#reject worldly knowledge

[yeslordmyking]

Proverbs 9:10 — Today's Verse for Saturday, June 17, 2023

[likealittleheartbeat]

talk to me about the theme of emotional isolation for zuko and aang

It's the main reason I'm obsessed with the show tbh.

Can we overstate Aang's isolation within the show. He's not only a survivor--a sole survivor--of a genocide, he's also knocked out of time and history. These are the facts of his physical isolation. But his emotional isolation is such a different beast. It began before any deaths did. He is set apart by the monks and by the whole world as a savior. Shortly after his status as the avatar is made known, his peers exclude him, his power too great. His humanity is denied because he's too divine. Only Gyatso seems to still regard him for who he is rather than his gifts. Of course, that's why the council decides Aang needs to be further separated from worldly relations like that, and vote to send him off. For Aang, it's the last straw. He can't bear further exile from others. To regain some sense of control, he tries to run away from the heavy burden and those who have put it on him. At least this time, he's the one choosing his loneliness. It has become so clear that no one can understand his feelings about the Avatar State.

This is the emotional state he enters the series with, icon rather than human. He starts off concealing his revered identity in an attempt to indulge in simple pleasures, penguin sledding, coy fish riding, etc. But the shame is secretly right there at the surface. He's lovable but mercurial. Friendly and animated with everyone when he first meets them but in a way that's fleeting. The knowledge that he will have to leave the village, in an episodic fashion, having helped the members of the town, even having sacrificed himself for their well-being, is an understood fact of the plot and his life. At most he sheds some of his grief by putting it into words with Katara's encouragement. But despite the whole world fighting through their own grief from the fire nation and Katara's sole-survival of her own culture's genocide, they each have people in their families and cultures who, however bitterly, hold them and hold the broken memories together with one another. No one is as physically isolated as Aang, but, more importantly for his character development, no one is as isolated by their significance to the world.

No one, except Zuko. Zuko, the banished prince. Isn't that what Aang as the Avatar is in many ways: a spiritual prince, an heir by birth to power and legacy, who has been banished from his inheritance. Only, Aang's inheritance would be peace. Zuko's would be the Fire Nation, but because of his humanity, Zuko, like Aang, is without a nation. This is one reason Zuko and Aang are such incredible narrative foils. Aang is rejected from humanity's compassion because of his divine status while Zuko is rejected from divine rule because of his human compassion and failures to demonstrate perfection. (If you're interested in this dynamic in media, Fruits Basket has fantastic explorations of these themes with Kyo vs. Yuki and Tohru vs. Akito.)

How early did Zuko start to notice the disappointment he brought to his father and grandfather? As early as we can see, Zuko seems alone. The episode with that phrase in the title reflects back on his childhood, which, noticeably, lacks the friends Azula manages to keep. He mimics and mocks her cruelty, as well, in an attempt to impress his mother. His insecurity seems already set, a sense that no one can understand. While Aang recognizes that everyone thinks he's too good to belong, Zuko lives in an environment in which he's not good enough to belong.

The reactions to their rejections correspond, too. Zuko's reaction of antagonistic pursuit of anyone and everyone--like Aang's reaction to run away (literally and sometimes emotionally with a smile or joke)--helps keep others in a framework of enemies so he can control his exile rather than the other way around. Yet these behaviors put them in dynamic relation to one another--Zuko is drawn to the endless pursuit of the strangely kind Aang, whose instinct is to behold others while remaining untouchable, while Aang becomes clearly intrigued by the person who refuses to treat him like an untouchable hero, the person who refuses to give up on the possibility that the Avatar can be flawed and fail, no matter how many times he slips away proving his divine destiny.

It's obvious that Zuko is supposed to hate Aang, as the Avatar. "The Headband" illustrates how education in the Fire Nation portrays him if the fact that Zuko's only possibility for regaining his title under his father is bringing the Avatar back isn't enough evidence for you. But Aang ought to hate Zuko just as much, if not more. Instead, they are drawn toward one another with an remarkable intensity, established within the first half of the first season, "The Storm" x "Blue Spirit" combo punch! In fact, the blue spirit episode really reveals what they can mean to each other. Not only in Aang's question at the end that invites Zuko back into the past with him, but in the way that Zuko is made to be the divine entity for a brief period while Aang is helpless in the fort. Then, that question at the end: "Do you think we could have been friends?" Isn't that the opposite of the isolation they feel. In the woods, without a nation or an allegiance, Aang, remembering the people and time that he was forced to leave asks Zuko, who has just betrayed the people who banished him, in another version of life where they were both simple people rather heirs of vast power, if they could have formed a kind of union that would have dissolved the loneliness that consumes both of them. But it's momentary and they have to return to the world that defines them as the Avatar and the Banished Fire Prince.

This becomes one of the cores of the show, as echoed in the finale, where Zuko and Aang consummate their friendship, but by then, through traveling the winding road toward one another and aiming to take on a part of what the other person represents, they have found a balance that refused the binaries of divinity and fallibility that had previously separated and defined their lives, binaries that exiled them from connecting with others, binaries that built towers to isolate them from the world. The victims and survivors of genocide, the subjects of colonial violence, nor the sufferers of abuse need be pure to claim their pain, nor must the people who want and work towards justice be saints to do that work. Harder for many audience members to absorb, despite their love for Zuko who's arc is meant to emphasize the point, there is a spark of divinity in everyone, from the most unloved to the most violent and tyrannical. This second fact must exist alongside the first, or else the premise won't hold. How you choose to act and engage with that spark of divinity is a human choice we each make on our own, but that does not deny it's existence. The divine ideals must be allowed to fall apart into comedy and tragedy, while the mundane, the profane, and the cruels horrors of life must be allowed to be seen as something that hold the possibility to become beautiful and part of a grander design. The Avatar must be allowed to be Aang and Zuko must be allowed to be the Firelord so that we can have Avatar Aang (the last title of the series) and Firelord Zuko (the most celebrated character arc of the series). They need one another to assuage the fear, isolation, and dread that black-and-white perfectionist thinking boxes us into.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

On The Topic Of Eddie.

First of all, he’s completely fucked. He’s screwed. I’ve said it a thousand times and I’ll say it again: I’ve never seen a character more doomed by the narrative. 

Second, Eddie’s halloween costume was Frankenstein’s Monster. And pray tell, what was the Monster’s whole thing? That he’s betrayed by his own creator, rejected / attacked by the town, deeply misunderstood & interpreted as a violent beast despite being well-read and helpful/benevolent. There are some interesting ties there - especially with the Misunderstood Despite Being Well-Read (switch out violent beast with forgetful klutz and it’s a perfect fit). That, plus Eddie’s description of “...brought back from the dead… by the scientist… stitches… a deathly pallor… a bit of a moral conundrum…”

Take that and add it to how Eddie resembles the “night” side of the clocks (this will be expanded upon with Sally in a different post), and how @/theneighborhoodwatch once pointed out that the color purple is only shown in relation to Eddie & may represent secrets, how in livestream trivia it was implied that Eddie doesn’t sleep at night as he is a “busy guy”, and how Sally’s “monster” only comes out at night and likely isn’t a monster at all - she is dramatic, an embellisher, and said to present things that she herself doesn’t know / is uncertain of As Fact, or at least present them as if she knows exactly what she’s talking about (even when she doesn’t and knows it). 

Another tidbit that I may have mentioned but I’ll bring it up again: Eddie’s eyelashes match the scalloped trim under Home’s windows. Three round curves. 

As an additional tally in the “Eddie is soooo fucked <3” scoreboard, Eddie is the mailman in a story where one of the first things we knew to be actually happening was the WHRP receiving letters of Welcome Home media (now I’m not saying Eddie sent them, certainly not. He may or may not have had a hand in helping with the delivery, but what I mean with this is how it ties in symbolically/abstractly/thematically.) That plus the red envelope, the general unfolding delivery theme… Eddie even has a holiday explicitly associated with him - Mail-In Time Day. 

Then there’s the fact that Eddie tends to express Knowledge and a more worldly disposition, in a way. Despite Frank being mentioned as the neighborhood “intellectual”, and he is so with facts, Eddie seems to have a deeper well of… let’s say cultural know-how. Pair that with how his bio is the only one to say/imply that he comes from elsewhere, that he’s been Around. Everyone else came from their family or don’t have a stated before, but Eddie? He was strongly implied to have delivered to a lot of different places - this is made into a running gag, but we all know a running gag for the Show has deeper implications and meanings. 

And the fact that his genuine knowledge as well as his past are consistently dismissed and/or played off for laughs…

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THIS NEXT BIT: I CANNOT FIND THE OG ASK OUTSIDE OF SCREENSHOTS SO TAKE ALL OF THIS WITH A MASSIVE GRAIN OF SALT, AS THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE ASK WAS FROM PRE-2021 AND SO - ALONG WITH THIS SPEC CHUNK - IT MAY BE NULL & VOID. BUT IT ALSO MAY NOT BE! SO I’LL TALK.

A while back - this is related I swear - there was an ask Clown answered where they talked about some of his notes on Eddie. The first part that I want to point out is how apparently Eddie is a good source for information (specifically How-To), but despite being talkative he doesn’t share unless prodded for it. This directly relates to the above points. 

Then there’s the one I really want to talk about - how Clown says that “He [Eddie] has a great deal of precision for someone who presents themselves as a semi-clumsy busybody!” 

That single line made me insane, personally. First, the wording. The choice of saying presents themselves as instead of something like for someone who is. There’s an obvious discrepancy between his precision and clumsiness. Now I don’t doubt that he may be a tad accident-prone, but what if Eddie is dialing up the clumsy nature to disarm his Neighbors / craft a specific reputation for himself / give himself leeway in other areas. 

On one hand, this is suspicious as fuck.

On the other hand, this is so adhd of him. 

One of the things rarely mentioned about it is how sometimes we adhders will play up our more “useless” traits in order to create a bit of a social safety net. Admittedly, I will sometimes play up my forgetfulness so that a) if i do forget things (truth more often than not), people aren’t surprised. b) when i remember things, people are pleasantly surprised. I mean, if people start thinking we’re competent then they’ll start Expecting things from us, which is never a good thing! 

And another thing that relates to it that that ask said - Clown says in it that Eddie is slow to anger, but he gets frustrated more easily. Which is fascinating and very relatable. They also said that he can’t talk about it without wandering too far, which - if the post is viable - has… implications. 

Anyway I am very confident that Eddie is in fact adhd. List of reasons (refer to the wiki trivia Eddie Dear section for sources):

He’s forgetful

He gets so involved with a task and cannot break away until it’s finished, thus often making him late

He’s particular

He has a watch - likely to help him keep track of time, implying that he has difficulty with the concept (time blindness!) 

He is very talkative and rambley 

& seems to have slight difficulty with picking up on social cues telling him when to / when not to speak

He’s slow to anger but more easily frustrated 

Beyond all of this I don’t have much to add that I haven’t already talked about in a previous post! I’m sure even so I’ve restated some (or a lot of) things - it Happens! 

In conclusion: bbg is so screwed & also adhd <3

[swallowedbyfandom]

When Lord Debling questions her about Colin, in that tone of voice that saids he has already made up his mind about the situation something in her snaps. She is so very tired of gentle society and their narrow minds. All of them no matter how worldly or intellectual they consider themselves to be are the same. Easily offended and overly entitled children, the lot of them. This ridiculous pretentious herbivore included.

She does not even bother to justify herself to him. She shall not explain herself to the sheep of this society any longer. She is done with them all. She meets his eyes with her head held high and responds.

"I can see that after speaking with Miss Cowper, a lady who has desperately sought your hand you believe you already have the answer. I will not waste my breath explaining myself to someone so willing to believe the worse of me. Thank you for showing me your true nature before I made a mistake I could not take back. Safe travels, my Lord."

She gives him a graceful curtsy before turning on her heel and walking away. She can feel him watching her as she walks away. She manages not to laugh at the look of sheer disbelief he had worn on his face. It appears no one has ever denied him anything before. She hears him call after her but she does not look back.

Let the whole Ton watch as Cressida scrambles after her leftovers. Let Cressida live with the knowledge that she is his second choice. She can have his hand knowing that he is hers only because Penelope rejected his suit first. She has handed her a hollow victory, Cressida's pride will eat her alive. Never will Cressida rest easy in her marital bed. Penelope knows she will linger between their sheets like a ghost.

Colin Bridgerton gets into her carriage and ruins her night further. His grand confession was of course given to her under the cover of darkness. Where there would be no risk if she rejects him. His declaration is beautiful. As a writer his words are perfect, heartfelt, and almost enough. They do not have the intended effect on her however. If anything his declaration makes one thing clear to her. She does not trust him. He does not respect her.

She lets herself fall to his seduction after all if she is to be a spinster she wants to learn her body enough to bring herself pleasure. That he thinks that entitled him to her hand in marriage is so laughable that she does not even bother to ponder her answer. She politely declines, "No thank you, Colin."

She has her carriage take her home quickly after. She is done with Bridgerton delusion and hypocrisy. She just wants to get her article out and then sleep off this hellish night. She is sure her mother will be angry tomorrow morning but she does not have it in her to care anymore.

She thinks she shall enjoy the rest of this season as a spectator sport before forging documents and running off. She has enough saved up that she can buy herself a cottage and live for at least a good 10 years comfortably with a small staff. That is plenty of time for her to come up with new avenues of sneaky income.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Sorry can't seem to stop musing right now >< But on Forged AU.

I feel like a natural place to sort of conclude any given confrontation regarding Ladybug's decisions on Chloe. Would be less on how Ladybug screwed up, or why she had reason to take issue with Chloe.

Though these things & more would definitely come up in the mud flinging.

I think the actual emotional cap off would logically be around the fact that. If Chloe warrants leniency or caretaking despite everything (Which she does) then Marinette probably warrants some as well given that she's been expected to carry this shit for so long.

I don't mean being Guardian, I mean just fighting in general. But then also being the one singled out by Fu. Which may have come with privilege's but also meant things were even more on her now.

She had to be the mature one, she has to be the one with the plan, she has to be the one studying the spells and helping them work. She has to be the one determining who gets a miraculous and hand holding them through using it and then taking it back & managing them. She is the one whose attendance is apparently suffering at school because of hero duties as Adrien is I guess insulated cos of his wealth or he just says his dad called and no one checks?

Worse still, she actually trusts and respects adults, so it doesn't occur to her to question Fu. Because even if she really wants to share identities, or let Alya be a perma Rena. She can't because Fu said not to and he's the responsible, worldly, knowledgeable adult in this situation and she has to respect that.

Basically, she has reason to be cracking under the pressure and not be making great decisions. In the same vein that Chloe has reason to be breaking under abuse and trauma and lashing out.

So I sort of feel any conclusion would be both of them kind of just collapsing against a wall, all screamed and cried out, unable to really hold any anger at the other anymore.

But that's just a thought.

Oh yeah no absolutely like.

Right now Forged focuses a lot on how Ladybug's(and Marinette's) actions hurt Chloé. A lot. And even if, logically, Chloé knows there's probably something bigger going on, it doesn't change the hurt. She's so used to trying so hard and getting rejected again and again that it's difficult to really have it sink in that this was just something else happening that just happened to turn out like it did, that it wasn't an intentional 'fuck you'. And even when she does admit that, she's also done pretending like she isn't being hurt by it, because intentional or not it hurt.

But also yeah just. Marinette is going through her own kinds of hell and is scrambling to figure out a way to get everything together and save the day and not let everyone fucking die. So ofc she's going to make mistakes and lash out and not realize that what she's doing may hurt others and not stop and think about why people react to her decisions the way they do. /She/ knows why she did this thing, and even if it's 'bad' it's for the Greater Good. But whoever else doesn't know that, they just see her hurting them.

[ashperiences]

Exploring, is it good? is it bad? Will it take you nearly two decades and 2 re-releases to actually finish this even though you were really into it every time?

Loved this little bundle of horrors, was going oooh at every new floor gimmick almost the whole way.

Getting myself a steamdeck drew me instantly back into the Labyrinth scribbling on the screen and running from enraged deer. There's a really gripping purity to this one that I don't think the later ones have matched, the amount that it allows its own quietness to hold it up is really admirable I think.

The arts evocative, the town does just enough to feel like a place and the obsessive explorer mentality is fed just enough little worldly connections to feel like you're part of some real process. Even little annoying things like forgetting an ariadne thread or switching your landsknecht between her axe and sword for different scenarios just feel like a connection to all the small maintenance and moments and expertise of taking on a profession.

Great and simple example of mechanics telling stories, illustrated perfectly in realising how you remember those desperate mad at yourself struggles back to the surface more than you ever would the successful instant teleport escapes.

All the room you have to get pulled into imagining your little guys internality or lose yourself in the flow of explore, discover, become stronger, push further mindset of it all pays off wonderfully towards the end too.

For all the simplicity on the face of this thing - just a dungeon crawler, just a few npcs to run into occasionally, a world of menus and dungeon tiles, kill monsters get stronger kill more monsters etc. I don't know that I've ever had a game make me so hesitant to accept a mission that I just left the menu and spent ages just wandering around trying to will an alternate path into existence or otherwise just avoid going back and acknowledging what I have to do to continue.

The way it takes your joyful explorer conditioned brain and your attachment to your imaginary friends and stamps on it is so sick. To progress you have to do something horrible, you're free to not accept the mission of course but once you do your image of all this becomes so immediately warped. It's honestly incredible because despite how jarring it is you can't say it isn't a logical progression.

The game takes the logic of killing as a profession and the drive to push on no matter your obstacles in the name of discovery and mastery and makes you confront the banality of actual cruelty that just stems from going with the flow, focusing on nothing but your own goals or just following orders.

The shock of it hits really well, the desire to reject it melting gradually into beleaguered acceptance that your party isn't who you thought they were, the knowledge that you are going ahead with this because you just need to know what lies beyond it, that your mindset as a player aligns with the force driving the adventurer (much as in real life) to atrocity lest they have to stop being who they are.

The game honestly barely lingers on it, to the men handing out these orders and their society this is another non-event, yet another successful expedition and victorious fighters. Its that coldness and suddenness that makes it work so well, the games not going to confront you with a moral question or judge you, mechanically it'll celebrate you even, but it knows that and it knows what it's asking you to do. Just like with your imagined characters the world of the game is willing to let you process and explain your own journey.

Hauntingly coldly present, left unjustified and uncommented on you are left only with dealing with the jarring disconnect between the fun low stakes heroism and the choice to quit or confront what a soldier for hire and a mastery of violence is ultimately for. Its one of my favourite little moments in video games and I think the people who quit the game cus they can't bear to go on with it are a real proof of its ability to tug on the players imagination. It's something that almost forces you to role play, every player reaction fits in as a part of the story. It never needs to harp on about big choices or morality, it doesn't need you to be important, it's your lack of freedom and the world's lack of interest in your dilemma that make it land.

It's evil as just another job to do going with the flow of the role you've found instead of evil as big decisions and uncomplicatedly powerful people's good or bad intentions.

While the game doesn't make much direct commentary, content to communicate without words, what it does go on to tell you is that your actions ultimately bring about the slow end of your own people too, dragons dogma ending style stuff about wrenching all the content out of a game leaving you in a lifeless world presented a little more economically.

I guess the true success of this one is that it left me just thinking about all the ways my party would've fallen apart, drifted into other things, ended up damaged people and etc. left as I was in the gap made in a world that allowed us to follow strength to its conclusion and never punished us with anything but our own quiet guilt.

Left to imagine those funny kids conditioned into killers and how everyone just gets away with it, how easily horror can be rendered down to just banal acceptance and how simple it is to push someone forward by offering something as a matter of course not to be thought about. Accept. Decline.

I love it, fuck that ice dragon also.

[icanseethefuture333]

Your readings are amazing!!! Thank you for all you do!

May we please have a Karina reputation in the industry reading?

Tarot reading on:

Aespa's Karina

Note: I wanted to mention that I know about the group Aespa but I know nothing about the girls so I'm answering this the best to my knowledge! 😅

Karina's reputation as an Idol:

Ace of Cups, Ten of Cups, & Three of Wands

Her reputation as an Idol is actually very positive :)! People could have a lot of nice things to say about her. I feel that Karina treats the staff with kindness and respect. She views the people who she works with as family (perhaps this is regarding the other members of the group or the people in her pr/management/stylist team?). Karina could have the mindset that professionalism is great, but being a human being with good morals is even better. She is very understanding when some sort of accident happens at work and if someone got in trouble at their job, she might cover for them. So for this, people are really grateful towards her. Also she could be successful overseas or has a large fan base internationally. People see her as "worldly" or "cultured".

What do people think of Karina in the music industry?:

Judgement, Knight of Wands, & Six of Pentacles

They see her as someone who's very passionate but observant. She could be very critical of herself when working and for some people they might prey on that, there is some people who are jealous of her so if she were to express she needs to improve something (when she actually doesn't need to), they'd agree with her out of envy. Karina doesn't let people get underneath her skin though so when receives criticism from producers, singing coaches, etc. She is the type of person to take those notes and apply it when practicing. I feel that after a long day of work, Karina would actually bring some sort of gift as a thank you. So for example, if she was in the studio with other people, Karina would maybe buy some coffee or snacks for them if they went too long without eating a meal. She is attentive and caring, but needs to be careful being too nice to people who don't deserve her kindness.

What do other idols think of Karina?:

Two of Wands, Knight of Swords, Three of Swords, Knight of Cups, Nine of Wands, King of Wands, & The Empress (reversed)

UM TEA 🍵??? I feel that she's been involved in some gossip or other idols are gossiping about her right now. Karina has had people offer her romantic gestures and she's rejected a few of them but there was one person in particular she let get close to her and let's just say they were the wrong one to choose. There was someone else who also liked Karina and had positive intentions towards her, but the person she ended up dating was a cheater (what in the love triangle is going on here ?! 😳). I feel that the person that with Karina even knew that the other person liked her before they did. This person could of told them in private that hey liked her so the other person was like "oh really 😏"? They might even swooped in to ask her out before they could confess to her omg?! The two people Karina got involved with could of even been possibly from the same group or are friends with each other. So even though Karina isn't at fault here and the other person who screwed them both over is the actual one to blame, people are blaming her for this situation. Karina is now painted as this "cold" girl who's a "heartbreaker" when that's not the case. (Clarified by the Five of Swords) OOOOO THIS DIRTY DOG 🤬! This is crazy, this person does not feel bad at all that they sabotaged what could of been possibly a good relationship for Karina and the other person who had a crush on her. That's so freaking sad 😭💔

Will Karina be able to resolve this situation?:

Five of Pentacles & Strength

Yes she will but she might be shunned by other idols or be an outcast for a while. Karina would try to make friends with people but because of the gossip/rumors it will be hard. She has to find the confidence and strength in being herself and not let these people project their jealousy and insecurities onto her. Despite the circumstances, she will continue to be strong and be the star that she is.

[pininghermit]

Betrayed Flames (Alucard x Reader)

Request: Hi! I came across your blog and found your writing very delightful! I wanted to suggest an AU for Alucard, one was an friends to enemies to lovers type or an AU in which the reader and Alucard knew each other beforehand but the reader died and was reincarnated but only Alucard remembers them. Thank you for considering! @houseof-harkness

Pairing: Adrian x Witch Reader

Summary: Fire, while capable of nurturing and providing warmth, could also be destructive and consuming. You carried the responsibility of balancing these opposing forces within you, understanding that your power could both create and destroy.

AN: I hope you like this. As always this will be getting a part 2 which I will be working on soon (*staring at my wips)

Deep within the secluded depths of the dense forest lies a hidden realm, veiled from the prying eyes of society. It is here that a group of individuals known as witches dwell, existing as social outcasts on the fringes of the broader population. These enigmatic beings have deliberately chosen seclusion, retreating from the bustling towns and cities to evade the clutches of the church.

Within the forest, they find solace and freedom, escaping the constraints imposed by society's norms and expectations. Surrounded by whispering trees and the mystical energies of nature, they embrace their unique abilities and knowledge, honing their craft in secrecy. These witches possess ancient wisdom passed down through generations, harnessing powers that the world often misunderstands or fears.

While the rest of society views them with suspicion or hostility, the witches find solace in their hidden haven, far removed from the watchful eyes of those who fail to comprehend their true nature. It is within these secluded woods that they commune with the forces of nature, forging a deep connection with the earth, the elements, and the unseen realms.

Their practices, rituals, and beliefs diverge from the teachings of the church, and it is this perceived deviation that has driven them into exile. Seeking refuge among the ancient trees, they preserve their traditions, explore the mysteries of the universe, and find a sense of belonging among their kind.

While the witches may remain hidden, their presence in the forest is palpable. It is a realm where magic and the supernatural intertwine, where secrets are whispered among the leaves, and where the witches can truly be themselves. The forest serves as their sanctuary, protecting them from the prying eyes and judgments of the outside world.

In the depths of the forest, the witches thrive, each possessing unique abilities and perspectives. They form a community bound by shared understanding and acceptance of one another. Together, they navigate the intricacies of their existence, drawing strength from the bonds they have forged and the hidden powers that lie within them.

You grew up in this forest, surrounded by women who rejected society in favor of practicing the powers gifted to them by the world. They were not just witches; they were farmers, warriors, scientists. Their seclusion promised more freedom than any prestige or social acceptance ever could.

While you did not live in extravagant palaces or adorn yourself with invaluable jewels, you were content spending your life wandering among the trees. Your home provided more comfort than any worldly riches could offer. It was far superior to the society that sought to burn you into oblivion.

You vowed never to let anyone harm your people, for as long as you stayed alive. You would unleash your fire upon anyone who dared to try. Yes, you were born with the magic of fire coursing through your veins—an insatiable hunger gripping you since the day of your birth.

However, you were also aware of the dual nature of your power. Fire, while capable of nurturing and providing warmth, could also be destructive and consuming. You carried the responsibility of balancing these opposing forces within you, understanding that your power could both create and destroy.

The forest was not the only solitary existence in those woods. You had the most peculiar neighbor in the form of Count Dracula, whom very few dared to challenge. Both the colony of witches and the Count existed in peaceful harmony.

But for you, you found a friend in Dracula's son, Adrian. A Dhampir, who, like you, knew very little of the world. You were both young and the forest became a playground for your adventures. Every day was an opportunity to explore springs, discover unique rocks, and create colorful bouquets out of weeds.

The forest became your playground, a realm where imagination knew no bounds. Amidst the whispering trees and dancing sunlight, you embarked on countless adventures, discovering hidden springs, collecting unique rocks, and creating vibrant bouquets out of humble weeds. Every day brought new excitement, a testament to the magic of friendship and the enchantment of nature.

Adrian, with his vampiric heritage, possessed extraordinary abilities that fascinated and intrigued you. He demonstrated his supernatural speed, effortlessly gliding through the forest like a fleeting shadow. His sharp fangs, a symbol of his vampiric lineage, both frightened and captivated you as you marveled at the unique traits he inherited.

In turn, you shared your own magic with Adrian, showcasing your burgeoning abilities with fireworks of light dancing on your fingertips. The night sky became your canvas as you wove spells of color and wonder, filling the air with shimmering displays. Adrian's eyes sparkled with joy and awe, his laughter echoing through the forest as your magic lit up the darkness, occasionally leaving burned holes in your dresses. Being a Dhampir, he was not bound by the limitations of the night. Together, you and your friend freely roamed the forest, exploring its wonders under both daylight and moonlight.

In a world where you were exiled for your nature, your friendship with Adrian became a saving grace.

You met Lisa, Adrian's mother, very early in your friendship. She was a human healer who displayed immense kindness towards you, the only human who had ever done so. Even your biological parents had not shown such compassion. Whenever you talked to Lisa, the fields of magic and science converged, creating a profound connection.

Even the reclusive colony of witches opened their gates to Adrian. They welcomed the child of Dracula into their homes, whether it was the ice witch with her unmelting snowflakes in the summer or the earth witch teaching both of you the language of trees.

The forest aligned its two forces, creating a community of two existences that had seldom communicated before.

However, it all came crashing down one day. You watched in horror as humans from the nearby village rushed in with torches and pitchforks. They burned your houses and harmed the people who raised you.

The witches fought back, and the forest seemed to join their cause. Elements danced on their fingers as they tried to defend what they had built with such effort. You stood there with them, countering the fire of the torches with the fire on your fingertips. But alas, fire does not quench fire. The smell of burning flesh filled the clearing you once called home.

Hidden behind metal shields, the humans came prepared with their wards. As you looked around, you could see humans closing in on your camp.

Someone had to hold them back, someone had to create an opportunity for others to reach the castle. Rushing others out of the way, you stood in front of the crowd that hollered at you with hate in their eyes. Fire raced on your fingers as you summoned the very last of your power.

It was enough to burn you and the rest of the crowd. It would buy time for others to make it to Adrian. And if, by some grace, you survived, you wanted to see your friend and thank him for his help.

As you fought alone, you felt the wetness of your blood flowing from your nose. Your eyes had been dry for a long time now. You blinked, trying to focus and spot potential attacks.

That's when you spotted him—Adrian. Relief washed over you as you watched him from afar. He had come at last. Your people had made it. But your relief shattered when you saw him standing next to your attackers.

Concealed behind the forms of men who shouted slurs at you, you observed his hard-set face, so different from the easy-going smiles of your friend. "Adrian," you called out, but he did not respond.

His face flickered with some emotion as you felt a pitchfork stab you. He did not reach forward to help you. No, he just stood there as your body collided with the cold, hard ground of the forest floor.

The men around you cursed death and doom upon you, while a priest walked ahead, muttering prayers that escaped you.

"Were the rest captured?" the man next to the priest asked as you held your arms behind your back. They cuffed your hands, and your magic died.

Your heart stopped when another man replied with a loud "yes" that rang in your head. No, no, no, they couldn't be captured. You looked at Adrian, who remained unmoving from his spot. He must have saved them. He would never let harm come their way…

"All dead." The world ceased to exist. Your eyes, which had dried a long time ago, filled up with tears.

As you lay on the ground, gasping for breath, your gaze locked with Adrian's. Anguish and confusion washed over you as you struggled to comprehend his betrayal.

"Why, Adrian?" you managed to choke out between breaths, your voice strained with hurt. "We were friends. We were supposed to protect each other."

Adrian's eyes met yours, but they were filled with anger and resentment instead of the warmth and understanding you once knew. "You witches… You're the reason my mother is dead!" he spat, his voice laced with bitterness.

Tears welled up in your eyes as you tried to understand the depth of his pain. "Adrian, we would never harm Lisa. You know that! She was kind to me, to all of us."

His face twisted in a mixture of rage and grief. "Kindness? Is that what you call it? She was burned alive, mistaken for a witch! And what did your precious coven do? Nothing! You just stood by, letting innocent people suffer!"

The words pierced through your heart like a blade. "Adrian, you know it wasn't us. We didn't do this. We've always sought peace, harmony with nature. The villagers were the ones who attacked us, who attacked you!"

He sneered, his voice filled with disdain. "Don't play innocent with me. You witches and your powers, always manipulating, always pretending to be benevolent. But I see through it now. I see the truth."

Adrian declared coldly. "You witches have taken everything from me. Now it's time for you to pay."

When the men failed to burn you, their fire unable to harm you. They tied you to a heavy rock and pushed you into a stream where you had countless meetings with Adrian.

As you were dragged towards the stream, the weight of betrayal and sorrow weighed heavy on your heart. The sound of rushing water grew louder, drowning out any hope for reconciliation.

As the cold water engulfed you, your voice faded into silence, but the fire of vengeance burned brighter than ever within you.

But even as water rushed into your lungs and breathing became difficult, only one thought consumed your mind—vengeance.

You promised to return, and when you did, everyone would pay for their crimes, even your beloved friend would not be spared.

As your world fell into the darkness of the void. Not far away in a lavish room a woman labored as nurses and doctors rushed around her.

It had been hours since her contractions started. Even the most experienced of nurses seemed to have lost hope. The child should have been dead by now.

But then in a matter of seconds the situation flips itself as the anxious nursemaid hands the mayor the the village his daughter.

A daughter whose eyes shine brighter than any she's ever seen before.

[asma-al-husna]

Allah calls Himself Al-Badee’— The incomparable Originator— on two occasions in the Quran. He is the One who initiates and creates in amazing and original ways that have no precedent, without any model or example. Al-Badee’ is the incomparable, the unique, and only One who originates, commences, invents, and creates in a perfect way!

The incomparable originator, the wonderful inventor and innovator

Badee’ comes from the root baa-daal-‘ayn which points to three main meanings. The first main meaning is to originate, innovate, or start. The second main meaning is to start something, to uniquely contrive without any similarity to anything pre-existing. And the third main meaning is to be incomparable, superlative and amazing.

This root appears four times in the Quran in three derived forms. Examples of these forms are ibtada’oohaa (“they innovated”) and bid’an (“a new (one)”).

Linguistically, bid’ah means an innovation or something new, something not done or said by anyone before.

Al-Badee’ refers to the one and only Originator who time and time again does something new, unlike anything else, originating its existence without the use of any tool and without being limited to time or space.

Al-Badee’ Himself says: [He is] Originator of the heavens and the earth. How could He have a son when He does not have a companion and He created all things? And He is, of all things, Knowing [Quran, 6:101] ..Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, “Be,” and it is. [Quran, 2:117]

Bida’h: the concept of innovation in religion

According to Islamic teaching bid’ah is any invented or innovated way in religion that is aimed at worshipping or drawing closer to Allah ‘azza wa jall. This means that this act, saying, or distancing from something, has no proof—or daleel— in the Quran and Sunnah and was not known at the time of the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the companions. (These unaccepted religious inventions and innovations don’t include worldly inventions, like technology.)

The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would start a khutbah (sermon) saying: …The best of speech is the Book of Allah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The worst of things are those which are newly-invented, and every innovation is a going astray . . .  [Muslim] This shows us it is forbidden to innovate something in Islam or to follow an innovation someone else started.

He salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam kept repeating:  Every newly-invented thing is a bid’ah (innovation), every bid’ah is a going astray, and every going astray will be in the Fire. [An-Nasaa’i]  He also explained that when you invent something in Islam this deed will be rejected from you: Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours that is not a part of it will have it rejected. [Al-Bukhaaree]

This shows how important it is to gain correct Islamic knowledge, as any innovation will not be accepted from the believers and can lead to the Hellfire.  Examples of bid’ah are denying any of the five pillars of Islam or of the six pillars of emaan(faith), celebrating non-Islamic events and declaring that which is haraam (forbidden) halaal(accepted) and that which is halaal, haraam.

How Can You Live by This Name?

1. Stay away from innovation in your religion.
Study the Quran and the sunnah from trustworthy sources so you equip yourself with knowledge on what is commanded, recommended, forbidden and discouraged in Islam. Gain knowledge about the ways of the prophet and his companions as these are key to implementing Quranic knowledge in your life. The prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallamsaid: If anyone introduces an innovation in the religion, he will be responsible for it. If anyone introduces an innovation or gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (in the religion) he is cursed by Allah, by His angels and by all the people.[Abu Dawood] Ask Al-Badee’ to protect you from innovation.

2. Follow the prophet.
The prophet said: Leave me as I leave you, for the people who were before you were ruined because of their questions and their differences over their prophets. So, if I forbid you to do something, then keep away from it. And if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can. [Al-Bukharee]

And: . . . we were with ‘Umar and he said: We have been forbidden to undertake a difficult task beyond our capability (i.e. to exceed the religious limits, e.g., to clean the inside of the eyes while doing ablution).[Al-Bukhaaree] Never change or twist the meaning of the Quran or Sunnah to suit your desires. Be honest and take responsibility for your choices. Be careful with cultural activities; if they don’t contradict the Quran and sunnah there is no harm, but if they contradict Islam, avoid them.

3. Revive a sunnah.
The prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa  sallam said: He who starts a good sunnah will be rewarded for it, in addition to receiving rewards equal to the rewards of those who follow him into it. Whereas he who starts a bad sunnah will be burdened with it, in addition to receiving burdens equal to the burdens of those who follow him into it. [Muslim] The only good sunnah is a revived sunnah and not a newly-invented one!

5. Present Islam in a correct way.
When presenting Islam to someone, present the Quran and Sunnah and not your opinion. 

6. Ask Al-Badee’.
. . . Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,�� and it is.[Quran, 2:117] Know there is no problem too big, no situation too challenging, and no difficulty too hard as long as you call upon Al-Badee’ to ask for His support and for your every need.

O Allah, Al-Badee’,we know that You are the incomparable Originator. Make us of those who follow Your rope, gain correct knowledge of Your Book and the sunnah and protect us from bid’ah. Guide us in reviving the ways of Your prophet correctly, make us convey the message of Islam to others as You revealed it and adorn us with complete faith and trust in Your power to create and originate, ameen!

[gatekeeper-watchman]

Daily Devotionals for October 15, 2024 

Proverbs: God's Wisdom for Daily Living

Devotional Scripture:

Proverbs 26:12 (KJV): 12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. Proverbs 26:12 (AMP): 12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes and conceit? There is more hope for a (self-confident) fool than for him.

Thought for the Day

We all are prone to trust our own understanding rather than the Lord. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." A fool rejects good counsel and stubbornly trusts his own inclinations. He is wise in his own estimation. Intelligent people consider themselves to be wise, and usually are - but with mere worldly wisdom. Godless, intellectual people are knowledgeable about many things, but knowledge "puffs up." 1 Corinthians 8:1 says, "Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth." Pride makes it difficult for people to turn to God and learn true wisdom. Many intellectuals see no need to believe in God or for a nation to follow His laws. They measure everything by their own understanding, reflecting Lucifer's pride. The arrogant person who trusts his intellect and rejects the Bible as untrue is a greater fool. "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God" (Psalm 14:1a). This is because he simply relies on his own opinions and instincts and neglects God's Word. Man's wisdom alone, without God, will eventually fail him.

Pride is a deadly sin. David cried out to be delivered from the sins in his life which were hidden from his personal knowledge. "Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression" (Psalm 19:12-13). He especially asked to be held back from sins of presumption that would lead to the sin of the "great transgression." I believe that great transgression is pride. Exalting oneself in one's own thinking is the opposite of God's character. It is especially wicked if it leads one to exalt oneself above God. As we saw, Satan, originally named Lucifer, committed this great transgression. Though he was the anointed cherub, his heart was lifted up because of his beauty. He corrupted his wisdom for the sake of his splendor. In his pride, he desired God's throne and set his will against God's (Ezekiel 28:12-19). Because he chose to rebel, he lost his position in heaven and will be banished to hell (Isaiah 14:12-15).

"Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:20-25).

Prayer Devotional for the Day

Dear Heavenly Father, we want to pray as David did, for deliverance from the great transgression of pride. Lord, show us any sin in our lives that we are blinded to seeing, so that we may repent. Set us free from those things that would keep us from becoming like You. Lord, I desire to have a humble heart before You and before others. Help me not to be condescending to others, but to prefer others and esteem them. May we all give honor to whom honor is due, and especially may we not only honor You but also bring honor to You. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Good Morning USA From: Steven P. Miller, @ParkermillerQ,gatekeeperwatchman.org  TM ‎Founder and Administrator of Gatekeeper-Watchman International Groups.

[minttealoverrrr]

The Barbie Movie and Chris McCandless

The Barbie Movie and Chris McCandless

*Note: In reference to Into The Wild, I reference the story and Chris McCanless with the reverence of a fictional character, simply living in the story and that is all. Chris, the character in a book. I have nothing but deep respect for Chris, the real man, and his loved ones. 

      I don’t know anyone who didn’t love the Barbie movie. Every woman in my life (not including my mother) raved about it. Teachers, friends, vague acquaintances I follow on instagram. How much it made them cry, how accurate, how personal, how totally and utterly perfect the movie was. I had high hopes going in, fully dressed in all the pink I could scrounge out of my closet. Expecting to watch a movie that would make me cry, sob, feel seen and feel understood- I left the theater feeling… none of those things. If anything, I was a little discontented and I needed to pee. On the way back home, me and my mother tried to decipher why exactly we both failed to experience the same world-altering-life-changing-film experience we heard our peers sing praises for. 

      The book Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer was a part of my AP Lang classes required reading this year.  A nonfiction recollection of the life and death of Chris McCandless. McCandless grew up in Annandale, Virginia where his father worked as an antenna specialist for NASA. After graduating from Emory University he donated all his money and decided to become a traveler/hermit/hitchhiker of sorts- rejecting worldly things like money, objects, deep connections with others, and any contact with his family. On one of his stints, McCandless travels through Rural Alaska for months and dies after running out of food and consuming a poisonous plant. This is an arguably reductive summary, you can find the full wikipedia pages for the book and Chris’s story here and here. Throughout reading this book, my class had several discussions about McCandless and the book Into The Wild. What could have driven McCandless to do what he did? Did he have a death wish, going into the Alaskan wilderness with no survival training and knowledge, frighteningly low amounts of food, and no gear? Were his actions justified? Do we relate to his decisions, his actions? Some people argue McCandless was simply a free spirit, that his rejections of the material in favor for the individual and intangible were ones we should strive for. Others are confused with his choice to totally desert his family, to the point where McCandless’s mother sent a private investigator to look for her son upon his supposed disappearance. Some felt he was sort of naive or unintelligent, going into the woods in the dead of winter utterly unprepared. While my peers gingerly gave their takes on their sympathies and gripes with McCandlesses story and McCandless himself I found myself feeling a similar feeling from earlier that summer. A sort of wall, a barrier. I found myself fully unable to sympathize with McCandless, totally and utterly. 

    Why? What is it about McCandlesses story that makes it so difficult for me to resonate with? The answer here is, at its core, the same reason I found myself discontented with the Barbie movie. With regards to McCandless, a few notes are vital. Chris McCandless was white, very upper-middle class, immensely privileged and fourtenate, wealthy, and educated. Still, he rejected all his fortune and privilege for a life in the woods. Rejecting his family, loved ones, friends, and anyone who cared for him. As someone who has very different values (developed through my identity in a Pakistani and Muslim home/ as a Pakistani Muslim person) , herein lies my hangup. I find it nearly impossible to understand or sympathize with someone so steeped in privilege, only to pretend it doesn’t exist. His rejection of family, immense wealth, and deep privilege in nearly all aspects of life. Now, that is by no means Chris’s fault- failing to acknowledge or understand his privilege and its complexities. He was 20 something in the 90’s and read Tolstoy in the woods! I don’t expect him to know the first thing about race or privilege. But there are some things that irrevocably make it difficult for me to truly, really truly, sympathize with his story. Someone a few prongs up on the privilege ladder might take more of his story to heart, understand it more, be able to see his story for just and only that, his story. I am in a position to see the bigger picture, this story I’m the context of larger things. I am unable to sympathize with his story due to factors outside of both of our control. This doesn’t mean either of us are at fault, and it doesn't mean I should be expected to change how I feel to suit his story. I have no inclination to change how I feel about McCandlesses story or his choices.  Some might argue I should get a heart and try to understand what he went through. And I’m not saying I feel gleeful or joyous at his demise, not in the slightest. It is just that I, as someone a few prongs lower on the privilege ladder, shouldn’t be expected to be more sympathetic to someone who’s values and choices are both a) only able to of happened as a result of his privilege and b) miles away from what I value as important in this life. 

Back to Barbie. Barbie is not the story of womanhood. It does not encapsulate what it means to be a woman. It may encapsulate what it means to be a white woman, but not a woman. Barbie treats whiteness as the default. A white woman is a woman and that is all, a brown woman is a woman and she is brown- a woman and then some. It's not anyone’s fault that I failed to understand Barbie.  But Barbie tells the story of a white woman, which is different from a brown woman- not a basis for all womanhood. White womanhood is not the default, despite it being treated as such within the film. This innate feature, (unintentionally) driven to the core of the story, keeps me from understanding. And I should not be expected to look past my brownness, remove it from myself (or all the other things that make my girl-ness different from Barbie) to placate some sort of understanding- because all the things that make me myself are inseparable from each other, you cannot separate me from myself like a heterogenous mixture of traits, concepts, identities, and ideas. In the case of Barbie and McCanless, I find myself unable to truly understand their stories thanks to innate and unchanging factors on both sides- at the fault of neither.

[botanikos]

To my beloved son, dear Stolas:

My son, I do hope your affairs are in proper order.

I have been informed of recent controversy with you and Marquis Andrealphus regarding his tea reserves. While we have many duties and are thus beholden to perhaps some complimentary comforts, we must all see to proper moderation in all things. I have seen the total amount your debt has amounted to, a paltry sum. It would be rather salubrious of you to not submit yourself to the judgment of the Marquis. He is royalty, and you did consume his property, all the same such a charge is rather absurd given his frequent consumption of my own teas of which I have raised not eye at of his overindulgence. I suggest rather then provide the funds yourself you allow him to have equal measure of what was taken or another less direct form of repayment. A direct sum would be to put the Marquis over you in some way and lower our prestige. Perhaps you might lend the money to Madam Stella who could give the money as a gift to her beloved brother or simply sell off a few of your servants? We can always buy new ones. We must ever pursue a line of action that does not result in any paperwork noting this event and lapse in your judgment. I will require you to journey to my castle to watch the training videos on abstinence from worldly pleasures. I understand they are not to your liking and that they are well over seven days long, but they are filled with knowledge on how to be a supreme and modest gentleman in all respects.

Your Beloved father His grace King Paimon of the Ars Goetia, head adviser to Lucifer Morningstar, chairmen of the Institute of Brilliance, and founder of the Universal Celestial Library.

When one of the servants presents him with another letter, he nearly claps with glee. Surely it was a response from Andrealphus. The hurried retreat of the imp however, has Stolas reconsidering. Ah. His father. Glowing hues scan the paper, reading over every word. His features twist, and in the privacy of his own home, he had the luxury of allowing himself to display such things. He couldn't disagree. Stolas didn't have any intention of providing him with monetary compensations, but rather, had been considering purchasing teas himself. Now he wanted to send him empty teabags and broken cups, but he wasn't quite that petty. Not yet. Would Stella ensure the funds reach her brother? Actually, he didn't doubt that nearly as much as he thought he might. The two were closer than honey in a hive. Sell off his servants?! He would not! Least of all if it meant selling them TO the Stella and Andrealphus. Stolas drops his head into his hands with a heavy sigh. He rests like this a moment before finishing the letter. Venturing to his father's castle was at the very bottom of his list of invitations he expected to receive, but considering it was now a requirement. . . . Could he reject the offer? Unlikely. And how outdated was this material to be SEVEN DAYS in length?! Feathers ruffle, talons tap in frustration against the floor. He stands, sweeping the letter into his fingers with a groan as he begins to pace. He could be proper! He was very much a gentleman! Eventually, Stolas finds himself reluctantly penning a response to his father.

To My Esteemed & Dearest Father, Lord Paimon:

My affairs are muddled as always, but never so drastically out of reach that I cannot find where they begin or end. At least in this particular inconvenience. Please forgive any inconvenience this has become as word reaches you in regards to. . . tea.

I understand the scrutiny, and your concerns both. Steep financial debts were unexpected, rest assured! Surely this is an accumulation of every visit meticulously priced into one itemized list per my most recent visit. Nevertheless, I of course, fully intended to provide some compensation. When, what, or how, was not meant to be a present or available discussion. I am not so inconsiderate that I would drink & dash every time!

Your words have reached me, and I will consider only the finest of options befitting these particular circumstances. As for my visit. . .

How soon would you expect me? I am open to considering such trainings, though personally I do not guarantee I will find them. . . suitable. I am capable despite my reputation, of being a modest gentleman. Additionally, worldly pleasures are meant to be enjoyed, are they not? I do not find myself so gluttonous that it is problematic or a hindrance. Not so consistently, at least. Regardless, as per your request, I will be in attendance.

Your Dashing Son,

Prince Stolas Ars Goetia

[dragondroid]

Christianity is fascist. It didn't ally with fascism, it didn't become fascist, it always was fundamentally a fascist movement (Note that I'll be looking at specifically Evangelical Christianity as that's what I grew up in and am most familiar with; however, I'm interested to see how people raised in other Christian sects' experiences compare).

Specifically, if we look at Umberto Eco's excellent essay Ur-Fascism, which lays out a framework for understanding fascist principles, we see a lot of interesting parallels with Christian ideology and Biblical excerpts:

- Cult of Tradition: The Bible is explicitly stated to be all the wisdom that is needed (2 Timothy 3:15, Psalm 19:7) by mankind. In Eco's words, "There can be no advancement of learning [inside fascism]... The Truth has already been spelled out one and for all, and all we can do is continue to interpret its obscure message." Christian doctrine is heavily built upon interpretation and re-interpretation of the Bible; even Christians that try to be progressive focus on re-interpreting problematic passages or attempting to give them context, as opposed to acknowledging that modern knowledge and sensibilities have made those passages obsolete. Admitting that modern knowledge has surpassed that within the Bible casts doubt on its status as divine and "perfect," which leads us to...

Rejection of Modernity- The Bible very explicitly says that modern, human-found understanding is inferior to primordial, divine wisdom (Colossians 2:8). Christian rhetoric frequently emphasizes the unknowability of God, framing attempts to understand him and his creation as futile. Many Christian sects deliberately work to create a distinction between "worldly," or human, and "godly" things. Throughout Genesis, we see stories like Adam and Eve and the Tower of Babel, and in the New Testament we see frequent metaphors regarding sheep. The subtext is clear- Learning and building humanity up is folly, and the ideal state of humanity is that of placid, blissful ignorance.

Disagreement is Treason- Churches are not places of equal discourse. The reason so many schisms exist within Christianity is that disagreeing viewpoints are fundamentally not allowed; those with disagreeing viewpoints must be converted to the "right" path or condemned and suppressed. If someone makes a valid point that opposes yours, it's not cause to reconsider your own stance, it's demons trying to tempt you away from the Righteous Path.

Obsession with a plot- What else would you call demons? An invisible, pure-evil race of trickster demigods who pull the strings behind the scenes, and whose sole purpose is making bad things happen- demons could he anywhere, even in your own thoughts, trying to tempt you from righteousness.

Enemy is both strong and weak- This is rampant throughout Christian rhetoric. Demons are both powerful enough to orchestrate the suffering of the world, yet weak enough to be steamrolled by God on Judgement Day. Christians have almighty power on their side, yet somehow seem to always be persecuted (according to them, at least). The Secular World is out to get you, but they're not powerful enough to just get rid of churches.

-Life is Permanent Warfare and the need for a Final Battle- Christian rhetoric commonly focuses on life as a noble struggle against sin, temptation, and Satan, a neverending battle between God's followers and the machinations of demons, until eventually God swoops in and crushes Satan in Armageddon as foretold in the Book of Revelation. Metaphors like the "Armor of God" and children's songs like "The Lord's Army" are probably the two most blatant signifiers of this.

-Everyone is Educated to Be a Hero- I've talked about this at length before, but Christianity idolizes martyrdom, painting it as a valorous ideal. One common story for Evangelical children is about a child in a school shooting who is asked if she believes in Jesus, and when she says 'yes,' she's shot. We were meant to see the girl as brave and a role model to look up to; some of us even had to act out saying we believed in Jesus while an adult pretended to hold a gun to our heads. Death is seen as a goal, where you finally get to go to heaven and leave behind a rotten, painful Earth.

I'd also like to point out that most of these are found in all Christian sects I've been in- the specific examples I gave draw on my own experiences, but the fascistic aspects of Christianity are as widespread as they are insidious.

Ultimately, this is because Christianity serves the same purpose in its followers as fascism does; it takes a frightening, morally-grey, complex world and flattens it into a simple, black-and-white, easy-to-digest world of pure good and pure evil, where all of your problems can be blamed on one group, and all of the answers are already there in the hands of the leader. No building to new heights, no searching for answers to the world's mysteries.

Just a man reading a 2,000-year-old-book, forever.

[cavegirlpoems]

Another take on demihumans as social constructs

I had an idea knocking around inside my head, and then I saw that Dan had already done it over on Throne Of Salt, which rather undercut my brilliant originality. More time has passed, so I figured I'd have a crack at the idea myself.

So. Demihumans (elf, half-elf, hobbit, dwarf, orc, half-orc, goblin, hob-goblin, dragon). Rather than positing each as a seperate species - and then getting our skull-callipers out to compare them - we'll just look at the position each occupies in our setting socially, and extrapolite backwards from that. EG, let's suppose you're an elf because you do elf things and people treat you like an elf. But you're still recognisably an elf. What would that look like? How do you get that in society?

Suffice to say, this is all a thought experiment. I have no idea how this would play out in a proper setting or actual game.

Elves

"This person has autism, but their knowledge or power means we have to treat them respectfully."

An elf is quite possibly smarter than you, but (if you aren't also an elf) the ways they think don't make sense. They follow patterns and customs that most people don't, they prioritise things regular people don't, they just fucking know things sometimes. Sometimes unusually innocent, sometimes deeply worldly and old before their time.

Elves typically go into professions where knowledge is important, and people can't just reject you out of hand for being unearthly and weird. Mages, priests, artists, nuns, midwives. That air of oddness can be a perk; it lets people know they're dealing with an elf, and should be prepared to act accordingly.

You treat elves with respect. After all, they know things and they have sufficient power or clout that if you offend them, they can make you regret it. 

Most have at least a smattering of magic, some handy utility powers and maybe something like a magic missile to smack people who don't show respect. They take to it naturally, and often don't get that others can't just learn magic with the same fluency and focus that they do. Isn't it easy?

It doesn't have to be autism, but that's the most common one, and also the one the author has and is familiar with.

Different types of elves correspond to areas of focus. Wood elves like the natural earthy things like birds and trees, high elves like some 'respectable' topic like history or heraldry, dark elves know about something vaguelly taboo like poisons or spiders.

The term 'half-elf' is basically the same as 'high functioning'. Not really used by elves among themselves, but regular people use it to describe elves that seem more normal and approachable.

Generally, elf-ness is broadly hereditable, about as hereditable as autistic traits in the real world. A changeling is just somebody who turns out to be an elf despite nobody expecting it based on their family.

Elf communities exist. Cloisters and hideaways. They get weird fast.

Dwarves

"From a commoner family that knows marvelous trade secrets."

Being a dwarf means you've inherited the family name (or been adopted or married into it). You're one of a particular clan, and your clan knows how to do something that they guard jealously.

Metalworking is a common one. Mining and underground construction techniques are another. Warfare with specific secret techniques is another. Maybe a mix. Whatever it is, your clan has a secret way of doing things that gives you an advantage. Dwarf-made armour is just better than everybody else's. Dwarves who go to war fight in ways that seem impossible to replicate without their lengthy training, and are shockingly effective.

Dwarves often have magic of their own. More secrets handed down the clan. They have their own little sects of the mainstream religions, and their own priests.

The techniques of the dwarves give them an edge over other people. They're just commoners, but they can negotiate with nobles and even royalty, because if the dwarves aren't paid to their satisfaction nobody else can do it as well. And, really, a noble who's jewellery isn't made by dwarves is an embarassment. 

These secrets need to be kept, or the dwarves lose their wealth and power. Dwarves prefer to live away from outsiders, in innaccessable places like mountain villages or underground fortresses. They don't trust non-dwarves, who might try to steal their secrets. The exception is other dwarves, who have a vested interest in preserving dwarvish independence. 

They know how to hold a grudge. When you're jumped-up commoners bargaining with nobility, you have to.

Hobbits

"These people have fucked off to live independently, and its too much effort to get them to come back."

Hobbits have opted out of mainstream society to go and do something else. Maybe they dig holes in hillsides and make a commune that lives in a rural idyl. Maybe they have a caravan and travel the world with like-minded hobbits, trading goods and stories. Maybe they flee from persecution and live in floating villages hidden in the marshes.

Basically, they're hippies. They rejected the rat race and went to live some more authentic, satisfying or reasonable life off in the middle of nowhere. Their communities are tight-knit, idealistic and egaletarian, mostly. When a hobbit community goes wrong, it goes really wrong really quickly, and then falls apart entirely. 

Some people are first-generation hobbits, who - alongside a group of like-minded individuals - chose to live like this. Some were born into a hobbit community and decided to stay. Some found a hobbit community and got adopted into it.

They love their pipeweed, and they're good at hiding. Hobbits get on with dwarves a lot of the time, even if their relationships tend to be distant.

The author has dated a number of hobbits in her time.

When some horrible dark lord rises up, fueled by the fire and smoke of industry and averice, and starts building dreadful armies and dark satanic mills, hobbits tend to be among the first victims they go after. Them and other minorities. Hobbits don't tend to fight back in an organised way, they go to ground, move on, or form guerilla resistance movements.

They are probably living happier lives than you are. Why aren't you a hobbit, actually?

Orcs

"Soldiers without homes."

Being an orc means fighting as a way of living. No farms, towns, shrines, capitals. Just a military camp that moves as the campaign moves. War is all you know. Home isn't a real concept, or isn't anymore, you just live wherever the fighting is, or wherever you go the fighting follows.

Some orcs are mercenaries. Poverty or desperation or persecution pushes them to sign up with a mercenary band. A tent in a military camp is still a roof over your head, sort of. Sometimes the orc is fleeing something, or ambitious. 

Maybe they don't intend to be an orc for long. Really, though, cashing out isn't likely to happen. You die young, or if you don't your so scarred - emotionally and physically - that regular society doesn't want you back.

Other orcs didn't have a home to begin with. An invasion took it from you, and now your home is occupied by somebody else. Or your home has been on the front-lines of a trench war for decades and completely fucking uninhabitable, and the conflict is all you know.

Orcs stick together. Their real loyalty is to their comrades. An employer has their loyalty only as much as they pay them, unless that employer is also an orc. 

There's a code. They treat orcs on the other side of the conflict better than the rest of the enemy. If you capture an enemy orc, he's one of yours now. He switches sides. Maybe his whole band surrenders and joins you, and they're with you now. Their loyalty is to the orcs, not to whichever kings and emperors started this war to begin with.

Sometimes orcs end up in the armies of dark lords. This lasts as long as the dark lord keeps paying them and doesn't expect them to break the code. They don't care what fucked up stuff the dark lord is doing, spend long enough as a mercenary and you get numb to attrocities, so long as the money keeps coming.

Other orcs take a more direct approach, and support themselves through banditry and conquest. 

There's a lot of overlap between orcs and goblins. There's surprising overlap between orcs and dwarves.

Goblins

"Sentient vermin."

Even worse than being an orc. Somebody in power wants you gone, and now you don't have rights anymore. Basically outlaws. 

A goblin might be a heretic, a criminal, somebody whose land got stolen, a fugitive, or something like that. Or just born to goblin parents. You're not part of regular society, and regular society wants you fucking gone. There's overlap between goblins and orcs. People don't like to admit it, but there's overlap between goblins and hobbits.

There's absolutely no social safety net when you're a goblin. Individual people might be nice to you, but others won't be, and maybe there's a bounty on your head again. Best to hide from them, then.

Goblins get really, really good at hiding. They find places they can escape from the world, and they band together with other goblins. When society is your enemy, fuck 'em. Feed yourself through subtle theft, banditry, whatever it takes. Trust your fellow goblins to keep you safe. If regular folks look at you funny, kick their teeth in so they won't want to chase after you in a hurry, and go to ground. Fill your home with cunning traps. Fuck 'em, look out for your own.

The world wants you dead, but you're clawing and spitting and snarling and still alive.

Hobgoblins are when these outlawsarm themselves and actively fight back. Guerillas, terrorists, militias, what have you. They cobble together uniforms, and stick the heads of those who'd oppress or exterminate them on spikes before fading back into the shadows. They're probably also orcs. Kobolds are when these outlaws are also dwarves, and have secret knowledge that mean you have to take them seriously, even while trying hard to get rid of them. Kobolds tend to be very good at building impregnable fortresses full of traps.

Dragons

"Personally strong enough to do whatever the fuck they want with no consequences." 

The rule of thumb is this: if you can walk into an average town by yourself and demand they give you tribute, and get it without any noteworthy resistance, you're a dragon.

You probably weren't a building-sized fire-breathing carnivorous flying lizard to begin with. But once you hit a certain level of power, you realise nothing's stopping you from turning into one if you want to, and there never was. 

Dragons shapeshift. They look like people, until they don't. Every one is a legend. Every one is unique.

Kings aren't dragons. Their power comes from systems of laws and heirarchy and custom meaning people choose to follow them. Wizards might be, as might particularly mighty warriors. Subtlety and subterfuge aren't particularly inclined towards making you a dragon, normally, but often somebody who excels in those areas will - when their back is to the wall - reveal that they were a dragon all along.

If you can personally reduce anybody who speaks back to you to two whisps of smoke coming from a pair of shoes (or a red smear), you're a dragon.

Some dragons do their best not to act like dragons. They try to be benevolent, to blend in with society, to only flex their power in emergencies. The rest - the majority, even - are problems.

A typical dragon ensures those who follow them are loyal by making dramatic examples. They tend to enjoy skull fortresses, big piles of treasure, and appending titles like 'the terrible' onto their name. 

People who set out to slay dragons generally fail. Those who succeed normally become dragons themselves. 

Elves become dragons disproportionately often. It's the focus that does it. They're often the most reasonable dragons.

Orcs do too. We call them black dragons, and they burn bright and furious, leading a horde of orcs behind them until they inevitably perish doing something exciting.

Goblins also produce a lot of dragons, particularly kobolds. A goblin who becomes a dragon is really good news (for the goblins and hobgoblins and kobolds and orcs of the world) and really bad news (for the sort of people who decided you were a goblin in the first place). These get called red dragons, because of all the blood that they leave behind.

Red dragons tend not to be inclined to be merciful to their enemies. Their followers, on the other hand, often do pretty well for themselves. When you have a red dragon on your side, you might not have to be a goblin for long.

Very successful kingdoms have been founded by a red dragon with a big dream.

[anotheraldin]

Those who took this faith ˹of Islam˺ as mere amusement and play and were deluded by ˹their˺ worldly life.” ˹Allah will say,˺ “Today We will ignore them just as they ignored the coming of this Day of theirs and for rejecting Our revelations.”

We have certainly brought them a Book which We explained with knowledge—a guide and mercy for those who believe.

-Surah Al-A'raf | 7:51-52.

[albertfinch]

HIDDEN WITH CHRIST IN GOD

We are to be the glory of His heavenly essence upon the earth.  As we allow God to expose the indifference and distractions in our lives, His light and nature will supernaturally come forth in power through each of us as we reject our worldly agendas and bring forth our DESTINY in Christ.

Romans 9:23 - "That He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory."

How does this happen? Is it because of all the good things that we do? Our perfect lives? Do we need to ascend to some measure of spiritual greatness to be used by God? Absolutely not. It is the grace of God that has made us worthy to be vessels of His presence. It is not about our perfection, our giftings, our great ability or whatever else we think might help qualify us for His work. He uses each of us WHERE WE ARE because we trust in His grace and LEARN HOW TO DEPEND ON HIS SPIRIT -- His love flowing through us into the lives of others.

INCORPORATED INTO HIS FLOW

Ephesians 3:7 - "Of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power."

It is not about our performance. He will use us powerfully because of His grace. In our walk with God one of the most valuable keys we can learn is to "hide in Him". What does this mean? God is our hideout.  As we learn to yield ourselves to the Spirit, we become a hidden people incorporated into the flow of His desires.

Benefits of Hiding Out With God:

You make yourself available for revelation concerning your calling in Christ. 2. You become more aware of your oneness with Jesus. 3. Through the DISCIPLESHIP of others you will be able to lead them to discover this Hiding Place.

THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST

Colossians 3:3 - "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

When Christ died, we died. When Christ rose, we rose with Him. Christ is now seated at the right hand of God and us with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).  All the work is finished.  When we hideaway with God we become absorbed into His very life. With our hearts yielded to the Holy Spirit we become conduits of His presence into the earth. God will use us in power because we are dedicated to understanding and carrying out our calling in Christ.  It is Christ in us the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Just as Paul said in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me," his life was absorbed into Christ as he gained ground for God’s Kingdom in the earth.   

AFFIRMATIONS:

  I take time to rest, meditating on the work Christ has accomplished for me so far as I seek to bear fruit that remains for His Kingdom.

I worship God from a position of being hidden in Christ.

I live in such a way that nothing ever gets bigger than my consciousness of God's presence.

He has called us not to "wonder about the future," but to create it through the knowledge of His living Word and prayer accompanied by action!  Our Father gives His access to the future right now. To bring manifestation is to pray and advance the reality of God's Kingdom in the earth as we co-labor with Him.

"Pray, then, in this way:.......on earth as it is in Heaven." - Matthew 6:9,10

We cannot afford to have a moment in our lives when circumstances distract us from tending the fire of and advancing God’s purpose for our life. 

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY