody what it is, and I won’t be telling because I feel like if I do tell, the vision will not be strong enough to work against my fears. But I’m getting sidetracked again. Sorry for that.

So, I was pretty much obsessed with this guy. He was all I could think about, he was keeping me alive through what was possibly the toughest time in my life to date. So naturally, thanks to my heteronormative, amatonormative surroundings, I was convinced I had a crush on him. In fact, after this experience had lasted about a year, I was sure I was in love. 

Then things changed. I started high school. I found a couple of friends, and the people in my class in general made me feel like I could finally be myself. Be open about what I thought and how I felt. So by the end of the first semester, all 27 people in my class knew about my feelings for this guy. What I didn’t know was that they didn’t know that it wasn’t exactly like I was describing it. Because I wasn’t aware that a straight/ allo person’s idea of being ‘in love’ was different from mine. I was just putting things in words I thought I understood. 

So it came as a total surprise when some people from my class started teasing me about it. It wasn’t malicious teasing, that much I could tell. I had been bullied mercilessly before. What my new classmates were doing was asking genuine questions in a slightly teasing manner. For example, it would be known that my special person had a girlfriend, and so they’d ask me ‘aren’t you jealous’ or ‘do you wish you were that’, or stuff like that. And those questions felt so weird. So stupid. I thought, wait, why would I be jealous? Why would I feel bad about this person who has made me so happy, being happy himself? Why would I want to date him? That had nothing to do with how I felt. I told my classmates so. They gave me weird looks in response. So I started feeling like there was something wrong with me. Like I wasn’t doing that ‘in love’ thing right. Suddenly, I felt like my feelings were being intruded upon. Tarnished, somehow. I had always been aware that my visions were anything but real. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. And all of a sudden, somebody was suggesting that I should want to date this person. Why would I want to date anyone, I thought? Even if it was him. Dating people was awkward. Making physical contact with anyone outside my immediate family made me shudder. It still does, though I can hug some of my closest friends without any negative feelings. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Back to my first time I questioned my experience. I was about 14 at the time (in Bulgaria, high school starts from grade 8, ages 13-14 or 14-15), and, well, I didn’t do much questioning at the time. I just told myself that they didn’t understand my feelings, and I stopped being so open about the topic. 

My hyperfixation on this person lasted long. Longer than any other I’ve ever had to date. Maybe it was because I clung to it like it was what tethered me to my mortal life. But by my final year of high school, I could feel it fading away. I was forcing myself to think about this person, to conjure up the old visions; the song that had started it all was drained of all meaning that it had held for me. I was moving on to other hyperfixations. I felt like I was betraying myself, like I was breaking some sort of unbreakable vow. It was time to face the music. So I let go. I allowed myself to move on. It was kind of made easier by the fact that my special person had changed, too, and had moved on to projects that I could not enjoy due to some triggering content. And I moved on.

Then I joined Tumblr. I discovered some things. Among them was Hellenic polytheism. It had been a while since I’d found my faith in the Hellenic pantheon, but Tumblr was where I found out I was not alone, that there was an existent religion. And step by step, I realised that... I had been projecting Apollo’s presence onto my special person. And my old connection to that person had started fading away when I had realised I believed in the gods.

This explained a lot of things. But there was still the fact that I had never been able to look at another person the way my peers were looking at each other. I had been asked out two or three times during high school. I had rejected those people without even thinking about it. My best friend at the time was a boy and most teachers seemed to ship us together because, well, let’s be real - we were constantly fighting like an old married couple. It took him getting a girlfriend and seeing how happy I was for the two of them for everyone to realise that things between us were, and had always been, purely platonic. And now I was going to uni and I had never had feelings I was apparently supposed to have. 

It was also thanks to Tumblr that I discovered the extent of the LGBTQ+ community. I considered myself an ally at first, and I was a passionate ally, too. I still am nothing but supportive to my fellow LGBTQ+ people of all identities, but it was not until I was 18 going on 19 that I discovered the term ‘asexual’. I knew quite suddenly that this was the term for me. I knew what I was and how I felt. I felt mature enough to know the difference between ‘I’m not experienced enough to know for sure’ and ‘I’ve just never had those feelings, I don’t even know what they’re supposed to be like’. It took a bit longer to find out there was a difference between sexual and romantic attraction, but by the time I was 19, I had proudly labelled myself ‘aroace’. I still feel at home with this label. I am completely open to the possibility that it might change with time, but this is what feels right at this time. 

Fast-forward another couple of years to about 8 months ago. I had always known that I got really invested into stuff - shows, books, hobbies, people - only for that investment to wear off after a time. The timespans varied, but I realised I had experienced this ever since I was in pre-school at least. I didn’t have a term for it, though. And then, all of a sudden, Tumblr started offering me posts tagged ADHD. I could relate to maybe 95% of them. At one point, it felt like whatever algorithm this hellsite operates on was shoving the ADHD posts in my face, as if screaming ‘DOES THIS REMIND YOU OF, WELL, YOU?!!!’ in my ears. So I did some tests. I did a lot of self-reflection. I went to a psychiatrist. I was diagnosed in March. I started educating myself on the terminology and found out that what I was experiencing is called hyperfixating. So here I am now.

Here I am now, reflecting back on my experience from 8 years ago, connecting the dots. Realising what it was that I went through, allowing myself to go through it again, with different things and people. I don’t feel the need to cling to hyperfixations anymore because I know that is what they are and I know I can’t keep them forever. Of course, I do feel bad about stopping caring about something that used to be my light and life for a time. I dread the time I’ll get over my current hyperfixation, but I also know it’s inevitable. My ADHD brain needs the change and it happens naturally. And somehow I’m ok with that.

Well, this is it. This is the story of how Tumblr prompted me to discover aspects of myself that have been there for as long as I can remember. What better place to talk about it than Tumblr itself? What better group of people to understand and accept me than my lovely mutuals and followers? If you’re reading this, thank you. For being here, for listening to me, for allowing me to be who I am. You’ve got no idea how happy this makes me, even though I can barely see what I’m typing through the tears. Thank you. 

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): The Conquest of Makkah and Afterwards

Governors and Zakah Collectors Are Sent To Tribes and Countries

(9th Year of the Migration, the month of Muharram)

Until that date, many tribes had accepted Islam and many lands were under the rule of the Islamic state. It was necessary to administer those countries and to tell the people there about their responsibilities and obligations.

To this end, the Messenger of God appointed some governors and zakah collectors in the month of Muharram of the 9th year of the migration and sent them to different countries.

The Messenger of God advised the governors and zakah collectors as follows:

“Forgive the mistakes of people; avoid collecting their best goods.”

Among the tribes that the Messenger of God sent governors and zakah collectors were San’a, one of the most beautiful cities of Yemen, Hadramut in Yemen, the tribes of Sulayms, Muzaynas, Juhaynas, Sons of Kilab and Sons of Ka’b.

Apart from administration, these governors also settled the issues among people and gave judgments based on Islamic decrees.

Zakah collectors informed people about zakah in the places that they went to and asked the rich people to give zakah.

Some tribes paid zakah readily. Others did not like it because they thought it was too heavy a burden at first; however, they started to pay zakah later.

DELEGATES COME TO MADINAH IN LARGE GROUPS

The conquest of Makkah was a very bright and honorable victory of Islam. With this conquest, the fierce struggle that lasted for years between the Messenger of God and the Qurayshi polytheists ended with the victory of Islam.

The tribes in Arabia observed this fierce struggle that lasted for years closely and carefully. At first, they decided to leave the Messenger of God alone with his struggle against the Qurayshis, his own tribe; they said, “Leave him alone with his tribe. If he defeats his tribe, it means he is telling the truth and he is a prophet.”

This fierce struggle, which was observed closely by the tribes around, ended with the victory of Islam and the defeat and destruction of the polytheism as a result of the conquest of Makkah.

There was only one thing left to do for them: To accept Islam as soon as possible.

They knew it very well that they would not be able to stop and eliminate this cause, which Makkan polytheists could not stop and eliminate despite their strength and enmity.

Therefore, after the conquest of Makkah, at the beginning of the 9th year of the Migration, the tribes around started to come to Makkah in large groups in order to become Muslims. For this reason, this year was named the “Year of Delegates”.

The Prophet welcomed all of those delegates and entertained them. There were people from all walks of life in those delegates. All of them admired the high ethics and virtues of the Prophet and the kind attitudes of his Companions; they returned to their land happily.  

The Delegation of Sons of Tamim in Madinah

The Messenger of God sent Busr b. Sufyan, one of the Companions, to the tribe of Sons of Ka’b from Khuzaas in order to collect zakah from them.

Sons of Ka’b had put the animals to be given for zakah aside. However, the tribe of Tamim, living in the same place, objected to giving those animals as zakah; they even drew their swords implying that they would kill Busr. Thereupon, Busr returned to Madinah and told the Messenger of God what had happened. The Messenger of God sent Uyayna b. Hisn with about fifty Bedouin cavalrymen to Sons of Tamim. Uyayna b. Hisn attacked Sons of Tamim suddenly and returned to Madinah with lots of booty, and captives including eleven men, twenty women and about thirty children.

A short time after the return of Uyayna b. Hisn to Madinah, a delegate from Sons of Tamim, who had objected to paying zakah, went to the presence of the Prophet. There were famous orators and poets among them. Their aim was to take the captives back.

The Prophet asked them, “What do you want”

They said, “We are from the tribe of Tamim. We brought our orators and poets to compete with yours by reciting poems and boasting.”

The Prophet smiled slightly and said, “I was not appointed to recite poems or boast; I cannot do it. However, do your best and we will listen to you.”

Thereupon, Utarid, an orator of the tribe of Sons of Tamim, stood up and started to praise his tribe. Then, he said, “Who will compete me and praise his tribe like me?”

After the orator of Sons of Tamim finished his speech and sat, the Messenger of God said to Thabit b. Qays, “Stand up and reply his speech.”

Thabit stood up. Though he had not made any preparations, he recited such an eloquent and effective sermon regarding the majesty of God Almighty and the virtues of the Messenger of God that Sons of Tamim were astonished.   Thabit spoke as follows:  

“...

Praise be to God, who created the skies ant the earth and who rules them.

There exists nothing that is not the work of His grant and generosity.

Our victories and rule over countries are also the work of His power.

He chose the best man and sent him as a prophet; he has the noblest ancestors paternally and maternally; he always tells the truth. God sent His book to him and made him the most trustworthy person; He made the Prophet the most distinguished person in the world.

“...”

After this speech, it was time for the poets.

First, one of the poets of Sons of Tamim stood up and recited a poem boasting himself.

As soon as the man finished his poet, the Messenger of God said to Hassan b. Thabit, his poet, “Stand up O Has­san! Reply this man.”[8] He added, “God will definitely support him with Gabriel when he defends His Messenger.”

Hassan, who undertook the honor of defending the Messenger of God, stood up enthusiastically. He recited a long poem with the same meter and rhyme as the man’s poem. He expressed the exceptional beauty, highness and virtue of Islam concisely and clearly.  

The fact that the Muslim orator and poet presented a much better speech and poem than those of Sons of Tamim rejoiced both the Prophet and the Companions who were there. On the other hand, the delegates of Tamim kept silent when they saw that the orator and poet of Muslims were superior.  Aqra b. Habis, one of the notables of Tamim, could not help saying,

“I swear by God that this person (the Prophet) is always helped by the unseen. He will definitely be successful. He becomes superior to everybody regarding everything. His orator is superior to our orator and his poet is superior to our poet. Their voice is more sonorous than ours.”

Then, Aqra b. Habis approached the Messenger of God and became a Muslim by uttering kalima ash-shahadah. The other members of Sons of Tamim followed him and embraced Islam, too.

Thereupon, the Messenger of God gave a gift to each member of the delegation and returned the captives to them.

The Delegation of Sons of Asad in Madinah

It was the month of Muharram in the 9th year of the Migration.

One of the delegations that came to Madinah was the delegation of Sons of Asad, which consisted of ten people. After telling the Prophet that they became Muslims, they said, “O Messenger of God! We came here on our own accord though everybody was having difficulty due to famine and drought. We became Muslims without fighting you unlike the other tribes.”

With that statement, they wanted to say that the Prophet needed to be grateful to them because they became Muslims; they expected to receive a lot of things due to this gratification. It was certain that they assumed such an attitude because they had just become Muslims and they had not learned about the vast spirit of Islam yet.  

As a matter of fact, by becoming Muslims, they helped themselves only. Thus, they protected their eternal lives from being destroyed. They did not make the Messenger of God gain any profits by becoming Muslims. Therefore, their attitude was groundless and it was not in accordance with the spirit of Islam. The verse that was sent down regarding the issue expressed this fact:

“They impress on thee as favor that they have embraced Islam. Say "Count not your Islam as a favor upon me: nay, God has conferred a favor upon you that He has guided you to the Faith, if ye be true and sincere.”

The duty of a believer is to thank and praise God for attaining the greatest and highest truth, which is belief, in the universe. He should not expect or even think about anything material or spiritual gains in return for his belief. The reward to be given for attaining belief and being honored with Islam is in the hereafter. Only there will God Almighty give this unique reward to us through his bounties and generosity.  

The rewards for the services regarding belief and the Quran are also otherworldly; they will be given in the hereafter. Therefore, a Muslim who has belief, has embraced Islam and serves belief and the Quran should not expect any worldly rewards or interests for his service. If he expects such things and he wants it through his heart, he will be regarded to have lost his sincerity in the religion. Losing sincerity eliminates the acceptance of worshipping; God forbid, such a person may go bankrupt spiritually. However, if a person who serves belief and the Quran is given a material reward though he does not expect or want it through his heart, he should regard it as a grant of God Almighty; he should not feel gratitude to the people who give it; besides, he should not have the feeling, “This material interest and money is given to me because of my service to the religion.”

THE IDOL-HOUSE OF THE TRIBE OF TAYY IS DEMOLISHED

The tribe of Tayy, was the tribe of Hatam at-Tai, who was famous for his generosity. They lived in Yemen.

In the 8th year of the Migration, Hatam at-Tai died and his son, Adiyy, became the leader of the tribe.

After the conquest of Makkah, almost all of the idol-houses in Arabia were demolished and the idols were destroyed; however, the idol-house of this tribe was still existent and the idol called Fuls (Fals) was not destroyed.  

The Messenger of God sent Hazrat Ali to the tribe of Tayy with about one hundred and fifty Companions to demolish Fuls in the month of Rabiul-Akhir in the 9th year of the Migration.

Hazrat Ali arrived at the land of the tribe of Tayy with the mujahids. Sons of Tayy resisted the mujahids. There was a clash between them. The enemy suffered a lot of casualties. The Muslims defeated them and obtained a lot of captives and booty. The idol-house of Sons of Tayy was destroyed completely; Fuls was broken into pieces and burned down.

Adiyy b. Hatam, the leader of the tribe, had been informed about the mujahids who were coming there; so, he ran away to the direction of Syria; he was not captured. However, Saffana, the daughter of Adiyy, was among the captives.

Saffana’s Request

Hazrat Ali fulfilled his duty and returned to Madinah with the captives and booty.

Saffana, who was among the captives, was put in a room near the door of Masjid an-Nabawi. She was a clever and solemn woman. One day, while the Messenger of God was passing by that room, Saffana stood up and said, “O Messenger of God! My father died and my brother escaped. I have nothing to give to free myself from captivity. I take refuge in your forgiveness, mercy and compassion for my freedom.”

When the Messenger of God asked her who she was, Saffana said,

“O Messenger of God! I am the daughter of Hatam at-Tai, who protected families, freed slaves, fed the hungry, clothed the naked, entertained guests, gave people food and greeted people.”

The Messenger of God became glad that Saffana introduced herself like that and said, “O woman! What you have listed are attributes of believers. I wish your father had become a Muslim and we had mentioned his name with mercy.”

With those words, the Prophet stated an important truth. The fact that “not all attributes of an unbeliever are unbeliever attributes”. Yes, Hatam at-Tai was not a Muslim; and he died before he became a Muslim. However, the attributes mentioned above are attributes of believers. The Messenger of God appreciated the Muslim attributes of Hatam by saying so. Apart from appreciating them, the Prophet freed Saffana. The Messenger of God, who showed compassion, mercy and tolerance to those who were worthy of them, granted a lot of things to Saffana. He gave her some clothes and allowance; then, he sent her to Damascus with a trustworthy caravan to her brother.

When Saffana arrived in Damascus, she found her brother. She told him about the kind attitudes of the Prophet. The kind attitude of the Prophet to his sister caused some movements in his heart. He asked her, “What is your opinion about this man”. Saffana, who saw the blessed face of the Messenger of God only once and who received kind attitudes only once from him, said without hesitation, “I advise you to go to him and be subject to him.”

When Adiyy thought for a while, his sister said,

“Why are you thinking so much? If he is a prophet, you will obey him and attain great goodness and virtues. If he is a king, you will not lose anything; your sultanate in Yemen will belong to you again. You will not be despised.”

Adiyy regarded the advice of his sister appropriate; he arrived in Madinah at once and went to the presence of the Prophet.

The Messenger of God wanted to host Adiyy, who was famous like his father, in his house.

They left the mosque to go to the house of the Prophet. Meanwhile, a woman stopped them and talked to the Prophet about her need for a long time. The Messenger of God listened to her patiently and without feeling disturbed. When Adiyy saw the nice and kind attitude of the Prophet to the old woman, he said to himself, “I swear by God he is not a king.” There was only one possibility left: “Then, he is a prophet.”

They reached the house of the Prophet. The Prophet wanted Adiyy to sit on a leather mattress. However, he did not want to sit on it. He said the Prophet was worthy of sitting on it. However, the Prophet did not sit on it and insisted that Adiyy sit on it. Thereupon, Adiyy sat on the leather mattress. The Messenger of God sat on the ground opposite his valuable guest. This attitude of the Prophet, which showed his modesty and his kindness toward his guest, softened Adiyy’s heart some more and made him approach belief a bit more.  

Then, the Messenger of God invited him to become a Muslim. He repeated it three times. However, Adiyy did not give a positive answer. He said, “I am a Christian.”

Thereupon, the Messenger of God said,

“O Adiyy! Maybe you do not want to become a Muslim because some people say, ‘Weak, poor and helpless people enter his religion.’ By God, one day, Muslims will have so much wealth that they will not be able to find anybody that asks for money or goods from them.  

You may also have thought, ‘The number of the Muslims is few and the number of their enemies is a lot.’ You might not want to become a Muslim because of that thought.

Do you know Hiyara? This religion will provide such safety and security that a woman will come from Hiyara to the Kaaba on her own for circumambulation without fearing anything but God.”

This talk opened the door of Adiyy’s heart and he embraced Islam.

Adiyy b. Hatam, who was one of the notables of the Companions was this person.

[dangermousie]

I just loved this shot. I actually notice how often he is below her image (or her real self) looking up, which is such a key to the dynamic. It’s especially interesting because normally he is head and shoulders taller than she is so it has more of an effect. 

The thing I loved throughout the ep was that even as he couldn’t remember her outside her comic role, he was confused and bothered by her and just as the first time, she was the key to his self-awareness, she is the key this time as well - he became self-aware so far on this go around precisely because she was around, making him feel what his character is not supposed to feel, waking him up. He may be the only one able to change the story, but she is the only one who can wake him up so he’d do so. Talk about entwined. (Also, her little sad smile as she wants him not to remember her - my heart.)

Has anyone else been feeling that Haru has slowly been replacing Kyung within the narrative as well - it’s another example of story being bent due to the sheer force of will of the characters and trying to right itself somehow. Here, the classmates expect Kyung and get Haru, Haru now has girls swooning over him, he even throws the ball like Kyung. 

The real Haru is beginning to leach through more and more as the episode progresses - even when he doesn’t remember her, opening bottles for her is far cry from “don’t touch my shirt when you talk” Haru of his first moments past mind wipe.

OK, it’s official - Squid Fairy knows the madam somehow; I wonder if she was in the past comic.

This bit, with the smirk, gave me chills. Ju Da is becoming self-aware and she is nowhere near as maudlin nice as her fictional counterpart. I love it.

Also, she clearly likes Do Hwa in the shadows - look at her watching him practice or sadly staring at his picture on her phone. I actually like what EY is trying to say here, same as with Haru v Kyung - outside of a dramatic fictional set-up, why would any sane woman prefer a jerk to someone who treats you very well and is overall a wonderfully nice person?

Guess who else is self-aware! Kyung’s brother. I love the concept of pretty much everyone becoming self-aware eventually and the world descending into chaos.

This was kind of insane. He doesn’t like her with Kyung though on a conscious level that makes no sense for the character - you can see the programming and the real basically fight each other (and so he grabs Kyung’s hand as if he’s jealous of Kyung as some sort of a weird programming compromise.) 

Oh, Do Hwa. He is literally the nicest character in this drama - he cares for Dan Oh and Haru, he loves Ju Da expecting nothing in return, he even loves his oblivious programmed friend Nam Joo. He is a lesson in how to be selfless - but then so are Dan Oh and Haru as well - they put the happiness of the person they care about higher than their own. Meanwhile Kyung watches like an alien from another planet.

Yeah, you know that selfless gene? Kyung has whatever the opposite is. The scene where he had Haru bring flowers for him to give to Dan Oh - brutal. And some sort of perverse revenge for what - Dan Oh acting the way the author wanted her when she didn’t have control? Dan Oh not enlightening him (which why and how could she.) Awake Kyung is still a terrible person, even if more lowkey realistic one. It’s pretty clear he cares for Dan Oh insofar as he’s able to care for anyone, but he is incapable of a healthy, functional relationship or attitude. PS He’s also not that bright - doing all of that would make Haru self-aware faster.

Even memoryless, personality-changed Haru keeps this basic tenet of him because it’s at his core.

Haru mark 2 yells! And is emotional.He is much less quiet than his Haru mark 1 counterpart; probably because Haru mark 1 was almost mute and shellshocked by his experience and this one is not. I also love that he is confused and it bugs bugs bugs him to see Dan Oh treat him as a stranger and he has no idea why. And yes, he is self-aware now, in some record speed! Oh, and back to his staring up at her.

Oooof. This hit hard. It’s such an exploration of free will and reality and I cannot even imagine what a mind trip it would be to not even know if your basic memories, your basic sense of self and world is real - that even off stage you are made by memories and experiences that were not only controlled by another but that may not have existed at all. Real Kyung is still not fully so and can never be so because his personality has been shaped by events that never even happened, since I am sure there was no childhood portion in the manga. Does Do Hwa like Ju Da in the shadows because his character was made to like her on stage in the story and the feelings carry over and are a basic part of his personality now, even in reality?

This! This! Shivers. It reminds me of concepts like “how do I know this world is real and I am not just imagining it in my head; there is no way to prove it.” Or “how do we know the past actually happened and it’s not just a memory our brain made up and the whole world is just this moment; just in your head.” And, as I mentioned to @theseasasleep​, while the drama didn’t intend it, it made me think of predestination in Calvinism and how that concept always freaked me out - most other religions or branches of them allow the concept of free will and your ultimate fate changing depending on what you do, but Calvinism is like the world of EY - everything is predestined and predetermined - your character and ultimate fate and so what you do doesn’t really matter. I always wondered how the followers did not descend into nihilism and chaos (yes, good earthly fortune was supposed to be a sign of God’s grace but it wasn’t really necessary; and in its extreme, you could murder five people every day and still go to heaven since it was predetermined before you were born.) And in another thought about how much free will people have - people in RL have choices but so many of their choices and their reactions to choices are predetermined for them - by their circumstances, their upbringing, their very DNA. It’s more free will than in EY, but how much more? 

Final thought - EY is so smart and so good and gave me so much pleasure that I honestly don’t care if it sticks the landing; which is the same I felt with W and Queen In Hyun’s Man (I thought the latter stuck it perfectly, the former wobbled though I liked it anyway, in part because I just wanted Dong Chul to be happy after his hell of a life, and in part because I thought the concept was that once you became fully actualized and escaped authorial control, you were a real person and so moved to the real world.)

[flurdall-a]

i just used this site to make tallahs birth chart and i am LOSING MY MIND it make so much sense why she is Like This !!!!! it wouldnt recognize her actual birth town as a real place so i had to use the closest one

BUT OVER ALL THIS IS PRETTY DAMN ACCURATE TO HER CHARACTER??? um wow

full info under the cut ♥♥♥

Rising Sign is in 13 Degrees Scorpio You tend to be quiet, reserved, secretive and, at times, quite difficult to understand. Others notice your deep emotions and feelings and wonder how to draw you out. Stubborn and tough, you fight for any position you believe in. You are very resourceful and formidable when you become angered or upset about something. You enjoy living life at the cutting edge -- for you life must be experienced intensely and totally. Quite courageous, you are willing to take calculated risks. Easily hurt by others, you often strike back with bitter sarcasm. Sensitive and curious, you are concerned with the deeper mysteries of human psychology. Once you have become interested in any subject, you pursue it with total fanaticism. Sun is in 11 Degrees Aries. By nature, you are very energetic and high-spirited. You are fiercely independent -- you must be first in everything you do, and you enjoy taking risks. You are the one who will rush in where angels fear to tread. Quite brilliant at initiating new projects, you are terrible at following them through to completion. You are an enthusiastic leader but you tend to be a reluctant follower. Often you are quick to anger, but you usually recover just as fast, regretting later things you said when you were upset. One of your best traits is that you are simple and direct, blunt and honest -- just be careful you do not hurt others' feelings. Your need to be competitive at all costs may provoke resistance from others, but, as long as you maintain your usual Sunny good humor, this should not prove to be a major problem for you. Moon is in 26 Degrees Sagittarius. An idealist, you prefer the grand, the beautiful, the good and the noble. You get very disappointed when your high expectations in life are not met. Very curious by nature, you enjoy traveling and learning about other peoples and cultures. Try to avoid your tendency to ignore the small but important details of living. You are independent and free, and you want others to be that way, too. Optimistic, buoyant and cheerful, others like to have you around. You have an incessant desire to learn as much as possible about metaphysics, religion, philosophy and any other broad, deep subject. Your life tends to be punctuated by bursts of energy and frenetic activity. Mercury is in 17 Degrees Pisces. Your ideas and thought processes do not come to you in an orderly, logical fashion. Instead, you think with your feelings or with images produced by your rich and fertile imagination. A very subjective person, your dreams and fantasies are very important to you. You trust your intuitions and tend to reject ideas that are based solely on logic. Very impressionable, you are sensitive to the moods and emotional states of those with whom you come into contact. Venus is in 00 Degrees Taurus. You are known to be a warm and affectionate person, and you tend to form long- lasting attachments. The reverse of this is that you can also be quite possessive once you have made a commitment. The beauty, luxury and comfort of your surroundings are important to you and you will devote much time and energy to making your home just right. Beware of your tendency toward self-indulgence, especially with respect to eating incorrectly. You also need outside stimuli to get you in gear When things come too easily for you, you can be lazy and indolent. Mars is in 19 Degrees Pisces. Very sensitive and vulnerable, it is difficult for you to assert yourself. At times, you feel quite tired and you will require a lot of sleep in order to maintain your health and your strength. You are at your best when you act without your ego being important. You can be very unselfish and considerate of the needs of others. You get the most satisfaction by giving to others when you expect nothing in return. Beware of a tendency to want always to work behind the scenes or to become overly deceptive by doing things behind others' backs. Jupiter is in 13 Degrees Scorpio. You love to dig deep beneath surface appearances in order to find out what is really happening. A persistent researcher, you are very interested in the psychology of any situation. You tend to become overwhelmed by the complexity of what you uncover, however, and that makes you a bit gun-shy about explaining things to others. But you must learn to try to communicate as best you can because what you know is really very valuable to others. Saturn is in 07 Degrees Pisces. Your tendency to think that your life is out of control is based on an unreasonable fear, probably connected with an unfortunate experience with the person who filled the father figure role in your early life. Learn to take responsibility here and now for your own life. Try to stop having unrealistic expectations about guide figures. Remember that they are merely human, with all the same faults and self-doubts that you have. When you get confused or uncertain, try to simplify your lifestyle -- things will then become easier to bear. Uranus is in 25 Degrees Capricorn. You, and your peer group as well, seek out practical solutions to a changing society's attitudes to customs, traditions and authority structures. Your logical and orderly manner of dealing with these matters will result in permanent and carefully planned, but sweeping, reforms. Neptune is in 23 Degrees Capricorn. You, and your entire generation, will idealize work, practicality and the ability to attain reasonable goals. But, because you will also stress the need to be selfless and giving, you may find it difficult to attain your goals unless you have lowered your expectations on all fronts. Pluto is in 27 Degrees Scorpio. For your entire generation, this is a period of intense research and discovery in areas that were heretofore considered mysterious, remote or taboo. The root causes for many complex occurrences will be unearthed due to the intensity and thoroughness of the search. N. Node is in 24 Degrees Scorpio. You have a special aptitude for working by yourself, or with a like-minded group of dedicated individuals. Once you've committed yourself to a person or group or project, your loyalty and devotion are total until the group's goals have been realized. Not at all gregarious by nature, you're uncomfortable around strangers, greatly preferring to be in known and familiar situations. Others may regard you as shy or eccentric, but those who know you well are aware of the intense loyalty that you have to your friends.

[eelsfeelgross]

Conclusions: Trans Activism v. Radical Feminism, a first-hand account

This is current stance after a lot of direct investigation on both radfems online and trans activists online. No group is judged based on the observations, rhetoric, or propaganda of any outside group, but from my own first-hand observations in combination with objective knowable facts such as actions known to be committed in public record by the likes of criminals or celebrities. However, the bulk of this is based on what I have seen, what I know to be true because it’s been done before my own eyes. While my conclusion may lack information on the more nitpicked aspects of things, I believe their overall impressions still hold true with the amount of experience I’ve had. Keep in mind: this is not my only account. I have dipped into the radfem community before, each time from a different perspective, at a different time, and with open eyes ready to receive whatever I was given. The same is true of the trans community.

Trans Activism

I want to make clear that these conclusions were mainly drawn from my direct experience with the trans community from within. I am not relying on critics of the trans ideology to tell me any of this, though they often echo the same concerns and observations.

The trans community has a serious problem with misogyny, homophobia, and sex denial. They employ magical thinking and emotional pleas to justify their conclusions and commit to arguments of definition that are ultimately lacking substance. However, while lacking rational, they are abundant with emotional reasoning and can be incredibly powerful rhetorical tools in convincing others to believe them without the necessary evidence of anything claimed.

This is especially prevalent when discussing sexual biology and sexual orientation. They consider self-harm to be the fault of other people, even in adults, and use this as a manipulation tactic to make it seem as if they’re being killed at higher rates than their general demographics. This plays hand in hand with the appropriation of statistics around things like racial violence or violence against sex workers to make it appear trans people, particularly white heterosexual (attracted to the opposite sex) trans women from the middle class of Amerca who aren’t victims of prostitution, are under much more persecution than their lived experiences actually reflects.

This has grown into a political ideology not dissimilar to a religion, but without the usual trappings we associate with a religious group. It requires blind faith in the concept of gender and the “life saving” virtues of expensive hormone treatments and plastic surgeries without proper regard for the risks and consequences of these procedures. Challenging the dogma or asking critical questions is considered a sin itself, even when done with excessive caution for other’s feelings. Violence towards known dissenting groups is considered not just ok, but admirable. Expressions of this desire for violence against the out-group is seen as virtuous to the point that doing it too much will be taken as virtue signalling rather than a sign of deep-seeded anger issues as it would for any other situation. Self-identity is their belief system, and public shame are their tools of punishment to control those within the belief system. Due to sex denial, females suffer especially in this paradigm no matter how they identify or what presentations they choose.

However,

Radical Feminism

Once again, I want to make clear that these conclusions were mainly drawn from my direct experience with the radfem community from within. I am not relying on critics of the radical feminist ideology to tell me any of this, though they may echo similar observations.

Radical feminism, as it exists today in action and not in theories from the 1990s, has a huge problem with transphobia, homophobia, and racism. The focus has shifted almost entirely from protecting women to attacking trans women, understandable on some level but counter-productive to all but the individual ego. There is a preoccupation with what women are “allowed” to do, rather than whether their actions and the consequences of those actions actually benefit the cause of anti-sexism. People feel entitled to be nasty, hurtful and even downright transphobic and homophobic if it means hurting their “enemies” somehow. I’m not sure if they fail to see the big picture or have just given up on caring, but it makes all their pleas for compassion and an end to the trans community’s homophobia seem pretty disingenuous.

This focus on “women deserve more as reparations”, when self-applied to the individual, does nothing to combat sexism as these self serving actions often do little to stop sexism and everything to benefit the individual currently existing within a sexist system. It totally ignores the vital role women play in perpetrating sexism through the generations, from mother to daughter or sister or sister or peer to peer through an intricate web of social pressures.Its not totally ignored mind you, but it is conveniently unaddressed whenever addressing it would prevent them from acting aggressive and toxic toward someone else. However others in the community who aren’t personally benefitting from this at the time will notice, thus leading to endless pointless arguments as the egos clash.

This hypocrisy undermines all attempts at broadening their reach to a new generation of women. Similarly, this toxic attitude undermines all opportunity for organization and real activism which requires a certain level of tolerance and the ability to give basic respect to those you don’t like or agree with. All those who do not tolerate such behavior will simply assume radical feminism must be a hate movement because all they see is vitriol and toxicity, no matter how justified the perpetrator feels about it or the underlying motivators. They will not take the time to read theory because they’ve already seen the practice and they have the sense to know it’s bad. Then when these newcomers see this bad behavior for what it is, they’re belittled or deprived of their agency for their decision to turn away from your movement, called things like “handmaidens” and accused of being either selfishly misogynistic or plainly brainwashed, driving them ever further away. The refusal to take responsibility for your own image and the consequences of your behavior under some false impression of ideological purity justifying it only further cements this takeaway outsiders have.

The most egregious example that comes to mind is the “queers” issue. Radfems are adamant about queer being slur, and they’re right. I myself grew up having queer flung at me by violent straight men and I’m not even that old. I feel no joy in the sanitation and generalization of the term. That is not reclamation, that is erasure and appropriation of pain. Most radfems agree on this wholeheartedly. That is, until you decide to spell it “kweer” and start flinging it at trans people who fit a particular homophobic stereotype: strange appearances, unorthodox body modifications like piercing and colored hair, unwashed, perverted to the point of being predatory, self important children who are just playing pretend to be different. All these qualities call back to the stereotype of queers, gays, and it is deeply intrenched in homophobia going back generations. And yet, while radfems would condemn the trans community for the appropriation of queer and its homophobic implications, they have no problem employing it as a slur when it suits their own toxic impulses.

Some even seem to believe that misspelling the word or being homosexual themselves absolves this. It does not. Anybody without the blinders of radfem internal rhetoric will quickly see past this nonsense. If the trans community came back and started calling radfems “diques” and associating the term with severely lesbophobic stereotypes like being unwashed or too ugly to get a man or any of the other countless stereotypes around the slur “dyke”, radfems would be rightly livid. Making a point to only target straight radfems with this insult would not make it any different. But addressing these kinds of hypocritical positions has become a taboo within the radfem community, yet another spark to relight the fires of senseless infighting.

This is the worst example I’ve personally seen, but it is not the only one. There’s also the tendency for radfems, desperate for others who are gender critical to connect with, to make alliances with right wing conservatives despite their racism and homophobia simply because they’re also transphobic but for completely different reasons. And also a tendency to be much more forgiving of misogyny coming from these new “allies” that will glady destroy you too once trans people are out of the way. But I will not labor my point any further by bringing up everything all at once. Regardless, for those who harp on and on about getting to the root of the problem, the moment anyone suggests you try getting to the root of your own problems, taking accountability and making changes, all that self-righteous posturing seems to go out the window just like it does in the trans community. You’ve become a reflection of what you hate in an attempt to combat it, and it will be the death of your movement if you don’t make a serious effort to reform these behaviors and distance yourself from those who employ these forms of rhetoric.

It’s a harsh fact, but the world at large does not care what you deserve, just like sexual biology doesn’t care about your personal feelings about your sex. It just doesn’t. That’s why patriarchy exists in the first place. It is your job as a social movement to use your words and actions to convince them to care. That is what the trans community has managed to do successfully, in my opinion often for the wrong reasons but successfully nonetheless, but such things do not stroke the ego of the individual radfem and therefore simply doesn’t happen in an organized, ideology-wide manner. Small islands of rational stand isolated in a sea of this pointless vitriol, and alone they are hopeless against the attacks against radical feminism born from the trans community and their sex denial that leads to egregious misogyny.

Conclusion

When it comes to the underlying theory, the ideological core, I find that radical feminism has the best chance of growing to become a social movement for genuinely good change in the world, particularly for women and women-loving-women specifically. Trans ideology, in my opinion, is inherently flawed as its core tenants require faith in what one cannot prove and a rejection of science that doesn’t support said faith.

Trans ideology as it exists in 2020 is more akin to religion than science, and has proven its capability to do harm through its use of magical thinking and distorted points of view that constantly shift and change to make space for the core trans ideology to be “correct”. Core ideas such as: sex is either fake or less relevant than gender, that gender is an objective fact of the human psyche, that others failing to fix your own poor mental health are responsible for your harm or death, that transition is always a good idea if someone wants it and no gatekeeping should be performed regarding using plastic surgery to treat mental discomforts, and so on. Remove all these ideas, and the whole thing falls apart.

Meanwhile, removing the toxicity of the radfem community as it exists now will not destroy its underlying core beliefs. Its just that the current people who advertise themselves as radfems and take up that mantle do not actually follow the core ideology of their own movement when it doesn’t benefit them. It has been infiltrated and run amok with bad faith actors who abuse the movement for personal gain, whether they are aware of it or not. And with their combination of being excessively vocal and lacking any shame for their misdeeds, more and more are drawn into their toxic games to the point that the ones who actually speak to the spirit of the core theory get drowned out or attacked to the point none will associate with them openly. The ones who actually know the theory and practice it end up effectively shunned from a community that widely hasn’t even read the theory and thinks hating trans people and thinking pussy = superior makes them a radfem. And thus, by allowing this, that is what radical feminism has become in practice. No amount of appealing to that core philosophy will matter if the actual people don’t apply that theory properly.

So my conclusion? Radical feminism has the greatest potential for good, but it is grossly unrealized and will remain that way without radical internal changes. However, if anyone is equipped to get to the root of the problem and make a radical change it should be radfems. Or at least, the good faith radfems who aren’t abusing the movement, of which I’m convinced have become the minority of radfems in the present day. Perhaps it is time for feminism to once again branch off, not to try returning to the 2nd wave but to set the stage for a true 4th wave as many have talked about. A 4th wave that is based on the foundations set by 2nd wave feminist thinkers, but forward thinking, self-critiquing, and not limited by the hangups of the last wave. I guess only time will tell what radfems value more: their egos in attachment to the idea of identifying as a radfem, or the effective dis-empowerment of patriarchy through organized effort at the expense of satisfying your personal vendettas against all men.

[dxmedstudent]

hi, my parents are trying to coerce me into getting a private baptism and I just don't want one at all bc I'm an atheist. im also a 17 yr old closeted queer person so should I get the baptism to seem normal and not a disappointment to my family? I've been postponing it for 2 years and I cant know if this would lead to my outing and eventual disownment. it kinda feels like they would expect more of me after the baptism tho... thank you dx ♡

Normally, in an ideal world, I’d tell someone to do whatever they want to do, and not do anything they don’t want to do. But you’re a minor stuck living with them for the forseeable future and you need to stay safe for now. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with going along with it to please your parents, if not going along with it is going to put you at risk of harm or make your life difficult. It’s not wrong to want to protect yourself when you’re in a vulnerable position. Obviously it’s dickish of your community for forcing religion on you to begin with, and it’s awful that you’re in a position where you have to worry about being disowned. I’m so sorry that your parents and community may not be accepting of who you are - none of that is your fault. There is nothing wrong with who you are. The ultimate aim should be for you to be able to leave when you can, so you can be safe and be yourself. As a closeted queer person, nobody should ever tell you what you should do - because you’re best suited to know what would keep you safe. If you think being baptised will keep you safe then there’s no harm done in following the path of least resistance for now - I don’t think you should feel bad for lying, because the responsibility lies with the people pessuring you to perfrom religion for their sake. If you did, I don’t think you should feel bad for doing it for your own reasons. What do you think your parents would expect after baptism? Attending church more? You’re better placed than me to know what might happen. If you don’t believe it matters, then it’s a pointless ritual  that doesn’t make you any less atheist or queer. However, you don’t have to feel neutrally about it - maybe to you it goes against who you are and you can’t stand the thought of doing it. It’d be understandable if it was something you didn’t want to consider. Do you have access to advisers you can trust, especially people who can support you from an LGBTq point of view? Id also take the time to look into LGBTQ charities who support youth with unsupportive families or those who have been disowned or become homeless due to discrimination. I hope that something like that will never happen to you, but I think it’s good to do a lot of research to know all your options and to be able to plan for whatever may happen. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide on the risks and benefits. If you think it’s going to buy you some peace, and that the benefits would be worth it, getting baptised might make your life easier. However, to reiterate: I don’t think you should be pressured to do it, and it’s understandable if you don’t want to. It sounds like you’re in a difficult situation with no easy answers - all you can do is navigate it the best that you can. For the record, I think the (by no means exclusively American, though it comes across as very prevalent in US culture to this outsider) attitude of “my house, my  rules”  is often taken to ridicolous extremes. Just because somoene is your offspring or lives with you doesn’t mean you get to dictate their every move. It’s my pet hate whenever an overbearing, controlling parent is defended by “well, these are the rules they set in their house”, as if all rules are equal, and as if it’s normal to see your household as some sort of despotically ruled police state in which people are penalised harshly.

[aktiophis]

I’m having some half-baked thoughts so I thought it best to write them down. Specifically about the common views on Protestantism and Catholicism I’ve seen espoused in online Occult spaces, at least on Tumblr.

I don’t mean the anti-Christian crowd who claim every holiday was stolen from some Ancient monolithic Pagan society where everyone was a witch (or whatever), I mean like, people who can talk out of their mouth rather than their ass. 

[I’m not going to edit this whole thing but this sort of goes from a discussion about how I feel some people don’t put adequate thought into their opinions on Christianity to a realisation that what actually annoyed me was completely unrelated to that. It wasn’t anything at all to do with an opinion as much as whether the opinion came from someone’s thought and experience or if it came from basing your opinions on what other people have said without thinking critically about it.]

Especially as I have gotten older I have much more affinity for Catholicism and how it relates to my Irish ancestry (after all, my Mother’s side only converted a few generations back and they are descended from one of the oldest Irish clans, to my knowledge). Being raised Protestant in Northern Ireland I suppose that might hold a bit more weight than elsewhere but that’s really neither here nor there as far as this is concerned. Due to a number of reasons, not the least of which being Occultism and the rich traditions Catholicism has gotten itself tangled up in over time, I have personally come to favour Catholicism’s viewpoint more than The Protestant ones I was raised in, namely Anglican, which personally feels about as legitimately spiritual as it’s founding was a legitimate reason to or a Church to be formed. That, and I do enjoy a good statue.

This all being said, I do feel like it has become somewhat of a popular attitude to say that Protestantism is objectively worse than Catholicism. I’m not going to say I don’t prefer it, but like so many other things I feel like only half the people I’ve seen espouse the view have thought about it. It also feels reductive to paint with so broad a brush, and I feel like Tumblr especially is at risk of someone reading an offhanded joke about it and then like, erecting a whole psychological monument to the Great and Universal Truth that Protestantism is Objectively Bad, because one of the blogs everyone is idolising at that time said it.

And I suppose the lack of nuance is part of the issue. Catholicism itself isn’t really a monolithic religion, because there are so many regional variations that have sprung up. Protestantism itself is arguably even more nebulous, because now not only do you have geographical variations, but there is no one Protestant Church Hierarchy in the first place. It’s an Umbrella term for any number of denominations, and none of them necessarily agree with each other. As I’ve said, I don’t particularly like any of them, but I feel like when people talk about Protestantism in this context they mean something very specific.

This is sort of the second thing I wanted to say, which regards the very US-centric attitude on this site. It is what it is, idc, but it’s still part of it so I’m bringing it up. Protestantism, as far as I can tell, means specifically Baptists from the Bible belt and other denominations prevalent in the US, and specifically the experience of them in an American cultural lens. I think I personally have known about a dozen Baptists in my entire life (I largely try and ignore and avoid them because they have been universally annoying), and just in general the proportions of the denominations is really quite different in America to Ireland, and I’m sure to many other places.

I’m sort of starting to lose my train of thought over this so I’ll try and sum it up here; What I mean by all of this is that although I personally agree with what seems to be a general preference among occultists for at the least certain ideas from Catholicism over Protestantism (if there is one at all), I think that like a lot of things on Tumblr, these opinions are transferred from the people who have the experience and nuance and have thought about the topic, to the people who haven’t, maybe never will, and who need  to for lack of a better word ‘meditate’ on things rather than simply mirroring whatever seems to be gaining traction in the online cultures they frequent. 

Having written all this, I realise It isn’t actually this topic specifically that annoys me, especially given that quite a bit of the magic I have worked is pulled from a historically Catholic framework. I don’t really care either way what people think about any sect of Christianity, and in retrospect this feels like a silly example to have fixated on but I’ve written it now so it’s getting posted. I don’t belong to either and I have significant issues with many of the spiritual ideas let alone the institutional corruptions and toxic cultures rampant in both. What this was really about was the tendency on Tumblr for people to just be a mirror of whatever they happen to be exposed to. If you don’t mull over and digest things yourself, you will never be like the people you idolise. As knowledgeable or as wise as someone else might seem, even if it’s through the lens of a blog, if you act as a mirror to them in an attempt to be like them or to gain their level of wisdom or power or secret knowledge etc., at the end of the day they will have flesh and blood and substance and your practice/depth will end at the foil of your mirror, and when the other person leaves it will reflect nothing. A puddle can reflect the whole of the sky and still not have enough water to drown a rat.

So yeah I basically wrote this whole thing only to realise I’m just irritated how people think that mimicry and blindly following things is at all a way to make headway in the occult when the entire history of this practice is centred around Deep knowledge and a search for the unknown and divine.