#rewards and punishments

[eli-kittim]

Christian Universalism Debunked

By Eli Kittim

Introduction

Universal reconciliation (also called “apocatastasis”) is the belief that, in the end, everyone will be saved. Advocates of this position assert that the concept of an eternal hell was never part of Judaism or early Christianity. Although this is certainly a very appealing view, there are many problems with it. For one thing, it is, in effect, a denial of free will, as if God will somehow coerce us into union with him. For another, morality has been thrown to the wind, as if there is no punishment for lawlessness. This doctrine essentially urges us to do what we please because, in the end, we will literally get away with murder! It reminds me of Aleister Crowley’s occultic expression, “Do what thou wilt.” The motto is, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we’re saved. Thus, whether or not you murder, torture, molest, or harass innocent human beings is unimportant and irrelevant. You’re going to heaven. So carry on. There’s no need to stop. This position reminds me of free grace theology which essentially says the same thing: don’t stop sinning because you’re already saved. Therefore, both views are unscriptural and unacceptable!

The New Testament does not support universalism, and in fact mentions the reality of hell many times. The belief in hell is also contained in the Nicene creed and in the writings of the apostolic fathers. In fact, universalism was officially condemned as a heresy in the second Council of Constantinople (553 AD), when Origen’s teaching of apokatastasis was formally anathematized. Universalism is, therefore, not only a heresy but a denial of scripture. Nevertheless, since the apostolic age, there have been quite a few people who have affirmed the doctrine of universalism. The latest proponent is religious studies scholar David Bentley Hart with his 2019 book, That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation.

Universalists come in many different flavors. Although some reject the existence of hell completely, others see it as a sort of purgatory prior to entering heaven. Universalists typically argue that the concept of eternal hell is based on a mistranslation of the Greek term αιών (aion). However, the word αἰώνιος means “ever-lasting,” or “eternal” (see Liddell and Scott. An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon). Moreover, the idiomatic phrase «εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων» does mean “forever,” as seen in the following examples:

Gal 1.5 - ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν

αἰώνων ἀμήν.

Phil 4.20 - τῷ δὲ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ ἡμῶν ἡ

δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν

αἰώνων· ἀμήν.

1 Tim 1.17 - τῷ δὲ βασιλεῖ τῶν αἰώνων

ἀφθάρτ��� ἀοράτῳ μόνῳ θεῷ

τιμὴ καὶ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας

τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν.

Rev 1.6 - καὶ ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς βασιλείαν

ἱερεῖς τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ

αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς

τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν.

Rev 1.18 - καὶ ὁ ζῶν καὶ ἐγενόμην νεκρὸς

καὶ ἰδοὺ ζῶν εἰμι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας

τῶν αἰώνων καὶ ἔχω τὰς κλεῖς

τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου.

The No-Hell Argument

Universalists claim that there’s no hell, and especially no “eternal hell.” Let’s see if their claims can be substantiated. How do the universalists explain the fallen angels who are locked away? Where are they imprisoned? (2 Pet 2.4). Doesn’t sound like the land of the dead (Sheol)! Plus, the Greek words that are used in these particular contexts suggest “eternity,” not annihilation or apocatastasis. For example, Jude 1.6-7 (NRSV) reads:

And the angels who did not keep their own

position but deserted their proper dwelling,

he has kept in eternal [ἀϊδίοις] chains

[δεσμοῖς] in deepest darkness for the

judgment of the great day. Likewise, Sodom

and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities,

which, in the same manner as they,

indulged in sexual immorality and pursued

unnatural lust, serve as an example by

undergoing [ὑπέχουσαι] a punishment

[δίκην] of eternal [αἰωνίου] fire [πυρὸς].

By the way, «αἰωνίου δίκην» means “eternal judgment.” So the question is, if all the damned are eventually saved (universalism), or if they simply die in the land of the dead (annihilationism), then why did God *prepare* (ἡτοιμασμένον) the eternal fire (τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον) for the devil & his angels? (Mt 25.41, 46 [eternal punishment; κόλασιν αἰώνιον]; cf. Mk 9.48; 2 Pet 2.4; Jude 1.13; Rev 14.11; 20.10)! The Greek phrase «κόλασιν αἰώνιον» actually means “eternal punishment.” Daniel 12.2, in the Septuagint (LXX), also mentions an “everlasting life” for the righteous, as well as an “everlasting shame” for the wicked:

καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν καθευδόντων ἐν γῆς χώματι

ἐξεγερθήσονται, οὗτοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ

οὗτοι εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν καὶ εἰς αἰσχύνην

αἰώνιον.

English translation by L.C.L. Brenton:

And many of them that sleep in the dust of

the earth shall awake, some to everlasting

life, and some to reproach and everlasting

shame.

The Greek phrases «ζωὴν αἰώνιον» and «αἰσχύνην αἰώνιον» mean “everlasting life” and “everlasting shame,” respectively. Look up the phrase «εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων» (Gal. 1.5; Phil. 4.20; 1 Tim. 1.17; 2 Tim. 4.18; Heb. 13.21; 1 Pet. 4.11; Rev. 1.6; 1.18; 4.9-10; 5.13; 7.12; 10.6; 11.15; 15.7; 19.3; 20.10; 22.5)! The phrase «εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων» means “for ever and ever.” Moreover, if the damned die once for all, then why is the word “eternal” used to frequently describe their punishment? Is it simply that our *memory* of them will be “eternal”? That’s not exactly what the Bible says. So, is the Bible (or God) lying to us or trying to confuse us?

Annihilationism: How ‬Bart Ehrman‪ Gets Things Wrong In His Book, Heaven and Hell

Although some believers in universal reconciliation (aka “apocatastasis”) might accept the notion of hell in some short-term temporal sense, they do not accept it either as a place of endless torment or as a place of ultimate “annihilation” for the wicked after the last judgment. And although this subsection is on the topic of annihilationism, I’m discussing it simply because it has a great deal to say about the term αἰώνιον (everlasting), which the universalists mistranslate!

In his “Fresh Air Interview” with Terry Gross, world-renowned biblical scholar Bart Ehrman falsely “states that eternal rewards and punishments aren’t found in the Old Testament.” This statement directly contradicts the teachings of the Old Testament. Much to Bart Ehrman‪’s‬ dismay, there is a clear reference to a resurrection from the dead in the Old Testament in which there are definite rewards and punishments that await both the righteous and the wicked. In fact, these rewards and punishments are said to be “everlasting.” The following constitutes a further treatment of Daniel 12.2 (NRSV), which reads:

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the

earth shall awake, some to everlasting life

and some to shame and everlasting

contempt.

The so-called “Theodotion Daniel” form of the Septuagint (LXX) confirms that the rewards and punishments in the aftermath of the resurrection are indeed *continuous* by using the Greek word αἰώνιον, which means “everlasting.” Daniel Th 12.2 proclaims:

καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν καθευδόντων ἐν γῆς χώματι

ἐξεγερθήσονται, οὗτοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ

οὗτοι εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν καὶ εἰς αἰσχύνην

αἰώνιον.

The Hebrew text (BHS) of Daniel 12.2 reads:

‎וְרַבִּ֕ים מִיְּשֵׁנֵ֥י אַדְמַת־עָפָ֖ר יָקִ֑יצוּ אֵ֚לֶּה לְחַיֵּ֣י עֹולָ֔ם

‎וְאֵ֥לֶּה לַחֲרָפֹ֖ות לְדִרְאֹ֥ון עֹולָֽם׃ ס

The key Hebrew words are עוֹלָ֔ם ‘ō·w·lām (everlasting) and לְדִרְא֥וֹן lə·ḏir·’ō·wn (contempt). In short, the dead are not annihilated, nor do they sleep forever, as Ehrman mistakenly assumes, but are rather *resurrected* to exist either in an “everlasting life” of Blessedness or in “everlasting contempt.” What is more, Daniel 12 is found in the Masoretic and Qumran texts and is not, therefore, a later edition.

As for Ehrman’s other false statement “that eternal rewards and punishments aren’t found . . . in the teachings of Jesus,” he should go back and restudy the Koine Greek of the earliest New Testament gospel, namely, the gospel of Mark! The English translation of Mark 9.47-48 reads as follows:

And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear

it out; it is better for you to enter the

kingdom of God with one eye than to have

two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where

their worm never dies, and the fire is never

quenched.

Two things are indisputably mentioned by Jesus that are both unequivocal and categorical: the *punishment* is •everlasting• in that neither human beings nor the fires of hell (γέενναν) are put out or extinguished. In short, human beings never die and the fires of hell never end. And this pericope is considered to be part of the sayings of Jesus! Thus, in accordance with Daniel 12.2, Jesus definitely confirms the duration, rather than the extinction, of the afterlife! In fact, the Greek term πῦρ (“fire” of hell) in Mark 9.48 is the exact same term used to designate “the lake of fire” (Gk. λίμνην τοῦ πυρὸς) in Revelation 20.10! The Greek text (NA28) of Mark 9.48 is illuminating in this regard. It reads:

ὅπου ὁ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτᾷ καὶ τὸ

πῦρ οὐ σβέννυται.

The Greek term σκώληξ (skóléx) means “worm,” “symbolizing perhaps the loathsomeness of the penalty” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon) or it maybe used figuratively as a general term of contempt for a living being. Moreover, the Greek phrase οὐ τελευτᾷ means that their “organism” (or “worm”) never ceases to exist; it does not come to an end. Equally, the Greek phrase οὐ σβέννυται means that the fires (Gk. πῦρ) of punishment are not put out: they are not extinguished or quenched! It’s also important to note that Mark 9.48 is not an interpolation because it’s preserved in Isaiah 66.24. It’s part of the Old Testament tradition.

In other words, Jesus clearly teaches in Mark 9.47-48 that there are eternal punishments precisely because people do not cease to exist after death, nor are the fires of hell put out (cf. Mt. 25.46). And Daniel 12.2, among other places in the Old Testament (cf. e.g., Isa. 66.24), supports the New Testament teaching of the abiding presence of rewards and punishments for both the righteous and the wicked in the afterlife! Further supportive evidence comes from Rev. 20.10, which contradicts annihilationism by explicitly stating that the damned “will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Gk. βασανισθήσονται ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων)! Besides, if annihilationism is true, why, then, will the damned be resurrected? To die again? (Jn 5.29). It doesn’t make any sense! It is, therefore, deeply misleading and particularly dangerous to assume that the Bible does not speak of an afterlife or that there are no ultimate consequences for our actions here on earth!

Universalists Misinterpret Scripture

Universalists are putting a spin on practically every scriptural verse they mention, adding a speculative (private) interpretation that is not in the text, while ignoring other parts of scripture that say the exact opposite. It’s a sort of *confirmation bias* in which they add interpretations to the text that are not explicitly stated. For the sake of convenience, I’ll simply mention a few verses that they often use to twist scripture in order to make it say what it doesn’t actually say.

For example, Rev 5.13 is talking about the new creation——that is, everyone who has been reborn in Christ——when it says that all will sing praises to God. But it doesn’t mean that the most violent and wicked demons that ever lived (such as Satan) will hold candles and sing praises to God. Or, take 1 John 4.14. Yes, Christ is the Savior of the world, meaning that his atonement covers all human beings, provided that they’re freely willing to come to him. But that doesn’t mean that the will of the people can be forced into salvation. Similarly, 1 Timothy 2.4-6 says that God wants all men to be saved. But this verse is simply informing us of God’s disposition, not that all men will definitely be saved. Along the same lines, Philippians 2.9-11 says that every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. But this could be referring to the new creation following the judgment, after the former things have passed away. Besides, during the judgment, the unsaved will certainly recognize that Jesus is Lord, even if they despise him. It’s a similar situation to the demons who acknowledge God’s existence in James 2.19. Moreover, the narratives in Ezekiel and Isaiah, which claim that all nations will come to worship God, are true. But they are symbolic of those particular nations that will be saved. They don’t imply that each and every person that ever lived will be saved, or that there is no judgement:

Psalm 1.5 - Therefore the wicked will not stand

in the judgment nor sinners in the

congregation of the righteous.

Psalm 7.6 - Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;
     lift yourself up against the fury of

my enemies; awake, O my God;

you have appointed a judgment.

Jn 5.24 - Very truly, I tell you, anyone who

hears my word and believes him

who sent me has eternal life and

does not come under judgment but

has passed from death to life.

Jn 5.29 - and [they] will come out: those

who have done good to the

resurrection of life, and those who

have done evil to the resurrection

of condemnation.

Rom 2.3 - Do you imagine, whoever you are,

that when you judge those who do

such things and yet do them

yourself, you will escape the

judgment of God?

1 Pet 4.17 - For the time has come for

judgment to begin with the

household of God; if it begins with

us, what will be the end for those

who do not obey the gospel of

God?

2 Pet 2.4 - God did not spare the angels when

they sinned but cast them into hell

and committed them to chains of

deepest darkness to be kept until

the judgment;

What is more, Ephesians 1.11 doesn’t say that God will bring all people under Christ, as some universalists have argued. Rather, it says that those who have been saved have been predestined to obtain an inheritance according to God’s will, and that all things work according to his will. Besides, in 1 Corinthians 15.22-28, Christ is said to eliminate all his enemies, and after that he will recreate a new universe in which God will be all in all (in the new creation, that is!). It means that God will be in all the righteous people that remain, not in all the wicked to whom he says “I never knew you; depart from me” (Mt. 7.23 ESV)! Moreover, if “the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Mt. 7.14 NRSV), does that sound like universalism? And if “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit” (Jn 3.5), how, then, can people who are not born of the Spirit be saved? And if all will be saved, then why are we commanded to preach the gospel? Why do we need to be reborn then? Why even believe in Jesus? Thus, universalism has clearly embraced aberrant teachings based on mistranslations and misinterpretations!

The Universalists Claim that Eternal Hell Does Not Exist Because God is Love

But God is also Justice. Everyone will be punished accordingly. Everyone will be judged. No one will get off scot-free. Everyone will get what they deserve. You don’t have to look very far to see the coming judgment, such as Jesus waging war on the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2.8), or waging a just war in Rev. 19.11, or the wrath of Christ that leaves corpses lying dead by the thousands (Rev. 19.18), or “the great winepress of the wrath of God”:

Rev 14.19-20

So the angel swung his sickle over the earth

and gathered the vintage of the earth, and

he threw it into the great winepress of the

wrath of God. And the winepress was

trodden outside the city, and blood flowed

from the winepress, as high as a horse’s

bridle, for a distance of about one thousand

six hundred stadia.

Rom 12.19

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave

room for the wrath of God, for it is written,

‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the

Lord.’

Deut 32.35

for the day of vengeance and recompense,

for the time when their foot shall slip?

Because the day of their calamity is at

hand; their doom comes swiftly.

Isa 13.6

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;

it will come like destruction from the

Almighty!

Isa 13.9

See, the day of the Lord is coming,

cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
 to make the earth a desolation

and to destroy its sinners from it.

Jer 46.10

That day is the day of the Lord God of

hosts, a day of retribution,

to gain vindication from his foes.
 The sword shall devour and be sated

and drink its fill of their blood.


Does that sound like universal salvation? So even though God is good, he is also just.

Conclusion

There are two views on opposite sides of the spectrum. One claims that all the wicked will be destroyed, while the other asserts that they will be saved. Both are wrong! As we have seen, both annihilationism and universal reconciliation (apocatastasis) are not consistent with the teaching of Scripture. The Bible tells us that the wicked will continue to exist in “shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12.2). Their everlasting abode is described as an eternal place “where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched” (Mark 9.48)! John 3.36 (NIV) says categorically and unequivocally: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

[jiejing-lifechanyuan]

Explore the Script of Life

Xuefeng

March 24, 2017

(Translated by Treasure and Edited by Kaer)

Is life dominated by fate? How does fate come into being? Is everything in life prearranged? If it is, then who arranged and directs it and how can we still have free will? If there is free will, does it conflict with fate? If there is no free will, then does the causality law of "You reap what you sow" exist, or does it not? Is it true that every word and every act of everyone is prearranged? If so, then are we not biological robots? Is everything accidental or inevitable? Who carries out punishments, rewards, and so on?

It is an extremely complex and enormous system and it is impossible to reveal the whole system clearly. I can only draw a rough outline, and you the reader must verify it for yourself.

Eighteen plots cannot be controlled by people in their own lives but have to be resigned to destiny. For example, their own parents cannot be chosen, arranged, or controlled by them. In fact, a lot of things in life cannot be either. Not only are the sizes of our eyes uncontrollable, but we cannot even arrange a single hair by ourselves. In the face of such vast complexities, we have to resign ourselves to destiny.

If we cannot change things, then what can we do?

Everything in the universe has its trajectory, all of which are run according to a well-arranged overall trajectory and we are no exception. That is to say, we also have our trajectories. These trajectories determine the directions of people's lives, whether they will be officials or commoners, poor or rich, or male or female, and be subject to fortune or misfortune; everything and everyone have been determined by their trajectory. Facing our trajectory, we are powerless.

Who is writing your life script and arranging your trajectory of LIFE? You are! Who is directing it? It is procedure.

Everything in this life is established by the thoughts and actions of your previous life; this is fate. It is impossible to change the fate of your life because it has already been written. All of your efforts in this life only work for your next life. It can be said that your past determines your present and your present determines your future. Since everything has already been arranged and planned out and the story and plot of your life has already been set, then how do we reflect on man’s subjective initiative? What good are an individual’s efforts? If even what we say and do have been determined in advance, then why should we make any efforts?

Individual efforts are reflected in one’s mind and how perfect a role they play. Our inner activities are not arranged by our script. Our free will is reflected in our mind and whether our specific role is performed perfectly or not. Such as in a stage play, the script has been arranged by a writer in advance, the director selects performers according to each performer’s appearance, character, acting skill, and so on. The performers must act strictly according to the script and plot and the director’s requirement. If done well, the director will be pleased and the actors will receive more pay and have more chances to perform in future plays. If done poorly, the director will not be pleased and their opportunity for future castings will diminish. The quality of their performance depends on them. This is individual effort.

Our inner activities are not arranged, nor are they destined. They rely completely on the free will and effort of the individual. It is entirely up to them to decide whether they want to have good or evil thoughts.

Our inner activity is our thinking activity. Thinking activity is like a wave that spreads throughout the universe; that is, when the mind moves, its inner activity expands out to the universe and tells the universe what it is doing, and very loudly. Regarding this, we are unable to view or receive it, but gods know it. In other words, everyone’s inner activities can be learned instantly by the universe and recorded in the procedure of Tao. The procedure of Tao automatically arranges the future fate and trajectory of everyone’s LIFE based on their inner activities. Karma, karma, karma!

Then who rewards and punishes and who executes the mechanisms of rewarding and punishing?

Rewarding and punishing are determined by the procedure of Tao, but it is only the judge. The executor is neither the procedure of Tao nor the judge, but a factor of the boundless universe; a god, or man, a dog, an ant, a storm, or an event. It is like a judge who sentences someone to death but never executes anyone personally; that is always left for a series of other people.

The script of this life has been set long ago but the script of the next life is always changing. People’s thoughts and actions in this life identify their future LIFE trajectories. If someone is destined to leave for the Celestial Islands Continent but becomes seized by evil and does not play their current role well, then their trajectory of LIFE to the Celestial Islands Continent will change. Their revised trajectory may devolve toward the Ten-thousand Year World, the Thousand- year world, back to the mortal world, or even to the animal world or to hell depending on the severity of what they do.

As Lifechanyuan’s guide, I sigh with deep emotion during my directing the scripts of Chanyuan Celestials. For instance, I planned to have a certain individual eat a fairy peach which had been determined by her trajectory of LIFE, however she failed to play her role as a Chanyuan celestial well in her course. I asked her to clean a toilet, but she failed to clean it thoroughly, so I knew that she was still unable to eat the fairy peach, but only wild peaches. In this way, both her fate and her trajectory of LIFE were changed.

It is a strict law that absolutely beautiful things can only be enjoyed by absolutely beautiful LIVES. If we do not reach an absolutely beautiful state, then absolutely beautiful results will never appear.

When we enjoy absolutely beautiful things but our personal quality declines, then those absolutely beautiful things automatically disappear. This is not only the law and the script plot, but also the ever-changing living script.

Past scripts are dead, future ones are alive, and living ones are always changing according to everyone’s inner activities and how well or poorly they perform.

The impartiality of Tao is reflected in, “Tao gives to every LIFE according to its desires”. If you desire blessings in this life, Tao will bestow them upon you, but fewer will remain for your next life. If you want to become a wolf, it will make you one in your next script; if you want to become a celestial being, it will make you one. Tao will surely satisfy you and help you to achieve your goal, whatever you want to be, but it must be understood that the fulfillment of Tao is not executed immediately. It is arranged in the script, it takes a process, and it takes time. You cannot expect an airplane to come the moment you ask for it; you need to be patient. It is crucial to remember that as your plane is coming, your needs can not change. Once there is a change, Tao has to follow your needs. If you want coffee, but then decide that you would prefer tea, Tao will immediately prepare tea for you. If the tea has not yet arrived and you decide that you would prefer Coca-Cola, Tao will prepare Coca-Cola for you right away. When you change again, Tao will change again. In short, it will always satisfy you.

Now, here is a core consideration: if you want a luxury car worth a million dollars, Tao will check your bank account; your merits and virtues. If they are insufficient and your bank deposits are not enough, then that million dollar limousine will not be offered to you. Even if you need a needle, you have to check your bank deposits. As long as you have enough merits and virtues, enough bank deposits for what you want, Tao will meet your requirements and demands, or help you to achieve your goal.

When a person runs out of bank deposits or when their merits and virtues are exhausted and they have no remaining blessings, then they will soon collapse, fail, lose everything, go to prison, or end this life. Therefore, we need to give benefits, accumulate merits and virtues, and cherish good fortune during our lifetimes so that our blessings will last for our entire lives; even into our future lives.

The universe is a huge script with countless subscripts within it, and all the small ones serve the huge one; no small script can exceed a larger one. The Milky way galaxy is a huge script, the solar system is a medium-size one, earth is a smaller one, every country is a smaller one still, every organization is a much smaller one, and so on. Strings within quarks within atomic particles within molecules have the smallest scripts. Adding the nonmaterial world, twenty parallel worlds and the 36-dimensional space, it is unimaginable and inexplicable for us to know how complex and how huge the master script is.

The above is just a tiny bit of my superficial view based on man’s bewilderment for your reference. To know more, you will need to work on statistics, analysis, induction, summing up from a large number of examples of human activities, both ancient and modern, at home and abroad. It will take a lot of effort for you to figure it out.

~~~

If you like this article and would like to know more about Lifechanyuan values, please check this link, thanks: https://lifechanyuanvalues.wordpress.com/2024/06/23/some-pdfs-of-lifechanyuan-values/

May Wisdom, Peace & Love from the Greatest Creator be with you.🙏

[bluerosefox]

Always Favors You

Another Sibling Danny and Jason idea!!

"Are you Jason Peter Todd?!" demanded a deep and commanding tone from the strange glowing being in front of them.

All the Bats stiffened and tensed, no doubt gearing up for a fight against the being that somehow knew Red Hood's full name.

Jason, Red Hood, decided to put on a brave front despite no doubt cursing in his head and wondering how the heck did this thing know his full freaking name.

"Whose asking." he snarled out, his hands twitching for his gun when the huge glowing knight with purple flames coming out of his helmet and cape, who was riding on a nightmare looking horse while they all had been in the cave going over tonight's patrol.

The Knight didn't seemed bothered by his response nor did he even seem to care or flinch when Batman made his own demand on 'Why was he there and who was he' or when Damian unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards him. Instead the strange glowing Knight reached to it side and pulled out... A glowing scroll? Huh. (Also he completely unnerved everyone in the room when the Knight didn't even react when Batman had tossed a Baterang when he reached for his side)

The Knight opened the scroll and spoke clearly with purpose.

"Jason Peter Todd,

You are hereby invited as a special guest of honor to the crowning of our future King of the Infinite Realms.

Daniel Phantom, once Daniel Jackson Fenton, and once Daniel Austen Todd.

Prince of the Infinite Realms, the Keeper of Balance, The Peacekeeping Halfa, the Defeater of the Tyrant King Pariah Dark, The Great One, Youngest of the Ancients, Ancient of Space, The Bridge between Life and Death.

You, the half-brother of our King, have been given the highest of honors for your past actions and will be given housing and food in the Realms and Phantom's Keep, for the week long event. Personal servants and attendants will be at your disposal and a seamstress will be on hand to tailor make your attire for the Coronation.

Signed: Clockwork. Ancient of Time. Watcher of the Infinite Timeline. Kronos. Mentor and Adviser.

PS: I shall have Fright Knight ("Me" the Knight bluntly said for a second) leave this scroll along with a personal one for you from Daniel to read over and once you make up your mind sign the bottom of the scroll.

I do hope in time you will pick the right choice Jason Todd, we of the Infinite Realms would like to reward you for your actions. After all, if you hadn't gotten young Daniel away from your father that night all those years ago, we would never had gained our Prince nor be free from our once Tyrant King.

Ah, one more thing.

The Infinite Realms will always favor you Jason."

Jason felt like he couldn't breath as Fright Knight? Rolled up the scroll, pulled a letter from his side, and held out the two items for him to take.

[goodmiffy]

“reclaiming femininity” SHUT UP SHUT UP you can’t reclaim something that is expected of you and that you are actively punished for not engaging in shut up shut up shut up pink capitalism has won im going to chew glass a

[branwinged]

one thing about asoiaf is that it frequently invites you to have sympathy for characters who've carried out varying degrees of morally repulsive acts (most apparent with pov characters such as theon, cersei, tyrion, and jaime but also sandor, joffrey, and even viserys). and most of these characters have received some equivalent of, what may look like 'narrative comeuppance' : theon flayed by ramsay, cersei made to perform her walk of atonement, tyrion sold as a slave, jaime losing his hand, joffrey's painful, drawn out death etc. except the scenes really aren't framed like that since the series doesn't seem to buy into that idea. all these incidents are not just deserts but moments of horrible injustice against these characters. and that's a little series thesis statement in itself, no neat category of monsters whose misdeeds can be addressed by a single moment of karmic justice but people like you and me who hurt others and have been hurt and continue on living. it's saying, here's this person who is capable of great cruelty influenced and motivated by their experiences with the world, but will you also hold understanding and sympathy in your heart for when the world is cruel to them in return? given what most fandom discourse looks like... the answer to that question is unfortunately a resounding no for a lot of readers.

[bixels]

I hate how ADHD has made just the act of eating difficult. My psychiatrist and doctors have told me that eating food is none-negotiable and a part of my medication, but it’s still hard to self-motivate. I have to struggle every day not to purposely starve myself. It’s gotten to the point where I won’t eat anything for a whole day and will feel fine and that’s bad. Or stomach growling feels good.

[hodinodi]

catching up with old buddies

[leupagus]

On Voting in America

So one of the most profound comments on routine chores that I've ever encountered was, hilariously, the Pickle Rick episode of "Rick & Morty," where (after a lot of shenanigans have already ensued) this therapist absolutely lays Rick out:

"I have no doubt that you would be bored senseless by therapy, the same way I'm bored when I brush my teeth and wipe my ass. Because the thing about repairing, maintaining, and cleaning is: it's not an adventure. There's no way to do it so wrong you might die. It's just work. And the bottom line is some people are okay going to work and some people, well, some people would rather die. Each of us gets to choose."

I think about this at least once a week — usually while I'm doing my laundry or sweeping or some other task that needs doing and won't get me anything more than clean clothing or a dog-hair-free floor. There's no Pulitzer for wiping down your microwave or scrubbing your toilet; no one's awarding you for getting all the dishes out of the sink. At best you have the satisfaction of crossing it off your list.

Voting is very much the same (and I'm talking about the US here, as an American). Sure, you sometimes get a sticker; but nobody's going to cheer for you. There's no adventure here, no potential for anything more than crossing something off of a list. It's a chore, something that needs doing in order to repair, maintain, and yes even clean. So I get why people don't like doing it.

And I've decided I don't give a shit.

Do it anyway. Your country takes astonishingly little from you — taxes, the once-in-a-blue-moon jury duty, and a theoretical draft that hasn't been used in over half a century and likely will never be again — but it asks you (asks! not requires! not demands!) to vote once or twice a year. It's not always easy; especially in conservative states, the impediments to vote can be ridiculous. But it is once a year and unlike in our nation's all-too-recent past, you will not die if you do it.

In fact, the worst outcome from voting these days is that the person or issue that you vote for loses — but you won't know if they lose until after the election. Polls are less accurate now, for a whole host of reasons; you cannot know until after the election who or what will win. This makes your vote more valuable than possibly ever before.

Use that power. Not because it's exciting or even rewarding, but because your vote is what keeps our country's metaphorical teeth from falling out and our metaphorical ass from stinking.

Brush, wipe, vote.

[dykedvonte]

You ever just see a Mouthwashing take that makes you want to bang your head into a wall? I literally just saw someone claim Curly couldn't have been emotionally abused by Jimmy before the crash because he was in a higher position of power than Jimmy.

-Shrimp Anon

The mouthwashing fandom has shown me that people genuinely do believe that certain types of abuse are not as detrimental as other types especially when they deem those immune/resistant, ergo, believing one is objectively worse no matter how it affects the person nor the intersections of power, history and dynamics at play.

Get ready cause this is a yap session:

Cause like it's heavily implied that Curly and Jimmy's friendship was toxic and abusive, pointedly in the direction of how Jimmy uses Curly's belief/comfort in him. Curly wasn't forced to enable Jimmy but he was emotional and mentally on edge around him in almost every scene in some way. Mental and emotional abuse are not contingent on what positions you have at work. Yeah, he's Jimmy's boss but he was Jimmy's friend first and it's like getting into Psych discussion to talk about how social power tends to overshadow any perceived organizational power in the human mind. People are concerned about their jobs ofc but they tend to hang onto and put more value/investment into their personal relationships, hence why there tends to be laws and restrictions around mixing the two.

I always see the sentiments that "Curly is a grown ass man", "Curly is bigger than Jimmy", "Curly is Jimmy's boss", "He just needed a backbone" as criticisms of Curly and while I do agree that on the surface level all of these to be true and viable ways Curly could've taken more control of the situation, I often look at the parallels of Anya and Curly as victims of Jimmy pre/post crash.

The way Jimmy talks to Anya post crash is how he talked to Curly in the pre-crash segments. It's hard to pin-point mainly because we know he hates and wants nothing to do with Anya compared to his contrary but similarly handled obsessions with Curly. It's a weird sort of "honey-moon" effect of abuse Jimmy does in terms of emotional and mental victimization. He is always horrid to Anya, always talking down or questioning her abilities and thoughts in a situation, this of course includes the harassment and assault. However, he has a moment of attempted gentleness/conditioning when he question her about the mouthwash when she's contemplating drinking it at the table. The key difference is he has no personal investment in Jimmy outside wanting nothing to do with him, meaning there is no sort of romanticized version of him that he can condition her off of. He knows this, hence, why he always reverts to trying to make her to scared to oppose him.

This sort of give and take of "kindness" doesn't work on her because she knows he is just doing it to take more from her than whatever he could possibly give but it reflects even the "softer" scenes between him and Curly where he always rewords or rephrases Curly's sentiments and concerns to sound more shallow. He is feigning a deeper understanding by reworking Curly's emotions into something bad and needing to be hidden. Everything is laced with envy and resentment, an outburst just around the corner, I mean he even slams the table in the birthday party scene, a tactic in emotional manipulation to set the victim on edge and cloud their ability to respond. Even if Curly knows Jimmy won't get physical in that moment, the physical actions is intended to make him back down in the confrontation in case it does. This is something that is just not person specific. It ingrains itself into how you interact with the world and life and it shows in major and minor ways with Curly.

Post-crash, the abusive nature is more in tandem to the physical victimization Anya went through and the stripping of voice and autonomy we see take place. Like the parasite in HFIM, Jimmy speaks for Curly most of the time and puts words in his mouth, similarly to how he takes Anya's plans as his own. He very commonly, with the both of them mind you, supplements the worst aspects of himself into them; pettiness, selfishness, lack of understanding... And tries to cover himself with their best qualities; kindness, planning, initiative, etc...

These parallel are just to say that positional power has little to do with if a person can be abused and how it can even be flipped to further the abuse. There is no doubt that Curly could've picked up on Jimmy's envy of his position hence another reason he never confronted him as a Captain but as a friend as doing so would immediately put Jimmy in a space to be confrontational/combative.

I think the disdain some people have when they talk about the heavily implied if not implicitly stated emotional/mental abuse Curly experienced being Jimmy's friend is when treating it as an excuse to why he didn't do more. I can understand that completely because it is not an excuse to why he didn't do more but is a very real reason people in his position in these scenarios can experience whether in the context of a work or social environment. However, I also think the way people talk about it really does demonstrate a bigger problem when talking about abuse when somehow who is/was abused is either part of the issue or enabled it.

Harkening back to the sentiments about Curly's inaction regarding Jimmy, I think the exact phrases I used/have seen show how there is an inherent belief that it is easier to overpower the effects of emotional/mental abuse that go in tandem with the perception of Curly as someone who should be able to. There is not an age you suddenly stop being susceptible to abuse nor a set point or low where you realize how it has affected you. You don't suddenly know to stand up or put a face on to face your abuser nor admit that you inadvertently enabled them to subjugate someone else to the same treatment. Maybe it's my psych brain but their is this growing belief that direct action is somehow easy or always the best method with the game shows you instances where it is not always the case. In real life that rings true too. He should have done more, but it's not impossible to see why he struggled to find a way or didn't even if it makes us mad.

It's not easy to suddenly gain a "back-bone". You don't immediately want to resort to aggression, especially if it mirrors the type you were a victim to. You don't want to believe you allowed yourself to be treated this bad, let it get that bad or allowed something bad to happen to someone else. It is easy to be in denial, to retreat to your thoughts or make excuses to avoid the painful truth. It's frustrating but in a way we know is relatable. It why we both hate and love Curly for it. We know we'd be better, we think we'd be better, we like to think we wouldn't falter in the same ways but it's always easier to say that from the outside looking in. It's easy to see what he was doing wrong because we are seeing it, not him, but the game really does make you picture what you would do if this was your raw reality and it's why this debate about Curly seems so never ending/contradictory. We can all say what we'd do but bottom line is that's much different when you're in the moment with all the emotions and human feelings attached.

I personally think Mouthwashing tackles the themes of rape culture, enabling, toxic masculinity, types of abuse and patriarchy in ways that are meant to deconstruct the typical straightforward views we mostly have of these concepts and how little subtilities of them are just as, if not more, detrimental than the overt/obvious parts. The game deals with the idea of little details and bigger picture in a way to show that sometimes the bigger picture is not the issue but the little details that make it up. It's why I have a personal dislike of depictions of Jimmy as the typical horrible person who would of course do something like this because the game is about noticing the little warning signs, the foreshadowing and foresight.

It's why I dislike the typical discussion of "bro code" and "boys will be boys" for the game because the game makes a point to avoid the standard depictions of such. It is about the type of men who still enable despite not condoning, agreeing or even perpetuating harmful beliefs because they can't see the little details or the ways it seeps into their everyday. The severity is not obvious to them as it was not obvious to Curly, Swansea or even Daisuke the way it was to a woman like Anya. There are little details about Jimmy that should ring alarms but if you are too naive like Daisuke, too distant like Swansea or too conditioned like Curly, they are just off markers.

There is 100% more constructive/concise ways to say "Curly was a victim of Jimmy's abuse on an emotional and mental aspect that clouded his judgements and perceptions in the scenario" while also critiquing on the side of "Curly still had a responsibility to protect Anya as a crew mate and Captain that he failed to do due to biases and stigma's he failed to surpass" without the weird condemnation people give him about should've knowing better than to let himself be manipulated by a person he considered a close, if not family/best-friend and had his own reasons to trust initially. Also stop being weird about victims of abuse in general with this fandom, like sorry not everyone has a like social epiphany the moment someone's nasty to them. People are treating it like you immediately know when you are in a toxic relationship immediately or comprehend when a person is actively dangerous and either it's your fault for not knowing how to leave/cut them off or you deserve it. Like the hypocrisy of people believing how certain fans treat the story reflect their irl views but not their own is crazy.

End statement is: I honestly don't even know man, I've been writing this too long and just like no man on that ship was perfect or really helped Anya when it mattered and I feel like pitting them against each other in discussion on who did the least or most or how it was justified sucks cause in the end Anya always did the most and best thing for herself.

[merakiui]

Pop music club gangbang perchance? Kalim giving you backshots while Lilia tells him how to pleasure you while hes in your throat and Cater jacking off while taking pictures maybe maybe <33

👁 👁 I think if anyone can give you the best group sex out of the clubs it’s pop music!!!! They’re all on the same page and rare are disagreements because pleasure is pleasure, hole is hole, why bother arguing when they can all have their go and enjoy quality time together with you? :) they spoil you every time you visit them. <3 also,,, probably the best club to have sex with because they always have delicious snacks on hand and they never really do actual club activities, so most days it’s really just sex club with zero commitment, very casual hehe. Essentially, you have all the (club) time in the world with them.

So many ways it could go….. orz Cater using his UM so he can join in on the action, but then he also enjoys filming and watching Lilia and Kalim use you, but it simply won’t do if he doesn’t get a chance to indulge!! Lilia giving the both of them tips (some old-fashioned) on how to properly lay with and pleasure you. >:) all while he’s curling his fingers inside you.

Maybe,,,,, one of them is fucking your ass and the other is eating your pussy out….. do you see the vision!!!! OTL this is exactly the kind of pose Cater needs to photograph!! Don’t mind him on the sidelines~ and of course there’s also Cater clone gangbang!!! Lilia and Kalim admiring how cute you look all fucked out and sex-drunk. Make sure to stop by the pop music club room often! They’ll always be here to receive you.

[verishii]

Really liking how Grian was forced to just sit by and watch both his teammates die. He had insider knowledge, guided their plans and sought out schemes, actively gave them an advantage, but it was for nothing. Through their own actions they perished and Grian was forced to bear witness. Grian was only ever meant to watch.

[haine-kleine]

how about a canon divergence where Dabi didn't have to deal with the humiliation of sharing his deepest traumas in an effort to make the general public be more critical of the heroes and wasn't as a result condemned for his sincerity and made a scapegoat not only for the Todoroki family but now for the entire Japan.

let his plan be more refined than traumadumping on tv and don't make him paint a giant target on his own back he will never be able to get rid off by revealing his identity to everyone. let him act according to his knowledge of endeavor and manipulate him, let his plan have an end goal and not be a last desperate scream for sympathy and attention to the horrors he went through.

say, instead of a broadcast he releases a video on an online platform. in that video he starts telling the life story of Todoroki Touya, Endeavor's eldest son who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. he says that ten years ago he found that little boy all alone, crying his eyes out on Sekoto peak. that boy was so pathetically lonely and desperate for validation he told him his entire life story. little Touya was so heartbroken he said that Endeavor abandoned him, didn't want to have a son he couldn't train to become a hero, his quirk and body incompatible, set up from the start by unfortunate quirk marriage. he begged Dabi to kill him. and so he did just that. the oh so fast and efficient number two hero was so slow to the rescue of his own son, by the time he got there only ashes remained of him, and oh how loudly Touya screamed for him...

Dabi has white hair in that video. it's a challenge - one he knows Enji won't take. he knows that his death was a mystery no one has been able to solve, and he presents an answer. it's a lie, of course, but it still hurts seeing how eagerly Endeavor jumps at the offered out. well, at least his little stunt gave even more publicity to the League, propelling him from a nobody of a villain to the one number two hero has personal vendetta with. the attention is nice, really.

when he comes to take the noumu and Endeavor almost kills him on sight, he almost chokes himself on his laughter without any help from his father.

'i will tell you a secret, Endeavor. not even Shigaraki knows this, so consider yourself special', he drawls and points to the noumu's charred remains. 'these things, you know what they're made of? top secret info, right here!'.

he takes his sweet time making a pause for dramatic effect, his insides fluttering at the look of pure hatred on his father's burned, bleeding face.

'the raw material is children with strong quirks. Touya was quite a find, you know!'.

he can't help grinning at how quickly anger transforms into shock.

'he is... alive?' the unbelieving, earnest hope that Enji can't contain despite his caution makes his glee turn sour.

Dabi wants to spread his arms wide, do a twirl, maybe, push his hair away from his face. 'Look at me, Endeavor!' he wants to scream at his father, an ancient unanswered prayer to his idol, 'look at me and see me!'.

the fight in him is gone. he shrugs, and calls for Ujiko.

'dunno', he replies to Enji before leaving. 'far as i know they're still keeping him'.

later, when when a visibly ruffled Shigaraki asks him why is he doing this to himself, Dabi bites on his tongue but can't hide the steam that starts coming out of his seams. he still does a good job of pretending to be unbothered and with all of Compress' flair says:

'why, it's all for the sake of the League's glory, of course'.

Shigaraki, in turn, doesn't even bother hiding his expressive eye roll.

[sapphorror]

see zim's a fun character because on one hand he's been legitimately mistreated in a lot of ways and was never really given the chance to be anything besides a walking nuclear bomb, and there's a tragedy in that he'll never be able to acknowledge that injustice much less act against it. but on the other hand he's destroyed the lives of millions (at least) and has a capacity bordering on the magical for turning any attempt to make him face a meaningful consequence for his actions into more widespread destructive chaos, so at the same time it's equally infuriating that he's thriving in spite of the limitations imposed upon him. somehow, both of these sentiments manage to effortlessly co-exist.

[arthursfuckinghat]

Do you think about Arthur reuniting with his family in the afterlife. Sorry do you think about Arthur being together with everyone he lost and no longer being in pain. Do you think about Arthur getting to see his son again. Do you think about it.

[gauntletgirlie]

“I’m not punishing you, I’m rewarding me.”

(This was also definitely said by Melkor to Mairon and Mairon to Adar.)

[despazito]

"some of these kids need to be hit back" AND CONFIRM TO THEM THAT VIOLENCE IS HOW WE DEAL WITH THINGS?? please don't have children ever jfc