#or the extremism of the puritan beliefs

[firebirdsdaughter]

As the daughter of a history major…

… Where the hell are so many americans on tumblr going to school???

I just saw a post about how ‘it’s taught in america that the pilgrims were Good and fleeing religious intolerance but they were actually Bad’ which first off, you cannot make those distinctions bc freaking everyone was up to kill anyone who didn’t agree in those days, but also… People claiming to be american claiming that they were definitely taught exactly that??

Maybe… If you never took a history class past elementary school, I guess. Or maybe you were in Florida (oh, gods, get my mother started on people killing each other in Florida).

Bc, resident American here, albeit one in Massachusetts, and… No. We’re not taught that. You get a romanticised version in early grades maybe, but the higher you go, you get taught that the most Puritans had different religious beliefs than the standard in England, so they took the opportunity to ship off to the colonies. There’s no victimisation, it’s just straight facts. And that usually, that was the category of people shipped off to the colonies—criminals, religious differences, poor people… Like no one in their right mind wanted to go off into the ‘wilderness.’ They did it bc they hated being where they were, and England was all too happy to get rid of them. Hell, they were also completely unprepared and many of them died on the way over. Like that shot went super bad for so many reasons.

I’m not going to claim I remember every detail I was taught, and I had a bit of a deeper knowledge bc my mother is, again, a history major w/ an interest in American history bc it is whacky), and I do remember the ‘founding’ being a little simplified, but I also distinctly remember going into higher grades and having teachers outright explain ‘what you were told as kids was a very simplified version, let’s talk about it in more detail.’ We weren’t taught that there were ‘good’ or ‘bad’ guys, we were taught that these people had a difference in belief and that for that reason, they ended up shipped off to the colonies. We talked about the conflicts, the damage, the ugly bits.

I think people claiming to have been taught a sanitised version either didn’t take many history classes, didn’t pay attention, or don’t remember much of what they were taught (which no judgement here, I barely remember). Or maybe they’re just trying to sound Cool on the internet? I can’t know. But I remain baffled by certain myths about the us that alleged Americans come out of the woodwork to claim are true when… Your experiences are not universal???

Like I’m happy to criticise the education system, bc excuse me while I cry about not being able to hold a conversation in Spanish, but like. Unless you were in a very particular environment (I went to public school, btw)… No, you weren’t taught that shit. There’s parts missing, sure, but they did not, at least not beyond elementary, try to claim the ‘Pilgrims’ were blameless. I remember being taught that life was harsh and short, and people bitter and stubborn. I don’t doubt that the words ‘fleeing religious intolerance’ might’ve been used, bc technically, yes, they were. But I am also intolerant of trolls, and mosquitos. That’s a statement, it has no bearing on what kind of people either group was.

[crimeronan]

when luz just wants her mom... but shes the worst little girl in the whole world but she's still her mother's girl at heart but she can't be anymore because of all that has happened and so much has happened in so much time without her mom but she still wants her... and how can she navigate that with everything else that needs navigating because it is so hard but luz wants it but she doesn't get why her mom wants it because why for luz? but oh does she want it. she just wants her mom but she doesn't know how </3

YEAH..... luz my poor girl. she spends two seconds on "i'm gonna try to convince myself i don't want my mom" and then is like well that failed. i want my mom so bad and i am going to have an immediate nuclear meltdown about it

i feel like in addition to the obvious lack of self-worth and survivor's guilt and whatnot, luz also has this feeling of like.... she feels like Wanting is evil in itself. wanting makes you do selfish things and impose on other people, wanting hunter has locked both of them into their crazy bullshit and wanting amity feels like a sin and not even for gay-related reasons. wanting her mom?? wanting a guardian?? bad and wrong! clearly proof of being a tyrant!

which is i guess what happens when you're raised by a puritan who firmly subscribes to the "babies crying is the first sign of their sinful nature, don't let them manipulate you" method of child-rearing.

Help Her.

[nunlolita]

Kinda don't like how the term "Puritanical" started being used as shorthand for "anyone who disagrees with me is a conservative" instead of you know. What that word actually means. And that people don't want to examine how cultural Christianity actually works and affects mainstream western culture, especially American culture, and instead opt to use it as a bludgeoning tool to shut down anyone who doesn't agree with them.

[qwertynerd97]

Ok, but as a Christian atheist who is like, really into Corinthians (I think it makes a lot of interesting theological points, especially in balancing your theology and spirituality with “secular” (or, in their case, Roman polytheistic semi-secular) society), I would say that even though that Quora user is saying “(out of context)”, they are actually applying it fairly properly?

Like, in context (as was mentioned in a different reblog thread), the passage is basically saying “Sure, Jesus absolves us of sin, and therefore technically we can do what we want as long as we repent later, but actually approaching life like that is a bad way to do society and not good for the do-er OR the people around them.” And that’s basically the same argument that the Quora poster is making - that sure you may be permitted to watch Riverdale, but is it actually good for you?

(Not saying that I agree with the stance that the Quora poster is making, just that their use of the Corinthians passage is sound. And I DO agree with other reblog threads on this post that mention that the person ASKING the question is suffering from a high-guilt high-control version of Christianity. I personally, tend to counter questions like this with 1 Corinthians 3 8 - Food will not bring us closer to God. We are no worse if we do not eat it, or we are no better if we eat it.)

quora riverdale discourse outta this world

[sepublic]

When discussing the benefits but also the dangers of fantasy in TOH, it makes me consider how this ties into Belos’ bigotry, religious superiority, white supremacy, etc. Because I see how in the parallels to Luz and the depictions of his witch hunts as a ‘game’ he played as a kid, the show is getting into the thought process behind white supremacy and the like; Specifically, by suggesting that it comes from the same core principle of “I was born special, I’m a hero.”

Because think of it this way; I was born inherently better than others, it’s in my blood, I have to defeat evils? These aren’t unlike what white supremacists believe about themselves. After all, TOH is coming off of Harry Potter, which is criticized for the “It’s in his blood” trope with the protagonist.

This is foiled by Luz, who wants to believe at first that she’s special and things will automatically come to her because of it, but then Eda has to explain; Sorry kid, but if you want things you have to work for and earn them, just like anyone else. Some things can be attributed to luck on Luz’s part, but it’s not as if she’s blind to this and saying it’s ‘destiny’ (unlike someone else), plus in general we all have a bit of privilege in some ways.

And again, that ties back into Christian white supremacy, particularly the Puritans, who believed their colony would be a "City upon a Hill." That it’s their goal to enlighten people, or else root out the evildoers; You can see how this evolves into evangelicalism in the U.S. and the right’s obsession with anything new as satanic, even if it’s something like Elvis Presley or Pokemon (which Dana grew up with, coincidentally), or more recently, furries.

(No really, this actually happened I kid you not. It seems like an exaggeration but I swear it genuinely happened and it truly is absurd that it did.)

Anyhow I think that’s important, because it’s not just the message that Christian white supremacy is bad, it’s why people even believe and buy into these things to begin with. A lot of alt-right 4channers and the like fall into these rabbit holes because they feel cheated out of the implicit, unconscious promises of white supremacy and feel as if they’re owed something; So obviously women and PoC, the queers, the ‘diversity hires’ and affirmative action, this is what’s cheated them.

And you can see the connection between white christian ideas and how that can translate into a lot of fantasy stories, hence “It’s in your blood” and “It’s destiny,” as well as Isekai Colonialism; The idea that what if another world and its inhabitants just existed for you. These tropes are inspired by outdated ideas that Christian white supremacy, an outdated belief, has plenty examples of and sometimes even inspired.

And this is why it’s important to engage with these things critically and question them… But at the same time, Luz is still allowed to love Azura, it’s just about maintaining a critical eye and being self-aware of what you internalize and don’t. Hence her learning to differentiate reality from fiction and not become delusional; Hence King doing the same!

By making that connection, it does explain this type of bigotry by framing it in a way that viewers can actually relate to, even if they also condemn it just as much, if not moreso after understanding. It ties even the genocide with tropes like the dragon slayer, the endless horde of monsters you don’t ever have to feel bad about or question killing, or the DnD Evil Race; Which on their own, these stories aren’t necessarily in advocacy for genocide of course, some of them are just inspired by previous ones without making that connection. And most people know not to let it affect how they see reality.

Because it’s one thing to let yourself be petty and find catharsis against a genuine, extreme example who has gone out of their way to hurt you (those definitely exist, alas); But it’s another to actively search for people to feel angry towards, amidst groups unrelated to you, and provoke them until they give you that ‘justification’. Because you’re not responding to anything, you are the aggressor; In essence, you are performing a witch hunt, in a need to feel like a hero enacting righteous judgment.

Because you’re desperate for the power of putting someone else beneath you, which is what the mundane bully does, out of the belief this conversely translates into you being above others; Again, the ‘chosen one’ beliefs, the Christian white supremacy. And suddenly you better understand why Evangelicals raged over something as innocuous as the Pokemon games that Dana grew up with, back when they first came out.

So Luz understands; She does understand, better than some people, in fact. She understood the Collector. But just because she understands, doesn't necessarily mean Luz approves or excuses; She still has every right in condemning Belos because she never let herself go that far, and this behavior would be condemned even by those trying to make up for it; It’s why they try to make up for it. And the fiction Luz wants to happen for herself (which isn’t the same as the fictions one enjoys) isn't centered around there being hidden bad actors amongst the populace to constantly root out; Luz is only going to react, not act, and consistently, predominantly sees the best in others.

In the end, Belos latched onto Caleb marrying Evelyn, and then the Grimwalkers, and finally Luz, as a way of a proving a point to himself; That wiping out witches WAS in service of humanity, it would actually help them, by showing how he 'rescued' a human from temptation. I'm sure he genuinely loved Caleb, but in an extreme form of Luz's Wing it like Witches, at some point he subsumed Caleb's input and agency to instead make him into a docile trope to make decisions for.

And when Caleb didn't go along with that story, pointed out how it didn't fit the reality of the situation; Philip killed him! His priorities shifted from doing it for Caleb's sake, for the sake of HIS fantasy; He saw an opportunity to live out the Witch Hunter story and it mattered more to him than actually helping someone, or realizing in relief he didn't have to.

Hence the Titan saying Belos "fears what he can't control" due to "his need to be the hero in his own delusion." It’s a quote applicable to real life conservatives who look for things to outlaw, because hating makes them feel like righteous saviors; Remember Pokemon? Gotta save people from themselves and any potential temptations… Belos couldn't control Caleb, and the Grimwalkers? Belos' way of re-attempting his 'side quest' to again, prove that what he's doing is for the sake of humanity, in the absence of actual humans to work with.

Not that he cares about this for fear of hurting others, but because he fears it means he isn't the special hero. Note that Belos doesn't feel guilt over any witches and demons he killed in For the Future, it's telling; As is the assumption that even if he was treated with hostility when arriving in both Gravesfield and the isles, Belos still understood that murdering the colony was wrong… Yet ignores this lesson when it comes to demons because of hypocrisy, choosing to go after the world that was canonically accepting and would be much harder to attack.

And when Luz shows up, Belos abandons Hunter (showing how much he really cared) because Luz is a real human to save, even if she's technically a queer girl of color; But if you remember how Americans kidnapped Native children and assimilated them into Christian society and culture, it actually makes perfect sense because it's another form of genocide. And it's just as racist and insincere as the murder. And just like many homophobic Christians, Belos selectively chooses what to apply from the Bible because he knows it speaks contrary to what he does and he fears that, it’s something he can’t control despite his attempts to.

[bunnymi1k]

i have some thoughts, and i just need to share.

content warning: heavy usage of the word queer in a reclaimed context.

you cannot remove the queer aspect from the owl house.

being queerphobic is literally missing the entire point of the show and it's messaging. the owl house is so important when it comes to representing us onscreen. the protagonist is a queer person of color; it's a huge stepping stone for the community. pushing your way into our spaces, into a fandom that is so elated to have such a phenomenal piece of media so casually show queer characters and relationships, and then telling us you do not accept who we are, etc......

do you not realize the harm you're causing? where's the self awareness? genuinely. belos is quite literally a physical embodiment of religious extremism and the harm it causes; brother wanted to cause a genocide because he was a puritan and believed witches shouldn't live. c'mon now.

the shows whole message is that ostracized people are still deserving of love, and that they'll find their people that love them unconditionally for who they are. that kind of message speaks volumes to queer youth, and can be read AS a queer allegory, especially since luz IS queer.

even if you're one of those people that says "i just don't agree/support" or has the "love the sinner hate the sin" mentality, you aren't exempt. that mindset is still so harmful and disrespectful, and your love for queer people is false. love should be unconditional. you cannot ignore or separate a person's queerness from them. the denial of something so integral to who a person is is so damaging and dangerous, regardless of how ""nice"" you put it. it's the same rhetoric held by those that want us to not exist, in case you forgot; that ideology is a very slippery slope, and can easily become violent. and if your reasoning is just "well i'm religious" then you need to do some heavy self reflection and improvement. whatever authority figure or person from your faith that taught you that you cannot accept queer folk's identities was not preaching the word of god. simple as that. we are people, deserving of acceptance, love, and the same rights as you. if you can't agree with that sentiment, that's your problem and i'm sorry but you cannot call yourself a fan of the show (yeah this is still a post about homophobia in the TOH fandom lmao)

this is, obviously, glossing over the fact that your personal beliefs and faith do not dictate what someone else does in their life, and sure as hell does not dictate what laws should be implemented.

to make a super long story short: the owl house is queer, it's cast is like 99% queer (if not all, i don't even think anyone's been confirmed straight), and to ignore this fact is insulting and there's a reason you guys are shamed in the fandom. however, i do believe people are capable of growth and change, and i hope you can find it within yourselves to change your perspective on the matter.

straights, you got huntlow. leave the other ships alone. especially when it comes to amity. she's a lesbian. stop being weird (this is only half a joke..)

[theangryman]

kink as religion/spirituality

it’s a little gauche to say something is “like a cult” - it’s overused as an expression

but a large problem i have with kink/bdsm subculture is the commonalities with religion, the spiritual aspects

when you think of precedents for “consensual” ritualized harm and self harm, they are religious (several groups have traditions of undergoing full on crucifixions for Easter, there’s similar rites for some Shia Muslims for Ashura - which is today I believe)

the desire for progression as some sort of internal challenge - there’s always a desire and encouragement to expand one’s limits

it’s driven by the same desire for a transcendent experience

the communities’ members have strange persecution complexes, gaslighting victims of abuse, especially when by higher ranking members

the focus on hierarchy (leather culture had formalized rules - serve in a house, train as submissive - tortured gay men wanting to punish themselves - maybe can read a form a Catholicism into this; modern kink culture is like modern Protestantism in that any sufficiently well groomed upper middle class man can claim to have the unique skills to be a good pastor/“dom” and open up a church/dungeon)

the repulsion towards former members/critiques of systemic issues present (expression anti kink opinions has gotten me the same kind of hateful response from other trans men that being a trans man did in the 2010s online - to the point where gendering people correctly appears to be optional for folks who are anti kink? the double whammy of being accused of being a TERF and than insulted with “girl” is always a fucking whiplash - can you not use the term “TERF” to mean “anyone i don’t like,” y’all look like fucking morons)

maybe many of these things can be applied to things like multi level marketing or any other extremely large organizational idea that people subsume their identity into, but the aspect of seeking “ecstasy” adds a hellish intensity to the mix

and like losing one’s religion, it’s difficult to leave. it’s difficult to part with the thought parties the beliefs. it’s difficult to justify to outsiders. (i agreed to let him do X but he did Y - the specifics don’t matter but it’s going to happen to you)

it creates mind bending cognitive dissonance - only puritanical criticisms of kink can be addressed. no matter what critique of kink you make, the response is

men are submissive too! (go actually look at femdom porn/hentai lol and see what they want or make a troll fet dom-F account if you don’t believe me + most submissive men are trans men with self esteem issues - the type who have boyfriends that refer to them as their girlfriend to their family; the religious analog would be something about complementary gender roles perhaps)

it’s all about consent! (what do we say about consent in power dynamics? now this is a subtle point, which is made impossible to address because it is such a fundamental threat to heterosexuality itself, that Dworkin tried to make and was glossed into “all sex is rape” because it is such a threat - what do we say to the idea of consent when we are fundamentally unequal human beings by nature of assigned sex of birth? who makes more money? who can overpower? i think most have gotten the picture that what Thomas Jefferson did to Sally Hemings was unambiguously rape, but what about all of the women throughout history when marital rape was considered the norm? it requires acknowledging that your great grandpa probably raped your great grandma, or up and down that line for thousands of generations - maybe if you acknowledge up front that gooners are going to want you to agree to humiliating and disgusting sex acts up front - that agreeing to have mutual fun with a stranger means rolling the dice on physical assault - maybe if you agree up front and pretend you can set some kinds of rules it’ll work out; similarly, religion is the comfort that life isn’t pointless suffering and maybe we’ll get to see our dog and grandma again if you follow these rules)

you can’t project your trauma onto the community/bad people aren’t doing really kink (i have a fairly large sampling size of kink partners and experiences personally. i genuinely don’t believe my arguments can be dialed down to “i had personal trauma in kink thus all kink is bad” unless one is taking my words at bad faith. this very much reeks of accusing atheists of hating god because of trauma or not getting what they want.)

you don’t actually believe that/you’re lying/you want it (these are obvious comparisons to religion)

these feel like the same kinds of responses i see to ex Mormons/Jehovah’s Witnesses/etc online

modern kink is similar to modern Protestantism in that it facilitates the creation of micro cults. institutionalization of kink is structured such that critique can be deflected onto individual actors. i’d argue Reddit is a major source of kink “education” - and no one can deny that subreddits can have concerning moderators. You have Fetlife, which is primarily heterosexual, male dom/female sub pornography. You have a couple of Booktok tier pop psych books which encourage Bronze Age marriage models. This maps to the diffuse ways in which American Protestantism propagates its ideas - it’s a nebulous mess of ideas that can evaporate when asked to take responsibility. We can’t hold all Christians accountable for Mark Driscoll’s ideas; we can’t hold all kinksters responsible for the actions of [insert the creeps who message you if you take up my suggestion of a troll fetlife account]. But can we not ask what it says about American Protestantism that Mark Driscoll exists and says what he says? And can we not look askew when what he said could be happily echoed by a kinkster as long as it was prefixed with “it’s kinky and consensual btw <3” and had been posted on fetlife anonymously - instead of his own church forum?

Kink is reactionary ideology which has parasitized societal acceptance of queer folks to justify the abusive dynamics of heterosexual relationships and sex, which has replaced religion as the justification for that dynamic.

[mdhwrites]

Owl House tries to be critical of religious thinking and thought processes but the ending unfortunately supports the notion as well as the writing do you have the same thoughts as well?

It's not the ending that ruins this. The WHOLE SHOW is terrible at this. The reason why is obvious as well: The show is too busy mocking modern society and late stage capitalism for its villains, if it's mocking anything, to have time or room to say anything about dystopians, puritans or religion.

Just to make this point quickly: The first time we EVER hear about the Titan in any sort of context that implies even reverence is the S1 FINALE. It is only first brought up as the reason how Belos came to power: His ability to hear the Titan. Before then, the Titan is maybe used to replace God in common expletives but that's it. It's just the place they live in so supposedly one of TOH's main critiques takes an ENTIRE. SEASON. to show up.

However, it's not just how long it takes for people to start even mentioning it that's the problem. It never gains a foothold. People don't do things for the Titan. They do things for Belos. There's like maybe a half dozen LINES in the entire show that have anything to do with religious allegory besides the fact that witch hunts were religiously motivated. Maybe closer to a dozen because of Hunter's ramblings during Hollow Mind but that is ONE episode for the majority of any talk about this.

And it's not just that she show fails to depict a religion. Allegory exists for a reason. But... What is the faith then? The Coven System is MUCH closer to a stratified class system, or a communist economic system, that it literally ever comes to being a religion. It's basis might be in that but no one treats it that way. It's just a job and what you decide to specialize in.

The wild witches being absent is another part of this that also explains why it's absent. Eda doesn't get bothered by... Anyone? In the entire show? about being a wanted criminal. Covention is the absolute closest the show ever comes to having anyone besides the EC give a shit. In that one, people at least squint at her but despite her suspicious behavior, they don't do more than that. That is actually pretty accurate to how someone in the US might act in the modern day... But not in a dystopia. Especially not a religiously motivated dystopia.

A common factor between religious zealots and dystopias is the CONSTANT PARANOIA. The fear that is put into them of the other. How they are directed to destroy ANYTHING that is against the doctrine. This is why Christianity has had SO MANY SCHISMS because a single question for the faith will cause some people to lose their minds! The witch trials, no matter where they were, were often motivated by fear of demons and empowerment of others and used to keep those who might be shaking things up down, using both genuinely held beliefs and those that could be manipulated to cause the masses to agree that the person had to die. Even from a less extreme perspective, these same ideas are used to discriminate, alienate and attack.

However... That doesn't happen. Just because Eda is nice, to a couple people, an entire mob of loyal citizens is able to be rallied to go against the ONE LAW of the Isles. There is no belief there. There is no indoctrination there. If the Isles actually cared about the Titan, Eda should be fucked. Luz should cast a glyph in front of Amity and TERRIFY her because, as Amity puts it, "I've never seen someone cast it like that."

And the funny thing is, this would have made Luz's character climax statement ACTUALLY WORK. If everyone was terrified of her simply because she chose a different path, had to do things differently and was just inherently different, she could be a great stand in for all the effort so many marginalized people have to put in. All this work just to be understood against held beliefs that don't reflect reality. Held beliefs that only exist to prop up the status quote.

But that would mean making the Isles an inherently hostile place. To make Luz have to work for EVERY. SINGLE. INCH that she gains. And, well, the writers weren't interested in that. They weren't interested in a struggle. Instead, they were interested in the story of a young bi teenager going to a fantasy world and living out her dreams.

So sure, her literally being blessed by God to enact his will against his enemies is AWFUL. It explicitly makes it so that she is actually just Belos but she actually DOES hear the Titan! So you know, just don't believe in false prophets but prophets do exist and you should follow them unquestionably.

However, the problem starts LONG before then. Like almost any problem with TOH honestly.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[ranma0]

If you think that the problem with Valentino is that he's producing and selling porn, then you're missing the point

The point is that he's abusive and sexually exploitative, this would be equally bad no matter what position of power he was in

What makes the porn situation uniquely bad is that his victims are both vulnerable and stigmatized for being sex workers

the perceived immorality of porn is another weapon that can be used against people like Angel Dust

And it's both telling and disturbing how many fans of this show seem to take the idea that both sex work and drug use are inherently evil at face value

Which is a belief that is both extremely puritan and victim blaming

[simplegenius042]

Late Music Monday and Partners-In-Law Meme

Tagged by @imogenkol

Tagging @socially-awkward-skeleton @aceghosts @noodlecupcakes @direwombat @voidika @la-grosse-patate @inafieldofdaisies @cassietrn @adelaidedrubman @shellibisshe @josephseedismyfather @icecutioner @derelictheretic @shallow-gravy @strangefable @rhettsabbott @josephslittledeputy @cloudofbutterflies92 @skoll-sun-eater @carlosoliveiraa @g0dspeeed @wrathfulrook @afarcryfrommymain @strafethesesinners @turbo-virgins @raresvtm @softtidesworld @starsandskies @ladyoriza @florbelles @minilev @yokobai @thewanderer-000 @omen-speaker @justasmolbard @alypink and @sledge-in-space + anyone who'd like to join.

Late Music Monday, songs for characters from The UnTitledverse, The Silver Chronicles and Life, Despair & Monsters. Not in that order though. Partners-In-Law Meme for my V, Judy and River. Songs and template below the cut:

Welp, here I go rambling about the parallels of Silva and Paul once more. Alright so, I think by now we've mostly gotten well-aware that Silva (and Paul) have not had good experiences in regards to religion. Most certainly due to the fact they were both born in a cult that abides by puritanism and fascist beliefs, which, by the time of Paul's birth, also gained a militaristic mindset with the introduction of the Enforcers when Adam took charge as their Prophet. The Congregation of Adam's Guard, on surface level, preaches and demands virtue and righteousness from its followers, to effectively become morally pure under their Prophet's watching eyes, especially if they wanted to see Paradise after the world falls to the Collapse when all seven Frozen Omens melt. To not adhere to or display any other qualities other than their "norm" was punished with extreme force, and by the time Adam came into charge, with death. Which explains why under the surface of the cult's message, is a foundation rooted in colonialism and xenophobia, tied up in a bow of hypocrisy that is used to justify all kinds of depraved and heinous actions the Congregation and their Prophet allows. Silva and Paul are both victims of the Congregations persecutions and discrimination. Both had been under the God-fearing foot of the Congregation, with Paul being amongst the segregated Tumultites and Silva enduring under Adam Omar's terror. Both Silva and Paul eventually reject the Congregation, (a) because the Congregation wants them dead, (b) long-term wise, especially under Adam's tyranny, the Congregation and the society it has built through fearmongering cannot survive the inevitable collapse from the insufficient resources that protects them from the environment and the spark of rebellion due to the less fortunate citizens living under the pressure of becoming "pure" and (c) the Congregation sucks. Silva and Paul instead adopt the Tumultite community's values and beliefs, especially of their first revolutionary leader, Jannah, who Paul especially aspires to be like. Finally, Paul and Silva, once in the modern world, while not believers in the predominant religions (especially in America), do not hold any ill-thought towards such groups; Silva rather admires some of the lessons spoken and wishes she could have the same comfort that their God gives to others, meanwhile Paul is only hostile to people who hide behind God to harm and oppress others... otherwise he's pretty agnostic to the whole thing. One things clear though; their experiences with the Congregation had irreversibly shattered their perceptions of being able to seek any kind of comfort under any deity, especially with the associated pain that haunts them to this day. The song below can fit either one of Silva or Paul or even both.

"First things first I'ma say all the words inside my head I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh-ooh The way that things have been, oh-ooh

Second things second Don't you tell me what you think that I could be I'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea, oh-ooh The master of my sea, oh-ooh

I was broken from a young age Taking my sulking to the masses Writing my poems for the few That look at me, took to me, shook to me, feeling me Singing from heartache, from the pain Taking my message from the veins Speaking my lesson from the brain Seeing the beauty through the...

Pain! You made me a, you made me a believer, believer Pain! You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer Pain! Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain My life, my love, my drive, it came from... Pain! You made me a, you made me a believer, believer

Third things third Send a prayer to the ones up above All the hate that you've heard has turned your spirit to a dove, oh-ooh Your spirit up above, oh-ooh

I was choking in the crowd Building my rain up in the cloud Falling like ashes to the ground Hoping my feelings, they would drown But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing Inhibited, limited till it broke open And rained down It rained down like...

Pain! You made me a, you made me a believer, believer Pain! You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer Pain! Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain My life, my love, my drive, it came from... Pain! You made me a, you made me a believer, believer

Last things last By the grace of the fire and the flames You're the face of the future, the blood in my veins, oh-ooh The blood in my veins, oh-ooh

But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing Inhibited, limited till it broke open And rained down It rained down like...

Pain! You made me a, you made me a believer, believer Pain! You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer Pain! Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain My life, my love, my drive, it came from... Pain! You made me a, you made me a believer, believer!

Eden "Evie" Bloodleech, formerly known as Evie Jackson, was picked up and became an experiment for Sir Enigma Malvolio. Unfortunately, she survived the process and became one of his rare human successes, which was a mindset that was further encouraged by her apparent likeness for her "rebirth" and led him to continue his absurd quest to evolve humans to a level he sees as perfect for them, allowing Evie to officially join the Ruins of the Midnight Rise as both a valuable member and a prized success story. He sent her out in his stead for diplomatic purposes, allowing her to use her abilities to charm potential investors and allies to further his illicit research. Eventually she was sent back to her original universe in my An Invite To Wine And Dine WIP (set in The Invitation) to infiltrate the Alexander Family in order to dethrone Dracula and take the three families he held control under her wing... or rather tendril. And... she's rather a show-off (byproduct of being one of Malvolio's rare favorites I guess):

"There's only two types of people in the world The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe Well, baby, I'm a put-on-a-show kinda girl Don't like the backseat, gotta be first (Oh, oh) I'm like the ringleader, I call the shots (Call the shots) I'm like a firecracker, I make it hot

When I put on a show I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins Spotlight on me and I'm ready to break I'm like a performer, the dance floor is my stage Better be ready, hope that you feel the same

All eyes on me in the center of the ring Just like a circus When I crack that whip, everybody gon' trip Just like a circus Don't stand there watching me, follow me Show me what you can do Everybody let go, we make a dance floor Just like a circus."

And finally, a I'm sure I've used before, but am gonna do it again because "I'm So Sorry" not only slaps, but fits the main antagonist of The UnTitledverse's first saga, Edward Carmine, quite well, if you squint. He's a menace to society and should not be in charge of any leadership roles, even as a CEO. Edward's the type of man to burn all his bridges and blame a child he manipulated for it. Diabolical man that just won't get the hint and stay dead. Extremely petty and arrogant, as antagonists like him should be. By far, amongst one of my favourite antagonist OCs (though that's probably because he's one of the first ones to be developed). Listen below:

"About time for anyone telling you off for all your deeds No sign the roaring thunder stopped in cold to read (No time) I get mine and make no excuses Waste of precious breath (No time) The sun shines on everyone Everyone, love yourself to death

So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go You'll never be loved till you've made your own You gotta face up, you gotta get yours You never know the top till you get too low

A son of a stepfather A son of a, I'm so sorry A son of a stepfather A son of a, I'm so sorry

No lies and no deceiving, man is what he loves I keep tryin' to conceive that death is from above (No time) I get mine and make no excuses Waste of precious breath (No time) The sun shines on everyone Everyone, love yourself to death

So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go You'll never be loved till you've made your own You gotta face up, you gotta get yours You never know the top till you get too low

A son of a stepfather A son of a, I'm so sorry A son of a stepfather A son of a, I'm so sorry

Life isn't always what you think it'd be Turn your head for one second and the tables turn And I know, I know that I did you wrong But will you trust me when I say that I'll make it up to you Somehow? Somehow?"

And lastly, a Partners-In-Law meme for my V (actual name Min-Ji "Vasilisa" Choi), her new partner Judy Álvarez and her amicable ex River Ward. [Note: I'm assuming affection refers to their feelings for their mutual partner. Also I never romanced River and am just taking taking whatever information I can recall or from the internet in regards to his preferences and sexuality and the information I've found (especially the wiki compared to everything else) is quite conflicting so I'm going with Bi-curious]:

[t440]

i exceeded the reply character count limit

@nimcest here is your AA fanbase lore. it is very messsy and scattered but i hope you enjoy... anyone else can read as well but be warned it is long

so, basically, my concept of "how things went wrong" is kind of complicated. basically, before the ds rereleases of the original trilogy, as i'm sure you know, all of the games were not in english. they were either played on the GBA or, extremely rarely, on windows xp, in japanese. (gyakuten saiban pc is such a fascinating thing to have happened. anyway)

we started to get english releases VERY tenatively with the DS games, and at the time, no one actually expected it to do well in the US, and so the early fanbase didn't really expect the full trilogy translated, so they actually fan-translated part of aa3. but unfortunately, AA did extremely well.

the fanbase grew somewhat in response to the first 3 games officially being translated, but not… massively. most of this early fanbase was "chill like that" due to being internet users in the late 2000s who were posting about a DS game. not a very cool thing to do at the time, and many people posting online were pretty down with the whole yaoi nature of things.

aa4 did change things somewhat by being released quickly with a translation, but not… much? like frankly things didn't go downhill at that time- as you can see from the glut of early 2010s gavincest. same with dual destinies, honestly!

but when the cultural change of fandom puritanism hit hard, it was a bit after dual destinies released… and it hit the aa fanbase particularly hard. it was an influx of people who hadn't had this context, didn't care, and didn't really even realize that "unnecessary feelings" was the most stupidly gay line in text at the time

i've given this much background for a reason, because my guess as to what happened kind of depends on the fact that AA Was like… a pre-internet puritanism fanbase, heavily based upon an (accurate) perception that the games were inspired by BL, for a game series that was a pretty early example of a SFW visual novel. it was just pretty heavily accepted that AA was gay, and early on, most fans actually knew the japanese names of the characters- which is why we say narumitsu.

and why we DON'T say kyouodo and instead say klapollo... is that, unfortunately, aa4-aa5 didn't have much time to breathe before the influx of people i mentioned above that triggered the weird reactionary vibe of the fanbase. these poeple felt threatened by the fanbase that existed and so went VERY hard in the other direction. that's actually why the edgeworth asexual headcanon exists... it came about in like 2013-ish, during the height of the homophobic concept that AA was Not That Gay.

it's like. if you find pre-apocalypse english klapollo, ever, compare it to modern klapollo. both of these base themselves off of the text of the games, right? but early klapollo often actually tries to engage with the ... You know. Fact that these two people were kindaaaa abused by the same guy. And also said guy kinda sorta is klavier;'s brother, who looks basically the same as him. whereas you'd be hard fucking pressed to find any modern-day klapollo that does this, because the reactionary hatred of anything complex won against the evil homos.

(same thing applies with narumitsu, godonaru, etc etc. in eng speaking circles- narumitsu got Generic Yaoi-ized, despite the... well whatever the fuck happened during the 7yrgap. and godonaru was sentenced to the Problematic Bin. Also godot is problwematic i guess, god forbid a man do antyhing)

the belief that AA was not actually influenced by japanese law also came about during this time, as anyone who followed aa4's development would know undeniably that this was literally about a fucking japanese legal system change. obviously aa is commentary, even without that fact, but like. it was undeniable with that info.

and that's also why we have the weird dichotomy of "blackbright", simon blackquill x The REAL BOBBY FULBRIGHT vs "phantomquill", which is ... you know, simon x the phantom. (blackbright is, as you know, stupid as fuck, because we dont even know what the real bobby fulbright was like, and we never meet him.)

both new Normie fans and new fans who were internet teens just were not, dar ei say, chill like that. and seeing the actual dark shit the previous eng fanbase produced at the time of the internet getting even more mainstream AND the puritanization of fandom? it just cultivated a really violently reactionary attitude.

aaaand that's why narukiri was absolutely sacriligeous to talk about at the time. like, actually seirously, the level of phoenix/trucy. because these people were anti-narumitsu at worst and genericizing it at best. and a lot of the people who were pro-narumitsu, generic as it was at the time, were specifically possessed with the attitude of "good representation is the only representation"... which again, was pretty normal early 2010s fandom.

and then we got spirit of justice, and the fanbase expanded further, and further, and then we get to the absolute hell we see in late 2010s aa fanbase where they seriously, actually think that narukiri wasn't like, intended. and they hate phantomquill. and they're like seriously just racist against godot. and so on.

we're beginning to see things get better, i think? for one, capcom localized aai2, which is the most explicit about abuse by far... and i seriously just think they didn't localize it because of that earlier on. and beyond that, we're seeing narukiri, Period. we're even seeing fucked up content of it more.

but like. seriously speaking. 2014 aa fandom was maybe one of the worst things, possibly ever, and i am so happy we are 10 years away from that. god bless

[deedsandcreeds]

“Americans, steeped in the ideal of religious freedom, take it for granted that orthodoxy without room for heresy is dangerous. Think of the Inquisition, they say, or the trial of Galileo, or (a little closer to home) the Puritan witch hunts. Yet heresy without room for orthodoxy turns out to be dangerous as well. Many of the overlapping crises in American life, from our foreign policy disasters to the housing bubble to the rate of out-of-wedlock births, can be traced to the impulse to emphasize one particular element of traditional Christianity—one insight, one doctrine, one teaching or tradition—at the expense of all the others. The goal is always progress: a belief system that’s simpler or more reasonable, more authentic or more up-to-date. Yet the results often vindicate the older Christian synthesis. Heresy sets out to be simpler and more appealing and more rational, but it often ends up being more extreme.”

Ross Douthat, “Bad Religion”

[bananadramaaa]

I am absolutely obsessed with your art and your one comic with Caleb lying about the rabbit to protect Philip makes me obsessed with the concept of him being absolutely morally grey. I don’t know I just love the idea of him being gentler and more sociable but absolutely zeroed in and centered around his brother via codependency parental figure.

Philip wants to be a witch hunter? Then they’re witch hunters and he’ll enable his behavior. Philip and his lives are on the line? Rip Mary, you’re dead now. There’s something fascinating about the idea of the brothers paralleling each other, of Caleb enabling Philip, of asking him to be careful about the cruelty but more afraid of the consequences of the cruelty then the cruelty itself. And then he meets Evelyn and he’s a witch hunter but he likes this witch and so he’ll center his morality around that and doesn’t see how it comes into conflict with the life he’s shaped around his younger brother.

It’s just tinkering in my head of Philip and Caleb not being Evil and Good, but Caleb absolutely being kind of fucked as well (because witch hunting puritan society is an absolute mess) and he’s better than his brother, would never go to the extremes Philip did, but he’s cut from the same cloth and held his brother close and raised him into the man he is today, but Caleb is social and willing to bend his beliefs for his loved ones and is the enabler and bystander who never lifted the knife, but didn’t stop it from cutting, and let him be a messy, complex individual as well.

Sorry for the long rant! You’re art just inspired so many thoughts about them within in me!

Hi! Thank you, I'm really flattered that my art and comic inspired you somehow 🙏✨

"Trial" (this comic code name XD) is my one of personal favourite pieces that I drew. I guess I mentioned in one of the asks that I really don't like Good/Evil siblings trope and my goal was to show through this comic that the brothers lived in fucked-up times and that they're both not normal. Anything could be counted as "witch" basically. People were afraid and people were talking. In fact, how can you be normal when there's so much insanity going on around you? Nah, not buying it. And let's be honest, it was probably Caleb who taught Philip all the witch hunter stuff and, well, a lot of other things¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ They were orphans, they came to a new place and they needed to survive somehow because they're strangers there. Survival of the fittest you know. Caleb was very lucky to have met Evelyn. Somehow she was able to change his outlook for the better.

Really like your analysis/headcanon! Again, I'm really happy that my work was such inspiration for you✨

[the-bjd-community-confess]

I wondered if this would come up with the repeated mention of being for or against using religious iconography on doll clothes, but I guess someone needs to mention something important about human culture and the nature of symbolism.

The reason crosses on things is problematic is because ultimately they will always represent an affiliation to Christianity. The nature of symbols is that they are inherently symbolic and thus they communicate to people a relationship to the belief or group which the symbol has been known to represent.

Because of history and the many complications of colonialism, Puritanism, and bigotry, I personally view symbols of Christianity (the cross, the crucifix, Jesus, etc) as akin to hate symbols, and therefore those who brandish them are unsafe and unwelcome to me. Obviously, other people feel the opposite and see Christianity as a beacon of love and faith and therefore the symbols make them feel safe and those who brandish them are felt to be friends or community. Ultimately, the lesson is the same. The cross communicates an affiliation to that particular religion, and to say that it can exist neutrally is frankly ignorant and naive, but it happens a lot actually because Christianity is so deeply ingrained in human culture that most languages heavily incorporate direct references to capital G God as colloquialisms, and because of colonialism and missionaries, and evangelicalism, there is nearly no part of the entire globe which has not in some way been touched or influenced by Christianity (or at the very least, Abrahamic religion). This creates a sense of easy assimilation that has existed for hundreds of years which makes us complacent to the oppressive thumb of Christianity, making us blind to its influence and heavy presence in everything we do, see, and consume.

So allow me to make an extreme example which will be easier to separate from the normality of Christian and Abrahamic iconography:

If someone started selling doll clothes (think gothic Lolita) but instead of crosses as decorations, they included sw*stikas, but the creator proclaimed that they “just think they’re pretty” or that they “believe in the original representation of peace, unity, and fertility” and are therefore unaffiliated with n*zis and believe the symbol to be neutral. Would this bother you?

I don’t think any reasonable person would say that it wouldn’t. Some may say that that person can do as they please, but ultimately the only people who would buy the clothes would be people who are entirely ignorant and naive to the implication, or people who directly identify with n*zis as no non-bigoted person would ever want to accidentally or negligently indicate to others that they hate Jewish people, poc, the disabled, or lgbtq+ people, or any other people that have been victimized by the people who have proudly brandished that symbol and gave it the infamy it has today.

It’s a outlandish example for sure because most people believe the n*zis were/are bad, and the majority of the world still feels some favor for Christianity as Christians are a lot of the time in the majority, but ultimately, the message is the same.

Like the sw*stika denotes n*zism, wearing a cross tells other people that you approve of Christianity (whether that is a good or bad thing in your opinion is entirely up to you) and similarly wearing a cross upside down tells people that you disapprove of it or even are affiliated with Satanism or some kind of anti-Christian faith and would therefore cause discomfort in people who believe in or hold dear God and Jesus. Trying to say that symbols hold no weight or meaning would, in essence, dismantle the fundamentality of language and culture in relation to humanity as every language and translation between languages began with an image which became representative of an idea or thing.

Sure it’s a lot to read into a metal charm, but I think it’s important to always question why we do something as human beings. Why is one symbol, beloved by a group that unfairly victimized a minority people (the sw*stika), seen as terrible and far too heavy to be used so carelessly or neutrally, but another symbol, also beloved by a group that has been known historically to unfairly victimize several different minority peoples and cultures (the cross), is comfortably used in neutrality because it “looks nice” and its “not that deep”? It’s mostly food for thought, but I think in this day and age we should not so blindly submit to these forces for the sake of complacency, neutrality, and conformity without asking ourselves “Why would I wear this symbol if I don’t agree with what it represents?” Especially in an age where people are educating themselves about brands which use child slave labor and actively pollute the world for profit, and then also trying to warn people off of wearing their logos or publicly displaying their use of that company’s products to limit the control those companies have on our day-to-day lives.

~Anonymous

[dotthings]

Couple of thoughts on spn 5.17 rewatch -

Dean is losing hope and feeling the weight of his fear they can't save everyone and he's more and more considering a compromise where they do it the angel's way and save some of the planet and let many people die. And Cas is mirroring Dean with his self doubts and his road towards despair, saying he's a poor example of an angel--and yet we know among Cas's strengths are his uniqueness, his free will, he is in fact the very best angel. He found a whole liquor store and he drank it. But he's hanging in there, shows up to help, talks about jokes are funnier in Enochian. At this point a lot of his faith and ability to keep going is Sam and Dean, especially his north star and his faith is in Dean.

False prophet. And extreme & puritanical ideas of morality are not the answer in determining who deserves to be saved. S5 has a lot of ruminations on faith and true belief (and the nature of belief) vs false ideas of what faith and belief means and there's a lot to mull over.

That scene where Dean gives Cas aspirin for his headache is one of my favorite early Dean and Cas moments. Dean noticing Cas in pain and looking after him, the way he does for family, and they aren't that close yet, but they have become friends by this point (although not nearly as deep as what the relationship will become). Cas asks Dean how he manages to keep going. Dean's pretty close to despair so I think his answer is...not really the truth of how he sees things (and using language that was objected to even back when this ep aired, but we do need to take into account the time the show started, and not judge it by 2024 standards--or judge Dean), but what he means is getting to stop something that's harming people

Going to share some 15.18 thoughts soon. Here's a preview thought: as Dean breaks...so shall Cas break.

[sotwk]

I've always thought that the reason for Tolkien elves losing interest in sex after having the kids that they want is a by-product of his Catholicism. My mum was raised Catholic and she says that she was raised to believe that children were the thing that redeemed sex and that ideally sex wouldn't happen at all. (Idk if that's a universal experience but it was hers) So it makes sense that Tolkien's elves, as 'higher' more spiritual beings would be less sexual beings and so would not partake in sex after they'd had their kids. (Which is why I ignore that particular titbit of Tolkien lore😉)

Ooof! I'm quite familiar with Catholic teachings on sex, and it sounds like the values your mom grew up with were quite extreme! (Religious values and beliefs run across a very wide spectrum, but let's not invite debates on that!) That sounds a lot more like something Mrs. Kim from Gilmore Girls would say. LOL.

I admit I lean more towards the puritan, "higher being" interpretation of Elves, especially the Calaquendi who have seen the Light of the Trees. There has to be something that distinguishes them from the other Middle-earth races, and temperance when it comes to carnal needs and urges (i.e. sex, food), is one of those characteristics. So yes, Elves are less interested in sex than Dwarves, Hobbits, but especially Men, but even their appetites vary within their race.

When it comes to the SotWK AU's interpretation of Thranduil and his Elvenqueen wife, Maereth, here is a rundown of my take on it:

(My headcanons are mostly guided by what was written in the LaCE, because I'm a Type-A nerd who likes rules and manuals, but these are just MY interpretation of it. It's not hardline LaCE compliant either, and regardless, my takes are neither canon nor law!)

Thranduil and Maereth are descendants of Calaquendi, but had not made the journey themselves. Technically, Maereth is closer to the Light of the Trees and arguably more "blessed" in that manner, since her mother was born in Tirion (Valinor), as opposed to Oropher who never completed the journey.

Thranduil was always more free-spirited ("as wild as one of Araw’s Kine", Oropher described him in my fic "The Crown") than the average Sinda, and over the years became even more alike the Silvan people he ruled over.

Silvans are culturally more sexual than the Sindar or Noldor, not necessarily in the sense of being promiscuous, but rather that they take more pleasure in the act itself as way of bonding with their partners, not just for the sake of begetting children.

The Silvans do not lose interest in sex even after thousands of years, and are able to retain monogamous relationships with their partners because Elven bonds (platonic, familial, romantic, etc.) are as enduring as their physical immortality.

This is what helps the Silvan/Greenwood population endure through the millennia, throughout the "Mirkwood" dark ages, and into the Fourth Age and beyond in Eryn Lasgalen. They keep having sex, keep reproducing, and their population is sustained even through attacks and wars.

Oh, and culturally, the Silvans also love children and celebrate the process of raising them as a community. That's a key factor in their population growth too.

Thranduil and Maereth are, foregoing more eloquent terms, absolutely bananas for each other. Epic, epic, love along the vein of Professor Tolkien's love for his wife Edith, and its parallel romance--Beren and Lúthien. Could you imagine Lúthien replacing or loving anyone other than Beren? (I guess you can imagine anything in fandom, but I hope you get my point.) Well, it's the same with Thranduil and his Elvenqueen. It's a rather unpopular take on his love life, but that's how it is at least in the SotWK AU.

So yeah, they never tire of each other and never stop wanting each other, in any way, by any definition. They naturally stop begetting children after Legolas (their 5th), but the lovemaking definitely continues.

Sorry for the delay in this response, Anon--I hope you're still able to see and read this. And I hope the uncalled-for infodump makes it better, not worse! LOL. Thank you for the Ask!